Fabulous Army Life

Joshua has been working hard on his Science Share project. He has been very focused and independent throughout this process and it's so fun for me to see. Early on, he decided on a topic, made his shopping list, requested help purchasing items, and selected the materials he would need. Later, he set up the experiment, conducted it three different times, and planned his presentation board. When it was time to assemble the board, he opened up a Word document, typed up all the information, printed it out, and prepared to paste it onto the board.  He had a vision for how he wanted it to look and how he wanted it presented.  I think it turned out great and I'm so proud of his work ethic and independence. As a mom, I have to make sure I am not too involved in projects.  I don't want to be the hover mom who does all the work for my kids but I also don't want to appear disinterested, not knowing what is due until it's too late.  On this project, I think I struck a go...

Joshua has a "Science Share" coming up and, in true Joshua-fashion, has already decided on a project, gathered needed materials, and conducted his experiment.  Now he's ready to write it all up and display it on a trifold board (that he asked me to buy a week ago).  He's such an awesome planner and it's amazing to me to watch how he works.  Here is the sneak peek of his project in progress ...

I am so proud of my teenager today. I love him with my whole heart but, like most teen boys, his organizational skills can, at times, be somewhat ... lacking. So when we were at the grocery store earlier this week and he asked me if he could please get a few ingredients so he could complete a Science project, I was more than happy to oblige. He didn't ask on the morning it was due or at midnight after spending the evening at the store ... he asked WHILE WE WERE IN THE STORE. But wait! It gets even better. This child of mine read the instructions on how to make cookies from the chocolate chip bag he purchased, gathered all the ingredients, correctly measured all items, followed all the directions, and made a really perfect 13 x 9" pan cookie. He even cleaned up afterwards! This was magnificent! He then gathered extraneous icing packets, cereals, and snacks, and created the plant cell then neatly wrote all the titles of the parts of the cell on cardstock, taped it to ...

Our mini-science lab includes a terrarium and a ladybug habitat. Both of my boys love science and nature and all things creepy-crawly.  Through the years, we have hatched butterflies (once with a kit, and several times by finding caterpillars to bring home and watch), planted butterfly-friendly plants, examined worms, and experimented with all sorts of God's creatures including ants, grasshoppers, and pill bugs (roly-polies to us Southerners!). Our current science lab includes a terrarium made from a 2 liter bottle (which is ready to be transplanted) and a ladybug habitat.  The jar contains several caterpillars, roly-polies, and a group of ladybug eggs.  Joshua found a ladybug in the backyard this week and added it to his jar.  She escaped when he opened it to peer in at some point, but he later found a cluster of bright yellow eggs.  We assumed they were ladybug eggs but Googled it to be sure.  Here is what we found: This photo confirmed for us th...