a gypsy caravan

The Islands of Fruits and Roses

Our botany studies have followed Shanleya to the Island of Fruits and Roses.  The Rose Family contains more than 3,000 species of plants.  The blossoms of true roses have five sepals and five petals plus a number of stamen and pistils.  Most of the fruits we eat belong to subfamilies of the Rose Family.   Rose hips, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are all fruits of the Rose Family.

by Christopher

The Plum Family includes plums, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apricots.  All of the fruits in the Plum Family have a seam down the side and a hard pit within.  We have an ornamental plum tree in our front yard which provides food for all the fat squirrels in our neighborhood.  It happened to be bloom just in time for our study last week so the children were able to see the blossoms firsthand.  The fruit of the Plum Family forms on top of the flower.

Another view:

In the Apple Family, the fruit forms beneath the flowers.  The five pointed star at the base of these fruits is formed by the sepals that used to be around the blossom.  The Apple Family includes apples, pears and many berries. This site has some nice photos of fruits, blossoms and their foliage.

Ben's rendition of the Rose and Fruit Guardian:

Ben's drawing of the Rose Family Characteristics:

Some extra things to do:

• Make and eat fruit salad
• Try you hand at apple prints
• Dry your own fruit leather
• Have strawberry shortcake for dessert
• Visit an orchard

Have fun!

Spring Circle Time

The birds have been singing, the flowers are blooming and all has come alive in our region of the country.   So, we will be changing our circle time songs this week to reflect the lovely Spring season.   The upcoming month of May is devoted to The Blessed Mother so the hymns we will be learning are Marian. The songs, fingerplays and poem will be about animals, weather and gardening. 

We begin by lighting a candle, mentioning the current day and date.  We then make a Morning Offering:  "Dear Lord Jesus, I give you today, all that I think and do and say."

Six Little Ducks

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Two Little Blackbirds (fingerplay)

Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

Old MacDonald

Arky, Arky Song

The Squirrel Song

Poem:
The Wind by Robert Louis Stevenson

Hymn: Alternate every other day
Immaculate Mary
Salve Regina

Closing prayer "May my hands work with care, my heart work with love and my mind work with attention. Amen."  The children blow out the candle. 

More on circle time in our home here and here.

Books and Ideas for Little Botanists

I know that many of you are interested in introducing plants to your littlest children.  Shanleya's Quest is geared towards elementary-middle school aged children and Botany in a Day is written for a middle-high school aged students and adults.  This being said, I've compiled a list of books that might help to inspire your littlest budding botanists. :)

Here are some book ideas for the younger set:

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

One Bean by Anne Rockwell

The Flower Garden by Eve Bunting

Jack's Garden by Henry Cole

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

The Complete Book of Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

Magic School Bus Plants Seeds

How a Seed Grows

Plants that Never Bloom by Ruth Heller

The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller

The Life Cycle of a Tree

The Life Cycle of a Flower

What is a Plant?

From Seed to Plant

The ABC's of Plants

A Seed is Sleepy (Thanks Colleen!:)

I've added these books to my left hand sidebar if you'd like more information on any of the titles.
Find some other great gardening and plant book suggestions here.

Also, Montessori for Everyone has wonderful botany downloads for any aged child.   (I've mentioned them a few times in previous posts, I know, but they are such a nice resource. :)

Any activities involving dirt, seeds and water are a huge hit in my home.  Sharon Lovejoy's books Sunflower Houses and  Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots have some really creative and beautiful gardening ideas to share with your children.  Whether you have a lot of acreage, a suburban yard or an urban terrace, there are gardening ideas for you in Lovejoy's books.

 

Most common stores, like Target, sell child sized garden tools.   Small garden gloves, rakes and trowels make working alongside Mom and Dad much easier for little people.  My children love to mulch, weed and prune the flowering bushes and plants around our home.  Gardening activities gives them confidence in their ability to make things beautiful.   Besides that, I sure can use the help. :)

I hope that you are able to get outside today, whether it is to rake some of last years' leaves out of your flower beds, to plant some window boxes or just to breathe the fresh air.  Have a great day!

Collecting Beach Glass

I thought you might enjoy seeing our family's collection as well as learning about the different colors of glass.

Collecting beach glass has been a hobby of mine since I was a little girl.  My mother, father and I owned a sailboat for the better part of my life and we took each summer to sail around the Great Lakes, sometimes on weekend trips but often for a couple weeks or more.  We stopped many places and swam, walked the beaches and visited the neighboring towns.  It was during these trips that my parents and I often combed the beaches for interesting finds, a bucket of shells, a smooth rock, a handful of beach glass.

Until my oldest child was a preschooler, we lived about 1/4 mile from Edgewater Park.  I took him for a walk every single day to the beach, summer or winter, to get some exercise.  He has been collecting glass since he learned to stand.   Now, all the children like to search for it while we walk the beach.  I would estimate that we have about 10,000-15,000 pieces of glass.  They do not take up much room because many of them are so very tiny.  Most of ours is found at Mentor Headlands State Park.

Beach glass can be found on just about any shore, fresh or salt water. It is easiest to find glass on the shore with a prevailing wind.  Our Northern Ohio coastline provides an ample bounty of beach glass for this reason.  If there is a break wall parallel to your shore you may find far fewer pieces of glass.  Our beaches are plentiful during the Spring after the winter ice has thawed or after heavy summer storms. 

The weathering of beach glass occurs from water rushing about containing sand and stone.  This softens the edges of glass from sharp to soft and rounded.  It also causes the shininess of the glass to become more frosted in appearance.  The best place to find glass is within three feet of the shoreline, in either direction.  My children like to wade into the water ankle deep and watch, between waves, for glimpses of color on the sandy bottom.  Of course, one can only do that in the summer months.  I like to walk along the shoreline and search the rocky and pebbly edge right where the waves meet the sand.  Wet glass is easier to spot than dry glass, in my opinion.

Can you find any white beach glass in the above photo? 

A person could spend months investigating the history of glass and the science of coloring glass.  Here is a brief synopsis of some of the colors.

Common colors:

Kelly green, dark brown and clear (frosted)

The three most common colors of beach glass are kelly green, brown and clear (frosted).  Kelly green has been mass produced for the past fifty years.  It is mainly used for beer and soda bottles.  Out of every 10 pieces of glass found, two or three will be kelly green.  Dark brown bottles were made popular in the late 1800s and are currently used for domestic beer and liquor.  Clorox also used to package its product in dark brown bottles to keep the sunlight from weakening the bleach.  Three or four out of every ten pieces found will be dark brown.  Clear glass has been in use mainly following World War I.   Four out of ten pieces found will be clear.

Some uncommon colors:

Soft green and soft blue

Soft green mainly comes from Coca Cola bottles made from 1915-1970.   Baking soda, ink and fruit jars were also sometimes bottled in soft green.  Soft blue was used for fruit jars, medicine and ink.  Al so windows and windshields were made from soft blue glass.   One in 50-100 pieces of beach glass found will be soft green or blue.

Lime green

Lime green was used for Depression tableware in the mid 1900s as well as Vaseline bottles.  It was also used for soda bottles in the 1960s and 1970s.  Likelihood of finding a lime green piece of glass is 1 in 50.

Golden amber

Golden amber colored glass was used for medicine bottles, bitter bottles and spirits.  It has a more mustard-y tone that the more common dark brown glass.  The chances of finding this color is 1/25.

Some rare colors:

Cobalt blue and cornflower blue

Dark blue glass was used in the 1800s for medicine bottles.   Cobalt glass was more expensive to produce so very few beverage bottles were made in this color.  Cobalt glass has been used in the past fifty years for various product such as Vicks Vaporub and Milk of Magnesia.  Cornflower blue glass is harder to find than cobalt.  Cornflower is found approximately 1/500 times whereas cobalt is found in every 1/200 pieces of glass.

Opaque white (milk glass) and jadite

Milk glass was produced in the USA from about 1800 to 1950.  Used mainly for Ball jar lids, milk glass can be found in about 1 out of every 500 pieces.  Jadite was produced by the Anchor Hocking company in last mid century.  It was a popular every day dish and is still being collected today.  Its green hue is more rare than opaque white milk glass.

Extremely rare colors:
Orange, red, turquoise, teal, yellow

Transparent orange glass is found in 1 out of every 10,000 pieces of beach glass.  We have yet to find one.  It is found only in discarded orange tableware produced in the early 1900s.    Red glass is found from Schlitz bottles, cranberry glass, Victorian lamps and lanterns or automobile brake lights.  Chances of finding red glass are 1 in 5,000 pieces. Yellow glass was used for Depression era tableware.  It is found once every 3,000 pieces.  Teal glass was used for baking soda bottles, mineral water bottles and ink bottles.  Finding a piece may happen once in 2,500 pieces.

I have taken much information for this post from a lovely book that Mike bought for me a few years back.  It is titled Pure Sea Glass-Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems and is authored by Richard LaMotte with gorgeous photographs by Celia Pearson.  If you are interested in beach glass, are a beach glass collector or are simply interested in the history of glassmaking in the United States, you would find this book to be a wonderful addition to your family's library.  I have linked the book in my lefthand sidebar.  Also of interest, there is a wonderful beach glass jewelry store called Relish. It is the artistic brainchild of two sisters who pour their hearts into each piece of jewelry they make.  I much prefer beach glass to diamonds. :)  When you take a look at their beautiful work, you will see why!

Do any of you collect beach glass?  I'd love to see your photos!

Elton Annie

A Day at the Beach

We have so been looking forward to a day of sunshine and fun.  This morning we traveled to Headlands Beach State Park.  Aside from the beautiful beach, the park is also home to Headlands Dune State Nature Preserve.  You can read more about the dunes here.  There are a large number of birds that make the dunes their home as well as many who migrate through the area.  In the warmer months, monarch butterflies are plentiful in the milkweed.  A wide variety of foliage grows at Headlands such as switchgrass, cocklebur, sand-drop seed and sea rocket.  Cottonwood trees cover the further lying areas near the entrance to the park.

Here are some photos from our day in the sun:

Entering the nature preserve

A view of Mentor Lighthouse from the preserve

The dunes will be green within a month or so. 

After walking a while through the preserve, we finally catch a glimpse of our beautiful Lake Erie.

We spent the day looking for beach glass.

We ended up finding a couple hundred pieces in all--a very nice catch for one morning.  More on beach glass in another post.

Mentor Headlands, along with most Ohio beaches, are not combed and maintained until mid-May, in preparation for  Memorial Day and the start of the Summer season.  Until then, the beaches are covered with driftwood.  Here you can see some large pieces of wood that had washed up from the Winter ice flow. 

The kids had such fun making teepees and lean-tos with the driftwood.

Everything was going well until we heard a little voice say, "Eat beach."

After her initial happiness and pride at swallowing a handful of sand, she soon decided she wanted nothing more to do with the beach so we packed our belongings and headed for home.

We all agreed that this was the nicest day we've had in a long time.  We plan to come back next week. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a beautiful, restful weekend!

Songs for Nature Study

I've been meaning to mention that a local naturalist named Foster Brown is one of the children's favorite singer/songwriters.  His music is acoustic, sort of folk-sy, very pleasing to the ear and educational to boot!  Our favorite CD called  Songs from a Naturalist's Notebook.  It is available for purchase here either in CD format or as a download. You can listen to some samples on his website.   I can't tell you how much the children have learned from him and how many times a day I hear them singing one of his tunes. You might like to check it out for yourself.  :)

Happiness Is...

...a $7.50 piece of Polish pottery on clearance from TJ Maxx!

Ok, well maybe that isn't the true meaning of happiness but it sure comes darn close. :)

And what could be better than one piece of $7.50 Polish pottery on clearance from TJ Maxx?

Why, of course, TWO pieces of $7.50 Polish pottery on clearance from TJ Maxx!!

Pay no attention to the wrinkles in my tablecloth, please.

I have wanted one of these pretty pieces since Suzanne posted about her obsession with Polish pottery last year.  Then, the other day,  my friend Molly told me that they carry Polish pottery at both TJ Maxx and Marshall's stores!  (The nice lady behind the register at TJ Maxx named Julia told me that AJ Wright stores also carry it.)

When I went to visit the lovely Mrs. Foss a couple of months ago, she had a beautiful piece that I couldn't help but drool over.  You can see the many patterns available here and here.   TJ Maxx had only the two patterns that I brought home.  I am not picky and, frankly, I think all the patterns go together in a pretty, eclectic, Bohemian sort of way.

Anyhoo...as I was heading to the cash register carrying my two fabulous finds and sporting a big goofy grin on my face, a woman walked in the store and asked another cashier whether they had any Polish pottery.  Oh no!!  I hid my platters under my arm so she wouldn't see them.  I couldn't bear to tell her that I was carrying the only two pieces in the store.  The poor woman.  I also couldn't find it in my very small heart to give her one of mine because...

I am mean. 

Don't argue with me.  I am!  I should have shared one, I know.  But, like I said, I am mean. 

Anyhow, she probably has an entire houseful.  At least, that's what I keep telling myself to make myself feel better. :)

Now, don't any of you leave any comments about how you are jealous of my Polish Pottery Prosperity.  I don't want to hear it.  Go out and buy some for yourself.  No fair saying you can't afford it. You can scrape up $7.50 in change from under the sofa cushions or from the cup holder in your van.  That's what I did! 

Come on, put all the kiddos in the van and head over to TJ Maxx or AJ Wright or Marshall's.  You can come home with some pretty Polish pottery to set on the table tonight. You deserve it, I'm sure.  You are a mom and moms, even  mean ones like yours truly,  need a treat every now and then.   :)

Crockpot Pork Chalupa

at Heart of the Kitchen.  Yum Yum!

April Showers

"April showers bring May flowers."

We have had our share of April showers this past week!  Our May flowers are always beautiful so I am not going to complain about the rain. :)

The children always have such a fun time in the temporary pond that fills our backyard.  A few times a year we get rain heavy enough to cause most of the backyard to be covered in water.  Our soil is composed mostly of clay, as our backyard used to be a streambed, way back when. 

The other morning we awoke to find some new visitors in our yard, a mallard couple!  I had hoped to get a better photo of them but they were a bit camera shy the first time I tried to take their picture so I kept my distance.

The mallard couple stopped by last year for a short stint but have been here three days this week.  It is so funny to see ducks floating around in the huge puddle that is our backyard.  :)

Here are some other signs that Spring has arrived in Northeast Ohio.

Snow Drops or as my little Grandma used to call them, Snow Peeps.

Speaking of my grandma, her Lenten Roses (or Hellebore) that are growing in my yard have begun to blossom!  I am anxious to see the opened buds in the upcoming days.

As a side note, I thought I had re-uploaded all of the photos from my previous blog to this one but a  kind visitor reminded me that I am missing all the photos in my Nature Study category.  I will try to upload them  sometime this week.  Thanks for noticing!

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday with your family. 

Bloom Where You're Planted

When I was a newly married woman, we had a small, two bedroom apartment that was modestly furnished.  I enjoyed decorating that first home but was not very satisfied with performing homemaking tasks.  Honestly,  I did not spend enough time on them to know whether I really liked them but I convinced myself early on that I did not. 

I look back on that little place and realize just how small a space it was, yet I remember feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of keeping it clean not because the job was daunting but because I preferred to spend my time doing other things.  I still placed a lot of value in my "me time" and did not want to be burdened with what I thought was the dull, repetitive job of keeping house.   Homemaking was for my grandmother and my mother, I thought, not for me.  I desired to have a big family someday but I did not really consider the amount of work that would come from that blessing. 

Many nights, I went to bed  with dishes in the sink though I had plenty of time to wash them.  I just preferred not to.  I was not very fond of dusting so I went long stretches between dusting and polishing the furniture.  I often waited for the laundry to pile up before washing it rather than keeping up with it.  I did not consider myself slovenly but simply "undomestic".    I wanted to spend my time doing other things and would get to the housework when I could no longer bear the mess.  In time, I grew increasingly resentful and frustrated with homemaking, wishing someone would come and do it for me so I could "get on with my life".   Little did I realize that my home reflected me as a person.  To neglect my vocation was to rob my family and myself of peace and happiness.   

(I believe that the above situations are far different from a mother with many little ones who simply cannot get it all done.  I could have gotten it done but had no interest in doing so.)

We bought our own home eight years ago and no longer live in that tiny apartment.  We now live in an itty bitty bungalow with four children.  There is more work to do these days, not less.   I am no longer working in the corporate world as I was when I was first married but, instead, spend my days reading stories to little people, caring for the day to day needs of my family, driving to ball games and cooking up a storm.  One would think that my "me time" would be even more coveted  because, as many a mother knows, there is little time each day to spend on things that we choose for ourselves.   Yet, oddly, I find myself enjoying my life more now than I ever have, despite my lack of "me time".    

"It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do, that is the secret of happiness."
James Matthew Barrie, novelist and author of Peter Pan

Certainly there are household tasks that I do not enjoy as much as others.  I used to abhor washing dishes.  They would pile up until there were no clean dishes to be found before I would touch them.  I loved to vacuum and clean floors but dishes made my head spin.  Then one day I decided to dim the lights (not too dim or the dishes will not be clean. :), fill the sink with hot soapy water, light a candle on the counter and roll up my sleeves.  I really don't mind washing dishes anymore.  The warm water is very therapeutic to me.  That does not mean if you stop by unexpectedly that you won't find any in the sink at any given time (right Anne? :).  It just means that we can find happiness by doing the chores we used to hate if we try to do them with creativity and a servant's heart of love. 

Homemaking, done well, has blessed my family more than any other activity on which I could spend my time.  While I like to knit and scrapbook, neither of those things affect my family as profoundly as my efforts to make our home a welcome, tidy, and clean place to live. I have seen firsthand how our decluttering efforts have changed the very countenances of those who live here. While we are far from done, not a minute of that time was wasted.  I plan to keep it up and not to lose heart.

"Success is getting what you want.  Happiness is liking what you get." H. Jackson Brown 

Now that decluttering has become a habit around here and we have begun to see the fruits of a tidier home, I have become interested in reading more about how to perform different household tasks.   I have been reading two books, Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson  and Keeping House by Margaret Peterson .   Keeping House shares the "why" of  homemaking.   Mendelson's book explains  how to go about it.  I will be using these two books to encourage myself in my vocation as my decluttering is completed. 

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." --Mother Teresa

Is my home always neat?  No, though I'm finding it is much more manageable now that there is less stuff.  The time it takes to tidy up has shortened drastically and will continue to do so as we finish decluttering.   I am inspired to continue to bless my family by being diligent and faithful in my homemaking efforts.  By abandoning ourselves to the tasks at hand with love, we will find joy in our vocations as wives and mothers.  There is great satisfaction to be found in serving others and denying ourselves.  That is the message of Christ and it can be done within the walls of our home each and every day. 

A Special Surprise

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago. My grandmother Kathryn called on that day to tell me that she had a special gift for me but that she was unable to get to the post office on time. I was so curious as to what she was sending.

Imagine my delight when I came home from the store today to find Grandma's package had arrived! I opened the box and inside I found this beautiful, handmade crocheted rug.

It is about three feet in diameter and is such a pretty combination of colors. Those of you who used to read my previous blog (of the same name) might recognize this rug from a post I wrote after visiting my grandmother last spring. My grandma remembered how much I loved her rugs and saved it for my birthday. I am completely giddy over her gift! I think I will put it in the girls' room which has a pink, yellow and white color scheme and where it won't see heavy, dirty traffic.

I am determined to get down to Florida sometime this year and learn, firsthand, how to make one of these beautiful rugs. She showed me a bit while I was there but I did not get the hang of it very well.

Here is a photo of Kathryn taken last spring.

And another of her hands fixing Mary's hair.

I am so grateful to have Kathryn as my grandmother.