The Combs Krewe

Did you know that our family has lived at or below poverty level for US standards for years? And yet we have never gone hungry and have an abundance of clothes (no matter how I feel picking out a church  outfit on Saturday night!). Not only that but our home has always been filled with beautiful things that we love and our children have always had way TOO MANY toys! Despite that fact they always want more. They are always bored. And I'm always tripping on toys and nagging them to clean up.  Then I read a very interesting article I found on Pinterest. You can read it here:  http://www.becomingminimalist.com/why-fewer-toys-will-actually-benefit-your-kids/ So I decided to finally do something about the great toy trap our kids had fallen into, and on Saturday I sorted all of their toys and boxed almost all of them up according to their type. Role play/dress up went into one box, cars into another, action figures another, and so on. I found all the pieces to those little play ...

Today Jathan created some phases of the moon cards. I was going to review with him by calling out the name of the phase and him picking up the corresponding card. "Let's play a harder game," he said. "You don't say it, I'll just pick one."  "You want me to just think of one and you try and guess what I'm thinking?" I asked. "Yeah," he said.  "Okay," I told him, "I will concentrate on one moon phase and you guess which one I'm thinking of." I then focused on picturing one particular moon phase and repeated its name in my head. Guess what? He guessed each one correctly? Coincidence? Maybe. But it was cool at the time!  Just don't think too loud around him just in case.

Lately I've been intrigued by the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling. There are many things I could say about it but for now I only want to mention how lately we've delighted in the nature study it encourages. Jathan is forever a boy after my own heart--we share many thoughts and interests including exploration, and it has been wonderful seeing him enjoy learning. Both Jathan and Keeleigh have nature journals and are beginning to sketch and label their observations. Today while Keeleigh was at a friends house the younger kids and I went outside to explore the backyard; we each took a camera. Here are a few pictures of things that caught my eye.