Nature Study

There are so many options when one is schooling their children at home, and I am often overwhelmed by all the options.  There are endless wonderful materials and ideas and curriculum to choose from, and I always start out a year optimistic and end a year inevitably feeling disappointed.  There is always something I wanted to do that I just didn't accomplish.  This year it was nature study.  Though we lived on beautiful land, we had a long year and a new baby and nature study just slipped out of our schedule.  I am sorry when this happens partly because I think it's valuable for the kids, but also because they love nature and I know they love to study nature.  Thankfully, nature study happens on it's own sometimes, even if not as frequently as I had hoped.  Ben came in the house first to tell us he found an awesome snail! Really, this snail was incredible and I was just as interested as they were.

 We couldn't believe how beautiful the shell was and how determined that little snail was. 

 We were also amazed at how the snail filled in the shell with something that looked like foam when it receded into the shell to hide.

 Little snail has a new home, though he has no intentions of staying there.  Momma decided that the escaping snail needs to sleep on the back porch tonight.  We'll see if he's still there in the morning.