The Ory Story: Homeschool

Simon's Preschool unit has been colors and here was lunch for Red Day!

We found a tiny garter snake in our yard, and Simon is fearless!

Shaylee came over for a playdate with Olivia. They loved their ice cream sundaes!

Simon still checks out "Cat Party" books from the library and insists on reading them thoroughly before we take them back.

Grandpa gave the kids a ride in the new JCB endloader while they were moving some dirt around the yard. They were all beaming, but Simon was really in 7th heaven.

Owen came over while the little kids were at Storytime, and they looked at microscope slides of a honey bee leg, honey bee mouth parts, onion skin, and rabbit spinal cord. They drew pictures and made them into a book.

We have been absolutely infested with garter snakes this year. I have not enjoyed the surprise factor in the slightest, but we were entertained for quite a while watching this big one slither around our flower beds.

We had a Bug Party and made beautiful butterflies, beaded dragonflies, played in the tall, tall grass sensory bin, and learned all about the life cycle of butterflies.

Isaac caught this GIANT toad in our yard. It was absolutely enormous. The kids named it Cheese.

Simon invented his own card game called "Don't Get the Bean," with his Sesame Street color flashcards. Sometimes you draw a card, sometimes you slap the deck - the rules are twisty turvy, and there's no reference to a bean, which makes it even more hilarious.

The kids made these awesome symmetrical cicada art projects.

We have been spending lots of time in our yard, working on a field guide for the nature we find in our yard. We found this tiny bumblebee laying on our driveway. We thought he was dead, but discovered he was moving. Since it was a cold morning, we decided to put him in our bug cage and bring him inside to warm up. We hoped it would perk him up, but unfortunately he still died.

We have really been loving the Merlin bird app, which identifies birds by listening to their calls. The kids have been illustrating the birds we've found and researching some facts about them. They have turned out so cute!

While we were in Eau Claire, Miles got into a bag of chocolate chips and ate the entire thing. When we got home, we found the wrapper and I called the Pet Poison Hotline right away. They instructed me to give him hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting since we caught it early. We were able to get most of the chocolate out, and fortunately he didn't have any other trouble. We're glad we were home early enough to catch it!

We visited Grandma and Grandpa in Eau Claire for Mother's Day and went to the Downtown Farmer's Market.

My sweet friends helped my kids make me the most adorable Mother's Day presents - a chocolate-loaded flower pot and super pretty coasters. I can't really articulate how grateful I am for these awesome ladies in my life. I appreciate their support, encouragement, and laughter more than I can say.

We had an impromptu open swim at the Y, followed by Happy Meals and playing at the park...a perfect day with friends!

We took a trip to Wausau with Grandma. We always have so much fun. We stopped at Target, Barnes and Noble, TJ Maxx, and Sam's Club, and had lunch at Olive Garden. It was a great day.