Snakes, Spiders, and Writing Lessons!

So...I don't know if it's due to a bit cooler weather or what, but we have critters everywhere lately.  The girls spotted a black widow outside today....eek scary... A day or two ago it was a snake (thankfully a small one), and about a week ago they were examining a plump green caterpillar that had "eggs" stuck to it all over.  The kids would pass the green caterpillar everyday on the bush outside and talk about the eggs and when they would hatch...however, in the back of my mind I had second thoughts about the eggs....something just didn't seem right about it...weren't butterflies supposed to lay the eggs, not caterpillars, right?  My kids were so excited about the whole process and having it unfold right before their little eyes. So I decided to come inside and look it up on the internet (gotta love the internet), only to find out that the little "eggs" were actually parasites feeding off the poor green caterpillar....not exactly storybook material here but, science none the less. So, I went on to explain parasitism to my wide-eyed crew only to endure their sad laments for the poor caterpillar!!!!

             English lessons went well today as both of the older girls crafted personal narratives...aka stories about stuff that happened to them!  I am always interested to hear their perspective on their events... Children really do  see the world through  much more honest eyes than adults....maybe because  they haven't  learned to censor and tailor it to what people expect to hear.                                                    Perhaps, I should let them blog for me occasionally!