Bugs

They grow REALLY BIG down here.  What is this???

Morning Find

An overnight few and heavy morning fog left this surprise on a bush in our yard today.

Crysalids

Our caterpillars wove their cocoons and we are now awaiting their "delivery"!! Yay!!
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Coming Soon: New Friends

Our caterpillars came..complete with food in their temporary habitat.  As promised, they headed to the top of the cup to hang upside down.  It was pretty cool watching them.  The little balls around are their waste!  I was shocked at how much they put out and the fact that they don't require water.

Nature Study From Around Our Home

As I mentioned before, our homeschooling methods are very eclectic.  Some here take well to workbooks and textbooks, others are very hands-on and we somehow mesh the different styles to find a stride that works for us. 

This is an example of a nature study activity...and a day when I got the True Homeschooling Mom award.  So, we were observing the prepared slides that came with a microscope set.  I was the donor of a drop of blood for another slide, and we tried a few other things.  Then, I sent the kiddos out on a hunt to find something they thought would be interesting to view under the microscope.  We got earthworms (who wiggled and squirmed) , dust, and various other items .  But I won the award by allowing my children to swat a fly and take the corpse as their specimen.  By hand.  Yes I did!!  And they loved it.  Above, you see the wing. Our nature lover looked for the fly's suction cup feet, 600 eyes, and all else that he could recall. 

Some days, their assignments involve a nature journal entry, but I didn't want to kill the joy they got out of this by asking them to document it....they were just enjoying the discovery of it all.  That, in my opinion, is where the learning takes place.

Spring Picnic

We are just loving the weather this time of year.  Yes, there are some cool mornings and a few cool days, but we just love it.  The best part is that there is no humidity.  I know my family is sooo jealous, but they really oughtta come and visit.  It's a whole new world!  We had a picnic outside the other day under our Cherry Blossom tree.  It was just beautiful!

My new tulips were in bloom that day

Tulips are my absolute favorite!!!!  I have red, yellow, purple, multi and a pink one.  They are the first ones that we've put down at this house and we've been here for three years already.

Okay, well, on to the picnic on that beautiful day last week...... doesn't this just look like bliss?

Little Jenna even insisted on reading a few of her own stories to us.  We did love her version of Dr. Seuss, I might add!!

 Dylan especially loves reading to Jenna.  He gets her undivided attention for a few brief moments and that's all it takes for him to feel like the hero to her!  He loves her soo much, but he definitely has to work for her affections :) 

I am just so thankful for the beautiful weather we have been having.  I was feeling like the winter was exceedingly harsh for this southern girl and am soo glad to get some relief!  I also know that the heat of summer is around the corner and we are trying to enjoy everything we can about the outdoors while it's enjoy-able.