Lewis and Clark, Mocasins and more

We are starting our study of Lewis and Clark. I love our History Curriculum, My Father's World, but I was a little put out that the study of Lewis and Clark was one days reading. Since we live in the Northwest and my husband grew up in a town where they walked right through, I knew we couldn't leave our study at one day's reading. So I got on line and found a delightful lapbook project at Homeschool Share.

I collected some books from the library and have a few more on hold for me and we will start our reading soon. One delightful book I found is this:
The project we found inside is this:

Now that we are half way done making these, the girls are requesting full American Indian dress up clothes. It won't be long before we have dress ups for every era. I'm sure that making the girls dresses will only add to their experience learning about Lewis and Clark. And we must not forget Sacagawea.
Because you know my two oldest will be doing some fancy bead work on their moccasins.

crafty updates

Its been far too long since I have updated this blog. I am wondering if it is even reasonable to have it as well as my main blog. Maybe I should combine the two? Except I love this template and blog name and hesitate to trash it.

My girls are busy working on their crafting skills. They rarely need me to help them with their skills. We had acquired quite a few Klutz books for Christmas and they are worth every penny. If you are an uncrafty mom but have children who desire to learn different craft skills these books are a gem.

I am pretty convinced at this point that my Belle is a designer by design. I am sure God gave her some pretty amazing gifts in the area of the arts. An example: I showed her a picture on a website of the cutest little crochet cupcake bag. She looked at it for all of about 30 seconds. By the next day her creation was made. This is what she came up with. She has made several since this first one and given them away.















This doll below is wearing a poodle skirt. Belle made this one too. The girls had an opportunity to sing in church worship this weekend and I helped the leader make poodle skirts for all the girls. When we got home she decided her doll needed one too. I noticed that the bottom edge of the skirt was so finished. It turns out that she took a t-shirt she had and cut the bottom off and made it into a skirt. I am thinking I need to collect a few items from Goodwill so that she can practice redesigning clothes.
















The photo of fabric scraps is the beginning of her latest creation. I'm not exactly sure what it is yet, but she said something about a quilted camera strap. She never ceases to amaze me.

Kid Quote

Bobo: I want to be a vegetarian when I grow up!

Dad: What will you do when you are a vegetarian?

Bob0: I will help sick animals.

Apple Picking

One of my favorite things about the area we live in is the abundance of farms and u-pick locations. This time around we were blessed to be able to pick apples for free. I have boxes of apples in which to turn into applesauce, apple pies and cobblers. Here are a few pictures of the girls.

Bobo Turns 7

My little monkey girl getting so big, so tall and so independent. She is such a ham, the clown of the family. She makes us all laugh with her antics and expressions. My she has many expressions and they can change by the second. I love the watch her play, how she can make a little cubby or fort out of pillows, bring in a few toys and play for a long time. She doesn't need her sisters to entertain her. Her toys can do that just fine. She is friendly and confident and hasn't a care in the world. It seems she isn't paying any attention to what's going on around her until she pipes up with a comment that makes it clear that she is. She has a quick wit that often surprises me. Bobo is a busy girl, moving and shaking and touching everything. She learns through touch and movement. Anything that is wet and gooey call for her attention. She is growing fast like her sisters and I pray I can pay attention and enjoy each moment.

Belle turns 11

Oh why oh why do my little girls have to grow up. Belle is such a character. Her sense of humor gets me all the time. She love nothing better than to push my buttons, tease and see if she can get me all riled up. And when she does I laugh. She got me again. She is such a mix of little girl needing a hug from her mom, to independent spirit, pulling away, doing things on her own. I love the way she plays. She gets a character in her mind and becomes it for a day or two, dressing in character, creating, leading her sisters. She is a drama queen. She is creative and gifted in so many areas. I feel so blessed to see her grow and see how the Lord has gifted her and to be a part of helping her develop those gifts. Belle and her best friend Jo celebrating with their first professional pedicure. Oh my what I have started?

Tree climbing

There is nothing better than having at your disposal a girl climbing tree right in your backyard. It's not too big so as to scare mommy but big enough to make one feel like they have conquered the natural world.