Field trips

A friend has a beautiful pond, it is a wonderful place to find signs of Spring. It is still March but it was a hot 80 degrees that day. CG wanted the air conditioner on in the car and SA wanted to go IN the pond. We saw a pair of Mallards and a pair of Canadian Geese. Surprisingly we also found large tadpoles, I thought too early for them but they were there.  SA couldn't stop watching the water skippers (that's what he calls them)

On another visit recently we decided to drive an hour to the ocean at sunrise to see low tide. I am so glad we did, and we will do it again I am sure of it.  What a great time to go. We saw people digging for clam. We found rocks, driftwood, a starfish, and lots of sand dollars. We kept a few that were dead. However we learned exactly what to look for to find the live ones.  A small circle of sand and under a sand dollar. We saw them all the way down the beach, and we had fun running from one to another. 

These trips cost nothing except the gas to drive there, and what fun we have!

THERE IN THE WOOD....#4

We have been watching some visiters to our yard this week. Ususally they walk around on the ground and get the seeds that the birds have dropped. They chase each other and always look like they are having fun. This weekend one decided to try to get the bird seed in the hanging bird feeder on the porch.

He tried and tried but could not get to the feeder. He stood on the rail looking up...he climbed up the side and tried to jump, he was not going to give up.  He got down a few times and looked up at it as if he were trying to figure out what to do.

Ten minutes into it he climbed up the rail, then the post, then across the top. Finally hanging upside down he grabbed the feeder and climbed down onto it. He did it! We were very excited for him, and we learned that squirrel's are very persistent and smart.

Two of the squirrels in the tree.

 "Are you looking at me?"

This is how he looked through the window.

HE eats!

I would like to hear about what others find in nature. Exploring, learning,  anything that is nature related.  What kind of bug, flower, animal, bird have you seen. What are you studying for weather etc.

Please join my link up so we all can learn more from nature.

THERE IN THE WOOD....

We found some holes in our tree. Upon further examination, pictures and exchanging e-mails we determined that it could be Asian Longhorn Beetles ALB for short.  We were very concerned, the State Forest Entomologist came to take a look at our tree. She could not rule it out, so she wanted the US Forest Service to take a look at it.

A month or so past by and then I received an e-mail. The US Forest Entomologist scheduled a day and time to meet.  It was a very informative meeting, we learned about some pests and some new science words like the insect galleries.  The paths chewed by larva in the tree. Our tree had it right under the bark.   Good news was it is not ALB. Bad news.... some thing is living in there. Carpenter Worms a moth was his suggestion. We will have to wait until spring to see any more changes to the tree.


The US Entomologist was very friendly and smart. We spoke about homeschooling, science and nature. I love talking about those subjects. A few days later I received a package in the mail.

Of course the kids liked the tattoos. I know we will be learning from this information all summer.  Thank you to our US Entomologist! It was a very nice thing to do.

I would like to hear about what others find in nature. Exploring, learning,  anything that is nature related.  What kind of bug, flower, animal, bird have you seen. What are you studying for weather etc.

Please join my link up so we all can learn more from nature.

Frugal Homeschooling Life

My husband and I are raising our children in a way that we believe will help them to be happy with their financial choices. We want them to be smart with money and not wasteful.

We don't hide our finances. We explain where and how money is earned and where it is spent. CG and SA save 1/3 of the money they earn or are given. We of course have had to have conversations about why we don't have cable or cell phones. Over all I think they understand.


The grocery store is a big deal for our family. We go with a list, that we create by looking through store circulars. CG and SA help find the items in the store. We discovered couponing this year. All of us are surprised at how easy it is and how much we save.

CG cutting coupons

Homeschooling makes learning so fun, last year for Geography we did a post card swap across America. It was very inexpensive and twice a week when they got postcards in the mail their faces lit right up. 

Lessons can be fun and inexpensive. Gardening, composting, nature study, reading, all these are frugal homeschooling lessons. Shopping at thrift stores, using coupons and saving money are also great lessons for children to learn.

Pheasant and Opossum tracks, did they cross paths or were they hanging out together?

We are enjoying our frugal homeschool life.

IN THE WOOD.... nature study

I am a naturalist and I love learning as much as I can from what is around me. As a homeschooling family we learn lots from outside. Things present themselves and it becomes a learning moment. I will always stop to look at a bug, try to identify it and have the kids ask questions about it. If it is something we have never seen we will look in books and check online to find out more information. We enjoy walking in the woods, and exploring in the yard.

CG loves birds and bugs. She will put many worms on her arm and watch them slither around. She will attempt to let crawl on her any bug that I say is not going to bite.  

SA loves collecting anything from outside specifically rocks and leaves.  We have many rocks in our house. He likes insects as well, not as daring as CG but she is convincing him. 

I would like to hear about what others find in nature. Exploring, learning,  anything that is nature related.  What kind of bug, flower, animal, bird have you seen. What are you studying for weather etc.

Please join my link up so we all can learn more from nature.

Blog Buttons and link ups

I have been trying to create a blog button with a drop down window.  Boy am I having problems. One site said to put the picture in a post and save the address location.  I would really like to create a nature study link up. I have created a nice button.  I believe you can right click on it and save image location to link back to my blog. Here goes.....