As we've been busy planning our water garden and overall backyard, we've also been busy planning our vegetable garden(s). I finally got some seeds started, and the boys have busy with theirs as well. My husband is creating a 4' x 4' plot for each boy to [intensively] grow what they wish, and there will be a plot for a few "experimental" plants as well - mostly those cultivated from kitchen scraps and seeds/spices, à la "Don't Throw It, Grow It!"

A few of the experiments:

In other news, many of our silkworms have been busy molting. The period before and after each molt, when the silkworms are eating and growing, is called an instar. Silkworms go through a total of five instars in their life. When a silkworm is ready to molt, it stops eating and remains perfectly still, its head raised in the air, for at least a day or two. While they remain motionless, a new skin is forming underneath the old and when the new skin is fully developed, they begin to move and leave their old skin. According to Sylvia Johnson's book, often their first meal after the molt is the skin just shed, however few of ours have been doing this, preferring fresh food instead. This leaves us with bunches of dried-up old skin, attached to the sides of their box, ick. In the picture below, an old skin is shown on the left, while a molting worm is shown on the right:

A group of molting silkworms:

Lastly, we were recently alerted to a fun science project that we've signed up for called The Great Sunflower Project. Each participant will be mailed 'Lemon Queen' sunflower seeds to plant (or you may buy your own, as long as they are 'Lemon Queen'). Once the plants are in bloom, they will then need to spend some time on observation, recording the flowers that are open (and thus producing pollen) and each bee that comes visiting. The results are then recorded online or mailed in. The project is being coordinated by San Francisco State University's Biology Department, in an effort to understand the challenges bees are currently facing.

Every week I receive free samples of coloring pages and more from the Dover Sampler. Until this evening, it had foolishly never occurred to me to save these pages for future use, even though the samples are only online for a brief time. The samples are not only useful for coloring, but also for notebooking pages, collage and other art projects, so from now on, I've decided to start saving the samples for future reference and use. I added all currently available samples to my Flickr account and while at Flickr, noticed that another enterprising person had done the same thing - though she started well before I! For ease of use, I've categorized all of the coloring pages here (both hers and mine); for her entire set (which includes tons of free clip art samples), see: Collage-Able. Note: To download a full-size image: Above each image you'll see an option "+ All Sizes." Click on that to download the original page-size image.

*I will be updating this page weekly as new samples are posted.*

Ethnic Designs

• Chinese Fashions: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Chinese Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Chinese Kites Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Chinese Zodiac Stained Glass: Sample 1
  
• Chinese Dragons Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Chinese Stained Glass Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4 | Sample 5
• Treasury of Chinese Designs: Sample 1
• Traditional Chinese Motifs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Traditional Chinese Embroidery Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Japanese Motifs and Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Japanese Animal and Floral Designs: Sample 1
• Japanese Designs Stained Glass: Sample 1
• Erte Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Life in Old Japan: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Samurai Discovery Kit: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Celtic Designs for Artists and Craftspeople: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Celtic Design Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Celtic Mazes: Sample 1
• Little Irish Stained Glass: Sample 1
  
• Celtic Arts & Crafts Kit: Sample 1
  
• Persian Designs and Motifs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Arabic Designs: Sample 1
• Egyptian Designs and Motifs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Treasures of King Tut's Tomb Stained Glass: Sample 1
  
• 1,000 Decorative Designs from India: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Southeast Asian Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Paisley Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Mystical Mandala: Sample 1
• Infinite Coloring Mandala Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Mandala Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4 | Sample 5
• Pre-Columbian Mexican Designs: Sample 1
• Aztec Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Thai Decorative Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Tibetan Designs: Sample 1
• Jewish Holidays & Traditions: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Hebrew Alphabet Coloring Book: Sample 1
  

Art

• Van Gogh Art Activity Pack: Sample 1
• Van Gogh Stained Glass: Sample 1
• Color Your Own Van Gogh Paintings: Sample 1
• Monet Art Activity Pack: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Color Your Own Monet Paintings: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Color Your Own Impressionist Paintings: Sample 1 [Manet]
• Impressionist Art Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Color Your Own Gauguin Paintings: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Color Your Own Mary Cassatt Masterpieces: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Art Masterpieces to Color: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 [da Vinci] | Sample 4 [Cezanne] | Sample 5 [Rossetti]
  
• American Folk Art Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Color Your Own Great Paintings by Women Artists: Sample 1
• Color Your Own Italian Renaissance Masterpiece: Sample 1
• Color Your Own Tolouse-Lautrec Masterpiece: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Color Your Own Poster Masterpiece: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Color Your Own John Constable Paintings: Sample 1

Drawing Instruction*
*These are not coloring pages, but rather, drawing instruction pages. Instead of organizing them by book, I've chosen to organize them by subject matter for ease of use.

• Cardinal (from "How to Draw Birds")
  
• Great Horned Owl (from "How to Draw Birds")
• Goat (from "How to Draw Farm Animals")
• Peacock (from "How to Draw Farm Animals")
• Mouse (from "How to Draw Animals")
• Horse (from "How to Draw Animals")
• Flower and Flower Pot (from "How to Draw")
• Cat (from "How to Draw")
• Clever Monkeys (from "How to Draw Circus Pictures")
• Trapeze Artist (from "How to Draw Circus Pictures")
  

Fantasy

• Wizards and Dragons Stained Glass Coloring Kit: Sample 1
• Pirate Adventure Fun Kit: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Fairies to Paint or Color: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Garden Fairies Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Fairies, Elves and Gnomes: Sample 1
• Fairy Fashion: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Color Your Own Great Fairy Tale Illustrations: Sample 1
• Dragons: Sample 1
• Wizards and Dragons Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  

Wild Animals

• 1,419 Copyright-Free Images of Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Wild and Domestic Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• A Walk in the Woods: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Wild Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Animals of the Forest, Wetlands and Desert: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4 | Sample 5 | Sample 6
• Wetlands Plants and Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Forest Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• At the Zoo: Sample 1

Sea Life

• Whales and Dolphins Fun Kit: Sample 1
• Great Barrier Reef: Sample 1
• Coral Reef Stained Glass: Sample 1
  
• Seashore Life: Sample 1
  
• Sharks Fun Kit: Sample 1
• The World of the Turtle: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  

Domestic Animals

• World of Cats to Paint and Color: Sample 1
• Dogs to Paint or Color: Sample 1
• Baby Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• You Can Draw Horses: Sample 1
• Horses Activity Fun Kit: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Big Book of Horses: Sample 1
• Horses Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Wonderful World of Horses: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Horse Anatomy: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• The Evolution of the Horse: Sample 1
• Horses of the World: Sample 1
• How to Draw Farm Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  

Dinosaurs

• The Dinosaur Coloring Book: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Dinosaurs!: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Era: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  

Birds & Butterflies

• Butterflies: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Butterflies Stained Glass Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
  
• Butterfly Alphabet: Sample 1
• Butterfly Arts & Crafts Kit: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Sea and Shore Birds: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Fifty Favorite Birds: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Birds to Paint or Color: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Birds Fun Kit: Sample 1
• State Birds and Flowers: Sample 1

Flowers:

• American Wild Flowers: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Floral Beauty: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Color Your Own Flower Seed Packet: Sample 1
• Flower Designs and Motifs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Favorite Flowers: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4 | Sample 5 | Sample 6 | Sample 7 | Sample 8 |
• Color Your Own Great Flower Prints: Sample 1
• The Flower Garden: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Flower Gardens to Paint or Color: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• Birds, Flowers and Butterflies Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• NatureScapes: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• The Language of Flowers Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2

Science

• My First Human Body Coloring Book: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4 | Sample 5
• Human Anatomy Coloring Book: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Exploring the Solar System: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  

History

• Stories from the Old Testament: Sample 1
• Wonders of the World: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
• The Story of Sacajawea: Sample 1
• Lewis and Clark: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Story of the Civil War: Sample 1
  
• Cavalier and Puritan Fashions: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Tudor and Elizabethan Fashions: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Old-Time Children's Fashions: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4
  

Holidays

• Halloween Stained Glass: Sample 1
• Nutcracker Holiday Fun Kit: Sample 1
• Christmas Around the World: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Old-Fashioned Christmas Illustrations: Sample 1
• Christmas Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Holidays Around the World: Sample 1 [St. Patrick's Day]
• The Little Easter Stained Glass Coloring Book: Sample 1
• Easter Activity Fun Kit: Sample 1
  

Miscellaneous

• Godey's Fashions: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Ballet Stained Glass: Sample 1
  
• United States: Sample 1 [Kansas]
  
• American Yesterday: Sample 1
• America the Beautiful to Color or Paint: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Nautical Scenes to Paint or Color: Sample 1
• Tropical Paradise Scenes to Paint or Color: Sample 1
• Country Scenes to Paint or Color: Sample 1
• Art Deco Stained Glass Designs: Sample 1
• Color Your Own Tiffany Windows: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Traditional Patchwork Stained Glass: Sample 1
  
• The Nativity Stained Glass: Sample 1
• Abstractions: Sample 1
  
• Geometric Motifs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Big Book of Geometric Designs & Illusions: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Infinite Ultimate Geometric Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Infinite Coloring Dazzling Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Geometrical Designs: Sample 1
• Geoscapes: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  
• Carousel Animals: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Angels: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Angels Arts and Crafts Kit: Sample 1
• Pinwheel Designs: Sample 1
• Kaleidoscope Design: Sample 1
• Kaleidoscope Designs Stained Glass: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Classic Cars: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3
• Railroad Engines from Around the World: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Old Ship Figureheads: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Old-Time Transportation: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Victorian Houses: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Heart Designs: Sample 1 | Sample 2
• Favorite Poems for Children: Sample 1 | Sample 2
  

Lastly...here's something that's not Dover but also great fun, samples from The Anti-Coloring Book: Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | Sample 4 | Sample 5. We also love the Rosie Flo coloring books by Roz Streeten!

Monday: On Monday we had a relaxed day, no official "school" but instead a mini-celebration of Theodore Geisel's birthday. The boys made green eggs for breakfast (unfortunately, we were out of ham!) and we read a brief biography, followed by a few of his classics. I spent the rest of my morning planning our unit on Ireland while the kids watched educational programming and bemoaned the sudden cold weather we'd been hit with.

Tuesday: On Tuesday we completed our AWAD work, followed by a lesson from "Excavating English" and some additional vocabulary/spelling words. We then labeled Ireland on our world map and read from "Ireland, The Culture" by Bobbie Kalman. This was followed by individual mapwork, a reading from "Ireland: Peeps at History" (which I can't really recommend, it's dry and rambles on and on) with narration and a discussion about what we'd learned. Next, we read from A Field Guide to Irish Fairies, learning about the Dullahan. Afterwards, Math and stories from "Donegal Fairy Stories" and "Favorite Celtic Fairy Tales." Lastly, the kids read a story from their CLE reader and completed a workbook lesson.

Wednesday: Wednesday was very similar to Tuesday in that we read from and discussed: "Ireland, The Culture," "Ireland: Peeps at History," A Field Guide to Irish Fairies and Donegal Fairy Stories. All of the fairy stories are leading up to this awesome splatter fairy painting project that I hope to do sometime next week. We also did some Math and a lesson from Rod & Staff English, followed by an afternoon of activities for Science/Geology.

Thursday: Thursday was a light day since we spent the afternoon at the park (it was nearly 80°F!), collecting walnut shells and other treasures for our fairy house and getting to know other local homeschoolers. Everyone completed another Math and CLE Reading lesson and, because our silkworms arrived, we spent some time researching them online (the instructions that arrived with the worms were pretty meager). Now I'm glad that we bought live worms as well as eggs because I'm a bit doubtful that the eggs will hatch, I hadn't realized that an incubator was the best way to hatch them! We also made some oh-so-good Monkey Munch (à la Jon and Kate Plus 8) and watched a video: Visions of Ireland (which I don't recommend watching before bedtime, the music had half of us asleep only minutes into the video!).

All was going well until the wonderful (not!) Kansas wind kicked up and we had to go indoors, lest our work be blown all over the neighborhood! This weekend we'll wrap up our school week by watching a documentary on The Celts and, because we learned about traditional Irish dance today, Riverdance.

Can I just say how much I love TeacherVision? I signed up for a free trial last night and am finding SO much to use there, I'll definitely be keeping the membership! Among other things, it enabled me to finally start our unit on rocks and minerals today.

We began the unit by learning about the rock cycle and Igneous rocks. We read from "Geology Rocks" and "Rocks & Minerals: Super Science Activities," completing a rock cycle worksheet from the latter, before assembling a mini book on Igneous rocks from "The Amazing Earth Model Book." We also examined some actual igneous rocks from our "Hands On Exploration" Tub.


Next we made a batch of edible igneous rocks:

Then, an experiment from "Geology Rocks..." To learn about whether igneous rocks formed in different ways will have the same appearance, we made "Sugar on a Sheet" and "Sugar on a Stick."

Finally, the kids were inspired to check out this "Rock Hunter" kit:

Well okay, this doesn't qualify as treasure exactly, but given the excitement of the kids when our package arrived this morning, you'd have thought it was! Today we received an order from King Tut Shop - two Egyptian papyrus paintings for Jaymon (who loves all things Egypt and is especially intrigued by the Eye of Horus) and an Ancient Egyptian Writing Kit, plus a stack of blank papyrus sheets and extra writing reeds. The paintings are really quite vivid and wonderful in person, something not well-conveyed by the camera. I wish now that I'd also ordered the Papyrus Making Kit because the papyrus sheets prompted all sorts of questions about how the paper is made. Oh well, now of course we'll have to wait to use the kit since we're studying Ireland briefly, but at least we'll have something to look forward to!

For a study of Ireland and/or Saint Patrick's Day, topics might include: St. Patrick's Day Traditions, Irish Legends & Folklore, History of Ireland, Celts, The Irish Potato Famine, Immigration of the Irish, etc.

Mapwork

• Blank Map of Ireland
• Blank Map of Irish Counties (solution here)

Other Printables

• The Shamrock Patch Game (G 5-8): A game to review facts learned about Ireland.
• St. Patrick's Day Maze: A nice maze from MakingFriends.com.
• St. Patrick's Day Word Search from MakingFriends.com.
• A Visit to Ireland: Scavenger hunt worksheet to learn facts about Ireland.
• ABCTeach has a huge list of St. Patrick's Day printables.
• Ireland Theme Unit from EdHelper.com.
• Scholastic also has a terrific huge list of printables, though alas, a monthly membership is required (memberships start at $8.99/month).
• Teacher Vision also has a great list of printables (67 in all for grade K-12), including some fun crafts and activities. A membership is required, however the first three printables are free OR new users may opt for a 7-day free trial.
• Apples 4 the Teacher has a variety of free St. Patrick's Day printables.

Coloring Sheets

• St. Patrick's Day Coloring Sheets from Apples 4 the Teacher.
• Children of the World: Ireland: Cute coloring sheet from Edupics.
• Leprechaun Dancing from MakingFriends.com.
• Leprechaun Playing Flute from MakingFriends.com.
• Leprechaun With Harp from MakingFriends.com.
• Saint Patrick from MakingFriends.com.
• Happy Saint Patrick's Day from MakingFriends.com.
• Irish Legends Coloring Sheets
• (5) St. Patrick's Day Coloring Sheets from Crayola.
• Ireland Flag and Map from Crayola.
• Northern Ireland Flag and Map from Crayola.
• Ireland Flag Coloring Page
• Circular Celtic Knot Design: Very nice!
• Square Celtic Knot Design: Very nice!
• Celtic Kaleidoscope Design: Very nice!
• Celtic Knot Design: Very nice!

Lesson Plans

• A Story About the History of St. Patrick's Day (G 2-4) from Scholastic.
• Ireland Unit Study from Eclectic Education Homeschool.
• St. Patrick's Day Theme Unit from EdHelper.com (membership required).
• St. Patrick's Day Lapbook
• St. Patrick Tab Book from Enchanted Learning (membership required).
• Mr. Donn: The Celts
• The Vikings: Lesson Plan for Northern Ireland
• In Search of Ancient Ireland: A lesson plan from PBS.
• Irish Potato Famine: Discovery Education Lesson Plan for Grades 6-8.
• Ireland Unit including many lesson plans, from eMINTS.
• St. Patrick's Day Unit with lots of links!