Science experiment

I love that fall is coming.  Its my favorite time of year.  For now though, we are enjoying the lazy days of summer still.  One day we headed out to a nearby pond.  Rebecca and her friend Hanna were needing to collect samples for a science experiment.  It was a beautiful day!  We chose a pond that was beside a playground.  Fun for everyone.  

Sometimes its just fun to play with a different setting on my camera.

Though I usually quickly head back to my favorite.

On top of a large berm around the pond.  What cracked me up though was what he did after getting to the top.  He rolled down the hill.  Not a small feat for a boy who used to struggle greatly with sensory issues.  He is doing so much better now!

The girls collecting samples.

The boys running around.

These two are often partners in crime.  LOL

The pond looked so pretty and peaceful.

Eliana took this photo - and more.  ;-)

We played some before heading home.  It was still quite warm - and there was science to do.

One very humorous thing happened when we got home.  The samples needed to be kept in a cool dark place where they would not be disturbed.  I immediately thought that on top of the kitchen cabinets would be a great place.  Its dark and by the cobwebs you can tell that it doesn't get disturbed.  Well, guess what else was undisturbed up there?  A jar of some sample from at least a year ago when the guys did this - or some other experiment.  LOL and gross!

We'll be studying these stinky samples for a few weeks and hopefully not leaving it there for the next time we need a cool dark place.

Lots more to catch up on and will hopefully post more soon.  Things are going well here.  Just trying to find a routine for our days, and to declutter our house in prep for a garage sale and still need to revamp the kitchen though I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to do that.  Hope you are having fun, enjoyable and productive days at your house!

Blessings
Leslie

Biker #5

Its a rite of passage.  One of those moments many of us remember from our own childhood.  Learning to ride a bike ... without training wheels.  None of my boys have been really eager to do this at a young age.  I haven't been one to push it either.  I just thought that when they were ready, they would be motivated to do it themselves.

A few weeks ago, it was time.  He was ready.

Daniel caught on quickly and has LOVED that he can ride his bike!  I'm thrilled with the enjoyment he is getting from this too!

He likes riding on the streets and even around the house - on the hilly, bumpy yard.  LOL  Its fun riding with his brothers too.  Great job Daniel!!!  I'm proud of you!

I see more bike rides in our future.  After Rebecca and I went biking on our girls week-end, I thought we should do this more often.  I think we are at that time now.  We have something we can use to give Eliana a ride and the rest can now pedal.

Milestones and changes.  They are coming so quickly these days.  More on that later.  

I hope you are enjoying these beautiful ... end of summer ... days.

Hugs
Leslie

Duchess Bakes a Cake

Just thought I'd share a little bit of our fun time with this fun book.  This is part of the Five in a Row curriculum and this is at least my 4th time rowing this book.  So many fun memories with this one.  If you haven't read it, I do highly recommend it.

We enjoyed reading it outside one day.  Love that fall is coming!

We made a catapult.  It was simple, but it did the trick!  Marshmellows made a great thing to shoot with as well.  Lots of fun doing this over and over and over again.

We did a lot of fun activities in the FIAR manual for which I didn't take a lot of photos.  We did end our time with a feast.  We dressed up for it too!  Daniel was surprised when he saw me change.  I liked doing this with him!

It was a good chance to get out some of the serving pieces that we don't use too often.  Perfect for a feast!  We had a wonderful dinner too.  Our menu included broiled asparagus, balsamic potatoes, mashed carrots and yummy chicken (from Boston Market and yes, it is gluten free!).

The Duke was having a great time!

Rebecca had been doing some medieval studies too so it was nice to have her help in this feast as well.  She set the table and folded the napkins.

In our reading about medieval times, Isaiah learned about the serf's table where they didn't use any utensils like they had at the table for royalty.  He and Joshua both decided that they wanted to sit at that table!  LOL  We used waffles for their plates and they ate with their hands.  And loved it!

Of course with this book, we had to have a cake!

We didn't make the usual "lovely, light, luscious delectable cake", but instead made a GF cake.  We played it safe and used a mix.  This is an area in which I need to venture out, but just haven't yet.

All in all a fun study!  Next up is The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge!

Blessings
Leslie

Prairie Ridge

On our field trip this week, we visited Prairie Ridge in Raleigh.

We had a beautiful morning for exploring and learning.  The staff were kind and informative and it was a great field trip.  This site is open for visitors during the day and I'm hoping that my family can go back for a visit again soon.

We started in a large group and the facilitators asked the children what they were interested in learning or seeing during the day.  The younger kids were very interested in animals.

We split into groups and I went with my 3 youngest kids on one of the tours.  We started near a bird blind.  Isn't it fun looking?

Inside were posters, books and a bench for sitting and observing.

This is the view from the blind.

About midway through the morning, I made a note to myself.  I hope I"ll remember it.  I need to wipe off my camera before using it because Eliana tends to smudge it.  lol  My little photographer loves to take pictures.  I have so many of her feet!  Her shoes today were a big hit though.

From here we headed to the pond.  

The children split into 4 groups on blankets to observe some creatures from the pond.  The staff had already scooped up some pond stuff and then the kids put it into a big bucket.

From the bucket, they moved it into small ice cube trays for closer observation.  They were told that it was easier to see the small animals/insects against the white of the tray.

They were given magnification boxes so that they could look more closely.  How fun is that?!

There were field guides to help you identify what you were seeing.

I liked this homemade guide.  A large picture of various insects to compare with the creature in the box.

They then had a snack for the kids.  How thoughtful!  I asked about what was available as I wasn't prepared for this to happen.  (We didn't know that they were going to offer a snack.)  I thought I would just stay away from the snack area and do something else with Eliana.  To my surprise, they had gluten free snacks - both pretzels and animal cookies.

I thanked one of the staff for having this while explaining that Eliana has Celiac disease and has to eat GF.  She told me that it hadn't been planned, but was just what had been available for them to bring out to the group.  I knew it was more.  It was a small reminder to me that God is in the details.  He blessed me through this staff by having a cookie that my little girl could eat.  I hope that whoever purchases the food hears of this blessing as I know buying GF foods are more expensive and I do appreciate the effort!

The next activity is something that can be done at home.  What a creative way to explore nature!  The kids were given tape to go around their wrists.  Then each child was given a paint sample square.  Their task was to find something in that shade that matched.  Not just any green would do - but their green.  The samples were in green, yellow, orange and brown.

Heading out on a nature hike.

Looking for a match.

Finding interesting and beautiful critters along the way.

Can you see the spider below?  Its green!  I didn't realize that spiders were green!

The path was beautiful and there was a lot to explore.  (Including rocks like the one she is holding in her hand.)

Our hike took us from pond to prairie and from plants grown in lowlands to mountains.

This site is adjacent to a National Guard facility so we spotted some other interesting things that day too!

A creek is always enjoyed by children!

More insects to enjoy and learn about.  From bugs to caterpillars.  

Can you see the Monarch chrysalis on this tree?  It was so beautiful and the photo does not do it justice.  The gold trim on it was lovely!

Our last activity was to look at the types of insects that lived in the grasses and compare them to what had been found in the pond.  Using a large net and swinging it through the grass captured some spiders, grasshoppers and more.  These were dumped on blankets and the kids could capture and examine them with the magnifying boxes.

We finished off with lunch.  It was a fun and relaxing day.  I love this way of learning.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn more about God's creation.  I'm thankful for this time to spend with my family and friends.  I'm thankful.

Blessings
Leslie