Civil War Play

Jeb:  Hey Mom, did the Civil War last four years?

Me:  Uh, I think so.

Jeb: I'm pretty sure it was four years mom.  And since it lasted four years, everyday for the next four years we are going to play Civil War.  We won't stop playing until I'm eleven.

.Civil War encampment...see the fire made from sticks and bright yellow leaves

our little soldier

showing off their rifles

My Little Yard Man...

This boy has been weed eating the yard since he was big enough to walk.

Any stick that was long enough...a plastic one for awhile...

And finally a homemade weed eater.

His Pop mows lawns and he can't wait to be a helper...

Fun on the Farm...

Yesterday we enjoyed a day on the farm

Peinhardt Farm Day was back this year and lots of fun!

We began with a tour of the East Pasture...

ole time woodworking

chair caning

soap making

candle making

trapper association display

log cabin construction

medicinal wild plant display

sling shot shootin'

We then moved on to the petting zoo

(feel the horns Little Bitty)

quilt making

and wagon ride to the field for...

cotton picking 

 sweet potato picking

mule driving

 sugar cane tasting

Back up the museums and old school house for...

apple cider tasting

grist mill

blacksmith shop

sack races

marbles

walking on stilts

What a fun day!!!

 

October Fieldtrip

We were so blessed to be a part of a great field trip last week.

A fellow homeschooling dad who is studying under the herbalist

Darryl Patton

who studied under 

Tommie Bass

offered to host a field trip on his property.

For a couple of hours, we were able to take a tour of his property.

We stopped and talked about trees, flowers and plants.

He identified the plants for us and discussed their medicinal uses.

Anyone who knows me...

knows this field trip was more fun for me than the kids.

I loved every minute of it...

and when he offered to host another walk...

I was ready to sign up that day!

Here are some of the fascinating things we learned...

Smart Weed

pink and white variety

an herb to support the kidney's

good to combine with sumac

asks as catalyst for other herbs

sumac berries

can use to make homemade pink lemonade

boil water first...add berries...let steep

helps treat bladder infections

(white berries indicate...poison sumac)

Goldenrod

make a tea with flowers

supports kidney/bladder 

Wood Sorrel

see the heart shaped leaves...three leaves in a cluster

Add to salads...High in Vitamin C

used to treat scurvy

(although too much can result in kidney stones)

yellow dock

large leaves in center...

cooked or raw

liver herb

Spurge

Hard to see here...but when you break the stems open a white latex liquid oozes out

the liquid is caustic

good for warts, moles, skin cancers

Loblolly Pine

pine needle tea

High in Vit. C

resin acts as an antibacterial on wounds and also seals it.

 

mimosa "flower of happiness"

mood elevator

tea from blooms for 4 weeks or more

Isn't this all so fascinating?

 

Teaching Reading...Round Two...

I began teaching Boo to read at the beginning of the summer.

He was about to turn six...and he was beginning to ask when he would be able to read.

I had already taught Bo to read using Miss Mason's suggestion...Now for Boo.

I was a little more nervous as I began teaching Boo.

1.  Because his attention span is not hardly as long as Bo's.

2.  He says, "I forgot" about a lot of things...I was a little afraid that it would carry over into reading.

3.I wondered if he might need a more structured approach...leveled decodable texts..for practice and confidence.

These were my concerns, but I moved ahead with Miss Mason's suggestions.

He had found a Dick and Jane reader on the shelf and wanted to learn a couple of the stories.

We began with Puff, then moved to Spot.

I introduced the words by sight.  He practiced making a picture of the word in his mind...then he wrote the word on the dry erase board...next he made the word with the letter tiles...after that he found the word in a list of other words.  He was soon able to read the story using this method.  The stories are repetitive and he only needed to learn about five words to be able to read them.

The next day we made word lists using the decodable words in the story.

For example... spot...pot...dot...cot...lot...hot

So...were my fears founded?

Not really,  he is really excited about learning to read.  he can sit for 20-30 minutes.  On average our lessons probably last 20 minutes.

As the lessons have gotten harder, he sometimes forgets a new word and gets frustrated when I lead him through the steps to figure it out...but most of the time he does just fine!

And he is so excited to be able to read some interesting books...

Science reader and decodable practice cards...

practicing the sentences in the story...

finding the word grows in the list

He is now beginning Green Eggs and Ham

This book is providing lots of sight word practice and rhyming practice.

I am so proud of his progress...and so is he..I can tell because he wants to read his new words to everyone;)

Here Comes A Chick...

I was looking through some pictures back form the summer when I realized I hadn't posted this...

We had a mama hen who was sitting on about eight eggs.

When the first few hatched she was anxious to get off of the nest...

So she left a few eggs.  We listened and heard some peeping and a chipping sound.

There was another chick who was trying to hatch.

We were able to hold the egg and watch one of God's little miracles...

Hello, Baby Chick...

Look Who Has A Ponytail Now...

and she's also found her tongue, she sticks it out a lot lately...

Exploring for Bugs...

The summer was hot.  So one day after we had been inside for awhile, I sent the littles out with the bug bucket

the magnifying glasses and a book about bugs.  Explore the garden...See what you can find...that was

the instruction. I soon followed with the camera.  We found some great insects to draw in our nature notebooks.

I even captured a  couple of insects in pictures...

Boo looking at the okra stalk with his magnifying glass...

eggs on a leaf...

Boo searching the grass for bugs...

gulf fritillary on the zinnias...

Bo checking under the carpet...

See the dragonfly...

Next we came inside and...

examined the bugs

looked them up in the field guides

drew them in our nature notebooks

Finished Products...