Butterfly Release

Remember those caterpillars we had? Well, they finally cam out of their chrysalis last week. 4 of the five came out without us seeing, but the last one were were able to see. It was really interesting to watch. It was very quick and they don't move for a while.  We had them for about 3 days and then released them last week when it was so warm. 

They had not been very active inside. As soon as I brought them outside they went crazy. The kids loved watching them fly all over. 

Then it was time to release them....

That isn't blood. It is actually meconium from when they exited their chrysalis. 

I had Eli just open the lid and 3 flew out on their own. Ari's expressions of wonderment were fun to watch.

Then I had the kids release the other two by holding them and letting go. This was fun for them. 

I am glad I did this with the kids. It was a fun project and they enjoyed watching their progress every day. 

New Adventures and New Friends

There have been many times God has put people in my life and I know it has been a God thing. I have experienced that with some new friends of ours. Our homeschool curriculum is not conventional in many ways. In fact it can get a lot of getting use to. Anthony and I were trying to decide what direction to go with in Math the other night and I had to reexplain how things are done. It can be hard to think about as most kids Eli's age have gone to school to learn things. Specifically reading. Charlotte Mason encourages reading, but at this age more time spent playing and habit training. I will say Eli is also an exception. He is mature and smart for his age. It has been hard to hold off with teaching him more. 

Where am I going with this? Along with our curriculum being a little unconventional, there are also not a lot of  families in the area that teach that way. By searching we were able to come in contact with another wonderful family that does the same curriculum. The best part, they have 3 kids all around the same age our ours. Last week we met up for our nature walk. We had so much fun and the kids have been asking when we will go again. Unfortunately it has been raining all week, but I am sure it will happen soon. They played and enjoyed themselves. It was nice to spend the morning running and exploring. We also learned a few new plant names. 

I am thrilled we have found new friends! I also know I have a great resource for help when I need direction. One thing I have learned is homeschooling is overwhelming! There is so many different curriculum and in the end YOU are responsible for if your child learns or not. It can be scary, but I am surrounding myself with others who have wonderful advice. 

Enjoying Spring

We have spent the better part of two weeks enjoying some warmer weather. It has been wonderful. Anthony and I have been working on a lot of projects around the house. We have been working on the garden this year. Finally there is no baby to take care of,  or I am not pregnant so we can plant one and I can have the time to do what needs to be done to keep it alive. We are doing raised beds as the walnut ruined the last garden. Eli loved to help build them. Right now, the kids love to play in them. We will be bringing in dirt this week hopefully.




Eli has been such a help with helping Anthony. He loves to work and is not afraid to lift or move anything. He is right in the middle and learning everything. I love it. Ari would love to join too. We let him as much as possible. Lilliana likes to help too. She actually has been folding clothes with me for a couple weeks. Surprisingly they look nice. Usually we can count on her hanging around me doing what I am doing. 

Spring has finally arrived it seems with all the trees in bloom. It is beautiful around here. Unfortunately for the children and Anthony they seemed to all bloom at one time. This has not bode well for their allergies.

We have also been enjoying all the birds. We finally got the bird feeders out and are feeding them this year. The kids like watching them from the window and learning their different names. It is part of school. They also will hopefully be able to identify their songs by the end of summer. That is the goal. 

I think the kids favorite thing has been riding in the big truck from Anthony's work. We used it to haul some things this weekend. The younger two were able to go for rides with him. Unfortunately this caused some tears with Ari. He was upset he was  not going to get to go first and that Daddy left him.

He was so happy when Anthony was home with Lilliana. She enjoyed her ride. She fell asleep!

Ari did get his turn the next day.........

Eli did not ride in the truck as he has many times before. He did get to use the lift on the back and thought that was so cool. He also spent the afternoon grocery shopping and picking up a few things for the garden with me. He enjoyed that. I like taking him as he is a big help and likes to learn what is on sale and if it is a deal or not. We are able to work on math and measurements. He wanted to know how much all the meat weighed. He also wanted to weigh all the produce. 

Last but not least we will put it in the record books as this weekend finally be the weekend that one of the kids finally told a knock knock joke that makes sense. For months they have been telling us "jokes." It would last for hours if we let them and they never make sense. Finally Lilliana told us one joke she learned off of Daniel Tiger. It was cute. We are back to bad jokes after the one good one. Have a happy Monday! We are off to mow the lawn if it doesn't rain and get the weed whacking done. Then while it rains finish our almost last lesson for school! Yay for homeschooling and working through all those snow days so we could finish early and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Letter to My Children May

Dear Eli, Lilliana, and Ari,

Spring is finally here and you guys want nothing to do with my ideas of school, playing games, or cuddling. You want to be outside enjoying anything that is above 45 degrees. You come in with dirty feet and mud all over. I wash sand out of your hair daily. When I hug you, you smell of dirt. There is constant dirt under your finger nails. I believe if you had your way you would live outside. There is crying at the door to go out when it rains, and crying when it is time to come in at least from Ari. You love being outside. I am thankful it is warm and nice for you to go out. Thank you for letting me see spring through your eyes and the wonder of dirt.

Love,
Mom 

Caterpillars

Eli only has two more weeks of school until Summer break. He knows when we finish our last two letters we will be on break. What he doesn't know is that really summer will continue some school. We will continue our Bible and character lessons everyday. We also will continue our hymn work. The way we homeschool he learns without even knowing. All of the kids actually do. I have noticed Ari is picking up more than I give him credit for as is Lilliana. Since winter was long and we could not get out as much we will spend the majority of Summer doing our nature studies as we will be outside a lot. Right now we are studying the life of a Butterfly. You can actually order painted butterflies and have them delivered as their larvae. Then you watch them grow and go through the changes. The day they arrived you would have thought it was Christmas. The kids knew they were coming as we studied butterflies for a week and I told them they would be coming. They waited everyday for the mail to arrive. When they did they wanted to know about everything. 

Needless to say they are big hits! Ari is especially interested in the fact that they have poop on the bottom of the container. He seems to really enjoy them as you can tell by this video. 

They are actually now in their chrysalis. The kids can't wait for the butterflies to emerge. It has been a fun project. We are off for a nature walk. Happy Monday!