Why Do Dogs Have 4 Legs?

my response, "Because if they had 3 they would go a lot slower".

My Thoughts Flit, So Why Shouldn't My Children's.

Charlotte recognized that fact: "Here is the secret of the weariness of the home schoolroom—the children are thinking all the time about something else than their lessons; or rather, they are at the mercy of the thousand fancies that flit through their brains, each in the train of the last" (Vol. 1, p. 139).

Here is a great post about how children's minds wander. I can tell you I laughed out loud at the play by play of this mom reading a story to her children.

Here is how reading a story in my house goes.

"I am sitting there."
"No I am sitting there."
"Mommy her legs are in my way."
"I can't see."
"Now I can't see the pictures."
"Mommy he is in my spot."
(I finally start to read)
"I can't see the picture."
"Ouch, he stepped on my hand."
(Vroom, vroom, one child has walked over to the toys)
"That's my car stop playing with it"
Me "Do you want me to READ THIS STORY OR NOT?"

F is Frog

F is for Frog.

What We Have Been Studying

Here is a brief synopsis.

We started 1st Grade this April.
This year we are basically following the Well Trained Mind Curriculum.

My 6 year old is......
Saxon Math 1
Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding
Story of The World-Ancient History
Song School Latin
Abeka Readers
A Reason For Handwriting 1 (seriously considering)
Handwriting Without Tears K (still continuing)

My 4 year old is.......
Saxon Math K
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
and following older brother in History and Science when possible.

And my Dennis the Menace in a dress who knows only two volumes, loud and louder, is continuing with My Father's World.

I haven't bought a timeline yet for my basement walls, I hope to find it at one of the curriculum sales this summer.

Homeschool TV?

Yes it is called the Homeschool Channel. I am not sure if its on any cable or satellite packages at this time, but they do live stream. They have some interesting shows about history, biology and more.

How to Build a Catapult: Fun Science Experiments | eHow.com

We had built a Castle last week out of the empty oven box. A coat of white paint (far messier to clean up when you let a 5, 4 and 2 year old apply it) and some flags made out of wooden barbeque skewers. The boys made England flags in honor of Daddy and I drew a "Don't Tread On Me" Naval flag because my oldest son thought it was cool but too difficult to attempt himself.

How to Build a Catapult: Fun Science Experiments | eHow.com Then we built a catapult today. We didn't have any wood, so I grabbed an heavy duty frozen chicken box. It was empty, so I needed some weight so that it wouldn't flip over when the energy was released. Three full bottles of useless vitamins, bought with a coupon of course.

We also didn't have any push pins, but I did find some medium screws. So I screwed them into the box. It is hard to see in the video, but you should screw the pins or screws closer to the corners and not the dead center of the sides.

And my final tip is to twist the rubber band many times to get it to grasp the spoon well.

The inspiration for the catapult was from the DK Eyewitness Castle book I grabbed from the library yesterday.

Preserving Butterflies......

So I saved the butterflies bodies and their cocoons. Every time I washed the dishes I could see these deteriorating insect corpses in a little glass bowl at eye level. An antennae hung over the lip of the bowl along with a pair of yellow plastic bug tweezers.
I would look at them and think, if Jesus came back, I wonder if the antennae would start moving on their own..
Like zombie butterflies.

Anyways, I decided recently in one of my 3 am staring at walls in the dark with my eyes closed sessions (instigated by being awakened to nurse in the other room for the second time in one night because I wasn't protecting the nap...argh....)

That I should... Declutter.

Tonight I read this. http://www.ehow.com/how_5392804_preserve-butterfly-wings.html

Um no. I can't stick a needle through a butterfly. I can stick a knife in a snake and skin him but not a butterfly.
I was at the homeschool group last week and the lady asked how the butterflies did (she was the one who had lent me the butterfly net, the REAL butterfly net).
I told her they did okay, they final guy only died a couple of weeks ago.
Why didn't you release them?
I told her they came from New York across state lines and had this paperwork that said I couldn't release them so I had to watch them die, all of them.
Did they do a death move she asked?
Yes they did, they did a death dance near the end and would flap their wings real fast. And then I would try and nurse them back to health with some honey water. Sometimes it would give them a few more days... It was kinda sad.
I think I was more attached to them because I saw them being born and there was blood (meconium, actually, see previous posts).

But honestly people, you don't understand the joys of motherhood until you are in it. And then its like your radar goes on.
From then on, you are sensitive and you finally understand why in the 80's your mom cried at the Southern Bell commercials.