Learning to Crochet

Miss J learned to crochet at a recent 4-H workshop. She can now make crochet chains with the best of them and can't wait for read aloud time to work on her newly acquired skill.

Finished Botany today!

Today we finished up our study of Botany. We used an Answers in Genesis book called The World of Plants. It was a good fit for our family, with short chapters and interesting activities for each lesson.

Topics included:
Classification system
Carl Linnaeus
Plant and Animal Cells
Flowering Plants
Grasses
Trees
Seeds
Monocots & Dicots
George Washington Carver
Roots
Special Roots
Stems
Stem Structure
Stem Growth
Photosynthesis
Arrangement of Leaves
Leaves
Tree Identification
Flowers
Pollination
Pierre-Joseph Redoute
Fruits
Annuals, Biennials, and Perennials
Meat Eating Plants
Parasites and Passengers
Tropism
Other Survival Techniques
Reproduction without Seeds
Ferns
Mosses
Algae
Fungi

Next up we will be learning to use a microscope.

When Mama has Limited Energy

Having just left the first trimester of pregnancy and all it's entails from nausea to extreme lack of energy; I was glad to read this article and see how one experienced Mama has handled that and so much more. Kendra blogs at Preschoolers & Peace. She utilizes many of the principles in Teaching the Trivium as well as ideas from Charlotte Mason. I really love all of her book recommendations and classical ideas. In addition to that, she is homeschooling a large family and all the challenges that go along with such age varieties. So if you are wondering how you can "do it all" during times of life when you have less energy, pregnancy, hospitalization or other issues that try your soul, read When Mama Has Limited Energy for encouragement and ideas to help you get through those tough days. In fact, I regularly read her blog for ideas and encouragement as she is an experienced homeschool mom that I can learn a lot from. I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.

Handicrafts: Decorative Eggs in a Basket

Here is a cute Easter Handicraft for you and your kids. I am thinking that my oldest daughter could do this independently. My 8 year old son could do the paper covered eggs with a little help. My 6 year old daughter could easily make the doily baskets or the glittery eggs. I'm always looking for crafts that won't require a spendy trip to the craft store and this fits the bill. We have an abundance of eggs, I happen to have a collection of fabric and crochet doilies, and I always save scraps of pretty tissue paper and scrapbook papers. So really, I would only need the fabric stiffener to complete this project as everything else is already here from previous crafting moments. Click here for the directions.

A First: Handmade Basket

We purchased a basket making kit at a children's craft fair. It wasn't fancy, it just included a book and lovely rolls of reed waiting to be woven into a basket. Lots was learned with wet reed in hand, ruler sitting on the table just so, trying desperately to get the reed to line up straight and properly. Weaving is the easy part. Measuring, bending, finishing...these all take more time and effort. Wet reed has a habit of inching from side to side and doesn't want to stay put, but she perseveres and the basket comes together. In the end there are some mistakes, but overall the artist is well pleased with her first basket. The reed dries a lovely pale white. I kindly suggest stain, but she just shrugs and says that white is best. And I am reminded that this is her art, not mine. This to me is the hard part of being mom and teacher...letting the children create as they desire. Not trying to make choices for them. Just letting them pick the color, style and art that suits them best. After all, as a child I was able to choose my own art, my own colors, my own projects. This is the part of art that I love, the creative part. So I will learn to be silent and let her enjoy the creativity and the making of art. This is her work and her work is well done and lovely and she is right. White is best for this basket. It is not only lovely but useful and I'm anticipating more baskets in our future.

Nature Study: Digging for Arrow Heads

This summer we found that there was once an Indian campground on a river bed near our house. The folks that own the property allow you to come and dig for a daily fee. We took a field trip there and found several interesting things. Above are some pictures that I snapped with my phone so the quality isn't great. The last photo is my son digging into the dirt with his friend.
First they would dig up a chunk of dirt and then sift it through a sifting screen. Arrowheads and other rocks would be filtered out while the dirt goes through the screen. After a day of digging they were lucky to have found some arrowheads themselves and then to be given some from others who were digging where we were. Those guys dig all the time and had some really nice artifacts to show the kids and tell about them.

Vowel File Folder Booklet

Jumbo Fun with the Alphabet can be purchased from Handsandhearts.com.

For my kindergartener, I'm using Phonics Pathways to teach her reading. I also have a book called the Jumbo Fun with the Alphabet. While the latter sounds pretty hokey, it really is a very nice book and I've gotten a lot of use from it. It has several activities for each letter of the alphabet including snacks and crafts. In the file folder book, I've just taken various pages from those two books and let her paste them in. For cut and paste activities, I attach velcro instead of having her glue them and then she can do that activity over and over. It takes her a few days to complete a folder and she thinks it is the best fun. Also, she gets to reinforce learning those letters without the dull moments of sitting in front of flash cards.

Mrs. P