Ready for Easter, Spring and Nature

So we have this little after school thing going that the my kids just love!  They have learned art where they have painted and paper-mached..(Very nice and patient Mom!!) Ke'Nia won Grand Prize at their Reflection contest at school because of this talented Mom! (Thank you Celeste Torman) They have learned of service and have participated in serving and have seen the outcome of helping those around them..(Thanks to Amberlee Whitemyer) and now it's my turn!  So I decided that we would study the great outdoors.  Among so many video games, computer and the television, I have noticed that our younger two have not really paid any attention to the world around them.  So I made nature journals and every week we will take a look at what nature has to offer. The Weather, Birds, Bugs, The possibility of fairies, The Creek, Earth Day, and the great outdoors.  So far the weather has NOT been my friend.  It worked ok for the weather though as we put together rain gauges, kites and are keeping track of the weather that never changes...rain or snow!  The kids are the same ones that have been together since pre-school and it is amazing to see how they have grown!  We talked on birds last week and they made cute little paper birds and bird feeders.  Little edible nests was the clue for what we would study about and bird watching was pretty much a flop because of the cloudy day and cold wind. 

So even though Easter is later in the year than usual, the weather is Easter weather....unpredictable with a chance of  rain/snow.  My Mom made me this cute cute table runner..(I actually talked her out of it!!)...for my table.  Love the cute colors and bunnys!  Was inspired by Melissa Quigley with the Chocolate bunny on display and the cute sugar egges were made by a dear friends Mother years ago when Dakotah and Jaden were little and Ridge and Ke'Nia were unheard of.   These things make me smile when the world is still a bit gloomy. 

Ke'Nia is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her own Thumbelina from the whimsical Wendesday I did in her class a month or so ago.  We read Thumbelina and then planted seeds and the kids drew pictures of what their fairy might look like when their flowers bloomed.  Ke'Nia and I made tiny little cupcakes to give to the kids so we could imagine the life of a fairy.

All in all there are plenty of signs that spring is on its way and that the flowers will bloom and the trees will be filled with their leaves!  A newness of the world is on its way giving us hope of an eternal realm and the true meaning of this Easter season.