BIOMES Science Center Field Trip

Thursday our homeschool group had a field trip to BIOMES Marine Science

Center in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. It was was wonderful time with about

thirty kids and twelve parents in attendance.

The whole crowd listening to our guide about proper handling of the animals in the swim tanks.

Darwin the spur-heeled tortoise greeted us at the entrance.

Our guide (whose name escapes me) shows the kids a putrefied, I'm mean petrified monkfish. Totally creepy.

He apparently had a very good dentist.

A blurry picture of the Octopus. We were not allowed to use flash photography and I learned it is very hard to photograph swimming fish.

Checking out the crabs.

Patrick holding some of the Starfish in the swimtanks.

This just looked like Seltzer water to me until I got closer. In this bottle were thousands of microscopic baby seahorses. Really amazing to watch.

Reggie the Boa Constrictor. I have no idea why he was in a Marine Center. But the kids all loved him and got to pet him.

Sara and Kiara check out the Horseshoe crabs. Most of them were busy mating.

Ahhh-homeschool lessons.

They look so prehistoric.

This Lionfish was stunningly gorgeous.

Romy and Linda check out some exhibits.

This was a big eyed orange something or other. Let me go find my 12 year old to clarify.

This was a Raven Fish-a kin to the very poisonous stone fish. All the little things poking out of him made him look like a coral reef. Great disguise.

A Sea Skate. Reminds me of an I Spy book. I spy a happy face mermaid with a

frilly apron and an hour glass figure.

Busy kids in the swim tank.

More kids checking out the Horseshoe crabs and baby eels.

The whole crowd.

This was the best part. Our guide made the Puffer fish blow up for a

moment as she held him in her hands.

Then he spit the water out across the room and deflated. It's used as a defense mechanism so other fish won't eat them. The kids thought it was great. Oh-and that's Sammy the marine cat that is sound asleep on the Boa Constrictors cage.

It was a wonderful field trip and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Support my Blogging Habit

Quick post tonight, I'm tired. See all of those lovely new ads in the left hand column of my blog? Well, I'm not crazy about them but the economy has forced us all to look for extra income. Paid advertising is one way. I've tried to be ethical in my choices, only choosing those products that are kind to the earth.

It's all natural, organic items including Heirloom seeds and clothes and baby stuff made from Bamboo and natural fibers. Doesn't it sound nice? So everytime you order something thru one of those sites, I get a commission. Cool Right? Help support my blogging habit and my family while using natural made products to help our environment. Especially those canvas and cloth bags. Plastic should be outlawed!

And if you love my blog and want to follow it with all the other lovely fans that are posted in the right hand column-that would be great too. If you are a regular reader and haven't signed up to follow my blog please do. Leave me some comments and I'll answer them as best I can. It's all beneficial to our family.

If you've found a lovely frugal, money saving, or homeschooling site that you'd think I'd be interested in-then drop me a line and let me know. I'm always up for an adventure.
Bev

Learning Begins at Home

We have about six weeks left of homeschool. Not that we stop learning during the summer. It's just a more relaxed approach. We did well with some things and others we need to spend more time on. This is our third year of homeschooling and as I sit and watch the rain today, I'm reminded of how far we have come.

Homeschooling was probably the scariest adventure I have ever plunged into, yet it's been the most satisfying. This past week was public school vacation week. I watched as parents tried to cram in activities during the week and tried to keep their patience with their children. Over and over again I heard parents say, "I don't know how you could stay home with your children nevermind teach them." It's so sad to me that these parents see homeschooling as a burden and see their children as an even bigger burden. Many of these parents are devoting countless hours to their public school by serving on PTA's, working at the book fairs, chaperoning field trips and helping their kids with the ridiculous fundraisers. It seems as if they are helping their school and not their child. As homeschoolers we are blessed with the gift of time. We can visit museums, grocery stores, catch an afternoon matinee or just go to the park on a nature walk when we feel like it. It's quality, family time.

When my kids were in public school, they were gone all day. Their bus would arrive home at 3:50, homework, dinner, maybe some playtime with a friend, baths and then bedtime, only to get up and do it all again the next day. I had no idea who my children were.

I have often been asked what my "method" of homeschooling is. Again, this is a question that confuses me. I don't so much have a method as a philosophy. My job as parent and teacher is to teach them how to think, not what to think. So while many third graders are happily doing long division, my daughter who is ending fourth grade has just started it. Giving children the time they need to grow in their own learning is paramount to our homeschool day. Because we waited until Morgan was ready to tackle long division, we accomplished it in one day, including remainders, writing remainders as fractions and moved on to 2 and 3 digit division. There comes a point when you stop comparing yourself to what the kids in public school are doing, and just live and learn together as a family.

Don't get me wrong. We love our textbooks. Our whole family craves books of any kind and text books are no different. We've learned that textbooks are just a diving board for aquiring more knowledge. We may skip whole chapters or keep going back to the same chapter. The kids may want more information and search the internet or yet another book for more information. There is no right or wrong way. Watch your kids-they will tell you all you need to know.

Somedays, we don't pick up any books. Gasp! How could they possibly be learning anything without any books? This was part of last years harvest from our garden. I didn't ask my kids to come help in the garden, they just assume that they are and follow me out the door. What did they learn? How to measure out the garden, measuring plots, companion planting, square footage of plants, earth science, biology of plant growth, good soil vs. bad soil, how to use tools when we repaired the fence, water conservation from our rain barrels, length of germination of seeds, they studied bugs, worms and parts of the plants, learned about water and weather cycles and learned how to sustain our family through crop growing. Homeschooling isn't about sitting in front of a text book (although we do that too). It's about using every opportunity that life presents to you to learn.

Taking care of chickens (even those that need hugs) teaches about egg collecting, fertilization, animal husbandry, genetics, proper care of animals and feeding our family. A day sitting in the chicken coop is a day well spent.

Community events present wonderful opportunities for learning.

Hands on, creative work gets the kids involved in their learning. Patrick made this burial mask when we studied ancient Egypt. We also mummified a Barbie, made amulets and canopic jars, decorated a sarcophagus and built a scale model of a pyramid.

We call this our wall of wonder. As any homeschooling family knows, the endless books, workbooks, resources, art projects, posters, papers, supplies and maps, quickly spill out into every room of your house. We try to keep ours contained to one room. It used to be my office, but not so much anymore. Honestly, I love being surrounded by the kids accomplishments, art work and designs.

There are always days that you wonder if you are doing enough. Those are the days that I go through my planner and my endless supply of photographs and am reminded of the work, field trips, classes, days with friends, or sports activities that fill up so much of our lives. Each year, I keep a scrapbook for the kids to look through on everything we've done. It's a nice reminder of how much time we devote to being a family and homeschooling is so much a part of that. It also keeps me organized because homeschooling three kids at three different grade levels can be confusing. This book isn't so much a lesson plan book but a reminder of what we've done.

"It may be when we no longer know what to do,

we have come to our real work.

And that when we no longer know which way to go,

we have begun our journey."

-Wendell Berry

Working in the Garden

After church this morning, we spent the whole day working in the yard. The weather was just beautiful and we were able to get so much done. I've been wanting to free range the chickens but we have so many hawks and predators it hasn't been possible. I couldn't stand seeing the girls in the pen any longer so I opened up the pen door and let them out. They were so happy scratching beneath the pine trees and finding worms and bugs. Now that the weather is warmer I can be out more and so can the girls. Our twelve new baby chicks arrive at the end of May so we are looking forward to watching them grow too. We'd like to get some Guinea hens too-to help with the tick problem. If I get infected with Lyme Disease again my health would not be good so we're looking for some alternative ideas to eradicate the ticks. Since I've had allergic reactions to several of the antibiotics that they would use for Lyme disease, I'm really in a pickle for treatment options. Hmmm-Guineas or liver disease?

We're really trying to be much more self sufficient in all that we do and the

Guineas would provide some eggs too.

Happy girls foraging in the bushes and grass.

Chipmunk, Raisin and Cotton.

Rum, Raisin and Chipmunk helping me to dig a hole for some ornamental grasses. We divided up all of our ornamental grasses. They were so huge and really should have been done last year. We dug up eight plants and got over forty new plants. I planted at least thirty of them throughout our yard. We planted several by the chicken coop to provide some shade during the summer months. A few others were planted by the bird houses for them to use as nesting material. Some went into my front garden and the rest will form a lovely wall of grassy privacy around the fence by our swimming pool. We also divided many perennials and transplanted an ornamental cherry tree that was by the pond. Both waterfalls are now up and running and I can't believe how much I missed the sound of the rushing waterfall.

The filter water was extra murky this year. Larry pumped out the filter and sprays it on the grass for a natural fertilizer. It's always a very stinky job but one that needs to be done twice a year. We don't empty the filter completely as there is beneficial bacteria in the filter that helps to reestablish the chemical balance of the pond.

My happy Buddha overlooks my pond. This was a mother's day gift from my husband and kids several years ago. I'd like to get a windchime and pagoda statue to add to the Japanese theme.

We started to lightly feed our Koi fish. I'm always amazed that they do not eat all winter yet seem to grow. Once the water temperature reaches 50 degrees we can start feeding them. Each spring we add some all natural barley pellet cakes to the pond to help clear the murky water. The fish are natural mosquito control. We don't use any chemicals in our yard because of runoff into our well and pond.

You can see my water lillies just starting to come to the surface of the pond and the fish are swimming in the shadows. They were happy to have their first meal today.

Sludge from the pond. This will be the greenest spot on our lawn. Stewie our Labrador, had a lovely time rolling in the stinking mess.

Tae helped Daddy put the pond pipes back together.

We cleaned out some of the birdhouses getting them ready for a new batch of babies. Last year, the kids and I painted a few birdhouses in bright colors and put them all around our vegetable garden. They remind me of the colorful houses in the Caribbean.

And we noticed the squirrels chewing on the openings to the bird houses trying to enlarge them for their own nests. This is the most coveted birdhouse on our property. The sparrows and wrens fight for housing and are often seen cleaning out each others nesting material.

Our barn and chicken coop to the right. I'm hoping for some milk goats in the near future but hubby isn't sold on the idea.

The view looking back toward our house. All of our chairs are out for the homeschoolers. I love all of the huge granite boulders in our yard.

Morgan and our neighbor play some soccer and swing like crazy girls.

My lillies have grown about 6 inches in the last week.

The Piersis Japonica is in full bloom and just gorgeous.

The forsythia that I would like to remove from my yard. Although it's pretty in the springtime it is very invasive and takes over everything.

This was an old bridge that we used to have by our pond. The kids use it in their temple now. It leads to a cleared out area in the bushes and they made a table and chairs out of rocks and tree stumps. They even planted some lillies in there for color.

My willow tree is starting to leaf out and is a lovely shade of lime green right now. We are exhausted from all of this work today but it felt so good to be outside again. I love seeing our yard and gardens come together and the idea of providing for our family using our land. All of it is starting to come together-my hopes of having a small workable farm with maybe some goats, our use of natural cleaners and growing our own crops. It will all take time but I see a huge change in the way we live already. I encourage others to do the same. It's been a life change for our family but one that has brought us closer as we strive to be more independent and self sufficient. In time...in time...it will come.

A Bargain is Not Always a Bargain

Thursday is the day that the Stop and Shop flyers come with the mail. Now that I've gotten somewhat savvy at spotting the bargains, I find I'm getting quite annoyed at the stores scams. Many of their "sales" aren't actual sales at all but a ploy to get you to buy more than one item.

Each week, Stop and Shop has been advertising Old El Paso taco dinners 2/$5. Do they not think that we know that the normal price of 1 dinner is $2.50?. That's not a sale, it's a marketing gimic.

I think the best thing I could have ever done was make a list of base prices of products that I usually buy. I keep a huge list on an excel file and keep it in my coupon holder for reference. It helps me decide each week where the real bargains are. With my calculator in tow, I can now calculate the unit prices to see if it is an actual sale or not.

Granted-there are some good sales. This week Chicken of the Sea Tuna is on sale 10/$10. That's a $1 a can and I would buy all ten cans since we go through a lot of tuna and I am running low in the pantry. Tuna here is normally priced at $1.69 a can so buying 10 cans at the sale price saves me $6.90. Remember that you don't have to buy all 10 cans to get the sale price.

Keeping the pantry stocked and hitting these big bargains has helped me to not purchase items like tuna and pay full price just because I needed it that week. We can now pull from the pantry and restock when items go on sale for huge savings. Sometimes that means waiting a few weeks but with a well stocked pantry this shouldn't be a problem. Most of the items go back on sale at least once a month so it gives you plenty of time to stock up and take advantage of real sales. You can usually find pasta, canned vegetables, rice dishes and salad dressings on sale 10/$10. Having a few coupons helps a lot too if you can find them on these items and will often result in you getting a few boxes of something free. And restocking doesn't always mean buying all 10 items. Decide what works for you and your pantry depending on your family needs and the space you have. Certain items in our house require more of a stock than others. Pasta and sauce are always depleted very quickly so I keep a larger stock of these items on hand. Canned beans-not so much so I can get away with less of a stock.

Progresso soup is on "sale" this week 2/$3. Again, base price is normally $1.50-$1.69 so not really a sale there. I always stock up on the 10/$10 sale of progresso soup. It's important to remember not to be suckered into something just because the store lists it as a sale. Things aren't always as they seem.

My kids are excelling at homeschool consumer math. Each week, we go through the paper together and find out what the real prices are. It's really helped their math skills as there is so much dividing and multiplying. Saving money has become a job for the whole family. Morgan's job is to count the money in the quarter jar. All of our spare quarters go in here and several times a year there is enough money for a special dinner out or a day trip. This is the kids money and they get to choose what they want to do. It really makes for a special time and encourages them to save. There are lots of ways to live simply and that doesn't mean doing without. It means reinventing what is important to you and finding ways to make it all work.

Seed Planting at the Co-op

Today was planting seeds day at our homeschool co-op. Everyone brought their wheatgrass seeds from The Great Harvest Field trip. I also had a big planter ready to go so that the kids could sprinkle some flower seeds for our butterfly garden. We planted Marigolds, Zinnia and some Sunflower seeds to start. Next month, the Butterfly Exhibit opens up at Roger Williams Zoo. We really enjoyed it last year.

Cutie pie Soleil sprinkling her seeds.

Clover, Cammy and Shane all busy planting. Cammy found the seeds and dirt very interesting as she looked through the magnifying glass.

Romy watching her big sister plant seeds.

Clover planted lots of seeds. The older kids all played outside all afternoon and didn't want to plant anything. It was gorgeous outside today. All the mom's are looking forward to being able to sit outside under the Willow Tree too.