Butterflies, bugs, backaches and beyond.

Hi, there. How's it going?

As far as we are concerned, I have had better da---months.

We got kind of a late start on the school year, with September being mostly filled with reorganizing the garage, and so the horse unit went into October, which we had planned to be our study on Butterflies and other bugs. So, we agreed, once we realized how late we were starting, that the Bug unit would be short, only 2 weeks. That way we could get our November unit started on time, and not throw the rest of the year off track. (I am not going to reveal what the Nov. unit is yet. I am VERY excited about it, though. That's all I'm saying about that.) So, on October 22nd, after Monday school, we took a trip to the library and then started our butterfly study.

But, all throughout this month, I have begun to have severe back pain.

I have known that I have slight scoliosis (or a curvature of the spine) since I was diagnosed at about 14 years old. It's hereditary. And throughout my 3 pregnancies, I have dealt with issues stemming from it. Mostly sciatica. I have been to chiropractors and Doctors of Osteopathic Therapy. But it only seemed to really be painful during pregnancy. I hadn't had to many issues with pain while not pregnant. And then this month, lower back pain out of nowhere that I would wake up with and continue to deal with all day.

On a side note, if you've been following my blog, I talked about migraines, and how they would incapacitate me for a whole day. I think my doctor and I found the solution. I don't seem to suffer from those anymore. But now this back issue...

I went to a new chiropractor here in my new town. I really like it. The doctor agreed that the source of my pain is the curve in my lower spine. And, no, I am not pregnant. So I get some treatments, but occasionally there will be pain. At times it is minimal, and manageable, and at other times, I really can't do so much.
  On those days, I have to sit in my bed or on the couch and have the kids do a lot of work on their own. The other day, I read a lot of books to my kids while sitting on the couch.

Believe it or not, all of these books are about caterpillar and butterflies/moths.

 Some of the beautiful patterns on butterfly (and moth) wings that we learned about.

Then we learned about other types of insects and bugs, as well.

There are so many great books to read at our local library about insects. Poetry, stories, fun-fact books, multilingual books, etc. This was very handy when I had those sit-still-all-day kind of days with my back aches.
But not to worry. Every year, I get my kids academic workbooks that include math problems, writing, reading comprehension, grammar, penmanship and maps reading and comprehension. I hope that they will learn to be more independent with their work-pages so I can focus on lunch and clean up, my preschooler, other housework, my own home-work (for a bible study that I am helping to lead a small group for, I'll explain that later) and any other items I would like to get to during the course of the day. I usually end up helping to at least keep them focused a lot with these pages, and don't get to all of the aforementioned activities. I at least make the preschooler the priority of all that, so he doesn't get neglected. And as for lunch, sometimes the kids make their own sandwiches, and one for the little man..... But the point is, when all I can do is sit and read, they at least get their basics done, nearby me, so I can approve and check answers.
And those library videos also come in handy. We watched a video from the library that was like something you would watch on the discovery channel.

This Fall, I have been pretty busy. My husband and I took on a lot of leadership roles at our church. We are involved with music at least 2x a month, the child-care 2s and 3s class once a month, we are leaders of a marriage class, and I am on the women's board which has a bible study meeting every other weekend. I am also attending the weekly co-op, my oldest is in cub scouts and we are trying to have a small group at our new house on alternating Sunday afternoons. Whew! That all on top of the social get togethers we are trying to maintain, and I am homeschooling and looking for a part-time job. WHAT? Perhaps all that is adding stress to my back...

Ladies, you just can't do it all. Sometimes you gotta sit back and let others handle some things. And also, teach your kids to be more independent. Like, they get themselves breakfast in the mornings ( I am not on speaking terms with mornings, so the more they can do in the a.m. without asking me for anything, the better), take turns with the dishwasher loading and unloading, sort their own dirty laundry, and fold and put their own laundry away, plus towels. I am also teaching them to switch the loads. And they have their other chores, like vacuuming, sweeping, watering plants, setting and clearing the table, cleaning bathrooms. If they have a pet, they are fully responsible, and they are responsible for personal grooming, with nudging and coaxing and reminding from their father and me. I am trying to involve them in the meal making as well.

Anyway. When I am up and running normally, we have some fun things going on with bugs. My kids, especially my boys, LOVE learning about creepy-crawlies, and all things scientific. So they totally get into this unit. We actually learned about insects and spiders during my oldest's kindergarten year, but that was a lot less scientific stuff, and more kindergarten stuff. And this time, with the focus being more on butterflies, it appeals more to my girl. I acquired a game that is very age appropriate for my littlest student, but that I can use for more complicated math problems and such, with the 3rd and 4th graders.

The first types of games are on color patterning, and then it starts matching the different insects. My kids (and I) like the colorful 3D figurines to handle and I have gotten somewhat creative at coming up with new ways to use them.
We also have other bug figurines that have more butterflies, moths and caterpillars in the set.

These are useful with all kinds of educational games, and lend themselves to puppet shows as well. The kind that re-tell the info we just learned. I love incorporating that, it really imprints the info so much better. And it's way more fun (and easier on my dyslexic daughter) than written reports.

Incidentally, my oldest son is taking a class at the co-op about creepy-crawlies, and they equipped him with a "bug bottle" and tweezers for the observation and study of local insects and arachnids.

 

Of which we are in abundance around here. The spiders, in particular, come in significantly generous sizes. And their web building (and the tenacity with which they build them) is truly amazing. Sometimes breathtaking...As in, *GASP* "Oh, my GOODNESS, I can't believe I just walked through this walkway and coming back through somehow there's already a web!!" Lucky for us we have so many opportunities to observe the critters in their "natural habitats". Ahem.


The other day we did these "butterfly prints" with paint and folded paper.

 It's really easy.
You: 1)take a piece of paper,  2)fold it in half, 3)open it, 4)pour different colors of paint globs into the fold, 5)refold, and press together, smearing the paint all over the inside of the paper, then 6)unfold, and viola', 7)you have a perfectly symmetrical print that resembles butterfly wings and their symmetry.  I like to then trace a butterfly outline around it and cut it out once it's dry, to make it look more like a butterfly.

If you do it "right" there's very little mess. But I am notoriously messy, despite any precaution or careful preparation I do to prevent a mess. So I always have a table cover, drip cloths, apron, paper towels and other such clean ups with me. Then I was the one to handle the paint bottles this time. I had the kids tell me where they wanted to add paint, and which colors. Then I would squeeze just enough out, and they folded and smeared. Then I unfolded. I, of course, am the one who ended up with paint stains on my fingers.

The next obstacle we encountered was the flu. We all got sick the last week of October. That sure puts a damper on any plans, or projects. We all got sick one day at a time, and it only lasted for one day each. So on healthy days, each of the kids did some workpages, and we read some more. It's always something that will give you an excuse not to work, but you gotta persevere. They will be tested in what they learned at the end of the year, and you have to teach them something. Mamas and teachers who don't have substitutes don't get sick days.
This pic is of one of the books I already had.

I know spiders aren't insects, but I was having fun with the Halloween editing options.

So that is what this month has been all about: Persevering through the rough times to make it back to the good days when you are having fun :) One thing we enjoyed was the book THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, by Eric Carle.

I placed a hold on the book at the library at the beginning of the unit, knowing I would want to read it to the little one (I actually had my dyslexic one read it aloud, she did excellently!), and it finally arrived to pick up at the last of the unit. I found out I apparently placed a hold on the Biggest one in existence!

My girl sat on the floor and read it to my son.

She really liked the story. But she was quick to point out any factual errors that were in it, due to all the learning she had just done about butterflies.

For instance, caterpillars are very picky. They don't eat just anything, like all that junk food.

 They only eat certain plants, that they hatched on, and if they can't get that type of plant, they go on a hunger strike and refuse to eat, and may starve to death.
 Also, only moths' caterpillars make cocoons, Butterflies' caterpillars shed their last skin into a chrysalis, and they become butterflies inside that.

Sorry, Mr. Carle, no offense to you, my daughter had to learn about those inaccuracies. Most kids (or adults, for that matter) would never have noticed those. :)
Then, she retold the story to my little man, puppetshow-style.

That was pretty much our whole butterfly/bug unit. I enjoyed it, despite the fact that it was about creepy crawlies. And despite all our challenges. We had fun :)