On Monday, Lindsey was out of school, so Ken took the day off, and we planned a fun family outing. Since Lindsey is in public school, and since Kathryn's bat mitzvah classes take up nearly every Saturday, the days we can do something together like this are rare, and we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. We drew out the anticipation a … [Read more...]
Weekly Report: Sukkot, Dragonflies, & Math
on October 14, 2011
I was sick (fever, chills, most of the day in bed) on the day Kathryn had her enrichment classes, but thankfully my husband and cousin both helped out to get her to and from classes. Kathryn is a very sweet and empathetic girl when someone isn't feeling well, so she spent that afternoon quietly working on the computer, reading, and reviewing for … [Read more...]
Canoeing the Chestatee (Nature Study!)
on August 23, 2011
One of the moms in our homeschool support group has started a sort of off-shoot group for monthly outdoor adventures that focus on the beauty of God's creation. Yesterday was the group's inaugural trip: canoeing on the Chestatee River in the mountains of north Georgia. That sounded like a whole lot of fun, so we joined in! Extra delightful: my … [Read more...]
Nature Study: Pond Critters
on August 15, 2011
It's still really hot here in Georgia, so our nature studies are a bit shorter than they would be on a pretty fall day, but I'm determined to do them weekly -- or nearly weekly, anyway! Thanks to the August edition of Barb's "Outdoor Hour" newsletter, I decided we'd do a month-long pond-related nature study. For the first week of our study, we … [Read more...]
Our Robins Grew Up
on June 7, 2011
I'm so glad my kids don't grow up as fast as bird babies do. Last Monday (May 30th), we noticed that our baby robins were very nearly as big as their parents and had most of their real feathers. They finally had orange coloring showing up on their breasts, too. Can you see another little head peeking out under the one that's sitting at the edge … [Read more...]
More Robin Nature Study (& Drama!)
on May 26, 2011
For as long as I can remember, I have watched birds, read about birds, and watched documentaries about birds. I made my first bird list when I was twelve as I spent hours poring over a 1982 edition of the Reader's Digest North American Wildlife guide. I still own that book, though it's looking rather rough nowadays. In fact, I still have that first … [Read more...]
Nature Study: Robin Nest & Babies
on May 19, 2011
A few weeks ago, we noticed that a bird was building a nest in our back porch. We guessed at what kind it might be since we hadn't seen the actual birds in process of building. I had guessed some sort of sparrow, but we soon saw that it was a robin pair who had taken up residence. We looked up information on robins in our favorite little … [Read more...]
Releasing Our Butterflies
on May 11, 2011
We kept our butterflies about a week and a half after they emerged from their chrysalises, but we wanted to let them go before their short life span ended. Painted Lady butterflies, like we have, live an average of two to four weeks. The day before we released them, we noticed at least one pair mating. This means we'll likely have descendants of … [Read more...]
A Week of Butterfly Nature Study
on May 6, 2011
This week our main focus was butterflies! Sure, we did math, history readings, vocabulary, and all the other necessary subjects, but mostly, we watched butterflies. Two weeks ago, we had caterpillars. Kathryn was fascinated with them. The rest of us were pretty amazed at how fast they grew! After about a week, they turned into chrysalises, … [Read more...]
Nature Study: Cattails in Winter
on January 27, 2011
Once again we're trying to get back into the habit of nature studies. It's been too long, and Kathryn and I have missed it. I think we've only done one or two with Lindsey, but now that we've made some schedule and homeschooling changes, I'm re-implementing nature study! I rummaged around Barb's blog to find one that would work for us this week, … [Read more...]
