Oil and Water

Remy learned in science that a duck has an oil sac by his tail and that this oil is what coats his feather and keeps him water proof.

He then put some olive oil on a sheet of paper.

And then he put water on the the oil.

And he saw that oil and water doesn't mix. :)

So that is why water rolls off of a duck's back. ;)

A Prayer From Remy...

My little Remy boy tried for weeks to catch a wild mouse with a humane trap he had. He sat it out with crackers and peanut butter, he prayed, and no little mouse was to be seen on any of the mornings. But Remy kept praying...

Matthew went out to clean the pool one morning and he came in with THIS!

A little wild mouse that was swimming like CRAZY and trying to live!

Remy watched him for a while and then I convinced him that maybe it was a mama mouse or a daddy mouse and it needed to go home to get dry and tend to its babies. :( Remy cried, but we promised him something in returen, something I will show you all later. He had prayed and hoped for that little mouse and now we were making him let it go. He had grand visions of letting his crawfish go from the tank and keeping little wild mouse in the tank as a pet. *sigh*

But he did the right thing...

...and he said goodbye to little wild mouse. But he held us to our promise! I will show you what it was in another post.

Art Time and Reading Time

Remy is always finding something in a book that he wants to draw. I love it. :)

He even decorates himself. Don't you just love the stars on his forehead? :)

He read this book because he is of course my little bug boy.

My boys at work.

It's a hoppy little frog!

Elijah learned about washing with water, blue water color, and dampened paper.

He added waves...

And created this!

Elijah is studying plants in science and he took the time to draw some of them. :)

Remy made this sailboat.

Remy and I read this book and then he drew "snapshots" from the story.

Remy and I read this book.

And then we went to visit our own garden. I am so upset with our corn! I will be putting in a call to my grandfather so I can decide what to do differently.

Elijah made planes with paper folding one night and he just so happened to have on plane jammies. :)

Spelling Volleyball

A little blue ball is a great tool in our lessons. During spelling my youngest has focus issues. He will start to spell say baseball and it goes something like this.

b-a-finds a piece of fuzz on the carpet-investigates piece of fuzz-asks where he was in the word-I tell him to start over-b-a-s-e-he then tells me a story from a show he has watched-I tell him to start over-b-a-s-e-b-a-l-l!

The little blue ball helps to keep his focus and it uses up his endless supply of energy. ;)

In "Spelling Volleyball" I throw the ball and I say b, Remy catches it and throws it back saying a, I catch it and throw it back saying s, and so on.

Excuse Remy's big white shirt. It was bedtime and I had Matthew film this for me. Remy sometimes likes to wear his daddy's undershirts to bed. :)

Silly Strong Fight

$2 and 2 boys and this is what you get.

But watch out because as the mommy you may get caught in the cross-fire.

And then you may just have to climb right up a tree to get away from that same silly string fight. ;)

A Day at Black Bayou

We went out to Black Bayou again the last time Matthew was off of work.

Remy and the big bear gave chase to a boy named Elijah. ;)

We saw a big black catfish.

I think this butterfly is some sort of Fritillary, but I can't find my butterfly book. *sigh*

This snake was wound up and trying his best to not be seen.

This is a Golden Silk Spider. I have never seen one before and we were very excited about him!

The sweet boys...

A very pretty Anole that found himself in just a spot for a photo opt. :) Hee hee...

We LOVE this place and I am planning a surprise picnic unit day for next week out there. :)

Make and Share Monday ~ Remy's Monkey Jammies

I know it isn't Monday anymore, but I had to get in on this new blog theme! It is back to school and with back to school and fall I feel crafty and I sit day dreaming of sewing, baking, and creating. :) *sigh*

Make and Share Monday was made for me and my wandering mind during this time of the year. :) So look forward to a weekly bloggy post of the little goodies I whip up with my hands. :)

I made Remy my little "Monkey Boy" some new jammies. Both of the boys need new jammies in BAD ways and while we don't have the money to go and buy them, I do have the huge fabric stash from my richer days, and I have put them to use! :) Remy says I am a magic mommy and he is going to sew all of his kids clothes when he is a daddy. ;) I mean he will live in the wild, ya know? I don't believe Walmart will be in the Amazon. Hee hee...

I had some sock monkey fabric and some blue knit. I also had the pattern in my stash. :) He could not stand himself as he waited for his jammies. He went around in undies because he said his normal clothing was not good enough. I was asked every 5 minutes when they would be done. He is quite pleased with the result. :) He is so super cute. :)

Summer in July

I am so shocked at how FAST July has flown by! It has been a hard summer and one we will never forget. I can't say it has been a relaxing summer...it has been a strange one. I am hoping and praying for a more low key fall in our future. I need it so badly.

I have made sure the children have had some enjoyment and we (Matthew and I) have tried so hard to shelter them from what we have been going through. And through them we see the joy of childhood. :) And it makes it all better. It also makes it all worth it! ;)

A huge bottle of bubbles can be had for around $2 and it makes for lots of fun. They can stay out there for 3o minutes or so with all that soapy fun.

Remy and Elijah have put that pool to GREAT use this summer. It is already here at our house and how inviting it is, it just begs for us to forget our cares and splash around. And if you can use the dive toys you got from the school store it is even better. ;)

Our garden gives us time to tend something other than ourselves. Weeding out the wee little garden gives us satisfaction for free. And how fun it is to see little okra pods, beans, cucumbers, baby corns, and watermelon flowers.

Finding joy in our world is not hard...you have only to look. :)

Matthew may have a second job, please pray about this for us if you pray. :)

Restocking the Store and Prices

When we are out and about I find little things that I want to add to the store. We were at the dollar store and I picked up some things.

Cotton Candy! The cost was a $1 and I put it in our little school store for $6 dollars. I price things higher the more valued they are by the children. This makes them work harder for the treats. I keep a log all week and put in "money" for a job well done on a math paper, a good deed, or a chore they did with a pleasant manner.

This is a sheep full of gum "tape" and it was $1 and I put $2.50 on it.

Airheads are great because for a dollar I get 6 and I price them at $1.50 each.

Pop Rock potion $1 and the price in the school store is $3.

Ice cream shaped suckers. The package is $1 and I made them $1 each.

Silly String is always a favorite for them.

My friend Sherri and her children have my children hooked on water balloons. :) They are great fun in the pool. I price them at 25 cents for 10, but Eli bought the whole package of 100 for $2.50.

This is the box restocked with new "stuff". I have mechanical pencils in there, sidewalk chalk, toy cars, building kits, etc. I will sometimes buy super deep clearanced games and put them in there. I always look at the Target clearance and then price those things SUPER high for our school store. This encourages them to save in the "bank account" instead of spending it all.

They earn anywhere from $5 to $10ish dollars a week. It really depends on them! I also use this as a way to keep them in line. Remy has a hitting issue with his brother lately. Everytime he hits Eli he loses .25 - .50 cents. He had a good week this week and yesterday he had around $12 dollars to deposit.

They look forward to this every friday. :)