December in our book club always feels a little magical, but this year’s celebration had an extra sparkle. As we planned our winter gathering, we knew it was the perfect time to honor Jane Austen in her 250th birthday year by reading Emma. Long before the school year began, the moms of our book club… Continue reading Jane Austen Emma
Our December nature journaling was a little different as we attended a presentation by some local rangers at a nature park about the benefits and reasons for a prescribed burn (or controlled burn.) I keep a "calendar of firsts" as part of my nature journaling and noticed last year, in the early days of December,… Continue reading Prescribed Burns
November is the key month for all nut bearing trees! We have enjoyed learning about hickories and Tennessee tree nuts in the past but never spent time looking closely at what makes the black walnut so special! Part of our nature journaling practice is using our observation skills with actual specimens from the object being… Continue reading Black Walnut
Planning ahead for a full year of read-aloud books is one of my favorite parts of homeschooling. When we planned this school year, I honestly wondered how my teens would handle the classic Frankenstein. I hadn’t read it myself, so I braced for something dense and difficult. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by how captivating… Continue reading Frankenstein Book Party
As I was driving down my friend's drive way last year, I noticed a tree with beautiful yellow leaves but I didn't know for sure what kind of tree it was. I noticed unusual corky ridges running along its stems and the texture caught my eye—those wing-like growths looked unlike anything else in the area!… Continue reading Winged Elm
In April 2025, while on our Dogwood hike, our nature group stumbled upon a fascinating sight—a single tree wrapped in poison ivy, Virginia creeper, and crossvine, all growing together. It turned into an impromptu field lesson on identifying vines, comparing leaf patterns, and discussing the unique features of each one. Of the three, the crossvine… Continue reading Crossvine
In planning out our year of book parties we all suggested various titles and one book that I wanted to add - but I knew would be difficult for our large age range of families - was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I brainstormed some book titles that would work for a possible swap… Continue reading Otto of the Silver Hand
Book parties are the adventure that bring joy to literature! I began hosting book parties in our local community in 2017 with the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. In 2019 I began our local chapter of Wild + Free and it became my mission to have a book party every month! (Check out our past parties… Continue reading Chaucer Canterbury Tales
Last year I was walking on my nature trail and wondered what the yellow flowers on this weed were… I noticed the leaf looked like dandelion and the flowers reminded me of dandelion too! When I started researching I was amazed to find out the wild lettuce I found has some powerful medicinal benefits! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJB-csIRC-d/?igsh=MWtwdXBpeG05Ynlydg==… Continue reading Wild Lettuce
For some reason I always assumed magnolia was not edible. Maybe it’s the red berries that I know come from the seed cones (possibly I was told as a child they are poisonous?) So when I saw Alexis Nicole of Black Forager on Instagram make ginger cookies with syrup made from magnolia blossoms I knew… Continue reading Magnolia
KIND + CULTIVATED 