I don’t know if you are like me or not (if you are, I will pray for you) but sometimes I dive headlong into something only to discover that it, well, that it isn’t “me”. Does that ever happen to you? I look through the curriculum guides, drooling, pick something that is sure to revolutionize our homeschool, order it and wait.

Wait for what?  The fireworks that accompany the chorus of “You, Mom, are not only stunningly intelligent, but you sure know how to choose a Unit Study!”

Huh?

Sometimes things do almost come out that way. Usually it has something to do with me paying attention to what the Lord is telling me that my kids need at that particular season of their lives. Other times it is about my attitude … the nice, respectful, happy to put aside my computer for some live teacher interaction kind.

When the sun isn’t shining a whole lot, however, and daffodils and crocus’ are not popping up all over the lawn, you may just need a little pick-me-up a la “isn’t going to cost me much, if anything at all” style.

So, how about a few ideas for things you can do with the kids or guide them to do on their own?

You could always have an afternoon ‘March’ing band. Ok, no, you didn’t need me to tell you that.

How about the standard ‘March comes in like a lion or a lamb’ picture? Please tell me I am not the only one who plays this game with my kids. We honestly ask the question every single February, draw a quick sketch, then see who wins. The ‘loser’ has to do all the dishes for a week (kidding). That would usually be me, anyway.

Not enough? Alright. Try these on for size:

Poems. Find a poem about March and write it out in your best cursive, sharing it with the rest of your family, or write one of your own. Decorate the page with some blossoms or buds that you hand draw.

Painting. A cousin of ours took some actual budding branches inside and painted them onto canvas. You don’t have to have a canvas to do this, though I know I can purchase them very cheaply at the local dollar store. Simply use a piece of paper, your choice, the thicker the better, and do one of three things:

1. actually paint the branches, one at a time, and lay them carefully against your paper, being sure to press them down onto the paper, thus leaving an imprint.
2. pressing the branches down firmly, try painting around the branches, leaving the spots where the branches touch the paper white. This might be really messy. If you have spray paint, you could try spray painting. For either of these, your branches will have to be pretty well flat, otherwise the paint might go underneath the branch to the paper.
3. hold the branch over the paper and paint where the shadow is. You must have good light above you so you get the best shadow possible.

Nature journals. This is also an excellent time to simply record trees budding in your nature journal. All you need, really, is a book with some blank pages in it, a pencil and an imagination. Take some time to look at the trees in your neighborhood or a park nearby and sketch what you see from a single branch. Write down the date, and then look up the type of tree when you get back home. Anna Botsford Comstock’s Handbook of Nature Study is my personal favorite, jam packed with a lot of ideas and questions for budding naturalists (did I just make a pun?)

Rubbings. You may also like to take a rubbing of the bark to further help in your classification. Just hold your paper up against the tree, and rub over the paper using the side of your pencil led. Easy.

If you know how to do a linoprint, you will have great success using branches as your theme.

I also highly recommend finding a pussy willow tree and simply taking in its simplicity. Did you know that you can usually start a new bush or tree by cutting off a branch, near a node, and putting it in some water? I love to do this in late spring, if for no other reason than to watch the buds blossom. When the roots are a few inches long, I slip them in the warming soil of my garden, knowing that in time they will form a new bush or tree. Just make sure you aren’t cutting slips of living things from places that are private or do not allow for cuttings!

Kristina Campbell is a happily married wife in her eighth year of homeschooling the flybytheseatofyourpants method. So far her two boys seem intelligible and relatively unscathed. She also mentors with Setting Captives Free and in her spare time loves to scrapbook, paint, make linoprints and write novel study guides. In your spare time, you should check out her blog OnFire in PNG.