The Paper Bunting Tutorial

Poppa built Ceesa, Jo-Jo, and Little Man a playhouse last summer. The outside is finished, but the inside could use some decorating. When I saw this paper bunting at sunnydaytodaymomma, I knew it was perfect for our playhouse.

We used the book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. It was well-loved and had lost its binding long ago.

First, I folded a page we weren’t going to use at the middle. I used this middle line as a center point for the triangles point.

Then from the sides I folded the edges.

I folded about 1 inch down and cut the tips that were hanging down.  I unfolded it and used this page as a template.

After I cut out each triangle,

 I hot glued the ends and

middle of the 1 inch fold down over a string.

We found the perfect place and hung it in the playhouse.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

Drawing the Eye

This month we’ve been drawing the body.

We’ve drawn to scale and made people in comparison to each other.

Then we tried this eye.

 I drew one.

Ceesa and Jo-Jo did a little more.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

Today we've... Spelled a handful of words- Made and ate strawberry/banana muffins- Wrote a script and made a movie of the maid turned princess and watched it over lunch- Did some math, Ceesa helping Jo-Jo- Read Burgess Bird book Chapter 5 about robins and from the Handbook of Nature Study-Momma added bunches to her nature notebook, like baby robins can eat up to 68 worms a day yikes!- Played real world with Poppa; including making a sign that say, "For Sale Apartments and $16 house"- Worked on a playhouse bunting- Played math games on the I-Pad and listened to fairy tales- Still on the list...read Seed Babies and make Fry bread for dinner. Wishing you homeschool blessings, Bethany

Hummingbird Migration 2012

It has been 2 years now since I saw it,

but I still remember sitting on the steps at the front door

and watching a hummingbird swinging back and forth rapidly.

Flying up quickly and then diving back down

in an arch.

At the time, I didn't know what exactly was happening,

but after a little research I found out that during the mating season this nose-dive along with a sharp squeak or trill is to impress females. It was the hummingbird mating dance.

I just read that the hummingbirds are making an

early arrival for 2012. I am so excited.

We haven't seen any yet, but today,

we laid in the yard watching a pair

of robins feeding their babies.

It was so sweet to see the babies' heads peek above the nest.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

Ibn Battuta

~photo from wikipedia.com

Ibn Battuta 1304-1377

After studying Marco Polo,

we decided to look at an explorer

from Morocco.

Ibn Battuta visited

Isreal, Persia, Turkey, India, Indonesia, China, and East Africa

from 1325- 1354.

In his travels,

 he made it a rule

to never travel any road twice. 

Dear friends of ours lived in Morocco

for a time and

they volunteered to tell us

about the country.

We had a Moroccan Tea

(yes, we do like tea around here)

and tried on traditional Moroccan clothes.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

Seed Study

It is almost time

to begin gardening.

Well, we already have peas and onions in.

So I thought it would be a great time to study seeds.

We started by comparing and contrasting

different types of seeds.

Then we wrapped some up

in damp paper towels.

After 3 days, we unrolled them

 and were blessed with sprouts. 

sunflower

pea

corn



I thought we'd be about finished,

but Ceesa and Jo-Jo

decided we should plant them.

After about a week,

we could compare the differences in the sprouts.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,
Bethany

The Illusive Myrtle Warbler

I took this picture in the fall

and began searching

high and low for a resource to identify it.

I started going a bit mad,

I couldn't seem to find its identity anywhere.

And then it happened,

when I wasn't looking.

Isn't that how it always is?

You come upon something

when you'd given it up for lost.

It happened while reading

Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-watching, Shore Walking 

byJim Arnosky.

This is a myrtle warbler.

After I discovered its name,

I found some terrific information online.

All About Birds

Wishing you homeschool blessings,
Bethany

Bayeux Tapestry

While reading,
In the Days of William the Conqueror,

we discovered that
there was a tapestry
that was made by William's wife.

It is called the Bayeux Tapestry.
We found this amazing site with all of the parts.

from Wikipedia.com

Wishing you homeschool blessings,
Bethany

Play House Stepping Stones

My Momma got Ceesa stepping stones

for her birthday.

Ceesa and Jo-Jo couldn't wait

to get started on them.

Daddy helped them mix everything up

and they were off.

We thought they'd look great by the play house.

Who knew making stepping stones is so easy?

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

The New Momma

Look at what we found

when we got up this morning...

 A Baby?



 Yes sir.

Nursing

Running on knobby knees

We just had to go see how a baby colt

was born...

Then there have been books written

with Baby and Momma dialogue

and a video documentary. :)

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

Birthday Tea

Ceesa just had a birthday tea party.

For keepsakes,
we made these flower pins
from Tatertots and Jello.

We played this great pinata game...

It was an idea from Family Fun magazine.

Instead of beating the pinata

(not very tea party like),

you simply pull a ribbon at the bottom.

One of them is for a trap door.

When you pull the one on the door,

the candy spills out.

We played this old fashioned spider web game...

Every party goer gets on color yarn

and follows it to collect gifts.

and had a craft...

We printed off templates from All You.

The party turned out really nice

especially since Ceesa

got the stomach flu

3 days before her party

and only stopped being sick

the morning of her party.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

Easter Projects

For some reason that I can't explain,

I can't bring myself to blog

about our holiday projects until

after the holiday.

This year I made each of the kids something.

My grandmother used to make quilts.

As the years have passed,

she has begun to make quilted pillows.

We have about a dozen

and recently she sent a couple

of the pillow cases home

to me with my Momma.

I could have stuffed them and

added them to our collection,

but I had another idea.

I made hand bags out of them

by lining the inside and adding handles.

Ceesa and Jo-Jo each got one for Easter.

 

I stuffed the bags with a couple of little gifts.

Little Man got this puppy that I crocheted...

So those were my holiday projects.

And this was my gift from Ceesa...

And a picture for the frig...

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany