TreasuresInTerraCotta

We are now the proud care takers of two chrysalides. We found these two this morning. This afternoon we moved them to fancy new digs in a Butterfly Habitat. It should take 7-10 days for a butterfly or moth to emerge. I found pictures of our caterpillars on line, but I could not find a description of what they would turn into other than "Lepidoptera," which could be either a butterfly or a moth. I did some research on Wikipedia last night (in my defense, we are not to the "Bb for Butterfly" lessons yet...you will remember these were eating my father-in-law's parsley so we are doing our Butterfly unit prematurely.) -Butterflies and other creatures who go through complete metamorphosis go through 4 stages. Embryo - Larva - Pupa - Imago -Our caterpillars (larva) have changed to a chrysalis (pupa) -My primary question: How does the chrysalis form. I was under the impression that the caterpillar had to spin the chrysalis around itself (but that would be a coc...

My Father-in-Law found three of these beauties eating his parsley. Tuesday night this one decided to find a comfortable spot on the ceiling of his plastic tub. Wednesday morning Caterpillar #1 was already changing shape. Caterpillar #2 was very fat and lethargic. Caterpillar #3 went home to the great garden in the sky. Wednesday afternoon both caterpillars were hanging out on the lid. Caterpillar #1 was firmly attached by the hind end and had some silk near the head acting like a sling. And what kind of crazy miracle happened overnight! Caterpillar #1 had a chrysalis by Thursday morning. How in the world did that form? I guess I've forgotten (or maybe never learned) my butterfly life cycles. It seems rather magical to me. (Calvin is interested, but I'm the one checking those crazy caterpillars every couple hours and taking photos!) I can not figure out how the caterpillar made the chrysalis. Time for some research, I suppose. I'll keep you posted.

When You Rise Up: A Covental Approach to Homeschooling by R.C. Sproul, Jr. R.C. Sproul quickly moves through many of the battles surrounding education. Who is called to do the teaching? What should be taught? And by what method? However, he takes a step backwards and states, "Before we can even try to agree on the answers, we need to see if there is anything prior we can agree on." (p13) And then goes on to address three prior questions: Is education important and valuable? By what standard? What exactly is the goal of education? I found his discussion of these six questions clear, concise and compelling. Not to mention that the simplicity of his answers relies on the simplicity of Scripture's response to these questions. It is very easy to get distracted with the importance of algebra and phonics, preparing students to get good test scores and good jobs, and what the experts have to say. For this reason I found Sproul's simple balance appropriate. "I am n...

In response to a few days of running around and being out of routine we've spent a nice couple of quiet days at home. I suspect that most kids, including mine, need more time to lay in the grass, hug on a baby doll, play in the rain, dig in the dirt, get sand in their hair, and generally play. How do you combat the crazy?

When my friend Kimberly first called a small bud vase a Mommy Vase I was smitten. How often had I been gifted with a flower or a handful of petals or a leaf or even a rock! Most often those treasures ended up in a small bowl or a ramekin or a much-too-large vase. But a Mommy Vase! The very thought of it stired my heart and made me smile. I found these at Target last year for just a few dollars. I gave one to my sister and the two grandmas and I kept one for myself. Grandma's was filled with lantana recently. And Grandpa was kind enough to share a picture. The same week, mine was filled with blossoms from the chives. Here's another Mommy Vase option. A tall shot glass. I love the thick glass and the dark blue edging...especially against the bright green and pink bougainvillea. This vase also came from Target. I usually leave my filled vase by the sink. It seems to be the place I spend the most time and it's the perfect place for a little color. Do you get many ...

I had an epiphany while sharing life-stuff with a girlfriend. The boys get crazy when life gets crazy! Go figure!

Labor Day weekend we had our annual Progressive Dinner. We choose a theme, decide who will host appetizers, dinner and dessert, and hit the road. We have typically had cuisine themes...Mexican, Italian and Asian . This year we broke out of the rut and chose a different theme entirely! Crock Pot cooking! For appetizers this year we started at Ted's house. Along with his cousin Terri and her husband Jon they served cheese fondu with some amazing bread and IKEA sweedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce. (Have I mentioned that the risk of a progressive dinner is to fill up on yummy food too early in the evening!) Then it was off to Melissa and Fran's house for Mexican stewed beef served with cabbage, cilantro, limes and corn tortillas. (Did I mention the risk of stuffing yourself on yummy food and leaving no room for dessert!) I was in charge of dessert this year. I relied on A Year of Slowcooking for ideas. I made an apple crisp in the Crock Pot using an America's T...

We had a Monster Truck party.

After our Apple Annie's extravaganza we spent the next week going through our peaches and apples. We made: Peach Cobbler (yummy) Peach and Apple Crisp (not fabulous) Peach Jam (delectable, but a little too syrupy) We ate them plain and sliced and pealed. Then in school we spent a week learning about Apples. We did an apple comparison noting differences in color, taste, feel, etc. And then, since we had 8 apples with little wedges cut out, we made homemade apple sauce. It has been a fruit filled couple of weeks! What better way to spend late summer days.