Each week "Mom Unplugged" brings us a different theme to explore. Check out her fun suggestions at The Unplugged Project.  This weeks theme was "newspaper."  We began by making a "My Family" collage. After finding letters to spell all the names of our family members he pasted them onto paper along with a house and a car.

Then,  he tried a Spring newspaper scavenger hunt. He was required to find things like "the name of a Spring Holiday-- (he found Mother's Day), a picture of something that people do in the spring (he found gardening), and more.

 Next, came a "food search."  He scoured newspaper ads and came up with a meal containing all the food groups that he would actually eat and glued them to a "dinner plate." (It was really a paper plate.) 

We followed with a leaf pressing experiment using newspaper.

We finished our week with a science classification hunt.  We classified animals--mammals, reptiles, insects, vegetables, and more.  The picture turned out very blurry--sorry.

 And although this is not newspaper, it is a paper product.  Here is a fort he made from cardboard boxes.

This week I would like to share a picture of my small Medieval herb garden as well as pictures of some of my other gardens and how they have grown.

My small medieval herb garden includes: tansy (the taller green plant in the background) which was used as a strewing herb, disinfectant,  and insecticide. In some ancient cultures, it was also used to preserve the dead.  It also includes yarrow  (busy plant on below the tansy on the left) which was used to staunch blood flow.   Included also are: lavender,  sage, mint, oregano,  and one cilantro plant in which the seeds blew into the flower bed.

I included some flowering plants for a cottage garden look, as well as chamomile (used for fevers, insomnia, and asthma,) and catmint  (which had medicinal uses.)

Plus, here is some of  my chickory and comfrey, which have grown tremendously in the past few weeks.

Finally, here is a picture of my wormwood, valerian, southernwood, artemsia, beebalm,  new fennel, lavender, oregano, and more.

Baking soda is economical, nonharmful to the environment and can be used in many ways around the house. Where else can you get this much value for around half a dollar?

Use Baking Soda for cleaning:
To clean your microwave: Place a (microwave safe) cup of water mixed with a teaspoon of baking soda  inside your microwave. Microwave  for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove cup and wipe out inside of microwave with a damp cloth.
To aid in dishwashing:, add a tablespoon of baking soda to your soapy water - it softens hands and cuts grease!
For cleaning surfaces: use ¼ cup baking soda, mixed with 2 tablespoons water, to create a thick paste. The  mixture can be applied directly to the surface or a wet sponge for cleaning and deodorizing.
 If applied and left for a while on stains and stuck-on food, it will whiten and remove stains and any hard-to-remove food.

Use for deodorizing:
Sprinkle it on carpets and vacuum, in shoes, in the laundry basket, or  the pet’s bedding. 

Use to Unclog Your Drain:  If you need to unclog a drain, or just want to help keep them clear, place 1 cup of baking soda down the drain. Pour 1 cup of vinegar down the drain. Let sit for 15 minutes. Pour hot water or boiling water down the drain.

For Bug Bites or Bee Stings: Combine baking soda & water or baking soda & vinegar and place on bug bites or bee sting.

For A Skin Exfoliator: make a paste by mixing a small amount of baking soda with a little bit of water in your hands for an excellent skin exfoliator. Great for dry skin on face, feet & elbows.

Visit our host, Mary, Canada Girl for even more frugal tips and other frugal bloggers.

This week, my son and I explored "green" activities.  We weren't sure if this meant "the color green" or "green living" type activities, so we tried to do both! 
First, I sent my son outside to find and pick green objects in nature. After he brought them outside and identified the different plants,  he made a collage with all of the nature objects.

After discovering that my table needed cleaning, my son made finger paint from shaving green and green food coloring and "painted" designs on the table.  He found that washing the table was as much fun as painting!

We tried an experiment to see if blue "floam" could be turned green by adding yellow food coloring. (Answer: no.)

He also tried making an "art sculpture" using green 'floam."

As part of my son's "green living project", he planted a garden of sunflowers and corn.

To find next weeks assignment and  what others are doing, visit The Unplugged Project.

My son, "Ash"  has given me the "Fun Blogger Award."  Now I must award it to five people who I think have a fun blog.

1.  Dawn   is always posting fun lessons that she does with her kids.

2.  Kimilita is always inspiring me with her fun lesson plans (which I often "borrow" from her.)

3.  Farrah  also has lots of cool lessons.  (Can I send my son to live with any of you? Your schools look way more fun than ours.)

4.  Jenn   has the neatest nature journal blog.  It is fun for me to read!

5.  Crossview  makes me laugh with her fun commentary.

(Okay, I know I have lots more blogs that I think are fun, but I know this award will get passed around to all my friends soon.)

Now that Spring in officially here, we are having all sorts of fun around our house.  My son has planted his very own garden (sunflower seeds and corn) and is doing all the work himself.

This is his very own garden spot.

Plus, it is also time to wade in the local spring and try to catch fish with your bare hands!

My daughter is having her share of fun times playing with the goats.

To find out what others are doing in their Show and Tells, visit our host Mary.   Plus, I have noticed that I have been "online" for about three weeks now. Does anyone know how to change my status so that I am actually offline?  I have tried logging out, but it hasn't worked.