Monday, September 11, 2006

Squirrels



We do not have many squirrels that we see around our house. We do have several acres of woods, but my dogs LOVE to chase squirrels, so we rarely get to see one. These pictures were sent to me from my Dad this weekend. He lives in Florida. It appears that the momma squirrel is moving her babies to a new location. He got some really good pictures. In the last picture you can see the baby's head really well. There is always something to see if you look around.

I had been thinking about doing something last fall. I had prayed about it, talked to my husband about it and even did some preliminary checking into things. I wanted to start a sort of 4-H type of group, although it would not be related to the 4-H program. Then I got sick in August of 2005 and was unable to do it. I really love children, and God has blessed me with some talents in the artistic realm. I love to do crafts with children. My baby is now 22, and not to into sitting down and doing crafts with his mom. =) There are many families within just a couple of miles from us. Six of these families (including us) all live within a mile of each other. God has blessed them with lots of children. We no longer homeschool (its kind of hard when he goes to work each day.... =) ). I used to be a 4-H leader and really love the program, but would rather have my own flexibility and not have to attend meetings for leaders, etc. I want this group to be centered around nature. I was thinking of calling it God's World or something like that. If you have suggestions for a name, please leave them in the comments section. I have talked to 4 of the families and they all seem to be excited about it. I will have them keep a nature journal.

In high school, I took agriculture and horticulture. The agriculture I took was Ag Conservation. My teacher was really good. He gave me a love of trees. I had called him last year to ask about a book that we had used in class. He offered to come out and do a class, which never happened because I got sick. I have called and left a message for him to see if he will come out this year and do one. I also have a couple of other people lined up to come and share something with us. I am not sure when we will start. I gave a short paragraph about what we will be doing with some questions regarding how often the parents thought we should meet (once a month or twice a month) and what days were not good. I have not heard back from them all yet. As in 4-H, I will have the children 7-18 give a demonstration of something during the meetings. This gives them some experience in sharing publically and allows them to show us something they like.

I am really excited about this and hope it turns out. If you have some interesting craft ideas, I would love to hear them. I have a couple of books on order as well.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Marci,
This sounds like a great idea! I only have one idea for a name, Our Father's World, taken from the hymn, "This Is My Father's World" by Maltbie Babcock.

Have a great day!
~Karen

LadySnow said...

I always thought that something like that would be really neat! It is a great idea Marci.

Tina Leigh said...

Kelli will have to help you with craft ideas...but I remember one thing I did as a child that was so much fun. A scavenger hunt! I often see things around here that makes me think of how much fun it would be to have one. There are so many things they could hunt for and a lesson to go with each. Oh Marci I want to come!!!

Kelli said...

Squirrels are one of my favorite animals. Such sweet pictures. I think God's World is a wonderful name for your group! Nature Journals are an excellent idea. I'm not sure what the ages of the children will be but "leaf rubbings" with crayons are fun. Also, nature scavenger hunts are always popular. Have fun!
Kelli

Kelli said...

Hey Tina! I just noticed you mentioned scavenger hunts too! They are so fun!
Kelli