Just something that spoke to me...

I really liked this. Choices. They matter.

You know it's spring when...

When I start writing about gardens and post pictures of my EarthBoxes! I don't get paid a single dime from EarthBox.com, but I probably should! I just happen to love them because they work for us.

People often ask me if they work and what I plant. This is how we began our growing year--with snap peas:

Pretty unimpressive, right? Well, everything has a small beginning!

This is what it looks like now--just two months of growth:

And it produces such pretty flowers...

That turn into these...

They are sweet and delicious!

The ladybugs love them too. 

(Affiliate links below.)

Some of them might be from our own growing experience. We bought this ladybug kit and this is what they look like when the ladybug larvae arrive:

They eat and eat for days and the all of a sudden, something goes off in their tiny brains and they crawl up the side and hook onto it: 

Then they form a hard shell that is soft at first, but it hardens. 

Then the ladybugs come out! We let them go after a few days into our garden.

It was a quick process, but fascinating to watch! The other one we did was the butterfly kit. The kit comes with the net as shown in the photo on Amazon and then you order the caterpillars separately. Five of them arrived a lidded cup with their food:

Seems pretty unimpressive, right? :) It was to me, but I knew what would happen so we just left it on the counter and watched them grow. They almost look like they are dead, but they definitely are not. Talk about monster eaters and growers! They get big very fast and then over the course of a day or two, they form chrysalides and hang from the top of the container. Once that is done, you pin it to the side of the net and wait for them to emerge. All five of our caterpillars transformed. This is what one of our transformed painted lady butterfly look like!

As you can tell, we let them go. They are so lovely and such fun to watch emerge. I cannot recommend these kits enough.

We also bought Where Butterflies Grow book to go with it:

Spring or summer unit study!

Enjoy your spring!

MathRider - Online Math Facts

Do your kids need math fact practice? I know my little ones sure do! I was very excited that the Schoolhouse Review Crew was given the opportunity to review the MathRider program for grades 2-6.

Does the idea of going on a quest to find a magical object appeal to your children? Does mastering addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts for numbers 1-12 appeal to you? Read on!

MathRider is a downloadable software (for both Windows and Mac operating systems, with free updates for life) for $47.00. Once you have downloaded the software, and loaded it onto your computer, you will go to a Rider Menu.

You can see we have three logins here because of course, I just had to try it! You can have up to eight logins for one purchased product! You click your name and type in the password and immediately you arrive on the home screen:

Right away I liked that it was not busy and full of flashing lights and distractions. It is a simple scene of natural beauty and from here you can do many things. 

* Practice Runs

* Start a Quest

* Retell the Quest Story

* Continue a Quest

* View your Stats

* View your Quest Progress Map

It is important to note that MathRider assumes that the teaching of the math facts is done outside the program. This is a program for math fact mastery. 

Practice Run

When you click on Practice Run, it brings you to a screen that looks like this:

As you can see, you have a lot of control over how many problems you want your children to practice, which operations; including the number range. Once you have selected what you want, you just click, "Ride" and it begins. I like that Practice Run is offered so that when a child works on their quest, they do not get discouraged if their rider cannot answer the math fact questions quickly enough.

Start a Quest

When you begin a quest, you get to choose the operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division). From the website:

Your child is taken into a land of fantasy and quests. Living in the Land of Ray and riding a horse called Shadow, he or she will set out on various noble adventures. Riding across amazing, digitally matte-painted moving backdrops of distinct fantastic lands, they will accomplish their quest, be it finding magical flowers, returning gems to the elves or even rescuing a princess!

Each operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) contains four quests, ranging from easy to master.

The four quests are the same across the four operations, however, the rewards are not. Every combination of quest and reward holds a different reward. The rewards are all animated according to how well the player answered the questions.

Your child watches a story:

And receives instructions:

And then goes on the quest through the Mathlands:

You child answer questions with the number pad on your keyboard and then hits enter. There is mild background music with no words that you can use or mute to your liking. The rider speeds up or slows down according to the ability and speed of the child. If you miss a problem, the rider stops before the obstacle it is to jump and the full problem with the answer is shown on the screen. It will start up after it stays on the screen for a few moments. Once you finish the first part of the quest, you are shown your score and are given the option to continue or to see your Quest Progress Map:

You can also View Your Stats:

You can see how well your child has done and what they need work on. I had two of my children doing this program and each one of them has improved in their math fact retention. One of them (above) has almost mastered this section and will move on once she has. She will also receive the "Master" reward (prize) within the game that is only obtained and shown on-screen to the student when they have done so. 

I am extremely pleased with this program. I love the simplicity of it, the calm and friendly graphics, and the manner in which my children are learning their math facts and enjoying it. They don't complain about this program, and actually like using it. They will even go beyond what I have asked of them because they want to finish their quest and see what the reward is! This is high praise to me for a math program. If they enjoy learning and are retaining the math facts--what more can I ask, right?

To read what the other Schoolhouse Review Crew families has to say about MathRider, click the link below.

Monday's Musings

What I'm thinking: How fast time flies for the time we have with our children. I know I talk about this a lot, but wow, it is hitting home over and over these past few weeks! My oldest child is taking her assessment exams today for college in the fall. I am so proud of her and can't believe that the person I see before me at 18 was the baby that we welcomed so many years ago. It has been an honor seeing her grow.

What I'm reading: I am reading The Fall of Anne Boleyn: A Countdown. It is a non-fiction writing about her life, and about the lives of those that surrounded her; both those that loved her and those that wanted her dead.

What I'm listening to: Nothing! It is very quiet here today! We had a busy weekend and all are in recovery I think. :D

What we're learning: We have started back up with ancient history and are now settling into Egypt for a while. I really enjoy ancient cultures and Egypt holds a fascination for me and always has. I don't see myself ever visiting there in my lifetime due to the chaos that abides in the land, but I am grateful for videos and good books that give me a taste of it.

What I'm watching: We have been watching Elementary. It is a show with Sherlock Holmes in the US with Lucy Liu. We are enjoying the observation skills he showcases. I cannot vouch for all the subject matter, but the form behind the substance is worth understanding.

What's cooking: I have *really* been getting into Indian food! I discovered that I enjoy it and that a local store caries all sorts of wonderful spices and chutneys to eat with it. This is one of the spice packets:

I mix it up as instructed, after doubling the chicken, and then I add a ton of veggies to it. It is just SO good! I have made it from scratch too, but this comes together in less than an hour and that is very helpful in my busy homeschool house!

I also discovered a cilantro sauce that I am going to write about soon. It is a wonderful addition to almost any kind of meal from soup to burritos!

What I'm buying: I bought myself a Brother laser printer. We do so much printing for our schooling and the ink costs are a killer. The printer was a decent price (on sale) and the printing quality is top notch. :)

What I'm thankful for: The privilege of homeschooling my children. It is not as easy life, but it is a life I am very grateful for.

What I'm creating: Lesson plans for ancient history.I am a little behind on that! :D

What I'm praying: I am praying that my children walk with Christ; that they find their place in His kingdom and world, and that they know they are loved and an important part of His church.

What I'm planning: I am planning to do some meal planning. Mind you, I am only planning to do it. :)

What we did this last weekend: We had a busy weekend! Saturday was spent doing house clean-up, gardening, running children around, and all around general Saturday stuff. Sunday was spent at church and then at a friend's home where we are always welcome and the fellowship is sweet.

What I'm looking forward to: Tuesday night for dinner with my aunt when all the college appointments we are attending to this week will be done. :)

A picture to share of early spring in the corner garden with mint, gladiolas, snap dragons, and a whole lot of seeds and weeds coming up from the ground.

Thoughts on a Monday

When I began this thing we like to call parenting, it all seemed very, oh, I don't know - easy or simple or something. I knew that having a baby would change my life--in my head. I did know that and sort-of understood what it meant. Sort-of.

I really had no idea at all.

Now, after 18+ years of parenting, I sometimes feel I have something to say about what it means to be a parent, but I still feel woefully unprepared for the changes it brings to my heart. I think about how very simple it actually was when my children little. However crazy and wild and seriously sleep deprived those days were, they had a simplicity that I missed when I was in them. I wanted more and had a hard time appreciating the crazy for what it was. I look at some of the younger mothers in my life now and I think - oh, don't rush it. Don't long for what is to come because it comes so much faster than you think it will. You will have those older children very quickly.

I want to make one thing very clear - I absolutely LOVE having older children. I adore my teens and cannot believe how amazing my older children are. How did that happen? To God be the glory!

But. It went very fast.

I wanted it to go fast, but I didn't know what that meant when I wanted it. I would not turn back the clock because that isn't how life works - we move forward and this is good. Change is good and we birth our children and raise them only for a short period of time and give them to the Lord each day along the way. We raise them to be adults and then they grow up and become them. This is good and the way it should be. But. Some days, it feels like the speed of light.

Some days the sadness at the speed of it and the fast changes that life brings overwhelms me. I wish to embrace what the Lord gives me each and every day. I want to rejoice in the beauty that I see around me in my family and the amazing young adults I am living with blossom before my eyes. I rejoice in my head - 100% - but my heart sometimes longs to look back and remember the tiny people that needed me so much. Does that ever happen to you?

Mamas, love those children. They grow up so very quickly to become people you are terribly grateful to be friends with. I am terribly grateful today.

Five on a Friday - Spring Fun!

Thanks, Miranda, for this fun link-up!

1. I am excited to plant our nine other EarthBoxes next week. We have one planted with snow peas and it is growing well! This is what it looks like:

I can already taste the peas! There is naturalized mint all over the ground that we gather as-needed thoughout the growing season. Mint is really like a weed, but it is a weed I don't mind. I will take it over Bermuda grass ANY day of the week. 

Will you grow a garden this year? What do you like to plant?

2. It is always exciting to me to see seeds growing. This is lettuce (that you can barely see):

and this is arugula just up out of the ground:

So many seeds look just like this when they pop up. Basil looks just the same, but this will end up being very tasty in our salads from our salad tables: 

These will hold herbs and anything that will grow in a more shallow raised bed. I plan on savory, marjoram, oregano, two different kinds of basil, green onions, cilantro, and maybe some others. I have seven of these large squares to fill! If I can find some medicinal herbs, I will do those too.

3. We plan to have people over here on Easter Sunday after church for fellowship and fun. I love having people over - it makes me happy! Do you have Easter Sunday plans?

4. This year, after *many* years of wanting to buy one, I finally bought a Foxglove (Digitalis) plant. I never bought one because I know they are poisonous if eaten. Sometimes my children eat the herbs (basil and mint especially) straight from the garden, and I didn't want to chance it. I think my children are now old enough that I don't have to worry about it. I LOVE this flower - it reminds me of cool shady garden in an old country manor. I can't wait for it to flower. 

Do you plant things just for their beauty? My garden area is mostly devoted to edibles, but I do have a few sections that are there for the sheer joy of the lovely. I have a whole gladiolus section that I never touch for the same reasons. :)

5. Spring bugs can be really interesting. This is a giant moth from our weekend away to the California Delta. 

It was really very beautiful and quite large. I would say it was a little bit smaller than a dollar bill folded in half. I wasn't so brave as to touch it, but I admired it and took its picture. That will have to do. :D

If you want to link-up too, click here:

Have a beautiful weekend!

Just one coin...

I don't know about you, but I love music. All kinds of music! There are some kinds of music though, that are beautiful, joyful, and meaningful. Now I don't always love surprises, but I would have loved to have seen this one:

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Glimpses of joy and meaning in a busy world - these are beautiful to me.