Focusing

Giotto
Betrayal of Christ

Giovanni Battista Caracciolo
Christ and Caiaphas

Harmenszoon Rijn Rembrandt
Peter Denying Christ

Focusing

Duccio di Buoninsegna
Entry into Jerusalem

Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto
Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples

Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto
The Last Supper

Giovanni Belli
The Agony in the Garden

Beginnings of Our Square Foot Garden

Last year we grew some tomatoes in containers.
Went okay, enjoyed some tomatoes
for a few weeks.
We wanted to do more.
So this year, we are square foot gardening it.
The All New Square Foot Gardening book
by Mel Bartholomew
is going to be our guide.
First, we made our square-above picture.

Then we or my hubby cleared the ground
and made it level.

Next, the box was dropped in place.

Two squares ready to be filled with dirt.

We bought what was needed to make
Mel's simple formula for soil.
We do not have a compost, so we had to
buy all of our soil mixture.

Mixing was done on a tarp.

My oldest helped Daddy fill the boxes.

The twins helped Daddy put the grids on the boxes.
Now, they are ready to plant.
Planted several different tomato plants
and strawberries so far.
Will be putting in seeds today.
Looking forward to some fresh veggies and herbs.

Taking the book's advice and starting out slow and small.
We want this to be successful.
We want to enjoy the process.
Will keep you posted.

Holy Week

The beginning of Holy Week.
This week we will focus on the last week of Jesus.
Much happened in that last week.
And on Sunday,
we will rejoice.

Many Blessings

Hooked on Forts, Yes We Are.

Castillo de San Marcos
in St. Augustine Florida.

We went on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
Which also meant some crowds.
This castle is the largest, most well known,
and the oldest of the three we have toured.
Probably my least favorite,
but that is because the surroundings
seemed a little too touristy for me.
But, we enjoyed it just the same.

Here is an inside corner,
all openings lead to soldiers dwellings,
storage areas, etc.

The children looking a an iron replica of the fort.

Lots to read, very interesting.

The children loved looking at the artifacts.

And of course, there were cannons.

Loving the cannons.

Not one cannon went unobserved.

Boom!

All in all a lovely day.
Next fort is Fort Matanzas.
A ferry ride to get to this one.
Looking forward to it.
Many blessings.

Across the Street

The children and I went on a little walk
across the street.
We have wetlands then a marsh there.
Oh the sounds we can hear when we listen
and the sights that can be seen.
The breeze was gently blowing.
Perfect day for being across the street.

We found this across the street.
We wondered who lives here?
Could it be a raccoon, mice, maybe a little gnome?
Our imaginations soured.

And there was this across the street.
My oldest said it was a bird apartment.

And I guess this is a bird mansion.
It is amazing what you can find
across the street.

Life Is Good

I have been neglectful of my blog lately.
Not purposefully. Our lives like many have been full.
But, unlike many, it has been full happily.
Besides last week when all of us were under
the weather with colds,
life has been good.

Lots of field trips.
We are discovering the abundance of opportunities
near our home.
We have been to a couple of Forts---Fort Clinch and Fort Caroline.
One is much larger than the other, but both
are deep in history.
We plan to visit the Fort in St Augustine soon.
We are loving the Forts.
My husband took our oldest to the submarine museum
Sunday- both want to return there soon.
We have collected many shells on our beach excursions
and are in the process of identifying them
with the aid of a shell book.
Lots bird watching around here and loving it.
We have started a bird chart and are recording our sitings.
Also, attempting to learn their calls.
We are listening, looking, smelling, and touching
nature.
We are constantly amazed.

As for our homeschool journey, we are in term 3,
our last term for this school year.
Since switching to Math-U-See, math is
much more enjoyable for both my son and me.
We watch the DVD, then we do examples on our
whiteboard, next my son works in his workbook.
Afterwards, we go over the workbook
til both of us feel mastery has been achieved.
Ordered Handwriting Without Tears two weeks ago.
I felt my son needed some extra guidance.
Not that my son's handwriting is awful,
but it definitely could improve.
So far, I am thrilled. My son actually enjoys it.
So it is a win win for us.
American history is coming along nicely.
We are currently reading Stories of the Pilgrims
by Margret B. Pumphrey, highly recommend.
Short engaging stories of the pilgrims' struggles
prior to their pilgrimage to the New World.
It also includes stories of their life
in a strange New World.
It is a living historical fiction based on sound
historical facts and records.

We are winding down our studies of Ancient Egypt this week.
Next week and for several weeks after that,
we will be reviewing our year studies of
Creation through Ancient Egypt.
With our science, we are slowly progressing along
in Exploring Creation with Astronomy.
We are a little behind in our notebook entries,
but hoping to catch up this week.
Our geography has us traveling all over the globe.
In the book Window on the World
by Daphine Spraggett with Jill Johnstone,
we are learning and praying for many countries and people.
My son enjoys the globe and we play
who can find the country or people first.
Much fun.
We are rereading Paddle to the Sea.
This go around we are incorporating map work
in our studies.
We are also using our imagination and talking about
what other adventures Paddle might be experiencing.
My son has such the imagination.

As you can see, our days are full
and happy.
We are deep into our Lenten studies,
but that is another post.
Hope life is being good to you too.
Many blessings.