Homemade Ice Cream - BY ABBY

I made ice cream yesterday with my friend Atticus. We used salt, sugar, vanilla, ice and milk. We used 1 gallon size ziploc bag to put in the ice and salt (make sure you don't get the salt in the little bag). We put sugar, vanilla and milk in a sandwich size ziploc bag. We put the little bag inside of the other bag and shook it up for 5 whole minutes. After we were done we ate it. We compared what we made to the ingredients in whip cream and the ingredients in factory made ice cream. We discovered that the factory made ice cream and the whip cream are not as healthy as the stuff we made, but I like the factory made ice cream better because I got salt in my bag and that tasted yuck! Here is the recipe if you want to try it:

Put the following ingredients into a sandwich size ziplok bag and seal (you can double bag this to prevent the salt from getting in)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Fill gallon size ziploc half full with ice and add 6 tbsp rock or regular salt

Put small bag inside of large bag and shake for 5 minutes and it will turn into ice cream!


AN UPDATE -

We wanted to find out if you could make this recipe without using the salt so we tried it. The ice cream doesn't freeze if you just use ice. We looked it up online to find out what the salt did to make the milk turn into ice cream. Ice cubes just freeze something to about the point of water freezing (32 degrees) and in order for ice cream to freeze it has to be cooled to 27 degrees. Once you add the salt to ice it makes the ice colder and lowers the temperature that it melts at to about -5 degrees, making it plenty cold enough to freeze the ice cream mix.

Wildlife Center, Asheville NC

Abby and her friends Winston and Lincoln got a chance to learn 1st hand about the animals at the North Carolina Wildlife Center.

Sliding Rock, Asheville NC

Ok, sliding down a waterfall in late October might not be everyone's idea of fun, but why not??!!



We decided to go to Sliding Rock and although it was only 65 degrees outside and the water was in the 50's, we jumped in and slid down!


Never let it be said that the Bennett or the Sloan families pass by an any opportunity!

LEAF Festival

What a great time we had at the LEAF Festival! We got to see old friends and meet new ones, enjoy all the music and arts, learned to hula hoop, hang out around the campfire, be in a parade, and just generally chill and relax!

Abby's Fairy House Business

Abby has opened her own business - Fairy House. She made homemade fairy crowns & wands to sell in the store and at the LEAF Festival. She created her own business plan, including expense and income reports, and made up posters to advertise for them. She did so well at her business that she sold out of everything this year at LEAF and made $135.

Educational Fun all Summer Long

I always feel terribly guilty in the summer since we don't focus on Abby's educational needs as much as I would like to, but this year we were able to get some educational field trips in in spite of the fact that we have been so busy.


Abby, Zoe & Ayden loved seeing the animals at the Binghamton Zoo, we got to go to the Herkimer Diamond Mines twice this year, once with with Mema & Tami and with the Homeschool Group, we met up with some fellow homeschoolers at the Unadilla Game Farm. Abby also had a good time at swimming lessons and acrobatics this summer and fall, and has made some new friends.

Washington DC block city

I came in one day this summer to see Abby spread out on the floor with her blocks. She built the entire city of Washington DC, including the reflecting pool, Arlington Cemetery, the White House, Pentagon, etc. She even had people driving their cars and walking though town.

Guess she remembered a lot from our trip there two years ago!