Treasures in my yard

I had a friend pass on to the next life this week.  And of course I am reminded to treasure every day. This afternoon I was out enjoying my yard and decided to share it:

Flowers that were on clearance and pitiful a couple of weeks ago.

Look at this guy...I have heard that the ugliest caterpillars make the prettiest moths--I hope so! He is on my lovely Kentucky Coffee Tree

My guys and their friends have climbed and made forts in these trees for years.

My first jalapeno pepper--I am sure I will eat it by Monday!! 

Tomatoes happening!

This apple tree is full--but look at the leaves!  I haven't noticed red and yellow spots on the leaves before.  My other apple trees have beautiful leaves but no fruit.

...sigh... my small garden...this year I felt this was all I could tend. Even so if it is like in years past I will probably still be able to can beans from it and be able to share too!

I hope you are having a lovely summer and taking time to enjoy it!

Week 2 of Summer School

I am so excited to share our morning basket for our second week of "summer schooling".
My two oldest guys are doing a couple of pages a day in Handwriting for teens.


Just for fun and to keep sharp we are doing about 10 minutes a day of flash card drills followed by a group activity from Family Math.

Our artist study is Norman Rockwell.  So far we have watched a short biography about him on YouTube.  We have a calendar of his pictures we are studying.  We are finding common features in each (like how his name is always signed in stencil).  Recently we found three puzzles of his work and have put these together as a family.

While the boys work on the puzzle is a great time to get in another chapter of our current read-a-loud: Islands of the Blue Dolphins.

What fun things have you found to keep your homeschoolers fresh and sharp?

Day 1

Once again I am trying to complete the #minsgame.  Ever since I have heard about "minimalism" I have been trying to rid myself of "planned hoarding"---or "organizing". I have started asking myself why do I still have this? Will it make my boys little again? Is "this" bringing me joy---just taking up space?

So today I got rid of my old business cards...not like I need them---I haven't for several years.