Cactus garden

Thing One is very interested in cacti. Or perhaps it's more precise to say he is attracted to them. He likes their interesting shapes and colors. Each time we have been to the home improvement store or nursery this spring, he has bought himself a cactus or two. With his own money. That is how much he likes them.

We talked about planting them all together in a cactus garden. At a recent yard sale, I found a perfect container. It's a copper top from an old birdbath. It has handles on it which make it easy to move around.

So recently Thing One and I spent an hour putting together the garden. It's very simple. We bought special cactus potting soil, and stuck them in there. Eventually we will get some pebbles to put around the top. I sprung for a few small succulents to add to the garden.

Thing One is hopeful that his garden will win a ribbon in our county fair in September.

Moles and Voles

We discovered a vole in our front yard, eating leavings from our bird feeder. The things were curious about it (as was I) so we decided to do a mini unit on voles and moles.

There are a surprising number of stories featuring moles. Here are the list of resources I used for our unit.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Mole Music by David McPhail
Mouse and Mole series by Wong Herbert Yee
Tick-Tock, Drip-Drop by Nicola Moon
The Little Gentleman by Philippa Pearce
Seasons of the Moon: Winter Moon by Jean Craighead George
Why Mole Shouted and Other Stories by Lore Segal
What a Treasure by Jane and Will Hillenbrand
Rose and Riley series by Jane Cutler
The Moles and the Mireuk: A Korean Folktale by Holly H. Kwon
Moon Rope/Un lazo a la luna by Lois Ehlert
Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett
Wilfred to the Rescue by Alan MacDonald
The Diggers by Margaret Wise Brown

We learned about the similaries and differences between moles and voles, and learned about Silent E.

Gymnastics Class

I was too excited to recently find a gymnastics class for homeschoolers offered by my county. Classes for both age groups meet at the same time and place!

The things have really taken to it. The teachers are strict but encouraging (perfect, in my book).

The younger age group mostly does obstacle courses involving somersaults, handstands against a wall, jumping and balancing.

The older class is working on series of movements, like running, jumping from a springboard onto a tall block, landing in a squat, and doing a forward roll down an incline.

Thing Two is excited to learn how to do a handstand (with help), and has been inspired to try to learn to do cartwheels at home.

I get to chat with and network with homeschool moms while they are in class (or read or sew), and I even did a cartwheel one day to help him. Gym class is good for all of us!

Under the Sea

Look what I came downstairs to find!

Curriculum Fair!

I went to my first real curriculum fair today. It was about an hour and ten minute drive away. My friend and I went together which made it more fun, like a mom's day out. I spent some time beforehand going through the vendor's list, marking ones I wanted to be sure and see. It didn't help much, since I ended up walking through almost every stall anyway. I got some great bargains, especially on used books, slightly damaged books, buying complete sets and haggling. Well worth the time!

Scheduling our Time

My husband recently took on a fellowship on Capitol Hill, and he is getting home two hours later each evening. I was starting to feel like I was drowning in housework, behind in schoolwork and frustrated with the bickering between my kids and me at the end of every day. So I ordered Managers of Their Homes scheduling system and have been working through it over the past week.

I have read through the book, and I have made my first trial run schedule.

We have been following the morning part of it for three days and I already feel like I'm accomplishing a ton. I'm caught up on dishes and laundry, I've been able to get school done each day and work on some household organizational tasks.

I like the very visual system. I like that I can spend two weeks adjusting here and there as I see what's working and what's not. Updates soon!

Goodbye chickies!

We returned our chickens to their farm home on Sunday. In one week they had developed tiny wing and tail feathers. Some had even started growing feathers on their feet.

I will miss their cuteness but not their smell!