Turning Blue & Graduation

Homeschooling Year 2010-2011: Weeks 9 & 10

Investigating anthills

Holes made by woodpeckers

Simply enjoying nature

Closeup look at a butterfly

Germany worksheets

A couple of books about Germany, plus Baby Girl's book for the week

Collections from our nature walk & journal pages

Poland worksheets

Geography review

Octoberfest in Germany

Germany pages

We visited Germany & Poland in our studies & of course continued with our nature study. We had a great week!

"You Have Your Hands Full"

Hmmm.....I don't always know how to take this comment. I get it a lot now that I have four (GASP!) children. Sometimes it's said with a smile, other times it's said with a condemning tone. Last week it was even followed up with, "You look like old mother Hubbard." Which, by the way, was the wrong reference....Old Mother Hubbard had an empty cupboard, while it was The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe who had so many children she didn't know what to do. But, back to my original point............what is a person's intent when they say this kind of thing? Is it critical, or is it admiring? Either way, I don't care for it. I am blessed, abundantly & overwhelmingly, by each of my children. I don't feel harried or stressed because I have four; I feel grateful that God has seen fit to share them with me. Also, I'm no supermom or someone to be put on a pedestal & admired. I'm uncomfortable with that status, too. I'm simply living my life, loving & nurturing & raising the children I've been given. And as far as how to respond to the comment in the title, I was given some great advice by two dear sisters in Christ, who each have a quiver full of their own....respond to those comments in a way that blesses the person who spoke them, whether they had good intentions or not. Great advice. Now I'm looking forward to putting that into practice.

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalm 127: 4-5

Take Along Guides

There are several in this series of books. We own the two featured in this post, but I plan to purchase the rest in the near future. We used Tracks, Scats and Signs to learn more about deer and racoons this week. In the weeks to come, we'll be using Birds, Nests, and Eggs as we move into an autumn bird study. These books are very handy to use as guides during nature study, and my kiddos love them. I'm looking forward to owning the entire set!

Wordless Wednesday

Homeschooling: Week 8--France...Ooh La La, Plus Fabulous Nature Walks

We had a blast "traveling" to France this week. We read several great books, baked a delicious French apple tart, learned some French words, and topped it all off with a Parisian Fashion Show. Then, during our nature walks, we saw so many interesting things: spider webs, spiders, butterflies, birds, squirrels, "pretty" weeds, lots of trees, acorns, pecans, a Christmas tree farm (yes, I had to stop & take a whiff of a tree), an abandoned bird nest--which we brought inside to study, cows, and even six deer. We also read about trees & discussed how water travels from their roots to their leaves. We learned more about this process with an experiment involving celery and colored water. Baby Girl practiced "playing" her piano and listened to her Wee Sing CD. I also read a few books to her.  She really enjoyed her time outdoors, too...even though she was bitten by a mosquito and lost her glasses during one of our nature walks. All in all, it was a great week!