a number of things

a recent spring field trip

We finally got around to checking out the new Palmetto Island State Park a few weeks ago (It just opened up not far from us last fall.) when our local homeschool group arranged for a guided tour.

We have been a second time now and are truly awed by the Louisiana flavored beauty these acres have to offer. The hiking trails are wonderful and there is tons of wildlife to be seen (and heard).

The fellows you see above were relaxing on the banks of two of the ponds and showed no interested in our noisy group, even though there was nothing (seriously, nothing) but about 20 - 25 yards between us and them. I'll admit this was a just bit unnerving at first sight, but the kids were absolutely thrilled! I would also really like to try to make one of their guided night hikes (I wonder if the alligators are asleep then?) to see the owls. The next trip we plan to bring the canoe try out the canoe trails (and sample the fishing too)!

Have a terrific spring week!

 

break taking

(Rosie's new doll from this pattern.)

I'll be taking a break from blogging for a bit as we plug through the beginning of this second half of the school year. That coupled with the traditional (for me anyway) January organizing and cleaning thing, trying to plan the spring garden (and early seed starting!), and working on a few sewing projects (things for the little girls mostly) has left me with little extra computer time. I had resolved (among other things) to spend less time in front of this screen this year, and uploading the new things to the Gardens of Grace site seems to be using up my self allotted time each day for now. (No doubt I'll be popping in here and there with a photo or two, however. :))

Have a wonderful day!

 

(not quite) wordless Wednesday :: mixed opinions

:)

 

wordless wednesday :: field trip

(more pics here)

 

a little nature study

This week's holiday (Mardi Gras down here in south Louisiana) along with some rare sunny days, inspired me to do a little of sewing and create something that had been bumping around in my head for quite some time. A small "wallet" of sorts to generate a bit of excitement for the coming of spring and all things outdoors. (Spring is coming...right?)

The Nature Explorer's Wallets were immediately put into action in what dry areas the kids could find. The mini leaf & flower press was an especially big hit with its 90lb watercolor paper pages along with the tiny "nature notes" book. The whole little kit was so much fun to do and received with such enthusiasm, that I made up a few extras as well as a pattern for the Etsy shop. I hope you enjoy them as much as we are!

 

where do the weeks go?

Time seems to be flying. It's February already and the days are full even though the weather is bleak. Homeschooling is rocking right along regardless of the fact I have not posted a thing (in what seems like forever) over on the schoolhouse blog.The above picture is from earlier this week when we dove into a few barn owl pellets. Great learning fun!

Among the many projects that I am currently juggling, I am switching my Tiny Shop from the blog over to Etsy. There are several reasons for this change, not the least of which is that I really would like to add more things to the shop such as prints and pdf patterns. All in good time, however. All in good time. :)

Have a fabulous February day!

   

life happens

Sorry it has been so quiet here lately, but ever since school started back up I seem to be having a hard time getting my blogging act together. Part of the reason is that I started up a learning notes blog for Chip and I to record our schoolhouse doings. I am a terrible record keeper. Truly. I am hoping that this little spot will help me to collect my thoughts better at the end of the day (or week, as it sometimes happens) and give us a better picture of what is going on with the kids' learning. It is definitely a more personal and quite rough around the edges blog, but it is a peek into our days. I am planning to get the kids involved more with posts of their own etc, but we are just starting out right now.

Also, I have been playing more with Flickr lately. You can find a bit more of us there too, if you are so inclined.

Have a fabulous weekend!

   

wordless Wednesday :: my survival kit

  

watercolor journaling

 

If you are looking for a fun answer to the ongoing "Mom, what can I paint?" question, I would like to suggest watercolor journaling. 

    

Such a simple concept, but one so filled with continuous inspiration.

 

We even ordered the DVD, because frankly, I need all the help I can get.  The kids love it and have no problem following the clear instructions and fun demonstrations.

Happy summer painting!

    

summer painting

 

It's no secret we dig watercolors around here. To such an extent, I was getting a bit tired of setting up all the necessary paraphernalia each and every time a watercoloring whim struck someone.  Then one day, while reading this inspiring post over at Bonny Glen, I had an idea.  

  

Rose's Kit

Why not take Lissa's idea of having watercolors at the ready, and combine it with the notion of a nice, compact watercolor travel kit. Now I am very aware that this is not a new idea and is done by many.  But ours are not really "travel kits", so to speak (though of course they are perfect for painting on the go also!), but more like every day individual kits to foster more artistic independence around the house.

 

Collin's Kit

These little kits have really made watercoloring something all the kids can do on their own with minimal mess and clean up.  Even the four year old takes out her own little set, mists her colors to wet them and begins painting either with a small container of water or or a waterbrush.

 

Anna's Mini-Kit (Because she loves all things mini. :))

Speaking of waterbrushes, I originally bought a couple for myself, but as it turned out they are fantastic at keeping the water-mess to a minimum for the 4 and 7 year olds.  Also, after our initial sets of cheap dollar store paints were used up (in no time flat), I followed the suggestion of Lori from Camp Creek and upgraded to Prang sets for the younger kids.  These are great (and for less than $4 a set!) and even come with a white segmented lid so that they can mix colors just like mom.

  

Anna's Full Kit

All of each kid's supplies (except their watercolor journals) fit neatly into a 97 cent zippered pencil case for easy storage at home and a quick grab for travel. So easy and organized!

File this under 'why on Earth did I not think of this before'. :)

  

geocaching

We started geocaching as a family a little over 3 years ago, along with letterboxing.  We all love the thrill of a real life treasure hunt!

Geocaching brought us to places in our general area that we would probably never have visited if it were not for the hidden cache.  I also just love the way so many of the caches have a mini history or geography lesson tied in with them.

But, with another baby in the family once again (and a baby who is not fond of her car seat, at that), the trusty GPS was gathering more than a bit of dust. 

Then a few weeks ago, my dad began to take an interest in geocaching and started bringing Noah (and then Anna) along with him. This is the perfect arrangement for right now; the big kids get to go and I don't have to get the little ones out into those sometimes hard-to-get-to places. :-) This is going to fit in perfectly with our Summer Unschooling.

(The above photos are from the kids' & grampaw's most recent excursion... their first multi-cache!)

    

a Thursday

Sometimes I look around at all the kids playing with toys, sculpting with sculpy, fighting with siblings, etc, and I truly wonder if anything is getting learned around here.  So today, I decided to make a little list of what everyone did (schoolish stuff, that is) and see what I came up with.  I knew this was going to be a rather light day for us (because of all the other things we have going on), but I was pleasantly surprised to see what all had happened.

James (14):  The Handy Geology Answer Book, Ocean (DK Guide), Editor in Chief, America's Horrible Histories - Are We There Yet? and Awesome Ancient Ancestors, Math U See

Amelia (11):  Language of God (CHC), Read Nitty-Gritty Grammar & More Nitty-Gritty Grammar, Can You Count to a Google?, Smart About the Presidents, Working on a knitting project, Math U See

Isaac (9):  Copy work, Language of God (CHC), Designing his own imaginary video game, Smart About the Presidents, Math U See

Joseph (7):  Read aloud to me, CHC Spelling, Math U See 

Marie (4):  Playing with beeswax, Writing letters on chalk board

Lilly (7 weeks):  Napping, Nursing, Burping, Smiling 

This was a good thing for me, as I had gotten away from jotting down all of the occasions for learning that happen in our days. The kids have schedules that they look to each day to see what needs to be done and when (Boring stuff like text books and work books. Horrors!), but when those fall apart (Like today and many days since Lilly's birth.) I just assume that not much is getting done or learned. 

But today, after several conversations that included (but were not limited to) the weird diets of early humans, proper comma usage in comics, the difference between Mars and maars (geologically speaking), and the fact that First Lady Ida McKinley (wife of William McKinley - president from 1897 to 1901) hated the color yellow so much that she had the yellow roses around the White House dug up, I now realize how wrong I was.  :-)