Join us for a Migratory Bird Walk?

There is a migratory bird walk being held here in Plainfield on Saturday!
The kids and I are planning to go, unless it is snowing & our colds have gotten worse :(
The free program is sponsored by the Forest Preserve Dist. of Will County. A naturalist will lead the hike in search of migratory birds. The rookery is located on Renwick Road just east of Route 30 & the walk is scheduled for Saturday March 29th at 8am. 7 year olds & up.

Nature Photos Slideshow

Here comes the green!

Yesterday, before the snow of today (GRRRR) hit, we went for a nature walk with friends and spotted all of this lovely green popping up through the brown & grey...I just hope the snow doesn't freeze the poor little sprouts!

Holy Thursday

I love this poem...

Sorry! I'm posting this a bit late for Holy Thursday reflections... but read & reflect anyhow...

The Last Supper

Perhaps at first they talked of little things
At supper-time that evening in the spring-
The upper room was dim with candle-shrine
As Jesus sat with twelve, remembering.

Then quietly He said, "There is one here
Whose kiss will bring betrayal by and by."
They did not look at Judas curiously,
But each man murmured, "Master, is it I?"

Each one looked inward, frightened lest he find
A shoddy place where he had dreamed of steel,
None placed the guilt on any other guest
Who had partaken of that gracious meal...

When they are hungry on my little street,
When I see tears or hear a heart's hurt cry
Because some one has failed to keep high faith,
May I, too, murmur, "Master, is it I?"

Helen Welshimer

It's like magic!

I love it when stuff like this happens...Decide to learn more about birds, and a new species appears!


How cool is it that just as we're immersed in all-things-birdy, a new bird species is "officially discovered"!!!




Ah, poor Togian white-eye from remote area of Indonesia ...
(which, incidentally we just studied & did our 4-H International Fair project on!!!)
- you can hide no more! Read all about them here

Bird humor for kids

What do you call a minor bird accident?A feather bender.
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Why did the duck go ring-ring?He got a phone bill.
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What did the little bird say to the big bird?Peck on someone your own size.
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What do you call a formal dance for ducks?A fowl ball.
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What kind of ducks rob banks?Safe quackers.
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Why was the duck unhappy?His bill was in the mail.
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Why did the pigeon need to get out?He was cooped up at home all week.
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Which bird does construction work?The crane!
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Which birds work underground?Myna (miner) birds.
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What kind of doctor treats a duck?A quack doctor!
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What kind of weather excites a pet duck?Fowl weather, of course!
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What holiday is strictly observed by all birds?Feather's Day!
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Where can birds play professional baseball?In the mynah leagues!

Sixty GLORIOUS degrees!

Today the thermometer reached...

da da da DAAAAA......

SIXTY lovely degrees!

We spent the morning bird watching - here is a slideshow of what we saw...

Emily on birds...

A Bird Came Down

A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.
And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.
He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,
--They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head
Like one in danger;
cautious,I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home
Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.

-Emily Dickinson

Birds on the brain...

Those crazy coots have really set us onto a "bird-brained" track...

We've been reading a book about BIRDS, and tomorrow we plan to go on a bird-sighting hike! There are really quite a lot of different water fowl out here on the lake - and the swans have returned! The swans returning has spawned a bunch of questions, all unknowns to the parental units in this household...Where do swans GO? How far do they go? We have heard they mate for life, but then again we've heard that's a myth, and they are only faithful to their partner for one seasons eggs/babies? We do know that a male swan is a COB, a female is a PEN and the babies are CYGNETS... We're in search of more answers, and will share as we find!

Although the temperatures are still in the chilly late-winter 50ish range, spring is definitely in the air - and the local birds are real proof of it! Lots and lots of paired off Canada geese around...and often we'll see a threesome - two boys doing their best to show their girl who will make the dandiest mate! Here is a fun kids page about Canada geese.

Incidentally, the Wisconsin DNR's kids webpages are really neat. Check 'em out!

Illinois' is not as easily navigated, but we did find these fun downloadable activities

And this very informative site - where you can enter the birds you spot in your state to their data log!
We are hoping to have gobs of photos from tomorrows birding! Look for them soon!

COOTS in our yard!!!!

We've been seeing these interesting birds, swimming in the lake we live on, and yesterday in our yard! We had been identifying them as "camerons" , but a little research on the www tells us now they are actually AMERICAN COOTS (also known as mud hens, blue-petes, moor-heads & pond crows, among others)! They appear to be locationally confused, though, as the geographic legend states they should be in our area in SUMMER for breeding...and the 32 degree temp today is certainly NOT summer-like... Check out this link and this one (fun) to learn about & listen to coots! Chef Daddy-O wonders how they might taste...I found this humorous old recipe.

More from the InHome Conference...

Here are the kids modeling the tie-dye t-shirts they created at the conference.




Here is the little girl modeling her t-shirt AND her felted necklace.









































A close-up of the felted necklace - isn't it cool?!

2008 InHome Conference

The InHome Conference is one of our family's favorite yearly events.

This years conference was, I think, the best one yet! Conference was held at a new location - Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles IL, which was excellent - and A LOT of exercise! I wish I'd had my pedometer to measure the length from one end of the resort to the other (classes and workshops were held in every area of the huge resort)! I'm quite certain we logged miles and miles and miles of hoofin' it daily - which is a good thing since we also frequented the Ben & Jerry's store within the resort!Here is Hazel at the Kids Flea Market, selling her wares (bracelets). I regret not getting more photos, maybe next year I'll send throw-away cameras with both kids to their workshops...

The kids favorite workshops were: Big Run Wolf Ranch Wildlife Education - where they met a HUGE, beautiful wolf named Oden...

as well as a de-scented skunk & a cougar! The ranch is right in our neighborhood, and we plan to schedule a field trip there very soon!

The kids also attended workshops on Model Airplane Building, Lego Robotics, Comics for Beginners, Hula Dancing, Tie-Dye T-Shirts, Native American Traditions & Music, Irish Dancing, Felted Necklace making, Logic/Math Games & Brain Benders, and the boy's favorite - Barn Building & 1890's chores! They actually built a small scale barn with wooden nails! They also shucked corn with an 1800's tool, made rope by hand & whipped up some home-made ice cream with an authentic 1890's ice-cream making device!

Dad & I enjoyed our workshops, too. His fave was chaperoning with the Wolf Ranch and a "Dads Who Do It" round table where Homeschool dads had some time to share their experiences. I taught two workshops - BREATHE & RELAX - techniques for the Harried Homeschooler (I have a file I'm happy to share with the breathing exercises - just e-mail me or post a comment here & I'll happily send it to you) & KNITTING WITH UNUSUAL MATERIALS, plus attended a bunch of workshops - including a bookmaking session which was very cool. I was kept busy for the duration of the conference with my sign-making & placement duties, as I am the signage chick for the conference...Which is a busy but fun & fulfilling way to help out with this awesome event.

I think the best thing about the conference, from year to year, is the shot-in-the-arm it gives me at the time of year when my enthusiasm is sometimes waning a bit...Being surrounded by so many (1200+ was the estimate as of Sunday) diverse and interesting like-minded homeschoolers is just incredible - and always bolsters my (and the kids' & hubba's) conviction that not going to school is the right choice for us. Plus we see old friends, and make new ones and learn new skills & knowledge...what's better than that?!

Busy...busy...busy...

Whew!

We're on a real whirlwind these couple of weeks.

Between the little girl's birthday celebrations, cake orders

(check out the wedding cake I did last weekend at

http://www.hazelcakes.blogspot.com/) ,

lessons & this weekend's upcoming InHome Conference

(I'm a presenter & volunteer) it's been a bit wacky around here...
Check out the conference link if you have a minute - this event is one of our family's very favorite things on earth - we look forward to it all year long! It is an amazing weekend, run completely by volunteers, and it is really a special example of how wonderful the homeschool community here in Illinois really is. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun info & photos to share here next week - the kids are attending some very cool workshops...but for now I'm off to work on my signs!

OH, lastly - we've been having fun with grammar poems lately - so I thought I'd share them here...Here's the first one...

THE VERB

I am a verb, I like to act,
To walk, to run, to dance - it's a fact.
To plough, to build, to work, to strive,
I like to feel that I'm alive!
But sometimes I just say, "I am,"
And act as meek as a little lamb