Paper Dolls and Children

[Cue the Tardis wooshing sound]

Travel back in time to your childhood for a minute. Were you lucky enough to have played with paper dolls? Did you love how easy it was to change clothes on your paper dolls? There were so many options! Until, after what seemed like a very short amount of time, one of those little tabs broke off, rendering an already difficult-to-stay garment even more difficult to keep on!

"MOM! HOLLY HOBBIES' CLOTHES KEEP FALLING OFF!"

*sigh*

[Cue the Tardis wooshing sound]

Now that I'm older, I wanted to incorporate paper dolls into our homeschool journey. But the thought of fixing those horrible little tabs over and over again, and spending all that time cutting out dolls and outfits only to have them rip? The thought was depressing.

And then I found clear contact paper.

And the maniacal villain laughter ensued. For a short "muahahahaha", not endless and annoying.

Due to my success with it, and I've used this method for about two years now with great results, I wanted to share it with you! Yes, you!

First, you need to actually have the dolls/outfits in hand in their original form (for this example, I'm using Dover's Ancient Greek paper dolls), tape, clear contact paper (look for it with the shelf liner in your local stores), scissors, and time. Even two minutes at a shot will eventually land you with some heavy-duty paper dolls, just keep plugging away!

Cut out your dolls, making sure to leave them in a rectangular section (this makes it easier, I speak from experience here!).

Measure out how big of a piece of contact paper you need to cut from the roll (I just roll the contact paper out on top of the piece and eyeball it, making sure to be a little more generous than stingy). Cut the piece off of the roll and oh-so-carefully remove the paper backing and lay it out on top of the paper. Everyone has their own method, just keep in mind that you don't want to crinkle the contact paper and that even if you end up with a bubble or a little wrinkle, your children probably aren't as picky about it as you are; if they are, let them try one and if they do a better job, make them do it, if they don't do a better job, at least they'll quiet down the grumpiness.

You can cover just the front side of the dolls if you want. I've found that the dolls tend to be more rugged and a backside covering really isn't all that helpful unless you have some very thin dolls. Dover prints their dolls on cardstock, but if you print some off of the Internet, it's bound to be thinner and needing that extra layer of contact paper.

Now, cut them out! Oh, how pretty they look! I'd show you a picture of mine, but my little point-and-shoot camera decided to fuzz the picture. Oh well, this gives you more time to admire your own!

Now, I'm jumping ahead to the outfits. Same process, but with a little bit of a twist.

Yes, I cut around the outfit instead of staying in a rectangle. And yes, it took more time. However, it made for a better picture to give you an idea of where my contact paper edges were. A small price to pay to be a better teacher, right? AND you can see that all those pesky tabs were chopped off. Don't worry, you don't need them with this method as you will see.

The front of your doll's outfit has now been covered. While you could simply slap a layer of contact paper on the back, you're not going to do yourself a "teachable moment" favor by doing so.

If you have a Dover paper doll book, you'll notice that inside the back cover is a long descriptive section concerning each outfit (when it was used, what any special accessories were for, etc.). I tried writing the description reference numbers on earlier paper dolls, but that cover eventually gets lost/torn/discarded/used as a makeshift dustpan. Then, those little descriptions are lost!

My solution? Cut them out and tape them to each outfit itself! (Simple, yes; if you're not juggling three children and a household, stop laughing that it took me so long to figure this one out.)

Cutting out the descriptions

Determining placement

I just use a little rolled-up piece of tape to situate the descriptions and keep them from moving in the next step.

Get that roll of contact paper back up to the counter and off the floor, measure out how much you need and cut the piece off of the roll. Again, oh-so-carefully place it on the backside of your doll's outfit and roll out the bubbles that appear around the descriptions.

Then cut!

Now comes the ease-of-use part.

Using a small piece of rolled-up tape (as I used in this picture) or, better yet, buy a pack of Tac 'N Stik (which we prefer, but was nowhere to be found at the time of picture taking because "Not Me" ran off with the pack).

Put your choice of adhesive (tape, Tac 'N Stik) on the doll.

And place the outfit on top. Give it a nice pat to adhere and you're done!

Like I said, I've used this method for a couple of years now with great results. The Little House on the Prairie dolls/dollhouse has survived two years of frequent play (although the edges are a bit dog-eared now, so I'll probably be buying a new set before long), so I figured that it was one of those money-saving educational blips to pass on to others!

Enjoy!

Songs about Grammar? (No, not the one about the reindeer.)

In our homeschool journey, we use Shurley English; this is a FANTASTIC program, of which I cannot sing praises loud enough! Try it! Buy it! The ONLY problem I have with it is that after their Noun Jingle (which is set to music), all the other jingles we have come across in Book 1 are chants, not set to music. 

Since I can remember most of the words to Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy With It" all these years later, I think music is the best way to get the information to stick for life (or at least 20-ish years). Here's what I came up with as a result:

Verb Jingle

*sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle"

A verb shows action,

there's no doubt!

It tells what the subject does. [string it out to "dah-uhs"]

Action verbs are fun to do and 

now it's time to name a few.

So, clap your hands

and join our rhyme;

say those verbs

in record time!

Wiggle, jiggle, turn around; 

raise your arms 

and STOMP THE GROUND.

Sentence Jingle

*sung to the tune of "Jesus Loves Me"

A sentence is complete, complete,

when 5 simple rules it meets, meets, meets.

It has a subject, and a verb; 

it makes sense with every word.

Add a capital let-ter a-and an end mark.

Now we are finished,

Our sentence has its parts!

Adverb Jingle

*sung to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

An adverb modifies a verb.

And adverb asks How? When? Where?

To find an adverb: Go, Ask, Get.

Where do I go? To a verb.

What do I ask? How? When? Where?

What do I get? An Ad-verb!

Adjective Jingle

*sung to the tune of "Happy Birthday to You"

An adjective modifies a noun.

What kind? Which one? How Many? [these are the questions that you ask of the noun]

Go to the noun and ask the questions.

Whaddaya get? [pause] An adjective!

Article Adjective Jingle

*sung to the tune of "Three Blind Mice"

A, An, The

A, An, The

Ar-ti-cle Adjectives, and Noun Markers.

We are mem-or-ized and used

each and e-ver-y day you say.

So, if you spot us, you can mark us

With the label A.

Preposition Jingle (draft: still working on it)

*sung to the tune of Beethoven's 5th

A pre-po-sition is a group of words 

that connect a noun or a pronoun to 
the sentece you have read...

Object of the Preposition

*sung to the first 30-ish seconds of "Greensleeves"

The Object of the Pre-po-sition is the noun or the pronoun you will find,

after you have found the pre-eh-po-si-tion in the sen-tence.

Dorky? Yes. Will I forget? Probably not.

Fifth Wheel Requirement

Working part-time in a fifth wheel with three monkeys is...challenging. I tend to get up in the morning with The Duke and work until the kids get up (from about 4:15 a.m. until 8:00 a.m.). Alas, today was not such a day as my brain simply would not function enough to do more than turn on the coffeepot, mix up a sausage for my hubby and drink a cup of java hot out of the pot (spot o' cream please!).

So I have had to work during conscious monkey hours.

The Duke must be psychic, as he left me a present a few days earlier as a joke:

I have determined that this is a must-have. Not sure I can do this more than once a week though, as it feels like it pulls a layer of skin out of my ear canal every time I pull them out. Hmm...maybe some headphone-type noise cancellation contraption?

Fresh Starts and Giant Beer

Sorry for the train-crossing-during-morning-commute length of time that has occurred between postings!

What better way to start anew than to let you know what curriculum choices we've gone with this year!?!? That's a rhetorical question, by the way; I'm sure that you can think of better ways to begin, but I'm tired and have consumed an extra-large Corona, thanks to my sending The Duke out with a grocery list (he's more than willing, but when two 24 oz. bottles come back in place of a six-pack, I have to wonder about his ulterior motives).

So what's the latest-and-greatest?

Bible: We've just started working through Foundations 1: Creation to Christ(minus most of the extra book reading outside of the Bible itself), coupled with Exploring the Bible: Genesis. All three kids get in on this action, to different degrees. We listen according to the one-year schedule and work through according to the activities schedule, Bible drills and discussions for the olders while the younger gets a corresponding coloring page.

Spelling: McGuffey Eclectic Speller. It starts out pretty slow, but it is sequential spelling, so it will build quickly. Not sure if I'm emotionally ready for Capt'n Crash and Pumpkin to spellcheck my work though.

Grammar: Shurley Homeschool English Level 1. We stopped using this after traveling from California to Oklahoma to Arizona to Oklahoma and back to California. But we've picked it up, and it only took two rehearsals for the kids to remember the songs! Hurrah! Capt'n Crash and Pumpkin are diagramming sentences with Subject Noun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective and Article Adjectives! And yesterday saw the review of synonyms ("cinnanmons") and antonyms. While Button is still too young to work on this (she only recently mastered all of her letters and corresponding sounds), she does sing all the jingles (Noun, Verb, Sentence, Adverb, Adjective, and Article Adjective), so she's already ahead of the game.

History: Mystery of History, Story of the World Audiobook, Story of the World: Ancient Times Student Activity Book, copious amounts of Dover coloring books and paper dolls, and Netflix (oooh, Netflix, how I love thee!). All three get this to the same degree. It has actually been a bit of a battle, as the older two REALLY love history and would happily sit and color/draw for hours while I read or we listen to select portions of the audiobook. 

Science: Pumpkin is an avid lover of anything with more than two legs (since she was an itty-bitty, she had a desire to one day own a zoo...she has since modified it and has 
decided to own/operate an animal rescue center), so she is working her way through Exploring Creation with Zoology: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. She is already aout 3/4 of the way through, and wants to move to Exploring Creation with Zoology: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day next (which would be WONDERFUL along the California coast...talk about some hands-on, up-close-and-personal experience!). Capt'n Crash finds zoology interesting, but nowhere near as interesting as astronomy, so we are slowly working our way through Exploring Creation with Astronomy. Here, we also have activities such as art (drawing birds and rockets/spacecraft via "How to Draw" books, more Dover coloring books such as Birds of Prey and Space), and documentaries (Netflix again! Have I mentioned how much I love Netflix?). Button sits around and listens to both lessons while cutting paper (her newest obsession...emptying the vacuum canister always seems to result in showers of confetti).

Math: Pumpkin has already finished Teaching Textbooks: Math 4 and is taking a break from standard textbook-type math to learn about the "Real World" application of the concepts by working through Your Business Math: Pet Store. Talk about some "oy vey" experiences! For all of the headache, learning how to calculate percentages (markup pricing, advertising revenue), she LOVES it! It is more in-depth than I thought it would be and I am extremely impressed with it! Capt'n Crash already passed the halfway point in Teaching Textbooks: Math 3 and absolutely adores it. He primarily uses the CD-ROMs, but has worked through about a week's worth of lessons out of the book while we were on the road and did not have computer access. Button is still playing around with Math-U-See Primer, learning what the numbers look like, tens and units, how to recognize patterns, working on her fine motor skills to write her numbers. 

Reading: Both Pumpkin and Capt'n Crash are working through McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader right now. I've started Pumpkin on Reading Comprehension as well, and she is currently working her way through Little House in the Big Woods (which we picked up for 50c at a thrift store...hurray! We have almost the entire collection now, as I've been finding them over the last four years at thrift stores, all for $1/each or less!), coupled with the Comprehension Guide from Veritas Press. Capt'n Crash is an insatiable reader, and the basic Kindles that we bought with my parents for the older two have been well-used...Capt'n Crash has read every Thomas the Tank Engine Kindle book available through the Overdrive systems we have access to (we're up to four available library systems now!), as well as books on Galileo Galilei, Solar System, etc. If it is in his reading range, it doesn't stand a chance! Button is read to and listens to audiobooks frequently. Still, I want us to start reading through The Peleg Chronicles together. I've already read through them and am excited to find a Biblically-based epic series!

Miscellaneous: Pumpkin is currently working on learning to play the guitar that Uncle B. bought for her; Uncle B. also loaned us his Pimsleur Spanish course, but we haven't quite started working through that yet. The Duke had originally wanted us to learn Japanese, but has since decided that Spanish is probably the way to go for now.

This isn't the entire list, as I'm always finding fun stuff online (such as Math Invaders), but it does give a pretty good idea of what we do and where we're headed. One really nice aspect to homeschooling is that, with the exception of Capt'n Crash's Astronomy material, one purchase works for three kids (i.e. as Pumpkin finishes one year of math, Capt'n Crash is working through the material she previously finished, and Button is working through the material that Capt'n Crash finished a couple years ago). So while the initial investment of $120 for Teaching Textbooks seems pricey, I just remember that it works out to $40/student, so saving for a few months for a piece of curriculum doesn't emotionally hurt as much.

Shurley English Lesson 1

So I've had this on the shelf for awhile...patiently waiting for the time when we'll be able to use it. Since Pumpkin has graduated from Phonics (WAHOO!!!), we're moving on to Comprehension, Spelling and Grammar.

In the process of putting the first lesson together, I discovered a good assortment of worksheets that correspond with this lesson (thank you EnglishBanana!)!

Food Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/fantastic-food-picture-sheet-1-ev36.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/fantastic-food-picture-sheet-2-ev37.jpg

Clothing Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/clothes-im-wearing-1-picture-sheet-1-ev21.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/clothes-im-wearing-2-picture-sheet-2-ev23.jpg

Transportation Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/transport-picture-sheet-1-ev64.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/transport-picture-sheet-2-ev65.jpg

Furniture/Appliance Worksheets:
http://www.englishbanana.com/furniture-picture-sheet-1-ev41.jpg
http://www.englishbanana.com/furniture-picture-sheet-2-ev42.jpg

For the full run-down:
http://www.englishbanana.com/free-elementary-english-vocabulary-worksheets.html

Hairy Legs

I'm homeschooling three kids...there's no time to shave! Wait...we're not talking about me...we're talking about this:

That's right...a year has past and the tarantula has shed its skin! Talk about some excited monkeys around here!
Here's the after...he has a bristle-y butt again! (This past year found him encountering a spatula as I was trying to shoo him back into his cage after he popped the food slot open and pulled a Houdini.)

But the coolest part was the shed skin!

You can clearly see all the little "sleeves" of his legs!

We were supposed to work on Math, but the shedding tarantula was too big of a draw. Maybe next week....

Interesting statistics

Thanks to college Statistics, I realize that stats can be manipulated. However, if all the information is unbiased (*snort*) and accurate, these are some pretty interesting figures: Homeschooling by the Numbers

Back to Homeschool!

It's electrifying, slightly terrifying, but pretty energizing! It's BACK TO HOMESCHOOL time!!!! (cue the big voice there).

I look back a couple of months ago...ah, the cute little phrase "Oh, I'm planning on homeschooling through the summer...Math twice a week, Phonics three times a week...it'll be a light load" went past my lips multiple times.
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BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! That's really funny now! Yeah, we concentrated on Science primarily. Good luck getting much else done! But the kids are better swimmers, we've been reading a lot...I'll settle for that (especially since Pumpkin hasn't built her time machine yet...she's after dinosaurs, I'm after lost time).

Anywho, the plan is to start back in full swing next week, as public school kids in this neck of the woods start this week. Plus, I'm doing the spring-cleaning fling a bit late...lots of purging of toys and clothes lately. The more I cut, the more fun stuff we can cart around in our travels!

So here's the game plan:

Both Pumpkin and Capt'n Crash:


Bible: Working through Proverbs and "A Purpose-Driven Life" with them for now, and adding in material to their History lesson.


History: The Mystery of History - LOVE that it is history with the Bible as base! The lessons are super-short, but I add in some material from varying resources. I have to say, I love having "The Story of the World" workbooks to go along with this...often, they have better hands-on activities and great supplemental material!


Science: R.E.A.L. Science Level 1, Life - they caught a glimpse of the binoculars, have been avidly studying the field guides...I'm pretty sure they're going to love the material too. There's an anatomy coloring book that is highly recommended for it, but thanks to http://www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/ , I have the Kaplan Anatomy Coloring book, as well as several wildlife coloring books.


Reading: We're starting out with "Little House in the Big Woods". I'm using a comprehension guide with activities, and the local library has the cookbook, so we'll get to try out some neat associations! I want to go from this to "Little House on the Prairie" (also have the comprehension guide). By the time winter sets in (and it is too cold for Mommy to want to be outside, much less dress three young nomads in their winter gear), I am planning on taking on "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe". Thankfully, I have a few months to figure out how to tackle that one (although this guide by Progeny Press is what I'm leaning toward).

Grammar: Shurley Method, Level 1. *crossing fingers* I know, I'm finding it a little strange that I'm going to delve into grammar when the nomads can't read very well (or at all, depending on which little nomad I'm discussing), but I'm hoping that they'll at least pick up the jingles and learn the definitions. I know a gal who, in public school, was taught a year of the Shurley Method and can STILL dissect a sentence as she recites the jingles! So I'm not hoping for prodigies, but I am hopeful that whatever they can soak up into those little nomadic sponges-of-brains will help them in the future.

Misc.: We're going to be looking into more physical self-sufficiency material (this facet of our lives seems to take a special place with the kids...they positively ooze self-esteem when they describe how they found xyz growing and knew that they could/couldn't touch/eat it.). I have a few books now that will help in our endeavors. Pumpkin still REALLY wants her own beehive and chickens, but it's just going to have to wait until we settle down. We've already started talking about farmer's markets in the next 5 years, and Pumpkin and I keep coming up with ideas as to what we want to be able to offer. I'm hoping that this physical self-sufficiency material will help them develop the self-assurance they need to forge ahead (and perhaps create their own businesses in the far-FAR-off future?).

Pumpkin (2nd grade)
Math: Math-U-See Beta - super stoked about this one! RightStart did not work well for us at all...anyone want to buy a slightly-used RightStart starter set?


Capt'n Crash (Kindergarten)
Math: Math-U-See Primer - he has been begging to do schoolwork, and to have his very own math workbook might send him to a wonderful state of bliss, I dunno. What I do know is that the sneaky little nomad can get the manipulative blocks out on his own...those little green ones HURT first thing in the morning on the way to the coffeepot!

Button will just be observing and coloring pictures at this point. I have discovered that most libraries we visit have specialty bags, where a bag is given a designation and there are activities and books and toys that correspond with the designation (dinosaurs, transportation, shapes, etc.). While Capt'n Crash really enjoys these, I think Button is getting to the point where she will enjoy them as well.

Ah, enough already, I still have lots more to clean out of our stuff...gotta find a way to cart all the homeschool material around!

[Addendum: We started our school year yesterday and things are going fantastic! I changed our schedule around a bit this week, trying for a few small core subjects each day and then "go with the flow" off of that. Yesterday turned out to be crammed full of teachable moments! More to follow...it's rather late right now and I'm extremely tired.]

Home Teaching

Nope, not "Home Schooling"..."Home Teaching". This has been a homemaking week (per Pumpkin's request). The first project was learning how to preserve corn (after a wonderful woman dropped off three HUGE bags of field corn). Pumpkin was intent on being a "big helper" and did pretty good (until a caterpillar bit her...then she wanted nothing to do with the corn after she stripped the husk off of it).

How to preserve corn by freezing:

Step 1:  Strip the cob of the husk and snap off the nasty end:

Step 2: Boil the corn:

Step 3: Cut the kernels off of the cob (I couldn't accomplish this safely and take a picture at the same time, sorry!).

Step 4: Put in plastic bags (if you don't have some nifty freezer boxes like I've been lusting after) and cover with a salt & sugar solution (1 tsp. each per pint of water).

Step 5: Push all the air out of the bags, lay flat and freeze.

With fall coming before we know it, we'll be through these bags in just a couple of weeks...we love our tortilla soup!

Our second project was requested by Pumpkin herself. She loves her Littlest Pet Shop critters (btw...some of the BEST traveling toys we have come across!) and wanted to make some stuffed Littlest Pet Shop. 

Step 1: Draw the design. She started out by drawing a picture of what she wanted, and I showed her how to divide up the sections (she wanted ears of a different color) and add a seam allowance.

Step 2: Pick out the fabric. I had a couple of boxes of fabric gifted to me and it proved to be a treasure trove for this project. 

Step 3: Cut out the pattern pieces. 

Step 4: Layout and pin.

Step 5: Sew! 

I try to teach "make do with what you have"...turns out, a cooler 

and the bathroom stool work great as a sewing table at this age!

The project isn't finished yet. Once it is, I'll post up some more pictures. If we're still here in a month, Pumpkin should be able to enter it into the fair...something we haven't been able to do the last couple of years because of our travels. Pumpkin is hopeful and excited!

Learning the Water Cycle

The Library Reading Program focused on water this year...they had some really neat speakers come in and talk to the kids too, which just made it all that much more exciting.

Besides getting to hang out with other kids, create craft projects, watch tornadoes inside of bottles, etc., Pumpkin learned the water cycle in a neat way:

What's so special about a bracelet of non-corresponding colors?

Sh'roomin'

Who would have ever thought that I'd find mushrooms interesting? In the previous decades of my life, the equation was simple: want mushrooms? Go to the grocery store and fill bag. Now? "Look Mom! There's a mushroom in the backyard!" ... "Woohoo honey! Go grab the book!".

What book are we referring to? What magical book could elicit an excited response? Well, in this case, it is one of our newest acquisitions: National Audubon Society's Field Guide to Mushrooms!!! It came in quite handy yesterday when we found this in the backyard:

Here I was, thinking "Yay! Maybe it'll be a 'choice edible' and we'll have another item to add to our 'forage for this' list!" However, Pumpkin, Mommy & said field guide identified it as a Green-Spored Lepiota...a VERY poisonous mushroom that can cause "one to two days of violent purging."

Hmm. Guess we won't be eating that after all.

Along with our field guide, we acquired a few other "choice edibles" in terms of brain food. Pumpkin is fascinated with The Self-Sufficiency Handbook and is anxious to put together her very own beehive. Among wanting to own/operate her own zoo and aquarium and dinosaur park, she wants to have a solar/wind-powered farm and raise items for farmers market. Is 7 too young to start teaching the basics of solar/wind power? I have a homeschooling cousin who was drawing circuits by the age of 5, so probably not. Things to ponder as the new school year starts up.

Pumpkin "reading" The Self-Sufficiency Handbook

Yay for the Library Reading Program!!!

The midwest seems to start up earlier than the northwest...back-to-school sales are already up and going. By July 5th, the holiday items were being taken down and pens/pencils/notebooks were being put up. Wow! They don't waste much time here, do they? Maybe it has to do with harvest. We're currently in the middle of wheat country. I had no idea that cattle were such an integral part of the wheat harvest...they plant the wheat in the fall, wait until it starts to show up, then toss a herd out in the field to keep it mowed down all winter long. If the wheat stalk makes a "knuckle" and it freezes, it will not grow past that knuckle again, and will not produce wheat. Amazing what one learns in traveling.

Nature's Critters

Ever see an ant lion? I'd never even heard of them until this summer in the midwest. Duke spent part of his childhood in the midwest and knows all sorts of interesting facts, which the nomads absorb like sponges (and regurgitate mostly at opportune times). Well, the ant lion is a pretty nifty find...they make little funnels in the sand and wait for ants to come along and fall in...slippery sides of sand (say that fast 10x) make it difficult for the ant to get out, and the ant lion helps its meal get closer by flicking sand above it.

Ant lion in Pumpkin's hand

Pumpkin discovered an interesting fact (one that Duke didn't know)...ant lions can only move backward.

But life is not simply full of ant lions...[back story: we like to find local produce (eggs/milk mostly) when we travel...and while realmilk.org is helpful, simply asking tends to find us a source]...our local egg/milk provider gets a kick out of how interested the nomads are in her farm, and learned that we homeschool, so she excitedly calls us up one morning to let us know that she found swallowtail caterpillars in her garden, and were we interested in them? YES!!! We raced up to her place lickety-split and came back with new tenants for our Butterfly Pavilion (empty since the monarchs left).

And we have had two hatch out already!

Our first swallowtail butterfly

Our second swallowtail butterfly

And what do you know, the Black Swallowtail Butterfly is the state butterfly of Oklahoma!

Yet, the fun never stops around here where creepy-crawlies are concerned...Button discovered an unhatched cicada on the front porch early one morning!

Unfortunately, Button is death on anything walking on her, so I had the *lovely* pleasure of said cicada walking up my arm (Those are some spikey little legs! It felt like little needles in my skin with each step it took!). We had been finding all kinds of empty casings, but never a live one, so I don't know if it is common to find them live, or if we just had a rare opportunity. Either way, we tossed it into the Butterfly Pavilion and it hatched out!

Cicada holding onto its casing after emerging

Button is happy to play with the casing, but keep that cicada off of her! :D

I have not forgotten!!!!

I do have loads to post, but Button ran off with my camera cable and I have yet to find it (she also ran off with my iPod cable, but I found it at the very bottom of the toy bin...*phew*...I love my camera, but I rely on that iPod with my audiobooks and nighttime music for the nomads). Oh, a lovely find a couple of weeks ago: http://librivox.org/ has LOADS of free audiobooks! A handy travel tip: audiobooks are FANTASTIC for roadtrips! The time flies by (and makes nighttime travel easier too).

I'll be back! As soon as I can find that daggum cable!

Mutant Monarchs Revisited

They hatched! It was a lovely day in the neighborhood...woke up a little bit later than usual and ended up missing the part where they came out of the cocoons. *sigh* Oh well, we were able to watch their wings start to straighten and dry. After 4-ish hours, they were starting to take short hops around the butterfly enclosure, so we took them out to the front yard and let them loose.

When the monarchs made it up to the top of the enclosure, they were willing to climb up on our fingers. And, of course, upon seeing that there were two monarchs (alas, one of the other caterpillars in the enclosure ate through the third cocoon...ewwww), each of the bigger nomads claimed one as their own. So, Capt'n Crash's monarch took off after just a couple seconds of being perched on his finger, while Pumpkin's monarch took so long in taking off that Pumpkin even got bored of it being perched on her, and I got a turn. Then I got bored and tried to put it on a bush, and that is when it finally took off. Here's hoping it found an energy source quickly!

Pumpkin wants me to order caterpillars to put in her enclosure. I am just not keen on the idea though: bunch of caterpillars eating prepackaged food out of a cup and growing until creating their cocoon and eventually flying away as butterflies...but what type of plant do they eat? Are they suited for the area, or are they going to hatch out and not find the right kind of food? Plus, there is not as much caretaking in the prepackaged caterpillars, and my nomads would get bored with seeing a bunch of caterpillars hanging around a cup. Woohoo. So, not this year dear. 

Busy Hands...

Well, that's how I feel anyway, even with as tired as I am. I suppose I should say "busy chauffeur/snackmaster/shower monitor" instead? The town here has a summer program...two weeks of classes per session. We just wrapped up Session I...Hurray!!! Ah, but the nomads are highly disappointed that we don't wake up and start running. Arts & Crafts was the chosen class. I suppose it's because we travel so much over great distances that I don't like to travel much wherever we're bunked down at? Anyway, what fun was had!

Capt'n Crash had a marvelous time! Oh, the piles and piles of crafts that were brought back to be lovingly placed in Mum's hands. Paper sunglasses with foam stickers, lanyards, painted suncatchers...but this one...this hat...has stayed in a certain young man's possession 100% (I think it must be extra special).

See? Googly eyes! Wings! Stripes! It's a bee! Thankfully, no stinger. Can you imagine the torment that would cause to his sisters?

And so Arts & Crafts is over.
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But Swim...Ah yes, Swim continues. Two more weeks. I have to admit...the kids enjoy themselves...the lifeguards are quite outnumbered though, so it's more of a closely-supervised free swim than anything else.

Capt'n Crash putting the moves on his Swim teacher

(he seems to make sure that he's close to her whenever possible...I'm not sure that she's noticed yet)

People out here actually stick around for their kids' lessons! Not all, mind you, but a fair number. So, I happily sit in the bleachers and converse with adults for two hours while the two older nomads alternate their lessons, the smallest reserving her time for building grand waterways (aka pits) in the sand under the bleachers ($3 for hand trowel, garden rake & bucket...one just can't go wrong!) and eating whatever she can dig out of Mum's purse (don't worry...I hid the chocolate!...that's another story though.). Then, off to the house for lunch and showers (Pumpkin is deathly afraid of her hair turning green from the chlorine in the pool. I think it would go well with her skin tone, but she doesn't see the humor in that.)

Did you catch that though? I actually converse with ADULTS!!!! I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do after Swim is finished.

Oh, that's right...another misadventure!

Nature! It's Everywhere!!!

So we took an extended weekend to go visit family in Texas. Ah, Texas. Land of cowboys and wide open spaces. Or, in the case of the nomads, Land of the Wii. Yes, I let them play. And I have sworn off ever bringing one of those contraptions into my home (although I might concede if it were just the activity games...that cute jogging-after-a-puppy game is adorable and makes my nomads move). However, one can only take so much Indiana Jones and ensuing temper tantrums when a certain nomad's turn is over. *sigh* I digress.

There was actually a lot of time spent outdoors! Of course, I'm chalking this part up to Physical Education:

No sunburns! Woohoo! Pumpkin was quite diligent in reminding me several days in advance to add sunblock a lot so that she wouldn't get burned. Of course, that day, I had to remind her, but she was more than compliant to get slathered up (ah, if only the other nomads felt the same way).

We did get a bit of a surprise over the weekend...our very first sighting of wild Texas Brown Tarantulas! Unfortunately, my camera was not in my pocket (I usually try to keep it in my pocket for those I-only-have-30-seconds-for-this-shot moments). The fabulous contributors at bugguide.net, however, have LOADS of Texas Brown Tarantula pictures! Here's one:

The first one was small, a few inches in diameter. Sadly, a slightly-older boy knocked two of its legs off with a stick before the adults and the nomads arrived. Pumpkin was rather upset by this (as were most of the rest of us). She wanted to keep it and help it, but with the amount that we travel (and the part where we frequently stay with family and friends), I told her it wouldn't be a good idea. Uncle D explained that it was young and it was a TEXAS tarantula, and needed to stay in Texas. She actually accepted his explanation better than mine. However, when our travels are over, she has been promised the opportunity to have her very own tarantula (a Rose-Haired).

The second Texas Brown we found was just a couple feet off of the back porch, heading toward the porch furniture. It was somewhat larger...perhaps 8 inches in diameter? I did discover that if you push it backward with a cell phone, it will go back for about two seconds and then charge. I'm not sure that Pumpkin and I have ever levitated before, so that was a first! We tried to be very quiet about it, so that the older boys wouldn't see it, and Capt'n Crash actually managed to quietly ask Uncle D for a bucket so we could move it. Uncle D was impressed by it, and then decided to torment his sister by chasing her around with the spider bucket. Pumpkin was concerned by this until I explained that they were siblings. It was then deemed as okay (oh dear, what this might mean for future sibling interactions!).

Capt'n Crash was not to be outdone, however, and came tearing into the house proclaiming that he's found a "widdew spider":

He was quite thrilled that he had discovered a spider all by himself! It was too dark for me to get a positive identification on it, but still...the thrill of discovery!

On the way back from Texas, I found this interesting (although the Nomads and Duke were rather "eh" about it):

Can you name that cloud formation? Heck, can you pronounce that cloud formation's name? Lemme tell you, it's fun to get the nomads to try! "Cue-u-low-nim-bus"

I have more pictures from last week, but haven't the time to post yet. So while this post really should go after my next entry, I just had to get that spider sighting up!

Swamp Critters

The quest was on...find a terrapin before July 4th. The town hosts a "turtle race" (although only terrapins are allowed...misuse of the English language perhaps?) on the 4th of July here with prizes for the All-Champ Sprinter. Pumpkin hears "turtle race"...I hear "prizes". Unfortunately, I also hear a terrapin clawing away at the shower door at all hours of the nights. At least we think it is a terrapin. It's not like any of the pictures of terrapins that I have found. In fact, it looks more like a red-legged tortoise, but with clawed, webbed feet. Much like our Mutant Monarchs, perhaps this is a deviant of nature. Musings aside, he's fast...woohoo!

This handsome fella (or gal) has broken out twice since we installed him/her in the shower (the spare shower...no toes getting nipped off here please). In the time it takes to haul out the uneaten food (last night it was a strawberry and a half-eaten minnow), s/he can get over the stall lip and 3/4 of the way out the bathroom. Gooooo Speedy!

Cute, eh? Yes, fabulously non-cuddly! A rather persnickity eater too. Doesn't like store-bought tomatoes and broccoli, but enjoys strawberries, worms, crickets (except for the hind legs...kinda creepy to find little cricket legs tossed about the shower floor) and...

minnows...*fish heads, fish heads, roly-poly fish heads*.... For some strange reason, s/he always starts with the head, then eats the rest of the body later. Icky, yes. but I kind of understand...I always hated eating fish that was staring back at me too [Sidenote: Yes, Second Mom, I still have nightmares of eating trout that was staring back at me from my plate...thank you for providing salad...the lettuce made a lovely cover...now if it could have just covered your son's mouth: "NOOOoooooo!!! Don't eat me!!!!!!" Good times, right?]

Ah, but the turtle/tortoise/terrapin is not the only Swamp Thing in the house...Pumpkin is the proud (very proud) caretaker of three lovely little tadpoles!

While we were unable to watch any hatch out of an egg, we have been able to watch the slow progression of itty-bitty tadpoles into rather large tadpoles (one in particular). The largest now has tiny little back legs which it does not yet use, but which cause the nomads to stare intently at the derrieres of the other two tadpoles in anticipation of their little back legs appearing. I'm sorry tadpoles, there is little privacy in this house. 

Mutant Monarchs & Other Multi-legged Critters

Oh what a colorFULL place to be! The skies are a lovely blue, and virtually everything on the ground is GREEN! Farmers are on at least their second, if not third cutting of hay, the wheat harvest has begun, and we had a lovely surprise of finding monarch caterpillars this week! After digging around, we found our Butterfly Pavillion that we've been carting across the U.S. for the last two years and it finally has some legit tenants! Three monarch caterpillars decided that a weedy vine in this backyard looked pretty good and after being supplied with copious amounts (fresh 2x a day!), we now have two cocoons, with (hopefully) a third not too far behind! We had spent time at the Monarch Gardens in Pismo Beach two winters ago, and remembered that the only thing that monarch caterpillars are supposed to eat is the milkweed plant. So we're somewhat confused, but delighted with our find!

In only two hours, these little "J"s become fully-cocooned! Pumpkin has been spouting the term "chrysallis" for hours!

Pumpkin also managed to dig up this interesting character from under a board:

Not sure yet what it is. Our field guide doesn't have him listed. A little smaller than the fully-pudged-out monarch caterpillars, he is ALWAYS on the go. All three nomads have stood by the pavilion just to watch him do laps. Pumpkin didn't find him eating anything, so we're not sure what leaves to put in the pavilion and, at the rate he's bustling around, I'm not sure how long he's going to last.

But beyond caterpillars, we have an interesting, albeit rather terrifying (for some) house guest:

She is a fishing spider, approximately 6 inches in diameter. How do we know she is female? Because she doesn't have boxing gloves (swollen pedipalps)! Nice to know that spider sex identification is easy! Anywho, she shed her skin a day after we first found her (about two feet to the right of the back door), and Pumpkin snatched it up before her siblings had a chance to shred it while fighting over it. The level of detail in the shed skin is fantastic! Who would have thought that I'd get to the point that I'd hold a spider skin? Still not to Pumpkin's level though: she enjoys having a certain friend's Rose Hair Tarantula crawl around on her. *shudder* 

Ah...bugs!