Well summer is still going strong according to the thermometer and the calendar, but alas, school starts here at CandLHomeLearning on Monday.

AAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKKK!

Yes, even the teacher is rebelling LOL!

So, I thought it best to go ahead and post a few more photos I have taken in recent days of summer pursuits and happenings.

This first set of photos was taken by me the moment I arrived home with our oldest son, who had been away for 12 days at the National Boy Scout Jamboree. I swear he came back taller and slimmer and more grown-up than ever. He is a fine young man of whom I could not be more proud! His Dad agrees! Is it just me or does my husband look like a real-life farmer here?

And what says summer more than hamburgers, baked beans and slices of juicy watermelon?!

I’ve been working in some relaxed albeit purposeful times of word work remediation with Li’l Miss and Li’l Bro. They can read, but it seems we need to revisit some vowel blends. I didn’t get pics of all we’ve covered, but I have to say we are LOVING our word work board! I need to add some type of title maybe?

I also sorted our magnetic letters (I might have a little problem buying these and have a LOT of them). I am so glad I did this!

Now Li’l Miss, Li’l Bro and Li’l Bit all have their own tub of letters … and I have my own tub as well! Yes, I had that many magnetic letters. I think we’ll use them so much more now.

{And while we worked on words, someone else was making words of her own!}

How about a round of Shapes BINGO with your big bro?

Does it get any better than swimming in the creek (a clean one!) with siblings and a good friend? I don’t think so!

I seriously don’t know why I take so many pictures of the ladies and Mr. Squawks. It doesn’t take a lot to interest me I suppose LOL! They are fun to watch.

I find it most interesting to try and interpret their noises they make, because they most definitely have a language and different sounds have definite meaning to them.

They run to the fence when we come walking up, and they get upset with us if we don’t have scraps in hand. They might be a wee bit spoiled. Mr. Squawks does a great job of finding treasures of food for them and when he does, he calls them to it. I could actually stand there and watch these interactions for awhile. It is fascinating really.

And who couldn’t love this sweetie? It is so neat to see him so HAPPY now. He really needed a farm on which to work. He has been a great asset around here especially this week.

Just another evening of target shooting in the backyard with the shotgun. Not to start a debate, but it is interesting the regional differences toward gun ownership. We do have them in case there was any question before now. 🙂

Boys were great shots, but so was Momma which kind of surprised them I think. Try as hard as they might, they couldn’t out-shoot me!

The boys are all ready for hunting season, and I have to admit that I may just go with them a time or two this year. I’ve never done more than target shoot with a gun, but the sport of hunting has piqued my interest. We shall see. It is a learning experience to be sure, but I may just stick to cooking things to accompany the wild game the boys bring in for the Prez to prepare. (I admittedly don’t cook it, but I may have to learn if the plentiful deer roaming around here are any indication of what might be this coming hunting season.)

Moving on to other animals, this friendly grasshopper was happy to be the subject of much examination. He amazingly didn’t really try to get away and seemed to like all of the attention.

I might have been extra proud of my Li’l Miss and Li’l Bro easily telling me when I asked, “Why is he the exact same color green as the grass?” “Mom, he is camoflauged of course! So the birds won’t see him!”

We kept him in our butterfly habitat for a little while to watch him hide in the grass and eat!

Today’s Tip: Don’t gloss over the SIMPLE. This may be the thing which piques a child’s love of learning the most! Stop and try to catch that grasshopper. Or stop and examine the many intricate parts of that beautiful flower. And take notice of the bird flying nearby and the sounds it makes!