A New Springtime

A New Nature Book

I just love when I find a great item at the thrift store, especially something for homeschool. I had put this book in one of the girl's Easter basket and she is really enjoying it.

This book lends itself to a lot of creative thinking, drawing and writing.

This page asks the child to close their eyes, sit very still and listen for sounds all around them. What do you hear? How does the air smell? What is the temperature like? Now open your eyes, continue to sit very still and notice the movement around you, What do you see?Write about what you discover.

Flower pressing  is the topic here and the questions are, "What flowers did you press?" "Would you do it again?"

"Have you ever thought about the names of animals?", is the question on this page. It goes on to say, " If you could rename them what would you call them or would you leave them as they are?"

The words on the right tell about the stages of a butterfly and leave enough room for them to be drawn. 

Teeny, Tiny Turtle

I got a phone call from my thirteen year old today, "Hi Mom, I just found a baby turtle the size of a quarter on the bike path. I almost ran over it with my bike." He wasn't sure what to do with it so I told him I would meet him at the park not to far from where he was.

When we arrived he handed it to his younger brother who was needless to say thrilled! All we could say was, "How cute!"

It is so tiny and he was exactly right, it was the size of a quarter.

The color of its underside is a redish-orange hence its name the Eastern Red-bellied turtle. He was covered with a lot of dirt but looked and acted quite healthy. His lil' legs were going a mile-a- minute.

Of course all I heard was, "Can we take it home?" I decided it was okay since their dad is an aquatic expert,  who has raised many fish. I knew we had some extra tanks at home and this could be a great educational opportunity.

Dad wasn't home so we hooked "Marley" up with a temporary turtle pod. I love watching kiddos observing nature, they are just so fascinated by life.

He immediately ran off the rock, right into the water and began to swim like a pro. I think it was glad to get into some H20. Most of the dirt came off and its colors and markings began to show through.

We had such an awesome time with this  teeny tiny turtle. We looked up what they eat and about their habitats and we hope to give her ( the yellow stripe down the back is easier seen in females) a nicer, more comfortable home tommorow.

 

Getting Things in Order

I just love the things we learn by doing everyday ordinary work. All of us have been working hard to get our yard back into shape after the past snow storm. Since there were still leaves on the trees, the snow that fell upon them became too heavy for the branches. Many limbs broke off and even whole trees toppled over.

This unfortunate event has turned into a wonderful opportunity for some good healthy yard work and some new things to learn about. We are thinking of getting a wood stove eventually so we are getting a head start on a wood pile. Max was having a great time trying his hand at the axe. Both he and my older son, who is thirteen, were really giving it their all.

We started to put the wood in piles according to its purpose in getting a fire started, this was an good way for the kids to learn about kindle, tinder and fuel wood. I truly enjoy the smell of the wood being cut, it is such a refreshing and relaxing scent. I think I could saw all day. I used our bow saw, it is small enough for me to handle but can cut through small to quite large pieces of wood.

Even the littlest members of the family can get in on the action.

 
There's nothing like an honest day's work.

Busy, Crazy, Wonderful

 Life has been so busy lately and I haven't had time to sit down to post. Soccer seasonis upon us and we ( DH and I ) are trying to keep our heads above water while running kids back and forth to practices and games.  We have five of our kids on five different soccer teams, a college team,  one on j.v., two traveling suburban teams and one rec. league player with the toddler and baby in tow! Last year when the season ended  I needed a soccer detox.

Homeschool has also been in full swing now for five weeks. We are starting tofall back into the routine of the three H's, hygiene, housework and homeschool. I try to get the kids to think of our day in this order and each one has a chart with their daily duties listed on it. We have been using parts of the Simply Charlotte Mason lesson plan for 6th grade this year. In the morning the kiddos have their individual subjects by grade level and after lunch I usually read the living books to them all while they work on copywork or an entry into their nature notebooks.

Fridays the kids take their spelling tests and we do poetry but this year we are also reserving Fridays for field trips. We have gone on three so far with our friends, another wonderful homeschooled family. This post and the next two will be about the places we visited so far. Our first adventure was:

The Great Falls Discovery Center

 
The Discovery Center was a wonderful place in Montague, MA that tells about what habitats one would encounter while traveling down the Connecticut River.

 
The grounds were beautifully landscaped and the weather was a delight. The center was well planned and designed, making a self-guided tour easy to understand and enjoyable.

                                 This sign explained the  different habitats along the watershed: beach, grassland, marshland and woodland.

 
This wonderful lady explained to us what we would discover at the center. She showed us this great relief map of the 400 mile CT River and said it would take an actual six days to paddle down the whole thing but here we would get to experience  a mock trip in about 20 minutes.

 
Here is the first display that gives a timeline of the river.

 

                   Directly across from the first display is an exhibit that teaches  about the the Barrier Beach, it describes the importance of the beach and how it protects the inlands by taking the brunt of storms that come off of the ocean. I had never really given the beachfront any thought from that angle before. 

 
We proceeded on through a few other areas and near the end came to this great scene. The kids did a scavenger hunt that was given to us at the start and they were able to spot many of the animals and  name them as we went along.

                                  A table was set up to educate the kids about River Otters. There was a skull ,a puppet, some pictures,a cast footprint and some questions and answers. It was a fantastic way to engage the kids into learning.

 
On completing our tour we went outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather. There is nothing like some informal soccer playing with friends!

 
While the bigger kids were getting their game on,

 
the younger two were doing this...

 
                       and this!

It's been busy, it's been crazy, but it's been wonderful.

 

 

Irene and Our Tree

We fared quite well in the storm yesterday but we did get a bit of a surprise. I thought the storm was over but the wind started to pick up at about 8 p.m.  I had been joking about what I thought was nothing but I spoke too soon.

 
 At around 10 p.m. we heard a big crack and this is what we saw.  One of the large branches on our beautiful maple tree had split right off.

 

 It landed right on top of the kids tree fort and demolished it. I'm just glad it didn't land on the house or it could have been a disaster.

 
DH is getting his chainsaw all geared up and the kids have been picking up the branches this afternoon.

 
I will not be making silly comments if we have another storm. I keep having to learn the lesson of keeping my big mouth shut.

 

 

 

Even The Sea and the Wind Obey Him

The other day we had several tornado watches in our area, the kids and I were at home and we got a warning call from DH and a caring neighbor. We watched the weather reports on our local tv channel but more importantly we prayed a prayer against storms. We made the sign ofthe cross (t) after each sentence in the prayer below. I was at peace putting all I had in the hands of God. The tornado did not hit our town but there was much devastation a few towns and city east of us, about 15 minutes away. We are praying for all of those affected.

 Later, in the evening, as the sun was setting we had another bout of bad weather.

 

The sunset was beautiful but the clouds looked feirce.

 
DH , I and the kids were watching the clouds and it began to get darker and darker...

 

and even darker.

  

The clouds were swirling around each other looking so unsettled and upset. I was glad when the storm finally passed by.

Prayer Against Storms

Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. +
God became man, + and the Word was made flesh. +
Christ was born of a Virgin.+
Christ suffered.+
Christ was crucified.+
Christ died.+
Christ rose from the dead.+
Christ ascended into Heaven. +
Christ conquers. +
Christ reigns. +
Christ orders. +

May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning.+
Christ went through their midst in Peace, +
and the Word was made flesh. +
Christ is with us with Mary. +
Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the
Generation of Juda, the Root of David, has won. +

Holy God! + Holy Powerful God! + Holy Immortal God! +
Have mercy on us.

Amen.

 

Down My Garden Walk

I love the fragrance of the Lilies of the Valley flowers. The beautiful little bells are so petite and humble no wonder they are also known as 'Mary's Tears'.

 

 
Another white wonder is the Bleeding Heart, these have always been a part of our yard. They dangle on their stalk as a symbol of God's love for us. What a wonderful Creator we have, who reveals himself to us in such awesome ways!

Children and flowers go hand in hand. I like to recall the quote from MotherTeresa, "How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers."

 

 White coral bells
Upon a slender stalk
Lilies of the valley
Down my garden walk

Oh, don’t you wish
That you could
hear them ring.
That will happen only
when the fairies sing.

This was one of my favorite childhood songs and every time I see the lovely blossoms or smell the scent of the lilies it brings back fond memories.

 

Take some time out to smell the flowers!!

 

Overwhelming Beauty

I am just overwhelmed by the beauty of these gorgeous Amaryllis flowers. We have a total of eight blossoms between the two flower stems.

It is such a treat to have these blooming this time of year. Hannah expressesd her delight in the soft red color.

 
I am so glad my children notice the wonders God gives us in nature. These are the types of things that make my heart swell up and feel so truly blessed. We have also been watching the winter birds at our feeders. I haven't gotten any good pictures yet because I've been whimping out when it comes to the cold weather. Maybe this week I will get brave enough but for now I will stay inside and soak up the sight of these grand beauties.

Delight

 Friday morings are always less hectic for us. We take it a bit slower and we do not do our Mon. through Thurs. typical subjects. I usually give them their spelling tests and then we do our Friday poetry.

 
 I have been trying to remember to enjoy the kiddos more after reading this  article
at  the "Large Family Mothering" blog. Sometimes I can get lost in the whole forming the kids as their educator and their spiritual director, I forget to just be mother and delight in them.

 

 God always always allows me to see the fruit of my labor when I take a step or two back and get myself out of the picture. If I am to busy micro-managing everything I can get weighed down in the labor of it all.

 

 I bought this beautiful wax surround for $1 yesterday at GW. It was kind of  a frivilous  purchase but the scenes on it are by one of my favorite artists Marjolein Bastin. She really captures beautiful, simple scenes of nature that have an innocence and delightful quality to them, just like children.

 

  A candle set in the middle gave each scene a warm glow and brought it to life, I allowed myself to get lost in the moment seeing the soft  flickering light and picturing myself in each one of them. 

 

 The kids and I  ageed that  this was our favorite scene because we have a fondness for chickadees from watching them on our winter bird feeders.

 
   Taking time out and delighting in the things that surround me can be difficult in a fast-paced world full of expectations. I need to focus on simplicity and letting God fill me with His wonderful mysteries of His creations in my children and in nature. I hope you have a quiet moment to be still and get some time to delight in Him!

Fourth of July, Fruits of Our Land

Yesterday, we celebrated the Fourth by enjoying the fruits of our land. We are blessed to have a wonderful garden. DH does all of the vegetable planting and I do most of the weeding. I have planted some flowers and herbs, too.

 
I haven't been much help in the past with the garden because most of the time I have been growing a baby during the summer.

 DH always says, " The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few."(lol)

This year we have an abundant harvest of shell peas.

 
I had a great time opening up each pod and finding such awesome green peas.

The Red Leaf Lettuce was just waiting to be made into a delicious salad.

 
The tomatoes have a bit longer before they are fully ripened.

It was such a nice day, being able to pick some of the bounty and poke around in the garden. We were even visited by this beautiful  sparkly green dragonfly.

It was a day of remembering how much we have been blessed to live in such a  prosperous and fruitful country.  God has shed his grace on thee.

Our table was set with fresh produce and we even had a loaf of fresh baked bread and some herbal butter my dear friend  made for us.

DH barbecued ribs and we worked on a white bean dish together. It was seasoned with our garden chives and had chunks of our friend's fresh lamb meat in it.

I can't tell you enough how thrilled I was to be able to celebrate this great country's birthday by giving thanks to God for allowing us to produce such gifts from its land!