Insects, power outages and more...

Yesterday we had horrendous winds - winds that knocked over our shaded swing seat, tore some branches off of neighbors' trees, and blew down power lines, rendering my entire side of town without power for hours. I left early to drive to work, knowing that traffic signals wouln't be working. Instead I was late, thanks to 2 accidents in two successive intersections - apparently people don't get taking turns!

The kids found the whole power outage experience to be very exciting. M used our campstove to make dinner and popcorn, they played card games (I taught them War yesterday), told stories, lit candles, and had a generally good time. When I drove home at 11:30, it was pitch black everywhere without street lights, etc., but the stars were glorious! Power came back on about 2 or 3 this morning thankfully (I need that morning coffee!).

We're about to start a unit on insects, at the request of my kids (probably triggered by our recent visit to a butterfly garden), and taking the place of nature studies for the moment. We'll watch a favorite movie - Microcosmos - read books (including the Children's Guide to Insects & Spiders, and the Best Book of Bugs, as well as a few books from this series), do some printouts from Learning Page (each child will make a "bug book" of their own), and work on planning (and planting, or at least starting to plant) a butterfly & bird garden. In the last couple of weeks, we have learned to identify local butterflies!

We're also preparing to dive back into history. We'll be using History Odyssey Ancients, with a couple of weeks on creation stories first, and then a somewhat extended study of prehistoric man. The kids (and I) are very excited about getting back into historical studies, and since Oak Meadow 3 covers some ancient civilizations, I thought starting back at the beginning would be a good idea.

Well, we need to get ready to go somewhere, so see you later!