Howcast

How to Understand the Controversy about the Columbus Day Holiday

Howcast — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:15:50 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Learn biographical facts Learn biographical facts about Christopher Columbus. On his first voyage in 1492, he landed in the Bahamas and wrote in his journal that he seized 6 of the natives to serve as slaves.
Step 2: Understand his contribution to slavery Understand that Columbus, in an era of growing international slavery, sent thousands of the peaceful, indigenous Taino people from the island of Hispanola to Spain to be sold into slavery.
TIP: Be aware that when Columbus landed about 250,000 Taino lived on Hispanola, but 60 years later only a few hundred Taino remained on the island.
Step 3: Realize he was a brutal ruler Realize that Spanish historians discovered documents in 2005 that revealed that as governor of the Indies, Columbus had many natives killed and tortured to deter native unrest. After settlers lobbied against him, Columbus eventually lost his governorship and much of his former acclaim.
Step 4: Know the devastation disease brought Know that in addition to enslavement and violent governing, Columbus’s arrival — with plants, animals, and goods — introduced new diseases that would devastate native populations throughout the New World.
Step 5: Be aware of religious context Be aware that many have rejected the holiday due to its close association with Catholicism. Columbus Day became a national holiday largely due to lobbying by the influential Catholic fraternal organization, the Knights of Columbus.
FACT: In 1990, South Dakota legally changed the name of Columbus Day to Native Americans’ Day to celebrate the great Native Americans from its state.

You Will Need

Biographical information
Cultural ramifications
Religious context

How to Enjoy an Autumn Afternoon

Howcast — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:01:25 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Take to the road Take to the open road to enjoy a self-guided tour of fall’s color show using maps available from local tourist agencies.
Step 2: Get a new perspective Get a new perspective to enjoy autumn colors by viewing the display from a boat, train, bicycle, airplane, hot air balloon, or other alternative transportation modes you like.
Step 3: Take a hike Take a camera and hike through hardwood forests to get up close and personal with the changing scenery and to capture the beauty of the season.
Step 4: Get kids involved Get kids involved in a fun learning experience during an afternoon rendezvous with autumn by asking them to collect and identify colorful leaves.
TIP: Start a journal of personal observations of changing leaf colors to learn more about nature’s ways.
Step 5: Go apple picking Go apple picking on an autumn afternoon, and while you’re at it, climb a few trees, and stop by the farm market for fresh cider and donuts.
TIP: Use the fall scent of cinnamon as aromatherapy.
Step 6: Collect leaves to ship Collect a box of the most gorgeous leaves you can find to mail to someone who lives in an area without the dramatic fall display.
Step 7: Bake an apple pie Stay home and bake an apple pie to enjoy with family and friends. Now, pull out your favorite sweater, build a fire in the fireplace, and dream about winter pleasures ahead.
FACT: According to Native American legend, when spirit hunters slew the Great Bear in the sky, its blood dripped down on forests changing leaves to red.

You Will Need

Vehicle to tour in
Maps
Alternate mode of transportation
Camera
Apple orchard and market
Box of leaves
Apple pie ingredients
Journal (optional)
Cinnamon (optional)

How to Make House Decorations from Autumn Leaves

Howcast — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:01:02 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Collect leaves Go for a walk and collect fallen leaves in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors.
Step 2: Prepare the leaves Gently wash the leaves and lay them out to dry. Then press them between the pages of a big book for five to seven days to flatten them.
Step 3: Lay them around the house Spread your leaves around the house to add an autumn touch to your current decorations.
TIP: Place them at the bases of vases, on shelves, or on your fireplace mantel, but away from areas that could catch the leaves on fire.
Step 4: Create a vine of leaves Thread a bendable vine through the leaves. Then wrap the vine around a picture frame or braid it with a grapevine branch and make a wreath.
Step 5: Make place mats Cut paper grocery bags into place mats. Arrange the leaves under the place mats and rub red, orange, yellow, and brown crayons over the leaves. The veins of the leaves will appear as you rub. Place your autumnal mats around your table.
Step 6: Make magnets Attach magnets to the backs of the leaves with a glue gun and use your magnetized leaves as refrigerator magnets or place them on steel doors to add a touch of color throughout the house. Enjoy the season and the colors it brings.
FACT: Johnny Mercer wrote lyrics to the jazz standard “Autumn Leaves” in 1947.

You Will Need

Autumn leaves
Book
Bendable vine
Grapevine branch
Paper grocery bags
Crayons
Glue gun
Magnets

How to Make Crafts with Autumn Leaves

Howcast — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 10:16:27 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Gather leaves Collect autumn leaves in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.
TIP: Wash the leaves gently and allow them to dry.
Step 2: Press the leaves Press the leaves between the pages of an old book for a day, and remove them when they are flat.
TIP: Spray the leaves with an acrylic sealant on both sides to protect them.
Step 3: Make a booklet of leaves Make a book of leaves by selecting your favorites and gluing them to pieces of paper. Label each leaf, and write an annotation about how and where you found it. Then assemble the papers into a booklet.
Step 4: Make a picture Use the leaves to construct a picture. Draw a picture outline on a sheet of paper, and then fill it in with leaves. When you are done, glue the leaves to the sheet of paper.
TIP: Be sure to have plenty of small leaves on hand to help with fine detail.
Step 5: Make a stained glass window Make a stained glass window. Lay some of your pressed leaves on a sheet of wax paper. Place crayon shavings on the paper beside the leaves, and then cover it with a second sheet of wax paper. Iron the wax paper sandwich at low heat between sheets of newspaper and hang your craft in a window. Display your leaf crafts through every season.
FACT: The single red maple leaf flag became Canada’s official national flag in 1965.

You Will Need

Autumn leaves
Old book
Acrylic spray
Craft glue
Paper
Drawing supplies
Wax paper
Crayons and a sharpener
Iron
Newspaper

How to Make a Straw Bale Maze

Howcast — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:31:42 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Design your maze Consider the type of maze you want to construct. Depending on the complexity, computer software can provide algorithms needed to make your maze using GPS technology. Don’t forget to take height into account.
TIP: Professional maze-building companies can be hired to design and build a custom maze.
Step 2: Select the locale Pick a location for your maze, making sure you have enough acreage to fit the entire maze. Measure and mark the dimensions carefully with spray paint, according to your selected algorithms.
TIP: Know which municipal codes your maze will have to meet. Fire and engineering officials may need to inspect and approve the structure.
Step 3: Get straw bales Solicit local farmers for bales of straw. Depending on the size of your maze, you’ll need several hundred to over a thousand bales. You may be able to sell the bales once the event is finished.
Step 4: Gather your volunteers Work with local PTOs, churches, and school groups — anyone affiliated with your organization — to round up as many volunteers as you can.
Step 5: Start building Haul the bales to the maze location with a tractor. Follow the spray paint markers and build the maze to the desired height. Once completed, decorate the maze for a fun or spooky atmosphere.
FACT: The Egyptian labyrinth is the first recorded maze in history, described by the Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BCE.

You Will Need

Algorithm software
Land
Measuring tape
Spray paint
Hay bales
Volunteers
Tractor
Decorations
Maze-building company (optional)
Building codes (optional)

How to Celebrate Fall with a Harvest Meal

Howcast — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:45:43 +0000

Instructions

: Don’t drink unless you’re of legal age. Drink responsibly, and never drink and drive.
Step 1: Use root vegetables Roast root vegetables, such as parsnips, carrots, turnips, zucchini, squash, and onions. Chop the vegetables, spread them in a roasting pan, drizzle them with olive oil, and bake them at 450 degrees for half an hour.
TIP: You can serve roasted root vegetables plain or make them into a soup with vegetable stock and herbs and spices.
Step 2: Bake cauliflower Squeeze the juice from two lemons over a skillet of cauliflower with olive oil and garlic cloves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Step 3: Make a fall sausage main course Make a fall sausage entree by slicing a pound of kielbasa into a skillet, adding a sauce of 3 tablespoons each of honey, cider vinegar, and yellow mustard, and sprinkling it with dried onions. Add a couple of large, sliced apples, and simmer until the apples are tender.
Step 4: Make roasted pears Enjoy an autumnal dessert of salt-roasted pears. Cover Bosc pears, upright, with kosher salt and bake them at 350 degrees for an hour. Then brush off most of the salt and drizzle caramel sauce over them.
Step 5: Drink wine Enjoy a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir with dinner and then a late harvest Riesling, Sauternes, or port with dessert. Your meal in honor of the season will fill your stomach and please your taste buds!
FACT: On the date of the autumnal equinox, day and night everywhere are of equal length, and everywhere on earth the sun rises precisely in the east and sets precisely in the west.

You Will Need

Root vegetables
Olive oil
Cauliflower
2 lemons
Garlic
Salt and pepper
1 lb. kielbasa
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. cider vinegar
3 tbsp. yellow mustard
Dried onions
2 large apples
Bosc pears
Kosher salt
Caramel sauce
Pinot Noir
Late harvest Riesling
Sauternes
or port wine
Roasting pan
Skillet
Vegetable stock (optional)
Herbs and spices (optional)

How to Celebrate the Autumnal Equinox and First Day of Fall

Howcast — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:01:22 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Build a monument Build a stone monument. The ancient structures at Stonehenge in Britain were aligned to permit determination of the equinox.
Step 2: Weigh yourself Weigh yourself. On the day of the fall equinox, the sun enters the sign of Libra, the constellation of scales.
Step 3: Sacrifice an effigy Construct a wicker effigy and sacrifice it in the spirit of the Druids, who marked the fall equinox with a mock sacrifice of the vegetation deity.
TIP: The Burning Man Project, held each year in the Nevada desert, is a re-enactment of this ritual.
Step 4: Have some grapes Enjoy some grapes or a glass of wine. In France, the grape harvest traditionally coincided with the fall equinox.
Step 5: Honor your ancestors Honor your ancestors. In Japan, visits were traditionally made to family graves at the time of the autumnal equinox. However you celebrate the beginning of fall, make sure the memories will warm you through the cooling months ahead.
FACT: Equinox comes from a Latin word meaning equal night.

You Will Need

Stones
Scale
Wicker
Grapes or wine
Burning Man (optional)

How to Pick Apples

Howcast — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:03:43 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Contact the orchard Contact the apple orchard to confirm the apples are ripe and ready for picking.
TIP: Bring a ladder if the trees are full-size.
Step 2: Select ripe apples Select firm, crisp, ripe apples without bruises.
TIP: Ask the farmer for advice on what apples are ripe.
Step 3: Twist the apple stem Twist the stem upward until the apple breaks from the branch. Do not pull the apple downward from the tree.
Step 4: Place apples in a container Gingerly place your apples in the bucket. Bruised apples will rot more quickly.
Step 5: Store apples in a cool place Store your apples in a cool, dark place where they will not freeze, ideally in a spot with high humidity. Properly stored apples will provide healthy snacks for weeks.
FACT: Apples are a member of the rose family.

You Will Need

Apple orchard
Bucket
Ladder (optional)

How to Set Up a Hayride

Howcast — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:05:45 +0000

Instructions

: Don’t allow small children to ride unaccompanied in a truck bed or trailer, and never exceed 10 miles per hour.
Step 1: Find a trail Find a suitable route, like a dirt road with little to no traffic, or a drivable trail through wooded areas and fields. The route should be long enough to drive 5 to 10 miles per hour for half an hour or more.
Step 2: Get a tractor Get a vehicle for the ride. It should have the capacity for several bales of hay and be able navigate the trail. A pickup truck will work, but a tractor with an open top trailer is best.
Step 3: Test the trail Designate a driver. Have them drive the route beforehand to make sure the trailer can handle the bumps and curves.
Step 4: Set up the campfire Set up a spot around the midpoint to light a campfire and roast marshmallows or hot dogs.
Step 5: Load the hay Cover the bottom of the truck bed or trailer with a layer of hay bales. Place another layer of bales lengthwise down the center, forming a bench in the middle of the bed or trailer.
TIP: Load some snacks for the ride, plus hot chocolate and blankets if it’s chilly.
Step 6: Drive the trail Gather your friends and family on a clear night at the start of the route. When they’re situated comfortably, ease down the trail and soak up the tranquility of a peaceful hayride.
FACT: A 1,000-pound horse eats at least 20 pounds of hay and other roughage per day.

You Will Need

A route through fields and woods
A pickup truck
or tractor with trailer
Firewood
Marshmallows
Hot dogs
1 to 2 dozen bales of hay
A clear night
Friends and family
Snacks (optional)
Blankets (optional)