Moving!

In just a few more days, the link for SparrowsatHome.com will no longer be active. The blog will still be here (and can be found via the blogspot link) for a short period, then it will become private, probably with yet another new link (friends, please ask for an invite).

All things homemaking (recipes, homeschooling, etc.) can be found at the new blog, AFaithfulHomemaker.com. 

I will continue transferring relevant posts over the next few weeks, so please be patient. 

Why a new blog?


There are things that I want to share and things I don't want to share with the general public. This blog will soon become a private place for only family and close friends to stay up-to-date. It gives me the freedom to post more, especially about my children, without the worry of who might be reading the intimate details of my family.

Hope to see you at my new "home"! 

Winter Days: Garden Planning

It is hard to believe that spring is just around the corner! I've already begun our countdown (29 days, in case you were wondering). Spring is an enjoyable time for us. Our family loves to go outdoors and enjoy nature, especially while the weather is still cool enough to be comfortable. We also like to stay busy while we are outside. The children ride their bikes for a spell, but if they see me working, they're eager to join in. 

GARDEN REFLECTIONS

As our first spring came around at our new house, we were so excited to get started on a garden. We staked out the desired location of our garden and tilled it with a used tiller my husband had purchased. As he tilled the soil, we noticed a couple of problems areas. One section of our garden was turning out to be very thick clay. We decided to try planting root vegetables there, hoping that it would break up the clay. (It didn't work.)

The other section of our garden was loose soil, but quite sandy. We bought a few bags of manure to add to it and made our garden beds. We planted 4 rows of corn, beds of squash, cucumber, watermelon, okra, bell peppers, and tomatoes. In between, we also planted basil and marigolds. Some things did well, others didn't. Some did well at first, then stopped growing. There was also a mishap with my husbands truck as he was hauling supplies to the backyard for the children's playset, and then a little thing called a three-year old-happened. He picked all of our baby watermelons and put them in his tricycle as if they were his rock collection.

Overall, the experience was not the greatest. We did enjoy quite a bit of okra, tomatoes, and basil. We managed to get a couple of bell peppers as well. The boys enjoyed their time in the dirt and Bridget was a great help picking vegetables and helping to prepare them in the kitchen.

LESSONS LEARNED

We learned that our builder had removed and sold all of our precious top soil and imported sandy soil to replace it. Fortunately, when we were landscaping our yard, my husband had an entire truck full of top soil delivered and we had a bit leftover for a garden. He got it all in its place in the fall, ready for planting this spring. Unfortunately, our property slopes, and we've noticed that patches of top soil have washed off from the garden bed with the rainwater, and that the water tends to pool in certain areas.

With this in mind, we have decided that we're going to have to do a raised bed garden.

MOVING FORWARD

The children and I have begun planning the garden beds. We've looked at pictures of raised bed gardens on the computer and George insists that we must have paths, so we're working on a layout that is functional yet pleasing to the eye.

We've also discussed what vegetables they want to grow. 

Bridget, my 8 year old, loves just about every vegetable except for mushrooms (only she doesn't realize that she actually loves them and I have been sneaking them into her food). She wants to grow carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, and sunflowers.

George, my 6 year old, likes only a handful of vegetables, but really loves mushrooms, asparagus, and eggplant the most. He begged me to grow mushrooms but I told him I don't feel comfortable with that yet and that they're not grown like other garden vegetables. He then requested eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and asparagus.

Liam, my 3 year old mentioned above, wants to grow more watermelons. He also wants apples, strawberries, and blueberries. I told him that we could try again with the watermelons and plant strawberries, but that apples grow on trees and we don't have enough room for an orchard.

I have a lot of other vegetables I'd like to grow, because we do eat them a lot, such as broccoli, lettuce, peas, green beans, and many more. I'll have to see just how much room we end up having. The garden seems to be getting bigger and bigger the more we talk about it.

TIME TO GET STARTED

Planting season for early crops is already upon us. As soon as we're able to put our garden beds together, it'll be time to plant things like asparagus, peas, carrots, radishes, cabbage, and lettuce. It'll be nice to have some fresh and tasty vegetables grown in our own backyard! 

Week in Review {Week 5}

The week got off to a strange start because of the solar eclipse. We did schoolwork for only a couple of hours in the morning and then took the rest of the day off. Daddy took half the day off from work so that he could take part in the excitement. We each had a pair of protective eclipse glasses but still kept the children from looking up at the sun too often. We allowed them a quick 5-second look every few minutes as the moon slowly moved over the sun.

I was able to take a few pictures, safely, by putting my glasses over my camera lens. The first picture was taken at about 2 p.m. EST and the second picture was taken at 2:47 p.m. EST, when the eclipse was at it's peak for our area. 

After the solar eclipse, we finished our celebration with an eclipse cake, which was a chocolate fudge cake with chocolate fudge frosting.

Third Grade

Bridget is still doing well in math and wants to move forward at a faster pace. I'm still trying to find a happy balance with the extra math work and trying to get her to finish her other subjects. Bridget is also working on reading more. She finds the oddest times and places to open her book and read. Here she is right after we came home from the grocery store and were still putting things away. She grabbed her book and began reading in front of the pantry. She was in the way, but I suppose I should be happy she picked up a book. 

Kindergarten

George is also a math freak right now. It's all he wants to do. The first few math lessons he completed involved simply counting the objects and circling the correct number. This week, he had to write the number. This is not George's area of strength so it took a little extra time, but he did not complain at all. He was excited to be learning how to write his numbers. I'm hopeful that the brick wall he's put up with learning to read and write has begun to crumble. Bridget was a big help with George this week. When George wanted to continue his school work but I had to begin preparing lunch, I left Bridget in charge. Whenever George needed help, Bridget put her work down and went over to help him by reading the instructions to him and making sure he was writing the correct numbers. I've been calling her my "teaching assistant".

In other subjects, George learned about Pocahontas this week. I'm really enjoying his study of American history. He's also still enjoying handwriting.

Preschool

I kept Liam happy and busy. That counts, right?

Final Note

Next week will begin our sixth week of school, and then we're off for a week!!! We're all very excited.

 Linking Up With:

Field Trip: Jamestown, VA

After studying Jamestown in history, we took a trip to visit the location of the first permanent colony. The drive took us about 3.5 hours, and we were able to take the children on their very first ferry ride. They enjoyed it very much! The journey across the James River was only about 10-15 minutes, but the children asked that any time a ferry ride was an option on future trips, they wanted to go that route. George got a little too close to the edge and ended up getting splashed.

Our first stop was Historic Jamestowne. It was so exciting to walk across the bridge and see the fort. This is the actual site of the colony, and while most structures are replicas, a portion of the church is original to the colony. 

The children took part in a Junior Ranger program and had work to do to earn their badges. They had to find various things throughout the site and copy what it said or draw a picture. Bridget did good with all of this, George needed assistance with writing, and Liam was an expert at finding things and having Daddy transcribe for him.

The portion of the church with the large window I believe I read to be the original wall. If I'm wrong, I do know that it is still very old. Below is the interior of the church where excavation and research is ongoing.

My children are familiar with Pocahontas and John Smith, but is was neat to learn more about the real people and their contributions. 

There were so many structures and things to explore. 

Liam's favorite part was the cannon. He didn't want to leave it.

 After touring the original settlement, we ventured into  the museum. Most of the things in here were not too interesting for the children, being as young as they are, but they did love the real skeletons and other bones found throughout Jamestowne.

The museum ended our tour of Jamestowne, so we ventured back to the main building to turn in our booklets, get sworn in as Junior Rangers, and receive our badges. They all took this very seriously.

We then checked into our hotel and went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Food for Thought. 

The following day, we went to Jamestown Settlement. This is a living museum with lots of fun things for the kids to see and explore. They have a massive museum and had a special exhibit on Pocahontas. The rest of the museum does not allow photography, so the only picture I have is of the boys in a canoe by the entrance to the exhibits. The museum is definitely worth going through. They have miniature houses and an English city street. I loved exploring it just as much as the children did.

After the museum, it was time to go outside. We started in the Powhatan Indian Village. There was a lot to do here and I didn't get a picture of everything. We did, however, get our first family picture of the year. I'm rarely ever in front of the lens. The children were not too thrilled about smiling for a complete stranger, which is why we don't take family pictures.

After the Powhatan village, we toured the ships. George got a feel for what it was like to steer a ship 400 years ago. It wasn't easy!

After leaving the ships, we walked to the fort. We watched a musket demonstration and George got to hold a very real and very heavy sword. 

The last time we were here, I got pictures of Bridget and George in child-sized armour. I'm a traditional type of person, so we did it again. This time, Liam got to be a soldier as well, and he was oh so cute!

I'm a sucker for a gift shop. Even if I don't buy anything, I still like to browse through the mostly useless and overpriced toys and trinkets. The boys really took to the weapons. They tried out the tomahawks but realized the muskets and pistols were more fun.

They didn't get a musket, but they did end up leaving with toy pistols. Bridget selected a book on medieval castles.