Don't toss it yet...

Save that Easter grass! Try using different colors of grass to add a little excitement to your children's barn or stable sets. Our oldest has enjoyed the yellow "straw" that lines the horses' stalls in her wooden stable. And green "grass" will make a great addition to the pasture outside!

Don't forget to share your latest ideas at a bowl full of lemons!

A Homeschool Mother's Journal

We loved kicking off these first days of spring with delightfully homemade Strawberry Shortcake... for dinner! Sunday evening was a perfect night to enjoy this delicious warm-weather treat. We may just have to keep this a tradition!

In our homeschool...
We have enjoyed progressing with our morning math time over breakfast. We love counting anything that comes in a collection, from plastic hearts to small teddy bears. And we've continued with our regular exercises in reading and writing. We have also loved delving into American history and have continued to enjoy our time learning about our nation's presidents.

What we love...
We love our morning Bible studies. We look forward to this time after breakfast has been enjoyed and the dishes have been tended to. We head to our sitting room, gather on a cozy rug, and prepare to study God's Word. We love using Betty Lukens Flannel Board felt set. This was quite an investment, but worth every penny.

And in regards to our scholastic endeavors, I think math in the mornings works great for us. And I'm loving teaching our oldest to read with The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. We started with magnetic letter tiles in the initial stages and now use a dry-erase board for reading sentences. She's doing wonderfully, and we're both enjoying this time together.

What's not working as well...
Our writing program. Our oldest is doing very well and learning to write her letters, but we're not enjoying our materials as much as I'd like. Just to put this in perspective, here's a quote that was uttered in such a sweet way earlier in the week: "Mama, when you try to make my writing more fun, it's not so fun when you try to make it more fun." Hmmm... I'm looking into another curriculum, but I'll plan to post more about the details later.

I am inspired by...
Our children. These sweet little girls at the tender ages of one and three are so wonderfully sweet, and I marvel at their love for studying God's Word, their love for His beautiful creation, and their love for one another and for others, and their ability to do what is right in difficult circumstances. And I just love their sweet spirits... these little girls are so much fun!

What a great week it was, and I'm thankful that I can jot down the memories here. From our time learning from God's Word to enjoying Sunday evening treats, I am reminded of what a wonderful time this is in our lives. We are so thankful for God's many blessings!

Please visit The Homeschool Chick and link up with The Homeschool Mother's Journal!

My Top 3 Picks for Baby Toys

Here are my latest favorites for babies...

The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home has been a hit for both Baby Girl and Big Sister!

 

And I love our Colorpillar Sorting Mat by Lakeshore Learning as well as

our set of Schylling Musical Handbells pictured in front. The Colorpillar Sorting Mat comes with a great set of manipulatives to place on the caterpillar mat (I've added some extra toys in this picture). 

Thanks to Grandma for these sweet gifts!

Savoring Spring's Beautiful Blooms

Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"

I am in love with flowers, simply smitten you might say. I stand in awe of God's magnificent creation. The blooms that graciously follow the changing of the seasons are simply stunning. God, in His infinite wisdom, is a Perfect Designer. Each bloom follows the next, looking nearly exactly like the others, with a consistent number of petals, and is of a shape and pattern that only escalates its beauty. Its color ranges from the palest of hues to the most vibrant of shades. It is simply beautiful.

We have adored heading outside to savor the beauty of these early spring days. And it is to my delight that our oldest little one at her tender age of three, has developed a love for flowers, carefully selecting some of the season's loveliest blooms for her mommy. And so I was delighted when she noticed that our lovely cherry tree had just starting displaying its beautiful pink blossoms. We snipped a few of the choicest blooms and then made our way to the stunning dogwood trees that grace our yard. Our little one gathered the finest bouquet of spring blossoms, making for lovely arrangements in our heirloom vases and fluted dishes throughout our home. I love to pass by these gorgeous blooms adorning our rooms as we go about our day!

Make sure to visit a bowl full of lemons to see what other projects await.

And don't forget to join this extended link party to share your latest project!

Spring Days

We are loving these splendid spring days! The weather has been gorgeous, and the season's prettiest blooms have been gracing our yard for weeks. Wagon rides and bubble blowing have been quite a priority, and outdoor picnics have been a must. What a blessing it is to enjoy these precious days with my family in the midst of a most gorgeous season!

Little Ones

How beautiful little babies are! Their sweetness, their softness, their adorable smiles. Our Heavenly Father, the Giver of all good blessings, has blessed mothers and fathers so abundantly with the gift of little ones. This afternoon, as I savored the sweetness of our youngest who recently celebrated her first birthday, I could not help but think of what a delightfully precious, wonderfully special little baby she is. Oh, how I just love to love her. She is chubby and soft and sweet. I love her dark little curls that graciously turn out as the day passes, her beautiful brown eyes that are bright and full of joy, and her sweet little cheeks that seem to be made only for kisses. I love that her smile spreads across her face so easily, almost as though she was born to do just that. She is cuddly and loves to snuggle with her mommy. She bounces across the floor so joyfully, following after her daddy, and she admiringly imitates the playful nature of her beloved sister. She is truly so precious.

What a blessing it is to enjoy this time in our lives, to delight in the sweetness of our children. Our God is such a loving and magnificent Creator that He made these little babies to be just as they are. They are nearly irresistible it seems to mothers and fathers and their doting grandparents. Who can help but lovingly adore the baby who offers a newfound kiss, who squeals with delight when she sees a familiar person, or who waves goodbye for the first time? God has blessed us so richly, allowing us to delight in the smallest of things. As mothers, we savor these precious moments, often scrambling to try to jot down the cutest of little whims in our memory books. We cannot help but share these smallest steps with our husbands when we see them at the day's end, and we must share the latest of their smallest accomplishments with dear friends and adoring grandparents. God has called us to raise these precious souls according to His Word (Ephesians 6:4). He could have made this the simplest, most ordinary of tasks. But He is so gracious and so loving that He has allowed us to delight in these little ones with a joy that can only be known by those who have children. Let us praise our God for His most bountiful blessings.

A heart's toll



Source

I recently stumbled upon a copy of Joseph Slate's The Great Big Wagon That Rang at our local library. I couldn't help but add this to our borrowed collection of historical finds, as we have been delving into American history. Our oldest little girl and I have been having such fun trying to learn the forty-four presidents who led our nation. And even our little one has enjoyed the review as we make our way through the list! And so with a renewed appreciation for our country's history, this title seemed like a great addition to our studies.

As we prepared to read this book, I could not help but reflect upon a visit to the Liberty Bell that my family enjoyed when I was a young girl. My father loved our family dearly, and he loved our nation's history. He loved taking us to see the sights of some of our country's most honored places. And perhaps one of the things that I remember most is his love for finding a priceless remembrance of our trip. And they truly are priceless, these small souvenirs that have stayed with me all these years.

It has been a while since I last reflected on these special memories, but what a joy it is to now have this small remembrance of the Liberty Bell displayed in our bookcase once again. What a joy it has been to ring this little bell for our children to hear, the bell that many years ago was placed in my hands by my loving father. And how precious, even still, to be able to speak to our girls of their late grandfather who would have loved them so much had he lived long enough to see his grandchildren. My heart ached this very evening thinking of my father. How much he would have loved to have seen his family through the years. What a blessing it is to hear my sweet little daughter as she joyfully asks, "Are you going to be excited to see your daddy in heaven?" Oh what a joy it will be!