Harper is finished with his Core studies for the year!  Yipee!

Although it was Harper's curriculum, Hawken and I learned alot from it too!  I'm keeping all the materials, because I may use it with Hawken in a couple years. 

Harper did a great job and learned a lot.  But, most importantly, he enjoyed learning.  We're excited to begin next year's materials...after a nice summer break!  We all deserve it!

Today, we took Grandpa on his "Father's Day Hike" at Theodore Wirth Park.  Grandma came along for the adventure too!  Our first stop was the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden.

We caught a glimpse of the Indigo Bunting, and we also saw a Woodpecker.  We also spied various butterflies and insects, and lots of wildflowers and plants.  It was neat to notice the difference in the park since our last visit in the spring.

The Water Horsetails had grown a couple feet since we last saw them.

I can really see the impact that nature study has made on the boys.  They pay attention to the smallest details, and really enjoy pointing out new discoveries along the trails.  Going on a hike is always an exciting adventure for them.

Grandpa and Harper pose by the beautiful oak tree during our rest break. 

Our second stop on our adventure was the Quaking Bog of Wirth Park.  We were greeted by some cute baby racoons when we got there!

We watched the racoons for a while before heading to the bog itself.

After crossing the moat, we walked around Mariana's Isle.  The dock and boardwalk are part of the ongoing restoration of the Quaking Bog. 

We had a full adventure today, and spent some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa out in nature.  We can't wait to get out and do it again!

We finished reading "Hero Tales" by Dave and Neta Jackson last night.  The book is a collection of of true stories from the lives of 15 Christian heroes.  The kids learned valuable lessons of virtue through the stories presented in the book.

I would not have picked this book out on my own, but it turned out to be a nice piece to our curriculum this year.  The stories and follow-up questions were challenging, but the lessons were kept short.  We enjoyed many of the stories and learned many "character qualities" along the way.

We learned about the following heroes:  Gladys Aylward, William and Catherine Booth, Amy Carmichael, Adoniram and Ann Judson, David Livingstone, Martin Luther, Dwight L. Moody, Samuel Morris, George Muller, Menno Simons, Mary Slessor, Hudson Taylor, Harriet Tubman, William Tyndale and John Wesley.

Some of these heroes were new to us, and some we learned about last year when we read the "Heroes for Young Readers" series.  These are great books - well written and nicely illustrated.  We'll read these books again during Hawken's Kindergarten year. 

To be honest, my knowledge of Christian heroes is pretty limited.  I have learned a lot from these books along with the boys.  It's been fun to learn together!