A Fall Visit to the Nature Center

sculpture outside the nature center entrance

This week we went with our homeschool group to our local nature center. This place is truly a local treasure. We've been there several times and we just love it! This was our first visit in the fall though, and what a great time to go! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. If you live in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area and you've never been here before, GO NOW! You'll love it!

I must warn you, I have a lot of *favorite* pics to share today (I know, you're shocked:). So let's get started:

Heading off on our chosen nature trail

Crunching through fall leaves is so satisfying.

The pine grove was beautiful! I love pine trees!

Taking a break:)

The best kind of spider web!

The kids had a blast on this!

Watching the ducks and geese after our picnic.

They are always so peaceful to watch.

Following our outdoor adventures was some fun and learning insided the Nature Center's main building. Their displays are interactive and fun, plus there's the Discovery Room with even more hands-on fun.

What would I look like as a deer?

Who knew that deer had such big ears?!

Fishing in the (magnetic) pond~this is always the favorite activity!

Visiting with a box turtle.

My son, the puzzle lover:)

Looking for different fish during our indoor scavenger hunt.

It's *Critter Crunch* time~watching the worker feed a mouse to a king snake.

I hope you made it through this very photo-heavy post, because I saved my favorite picture for last.

Even though Mr. B was rather naughty at times during our field trip, and he and his sister even got into it on the nature trail~a scuffle that ended with The Princess having a bloody nose (if you even look at her nose the wrong way, it bleeds!)~I still had a great time with them and they are still the best kiddos God could have ever blessed me with!!

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

One Way I Refresh During the Summer as a Homeschool Mom

As our homeschool takes some time off this summer, my mind almost never stops thinking of and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. This is probably because I'm Type A and an obsessive planner...lol Whatever the reason, I do enjoy this season of planning. But I also need to be refreshed as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling can be incredibly exhausting and all-consuming. It's not easy and it's a lot of responsibility. And I take that very seriously when I am researching curriculum and planning toward the next school year. So also taking some time to rejuvenate and refocus myself is very important. How do I do this? Each summer I take some time to read something inspiring and motivating that speaks to me as a homeschool mom. Some of my fave reads from past years--that I have nearby on my shelf and refer to often--are Educating the Wholehearted Child, The Well-Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion, A T...

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