Rain, Rain and More Rain

How does your garden grow?

Well, our garden is planted for the year. Since we've moved next door to my parents we are having a big combined garden. It's gonna be a lot of work, but the end results will be yummy- I hope! Things we've planted: red potatoes, broccoli, onions, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, bell peppers, zucchini, peas, green beans, and butter beans. I think that's it. The potatoes, corn and broccoli are looking good. Now we just need some rain! I hope to share some pictures of these wonderful growing plants soon! Stay tuned!

My Favorite Time of the Year!!!

Don't you just love Springtime? I so enjoy the warmer weather and longer days. This week I began spring cleaning. I got off to a good start and am excited to see what the rest of the week holds. I'm trying to clean one room at a time so hopefully I'll have lots completed by Friday. My children even got in on the "fun" this morning. After playing for a while, they helped by cleaning window sills, light switches, doorknobs and windows. This afternoon I got outside with the kids and we moved some sticks to a burn pile. I'm so thankful for a wagon or we'd probably still be out there. It won't be too long before we'll plant our garden. I'm looking forward to that. Actually, I'm really looking forward to the harvest. The other stuff is just in anticipation of the harvest. :) How are you spending your days lately?

Blueberry Pickin'

It's blueberry picking time down south! We love blueberries at our house- well, most of us anyway!

A few weeks ago the kids and I went with our homeschool group to pick blueberries. We set off with the bottled water, sunscreen and hats- all ready to conquer the heat. On the way there it started raining. I was disappointed because I really wanted some blueberries. It didn't last long, but there was a bonus to our little shower and sprinkles- it cooled the temperature down and therefore we didn't burn up while out picking- yah!

We had a great time! My 7 year old picked as many as I did. I finally had to tell them to stop because I couldn't get more than a bucket. We enjoyed eating blueberries for a few days and will enjoy them later as I put up a few bags in the freezer.

Kayla and one of her friends found this bird's nest in one of the bushes. She was so excited to find this since we studied about birds this year.

Nature Journals

Well, I've finally gotten these pictures to upload. We made these a few weeks ago as we began our summer nature study. I found these in the school supply section and the kids used scrapbook paper to decorate them. Do you see the nature theme? :) The pages have a blank section at the top and lines at the bottom. It's been so much fun for them to work in so far.

Nature Journals

Well, I've finally taken the time to get a new post on here :) We've been so busy and it seems I just can't get much done. I am not one that enjoys too much busyness, but I think it will slow down soon or at least I hope. I have wanted to begin a nature journal with the kids and decided that summer would be the perfect time to do so. I think it is very beneficial for all children and adults, too, to spend lots of time outdoors. Many people don't do this much anymore due to busyness. It's so refreshing to take a walk outside especially on a nice pleasant day like today. This morning I decided to pull out the kid's swimming pool that had been stashed in the corner of the back porch (yes, I never put it up last year). Anyway, as I pulled it up a toad hopped out from under it. I have seen small toads on the porch before, but never one that large. I called the kids over to observe. I thought this would be a great way to begin our "nature journal". I had them observe him for a few minutes. They were supposed to watch silently, but my children have a hard time doing that :) We decided to try to move him to some water. I convinced my son to scoop him in a shovel and try to move him. But as soon as he tried the toad hopped away. They were so disappointed :( They had fun anyway! I asked them to describe to me what they heard and saw and then my oldest (7) wrote a few sentences about it and drew a picture. My 5 year old wrote a few words and drew a picture. My 3 year old (who has to do everything the big kids do) drew a picture of the toads stripes and circles for his eyes. I think the journals were a big hit because this afternoon they wanted to find more things to add to their journals. That is always a great thing!