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HSV Garden Link-Up #2

HSV Garden Link-Up #2

It is time to for the second link-up for The Homeschool Village Garden Challenge link-up.  While I was hoping for more of an update, I really don’t have much of one.  The weather has been teasing us and giving us warm temps.  I was so ready to get out and get seeds planted!  However, my hubby said we needed to wait because we could still get some temps below freezing.  Sure enough, we have had some freezing temps along with snow flurries!  Thankfully, the only plants I think we lost was the pickling cucumbers that I had bought.   I had bought some strawberry roots/plants and asparagus roots (not for sure what they are called) and they never came up.  I am thinking that perhaps they were already dead in the packages that I bought them in.  I know it is too late to plant strawberries, but will check to see about getting more asparagus to plant.

The rest of the plants that we bought are slowly growing.  We still need to plant some in containers and in the planter box, but will get to that as it warms up a little more.

The oregano, thyme, spearmint, chives and onions have taken off!  The oregano is starting to grow outside of our box!

I got a little carried away with the sunflower seeds!  I am hoping to get enough to roast some this year.  Last year’s seeds went to the birds through the winter.

My strawberry plants have come back from last year.  I don’t think I will get any berries from the plants this year, but I am hoping to keep adding more plants to make a small strawberry bed.  We will be adding a couple more planter boxes, so I will be planting them in one of those.

The squash plants survived the last freeze and I really need to get them in the ground or a  container soon.  We also have brussels sprouts that need to get in the ground soon, too!

Our broccoli is growing great!  We have tried growing broccoli before and have never had success with it.  Looks like we might finally have done something right with it this year. Our rosemary bush has continued to grow since we bought it last year.  It is amazing that the cold hasn’t touched it any this year.

My bell pepper plants also survived the cold weather.  They are looking a little yellow, but are actually healthy and have grown since we bought them.

This past week, my husband started some of our tomato seeds.  We have three different types of tomatoes planted below.  We do plan on plating more, but haven’t picked up the seeds yet.  Our goal is to do some canning this year.  We would like to make some spaghetti sauce, soups and just have plan on tomatoes canned.

 

Now that I have written this all out, it looks like we do have a bit going on with the garden, but still so far to go!  I am excited, as the weather is warming up and we are spending more time outside.  The kids and I are still using the Apologia Botany book for science and have looked through the section on how the seeds grow.  It is so fun seeing the kids see the seeds sprout and grow.  Especially when the plants will start bearing fruits and veggies!

Stop by The Homeschool Village and link up for the Garden Challenge.  You will have a chance to win the Botany book from Apologia.  Also be sure to see the others who are linking up as well!

International Fair for homeschoolers..

International Fair for homeschoolers..

The homeschool group I am part of held an International Fair this past Saturday.  What is an International Fair?  I am so glad you asked!  An International Fair is where a student or family chooses a country to study.  They gather information to put on a backboard to share with others.  The family can make a couple of dishes from the country, can wear clothing like those who do in the country and share anything else that they would like with others.  There is so much you can share with others when learning about another culture.  Some basic information that the kids included were the capital of the country, population, flag, national anthem and how their government operates.  We had approximately 13 families take part for our first year of hosting it.  Families were so thrilled with how the fair went, that they are already thinking of what country to learn about for next year!

My daughter chose Ireland.  She had a lot of fun gathering information.  I think her favorite part was finding out about the music of the country.  Her dad also helped her make Shepherd’s pie as her dish.  It actually turned out really well!  We brought home an empty dish!

This family chose the Netherlands.  They had family that lived in the Netherlands and had sent them wooden shoes!  They looked so cute dressed up!

This family chose Jamaica.  The girls did an outstanding job on their backboard.  For food, they brought fried plantains.

France was another country that was chosen.  The dad helped the kids put an Eiffel Tower on the backboard.  It was formed with Christmas lights!  So cool!

This grandma is homeschooling her grandson.  They chose New Zealand and brought a spinning wheel.  She and her grandson showed us how they spun wool to make yarn for clothing.

Other countries represented inlcuded Japan, Brazil, Germany, China, England, Egypt, Canada and India.

As you can tell, we really had a wonderful time.  The amount of work the kids all put into their projects was truly amazing.  All the food that the families brought was really good.  You can tell the kids had fun and had learned a lot.  I also think the parents had just as much fun as the kids.  I know I had a blast!

I am so proud of our homeschool group.  It is so amazing to be a part of a group that loves to learn and share with others as you do.

Have you ever participated in an International Fair?  I would love to know what all you did and the country that you chose.  If you would like for your group to put on a fair, I would be more than happy to share with you how we did ours!

 

 

an amazing Easter weekend with blessings #803-816

an amazing Easter weekend with blessings #803-816

We had the most amazing weekend.  It was a weekend of celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus.  It was a weekend of celebrating family.  God has been so good to us.  He has been so good to our family. We are alive and healthy.  We are together.  Yes, it was a good weekend.

Blessings have been so plentiful to us.  We have so much to be thankful for.  I haven’t shared them in a long time and thought it was fitting to share after the weekend we had.

Starting on Friday, we woke to it being my birthday.  I am 37 years old and thankful that God has given me the life He has.  We woke to it being a cloudy day, but headed to a birthday breakfast at the Waffle House.  I was told the day was mine and I could do whatever I wanted.  I was also told that the housework was off limits to me.  It would be taken care of.  So I definitely had a day off.  Supper was chicken wings and chocolate cake.  I couldn’t of asked for a better day.  But the day did get better when the kids asked about Good Friday.  Telling them of Jesus’ love and why he died on the cross and them understanding, truly made it the best day ever.

Saturday morning came early.  My son had a basketball game at 8:00 am.  My daughter cheered at 9:30am.  after a wonderful morning of seeing them have fun, it was nice to come home to do nothing but relax and be with one another.  Something my family and I have learned is family time is most important in the world we live in.  While we do enjoy activities outside of the house, it is even nice being able to come home to one another.  We want to make sure out children know we love them and more importantly, God loves them.

My favorite day of the weekend came next.  Sunday.  The day the tomb stone was rolled away and it was empty.  Jesus had risen just like it was foretold. We woke up  and started getting ready for church.  Oh what a glorious day it was!  The song and worship service was amazing.  The preaching was just beautiful.  I love our church and how they try so hard to make sure everything is scriptural and encourage us to hold them accountable if we find they missed something.

We then came home to a wonderful lunch and we hid eggs for the kids to find.  It was amazing to have all of my kids outside together, laughing and joking with one another.  We don’t have our kids for very long and I am doing my best to soak  up all the time I have with them.

Yes, blessings have been abundant for me and my family.  We are truly blessed.  While I spoke of a few blessings above, I want to share a few more.  I have missed sharing and hoping to get back on a more regular schedule.

803- My health

804- My families health

805- Having my brother stay with us

806- my children’s laughter

807- family time together

808- celebrating another year

809- chocolate birthday cake 😉

810- seeing my children learn something new

811- a massage and adjustment

812- hugs and kisses from my family

813- a chance to go to the 2:1 Conference (Thanks See The Light!)

814- birthday cards sent with love

815- An awesome blog makeover from Honeycomb Design Studio

816- Celebrating the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

 

Luke 24

The Resurrection

24  But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,

 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

Apologia Botany Review

Apologia Botany Review

I have used a couple of the Apologia Elementary science books in the past.  So when I had the chance to review their Botany book, I was extremely excited! One of the main reasons why I love their science books so much is because they are creation based.  I also enjoy how the curriculum goes in-depth of the topic.  Each chapter is broken down into different sections making it simple enough to read a portion each day.

The Botany book starts out teaching on the nature of botany and the process of classifying plants.  It will then go into chapters talking about how plants start as seeds, how reproduction works in plants, how they make their food and how plants get water and nutrients.

 

Throughout the book, in each lesson, they have sections called “What Do You Remember”, “Notebook Activities” and then the “Projects”.  The projects are well explained and use a lot of items that you have around the house.   Botany Lab Kits (that has everything you need for the projects) are sold through various homeschool curriculum catalogs.  Apologia also has a Note-Booking Journal, and Lap Books that you can also purchase to use to reinforce the lessons.

While this book is geared for Kindergarten-6th grade age group, my oldest daughter who is 14 also listens in on the lessons and even participates with her younger siblings on the projects.  
 

My kids have thoroughly enjoyed using the Botany science book.  They enjoy when we go on nature walks and are able to point out what we have read in our lessons. 


(By the time this picture was taken, she was tired of me taking pictures!  )

Overall, we have truly loved using the Botany book by Apologia.  The kids are already asking which book we will be using next!

Have you used an Apologia Elementary Science book?  Did you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed their Botany book?

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