Nature Crafts!
This week I've been experimenting with a new daily routine. I'm sure this method won't get the laundry or dishes done in any reasonable time, but the learning we've done has been so much more gratifying. Why would I change the way we do things? Again? Because my life is always changing so rapidly that if I don't stay flexible, I will shatter. It isn't fair to my kids if I am a total wreck, day after day, just because I'm not keeping up with whatever program I have in place. Our time with our loved ones is just too short to worry about programs.
Gluing and Labeling Seeds
I've bordered on unschooling this month... After my kids took and scored very high on the standardized tests, I stopped regular teaching. I can't even remember what we did last week. I know it wasn't laundry! But this week, I'm getting back in the groove again. We do math together at the same time in the morning. IJ and S take turns on the computer and E either does a math workbook or plays a math game with me. Then I take a coffee break and think about what we are going to do next...
That's not my coffee! What is that???
...today I have IJ finishing up some work on his World Conservation Award in Cub Scouts. That required a trip to the pond. But before I could go to the pond, I had to try out my new insect repellent. 
Vinegar of the Four Thieves
This is an herbal concoction I have been curing on my window sill for a few weeks. I sprayed it only on one arm, just to see if the mosquitoes would bite one and not the other. This was an official lesson in data collection. However, I can't tell you if the insect repellent worked or not because I didn't see any mosquitoes.
What we did see was...
