This week we've had the pleasure of watching a spider wrap it's prey, a praying mantis masticate - boy can they eat fast with such a tiny little head- and a black swallowtail take flight.  That last one I was the only one to witness as it "hatched" while the kids were at grandma's house.  That's ok though, they got to set a yellow swallowtail free last week.  Grandma finds the best caterpillars out at her place!

My eldest caught two bullfrogs this summer- up from one last year.  He also caught a really large lizard- ugly!  My daughter has been chasing butterflies and today unfortunately got a sting from a wasp.  But she's a trooper and ready to go outside and catch some new critters.  Even the not-quite 3 year old has found a caterpillar or two.  He's got good eyes and can find the really tiny ones. 

This spring after a flood we got to take a quick look at a deceased beaver.  I had no idea how big their tails really were!  And the kids have been able to see a racoon (caught and released in a 'humane' trap) after witnesses it's footprints for several weeks.  They were happy to finally see the feet that match those tracks.

Yesterday, the kids harvested over 100 tomatoes at grandma's house and have shared in several ears of corn from our own garden.  A robin placed her nest in a tree right outside our front window so we were able to watch her little family progress from start to finish and we have a wild rabbit who has decided that our back yard is the place to be.  

That's just a little of the wonderful things the children have been able to see and share this spring and summer.  I can't begin to name it all.  We are so very blessed to not only have our own little yard with it's peeks at nature but grandma's garden full of all kinds of plants and animal to visit.  Her yard is actually a certified wildlife habitat- how cool is that!  So if you have some land, start planting some flowers and trees.  You could create a wildflower field that the birds will love.  Have bushes that give small animals and burns cover from predators or just plant a small butterfly and hummingbird garden.   If you have no yard at all- consider a small terrarium or container garden.  Just a few beetles or crickets and a spider or two (definitely contained!) can teach you and your child a lot about the little creatures living all around us. 

It is amazing to be able to see and show your children how God provides for all his creatures. 

This is a collection of quotes and poems with dashed lines beneath for your child to copy them.  The illustrations feature classical images of children at play.  The copywork itself is a bit lengthy for a very new writer but should be fine for a child with a little copywork under his or her belt.

Last week's freebie is still available as well!  The title is Butterflies: Insects of Beauty by Hip2Homeschool Unit Studies.  Just do a quick search and try to get it before it's no longer free.

LOL!

We have modelling clay but my son mentioned wanting to make clay marbles after we purchased some while on vacation last year.  So I bought actual clay that will harden- the real (though not rustic) Crayola clay that dries.  Wow, is it messy to work with!  My daughter had no problem getting clay up to her elbows but DS and I were a little more reluctant to "dig in". 

Nonetheless, it was an opportunity to learn about yet another art medium and get real feel for it.  I think that will come in handy when we study folks who made their pots and other items out of clay. 

In a few days we'll paint our creations.  More fun and more mess.  Don't the two go hand in hand often? 

Mystery of History (Vol. 1) is on sale this weekend only as one of the "Fabulous Friday" deals.

Mystery of History

Also check out the "WOW" deals, several of the items offered are homeschool resources:

Limited Time "WOW" Bargains

I know there was a coupon code published in a homeschooling magazine recently so you may be able to find it if you surf around. With the code you could get 10% off a $35 purchase.

Here's an Alibris coupon if you are doing some book shopping online:

 Use coupon code 4THJULY on checkout at Alibris to save $2 on $20 or more of books, music, & movies at www.alibris.com. Hurry, this coupon expires July 20, 2008.

I'd love to say I'll take the time to write more later, but I since I seem to be keeping busy (sometimes busy doing nothing) lately, I can't.  So here's a quick recommendation anyway.

I am reading The Practice of Godliness and really enjoying it.  The book has served as a reminder of where I am headed and provided useful tips on how to get there more effectively.  I have really enjoyed reading the Scriptural selections mentioned in the book and have found them to be very inspiring.  My only "complaint" is that in the second portion of the book where the development of specific godly traits is discussed, the author sometimes fails to actually provide the Scriptural citation for his references.  For instance, the author makes a reference to Paul indicating that he can do something because God strengthens him but doesn't provide the book, chapter and verse citation for me to read the referenced passage.  This is a small issue and most of the non-cited references are ones that I recognized well enough to know that they really did exist (somewhere).  This is a very small issue with what is otherwise a very useful book. 

The author did an excellent job of explaining and supporting his explanation for what our true motivations should be and how we should behave toward our God.  I am taking notes as I read through the book and plan to re-read the text and accompanying Scripture to my DH and my children as well.  Some books I read and get a little from and I'm OK with that, as there's always some wisdom to be gleaned if only from reading the reference Scriptures alone.  But I often find myself counting how many pages I have left until I can put a particular book aside and move on to something more inspiring.  I recommend this book because it's one that actually made my heart "sing." 

I hope that you each find something this week that can inspire you and make your heart sing.  God has given us lots to sing about. 

Use code: STARSANDSTRIPES

By the way, I have tried out a new game called PictoWords that you might want to give a try.  Remember, you can download the game for a free 1 hour trial.  If you have a visual learner who is just starting to get into reading compound words, this game might be a good tool for you.  In the game you are given three image tiles plus 3 letters and you must use these in combination to create words and reach your goal.  For instance, you might receive an image representing "thin" plus the letter "K" in your set and you would combine them to create the word "Think." 

The game can become complicated because often changing the letter combinations changes the sound of the initial word.  Also some of the words used are unfamiliar and some are actually abbreviations or slang such as "reb" or "EKG."   To help the player, a list of "blank" options is provided.  So the game board will indicate what specific sets of combinations  particular set of images and letters will produce.  HInts are also available.    The game also provides a dictionary that the player can click on to read the definition of a word.    

I am planning to purchase it myself at some point.  Right now, my son can watch me play a see how the individual words combine to make new words, later I think it's something he'll be able to do on his own.  I think I've mentioned before that we have a Game Club membership so we aren't paying "full price" for the games we select (though we do buy a lot over a year's time), but simply for the value of being able to show my son how words go together this on is worth the purchase to me.  I could almost see those little cogs in his brain turning. LOL!  Again, the trial is free so take a look if you think it would be a good complement to your child's reading program.  And, take advantage of that 40% so you don't have to pay full price either. 

This is only going to be available for  a few more days so hurry over to get the download while you can. :-)

http://homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/

A new site has started up offering daily free downloads M-F.  To get the freebie you do usually have to enter your name and e-mail address to subscribe to the participating vendors' newsletter AND the download if available for just one day.  To take full advantage you have to check the site daily. 

Here's the website:

http://homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/

 From Trigger Memory Systems:

Use code FREELAUNDRY to receive
a FREE Laundry Clean 'N' Flip with
the purchase of a Zone or Zone/Bedroom
Combo. Add both to cart and use code
for a $7.95 credit off your order!
Limited time offer!!

If you have an interest in riding, try out this game by Big Fish Games:

RIDE!

In the initial free trial (one hour of game play) you'll learn the basics of turning and leaping with your horse.  Of course, you are just using the arrow keys on your keyboard to perform the jumps, but it was still pretty interesting to my horse-loving 4 year old.  

Finally, in case you missed it, this week's freebie from Currclick is a copy book featuring the Declaration of Independence.  Just in time for Independence Day!

Also this week Currclick has this Father's Day e-book on sale for $2.00:

Have a great weekend!

I *think* these may only work for CBD discount members, but give 'em a try if you are ordering!

Free Standard Shipping on purchases of $35 or more now through May 16th.

282035AEAETE

282035AXQPTQ

Search: Title Author/Artist ISBN CBD Stock # Keywords Publisher

This week's freebie is a collection of quotations from Shakespeare's plays.  There are also a few new freebies on the site including several of the "Easter Egg" freebies, plus some phonics and math games.  If the link below doesn't take you to the freebies, just do an advanced search and set your criteria to be items priced between $0.00 and $0.10.

Happy Browsing!

Seriously- I just read about this company in the Wall Street Journal.  The company is called ChaCha and it provides answers to cell phone users via text message.  According to the WSJ article, guides are paid $.20 per answer.  Here's the company's link if you want to investigate this opportunity further:

http://info.chacha.com/Careers/BecomeaGuide/tabid/74/Default.aspx

There are some new (or renewed) offers of note available to Co-op members that I wanted to share:

Members can save 10% on DaveRamsey.com for Teens and 25% from Christian Liberty Press (I've really enjoyed their K level materials for history and science). 

Explode the Code Online is now available as a Group Buy.  The final savings amount isn't set yet but it will be between 33% and 50% off.  The Click N Read Group Buy expires on May 31st. 

There are several other discounts currently available plus more stuff in the "pipeline" but the ones above were the most interesting to me.  You might want to take a look at the website for yourself if you have older students as a lot of the offerings would be great for a middle or high school student, I'm just not there yet.  LOL! 

Homeschool Buyers Co-Op