Gardening

Early this AM, I got out and weeded the corn. Don't they look nice in the raised beds Theron made? My future plans include planting some squash around the corn. I read that they will control the weeds to some extent.

The strawberries are coming along and I picked some, but the slugs are doing alot of damage. I tried putting some sawdust, which we did not have much of, around the plants today. I may have to try the other method of laying down boards and then capturing them, YUK!

Here are my cute little peas. I got the poles and string for them to run on put up yesterday.

We have a pair of cardinals that frequent our feeder in the back yard. It's really hard to get a good picture, but they seem to be getting more use to us going by the window now and I got this shot of the male waiting for a greedy squirrel to move on.

Read Alouds

Farmer Boy was about the life of Almonzo Wilder. He was a busy boy on a busy farm. This was a very detailed account and I found it interesting that he was always thinking about food. No wonder, he worked hard from before sunup to sundown. And the amount of food he ate was beyond my comprehension.







The Courage of Sarah Noble was the story of a girl who went with her father to cook for him as he built a house for the family. When the house was done, the girl had to stay with some indians until her father returned with the rest of the family.








Sarah Whitcher's Story is suppose to be true. A young girl wanders off and gets lost in the woods. She finds refuge with a bear (whom she mistakenly thinks is her big furry watchdog from home) Attempts to find her are futile until a stranger comes, who has had a dream revealing her whereabouts. Thanks are given to God, because He has answered their prayers through this stranger.








On the Banks of Plum Creek is about the Ingalls family's life on the open plains. When they first arrive, they move into an underground house. In time, a house is built and pa hopes to make money with the crops he grows. Laura and her sisters have a lot of fun and adventures.
Hard times do come though, storms and locusts (angry grasshoppers), and discouragement, and pa has to go miles away for work because the crops have failed.




Sarah, Plain and Tall surprised me. I had heard of it, but never read it. Didn't even know what it was about. Starts out sad. The mom had died and the dad has put out an ad for a new wife, someone to raise the children. Sarah answers the ad and moves a long way from her home to come and see if she is up to the task. Well, the children love her and want her to stay, but are unsure if she will stay. Sarah has a love for the sea (where she came from) and wonders if she will be happy so far from it.





Mountain Born was my favorite. I love stories about sheep and shepherds. Life raising sheep was vividly portrayed in these pages and the relationship between the boy and his special lamb, Biddy, I found very touching.









In Grandma's Attic is full of life lessons told to a granddaughter. In each short chapter, a wise old grandmother shares the mistakes she's made growing up to the delight of the listener.







I've enjoyed reading these books to my children this year. Of course, I won't stop reading during the summer. We may go back to reading The Boxcar Children books that we started last summer.

Wordless Wednesday - Old Glory

Adventures in My Father's World - Part 2

Since Part 1 was about the beginning of our year of homeschooling, maybe Part 2 can be about the finishing of our homeschool year. So here goes - We waited toward the end of the year to let Hannah try out these CD-ROM games that we picked up last year at the conference. Oregon Trail and Liberty Kids (included together in this History Pack)

They are recommended for 9 years and up. Hannah played Liberty Kids first. In this game you are a reporter and you must gather information about historical events by "talking" to people that you meet. Some information is pertinent and some is not. The player must decide. When they think they have enough data, they return to the printing office, run by Benjamin Franklin and select the items that will be published. At this point, the game will let you know if you have chosen the correct facts. You can proceed to choose a picture and a title for your article and even print it out if you wish. For example, the first job is to report on the Boston Tea Party. Hannah really enjoyed this game and it was a good review of what she had learned earlier in the year. There was also an interesting aspect of the game - some people would not give you information unless you find certain objects and bring them to that person.

Oregon Trail is a much more challenging game. You are a pioneeer in the 1850s setting out across the frontier. You start by choosing what you will take with you, then joining a wagon train out west. Along the way, you encounter hardships (mosquitos, sickness, animal bites, extreme cold, dust from other wagons, etc.) and can "ask" for advice on how to best handle them. There are forts, indians, trading post, and towns along the way to help you. You must take advantage of hunting and fishing and gathering as you go, to keep your supply of food from dwindling. You can also ration food, trade with other pioneers and indians, and set your pace of travel. When you come upon a fork in the road, it is wise to check the guide book. There may be more to this game than what we have figured out so far. I have been playing it with Hannah and I even find it difficult. Word of warning - the pictures are realistic looking and although there is nothing gruesome, people die (it shows a picture of pioneers at a grave) from infection, starvation, thirst, and unknown diseases. We have never made it to Oregon in the short time we have been playing, which is quite discouraging. When your character dies (pretty depressing, huh) you have to start all over again. So what is good about this game? You learn that pioneer life was HARD! Also you learn what plants are edible and which ones are poisonous. You're traveling through places that you may have read about in your studies. As you "talk" to people and watch the intermittent animated stories that pop up at intervals you learn more about history.

Everythings coming up roses

These roses I planted on the side last year are doing well now, except for the yellow leaves. I need to figure out what that is. Also the lambs ear looks nice there. The strong wind and rain we had last night made them fall over, but they should perk back up. They are about to bloom as well.

Do you recognize this? It 's the little bloom from Wordless Wednesday. I think it is so cute. I like little things.

Theron's Finds

We've been talking alot about character in our home. It was great to find some good resources for teaching on this at the conference we attended. The Power of True Success is a book by Bill Gothard covering 49 character qualities -alertness to wisdom - with scripture references. Achieving True Success is a more simple straight forward book good for teaching children, but without the scripture (so it can be used in the public school system). We got them both to use in our devotion and family time.

The Backyard Homestead - Looks like an interesting book. We've been sitting on the idea of having chickens. I guess this is the first step.

Then last but not least is Theron's great buy at the Used Book Sale - GeoSafari - a fun learning tool. $15, an unbelievable price considering it came with two sets of cards.

Josiah and Hannah both love it. It has a one person or two person play mode. Here they are playing it right after we got home on Saturday.

Back from the Expo

I could hardly wait to get home and show you all my great finds! All of these came from the Used Book Sale - one of my favorite parts about the GHEA Conference and Curriculum Fair.



This is all I needed to complete Josiah's Kindergarten curriculum for this fall. I saved $40 by finding it at the Used Book Sale.












What a blessing to find Hannah's complete curriculum in a box at the Used Book Sale at a savings of $130.

Then, I found the Spelling book (like new, current edition) that Hannah will be using from 3rd grade through high school for half price at the Used Book Sale.

Hannah found this book for $1.50 and just had to have it. She loves science and I love bargains!

We are so excited about next year, but we will finish our current studies and then enjoy a break for the summer to splash in the pool and tend our garden, before we jump in again.