A Few Happenings Around Here

We are loving our workboxes, but you knew that already, didn't you?!  LOL  We are getting so much done and having fun with it.  Several of my children have told me how much they are liking it.  I am too. 

One of the things we did this week was a nature activity.  All the children love being outside and the weather has been gorgeous here (in the 70s).  We did one of the nature activites from the Spring Nature Study written by Jane Lambert.  It is a wonderful collection of ideas, poems, activities and ideas to inspire you to learn about and enjoy nature.  She has written one for each season.  I encourage you to buy one if you are interested in adding some nature fun to your days. 

We went outside to look for signs of spring.  There were several options for a bingo style worksheet to use for this activity.  My younger boys had boxes with pictures in them while the older children drew their own pictures. 

We saw bulbs coming up out of the ground, buds starting to pop out and the Bradford pears are blooming and beautiful!

Guess what we found in our garden ... left over from last year I guess.  LOL

We also enjoyed some science outside.  Rebecca is studying chemistry in her science book this year.  One of the things that they did was mix baking soda and vinegar in a small vial.  Well, we talked about how this is what we used to make volcanos years ago- so the kids thought it would be great to do it again. 

Adding red food coloring made it all that much more fun.  (Though I didn't find it as much fun while doing laundry.  LOL)

Our littlest sweetheart hasn't been feeling well.  She has a runny nose and it's draining down her throat.  Yuck!  I am hoping and praying she starts feeling better soon.  We'd love your prayers too if you think about it.  It seems like it's been going on for quite awhile now.

She is doing well otherwise though and in fact has been approved (though not officially yet) for more speech therapy.  I had heard other moms saying that their children received more speech when they started really improving.  I asked her therapist about this and she said she had been thinking the same thing - that it was time to do more.  I'm excited about this and hope that we'll see more and more language development. 

One of her recent funnies showing how motivated she is by her siblings.  I asked the children the other day who had finished their school work.  Several of them raised their hands and called out "Me!".  Eliana looked around and did what she does best - copying.  She raised her little hand in the air and said "Ma".  We all that it was funny and cute.  She won't repeat the word unless it's said in a chorus of voices, though. 

One exciting development is the completion of Reading Made Easy (reading instruction) for Isaiah yesterday!  It's been a struggle for him and I think we'll have a bit more work to do in this area.  I'm proud of him though.  It wasn't easy, but he is learning.  To celebrate, I let him pick out lunch for the day and he chose Chick- Fil- A.  Yum!  At dinner tonight (we were out last night), he was given the special plate to eat from.  This picture is fuzzy, but it's the only one I've got.

All in all, a great week - and it's not even over yet.  Tomorrow we will be taking the day off of school.  It's  Christopher's birthday!  16 years old!!!  How can that be?!  We are having a low-key day of celebrating and I'll post more details tomorrow or the following day.

Incredibly grateful for God's goodness,

Leslie