Our Week: Chicks and Flowers!

We’re still doing all the usual things: math, history readings, map work, Bible study, copywork, and so on, but we’re trying to add in a bit more art and at least a little nature study.

This week, we did the “three little chicks” pastel, inspired by Nana at the Hodgepodge.
Pastels Art

The resulting art: mine, with a confused chick going the wrong way, is at left;  Kathryn’s is at right. I like hers much better because it looks like a cute Easter card, but she insisted I share mine, too. She really did a beautiful job with the blending this time! And she blogged about it, too!
Little Chicks Pastel

This week’s informal nature study was mostly about the irises in our yard. Last year, we planted several different colors from Ken’s grandma’s flower garden, but lost track of which ones we planted where. When we saw buds emerge, we eagerly watched to see what color they would be. These are much, much taller than the purple irises we’ve had for years. We spent some time outside examining the insides of the flowers, and although these new ones look entirely white, they are pale lavender on the inside. We studied how perfectly they are formed to make sure the pollen gets on the bees that visit. And now we’re eagerly watching two different iris buds to see what color they will be when they open in the next few days.

I really want to try to do a watercolor or maybe a pastel of one of these pretty flowers!

White Bearded Iris

Lacy the WonderDog was due for a check-up, and Kathryn was eager to go on this little trip to the vet. We didn’t get a tour or learn all that much new about dogs, so it wouldn’t count as a field trip, but it’s definitely a little bit of life skills — not the least of which was realizing how much it costs to take a dog to the vet! Despite having blood drawn and getting vaccinations, Lacy enjoys vet visits because everyone at the office fawns over her and tells her what a good and pretty girl she is. 😉

In Kathryn’s loom knitting class, they are doing a service project making panels for baby blankets. I think the plan is to finish these in class and then donate them. The yarn she’s using is wonderfully soft. She’s also working on a new purple and white hat.
Blanket Knitting

Next week = Spring Break! We’ll be doing a few catch-up things, eating some frozen yogurt, relaxing, and I’ll be working on earning a few extra Fun Mama points. Meanwhile, Ken and Lindsey will be on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic! Ken is one of the group leaders, and this is the annual spring break mission trip for the high school students at our church.

If you missed our television interview, we hope you’ll check that out when you have time!

** I’m linking up at Kris’ Weekly Wrap-Up and Sue’s A Homeschool Mother’s Journal!