More Snow

It's snowing outside again today, and has been since mid-morning. I absolutely love to watch it falling. This Southern girl will never get used to seeing such a miraculous event! Swirling around as it falls, everything is pure white. The trees here are bare, and make a beautiful sight with the snow sitting on their branches. We like to watch the squirrels jump from tree to tree, scavenging for food. When Fall ended, we took the pumpkins from our doorstep (we had 10 of them!) and put them in our back yard for the squirrels. They had already begun eating them, raccoons too I suspect, anyway. They've feasted on them every day since. How is it that their little feet don't freeze? And how do they keep warm, anyway? These are questions we've asked ourselves, as we bury ourselves under blankets in our home when it's just 68 degrees. As much as I hate to drive under these conditions, and absolutely won't do it, I am in awe of days like this. I am so glad we came here, even though we miss everyone so much. We would have missed out on a wonderful experience and many blessings, too. Maybe we can find a place to sled this weekend.

I am excited today about some information I found on the Internet. I know there is a wealth of information out there about everything you could imagine, but I am still amazed when I find so much. In New York, as in many other states, Health is a required subject in school. So, I have been trying to cover various subjects that I feel are relevant to our family. We are constantly reminding the kids to wash their hands, so I thought that would be our next study for Health. When I began looking on-line today for worksheets, coloring sheets, procedures, etc., I was blown away! I think I went through about 1.5 packages of printer paper-I am NOT kidding. I even found a free curriculum that I plan to use. We are also going to incorporate a study on germs in general, and I have not looked for info. specifically about that yet. Anyway, we will begin our hand washing study today, and I can't wait. I never knew I would get so pumped up about teaching about how to wash your hands! :) Oh well, I guess that's the teacher in me. I've always wanted to be one. I just didn't know I would be doing it in my home instead of a classroom. We will begin with an experiment. Maybe I will get Karl to help, and we can post pictures of our experiment as it progresses. It should be pretty interesting.

When I checked my mail today, I squealed with delight to see that we had a package. We love to receive mail! (hint, hint) I had ordered some items, for homeschooling of course, through Hands and Hearts, a web site I visit occasionally. (To see all of their products, visit the link under Favorite Sites on this Blog.) We have been using the Color and Learn coloring books made by Edupress. They make numerous coloring books about different subjects. We've used the ones on Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and now Rocks and Minerals. The kids adore them; they really like to color, and each page has a short description of the picture. Plus, the package included another resource I ordered. I've been researching 'lapbooking' and came across this book on the Hands and Hearts site: Easy File Folder Reports. These are just reports done using reproducibles from the book, on various subjects, and placing (gluing) them in file folders to finish. That's what I'm so excited about. We will be able to do reports on Famous Americans, Holidays, Animals, Explorers, Native Americans, The United States and Presidents, National Monuments and Memorials, Minerals, Plants, Inventions, and more. It's all laid out for you, and that's what I want. I like to find things on my own , too, but it's often hard to find the time. These won't actually be lapbooks, but I thought it might be a way of transitioning to that for some of our subjects. Our kids love arts and crafts; hands-on activities. So, I look forward to getting started with our new 'stuff'.

Well, I should probably get us started with the rest of our schooling. It will be time to begin dinner preparations before long. We'll be having Cheesy Ham & Potato Casserole and a Salad. I'll try to post my recipes later tonight or tomorrow. Take care, and enjoy the evening!