We survived!

An Answer

Monique,

The butterfly kit "Bugville" is from Target. You mail in a coupon + $6 and they send you 5 caterpillars.

Good Luck!

Random Thoughts

Nutmeg's ballet recital was Saturday. I was a backstage mom. Nutmeg had just turned three at her first rectial, so I signed up. Now she thinks I always need to be there! The next picture is the view off my front porch this morning. It is prettier in person. The third picture is my spanish lavendar doing some crazy dance of its own. I am blogging now because I refuse to be in the same room with Nutmeg when she is drawing for her notebook. We use the Draw! Write! Now! books because they have been matching up to our science units and Nutmeg likes them - after she is finished with a drawing. Before she draws, she whines and cries and tells me she cannot do it. Then afterward, she is all smiles. I told her that must be part of her creative process. Well, I don't care to witness it. She can do it alone if it is essential to her art.

Release!

We released our butterflies this morning. They got very excited when we took them outside. We have plenty of hollyhocks, so I hope they will be fruitful and multiply! The last picture is a picture from Nutmeg's ballet rehearsal. Have a great weekend!

Michele

Weekly Report

Guess what we have? Painted Ladies! I was hoping we would be able to see them emerging from their crysalises, but no. We were alerted that they had emerged when we noticed Merlin (you remember, the black cat obsessed with our gerbils. {someone teach me to link an old post in my text, please}).Well, Merlin was trying to bat the butterfly habitat off the kitchen table. He was in a mood all day. I think he was upset because the butterflies were getting so much attention. Maybe Merlin should have his own blog...Oh, weekly report? Here it goes: I have been very, very, very sick with allergies. And homeschool? Nutmeg is doing really well in math. That is, after her initial crying and wallowing all over the chair and table, after the warnings and being sent to her room...she eventually settled down and said "Oh, this is easy." Yeah. Prima Latina is starting to intimidate me now that we are learning verb tenses. Nutmeg is doing just fine however. I purchased the Minimus minibooks and want to incorporate those as well. We worked on antonyms and synonyms in First Language Lessons 2. We supplemented worksheets from the Seton Grammar 1 workbook. I really the way FLL is presented, but it is wonderful to also have the Seton worksheets because 1.) Nutmeg likes worksheets and 2.)to incorporate religion into the grammar lesson. Science was learning about butterflies. The whole family is involved in that one. The directions did not say anything about the red drippy stuff. We were wondering if there had been a butterfly homicide or if they were all females ;) We never got to the France mapwork that goes along with Story of the World for Louis 14. But that will keep. We are all obsessed with butterflies right now. Even Merlin.

Safety Hazzard #9,853

"Momma!!!! The Chipmunk is blocking the stairs again!" And yes, that would be dried-up, yellow play-dough in the largest baby doll's mouth.

Happy Birthday, Shakespeare!

Don't forget the Bard's birthday while you are celebrating St. George's Day! We are going to read the George legend retold by Margaret Hodges -- we may do some religious observances too. I will post later when I look some more stuff up. librivox.org has plenty of Shakespeare to download and listen to. I think they have Edith Nesbit's retellings on the children's page. Have fun and let me know how your celebrations go!

Cross Stitch Again

I have noticed that some of the traffic is coming from people looking for a cross stitch blog. Actually, I started blogging about a year ago, and it was indeed a cross stitch blog! Homeschool consumed me all winter, and I changed the focus of the blog. But I have dragged all the cross stitch back out (and upstairs)! I tend to focus/obsess on one thing at a time and then move on (leaving a mess behind). If I had been blogging before The Chipmunk was born, this blog would have showcased the over 300 African violets and assorted gesnariads I was then growing under lights (in what has become The Chipmunk's room). I have one AV right now in my bathroom. We have a very casual relationship. I blame my lapse of cross stitch posts on the Queen Stitch. In Sheepish Designs' "Man of Sense," there are rather a lot of queen stitches. I pulled the piece back out last week or so, worked a lot more of the little boogers and even added some bargello (the bottom was charted as plain cross stitches) then started the "AY 1801" sampler (bottom picture). I think I lose some motivation to finish because framing is so expensive, and I do not have much skill for finishing the pieces in different ways. But, this will not become a cross stitch blog! I will seek to find balance between my hobbies, and my blog will reflect that!!! Yes, homeschool is a hobby. Sure, it is serious stuff and I want the best for my children, but sometimes it feels like a hobby, something I do for myself because I really like it and am interested in it. Now, Monday it did not feel like a hobby...maybe that is why queen stitches seemed like a relief!

Michele

Wordless Wednesday

Pigtails

"Don't mess with me; I have pigtails."

My little Arachne

I think we have finally finished the weaving project. It was begun in Colonial Girls' Club; directions were sent so it could be finished at home. Nutmeg has been hounding me to help her "full" or "felt" the piece. I have been having cold-sweats about it. I thought it would just come apart! Well, it is drying right now, all safe and sound. These are pictures from before we washed it (when I was worried that it was going to fall apart! ) Nutmeg has started a new knitting project: a blanket for her doll, Mango Lassi. Dear old Mango is worthy of her own post. Stay tuned for more craftiness!

WW (my daughters and my niece)

Links to fun places we visited on Thursday

http://www.sweetmagnolias-cafe.com/

http://www.inkfun.org/

Weekly Report

Okay, maybe this week was Spring Break! Saturday was Our Baroque Festival. All the children's art work was on display; there were dances, crafts and food. Nutmeg's class did a living timeline. Nutmeg recited the Pocahontas poem by Rosemary Carr Benet. She did a great job! (Someone tell me how to post a video!!Please.) Monday we were recovering from my niece's birth ;) Tuesday... I cannot remember off the top of my head. Wednesday we definitely did school. We dissected a daffodil and labeled plant parts. When we went to pick up The Chipmunk, Nutmeg actually asked to do a math fact sheet and her spelling copywork in the car! I pretended to consider. Thursday we went to a children's museum. I will post the link in a minute. Then we ate at Sweet Magnolia's where I discovered my husband had my debit card from the night before! I had ONE check left. Good thing, because we were in line, and the line had grown considerably while we ordered! We then went to the library where Nutmeg got her first library card. I was stunned when I realized our family can now check out 100 books. My friend was there, and her son also got a card. I think we will have a contest to see who checks out 100 books first!! We are going to see my sister and niece today. It is my sister's 30th birthday. I cannot wait!

Michele

Wordless Wednesday

My Beautiful Niece

Being in labor is a piece of cake compared to watching your sister in labor! When it is you, you are so focused. When it is your sister, all you can do is gather mountains of ice chips, scratch her legs, try to get a smile by telling her...crazy things! Right after the delivery , I promised my parents no more babies -ever -under any circumstances -we have enough babies -no way -no how -- but then you look at this little face....
She loves her Auntie. She is probably crying for me right now.

Our new fish and our Mermaid

Spring Break?

What a week! Nutmeg was at a swim meet last weekend. The meet was held at a large university. We were all a bit overwhelmed. My very-pregnant-sister was very overwhelmed by the chlorine gas, staring waaaay down at the pools (3!), and the NOISE. Nutmeg did really well. I thought she did great to go down there and swim! I was sick with allergies on Mon and Tues, so we did not get much done. Tues was her last day at her arts academy. The end of the year festival is Saturday. Stay tuned for pictures. The time period is Baroque 1600-1750. Nutmeg's class is doing a living time-line. Nutmeg is Pocahontas. She has become obsessed with "being a real Indian." My grandmother is very obviously "a real Indian." I think she can get her home declared a reservation, but has never bothered about the paper work. Nutmeg is fascinated by that, but is having trouble understanding how the "blood" is "diluted" in successive generations. What a clumsy way to say it! Any way, Nutmeg is going to recite "Pocahontas" by Rosemary Carr Benet. (We found it in The Harp and Laurel Wreath.) It was her idea; the teacher came up with two-liners, and Nutmeg asked if she could recite a poem we worked on in the fall. Oh, here she is, reminding me we have to "felt" her treasure pouch she has been weaving in Colonial Girls. I am a bit intimidated. If it turns out well, we will take it to festival tomorrow. Surely, if I can get it off the loom..... We are getting a late start this morning. The Chipmunk is in the living room baptizing her baby dolls that she "just got born." Then they get stuffed in a bag. We are waiting for a call from my sister. My niece is due any minute!!! Maybe we will go down and do some math?

Michele