The Power of Our Words

"Mothers, be faithful. Don't get discouraged.

Pray for your children, and do not forget to talk to them:

your words will settle down in their hearts.

They never can, they never will forget them.

They may appear not to heed what you say;

they may put on an appearance of thoughtlessness and levity,

which look as though your words were disregarded;

but persevere--- those words are there, and never will be forgotten: but may be called up in years to come when you are dead and gone, and like seed cast in the earth, germinate and produce fruit that shall flourish in immortality."

~Jabez Burns

Mothers of the Wise and Good

1846

Our Newest Student

Good Monday morning, friends,

Some of you may remember my post from a couple of years ago about our homeschool chick. Definitely not your typical, run-of-the-mill kind of student.  :) But it was so much fun having him in the schoolroom every day........ until he got too big and had to be put outside with his feathered friends.

Fast forward two years...

One day last week, Ian brought his pet snake, Samson, upstairs where we were having school. He tried to hold him up to show me how long he is getting...

But Samson wouldn't stretch out and co-operate. He just wanted to curl around Ian's arm to get warm.  :)

So Ian walked over to the table with him, and we made a shocking discovery: we found out that Samson loves reading Aesop's Fables on the Kindle!   Who would have guessed?  ;)

Happy homeschooling!

Sharing with Caroline.

3 Day Sale at Lilla Rose

Hi friends,

There is a 3-day sale going on at Lilla Rose. Save 10% on all items and 15% on select brass, brown, and black items. The sale ends on Saturday, so click the tab at the top of the page or head over to my website to get some great deals before time runs out!  :)

Thanks and have a blessed day!

Nature Exchange #2

Hi friends,

This is yet another long overdue post. But my children (and I) have had such fun with this, I just had to post about it again.  :)

Last spring we participated in our second  Nature Exchange with Silvia her family. Once I mentioned it to my children, they immediately went into what I call "nature treasure hunting mode" and found so many things to put into our box.

Here are some of the things we sent to our friends...

 a mockingbird nest, Hickory nuts, wild Rose hips, milkweed seeds and pods,

and a black rat snake skin, feathers, a pine cone, a (very dead) female Black Widow spider, a tooth from a horse skull, and last, but definitely not least, a skunk skull, fur, bones, and teeth...minus the skunk scent, because they had been laying out in the hayfield for a year. So thankfully, almost all of the scent had dissipated.  :) And just to be on the safe side, I asked Silvia if it was ok for me to send the Black Widow and the skunk items. Being the nature lover that is, she said yes!

Now to what we received from Silvia and her family...

She and her girls were like us: searching high and low for the perfect things to send. And Silvia nailed it for us. Now, let me clarify: it was a Nature exchange, but Silvia decided to scour her area for one our favorite treasures of all: books! I cannot even express how excited my children were to open the box and find it filled with books. 

Take a look at the wonderful books she sent.  (I couldn't get a photo of all the books, because my children each grabbed one and ran off to devour it. ;))

Notice the poetry books on the left...can't get too many of those in our house! 

  

I would encourage you to try a Nature exchange with a friend. It's just a matter of exchanging addresses and setting a date to mail the boxes. It will be a wonderful learning experience that you and your children won't soon forget.

As for me and my children, we would love make the Nature exchange an annual event. 

How about it, Silvia?  :)

"Let them get in touch with Nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight and habit through life.."  ~ Charlotte Mason

My New Lilla Rose Facebook Page

Hello dear friends,

I just wanted to let you know that I have created a Facebook page for my Lilla Rose business.

Here's the URL: www.facebook.com/beautifulhairjewelry

I will  be having giveaways, online parties, and other fun things, so head over and "like" my page to stay in the loop!

 

And remember,if you want the October Flexi of the Month, it's on sale now...for a limited time, and limited supply. Mine arrived yesterday and it's beautiful!  :)

Thanks for your support!  :)

"She perceives that her merchandise is good, 

And her lamp does not go out by night." ~Proverbs 31:18

Our Version of Nature Study

We probably do Nature study a bit differently than the typical AO family. But I am perfectly ok with that. From what I have read, I have learned that most AO families use Handbook of Nature Study, which we do not. I remember purchasing that book, and waiting excitedly for it arrive (I had heard nothing but rants and raves about it), only to be seriously disappointed in it when it got here. Why was I disappointed, you ask? In a word: boring. B.O.R.I.N.G. 

So I came up with our own Nature study, and even though we might be venturing out of the typical AO "box", it works for us!  :)

Here's a sample of what we've been up to...

We have been studying fall flowers since the school year began. First, we studied Chicory, then Mullein, Thistle, Goldenrod, and lastly, Marigold.

That's what we studied, and here's how we studied them. First, we scour the farm, locate and gather the "specimens" (my children love that scientific term - lol).

Then we bring them inside and sketch...

 (Asher sketching Chicory.)

While the children sketch (and I occasionally get in on the sketching, too), we discuss the medicinal properties and health benefits of that particular plant. And needless to say, the past several weeks have proven to be very informative! 

I believe that the Lord has given us plants for our benefit, and that we just need to do a little bit of  research to find out how much "natural medicine" we have in our very own backyard. I would much rather have natural remedies than convention ones anyway. We were amazed at all the wonderful things we learned about plants that most people consider weeds, or just simple flowers to be looked at, and nothing else.

For example, did you know that Marigolds are wonderful for treating minor burns, allergic reactions, eczema, and bruising? Even better, marigolds are known to be effective against colon, leukemia, and melanoma cancer cells! (source: www.home-remedies-for-you.com/herbs/marigold.html ) Wow!

Ok, back to sketching..

When the sketches are finished, the children list the medicinal/herbal information on their paper, like this..

There you have it: our take on Nature study. It's probably a far cry from the way most CM'ers do it, but I am pretty sure Miss Mason would give it her stamp of approval.  ;)

What about you, friends? How do you do Nature study?

~"And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face on the earth...' "  ~Genesis 1:29a