Music Monday

As a parent, I'm always on the hunt for kid's music that doesn't make me want to puncture my eardrums with a q-tip. Sometimes it's hard to find that balance of appropriate content and musical satisfaction, especially these days. I like a lot of acoustic guitar, quirky lyrics and a melody that's easy to to hum (my brother calls it "folky girly music"). I just stumbled across an album called Fascinating Creatures by Frances England, and it's just the kind of thing I like. I read her bio on her website, and it's no wonder that I enjoy her music, for she also grew up in the South and now lives in San Francisco! Check out all three of her albums on iTunes, as well as some of her videos on youtube. You can visit her website here and listen to full versions of all her songs.

I'll leave you with a special Monday treat, her video, "Sleepyhead Mommy". I definitely fall into that category! Happy Monday!

Butterflies

We did a two-week unit on butterflies, and I wanted to share some of my resources. There is a lot out there to do!

We used this butterfly unit study and lapbook from Homeschool Share as the basis of our study. 

Videos
I found some wonderful nature videos of the Monarch butterfly here. ARKive is a wonderful site---just be careful as there are some graphic videos of animals mating and giving birth. Best to preview without young children to make sure which videos you want to watch.

Activities
We made this mobile of the butterfly life cycle from Enchanted Learning.

We put out plates with slices of bananas and oranges in the yard to attract butterflies.

The girls acted out The Very Hungry Caterpillar as I read the story

We used these fingerplays here and here from Cullen's ABC's.

Books we read (most from our local library)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons
Waiting for Wings by Lois Elhert
Are You a Butterfly? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries
The Butterfly Alphabet by Kjell Bloch Sandved
From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman and Bari Weissman


Tie-Ins
We used The Very Hungry Caterpillar and this song to learn the days of the week.

I also the The Very Hungry Caterpillar to start a conversation about the importance of eating healthy.

We used this math fishing game. I printed out the symmetrical butterfly  pdf from Homeschool Share and used it as a template. Then I cut out a butterfly in each of ten different colors of construction paper and numbered them 1-10 to play the game. I figured the colors would be a helpful clue for Doodlebug, and once she has mastered the game, I will cut the butterflies out all in one color for a bit more of a challenge.

Question Asking and Answer Seeking

I have to admit it: the more we go into our homeschool, the less structured it is. In this early stage of learning, though, I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Instead, we go outside and observe, do science experiments, get paint and glue on nearly everything, and ask tons and tons of question then attempt to find the answers (sometimes asking questions takes a little guidance from Mommy). I hope that by nurturing this curiosity and teaching them how to seek out information that they will have a solid foundation for research later on.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Darling wanted to know what sound a giraffe makes, and our search for the answer turned up this video from the Blank Park Zoo in Iowa. I thought the answer was pretty interesting, and wanted to share.






We've watched a few more videos from the Blank Park Zoo, and really enjoyed them. I wish our zoo did something like this. Enjoy!

Edible Education

In an attempt to make our math lessons more "hands on" (or in this case, more "sticky-hands on"), I took our lesson to that tried and true arena of learning: the kitchen. Our first math unit has been on same/different/similar, so I thought that decorating pairs of cookies would be a delicious way to illustrate this concept.

We used recipe number 2 of these sugar cookie recipes, and it was just about the best sugar cookie dough I've ever had. We made the dough one day, then cut and baked them the next morning, then decorated them in the afternoon. I let the girls pick out all the cookie cutters, and we made two of each shape to decorate either the same or different. I think the spray-can frosting is pretty awful, but it's super easy and simpler to manipulate than a piping bag (also, I don't own a piping bag, and had no more butter to make frosting anyway, so there you have it).

Darling made time for her math lesson before her wedding. Such dedication to her schooling!

I think it was a smashing success. I'm so proud of Doodlebug, especially, who has been pointing out things that are the same or different ever since! Darling was more interested in eating the cookies and then getting back to playing dress-up.

They decorated the cookies themselves. While they earned an A for math, let's just say that I know two little ladies who will never compete on Cupcake Wars. ;-)

Cucumber Conundrum

Refreshing Agua Fresca.

Have you ever grown cucumbers? If so, then you know what I mean when I say I have got to find ways to use them up. Now, I know everyone says "pickles" but I have neither the time nor the inclination to make pickles right now, so that's just not going to happen. I've had my fill of cucumber, tomato, and feta salad, and today I was on the search for something new to do with the 'cukes on my counter.

My search brought me, as always, to Simply Recipes. I love this site. If you have not visited before, you must. It has saved our family dinner too many times to count. Today, it saved my cucumbers. Wanting to try something new, I decided to make the Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca. I have tons of mint growing in my garden, so I decided to go for it. I used chocolate mint instead of spearmint, and lemon instead of lime, but it was quite tasty just the same. I would recommend it if you want to try something different!

Prolific chocolate mint in the garden.

Since I'm obsessed with vegetables, of course I did some research on cucumbers to learn more about them.  I learned that this widely cultivated veggie, which I always seemed to overlook in the grocery store, was thought to originate in India, and is actually very nutritious. They are part of the cucurbitaceae family, which also includes pumpkins, melons, zucchini, and other squashes. Because of their unique combination of phytonutrients, including lignans, cucurbitacins, and flavanoids 'cukes can actually provide you with anti-inflammitory and anti-cancer protection, while fiber, a healthy dose of vitamin K, and a high water content keep you regular. Who knew? You can head over to World's Healthiest Foods if you'd like to learn more.

Freshly picked.

I decided to give some to the kids, since I try to sneak vegetables into their diets at every possible opportunity. The girls turned their noses up at it, but they did try it. Pumpkin, however, ran over immediately, pointing and saying, "Sip dat! Sip dat!" I gave him his own in a sippy cup.

After the first sip--I love his face!

 He drank the whole thing. I enjoyed it, too, and found it extremely refreshing on this hot day. So even though the girls didn't like it, I consider it to be a successful recipe.

He decided he liked it, though.

 I have lots more 'cukes on the vine. What is your favorite way to eat a cucumber? I need some suggestions!

Ants!

Our first science unit on ants have been a success so far! And most of that is due to some very busy insects building away in our flower beds. A couple of days ago, Doodlebug picked up our bird feeder that had fallen off a tree into the flower bed, and we discovered that the ants had built their nest underneath it.

Our windblown bird feeder made a great home for ants!

 It turned out to be a living example of what we had read! Moving the bird feeder allowed us to see rooms and passages the ants had built. With their roof suddenly gone, the ants were in a panic, trying to carry all the eggs and larvae underground.

See that little white thing the ants are all over? That's the larva

We saw one worker ant struggle to carry a larva underground and another come to help it. 

We could also see the difference in size between the soldiers and the workers. Those large ants that you can see are the soldiers, and the little specks are the workers. I believe, but am not certain, that the winged ant in the middle left is a young queen. Probably not the nest queen, because we read that their wings fall off when they begin to lay eggs.

 

Some little girls enjoyed observing the ants in their natural environment. What we didn't realize when Doodlebug moved the bird feeder was that the ants were storing their eggs on the underside of it. When we returned the bird feeder to the ant nest, we discovered all their eggs had fallen off into a big pile. See the little white specks there?

The ants had already discovered their missing stash and were busy moving them all underground, where it was safer. We came back a little later and every single egg was gone. Ants are highly organized and efficient!

Here are the books we have read and enjoyed about ants to far:

Ant Cities

Are You and Ant?

Two Bad Ants

The Ant and the Grasshopper

I wonder what our unit on butterflies will have in store?

Words of Wisodm

On a piece of paper that was once part of my credit card billing statement that says, "This page was intentionally left blank" I have written some Bible verses/words of wisdom that really spoke to me in this stage of my journey as a parent. I was so inspired when I read them that I immediately grabbed the nearest piece of paper (thus, the credit card statement) and scribbled them down. I've never transferred them to something that's prettier, I just folded it up and have it in my desk drawer. I pull it out every morning and read the words there. Each morning, the words still speak to me, so I thought I would share them.

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

"A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul." Proverbs 18:7

"He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." Proverbs 13:3


"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

I think of these words all day long as my kids and I go through trial after trial. Yesterday, I recalled that last verse as I battled for two hours with Pumpkin when he threw a tantrum over his cracker being in pieces, and then he would not say he was sorry for throwing the tantrum. I recalled those words and held fast, and he did, in fact, cave in and say he was sorry. It was a testament to the fact that children understand so much more than we think they do. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he was letting me know that he knew. He's got a stubborn streak. I just can't imagine where he got it from. Certainly not from me. (wink)

Do you have any words of wisdom that you live by, that give you encouragement when things are hard?