This week we finished up our studies of Storm in the Night using Five In A Row for our lesson plans.  This has always been a fun book to me.  It’s one we read sometimes just to read, as a bedtime story or whatever.  I love the dialogue between Grandfather and Thomas!  I can just hear how they’d sound to each other.

And you know me.  I was inspired to make something for the doll house.  As luck would have it – or should I say as the occasion was presented to me, I ran out of my favorite eye cream.  The little jar could certainly not be discarded.  Anything small has to be considered as furniture or some little thing for the dolls.  You’ll see the little jar sitting up at the corner of the book, above, freshly turned into a stool that doubles as storage.  For now, let’s take the top off and see what’s inside.

Oh, it looks exciting!!

It’s emergency supplies!!  A book of matches for the doll house candle, and a flashlight!  And they’ll always be located in the comfy storage stool so we know how to get to them quickly!

Do you know what the flashlight is made from?  The little extension pieces that you would use to increase the size of the posts in a scrapbook!  They even unscrew so the dolls can pretend to put in new batteries.  The tip, light and switch are tiny pieces of felt that were hot-glued on.

Here’s brother, who’s pulled the stool up close to sister’s bed so he can read to her.  She’s not feeling well today.

 The satin trim on the stool came from an old pair of pajama bottoms that finally wore out, but the tie around the waist was too pretty to throw out, so it went into the “string drawer.”  The top of the stool is padded with a cotton ball with a circular piece of fabric placed over the top and then hot-glued into place.  The final touch was the trim glued around.  The little matchbook is just a little black piece of paper folded with the matches drawn onto a white piece of paper and glued inside.

Now it’s off to Miss Michaela’s room where I’ll read and she can play with her doll house.  I’m sure I’ll get pulled in to whatever’s going on.

Lynn

PS – Miniatures are fun, but remember they are small and not for children too young to put thing in their mouths.

Nature Study.  It sounds good, especially to someone like me who absolutely adores flowers, butterflies, birds, and, well, nature.  However, I’m a suburban girl – never really lived in the city, but never farmed either, so where do I begin to achieve this romantic-sounding thing called Nature Study?

The most obvious thing would be to get myself outside.  Yes, get outside!  It can be in your own yard.  You all know by now that I am totally in love with my own little yard and I am constantly amazed at the diversity of wildlife I find in a tiny flower garden on 1/3 of an acre. 

Still, if your own yard seems too familiar, why not do a little research and find a local nature trail, state park, or friend’s woods (with permission) that you can walk on for a change?

Yesterday we did just that.  The thought came to me to visit Occoneechee State Park, and without batting an eye that’s just what we did.  We drove to what’s commonly called Eno Mountain and then took about an hour-long walk to kick off our Nature Study this year.

I would like to say the idea just popped into my mind spontaneously, but really Jane Claire Lambert’s Fall Nature Study was the motivating factor.  I am always raving about Five In A Row, and justifiably so.  However, even if you are not unit study inclined, or (gasp) FIAR inclined, you can easily incorporate Jane Claire’s nature studies into your homeschool. 

This is starting to sound like an ad.  It’s not.  :)

It’s a recommendation that if your heart’s desire is to incorporate Nature Study into your homeschool, but you’re not quite sure where to start, Jane Claire’s Fall Nature Study is a tremendous help. 

I knew already that it’s good for children to get outside.  I knew that nature walks are a good way to bond as a family.  But after reading the Fall Nature Study, I felt like I had a basket full of amazing ideas on my arm - a way to go forth with confidence and start teaching little lessons and gently requiring assignments, all centered around nature.

On Tuesday I purchased the Nature Study from Five In A Row Digital.  In mere seconds, the Fall Nature Study file was on my computer and ready to be printed out.  I was so impressed with the accompanying graphics, the record-keeping pages, the fun ideas for journaling, and the tried-and-true personal information was shared. 

Anyway, just wanted to share one of the things we are doing in our homeschool as well as share a great resource that’s out there at such a reasonable price.  I think it’s going to be worth a million dollars to us as we keep our nature journals this year, but I paid less than 20 dollars for it!

Princess of the Universe does a silly walk, imitating Big Joe.

I love moss.  I had to stop and say hello to this lovely carpeting of moss.

Joseph gives us a lesson in balancing on a rock.  First get your balance.

Then lift your leg like so.

Then swing gracefully to the side, and then jump down so your sister can try.

She looks like a little forest elf, all in brown.  Let’s bow to the trees now.

And a little lower. 

I was fascinated with the mushrooms!!  I wish so much that I could identify them all.  I am very much inspired to get a mushroom field guide.

Just look!

I am sure this is one of the mushrooms that the garden faeries gather around and dance beneath under the light of a full moon!

I think this is some sort of “puffball” mushroom.

Isn’t this a beautiful sink?  Can you imagine it full of rainwater?  Oh my what a glorious sink it would make for an acorn doll!  (I’ll have to show you one some time.)

And this is surely a forest faerie bed.

Princess of the Universe becomes photographer.  She really wants her own digital camera and her own blog.  I think it must become a reality.

Wouldn’t you like to have a brother like Big Joe to carry you when you are tired of walking up hill?  Up up up!

Happy Trails,

Lynn

PS – For more, and even more beautiful, nature walk pictures, you must visit my friend Patricia and view her recent nature walk.  I can tell you that she is surrounded by the gorgeous woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Makes me want to go up there right now!