First Day of School

Well yesterday was the first day of school and it was a bit different as Robert started Jr. high and was on the early bus. This will be the first year that Garrett gets on the bus by himself. Both were ready to start and all seemed to have a good day! I ended up with all the homework last night!:(

August Summary

Well, almost a month has past and we did manage to get everything ready and to the Venango County Fair. Robert & Garrett showed their meat goats on Monday, Andrew showed his pig on Tuesday (while Robert was at band camp) and Andrew showed his dairy beef, then they were all busy getting ready for the Dairy Show on Thursday. As for placings well they all did well, Robert was 4th place 4-H show for Meat Goats, but Garrett beat him in the Open Show and took 4th while Robert was in 5th. Robert was the reserve Jr. Goat Showman and that was quite the competition. The judge had 2 kids in the ring for a good 15 minutes(or at least it seemed like it) for the Jr. Showman. Andrew showed well on Tuesday but I don't remember his exact placing. Then the Dairy Show, let's see- Garrett & HAylee participated in the Pee Wee Showmanship contest and received blue ribbons. Then Robert and Andrew were in the same age group, Robert was 3rd and I think, Andrew was 5th. Then Andrew had his Guernsey, which ended up Grand Champion Guernsey. Both had Holsteins and they did OK, but not great. And then Robert had his Red & White which ended up as 4-H Jr. Champion and Reserve Champion. Now this was only the animals. Robert had a 1st on his small engine project& Foresty, a 2nd on his Embryology & Arts and Crafts Project. Garrett had first on his Shoebox Float, Rocket, and decorated bowling pin, 2nd on his Farm Display, his candy bar creation and a third on his painting on fabric. The 4-H Auction was where the boys did indeed shine, thank you to all the buyers that came to bid on their animals and a special thank you to Knox Country Farm Supply for purchasing Robert's Goat and Andrew's Hog!!It was a good fair with only 1 really wet day!

Fair prep week

We are moving a day closer to being ready for the Venango County Fair. We know have 2 goats clipped and 1 washed(the other one needs a few more hands to help with- it doesn't like bathes) But Garrett decided that if Robert has to clip his goat then he wanted to try too. For 7, he did a good job and was he intense!!!

We also got part of the goat pens ready at the fairgrounds tonight. Tomorrow maybe we'll get the calves ready!!

Robert at District Dairy Show

This summer has flown by and it hardly seems like it has begun. But 4-H is in full swing and last weekend, was Robert's weekend to show his calf at the District 4-H show. He has 2 calves this year. A black and white Holstein and a red & white Holstein. He washed and clipped both and had them all ready for show, but the black and white one is a little over conditioned and didn't do so well, but Robert received a Master Showman ribbon for his part. Then the red & white one went into the ring, he received first in his class and a master showman. Then he had to go back into the ring and won Jr. Reserve Champion. So He is headed for the State Show in September with her. Very proud of his accomplishments.

US Flag Children's Sermon

I presented this children's sermon on Memorial Day Weekend, but I think it could be presented at any time especially near a patriotic holiday, but it was most appropriate for Memorial day. The idea here can be used but maybe not all of it for other American holidays.  At the front of our church there are 2 flags- the US Flag and the Christian Flag- these were key elements for this children's sermon.

Once the children were seated, I asked them if they knew what was special about the weekend. I got a few going "we're almost out of school." But I did have an older child know that it was Memorial Day weekend. So I asked what should we do on Memorial Day? Some said "camp", "picnic", but I had one that said "remember." Now this young person I challenged little bit more, "what are we to remember?" He replied " Those men and woman that fought for our country."  I asked "You mean people were fighting over land?" to which others answered "No, our freedom!" Oh, ok! I get it, but let's look at something here for a minute. I asked 2 children to go up to the flags and pull them up a little bit so the congregation and children could see them.

Can you tell me what is the same about these flags?

 

The children told me that they both had red, white and blue on them.  "You're right!" Anything else? Do you know the names of these flags? well of course they knew the United States flag, but not a one knew the Christian Flag.  "Well, let's do some comparing of these flags, because if they are at the front of our church, they must be important.

 

The United States Flag, the red stands for valor and hardiness.  on the Christian Flag the red represents blood.

 

In the United States flag, the blue stands for perseverance & justice, where in the Christian Flag it stands for faithfulness, truth and sincerity.

 

In the United States Flag, the white stands for purity and on the Christian Flag it represents purity and peace.

 

So each of the colors represents something and they are very similar. The United States Flag has 13 stripes to represent the 13 colonies and currently it has 50 stars to represent the 50 states. The Christian Flag has a cross on it to represent the cross that Christ died on.  So they are similar, but here is something kind of cool!

The Christian Flag can be flown and pledged to in any country in the World. It could be flying in Asia, Africa and even right here. As long as you are a Christian and believe in Christ, you can pledge to the Christian Flag. But the united States Flag - only those that live in the United States would pledge to that flag. Canada has it's own flag, England has it's own Flag, Russia has it's own flag.

 

The Christian Flag is a "World Flag" where the United States Flag, is a "Country Flag."  But we were talking about Memorial Day and we know that we have had soldiers die for the US Flag, but who should we remember when we look at the Christian Flag? Yes Jesus, who died for our freedom, but not our right to do as we like but our freedom from Sin and Hell. So when you look at the front of our church, which flag to you think should be the most important?  "Yes the Christian Flag."  So this weekend, take time to remember all of those who have given their lives for you- our soldiers and Jesus himself- and if you get a chance thank a Veteran.

 

Before we close, would all the veterans stand(applaud the veterans) We want to thank you for serving our country and being examples of a Christian. Let's close in prayer.

 

 

After presenting this children's sermon, I realized how many of our children don't know the Christian pledge, so I am including it as a reference here that should you be interested in using it with this idea, please do so. I am also giving 2 websites that had info about both flags.

 

I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag
and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands.
One brotherhood, uniting all mankind,
in service and love."

 

 

http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/chrflag.html- info on the Christian Flag

 

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4759624_meaning-colors-american-flag.html- info on the United States Flag

Frog and Toad Indentification

Tonight the boys found some frogs that we have been listening too for several weeks. They have been around our swimming pool area, so tonight the boys decided it was time to catch them. Garrett started with 1, then I found 1 (Robert caught it) and then Gary found 1. The boys then decided that they would see how many more they could locate. It ended up that we have 5, but their calls were unusual. The chirp for a while and then they sound like a turkey call. So we wanted to know what they were. To the compute we went!!   We checked out this website http://www.paherps.com/ and http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/frogquiz/index.cfm

Both websites were pretty cool as the have sound clips that you can compare the calls to. After listening to a good number of frog/toad calls- we have determined that we have Eastern Gray Tree frogs.  This has been a fun and interesting evening just listening to all the different types of frogs/toads and their songs. But now we can all go to bed now knowing what is outside on our porch in the small aquarium. Tomorrow we will relocate them to the bigger pond!
This is one of the pictures from the website. I'll see if I can get my own tomorrow.

Last Day of School

This year was the last time that my boys will get on the bus together as Robert will be moving to the Jr. High School. Robert had graduation on the last day of school and Garrett decided that if Robert was dressing up then so was he.

Boys ready for the last day

End of 6th grade events

The end of May was very busy around here. Robert being a 6th grader had a few extra events added to the schedule. First was the 6th grade track meet - he participated in the long jump, the discus and the shot put.

Then we went on the Niagara Falls field trip. When leaving Knox, they were calling for rain and thunderstorms all day. Luckily as we got off the bus at Niagara- the rain stopped. We spent the day seeing the sites- The American & Horseshoe Falls, The Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, the trolley and the Aquarium. It was a very nice day and as we were going into the Aquarium, it began to rain again. But we soon were back on the buses and on our way home.

 

And then 6th Grade graduation. Robert received 2 awards.  What a good group of kids in his class. Can't wait to see what they become!

Class of 2019 graduation of 6th grade

Pittsburgh Zoo Field Trip

May is always a very busy month around here. All of the end of the school year events, concerts, field trips, special programs, presentations. And this year has been no exception, with Robert being in 6th grade there has been several extra events. But last week I had the opportunity to accompany the 1st graders to the Pittsburgh Zoo. We had a nearly perfect day weather wise, blue skies, sun shining and it wasn't too hot. We  had the opportunity to see the baby Rhinoceros who was born in September, but we didn't get to see the baby tiger:(  The penguins were very busy swimming right up against the glass and the kids got a kick out of them. But the funniest part was the "Polar Bear Dance."  we watched the polar bear for about 5 minutes and then checked back in on him later, he was doing this kind of dance. He would take about 4 steps forward and then take 4 steps backwards but while moving backwards he would throw his head from left to right. It was quite funny. And when we checked on him 10 minutes or so later, he was still doing the "polar bear dance!"

The kids were amazed by the many colors and kinds of fish in the Aquarium. And they got to touch a stingray- they were in to almost their shoulders trying to touch the stingray! And I think we saw all of the animals that were out and about last week. But what a treat to get to go along.

Garrett going after the Stingray

Elementary Band Concert

Tonight was the Elementary Band concert which will be Robert's last elementary concert, it's hard to believe that he is going to the Jr. High in the Fall. But tonight was beautiful. I remember his first concert and the painful sounds that came out of his trumpet and the night he screamed "I sound like a dead duck!" But there weren't any ducks tonight. I could easily pick up Robert's trumpet. He played with confidence and he played well. He may have made a few mistakes, but they weren't noticeable in the audience.  The director had talked about retiring after this year but has changed his mind. But the band prepared a giant THANK YOU sign which they held up at the end of the concert. IT was a very nice evening listening to a very good elementary and beginning band. Thank you students and Mr. Rembold.

Getting his cue from Mr. Rembold

 

 The students that attended the PMEA Songfest in February also performed 2 of the songs that they sang at the festival between bands. They did a great job too!!

Drive-in movie night

Over the last week, my house was busy with painting and cutting and creating Garrett's "Drive-in Movie Vehicle." Each year the Kids Klub at our church (youth group 1st-5th grades) have an evening where everyone brings in a vehicle made from cardboard and they sit in their vehicles and watch a movie. popcorn and drinks are included. Well, this was Garrett's first year to actually get to make his vehicle and take it to the church. In the past Robert was involved with this and Garrett would get to make something and watch a movie at home. So this year was really big to him and so was his plans for his creation. He wanted a loader that articulated and actually worked! Wow what a way to start!
After hours of painting and discussing, taping and bending he was finally happy with what he and I had built. It included a chrome smoke stack, a bend in the middle and front blade instead of a bucket that really moved!  The kids had a great night and once again their creativity was used and they were able to show off their vehicles. 


Garrett showing his friends that the blade lifts

Thanks to Peggy and all that make this a great, fun event for the kids!!!

The only way I knew how to make it articulate

Driver all ready to go!

 

Camper Sunday - Children's Sermon

This past Sunday was "Camper Sunday" at our church as we had a speaker in from Wesley Woods Church Camp (where most of our youth go). Well I had the children's sermon. Before I left home I grabbed Robert's tent in it's bag, a ball and a tube of glow sticks.

When it was time for children's sermon, I "drug" the tent to the front and told the woman who heads camping at our church "I'm ready, Karen! I'm ready for Camper Sunday! But I'm confused? When I came in I didn't see any RV's that I know we have in the congregation and no tow-behind campers and the yard wasn't full of tents. What kind of "camper" Sunday was this anyway? Wait he's from Wesley Woods! This isn't camper Sunday it's CAMP Sunday!!!!  Well I get it and boy can I tell you things about camp!  I never went to Wesley Woods, but I did go to church camp and scout camp and 4-H camp. Well to be honest, I spent most of my summers packing and unpacking from camps when I was home. But one of the most important things that I learned while at church camp was a song called "Pass It On" What do you think that means?  Here (and I pulled out my ball) and passed it around. Now make sure everyone gets to pass it. Wasn't that great? We passed the ball along. Is that what it's all about? UMMM no that isn't what this song is about. Let me share the words...

 It only take a spark to get a fire going. And soon all those around can warm up in it's glowing. That's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it, You want to sing, it's fresh like spring you want to pass it on.

 

 

So you see once you receive Christ, you want to share it with EVERYONE!  It's like a fire, you can't contain a fire. And you can't contain Christ either. You have a light that you want to share with everyone. So on this Camp Sunday I want to give each of you a glow stick to remind you that you need to share the light that is inside of you that is Jesus. And that you should "Pass It on."

 

And we closed in prayer.

Slowing down?

Just when I thought things might slow down just a little bit - the weather turned NICE!! The Maple syrup is done and all the equipment is cleaned and put away. It was a long season this year as we had taps out for almost a month plus I was helped Andrew cook his down too. I cooked over 255 gallons of sap into syrup in my kitchen through March and part of April.

  Robert participated in 4-H in the Mall and received several scholarships for events.
And now we have had BEAUTIFUL weather! The sun has been shining and I should do some yard work. We had a tree cut down in the yard so that needed to be cleaned up. Gary is pruning apple trees (hopefully gets them done before the blossom) and that takes cleaning up. Plus it is now time to start the flower beds. Wait I got a new front porch this March, so there is some landscaping that needs down and extra parts and pieces still need cleaned up from that.
Do I ever get to quit cleaning up something???

Okay, I'm done now - just overwhelmed with "cleaning up"  The daffodils are wonderful this year! Make sure you take time and smell a few or cut a bouquet. Gary brought me in some just the other night:) One of my favorites!

An Easter Children's Lesson/ Activity

I saw this post on Pinterest and loved what I saw. I did use this for the last Children's Sermon that I had, but I didn't used the same words. So here is kind of what I said and then you will need to click on the link to see the pictures that go along with it. Here's the link and it is WAY COOL!!! http://futureflyingsaucers.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/awesome-childrens-easter-object-lesson/

I started by asking questions as I folded my paper
So where are we to share the story of God's love? How about on a boat? (goes with the 2nd picture)
How about at Home or our friends house? (Goes with 3rd picture)
How about when we travel (this goes with picture 4&5 and I flipped the one side out so it did look like an airplane for a minute and then put it back the way it needed to be)
How about anywhere that we walk around (goes with the 6th picture)
Then you need to finish tearing the whole way through.  Now I did skip a few parts because I had 2,3 & 4 year olds.

But I showed the 3 crosses that Jesus and the robbers were crucified on.
Then I talked about the sign that hung above Jesus
The sword that pierced his side
And the dice that were cast for his clothes
Then I showed the tomb and that it is now empty.
I closed by writing out the word "Jesus" with the paper pieces

Such a neat way to share God's story with a single piece of Paper!

Easter Egg Decorating

Haylee with her YELLOW

Garrett checking his eggs

Andrew trying the rubber bands

Robert coloring 1/2 an egg

 

We had a fun afternoon at Nanny & Papa's decorating Easter Eggs for the Community Easter Egg Hunt. Nanny & Papa were both there helping and guiding the 4 grandchildren. Papa helped put on the plastic shrink sleeves and handed out the eggs. We used rubber bands, clear crayons, Q-tips, and plastic sleeves. Haylee had a thing with Yellow- I think every other egg she did was yellow. We had a fantastic pink color and a very deep blue. Amazingly enough - NO MESSES!!! I think we colored 6 or 8 dozen eggs. Fun Day

 

Easter Preparations

Okay so I have made my first butter lamb (for my mother-in-law). So here is what we did.
We had cold cream and poured about a pint into a quart jar and added 5 ice cubes and put on the lid- tight. Then we all took turns shaking the cream. We ended up shaking this jar for about 20-30 minutes. As you shake the jar you will get to the point that your thinking maybe this really isn't working and then all of the sudden you have a lump in the middle of the jar along with watered down buttermilk. I usually drain off the buttermilk/water and then put the butter into a bowl. I took a wooden spoon and worked the butter (a lot like kneading bread) to work out the rest of the water.
Then I used the butter lamb kit that my mother-in-law had and pressed the butter into both sides. You need to make sure that you get butter clear into the nose (I didn't the first time and had to fix it. A noseless lamb just won't work) Clip the mold together and freeze for at least an hour. I pulled the lamb out of the freezer and ran it under warm water for a couple seconds - you could feel it let go of the form.  I continued to follow the directions and took off the clips, opened the front and then flipped it onto a plate, but it fell a little harder than I was planning and now our lamb has a flat nose this year.

The Butter Lamb kit

Our flat nosed lamb for this year

We have made butter here in various ways, but actually putting it into the mold and molding it was a new step for us and kind of fun. Thanks Grandma for the butter mold.

Planning on Spring

Okay, I agree if you look out my window (um snow blowing, sleeting, cold wintry weather) you would not be thinking spring, but a cup of hot chocolate.  But here we spent some time looking at the seed catalogs and planning the garden. We have ordered some seeds and have soil in the basement. The table is up and soon we will be ready to start some seeds. We had some seeds left over from last year and are checking their germination times to see if the seeds are still good.  This is something that is kind of fun for the kids to help with. Take a plate and a paper towel. We used a 6" Styrofoam plate. Wet your paper towel and lay it on your plate. Lay your seeds on top and slide into a plastic Ziploc style bag and set in a warm location.  in several days your seeds should have germinated and you will see signs of life. And actually you have created a little greenhouse.

Stay warm and safe!

Different Signs of Spring- Ag Minute

Every year, I go outside looking for signs of spring. Little flowers poking their heads up through the frozen ground, the sound of birds returning , geese flying overhead in the northward direction, but there is one that I tend to forget about... newborns.

Spring is the time of year when there are a lot of newborns. New born goats, lambs, piglets, chicks, ducklings. This year I have been able to be part of the births of several sets of goats and of a set of twin lambs. I have seen baby piglets recently and I heard that it will soon be chick days at our local farm supplier.  These are no the normal signs of spring that I look for but I have been privileged to be involved this year in a new way. And it does remind me that Spring is just around the corner. 

So if you get a chance, this is a great time to visit a farm and maybe see some little ones about. It is also a great time to stop in to your local farm/ranch supply store and see if they will be having baby chicks. The kids love it, if nothing else to stop and see and maybe pet those little yellow fluffy bodies. (remember to wash your hands after petting animals!)

If you want to see more baby chicks of a variety of breeds, check out this link: https://www.esteshatchery.com/baby-chick-pictures.html

So go see what signs of Spring you can see!

Pop Bottle Piggy Bank

Tonight as Cub Scouts we discussed how to use your money. To save, spend, donate and invest. Well after discussing with the parent providing that part of the activity, we thought that a divided bank would be really neat for the boys, but they were a little pricey to just give away. So I came up with this divided bank from a 2 liter pop bottle.

Take a 2 liter and wash it out. Then mark 2 1/2" down the side. You will cut with a craft knife about 1/2 way around and the width of the thickness of cardboard that you are using, at those 3 2 1/2" marks.  Between those marks going with the length of the bottle, you will cut small splits where the coins will be dropped in. You will need 4 of those slits. You will also need to drill a small hole in the bottle of the bottle for the tail

supplies needed

You also need:
 2 googly eyes (we used the peel and stick eyes);
 a small circle of adhesive pink fun foam (cut to the size of the bottle cap)
a black marker
1 piece of pink construction paper (cut into triangles)
3 circle discs, cut slightly bigger than the diameter of the bottle
1 pink pipe cleaner, cut in half
hot glue gun



You add the eyes to the neck of the bottle making sure that they are toward the top of the bottle where the coins would be dropped in. The take the marker and add the nostrils to the pink nose. Peel the paper backing and place on bottle cap. Take the pipe cleaner 1/2 and wrap around your finger to make it curly. The place the end of the pipe cleaner into the drilled hole in the bottom of the bottle.
Take your construction paper triangles, fold a tab across one side, and using a glue gun place the ears slightly above the eyes on the neck part of the bottle. The add the cardboard discs to the large slits in the side of the bottle.

You now have a piggy bank that is divided to divide your money or to sort your money. Just a simple activity to help reinforce money management to children.

Dr. Seuss Weekend

I was SO thrilled that Dr. Seuss's birthday was on a weekend and that the boys would actually be home!!! YEAH!! So I started thinking and planning- nothing too time consuming, but a little fun and then add a couple of books! Well we started Friday night by watching the Lorax and we talked about UNLESS. What type of things wouldn't get done unless they helped or did their part. I also made red jello and whipped cream Seuss hat desserts for during the movie.

Saturday morning before soccer, we had green eggs and ham (of course). This year I made green scrambled eggs and I colored the butter for their toast too. Garrett wasn't real thrilled with green butter on his toast, where Robert was like "oh it's part of the fun - it's just food coloring!"  Following several soccer games, we came home and had lunch. "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" came to mind, and so I baked chicken nuggets and then cut little triangels out of both sides, I added an eye and a smile and they looked a little bit like fish.

Our chicken turned fish

The whole school of fish

Following lunch they wanted to play "Cat in the Hat Catapults", which we have to make a rythming word for the word that mom gives in order to launch the catapult. That lasted a little while ( we started that game a year or so ago). Then they wanted a new game for this year - so we played "Ring the Gack" - I took some light weight cardboard and cut discs, which they each colored and designed. Then they had to stand at one end of the table and throw the rings to land on a set of antlers form one of Gary's whitetail deer.  They thought this was great.



Rack the Gack game

For snack, I made up some vanilla pudding, divided it into 3 bowls and added food coloring to each bowl. I then piped the pudding into bowls, reminding you of the cover of "Oh the Places You Will Go" .

Oh the Places You Will Go Pudding

And then we HAD to make oobleck (requested from BOTH boys). It was an afternooon spent being silly and doing crazy things while reading several books too.

Working our version of Oobleck

I think I am going to miss Dr. Seuss Day when they get older. Maybe they will still let their mom serve Green Eggs and Ham at least!