Winter Wednesday: Insect Study

Well Big Ladybug has always LOVED bugs, bugs, and more bugs!  So when we had wonderful warmer temperatures last week, she was more than happy to go on a bug hunt.

Little Ladybug was taking a nap, so just Little Lizard helped us on our hunt.

            

 

 

Big Ladybug overturned rocks, plant pots, and anything else that a bug might be hiding under. 

 

 

 

It didn’t take long for her to find what she was looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then read up on what bugs do to try to survive the winter.  We also read on to learn more about the bugs, like do they hear, and do they sleep?  We both found it pretty interesting.

 

We also read a great book (thanks to my sister suggesting it) that went nicely with this study. 

 

 

Yet again we have really enjoyed another Winter Wednesday Challenge! Check out other winter bug hunting fun at Handbook of Nature Study.

Winter Wednesday: Winter Weeds

Last week was absolutely beautiful weather for February so we took advantage of it and completed some Winter Wednesday Challenges.  Here we went out to find and observe weeds and seeds in the winter.

We went to my dad’s house to collect a variety of weeds.  It was a beautiful day with almost record high temperatures around 65 degrees!  Needless to say, we had a wonderful time running around outside.

         

We collected some and took them home to look at more closely.

      

We made a beautiful weed bouquet for the kitchen table and got on the internet to see if we could identify them.  We think we collected Milkweed, Aster, Fox Tail, and some sort of thistle. 

 

 

 

This is Big Ladybug’s notebook page.

Stop by Discover Their Gifts to see a great Winter Weeds study.

You can also check out other Winter Weed studies at Handbook of Nature Study.

Wordless Wednesday: So I’m Going to Miss This? Huh??

Well my husband wasn’t home this particular evening so I was wrangling our lovely children solo.  I was in the middle of feeding them dinner, which entailed some mashed potatoes and applesauce, when I received a phone call that I had been waiting for.  (Of course it would happen during dinner!)

So in the matter of less than 5 minutes……everything went awry.

My lovely Little Ladybug smeared mashed potatoes everywhere!

And here she is being her usual rotten self…I asked her to smile for the camera :)

She was not acting alone, it’s like they feed off each other.

He had mashed potatoes all through his hair, hands, and body.  He then decided that he was going to wiggle himself out of his lap belt and out of his highchair.

(I absolutely LOVE his CHUB!)

After that whole 5 minutes was up,  I left everything out and took the messy babies upstairs for a bath.

When I am caught up in chaotic moments like this, I say to myself……”so someday I’m gonna miss this?  Huh??”

Deep down though I know I will.  They are messy, demanding, loud, and impulsive…..but at the same time, they are so little, sweet, precious, and forgiving.  I know they grow up so fast, so I am trying to savor even these crazy moments. 

Sketch Tuesday: Disney

 

The topic this week was:  “something Disney.”

Grandma came over and taught Big Ladybug how to use soft pastels.  She had a great time and loved working with them. 

 

“Ariel Swimming in the Sea”

Check back next week for a ‘sketch of a bird feeder, with or without birds.’

Big Ladybug and I have really enjoyed participating in Harmony Art Mom’s Sketch Tuesday.  Check it out here.

MFW 1st Grade: Week #19

We have returned to our My Father’s World studies this week.  We are almost finished with the Positive Action: Finding God’s Promises and had a very busy week with our bible stories and science. 

Bible:  Big Ladybug read the story of the Red Sea.  We talked about how afraid the Israelites would have been being trapped with Pharaoh's army on one side, and the Red Sea on the other. 

We discussed the 2 meanings of the word ‘fear’- to be afraid, or to trust.   When we say we ‘fear the Lord’, it means that we trust and respect Him.

After the Israelites safely crossed the sea, the women celebrated by playing tambourines.  We made a tambourine out of paper plates stapled together with beans between them.

She also read the story of Manna. 

The Israelites were complaining that they were hungry and began questioning whether they should have left Egypt.  God provided food for them from the heavens, called Manna.

The Israelites were thankful to God at first, but it only took a couple days and they returned to complaining, even though God kept taking care of them….huh-hum……I am definitely guilty of this.  Are you?

Character traits we focused on.

“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

We discussed how important it is to be thankful and to remember all of the blessings that God has given us.  Big Ladybug wrote a paragraph about some of the good things God has blessed her with.

This is Big Ladybug’s fruit basket, woven with ribbon.  She used it to gather her play-doh manna. :)

We watched a video: Bugtime Adventures, What’s a Manna with you?

And the last Bible story for this week was Moses and the 10 Commandments. Only Moses was able to see God face-to-face so he gave Moses the 10 important laws on Mount Sinai. 

We discussed the 10 commandments and what each of them meant.  The first 4 are how we are to treat God and the other 6 are how to treat others. 

It is easy to forget that these laws are like a “fence of protection for our lives,” that God puts around us to guide, help, and protect us.  But all to often, we dig a hole under the fence and go our own way.  We discussed that we could choose to obey and stay safe within the fence or rebel by going outside it. 

 

Fun With Boats

Science:  We are still working in the Science with Water book.

She picked several plastic containers of different sizes to act as her boats, and she made one out of aluminum foil.  She loaded her boats with marbles and counted how many each could carry before they sank.  She also added all the marbles to one side of the boat to see what would happen.

 

She sank a empty pop can and added plastic tubing into the opening.  She then blew on the other end….over and over again because she thought this was fun!  She learned that the air you blow into the can pushes out the water, and it rises to the surface because it is lighter.

  

 

She added salt water to see how her results changed when the water was more dense.  She even fell for tasting it……yum!!

                

 

Did you know???

Seawater is usually some 3.5 percent heavier than fresh water because it contains about 35 pounds of salts in each 1,000 pounds of water.

Wordless Wednesday: The Dollhouse

Little Ladybug was getting ready supposed to be getting ready for bed, when I found her lying in the dollhouse. 

 

I asked to to show me how she squeezed herself in there.

 

Good thing this is a old, sturdy Little Tykes dollhouse that has proven to withstand a lot!

Valentine’s Party!

Valentine’s Day is always a reason to have a great party!  So our Prairie Primer Co-op got together to celebrate, and we had a great time!  Here are some pictures of our Valentine party.

All the big kids eating some pizza.

The moms hanging out in the kitchen.

Our little guys relaxing on the couch….yeah right, they wouldn’t even sit still for a second!

         Playing some games and decorating their valentine bags.

         

 

We have a wonderful time every time we get together with our co-op.  I feel so blessed to have a Christian group of homeschooling moms to spend time with.  We have such a great mix of kids;  9 school aged kids, 2 preschoolers, and 3 little baby boys.  Oh, and they all get along so well!

 

However, amongst all the fun I missed getting pictures of the two little girls.  :(  I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day!