the ELLA echo

long time, no blog

you're about to see why.

after my last post, this is what went on here:

ella built a covered wagon and went out on the trail, taking her trusty dollies and one adventurous cat (notice she also hand-crafted a candle holder for looming in the dark).

 

then she built a wide-body car with custom woody panels and set out on the road for a cross-country tour. 

 

then the whole family set out in our non-wide-body, non-woody car for georgia:

 

illinois:

 

and twice to virginia to visit family.  the first time we woke up to a surprise:

 

which was immortalized in paint by a neighbor and friend:

 

and on the next trip we got to celebrate a very special milestone for people we love:

 

and betwixt and between it all, we have gardened:

 

*catch me up—what have you been up to since i’ve been gone?

weekly wrap-up: butterflies! and a short summary of spring

in april there was easter:

 

 

and we visited with long-lost, beloved friends:

and we planted our gardens.

 

 

 

in may--there was a 500-year flood.  

luckily we were spared the worst of it.  so we spent the rest of the month doing whatever we could to help our community--making sandwiches and delivering cleaning supplies and helping people get their basic needs met--there was no time for blogging.

it's june now--life in nashville is still not back to normal and won't be for some time, but our little family is blessed to be safe and sound and we march on.

so that's the catch up.

now, inspired by the wonderful blog weird, unsocialized homeschoolers, from time to time i'm going to post a weekly wrap-up of what we've done here, homeschooling and otherwise.

this week it has been all about painted lady BUTTERFLIES.  thanks to the good folks in the advertizing department of PBS sprout :)  ella was bombarded with promos for the live butterfly garden from insect lore, so finally we ordered one and my only regret is that we didn't do it sooner.  

this has been so much fun!  however it really isn't for the squeamish.  the would-be butterflies come as tiny caterpillers in a jar with their food, and as they grow the jar becomes, let's just say, a little "messy".  then once they form their chrysalides (i didn't know that was the plural either) you have to transfer them to their habitat--you have to open that messy jar and put your hand in to do this. it isn't hard but it is a little scary because you'll have these five small, fragile, helpless little would-be butterflies attached by their small, fragile, helpless little "stems", and if you knock one off you will have to try to save it and that means TOUCHING IT with your big, clumpsy, germ-ridden hands and you WILL feel responsible if they don't make it.

but when they DO make it--WOW!  we currently have 8 out of 10 butterflies hatched or emerged or whatever it is called, and we can clearly see the other two inside their chysalides getting ready to spring forth in all their butterfly glory.  (in fact, one is wiggling loose as i type this!)

  

now, if i were a good little homeschool mommy i probably would have had ella create a butterfly journal where she could have documented what she observed and recorded each stage of development and then captured the experience in her own words.  in other words, i could have sucked the life right out of the whole thing.  maybe next time.  :)

instead, we just watched, discussed, and enjoyed.  we also learned--we just didn't turn it into a "learning experience".  

we are definitely going to order more caterpillers this summer--but first, ella wants to grow some ladybugs.  my garden is going to be very grateful.

*have you raised a butterfly or other insect?  what suggestions do you have for someone just getting started?