If You Give a Mouse A Cookie

Or in our case.... If your neighbor brings you a raspberry bush, you have to plant it ....
And if you plant it, you need to water it...
.... and if you water it, Jonah will think that it is time for water play....
When Daddy comes out to see what is going on,
he may decide to pull some weeds.
When Daddy starts to pull weeds, it will make us look at flowers... And if we look at flowers, we will have to stop and smell the lilacs....

The smell of the lilacs will make us so happy, we may need to spin around...

Of course, boys who have no interest in lilacs or spinning will have to go jump on the trampoline...

....and boys who jump on the trampoline get very hungry..... So we will go inside wishing we already had raspberries to eat!

Hatchlings!

(Try Clicking on the Photo for a closer look)

After weeks of watching and waiting, our baby birds have finally hatched! The mother Robin has faithfully cared for her 4 eggs, one of which still hasn't hatched. The babies are so new, possibly just hours old. They are just little pink wiggling blobs. But we are so excited to watched them grow in the coming days. Josiah and Siri are so thrilled to get to experience nature in such a tangible way.

Are You Smarter Than A Second Grader

As Homeschooler's, we are required by law to have our children participate in Testing every year. So this week we picked up the test and I have been administering it to Josiah and Siri. I have tried to make it as relaxed an atmosphere as possible so they wont get too nervous... The truth is, I am working myself not to be anxious over the results. There are some things that I just know they are getting wrong. (Things that we haven't covered yet in our curriculum or areas where I know they struggle) It is an interesting mix of emotions I find myself in. I want them to do well, in large part because I know that it is a reflection on me as their teacher, not because I really feel that the stuff they are being tested on is that important.
As I watch them make mistakes (and bite my tongue so I wont try to help them) it is good for me to see areas that we need to step it up a little.
But then I also get to see how much they absorb from just living life in our family and playing and exploring. There are things on the test that I didn't teach them yet and they surprised me by getting it right anyway.
We have a few days to go and we will all be happy to put this week behind us.