Spring and Summer Nature Picture Books

There are a number of fun picture books for spring and summer. I thought I would share some that I like that teach children and their parents more about nature in a 'twaddle-free' way.

Jim Arnosky is a great author and illustrator. He does all nature books. His pictures are detailed and accurate. He is also the author of the 'Crinklefoot' books. 'Raccoons and Ripe Corn' is written very simply and a very young child, 12-24 months, would enjoy listening to it. It is very short. Most of his books are available in paperback, although if you see a hardback library edition, snag it. The Crinklefoot books are written for elementary students.

Robert McCloskey wrote a number of classic children's picture books. Probably his best known one is 'Make Way for Ducklings'. He likes to write about children living on the Maine coast. These are great stories for 3-4 year olds.

'Linnea in Monet's Garden' is a combination of nature and art books. The story is by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson and tells of a girl who visits Monet's Garden and learns about the garden and Monet as well.

These same artists wrote a practical book on window sill gardening. It is well illustrated and gives very simple yet practical advice of things to try in gardening indoors.

If you want some simple nature things to do with your children during the cold weather or you just want some good advice on taking care of houseplants you will appreciate this book.

~Mom

Language Lessons by Sandi Queen

Our family has started using this series of books recently. Sandi Queen has written these books for her family in the Charlotte Mason tradition. We had used something similar in an old English book and really enjoyed it. Sandi has started this series for preschoolers and works all the way up to high schoolers. It includes picture studies, narratives, copywork, and grammar. The nice thing about it is that the lessons are short (take 2-15 minutes)and relatively painless. It goes to show that children can learn these topics well without a huge amount of drill work. Our children don't mind doing these.
I really like the full color paintings used in the picture studies. She also uses a lot of familiar poetry and character sketches. They are designed to be consumed, however I have all my older students (4th grade +) writing in a notebook rather than in the book itself.

To get more information, see the Queen's website at www.queenhomeschool.com . She has information about which book to place your child in. She also has pdf files containing about 6 pages from each book which are also helpful in deciding. The titles of the books are a little misleading as to what levels are being taught, but don't let that bother you. If you want to follow a Charlotte Mason approach or maybe you just have a boy (or girl) who hates busy work, these are for you.


This review was done just because I wanted to share what I have appreciated, nobody asked me to do it and I got nothing for it.
~Mom

Hot Times in the Kitchen

This man is my hero. He had the brilliant idea of installing an oven in the kitchen. His buddy was over and the two of them ran a new electric line. His Buddy, Jeff, got a real 'charge' out of this job. They didn't have the power turned off in one of the circuits they were working on. Our house was wired by a schizophrenic electrician. We have things on one circuit in the attic, garage, AND the basement. We have lived here for 13 years, and we still have switches that we don't know what they go to.

For the last few years we have used an oven in the garage. It is nice in the summer, but in the winter you need to put boots on to go out there, because the snow blows in under the door. It has worked OK.

We had a dysfunctional double oven in the kitchen that we were using for storing the cast iron pots in the top one and trivets and such in the bottom one. It was not a thing of beauty. Here it is on it's way out. (YEAH!!)

My DH recently picked up this brand new oven off a job and it is the right size (very small) to fit in the old space. This is so sweet! There is even a little room underneath that will still work for storage as this is only a single oven. We have the good life, a little oven in the kitchen and a big one close by in the garage. Some people still must cook over dung fires. We have no problems.
Thanks Darling! You are a Prince among men!

~Mom

Third (and Last) Semester-Charlotte Mason Style

Spring is on my mind!! Unfortunately, these pictures were not taken outside. They are from the 2009 Home and Flower Show. It still makes my heart happy to see them on a rainy, dreary day like today. These photos were taken by Michelle.

This is our spring semester of school. I am going to run through our 'morning time' schedule. This is a constantly evolving process from semester to semester. We didn't start here but have gradually grown to this point. I would recommend that if this is something you are interested in then first try a few things and then a few more, until you like how it is. For more ideas... Read 'The Charlotte Mason Companion' by Karen Andreola. This is a great book with short chapters that is easy to read. It gives good information on her ideas, parenting, and home education. Check out http://www.heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/ . She has written a lot of articles recently on how they school following the Charlotte Mason Approach. When you hear or read a list don't be intimidated because it sounds like so much. Remember that each part is done for only a brief (3-15 minute) time. You can do a lot of different things then in a relatively short time. Also, http://www.amblesideonline.org/ also has scheduling helps and ways to make these ideas practical and do-able. You DON'T have to use EVERY idea ALL the time. This is your school and you get to make the rules and decisions. Relax and enjoy your children.

Prayer: Every day we start off with prayer for others and for each other.

Hymn: Changes Monthly. March is 'Alas, and Did my Savior Bleed' by Isaac Watts

Bible: We are working through Kay Arthur's "How to Study the Bible in 28 Days", and then we want to do a brief study of Philippians.

Scripture: Memorizing Romans 10. These are the verses the children need to learn to go to camp, along with completing their AWANA book.

Poetry: We will be memorizing 'The Moon', 'Summer Sun' by Robert Louis Stevenson, (from 'Child's Garden of Verses') and maybe one or two other shorter poems.

Lists: We will review our States and Capitols, 10 Commandments, Judges of Israel, and Kings of Judah.

Book: Currently finishing, 'Freckles' by Gene Stratton Porter, Then we will start a Douglas Bond Book, then if there is time we will do another Ralph Moody book.

Variety: Monday we read a creation book, Tuesday- Science (Inventions and Technology), Thursday- Art or Drawing

Logic- We use a variety of fun things. Monday is a general knowledge quiz book from 1943, Tuesday - Cards from 20 questions, or Tri-bond, Wednesday- Lateral Thinking Puzzles, Thursday- 2 Minute Mysteries by Donald Sobol (He wrote the Encyclopedia Brown Series for Youngsters also)

Missionary Story- Currently reading 'Missionary to the Headhunters' by Frank Drown

Jungle Doctor Series by Paul White, we are on Book 9 in the series.

Thankfulness Journal- The children have to write down three things they are thankful for in a notebook everyday. We had to come up with some guidelines or they got lazy.

History- Mystery of History Vol. 1

Literature Reading- A half hour of silent reading in a book I assign them. I choose books that are little more challenging to them, a new author or a genre of literature.

History Reading- A biography, source material, classic, or historical fiction that ties in to the period of history that we are studying. This is what I use to make a multi-level history course appropriate to whatever grade they are at.

Writing- The bain of my existence. I keep trying and failing and trying again to work on this. We are fairly faithful at writing letters and creative writing assignments.

Please remember, we don't read every book every day! Honestly, this takes us about 2.5-3 hours to get through.

In the afternoon the children do their math, music, chores, recess (outside play about an hour/day, the younger boys get even more), science (for the older ones, Jay Wile's Apologia Series), READING -I assign them multiple books to read through in a semester.

That's school at the Mango Academy.

~Mom

Awana Grand Prix 2010

Awana Grand Prix is a pinewood derby race. Every 'child' is given a block of pinewood and axles and 4 wheels. Their job is to decorate the car and get it to run as fast as it can. The children are very creative in their designs. They do have to follow the rules.

One of the most important rules is to get your car as close to 5 ounces without going over. Weight is really important in getting a gravity powered car to go quickly. They work hard at sanding their axles and using graphite so they can minimize friction. The ones really trying to win the speed race go for an aerodynamic shape.

This year we used a different track. This one was shorter and had four lanes rather than our usual two. Having four lanes made it so things moved a lot faster. We had about 80 clubbers cars to race. Mr. Bingham and my Dad placed the cars and got everything lined up and ready to go. The track had a timing system that was able to time each car down to a thousandth of a second. Very high tech!

The clubbers had a great time and there was good sportsmanship by all the children. The room got a little warm as you can tell by the bright red cheeks on Jenna.

There was an open race for the adults. They were more competitive than the children. There were some pretty impressive cars. They allow the adults to use more weight, solid axles and different wheels if they want. They used to allow them to use power sources, but that got a little bit too much.

Here JoAn and Mr. Boots were helping run the sound system. We have a great announcer for the races.

This is Elizabeth's car that Michelle 'helped' (Made) her make. It is three Indians in a canoe with a fur bale. One of the Indians has a papoose on her back.

This is Mr. Boots 'car'. he installed LED lights in the front and flashing ones in the back. He won second place for speed in the Trek/Journey division.

These are just some pictures of some creative cars. The top one is an ice cream sandwich, the second is a carrot and the bottom is a blackberry phone. Well done!

The top three out of all the groups got trophies. The hot air balloon one was the third place winner and was won by my niece Joy. The top part was removable for going down the track.

The ear of corn won second place. Good job Daniel!

In first place we have Michelle's lighthouse car. She used clay for the buildings and the boats and gelatin for the water. Notice the rocks jutting out of the water. It took a lot of time and thought. Way to go!

Love ya girlfriend!

~Mom

Signs of Spring?

The sun is shining and the snow is melting! Can spring be far behind? That beautiful bright orb in the sky has been absent for months it seems. We have really missed it's brilliance.

I am always fascinated by the way the snow binds together and overhangs roof lines. The snow shaped by the wind, Seeming to defy gravity. It stays there for a long time when the weather is cold. One flake binding to the one beside it, holding on. Not too long after I took this picture, the snow let go and fell with a gentle 'whumph' to the ground below.

Another sign of spring, is the reappearance of the gardening beds from beneath the snow. It won't be long and we will be starting the lettuce and the peas. We have a little cold frame that we can attach.

The giant pile of firewood has shrunk considerably. We may burn off and on over the next 6-8 weeks, but it is no longer the constant burning of winter. It is good to see that we still have wood left. Also, if you could see the other side of the yard, you would see that once again we are collecting large logs to begin the process all over again. We thank God for His faithfulness in providing all our needs. DH has had steady work all winter. That has been a real blessing.

~Mom

Igloo Building

The last snow we had was nice and moist. For our southern friends, this means it was a really good packing snow. It made great snowmen and snow forts. The children attempted to build an igloo during recess.

They used a drawer from a small refrigerator to form their blocks. The drawer will never be the same. It is now held together with duct tape. The combination of cold and banging shortened it's life dramatically.

The boys did a good job as they tried to figure out how to bring it in and make an arch for the entrance.

With so many helpers, sometimes the walls got bumped and knocked down a bit. Here Mr. Boots, Thomas and Chance are working together.

They finally got the arch finished and over the doorway. They had mighty plans, however recess ended and the weather warmed before they got it finished. It was a good opportunity to practice their architectural skills and some basic geometry. They had a good time doing it too.

~Mom

Why is Dallas in the Back Hall?

That is an excellent question that my cousin Susanna asked. Why is our outdoor dog sleeping in the back hall? The answer has to do with his very active night life.

Dallas is part hound/part black lab and he likes to pretend he is a mighty hunter. We don't know what kind of hound he is part of. When we watch him run we think he may be part gray hound. But the other night he may have given us another clue.

He treed a coon in the back yard! He was so proud of himself! He would hide in the shed and whenever that coon started to move he would tear out barking and make sure it didn't try to escape. We brought him into the house after he was still barking in the early morning hours. Since then, he regularly patrols the yard at night and starts barking at all the nocturnal critters that wander around in the back field behind our house. Mom got tired of being awakened at midnight several nights in a row and so now he gets to sleep in the back hall. We do barricade him in with two baby gates as he has a prodigious jumping ability and will try and make a snack run to the kitchen if he isn't contained.

~Mom

Snowy Amish Country

This year there has been a much larger snowfall than usual in Amish country. I have been going down there regularly for many years and this is the first year I have been snowed 'in' and then snowed 'out'. The snow on the corn shocks was beautiful as we drove down. It was a Saturday instead of Friday. The roads were too bad to come on our regularly scheduled day.

The cows were content in the gently falling snow. They just kept munching away.

The snow kept falling and this cow wanted to stay in the barn.

Mr Boots stopped to pet the farm cat. She is a very affectionate cat and even comes when the farmer's wife calls.

This is the real reason we are late getting home occasionally. Michelle likes to get the pony cart out and drive it around. She goes up to the chicken house and gathers eggs or just up and down the driveway if there is nothing to do. The winter is a beautiful time of year on a farm. The quiet is profound. The contrast between light and dark is stark. It reminds one of the contrast between God's righteousness and our lives. Thank God for His salvation to us.

~Mom

Winter Fun- Sledding

JoAn had the day off and the weather was perfect for sledding. She took the children and a couple of the neighbors to the hill. Everybody else was in school so they had the hill to themselves.

The children thought they would try 'snowboarding' on their sleds.

You can always spot Thomas in his hunter blaze orange coveralls.

T-Bob got that standing up while going down the hill thing down pretty well. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but this is a pretty steep hill.

Thomas endured the sledding, and the snow kept falling....

~Mom

The Beauty of Modesty

I received The Beauty of Modesty for Christmas this year. It is an excellent book, but a slow read because of the wealth of material. It took me until the middle of February to complete it. It is worthy of being read again. This book is written for an older teen or adult.

The Beauty of Modesty (Cultivating Virtue in the Face of a Vulgar Culture) is written by David and Diane Vaughan, a husband and wife. They spent over a year researching, studying, and preparing the material. This book can be purchased from Vision Forum or Amazon.

The Beauty of Modesty is divided into three sections-1 The Need for Modesty, 2 The Nature of Modesty, and 3 The Nurture of Modesty. Mr. & Mrs. Vaughan start off the book by defining what modesty is not and give a working definition which is developed throughout the book. A key point is that modesty is more than the outward appearance, it is a matter of the heart. They quote lengthy passages of Scripture throughout the book to support their arguments. Quotations from different authors precede each chapter as well as being sprinkled throughout.


In the first section, the Vaughans lay a biblical framework to their discussion and reply to some common objections. They show how the current worldview has affected modesty significantly, even turning the lack of it into a money making industry. Lastly, they discuss how the church has fallen prey to the world's thinking.


The middle section begins with the most basic fact that the body is created by God. The Vaughans build from there with what the Bible says. I found it interesting how Mr. & Mrs. V. connect the very act of immodesty with adultery. (Immodesty leads to lust which leads to adultery. Matthew 5:27,28) They also say that the sixth and the seventh commandments are related. Why? If adultery is being committed, then the family, as God intended it, is destroyed; and, if families aren't thriving, violation of the sixth commandment increases. Do's and don'ts on what to wear are not given, but rather guidelines for what modesty isn't (ostentation, androgyny, sensuality, and association). From here to the end of the book, the Vaughans mainly deal with the modesty of the heart.

The final section starts with a solid definition of marriage and family. Modesty needs to be nurtured in the home as well as in the church. In the church God is to be worshiped and exalted. If we dress or behave in an immodest way we are drawing the attention away from God. Who would want to be guilty of that? One reason they give for this, is an improper view of God. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan also deal briefly with how the liberty we have in Christ should not cause others to stumble. Finally, the question is given, "How is one to do this?" Total commitment to Christ and His word is their answer, with which I agree. Should we not live that way anyway? Denying ourselves daily, taking up our crosses, and following Christ is HARD. It is war. Modesty is a battle every person needs to fight, win, and maintain, but not in their own strength.


These are the two final sentences in the last chapter. "Yield to Him and He will renew your mind, transform your soul, and sanctify your affections. Then, and only then, will you know the meaning of beauty and gain the virtue of modesty."


After reading this book I was again reminded of the need for modesty. I was also reminded that the Christian life is all connected in Christ. He is the one that holds all things together, has reconciled us to Himself, and makes us complete in Him. If we are being rooted and grounded in Him (Colossians 2:6-7), modesty, and everything else He desires from us, will follow.

~JoAn


P.S. It is not wisdom to wait a month to write a book review after completing the book. :)

Dallas Sings a Duet with a Harmonica

Hello, we're still here, but blogging hasn't it made it to the top of our to do list. Mom has several blogs in her head, as do I. I even started a book review, but haven't got around to finishing it.

I was doing some supper prep and found this duo quite entertaining. Michelle started playing the harmonica and then Dallas made himself comftorable and started to join her.

I'll do my best do get the book review out in the next week. :)

~JoAn

Sometimes random is nice

Please note that these desserts were made in about a three year period. as we are NOT sugar junkies. The above picture is of whipped cream on top of strawberries, with a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

A carrot cake made for my friend Becki's birthday.

An apple pie for Mr. Boots 16th birthday.

A raspberry chocolate cheesecake.

A 'swamp' cake for Elizabeth's 4th birthday.

A lemon pudding.

~Michelle