Dudley Farm Historic State Park

The Pattersons left on Saturday--we had a wonderful week! Our yard is really cleaned out and we are so thankful! That was a huge job and we were happy for the help and they were happy for the sunshine. We traveled a little ways north with them and stopped for an hour at a state park to enjoy a little more time together. This was an old farm that you can tour, complete with a garden and animals. The big hit though was the laundry station. They had some barrels set up and an old washing station and clotheslines. The girls did laundry for at least 30 or 45 minutes. They just had some pieces of cloth in the water that they could "wash." If you are ever in the Gainesville area I highly recommend a stop here. The wisteria "tree" was amazing.
The turkeys were very interesting and we watched them for a while. Grace made the comment that the hens might be kind of cute if their heads didn't look like they'd been run over. :0) She has a way with words.

Joe had a miniscule splinter on the bottom of his foot and then he tripped and skinned his knee so needless to say he wasn't terribly happy and spent most of his time on somebody's shoulders because he couldn't walk. In this picture above he is telling all about his boo boo on his poor pumpkin knee...

Getting Ready for the Fair

We have to turn our entries in to the fair tomorrow afternoon so even though we've known we were going to enter some things in the fair for at least a year we are madly trying to finish projects and get them ready to be entered. Nothing like procrastination. I was going to take pictures of everything we are entering but I am just too lazy, and I will be taking pictures of them on display at the fair so you'll see them then. I'll tell you what we are entering though. Hannah is entering 3 pastel pictures--an ant, a field of flowers, and a mermaid. She is also entering a beaded necklace she made, one of her purses, a watercolor picture she did today, 5 baby dolls, and a collection of doll clothes--I don't really get that one, it says you can enter a "collection of doll clothes," it doesn't say that you have to have made them or anything like that. I think she may also enter a shell collection. Under the collections category they have an "other" option and Hannah wanted to enter her signatures collection. She has well over a hundred now but I didn't think that would be a good idea. It doesn't seem good to have people's signatures on display at the county fair. She also may bake something tomorrow depending on how our day goes. Grace is entering her quilt, her pastel picture of an ant, a watercolor picture, her fingerknitted scarf, a shell collection, maybe a beaded necklace, and I think that is it. I'll have to split up the dolls between the two of them because they both worked on that.
Grace and I finally finished her quilt t0night. I let her do the rest of the sewing and put the binding on. I helped with pinning. I think it is wonderful. There is no doubt that a almost-seven year old made it but she did do a really great job. She hand sewed the middle with all the squares and then machine did the rest of it. Here's a picture--

Yard Update

Every one of those black dots is a jaboticaba fruit! We tried to pick them all tonight and have three big bowls overflowing. These fruits are really good but not easy to eat. You have to puncture it with your teeth and squeeze the fruit into your mouth, not eating the skin and then spit out the seeds. You get maybe a 1/4 tsp. of fruit in each jaboticaba. It's a fun tree to have though and obviously quite the producer! This is our biggest crop ever. The tree usually has to grow for about 10 years before it will produce any fruit.

I discovered another flower yesterday. I think this flower is so unique and beautiful. It is a rose apple flower. This fruit tastes just like what a rose smells like. We had one huge crop about 7 years ago and then the tree was damaged and is just now flowering again. I hope we get some fruit this year.

Here's our new shed!

Birthday Dinner at Disney's Boma

Grace and Grandma have birthdays just a few days apart so we always celebrate when the Pattersons are here. This year we did something different and went to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at the Boma. This place is sooooo good. It is a buffet with lots of different African foods. 64 different ones to be exact. I took a break from counting points and fully enjoyed myself. The coconut rice and the carrot ginger soup were my favorites. Hannah ate almost as much as me and loved trying everything. She is a very adventurous eater. Grace and Joe were happy to see that they had mac'n cheese and french fries. Before and after dinner we took some time to enjoy the Lodge. You can see all sorts of animals--giraffes, zebras, flamingos just to name a few. It was a fun night.

Welcome to Wiheehee

The girls have been spending a lot of time outside since Grandma and Grandpa have been here and they've created a little oasis for themselves. They call this Wiheehee and have eaten lunch out there the past two days.

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Old shed

Spot for new shed--new concrete too.

This was covered in weeds and vines and Ollie's mom pulled it all out and hauled it to the front--wow!

All the yard trash from our cleaning out of the yard--pretty crazy!

Ollie's parents are here visiting and have been spending lots of time in the yard. They live in Chicago and when they left it was snowing and it looks like they will be going home to more snow. They come here every year for Spring Break and love to spend time outside soaking up the sun. They always find some project to help with in the yard and believe me there is always a project! Ollie's dad is building us a new shed and his mom has helped to finish clearing out the weeds and vines that I've been working on. We are very thankful to them! Here are some pictures from our last few days in the yard. Thank you to Craig for helping tear down the existing shed.

By Popular Demand--Pictures of Ladybug Larvae

This is the ladybug larvae before it goes into the chrysalis stage. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

These are the leftover cases--not sure what the technical word for it is. They curl up and make a type of chrysalis and the ladybug comes out of that.

At the top of this picture you can see a brand new fresh ladybug, it was so bright and shiny. If anyone wants to come and do a field trip to the ladybug bush in the next couple of days?

A Fun and Easy Science Experiment

We did an interesting Science experiment today to test for acidity.  It was out of the Usborne book, Science in the Kitchen.  My Father's World uses the Usborne Science books and they are really great and easy to use.  You almost always have the supplies already because they are common items that you naturally have 
around the house.  Anyway,  today we did a neat test for acidity.  First you tear some red
cabbage into small pieces (not necessarily something you always have around the house)
and pour boiling water over it.  Then you let it cool for half an hour.  Pour it through a
sieve so that you get just the juice and discard the cabbage.  Then divide your juice into
several glass containers.  Now you are ready to test for acidity.  You pour a little bit of
whatever you are testing and if it's acidic the juice will turn pink.  If it's not acidic it will
either turn green or not change at all.  We tested vinegar, salt, milk, yogurt, lemon juice,
and sugar.  It was very interesting and fun!

Joe Funnies

Joe has been saying some cute things lately so I thought I'd share.  This afternoon when we got home after being at theatre for a couple of hours he said--"hey mom, give me a high five for holding my pee the whole time."  

He got a little introspective this weekend about his tendency toward bad behavior when he is with me--I took him to a movie Friday night and on the way he was saying that I never take him anywhere.  Of course that is so not true but there are plenty of times when he has to stay home and doesn't like it at all.  After saying that I don't take him anywhere he gave his own reason why--he said it is because he is the rudest.  Couldn't argue much with that but did get to have a good talk about it.  

Then--on Saturday I was taking him and Hannah to an Easter party and giving them the lecture about being good, etc. and Joe says,"mom, I'm always good with other people it's just with you that I can't control myself."  

Once again a walk turns into nature study

The girls and I walked to pick up Joe today and as we passed this one bush I saw a ladybug on it.  Hannah wanted to "have" it so we started looking for one for Grace.  We finally did find another one but we also found tons of ladybug larvae.  I would never have recognized it as ladybug larvae if we hadn't raised ladybugs around this time last year.  For her birthday Grace got a ladybug house and a coupon for some ladybug larvae.  It was fascinating to watch them change into ladybugs.  The larvae are about 3 times as long as a ladybug and are red and black.  When they are ready they kind of curl up and form a shell that eventually a ladybug comes out of.  On this bush today we saw ladybug larvae as well as the chrysalis/shell thingy.  It will be fun to check this bush a few times a week and see how our ladybugs are doing.  You know I will be marking this down in our plans as nature study for the week.  :0)

Kids and TV

My children have watched sooooo much tv this week.  Mostly because Grace is sick and we let them watch tv when they aren't feeling very good.  Of course, if one child watches so does everybody else.   So, they have watched tv almost everyday since Wednesday.  So now, they do not know what to do with themselves.  When the tv goes off no one can seem to get into anything.  They just sit around wrestling with each other or wandering aimlessly.  It's like they forget how to play when they haven't had much playtime.  With that said, I think I am going to try to keep the tv off for the next few weeks at least during the day.  Of course we cannot miss American Idol!  We'll see how it goes.  I may have to make concessions for Joe and Star Wars.  Watching Star Wars is not so much of a sedentary thing for Joe.  He gets his light saber and sometimes his "guys" and acts out the story.  It's pretty cute.  

Egg Hunts and Egg Dyeing

I know that Easter is not about egg hunts and dyeing eggs and bunnies but it is hard to not do some of that.  So, we have done our "egg" stuff today and the kids have had fun.  We've also read the Easter Story and talked about the significance of Easter.  I was reading on another blog about this one family's Easter traditions.  They did some interesting things that I might try to incorporate next year.  Especially as my kids get older I'd like to really focus on the REAL reason that we celebrate.  We do the Resurrection eggs, read the story from the Bible but that's about it.  Any ideas from any of you out there?  I'd love to hear some things other families do.  I've heard of those cookies where each ingredient has a meaning and then you put the cookies in the oven overnight and the next morning they are hollow.  We've never tried it though.  We did do something a few years ago that was just too corny--You use crescent rolls, sugar, melted butter, and big marshmallows.  You take a big marshmallow and roll it in the melted butter, dip in sugar, and roll it up in the crescent roll and then bake it.  When it is done, the marshmallow has "disappeared" and you have a hollow, sweet roll.  It was fun to do and quite tasty but what was corny was that the marshmallow was supposed to represent Jesus and the butter and sugar were the anointing oils and spices.  That's just not right to liken Jesus to a marshmallow.   
Happy Resurrection Day to everyone!  Please take a minute to tell me what your family does to focus on the "reason for the season."

A New Sewing Space

Hannah and I worked on her room yesterday and got it organized and even set up a sewing space.  I had a nice little set up in the living room but it was only temporary.  This space will be just perfect if anyone gets the desire to sew.  The other night I was helping Grace work on her quilt and Hannah made a bean bag pillow for her Webkins.  She can finally use the machine all on her own.  I hope she will start experimenting and making more stuff.  She has some ideas for Webkins clothes.  Could be interesting...  :0)

You Know You Are a Homeschooler When...

Anytime your errands take you past the library (almost daily) you make a quick stop to go in and pick up any books on hold.  We are well known in the library and sometimes when we walk in there is a look of relief on the face of the clerk because our books have taken up most of the shelf and they are happy to have their space back.  

A walk down the street becomes nature study.  If anyone takes notice of anything it goes down in the lesson plans as nature study.  Helping in the kitchen becomes home ec and is duly noted in the lesson plans.  Bandaging a cut becomes a lesson in first aid.  Need I go on???

If you are a homeschooler, you've been tagged, it's your turn.  Complete the phrase, "You know you are a homeschooler when..."

Awesome Church Service

I finally made it to a Thursday night service.  I knew all day that I wanted to be there and even when my evening got hectic I wasn't deterred.  Let me just say that I was blessed.  We had a special service tonight as we head into Easter weekend.  Pastor Doug taught as though we were all disciples and we were going over what had just happened (the night Jesus was betrayed and then crucified).  It really made me imagine what it must have been like to be there and be with Jesus during this time.  I don't want Easter to be just another day with an egg hunt thrown in.  I want to really understand, remember, and reflect on what an awesome sacrifice Jesus made for me.  Pastor Doug likes to remind us that the Bible says that Jesus endured the cross for the "joy that was set before him."  That joy was me and you and the world.   That's hard for me to accept--I feel so unworthy--but there's no arguing with the Word of God.

Resurrection Eggs

I mentioned these in my "to do" list earlier this week.  This is such a great hands-on, teaching tool for teaching the Easter story.  We've done them for the past couple of years and this year Grace used them to tell the whole story herself before I did it with her.  I actually haven't done my "official" Resurrection egg lesson with the kids.  Maybe tomorrow.  Anyway, you hide the eggs, let the kids find them and then go through them in order.  Each egg contains something that represents part of the story.  There is a donkey, coins, a cup, praying hands, a whip, nails, a crown of thorns, a spear, dice, a piece of linen, a stone, and the last egg is empty to represent the empty tomb.  

Home Ec for Homeschoolers

I've completely neglected my Home Ec for Homeschoolers curriculum.  The original plan was to complete the whole thing last summer.  Well, we started on the final section today.  It's on organization.  Hannah had to organize a drawer.  Next it will be her closet (she doesn't actually have a closet but does have a mini loft bed and underneath it is kind of her closet so that's what she will be organizing).  Then a bookshelf.   We got the drawer done today.  Boy did it ever need it!

Tonight

First, I have to say that I totally disagree with Amanda being voted off American Idol.  It should have been Kristy Lee Cook.  Just my opinion.  Joe was happy, he hasn't liked the "rock 'n roll nurse" since the beginning.

Also, a funny from Grace.  As I was putting her to bed she commented that she really felt bad.  Then she said, "I guess this is my Grand Finale since I'll probably feel better tomorrow."  Nothing like a good laugh before bed.

Thwarted Plans

I was just commenting a week ago about how seldom my kids get sick and how thankful I was. Two days later Joe had croup and today Grace woke up with a fever. It's gone steadily higher all day and last I checked it was 102. So--there goes school with her for today at least and likely a few days. I did have her watch Between the Lions--does that count as a reading lesson??? She and Joe are watching the two Easter videos so I can mark that off my list. And--I got a ton of school done with Hannah while Grace napped and watched tv. So, I'm making some progress on the list. Our first homeschool skating day is today and Grace and Joe are really disappointed. Hannah caught a ride with someone so she's not missing out but I feel bad for the other two. Pray for Grace to be feeling better soon.

Nature Study--Flowers

In the Green Hour Challenge that I am a part of, we've been encouraged to choose a focus for our nature study. We have chosen flowers. I was initially going to do wildflowers but have now decided to learn about flowers in general. I realized that we have so many flowers growing right in our own backyard--most of them not wildflowers--that we should learn about and be able to identify. So, today we did a walk through of our yard looking for flowers. We found about 20 different flowers blooming. I will not be boring you with pictures of all of them but I will include some of the prettier or more interesting ones. It was neat to see all that was blooming and to be able to identify all but about 3 of them. We have to get out there with our field guide to identify those. So, here's what we found. Here's our list of what we found:

• Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow


• Antique Roses


• Calla Lily


• Azaleas


• Blue Violets


• Wandering Jew


• Jaboticaba


• Amaryllis


• Avocado


• Squash


• Wisteria


• Macadamia


• Lantana


• Blackberry


• Orange


• Carissa


• Pentas
  
  

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

An Antique Rose (can't remember the specific name)

A weed that we haven't identified yet.

A Blue Violet

Jaboticaba flowers--they are the fuzzy, blurry looking things in the picture. The green balls are the fruit.

A surprise--Wisteria!

Macadamia nut tree flowers! Maybe we will get more than two nuts this year. These flowers are all over it.

Open for Business

Some little girls in our homeschool group have started a business selling "Call-Me-Cards."  If you click on that link you can see their website.  Their little business has inspired quite a few other little girls to also start businesses.  Hannah and her friend Christina have a business selling homemade things.  Among the things on their list are beaded necklaces, beaded bracelets, finger knitted scarves, purses, still lifes, etc.  Hannah got an order for 2 purses right away and so we set to work on that this morning.  I figured out a pretty easy method of making a purse/bag that Hannah can do almost completely on her own.  I help with with pinning (yes, I'm pinning, Michelle :0)) and cutting out fabric.  The rest is all her.  We made 4 purses and she had already made 1 so we headed to the park today with 5 purses.  She sold the two that had been ordered and one more.   She and Christina are pretty excited and are already planning what they will be with their money after they have saved enough.  One thing they will be buying are business cards from T and T.  I asked Hannah today what Christina was going to contribute to the business as we spent two hours making purses.  I guess Christina's job is the beaded items so they've worked that out.  The other businesses are Pastel pictures and Tot Watch--a babysitting service.  I also heard talk of one of them selling pillowcases as well.  Thankfully, these little entrepreneurs are cheap.  A purse is $2, a pillowcase is $ .50 if you provide your own fabric, babysitting is free.  Anybody want to buy a purse?

So Far, So Good

Well, it's only been two days (and one of them not over yet) but I'm doing okay this week.  I've only had one stress meltdown and that was over getting cupcakes iced when I was already running late.  I really should have done them earlier or the night before.  Lesson learned.  

I haven't gotten nearly the amount of schoolwork done that I want/need to do this week but I've made a list and have given myself until Sunday to complete it.  We have a very quiet weekend so why not catch up on school.  Do you want to see the list???  Of course you do--

With Hannah--
Math everyday
Spelling Lesson 17
Learning Language Arts Through Literature Lesson 23
Master the location of 10 states (started last week)
My Father's World Week 23
Read ALL book basket books

With Grace--
My Father's World everyday
Math everyday
Catch up on Science that we skipped :0)
Finish quilt for the fair

With both girls--
Bible time everyday
Cloud art study from Hearts and Trees
Nature Study--begin our focus of wildflowers/ plan lapbook

With all three kids--
dye eggs
read the Easter story from various books and Children's Bibles
Go through Resurrection eggs (blog post about these later)
Watch Veggie Tales Easter Carol

It really looks like much more than it is.  It's totally doable and now that I've posted it for all to see I will be more motivated to complete it all.  I really posted the list more for myself, I know this is not interesting blog reading.  My main goal is to not get stressed out.  No matter what.  If something doesn't get done that's okay.  But won't it be great if it does!  I just had a thought here--I need to pray over this list and be open to God changing my list.  This may not be His list for me this week.  So, that's what I will do.  I will be asking God to help me prioritize, not stress, and be flexible.  I'll ask for a little extra energy too!

Recognize These Characters?

Hannah and Grace were pretending to be Sharpei and Ryan from High School Musical last night.  I got hilarious video of them singing and dancing to HSM songs.  I even got permission from them to put them on my blog.  I just have to get the video uploaded.  Stay tuned...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

We started our morning with green pancakes, kiwi, and green milk.  I think that is about all we will be doing to celebrate.  No green food for dinner planned.  I may do a fruit salad thing that was in my Family Fun magazine.  You layer fruits in rainbow colors and top it with a whip cream cloud.  We'll see.  It will mean a trip to Publix and I'm not sure I'm up for that.  Joe had a big party at school today and then their walk through downtown.  All the kids were dressed in green and had those temporary tatoos on their faces and hands.  They were pretty cute.  They had a great time traipsing through downtown.  We met lots of people and greeted them with "top o' the mornin' to ya."  We even walked through the bank and greeted all the tellers.