AS TALL AS A BLUEBONNET

  The children wondered who was taller, the Lupines or themselves. 
The Lupines are blooming in our meadow and have also seeded themselves outside our garden fence. They are also known as Bluebonnets and are the state flower of Texas.

"Look! Their leaves are like big stars!"

Have you read Mrs Rumphius by Barbara Cooney?

"It is a delightful book about an elderly  lady who shares with her neice the things she did throughout her life.  She had set out to do three things in life. She planned to go to faraway places, live by the sea, and as her grandfather had told her, -to do something to make the world more beautiful.

She became a librarian and helped people find books. She went to a tropical island and climbed tall mountains.

Everywhere she went she made friends. Then she found a little house by the sea to

 live in. She knew there was still one more thing she needed to do to be happy, and that was to make the world a more beautiful place.  She couldn’t decide what that would be until one day she saw some lupine flowers.

 She began to scatter lupine seeds everywhere. People thought she was crazy, but the next Spring there were lupines everywhere. And the lupines continued to spread and grow every year. Miss Rumphius became known as the Lupine Lady."

Ask the children:

To make the word more beautiful, I would  ______________________. 

See what ideas they come up with :)

Perhaps they would like to draw their own Lupine. Use a Lupine flower or picture for inspiration. Talk about the stem and the petals. Let them observe with a magnifying glass

The children drew their Lupine stem with green colored pencil and made the petals by dipping their finger into purple paint and dabbing it on the paper.

The Gallery of Lupines

You may also like to read The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie dePaola

{this moment}

Following SouleMama's inspiration :
"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

DOODLES

Walking through the great room into the kitchen, I noticed another *creative spark*  on the couch. A bucket of  sharpie markers was on the floor and she was probably doodling while watching a movie.

Wouldn't it be a great idea to print this on fabric and make a pillow for her room re-do ??

I think she will LOVE it!

MAKE A NEST

The children have a new appreciation of the patience and artistry that goes into making a bird's nest and how real nests are truly works of art. 


We viewed a small sampling of nests we have in and on top of our nature cabinet and then the children went to work making their own nests using uncooked spaghetti as *twigs*.

We do not collect nests anymore unless they have blown to the ground, instead we locate them and observe them right where they are. Oftentimes other birds, or the same birds, will use a nest over and over again.

To make our own nests, we used uncooked spaghetti, white glue, brown or gray paint, plastic wrap and a small bowl to use as a form.  We used air dry clay for the eggs.

~Turn the bowl upside down and cover with plastic wrap. 

~Break the spaghetti into smaller *twigs*.

~Mix together spaghetti, glue and a few drops of paint (if you want the spaghetti to be the color of real twigs or any color you want). 

Children love to use their hands to mix but it always helps to have wet facecloths or baby wipes nearby when they have had enough of the *stickiness*.

~Start to form the nest on the bowl form. It's good to wait a few minutes to let the glue get real sticky. 

~Keep building upon it and let dry completely. 

It's important to use alot of glue so all the twigs will stick together. 

~While the nest is drying, use the air dry clay to form the birds eggs.

~Once completely dry, pull the nest off gently from the bowl, turn it over and gently peel off the plastic wrap.

Any gaps in the nest, or twigs that have fallen off, can be added with more glue.

Add the eggs to the nest while they dry.

Once the eggs are dry, the children can paint them. They can choose to research the actual color of a specific bird's eggs or just have fun painting them any color they choose.

Above all, have fun and enJOY!

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

              ~ precious ~

(Please feel free to join in One Word Wednesday. Just leave a link in the comments where your photo can be viewed .)

CARTOONING

My girl has been into *cartooning* lately. 

It is always fun to see what she comes up with.


                                        Our new kitten was her model.

                                    

Sketchbook + Markers (+ kittens!) - JOY

STRAWBERRY TIME

Red, juicy, luscious, scrumptious, delectable organic berries!

One of the many joys of spring in New England!

Our strawberry plants have grown leaps and bound. The chickens, wild rabbits and birds are quite happy.  But to also share in the harvest we had to put up a temporary fence. We did notice the birds still getting in there, so we either pick berries a few times a day or put up aviary netting. We don't mind sharing alittle with the birds but not all :)

No Cook Strawberry Jam


4 cups crushed strawberries ( use a potato masher)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 pkg Ball freezer jam fruit pectin ( 1.5 oz pkg)


Stir sugar and pectin together. Add crushed strawberries. Stir 3 minutes.
Ladle jam into clean freezer jars. Twist on lids. Let stand 30 minutes to thicken.
Serve immediately. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks. Freeze up to one year.
Makes 5 half pints - 8 oz.   



This recipe is easy and one of the lowest in sugars. I would like to also try this pectin sometime and see if I can use even less sugar.

SSSSSSS

Did you ever just happen upon a snake and get filled to the brim with excitement ?


 I was especially excited because it was the day of my Earth School and I knew eight children would be extremely thrilled with my find.


 This is when whatever plans we already made for the day are put aside to allow the snake to be the main attraction for as long as the children want. It's great to have a guide and planned activities but equally important to be flexible for whatever life throws your way. Oftentimes the unexpected can be much more meaningful.

I carried the snake (Garter or Garden snake) to the house in a bucket, put it into an empty aquarium, and waited for the children. They were, of course, delighted and most of them had no fear and immediately wanted to hold it. Others were quiet observers.
                               
Notice its tongue!  What shape is it? Why does he stick it out?

                                                               Notice how it moves!

                                                 How do you hold the snake, and why?

                                           Describe its eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth.
                                            
                                                               Notice its markings

                                                 

                                               Notice what position it takes while resting .

The Garter Snake

A chipmunk, or a sudden-whirring quail,

Is startled by my step as on I fare.

A gartersnake across the dusty trail,

Glances and -- is not there.

                          ~Riley

                    We discussed the snake's life cycle, habitat, and prey and predators and when we had our fill, returned the snake to its home behind the barn. It was a large opening into a mound of old hay and shavings.

The red X is the small snake's hole within the larger opening.

                               This is our post for our Outdoor Challenge Monday ...posted a day late :)
                                Do YOU play too?