Apr. 7, 2009 Our Pretty Butterflies.....
We were blessed to witness the beautiful transformation of three fuzzy caterpillars into three magnificent Painted Lady butterflies! I had never seen this process first hand, and so I was just so amazed at what a delicate process it truly is. God is so awesome, and so creative!
These beautiful butterflies were the highlight of our school for the past two weeks. My sweet blessings loved this study! They loved feeding them oranges and melons. These three little butterflies became like little pets to us. :o)
However, I think the most rewarding part of this experience was the release. What a special moment that was! We thought the butterflies would fly right out of the net and be gone. But God had other plans. The butterflies were not in a hurry to fly away, and the crowd of six kids (a fellow hsing family came to watch) was not scary in the least. (I think this is because we had the habitat low and in a main walking path inside. So, they became used to us always invading their space. ;o)) But they were happy to climb onto the fingers of all the children, and give them a little taste with their proboscis. They climbed from hand to hand with not even a flitter of their wings. Then one decided to take flight, but returned a few seconds later to the netting for some last bits of orange. And another took flight only to land in another part of the yard where Winter Sprout went out and put his finger out and the butterfly climbed right on!! How cool is that!!! (I even got a picture of it, which makes it even better!! You can see the pic below, the background is that pic!)
As you can see, this awesome experience will not soon be forgotten! This is just another amazing experience I thank God for in our homeschooling journey....
|
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Mar. 24, 2009 This is what happens when you give a whimsical 4yr old girl a toy salamander....
She sets him up in a cute flowery bed, covers him because he is cold (he needed two blankets), and gives him a good book to read about flowers (I had to take the little doll house book away for the picture).
We are rowing Salamander Room this week and my sweet blessings went on a 'salamander hunt' in the back yard yesterday. They got to keep the one they found, and they were given little shoe boxes to build them little houses. My precious Spring Blossom has become rather attached to hers. His shoe box had a full shaded enclosure (picture to come later), and he has been tagging along with her ever since she found him.
She actually went up to Papa Bear last night and said that her salamander was playing hide and seek and that Daddy needed to find him. She kept saying that we'd see his tail, and she knew where he 'should' be. In reality this was her way of saying she'd misplaced him. LOL We did not find Mr. Salamander until this morning. LOL He was basking under the kitchen table. ;o)
Anyways, here is my Spring Blossom and her very pampered 'pet' salamander (the pink pipe cleaner is his leash/collar) :o)
 |
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Mar. 23, 2009 About as serious as a Poodle can look....
We did some school outside today and I snapped this pic of our canine student. He was rather interested (or so it appears...LOL). I think this is as serious as this pooch has ever looked. LOL.
Our canine scores an 'A+' in attentiveness...
 |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Mar. 22, 2009 Summer Rose takes first in AWANA Bible Quiz!!
HOORAY!!! I am a very proud mama!!
This girl has practiced SOOO much and it sure paid off! Her team was only one other girl (the norm is a group of four), but they were awesome! They were up against six other teams and were very very nervous. But they hung in there and worked together. Summer Rose had to even get up and recite loud and clear. I was on pins and needles for her, but she did perfectly!!!
I pray that these verses stay forever in my sweet girl's heart, and that she can just as quickly recall them to help her along in her journey through this life. She is an awesome gift, and I am so blessed to be able to cheer her on!
Summer Rose with her medal and the plaque awarded to the church!
 |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Mar. 13, 2009 When I Was Young in The Mountains....
I did not make any collages most of February because I was busy designing a ton of pages for our hs yearbook. :o) But with that finally complete, here is our latest row...
We finished our two week row with this sweet book today. When I planned to row this book back in August I did not realize how much I would get out of it. Just before rowing the book the 20/20 special aired, and I was able to see what some of modern day Appalachia life looks like. It was not what was portrayed in the book. I also got to see a glimpse of the history of the region with the documentary "Hillbilly: The True Story". Both of these programs I shared with my children (edited of course). My children gain so much from being able to compare modern day Appalachia, historical Appalachia, and the sweet simple story of Appalachia.
My Summer Rose read a great go-along chapter book called "Little Audrey". It was a wonderful addition to this story, and allowed my older child to go beyond the sweet little story we were rowing. She got a glimpse into the life of a coal miner's family. Unfortunately, she also got a glimpse of the not so happy ending....
On a lighter note, we also learned about snakes! Summer Rose and Winter Sprout each read books about snakes. Each child concluded our snake study by making very cute snakes out of spindles, paint, buttons, and pipe cleaners!
So, this simple story turned into quite a complex study. But I am surely glad we got to learn so much! Again, thanking God for allowing us such moments to learn about how truly blessed we really are!
|
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Mar. 11, 2009 I bit the bait and was reeled in.....here are our modified workboxes....
When the thread was first posted I thought the concept sounded really cool. When it exploded with interest, I looked more into the system. However, I can not not afford to purchase the materials at this point (I hope to purchase just the e-book soon), nor do I have the space for the boxes. But this system was sure speaking to me, and I really believe it can help us accomplish more in our day.
I waited until some brave and creative souls took on the challenge of modifying the system in such a way that could suit me. And this is just what happened. Yay! While waiting for some brave soul to step forward and share their neat ideas, I contemplated my own. I thought of the cereal boxes on my own, but another creative soul executed the cutest little cereal boxes before I had a chance to find a spot to fit them. Her boxes are just so cute! And they are exactly what I needed!
So, these are our boxes. Summer Rose and Winter Sprout each have ten boxes (I ran out of boxes..LOL). And Spring Blossom has five spring colored gift bags. These should work nicely for her temporarily.
Again, thanks to the great, creative gals on the Five in a Row boards for sharing. :o)
Now...I just hope it works....a lot of thinking went into these silly things! LOL
 Summer Rose's Boxes
Each box is numbered, and the clothes pins are placed on the boxes when each activity/assignment is finished.
 Winter Sprout's Boxes
I have white clothes pins on the back of his boxes (you can not see them too well in this pic) with happy face stickers; these are 'Mommy Helps' pins.
 Spring Blossom's Bags
|
•
Comments (4)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 16, 2009 My Sweet Spring Blossom Is Four!!
Oh how time flies....
She is so precious, so beautiful, so lovable, so many things the list could just go on and on.... She was my sweet blessing after loosing two sweet blessings in pregnancy. I know Jesus is holding those precious ones in Heaven. But this little girl means so much to me, as the miracle of life is ever so greater to me now. She is my little ray of sunshine, not shy or timid, she is the first to offer a hug, and a 'happy hello' to anyone who needs one.
Oh I know God has great plans for this precious, smiling beauty, but for now I get to enjoy being graced by her presence.
Thank you God for every moment with my Spring Blossom, may she continue to blossom into the beautiful daughter in Christ, that you intend for her to be.
So, I will end with a few words from on my Sweet Blossom's favorite songs (that she sings all the time):
"Jesus loves me this I know...."
|
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Feb. 1, 2009 Jesse Bear....
This past week my Spring Blossom and I rowed one of her favorite books; Jesse Bear! Oh how she loves this book! I used to read this to her when she was a baby and she would sleep with the book. So sweet....
I wanted to make some felt characters and clothes to go with this story, and I found the cutest sparkly felt to use! They turned out great and my sweet blessings have played with them everyday this week, even when we were not doing PreK!! It was sweet to see them playing so nicely together.
Spring Blossom and I kept it simple, and took a lot of special time just enjoying this cute book. :o) We made several outfits for our bear family, added a baby girl bear named JuJu Bear, counted, sorted, and giggled a whole lot. :o)
My sweet little girl is growing so fast, but seeing her tiny face light up every time we read this book made my mama's heart swell with the special memories made.
 |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 17, 2009 Paul Revere's Ride...
This week my older two blessings and I rowed Paul Revere's Ride. I love history, I can't say I am good at it, but I enjoy it very much. :oD So, my blessings and I had a wonderful time learning about the infamous ride of Paul Revere. We also branched out into the life of Paul Revere, the Boston Tea Party, and the Revolutionary War.
I learned last week that my Winter Sprout likes draw, and imho, he is very good! (My Mama opinion of course! ;o)) This is a neat acheivement for him. He drew many things over course of our two weeks with Revere. And we added all his drawings to his notebook. I think he will enjoy looking back on these later. :o)
For this unit, I added some more meaty go alongs for Summer Rose. She enjoys all the trails we venture on. She has been reading Johnny Tremain, and taking notes on his life. She is enjoying this book very much. She also read some American Girl books from the colonial times, drew symbols like her brother, and read a couple biographies of colonists.
This unit also offered so many mutlimedia options for my blessings! We watched an A&E Biography on Revere, and we will be watching a Disney verson of Johnny Tremain. However, I think my children's favorite visuals were the, School House Rock's history songs. They were singing them all day! I am noting how much they enjoyed these cute songs, so I many use them in later studies.
Overall, we had fun stepping back in time. It is so important to know our history, the Bible even stresses this importance. I am so grateful for being able to see my children's eagerness to learn about the rich history of our world. But not only the history of our world, but the history of our loving and awesome God. He has moved in great ways throughout history, and continues even more so today.
|
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 12, 2009 Caps for Sale...
My little gal and I rowed Caps for Sale this week! We made 'caps' out of craft store straw hats with pipe cleaners wrapped around the base. They are not the same as the book, but I think they'll do! :oD Even big sister and brother joined the fun on most days!
A few things we did:
* Played store with the caps and counted out money.
* Balanced the hats and discussed good health.
* Made monkey paintings and talked about feelings.
* Practiced the week away on the numbers 1-10.
* We acted out the story, and discussed the saying 'Monkey see, Monkey do'.
* Discussed Proverbs 6:11 - One must not sleep on the job
To sum it up, we had a fun week with a simple peddler and some mischievous monkeys . :o)
Spring Blossom really loved those caps!!
|
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 5, 2009 Blueberries for Sal...
This week my littlest gal and I will row Blueberries for Sal!
This is what my little Spring Blossom and I will be doing:
Mon - Math
Counting marbles in her tin pail
Classification - different types of vehicles, using her brother's hotwheels cars.
Dot painting correct number of blueberries on the blueberry bushes
Tues -
Field trip for older two to Science Center - no study
Wed -
All morning Bible class - no study
Thurs - art
Fri - special craft
We'll be making blueberry printed bandanas for our teddy bears!! (My older two are going to participate too)
And all week we will have something 'blueberry' to eat. Since blueberries are not in season, I has to get creative at the store. We'll have some blueberry yogurt, blueberry bread, blueberry toaster pastries, blueberry cereal bars, blueberry fruit snack, and lastly blueberry syrup on fluffy pancakes!! YUM!
Oh what fun!!!
Our complete week with Sal, her Mama, and a couple of bears. :o)
|
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 3, 2009 And now....clean room :o)
My blessings worked very hard and well this morning! I stayed in the room to supervise, and they always enjoy when I am in there to guide them. But it is done! So, now we can fully say 'space complete'! Yay!
|
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 3, 2009 Good night from the new beds!!
YAY! We made it to the end of the day! Everyone is in their new spaces, and overall happy campers! However, based on the rubble in the pics, I am wondering who is gonna be the lucky soul to break the bad news to my dc that they will be cleaning their room *TOGETHER* tomorrow.....
Crazy amounts of stuff tends to fall from the cracks when one of my child's things is moved. LOL
They are such sweet blessings, but they do have that nasty sibling rivalry streak.....
G o o d n i g h t m y s w e e t b l e s s i n g s ! |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 3, 2009 And now the 'Book Nook'!!
With the moving and arranging of beds, we also added the 'book nook'! This is a comfy spot to sit a read together. I read often (as many homeschooling mamas do), and my back hurts after awhile on the floor. Our sofa is too small for all of us (and our lovies ;o)) to cuddle up on, but this handy free bottom bunk works wonderfully! I got a fluffy twin coforter at Target, some $2.49 pillows at IKEA, and...tada!! 'Reading Nook'!! The kiddos are super excited for our first reading/cuddle session in the nook. :o) Me too.... :o)
Presenting, the 'Book Nook'!!!
 |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 3, 2009 Winter Sprout's new digs!!!
And here is my Winter Sprout's new bed. Poor guy got booted out of 'bottom bunk 1', but he happily accepted his new location atop 'upper bunk 2'! Now....hopefully he does not do any of his crazy tricks and learn how gravity is sometimes not our friend...
Winter Sprout's bed with his dino mobile (that I promised would be hung when he moved up)
And of course, a very happy Winter Sprout!!
 |
•
Comments (2)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 2, 2009 Spring Blossom gets new digs!!!
This little gal has been in her crib a tad too long. LOL... But finally it was time she upgraded. ;o)
She is the proud new owner of 'bottom bunk 1'. :D This little girl could barely contain her excitement. As for me, this is a bittersweet step up. My baby is growing fast, and many times I long for the teeny-tiny newborn cuddles. But I am proud of her and what a little lady she is becoming. :o)
In our home, when a child moves up to a big bed they get to pick out a twin sized comforter/quilt just for them. Only rule is no characters. This is simply because the child will have the blanket for well beyond their love of a certain character. Spring Blossom got a lovely rainbow blanket from Target, she just loves it!! Also, each child gets their very own cork board hung above their bed. I also painted each child's board with a couple of their favorite colors.
From teeny crib beginnings....
to a lovey rainbow fit for my sweet ray of sunshine....
(and we must not forget our rainbow Hello Kitty socks!) :oD
My next post will be Winter Sprout's new digs....(he got bumped out of 'lower bunk 1'). LOL.... |
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Jan. 1, 2009 Happy New Year!!! Welcome 2009!!!
I think the world is simply spinning faster. The years are flying by...
This was the first year my sweet blessings got to stay up to ring in the New Year! Normally we celebrate with Finland. LOL. But we rented a couple of movies and set up shop in front of the tv. My kiddos loved the extra long night of movie watching. I stood behind the sofa and folded clothes on the lesson table. Ahhhh....gotta love a multitasking Mama! LOL.
Wall-E was a HIT! Kids loved it, and it even got a few adult laughs, too! Narnia was more for dd8 and me, who have read the series (I am still finishing it...can't figure out why I can't find the time..LOL). The other two enjoyed the little mousey soldier the most. :)
We finished the night off with a little sparkling apple cider. Then off to bed for my not-so-sleepy heads. When they awake *later* today, we will be writing our New Year's thoughts, personal virtue goals, and other things we look forward to this year. Should be fun!
W e l c o m e 2 0 0 9 ! ! ! !
H a p p y N e w Y e a r ! !
 |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Dec. 27, 2008 A first go around with Risk...
Summer Rose and Papa Bear decided to play one of our new board games, they choose Risk. Over an hour plus later, I have dinner cooked, played Webkinz with Spring Blossom, played Wii with Winter Sprout, put in some laundry, took/loaded some pics onto my computer, and am now typing this post.
LOL...does this game have an end???
But on the plus side, Summer Rose absolutely loves playing games with her Daddy. These two are so much alike, and they have a very special bond. Memories being made and a special Daddy and Daughter moment that a small loss of time will never notice.
Thank you God for the simple things....
|
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Dec. 26, 2008 A Sweet Merry Christmas...
Christmas in our home was absolutely wonderful.
We spent the day playing board games together, laughing, eating, and at the end of the day we went outside and saw the most beautiful double rainbow! It was the brightest one I have ever seen! God is so awesome!
I am so grateful for my precious family and our sweet times together! Thank you God for sending your son to be the savior of the world...my savior.
From our family:
Merry Christmas!
 |
•
Comments (1)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
Dec. 22, 2008 Woof! Woof! Don't forget the pup on Christmas morning! :oD
We were given this sparkly stocking years ago for our older dog Buddy (no longer with us). It has been passed down through two cats and then onto our current pup (who just turned 3!!!). My kids will not let me forget to put some special goodies in our pet stocking!
The little blue wooly chew toy actually was given a name at the store, "Mack, the Wool Man". Mack went on many adventures through the grocery store. He hid in the soda boxes, shivered in the freezer case, and played peek-a-boo behind some Pop-Tarts. Ah...what can I say...we are a strange bunch!! LOL
So....
Merry Christmas to:
Majestic Reign (aka Magic) our funny Std. Poodle!!
Note: Even our three ratties have a little chewy
buried somewhere inside this stocking.
No pets forgotten on Christmas morning. ;o) |
•
Comments (0)
• Post A Comment!
• Permanent Link
|
|
|
|
|
