Eat What You Grow - Early Summer Meal Plan

HW's lunch

This is what most of our meals look like lately at Pecan Bluff since we took up this challenge. Yummy. He is having fresh blackberries, Granny's cucumbers, fresh zucchini, and fresh peaches. Plus a thick piece of homemade bread with sliced tomatoes and bubbly, melted swiss cheese topped with fresh basil. No, I don't make my own swiss cheese. And I don't plan to start.

But the rest of that plate full of wholesome food?

 It's

           all

                     us.

                                              Yippeeeee!

Birthday Palooza

We do a lot of partying in the spring, with birthdays coming one after the next. Here's a recap of all the birthday fun we've been having here at Pecan Bluff and on visits to party with Granny and Grandpa.

There were mountains of cake and ice cream, piles of wrapping paper, a couple of train rides, and lots of giggles and hugs. HA chose trains for his party theme (I think this is the 6th year running!) and HW chose a cool underwater party this year. R was in charge of the parties here at home, so she got lots of baking practice making cupcakes and cakes. S had the job of being cute and clapping after we sang.

Eight is Great!

I can't believe my "baby" boy is almost 8 years old!

 I am so blessed to be your Mama, HW!

 You amaze me, and you make my heart sing. 

Country Spa Treatment

When I need a little break (and when do I not?), I step outside by myself, pinch off a frilly branch of this luscious lavender plant in the herb garden. I close my eyes and inhale. Lovely. I just imagine that I'm being pampered in a clean, quiet spa full of adults who never argue with each other or spill things. Ahhhh.

But then, the spell is broken when I must open my eyes to check the ground nearby, because I simply cannot forget that at the base of this pretty purple plant I found this guy lurking. I guess it's not exactly a true spa moment, but I'll take what I can get.

Sunday Singing

Sing On

Carrie M. Wilson and Jno. R. Sweney

Sing on, ye joyful pilgrims,
Nor think the moments long;
My faith is heav'nward rising
With every tuneful song;
Lo! on the mount of blessing,
The glorious mount I stand;
And looking over Jordan, 
I see the promised land.


Sing on, O blissful music! 
With every note you raise
My heart is filled with rapture,
My soul is lost in praise;


Sing on, O blissful music! 
With every note you raise
My heart is filled with rapture, 
My soul is lost in praise. 

Can you guess what we are building at Pecan Bluff?

There's lots of measuring...

...lots of marking...

...lots of using our muscles.

Then there is more measuring...

...and lots of learning from Dad, Project Manager.

The heat and humidity calls for lemonade by the gallon.

"And I'm the cheering section!"

Do You Workbox?

I've been bitten by the bug. I don't usually pay any attention to fads and trends in home schooling~ I've found that paying too much attention to what everyone else is doing can really get a mom off-track and mess with her budget. So, I'm generally slow to make a big change. But Sue Patrick's Workbox System caught my eye a long time ago, and I've been mulling it since.

The concept involves clear plastic boxes that mom can use to divide up a child's school work into small chunks. Each child has his own set of boxes handy to his school desk. Each box contains every item needed to complete that task, along with any instructions. The child physically removes the work, completes it, then puts it in a "Done" basket. This allows the student to watch her boxes become empty as she works, feel her progress and see her accomplishments as she moves through her school day. It's a great visual and hands-on system that fosters self-motivation and orderliness for each student. Besides that, it looks way cool. And who doesn't love a nice, neat, organized school room?

Now that we've taken the plunge and decided workboxes can work for us, the kids and I are spending this week reorganizing the school room, sifting through resources, tweaking my online planner, and setting things up. We are still a happy Charlotte Mason family, so the tasks in our workboxes will still follow that methodology. And we will have one set of workboxes that will organize the many subjects we all do together, just like always.

I'll have some pictures up soon to show you the changes we've made and why the kids are so excited!

Do you workbox?