God Doesn't Make Mistakes

I'm having some problems with my blog - actually with photobucket which hosts my pictures.  It's frustrating to me and make me wonder if it is time to change sites to one that is a little easier to work with.  I hesitate for several reasons.  I have a lot of time invested in this blog and don't want to lose it all (including all of the encouraging comments).  I guess I just don't want to start from scratch, kwim? 

So, I've got several posts ready to go - except for the photos.  They are loaded into photobucket - but now I can't access them.  Not sure what is going on there.  I can see the picture, but I can't edit or copy the picture.  I get a message saying that it's no longer available from the owner.  What does that mean?  I can't upload them again right now either.  So, while I thought I'd be able to post a lot, I may have to wait awhile. 

If anyone has suggestions - I'm open to hearing them!!!

Here's a neat video/song that I thought some of you might enjoy. 

God Doesn't Make Mistakes

Backyard Critter Camp - Day 4 - Spiders

This was our final day of camp.  I was concerned about the weather (80 percent chance of rain from the previous afternoon through the following day).  We started dry - though a very wet yard - and only had light rains in the morning.  We did most of our work in the garage and under and awning - and then a little in the yard.  It worked well despite my misgivings.  God was gracious to allow us this break in weather.

Our book for today was Are You a Spider?

 We began our day with devotions.  We talked about spider webs and how they are made and used.  Lies are a lot like spider webs in that they can trap us.  We talked about how the best thing is to tell the truth. 

Psalm 34:13

Then watch your tongue!

Keep your lips from telling lies!

 We then read the story and had an information time on some of the varieties of spiders that God has made.  It is truly amazing!  I'll share one interesting story.  You all know that spiders have 8 legs and no antennae.  Insects on the other hand have 6 legs and 2 antennae.  There is one type of spider that mimics insects (ants) in order to avoid predators (birds that won't eat ants) or to hunt for ants themselves.  They put their front legs in front of their body so that they look like antennae.  Isn't that interesting?  (And I'm not a huge spider fan either.)

Then we broke up by age.  The older children learned more about spider anatomy (blue blood) and which ones lived in our area.  The long trail of papers are pictures and facts about spiders that live where we do.

The younger children did a quiz to see how much they knew about spiders.  I picked questions that had been either in the book or that we had talked about.  I asked them to stand up if the statement was true and to sit if it were false. 

When they had answered each question, they took turns applying sticker pictures that related to the answers on a large piece of paper (it was really the bottom of a box covered in white paper).  Each child had a turn and they did a really great job in answering the questions.  For those who are curious, I made the stickers by scanning images from the book and also from the internet.  These were then printed on sticker paper.  My sweet dh helped me to do this. 

Next, they moved to an observation area.  More information to learn about spiders and a picture of a spider to label with sticker words.

There were some live specimens for them to examine - even a black widow (one of only two dangerous spiders in our area).  That one was found just the morning at one of the camper's homes.  (Glad it wasn't mine!  If they are here, I don't want to see them!)

Next it was snack time.  Bet you can guess what we ate - spiders, of course.  We made them using rice cakes as a base.  The children could choose to cover it with peanut butter, cream cheese, jelly or a chocolate spread.  Peanut butter was the hands-down favorite.  Then they added raisin eyes.  Last the legs which could be either carrot sticks or pretzel sticks.

 Christopher chose his own snack (peanut allergies) and Eliana let him know that she wanted some too.  He was happy to share.

The younger children made spider gliders for a craft.  I don't have pictures of the actual making since I needed to help the children.  Here's a picture of two of the finished spiders.

And here is one of them in action.

We ended the day by playing a couple of spider games.  Both the older and younger children did these, but I wasn't able to get pictures of the older kids.

First, they tried to throw some prey onto the spider's web.  They had learned that not all of the strands on the web are sticky.  We used cotton balls as the prey and they threw them at the circles made of tape on the web.

In the second game, one child stood on block of wood to which 8 strings were tied.  This child was the spider.  He/she closed eyes and placed their hands on the strings.  The eight strings were being held by the other children.  One child was selected to "strum" their string to see if the spider could feel it.

The spider then followed the string to capture the prey!

 And that is a wrap!  I had hoped to have people over for a movie watching outside and dessert social.  (Showing movie using a projector)  The weather however was uncooperative.  We had thought that A Bug's Life would be a fun one to watch.  We may try again - though our weather is looking iffy this week as well - you know, summer thunderstorms.

I'm thankful for this time to have a fun learing experience with friends.  I'm thankful for the other creative moms that joined me in teaching as it was truly a cooperative effort.  I highly recommend doing this type of camp!  I'm happy to answer questions on how we did it for anyone that may have any.

Blessings

Leslie

Backyard Critters Camp - Day 3 - Ladybugs

We had another wonderful day!  I love seeing the creative side of other moms and enjoy learning from them!  We don't often get a peek into how another mom teaches or chooses to present information to her children.  I love this opportunity to gain new skills from my friends.  Here is a group shot of our campers. 

This was our book for today - Are you a Ladybug?

We started with story and devotion.  Some of the devotion topic included sharing about the different types of ladybugs that God has created.  (With very cute visuals!)  There are over 5000 different kinds and colors of ladybugs - all created uniquely. 

Romans 10:12 says “Honor one another above yourselves.”  We discussed how it is important to respect and appreciate the differences in others, because God designed each of us for a different purpose. 

 The younger children learned more about the life cycle of the ladybug by acting out the various stages of metamorphosis.  Curled up into little balls for the eggs.  Below they are the pupa breaking free. 

Ladybugs also like to eat aphids (grapes for the kids).

Eliana just joins in and has fun wherever she goes!

Next was an observation area for the younger children and books to look at pictures.  The younger children also decorated a little booklet that included the life cycle of the ladybug.  Each were given a small ladybug.  Daniel loved this and carried his around all day!

The older kids learned more about the history of the ladybug, it's anatomy and information on beetles. 

Snack time - we had ladybugs, of course.  These were made using bagel bites, pepperoni for the shell and olives for the spots.  There were also aphids (grapes) to go along with the ladybugs.

Next, we had games and crafts.  Is this not the cutest game?!  One of the moms in our grout MADE it!  Isn't she clever?!  Ladybug Landing is a bean bag game.  You get 1 point for landing the ladybug on the leaf upside down.  If the ladybug is spot side up, you get the number of points equal to the spots. 

Eliana liked playing with the ladybugs.  She kept trying to put them under her chin.  First one, then added a second.  She always lost them all when adding the third.  There were two sets of the these cute games and my sweet friend gave one set to us!  Thank you Adele!  I know we'll have fun with this! 

There was also a ladybug croquet game which I didn't get a picture of - but it was very cute!

The older kids made ladybug houses.  The were beautiful and I meant to get a photo of all of them before they left of the day, but were doing therapy and I missed the shot.  Very creative and individual.  They did a really nice job!

Here is a close-up of Rebecca's - the only one I could get a picture of after the camp.  It's so bright and inviting.  She is really hoping some ladybugs will choose to live in it. 

My boys making their own ladybug area during free time.  This is the ladybug that Daniel just had a great time playing with during the day.

Last - but not least - another fun game - Aphid Relay!  There were aphids (green water balloons) and eggs (yellow water balloons) and a ladybug in the center.  The goal of the game was to get the aphids from one container to the next without them popping.  The ladybug was trying to deflect of pop the balloons.  There were two teams and the one with the most balloons won that round.  The played this one several times and had a blast doing it!

The on-lookers had a fun time watching and then participating on the next round (if they wanted to). 

Just a cute moment of siblings having fun together.

After camp as over, some of the boys hung around and had water balloon fights.  What a lot of fun they had getting soaked.  Eliana also loved the water and especially likes the bucket we were using at our handwashing station. 

That's most of the day.  It was a beautiful day and fun to learn and play with friends.  We have one more day and I'll hopefully post about that tomorrow!

Blessings

Leslie

Backyard Critters Camp - Day 2 - Snails

Today was our second day of camp - and it was a beautiful day!  The gals doing the teaching arrived early to do set up and then we were ready to have fun!

Our day started in the same format as before - prayer and devotions and reading the story.  We love learning more about creation and God's hand in the design of animals.  Our story for today was Are You a Snail?

The group (young and old) stayed together for some storytelling and facts.  This gal is a great story-teller!  Lots of interesting things to look at and to examine as well.  Who knew there was so much you could learn about snails!

Then the groups split and the younger children did some learning about snails using their senses.

A box filled with eggs - each containing something they could touch or feel that related to a snail.  What a neat hands-on way to learn!  (The picture was upside down, but hopefully you can get a look at it.) 

The older kids learned about some of the chemical make-up of a snail.  For instance, did you know that a snail has blueish-green blood?  It is because a snail doesn't have iron and instead has copper.  You know what happens to copper when it is combined with oxygen.  Cool, huh?

Even Eliana enjoyed looking at the periodic chart.  (She liked "counting" the squares.)

Eliana also liked playing some football with Christopher.  He loves sharing his love of the game with her.  I think its really sweet!

Look at the snack the children had today!  Isn't it cute?!

The snail is made from turkey and cheese rolled up, carrot for the head and antennae and a spinach leaf underneath.  They had tapioca that could be used for the slime.

They also had some vegetables since snail like our garden produce.  It was all very yummy!

The younger children then made a hands-on sensory book about snails!  Each part of the snail's body was demonstrated with something that they could feel or touch. 

I liked this picture of Daniel.  He is working hard and having fun!  He is the youngest camper and I wasn't sure how he would do without camp.  He is  having a good time.  :-)

This is the cover of their book.  Each child decorated it however they wanted.  A glittery slime trail was added after I took this picture. 

Here are the inside pages for those who want to see more. 

The older children had a relay with blood cells made from foam floor mat pieces and balloons.  They had to race to trade out their white balloons (oxygen?) for the black balloons (CO) and stay together as a group of 4 while they did this. They clearly had fun with it.

Last was a game in the woods to demonstrate a little of what it is like being a snail.  Some of the children were snails and when it rained (children with water squirters), they would come out of hiding.  When they saw a predator (fox or thrush) they would crouch down to hide.  If tagged, they went into the den of the predator.  They could be rescued by another snail.

Games are always fun and in interesting way to reinforce some facts and get rid of some excess energy.

Again, it was an interesting, informative and memorable day.  We are all having fun and learning along the way.  You can't ask for more than that!  God is good!

Blessings

Leslie