What should I buy?

What curriculum should I get for my 5yr old? I've heard that question more and more lately. I don't know if it's because more are homeschooling. I think about that and wonder who in the world likes worksheets, bookwork for every subject and to sit and do that day after day.

Children learn more when things are fun. Do we have to get a language book? Do we have to get a math book? What about science or history? I've learned after all these years that fun is better to prevent burnout. If things are fun there will not be the whining of "do I have to do this again" or "not that again."

Some kiddos like to do worksheets but I don't bombard my children with them. When my youngest was learning to add I used those little bear counters to show him what adding was. Of course then that lead to playing all day with those teddy bear counters. It was fun for him and he played putting them and taking them away. Did I mention my boys are into Lego creating? Their little brains figure out how to make different things. It's amazing sometimes at the things he can make with those little blocks.

We do lots of reading together. I have him read a little bit everyday. Then I read a book or two. What makes it fun is that our reading time ritual is that now it's a bit colder we go read in my bed under the covers. Yes, under the covers. That means my bed doesn't get made till around noon. Whooops, did I just admit that! Those are the times that make it fun and make memories. My little one looks forward to getting into my bed to listen to me read a book and a few bible stories from our Bible Stories book.

There are art projects to add to the fun. Watercolors have been a big thing this year.

So what am I saying with all this. Well, children learn more in a fun way. My little one is a 5yr old and I want him to love to learn and have fun while doing it. He picks up so much from the others when we are reading their science books or talk about history. Soon enough he will be older and then I will add more sitting down work and have him do more writing. For now I am enjoying our fun times.

Picture Quiz 2

I took these pictures on a drive way out in the middle of no where. I'm amazed there was paved road out there. So what do you think they are? I did crop them to make it harder for you to figure it out. It wouldn't be any fun if I left the full picture!!

Look back on this post for the answer by Friday. Take a guess.

Anyone willing to guess?

Answer: Peacock!!

If you go to the following site you will see there are many different varities. http://database.amyspeacockparadise.com/intro.html

Now I know many saw this post but were you all just waiting for the answer? I'll try another picture quiz next Wed and see if there are more guesses. Thanks, Nancy for playing along.

Death will be no more...

Revelation 21:3, 4
With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: "Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away."

Fun at home

What a fun visit we had this month. One week is too short for such a great visit but it will have to do till next time. Our visitor played the Wii with the boys. Everyone had a blast. They played baseball, golf and even tennis.
Everyone had to take turns and everyone was yelling and cheering everyone on.
We had dinner but my favorite was this. YUM!!! Hubby made oatmeal raisin cookies and I made and orange cake, choc covered strawberries and pretzels. Oh it was soooo yummy.
The food was good too but I love those choc covered pretzels. Those are the best. You can't just eat one. You have to have a handful.

I think we had 24 in our house that Saturday. Next time around they said they were going to stay longer so they could exercise on the Wii. hehehe It was a blast!

A thought for today

Remember to turn off the music at the bottom.

Privately sharing in a not so private way with "YOU."

People come and go but a friend will forever stay in my heart.

Miss ya.

Learning Math

It's pretty neat to see a little one learning math. He loves to do this. Here he is figuring it out using his fingers.
His handwriting is pretty good for being that small. Oh and he loves those smaller mechanical pencils.
He is excited to be doing subtraction. See his book? This is Rod and Staff. Short repetition exercises is wonderful for him.
My little one loves his math and is so excited to be doing his subtraction even though it is with the 1's. He is such a big boy.

Picture Quiz

How about a picture quiz???? Can you name this object? What do you think it is? Come on, play the game. Chime in and take a guess.

Update: Yes, a rattle from a rattlesnake. The white on the end is from salt. Hubby was told to put salt to dry the end and we are very obedient. hehe Good guesses!!

A slugs life

As I was sending off our guests last night and coming back into the garage I passed this long black thing on the ground. At first sight I thought it was a stick, getting old and all and needing glasses. hehehe Then I got down and it was a slug. So I quickly ran inside and got our little bug collector. It was amazing to see it slither up and wanted to share. My boys say it looks like a conveyor belt going along. Whatcha think? Here is a link that you might find interesting. http://www.arnobrosi.com/slugbio.html

Is three a crowd?

What do you think? Is three a crowd? These are the lemon and orange trees that we have been picking from. See how much fruit is still on these. This was after we picked a trunk full. So far several friends have benefited from our day out picking.


Boys will be boys. They had to play while we were out there. It's just inviting.
Ok time to go! Load'em up and get'em out of there. That's enough fun for the day.

Let's Pray

My nephew had seen this guy outside but when we went it was gone. So the following day he came over with his little critter viewing bucket and he brought it over so we can see it. Of course, we had to get the camera out and take picture after picture till I got a few good ones.

A few things we learned about the praying mantis....Did you know that the Carolina Mantid was designated the state insect of South Carolina? We learned that camouflage is very important to their survival because they have many enemies such as birds and they must blend in so as not to be eaten. They also have a triangular shaped head with a large compound eye on each side. Praying mantids are the only insects that can turn from side to side to a full 180 degree angle. Wow!! When these creatures are at rest their front forelegs are held up as though they are praying. Pretty deceptive since what they are doing it waiting till their next prey comes along and they can quickly grab it and chomp down on it.

Their front legs have rows of sharp spines used to take hold of their prey. When a prey comes too close not knowing they are there this silent and very still killer thrusts its forelegs to catch it. Then quickly it bites the neck of the prey and begins to devour it. Most often it begins to eat its prey instantly and therefore usually the prey is still alive while it starts chomping down. This ensures a quick death and quickly stops the struggle of the unsuspecting victim.

Their menu includes other mantises, beetles, butterflies, spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, small vertebrates such as small tree frogs, lizards, mice and even some hummingbirds. So is it a pest?

Some might think they are but they are beneficial too. These Praying mantises are a terrific pest exterminator. Great for gardens where there are usually an abundance of pests.

Doesn't it look like it's wondering what I am doing? hehehe
There you have a little nature lesson for today.

Life of a rose

Field Trip Time

We went picking oranges and lemons again today. Check out this tree. There are 3 orange trees and 2 lemons trees and 1 persimmon. We picked to our hearts content. Look how full this tree is.

Lots of persimmons on this tree. We went with another family and had fun playing out there as well as picking our fruit. Here is a lemon tree.
"Hey MOM, is this lemon ok?"
"I got this one way up here."
"Mom, I'm too tired, I'll just lay here."
"Ok, you rest while I try skateboarding." hehehehe

Seriously, we had a blast out there. It was quiet and far away from everything. I think the only live thing we saw out there were a few cows and a dog. It was a nice morning.

Sissy Biker Chic

This is me. I know I'm a chicken, don't tell me that. hehehe Sorry but I couldn't turn the video. It was sent to me differently and there was no way I could figure out how to turn it. Hope it looks good. Don't laugh too much now.

Spider, spider, beware!

The Venusta Orchard Spider (Leucauge) spider has bright green and silvery-white markings on its body. Some specimens have yellow, orange, or reddish markings. Males are half the size of females. They carry their egg-shaped abdomens high. The legs are very long. This spider lives in open, light areas, on one foot-wide orb webs built on trees and shrubs. They are not considered harmful to humans. The species name venusta comes from Latin meaning "beautiful", and that is certainly true of this spider.

All this from a little walk around the house. This little guy was in my shrubs. Gotta love my shrubs for giving me new things to look at. By the way, the bright green was more of an iridescent green and the red spots were almost neon red color. Very beautiful indeed.

Beautiful Sunset

As I was coming home today I couldn't help but stopping and taking a picture of this sunset. The sun was hiding behind those clouds and giving off a beautiful pinkish color. Absolutely gorgeous!

Biker Chic

Mine will be coming sometime soon. But had to load this one up to show you how much fun we had.

Easy Day

We went out picking oranges and lemons from a friends trees and after that we decided to take a neat trip back home. I drove for miles on this rock road and came across this neat creek. This was amazing to see in the middle of no where.

We also saw this cemetery. This was actually a beautiful area. Nice trees. Again in the middle of no where. There were no houses for miles. It was a nice drive.
After getting home my little one wanted to play with some horse shoes I had gotten for them a while ago. It was perfect weather to be outside so he had fun.
My 5yr old loves that scooter. He had some great outdoor time this day.

Time for a field trip

We spent the night in San Antonio, Texas and we had made plans to meet with some friends and go to a museum. It was the Witte Museum. It was so much fun. Even though I still had my crazy headache. I have some pictures to share of our fun. This place had a dinosaur exhibit that the kids loved. The dinos moved and roared.

Never a dull moment with my kids. See one of the kids peaking in on the picture.

My little one was staying as close as he could to dad. He was avoiding those teeth.

Of course this kiddo always does something crazy for a picture. Don't you all have at least one of these kids?

There was an area where you could sit on the dino and get a picture. Of course, we had to do that.

There were also other things to do. We did a laser show. The kids had to put some "special" hand cream on and rub it in good then they were all sent to wash their hands. The man there then put a black light on their hands and guess what?

Their nails were the dirtiest part of their hands.

My two boys looking outside. Beautiful wooded area there.
My baby loves this thing. You pull the rope which lifts a bowling ball and you let it go and with the air pressure a tennis ball shots up the other tube. Pretty cool!

Lots of fun things to touch and move.

Girls also playing

Now I saved the best for last. There was this bike to ride. This bike was on a steal line. The line was hooked from one point to the other and it was high up off the ground. As you back up on the line you start swaying and feeling like you will fall off. Here are the boys.







I didn't get very far. hehehe I started swaying and it felt like I was falling and couldn't go on. Yes, I'm a wimp. Tough exterior but a total wimp and not ashamed to say it.

Our group picture. Don't we look nice?

We went out to eat at a restaurant called Mi Tierra. Good mexican food. Yum!!

That was our wonderful Monday field trip. It's always nice to go somewhere and spend time with friends.