• HOME
  • {A}’s Chipmunk Training Archives

 Homepage

  • The Homestead
    • Home Projects
    • Home Improvement
    • Home Decor
      • Seasonal Home decor
        • FALL Home Decor
        • WINTER Home Decor
        • SPRING Crafts and Creations
        • SUMMER Crafts and Creations
    • Our Chickens
    • Gardening
    • Organization
    • Re-Purposing
    • Furniture Refinishing
    • Budget
  • Crafts & Creations
    • Seasonal Home decor
      • FALL Crafts and Creations
      • WINTER Crafts and Creations
      • SPRING Crafts and Creations
      • SUMMER Crafts and Creations
    • DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Project
    • Kids Arts and Crafts
    • Homemade/Handmade Gift Ideas
    • Holiday Crafts
    • Fan Pulls
    • Free Printable/Downloadable
    • Sewing Projects
    • Giveaways
    • Business Features
  • Recipes/FoodFun
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Main Dish
    • Sandwiches
    • Appetizers
    • Slow Cooker
    • On The Grill
    • Side Dishes
      • Soups
      • Salads
    • Baking
      • Breads, Rolls and Muffins
    • Snacks
    • Treats
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
  • Homeschooling
    • Elementary Homeschooling
      • Elementary Homeschooling READING
      • Elementary Homeschooling MATH
      • Elementary Homeschooling LANGUAGE ARTS
      • Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE
      • Elementary Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS
      • Kids Arts and Crafts
    • Middle School Homeschooling
      • Middle School Homeschooling SCIENCE
      • Middle School Homeschooling HOME ECONOMICS
    • Language Arts
    • Math
    • History / Social Studies
    • Geography
    • Foreign Language
    • Field Trips
    • Games
    • Nature Study
  • The Big Picture
    • Life In General
    • Celebrations
    • Faith
      • Into the Light; The Series
    • Giveaways
    • Reviews & Sponsors
  • Photography & Lettering
    • Photography
    • truck lettering
    • vehicle graphics
    • Newborns
    • Kids
    • Engagement
    • High School Senior Pictures
    • High School Senior Pictures Sneak Peeks

Politics, the House Senate and Voting | Homeschooling Elementary and Middle School

January 20, 2010 By Laura 11 Comments

The exciting and intense campaign race for the Massachusetts House Senate seat has been another golden homeschooling opportunity to teach our younger children more about politics, the house senate and voting, following the opportunities that came with the the most recent presidential race.  Granted, we weren’t sure how much they could really grasp or follow at 7 years old, but they have pleasantly surprised.  If nothing else, with their interest and enthusiasm.  {A} is already rather informed on this subject, as she has a very strong interest in all Politics & Government, which she has elected (pun!) to study in depth this year.

house-senate We began with more general talk about the the government, a little about how it runs, and then got more into the purpose and duties of the House Senate. To help them get the visual of the state representing senators, we showed them this photo above that I found online, of the House Senate quarters, that helped them get some kind of visual.

img_0175 We took a field trip, to one of the (8?) campaign offices for Scott Brown, right here in our home town of Plymouth.   Note: Michael went back and took a photo of the office, as the parking lots was full the day we were there.  The windows were also full of Scot Brown posters. Our plan was just to stop in and hopefully get some buttons or something, and show them what a campaign office is like.  But we all got so much more than that.   We went in and a very nice woman started talking to us and our kids right away. We told her we were on a home school field trip, and that made her very excited, as she is a supporter of home schooling.  She took us right in and started talking to the kids about what they were all doing and why. The manager for this particular office also talked to us, and really educated us all about what their goals were for the duration of this race.   The office was jam packed with volunteers, making calls to promote and ask for a vote for Scott Brown.
They offered us pizza, bumper stickers, yard signs and even had the kids help make a phone call or two!!  What a great experience for all of us!

homeschooling-house-senate-voting They took our picture on someone’s camera phone,  and it emailed to us! 

On the ride home we counted Scott Brown yard signs to pass the time.  We put our sign in our front yard when we got home.

homeschooling house senate Over the next couple of days, the kids were quite the little political cheerers for Scott Brown!

homeschooling house senate Voting Day, was another educational day, through experience.  All 4 of them came with us to vote, and to see first-hand
the process of casting your ballot.  They thought that was THE most exciting thing!!  On the way out of the local elementary school gym, after voting, {S} asked us, “What do we do next?”  And I replied, “We go home, and bite our nails while we wait!”  But then I gave him the serious answer.

That night, knowing voting was over at 8 p.m., they were begging to stay up to find out who won.  But we knew it would be too long and late of a wait.  So I promised them I would wake them up when the final numbers were in.  I tried waking them up, and stirred {S and JM} enough to tell them the news, which was received with sleepy smile. (So cute!)  But {O} wasn’t waking up for anything. She was happy to hear in the morning though.

homeschooling house senate We will continue to teach them what we can about these things, and look forward to this book coming in that we have requested at the library. It may or may not be too elementary for the kids, but if nothing else, will be amusing, while still being educational.  Here is the description to this book:

In a big country, it’s not always easy to get everyone to agree on an important issue. So when Miss Tuftmore’s second-grade class writes from Moussouri, asking for a law to declare a National Cheese, the Squeaker of the Mouse and the Senate Mouse-jority leader have a lot of work to do. By following these congressmice (who live and work alongside their human counterparts) through the steps they must take, readers will gain a greater understanding of this important aspect of civic life — and have a lot of fun while they’re at it.

This delightful sequel to the Barnes’ popular Woodrow, the White House Mouse, told and illustrated in the same whimsical style, offers another detailed but easy-to-follow explanation of the inner workings of American government.

It was a wonderful experience for all of them, that we’re glad had a happy ending. (Well, for us anyway. ; )  They are very much looking forward to the mid-term elections, this November.  ; )   Their interest and embrace of our civic duties, is taking root muuuuuuuuuucccchhhhhh younger with them, than it did with us adults!  You have no idea.   We’re late-comers to the whole political thing.  But, as they say,  better late, than never.

Save

Save

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, History / Social Studies, Homeschooling, Politics and Government Tagged With: 7-year-old-triplets, elementary-homeschooling-election-year, homeschooling-elementary-history, homeschooling-elementary-house-senate, homeschooling-elementary-politics, homeschooling-house-senate, House-Mouse-Senate-Mouse-book, middle-school-homeschooling-politics, Scott Brown, triplets

Math Games | Elementary Homeschooling

November 24, 2009 By Laura 5 Comments

Our three second graders, { J, O & S}, have been working pretty hard in math, lately.  They were getting stuck on a particular concept, and so taking advantage of the perks of home schooling, we didn’t move on in their workbooks until they ‘got it’.  We had some extra long math classes even, working on that concept.  So I decided we needed a little FUN with math, today, and made up a couple of games.

MATH BINGO!

If you have any kind of BINGO game, with whatever pieces to draw numbers, you can do these math games with your kids.  You can also alter how the game is played, to suit the age and skill level of your own kids.   So I’ll share with you how we played, and maybe have a suggestion or 2 of how you can make it easier for younger grade level kids.

First, because we’ll be doing math ON them, a piece of paper has to be set up as a BINGO card, for each child. It doesn’t have to perfect…..ours sure weren’t.  I just did the example below, on the computer, for this blog post.   But we did ours on regular loose-leaf paper.  I let the kids draw whatever shape they wanted in the center FREE box.

homeschooling math games

homeschooling math games

This is our BINGO game.  You will not need the real BINGO cards, or the chips for the math games WE played.  But later, I will give you an alternative game for younger kids, where you can use the chips on the cards.

So once everyone’s paper is set up as below, you are ready to start the game.    You draw the first call, and announce the letter and number. (Example, say it is N-31.).   The can put that 31 in any box to start, under the N, but each number needs to be somewhat in the middle of the box, for room to do math with it.  As letters and numbers continue to be called, they can continue to choose an empty box to put the number in, under the corresponding letter.  Again, when the kids write a number in a box,  they need to leave room above that first number, as well as below it, and of course the math sign to the left.

homeschooling math games

The paper board will start to look like this.  Notice, the first numbers are put int he middle of each box.   So for a little bit, you’ll call letters/numbers and only have one number in each box around the board.  But eventually, one of the LETTER rows is going to full up, already having a number in every box.  As you can see above, N’s row has a number in each box, all the way down that row.  So, once we get another N call, the real math will begin!

homeschooling math games

And there it is.  N-35.

So here is how WE played.  Each child could continue to choose any N box (that already had one number in it), but where to put it?  Well, after choosing which N box they were going to use, they had to figure out if the 35 was higher, or lower, than the number in the chosen box.

In order to create both addition and subtraction facts, I decided the pattern would be as follows. If the number was HIGHER than the number already in the box, it went OVER the number already there, and they would add.  If the number drawn was LOWER than the number already in their chosen box, they would put the drawn number BELOW the number already there, and SUBTRACT.

homeschooling math games

So {O} chose her first N box at the top.  She already had a 40 in it.  35 is smaller than 40, so she put it under, and SUBTRACTED.

homeschooling math games

{S} also chose the first N box.  However, he had a 31 in his box.  So, he put the 35 OVER the 31 he had, and ADDED.

homeschooling math games

We continued to draw letters/numbers and kept the game going in the same pattern.   To refresh:

BIGGER numbers went OVER existing number >  ADD.

SMALLER numbers went UNDER existing numbers > SUBTRACT.

homeschooling math games

As I drew letters/numbers, I put them in the holder tray….just as you would put the numbers/letters on a master BINGO card.

homeschooling math games

We played until someone had BINGO….which, as this game goes, everyone should have had at the same time, if they were listening carefully and putting the called numbers, under the correct letters.

homeschooling math games

N down was filled first, until everyone had BINGO.  But they didn’t officially WIN, until their row was corrected, and all answers were correct.  ;  )

*1) A YOUNGER VERSION:    Instead of doing MATH per-say, children just learning letter and number recognition, can use the real BINGO cards, with the chips.  They can wait until they have a row filled to call BINGO, and the teacher can use their master Bingo card, with the chips on it for called numbers, to correct if they identified each number and letter correctly.

*2).  For a LITTLE BIT OLDER children, who are working on WRITING and correct letter and number formation, can simply write the one number called, under the correct letter, until they get BINGO.  At that time, correction can be done in the same manner as 1) above.    In these case, no math is done.

*3)  Another option, is to play the game somewhat as we did, doing ALL ADDITION,  only.

* No doubt, with a little brainstorming, you can come up with your own ideas for math games, using these suggested tools, to fit the needs of an and all kids of all grades and skill levels.  Have fun with it!

MATH TIC TAC TOE!

For younger kids, using a Tic Tac Toe version may be a quicker game.  And again, doing all addition at first may be easier.

We followed the same concepts as we did for Math Bingo, but applied it to Tic Tac Toe, with the goal of getting 3 (correct) in a row.

homeschooling math games

They put the first number called, in a different box, aiming for 3 in a row.

homeschooling math games

BIGGER numbers went OVER existing number >  ADD.

SMALLER numbers went UNDER existing numbers > SUBTRACT.

homeschooling math games

Oh the suspense….WHO is adding and subtracting correctly??

homeschooling math games

Suddenly, everyone was yelling ‘Tic Tac Toe!  3 in a row!!” But was their math work correct?  They were.  We had 3 winners, although one of them almost forgot to bring down a number, and noticed right before I was about to check!

I hope these games inspire you to play with math, with YOUR kids!!  I make up games all of the time, to help instill lessons for life, in the kids.  If I can, I get them out of their chairs, and outdoors, if possible!  After all….as I say all of the time…

LEARNING SHOULD BE FUN!!!

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling MATH, Games, Homeschooling Tagged With: elementary-math-games, homeschooling, homeschooling-math-games, kids, Math, math games, math-BINGO, math-fun, mathematics

The Joy of Reading – Elementary Homeschooling – 4 Recommended Chapter Books

November 1, 2009 By Laura 6 Comments

I thought we’d talk a bit today about elementary reading, for homeschooling kids or not. Last March I blogged about our then six year old triplets reading their first chapter book, Nicholas – A Massachusetts Tale.  Since then, they have continued to do lots and lots of reading, in the forms of shorter books, magazines, game directions, and what books their big sister has had in her gigantic collection for their age.   Since March though, our library trips have consisted of other exciting and urgent items on our reading or viewing list.  So just recently did we come around to getting back to the wonderful travels and tales of Nicholas, which is the series of books written by our local, gifted children’s author, Peter Arenstam.

Book One of the Nicholas series…. Nicholas – A Massachusetts Tale.

nicholas-a-massachusetts-tale

Book Two of the Nicholas series…. Nicholas – A Maine Tale.

Layout 1

nicholas-a-maine-tale-author-peter-arenstam_b

The adventures and New England travels continue in Book Three, Nicholas – A New Hampshire Tale.

nicholas-a-new-hampshire-tale-peter-arenstam

nicholas-a-new-hampshire-tale-peter-arenstam_d

….and there are yet still  more to the Nicholas series to request, and wait for that exciting phone message, ‘This is the library calling….the books you have requested are in, and we will hold them for you.    Please pick them up at your earliest convenience. “

We also picked up another charming children’s chapter book, Poppy and Ereth, by Brian Floca, which the kids found as much entertainment and amusement in.

poppy-and-ereth-brian-floca

It’s easy to understand why!  Just the cover alone entices me enough to want to curl up on the couch with some cocoa, and read it…if I had time for such a thing this time of year.  Here is a description of the book, Poppy and Ereth.

Poppy, a deer mouse, and Ereth, a grumbling porcupine, have been the best of friends for as long as the animals of Dimwood Forest can remember. An unstoppable pair ever since they defeated the tyrannical owl, Mr. Ocax, Poppy and Ereth have enjoyed many happy adventures together. But when a swirl of bitter winter storms buries Dimwood Forest in snow and Poppy’s husband, Rye, dies suddenly, all Poppy wants is some privacy. “Dancing doorknobs,” Ereth mutters to no one in particular, “how can she not want to see me?” As he waddles back to his log, Ereth fears he may have lost his dear friend forever.

But Ereth has not lost Poppy, at least not yet. As the ground begins to thaw, life returns to Dimwood Forest and Poppy ventures out in search of excitement. Suddenly, swooped up by Luci the bat, Poppy is flying high over the forest and unexpectedly embarks on her greatest adventure. Meanwhile, Ereth, left to his own devices, manages to convince himself that Poppy has died and, as only the old porcupine can do, sets about to give her the best memorial service the forest has ever known.

The last episode of the Poppy stories, poppy and ereth is a rousing adventure befitting one of the great heroines of children’s literature as well as a final, heartwarming celebration of the life, love, and friendship of two most unlikely companions.

poppy-and-ereth-brian-floca_f

There is a follow up book to this one, titled Poppy Returns.

good-elementary-reading-books-recommended

All 3 chapter books, were eagerly consumed, page by page, by all 3 of the little ones, even in time to be returned for their first due date!  No need to renew, because they were all done. Which says something, because with the Nicholas series being books by a local author, their regular ample time is not allowed for the books to be out!  Regardless, they really, really enjoyed not only reading them, but discussing the adventures of this charming mouse, the predicaments he finds himself in, and the friends he meets in his travels to reclaim his family’s journal.   Lots of chatter about Nicholas and his friends, as well as Poppy and Ereth.  It’s like having our own In-House Kid’s Book Club!!

I am all about kids getting lots (and lots) of exercising….running and jumping, swinging and swimming,  climbing and shooting (hoops, that is),…… but you’ll never hear me complain for a moment about a kid sitting around and reading for awhile either.  I am so glad our kids find SO MUCH JOY and THRILL OF ADVENTURE and wonderment, within the pages of books, the way they do.

These books are truly delightful reads, for any children, anywhere. But if you are from New England, as we are, they are all the more special. Wishing your children hours of enjoyment, lost in their vivid  imaginations through these beautiful and adventurous, fun-filled tales.

Save

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling READING, Homeschooling, Reading / Writing Tagged With: author-Peter-Arenstam, elementary-books, elementary-reading, homeschooling, homeschooling-elementary, Nicholas A Massachusetts Tale, Nicholas-A-Maine-Tale, Nicholas-A-New-Hampshire, Poppy-and-Ereth, recommended-reading-books-for-New-England-elementary-kids

At Long Last, Our First Day of Homeschooling – School Year 2009-2010

September 19, 2009 By Laura 8 Comments

If you’ve been following along with us, you’ll know that this first day of our homeschooling year is one we waited for. (And waited, and waited..).   If you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me put it in a nutshell for you: We ordered all of our curriculum, and the bulk of it never arrived. We waited for weeks. Many calls between shipper and post offices were made. Then a big box finally arrived. a completely EMPTY box. More calls were made. New orders were placed. And we finally received all of the curriculum we needed, weeks after we wanted to begin our homeschooling year. Doesn’t that sound like it was fun? Anyway.

Needless to say, there was a LOT of excitement about beginning our new official school year! Getting this new morning routine going was a bit if a challenge for Michael and I, but the kids were ready long before we were! All we kept hearing from them  was,  “Are you guys ready for school YET?” lol.  (Isn’t that supposed to be OUR line?)

We started the day, like we start all school days, which is with family devotion together.  We most always have special intentions and the Lord’s Prayer and a Hail Mary together. We’ve also been through many devotion books already over the years-some better than others. But they all have generally included the day’s Scripture reading, and discussion. We can really get going and chat the time away, with discussion!   Recently, I ordered a new Kid’s Devotion quarterly magazine that has not yet started coming. But when it does, if it’s really good, I’ll be sure to blog about it. In addition to our family devotion together, {A} has her own teen daily devotional book that she loves, and of course, uses daily.

But until our new devotion book arrives, we can come up with plenty to do ourselves!  For this first day of school, we first talked a little about the year ahead, our plans, and each of us said our own special intention for our school year, to pray for together.  Michael/Daddy works for himself, so he was able to join us this first day.

catholic-homeschooling

A friend of ours, (Mr. Bill’s daughter, if you are familiar with the stories of him here on our blog), sent us a very thoughtful package for our family. There were some gifts for the kids, a gift card to a really nice restaurant nearby for Michael and I (that I have been waiting to try some day!), and a Mass card for our family.  Part of the Mass card had this beautiful, Prayer for the Family. We prayed it together, and Michael led it by reading it for us.

b

Michael and I had read it before, when we first received it, of course, and we loved it!  It just speaks to us.  So much so, that we are putting it in a lovely frame, and hanging it on our wall by some pretty ribbon.

rosary_

In Devotion closing, we then prayed a decade of the rosary together.

homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7

The little ones got started in writing their names on labels, and putting them on their books.

homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-1

Then we all got to the school work!

{A} has always tended to kind of do her schooling all over the place.  I guess it depends on where she feels like being, and what noise levels are here or there. But she started off this year in her room (well, one of her rooms. The other is having some work done, before we take this one and re-do it! lol).  When she needs helps, or needs us to correct her work, she lets us know through the school day.  Aside from that, we review and grade all of her work on our own time.

Generally speaking, here’s how {A}’s daily classes will go this year:

1) Math  2) Language Arts  3) Writing (program: Writing Strands)  4) Science  5) History & Geography  6) Latin  7)  Politics & Government

*Another free day of the week:   Art – Drawing & Painting Class

*Fridays-Teaching the little ones a class with me. : )

homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-4

homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-5

The the little ones now do most of our (book) schooling in the sun room.  We have a ‘school room’ where we used to school all of the time, and where we still store all of our schooling books and supplies.   We used to only school in the sun room in warm seasons.  But now that we have a wood stove out here, and it’s a 4 season room……..  .   It’s just that the light is SO plentiful and beautiful.  It’s simply a lovely place to be.

homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-2

homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-3

Generally speaking, here’s how the kid’s school days go, after family devotion:

{J, O & S}

1) Phonics and Reading 2) Math 3) Writing (program: Writing Strands) 4) Spelling and Vocabulary

Tues: Catechism, *Wed: Science, *Thur: Social Studies, *Fri: Introductory Sign Language

*These days classes are like bonus classes. They may get moved around, or bumped off on the occasional week because of a field trip or a big agenda day for their teachers. ; )

Art, music and PE are just things things they naturally cover in their life every day, without a real need for specified time for it, at their age right now.

One tradition we have upheld every year so far, for the first day of school, is that I take the kids school pictures.  (In the school room.) This is one day, I care what they wear.  On other school days, if we’ll be staying home, they can wear what they want. (And they have been known to get creative with that license!)  On the rare day, they may even have school in their pajamas! (It’s a home schooling perk!)

Here’s this year’s ‘chosen’ school photos. I got several good shots of each of them, so Michael made the final choice for each of them.  These school photos are just for us: for them and us to have as milestone photos of each grade’s school year, and for comparison of year to year growth shots.  The teeth situation sure is different from last year!

{A} homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-6

{J} homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-7

{O} homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-8

{S} homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-9

Oh, well this photo below reminds me of one more tradition we seem to have . . . . . .  homeschooling-grade-levels-2-and-7-10

Smelling our new books!  Is there anything that smells better, than a brand new book?  (Well, maybe home made bread! lol)

Let me tell you how happy we are to be back in the swing of our schooling:  We got our books on Thursday. We had our first day of school on Friday, September 18th, and we happily did double lessons in every subject.  Today was our second day of school, and it’s SATURDAY!

Wishing you all a lots of learning and fun, this homeschooling year!

Save

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Faith/ Catholic, Homeschooling, Middle School Homeschooling Tagged With: Catholic-homeschooling-family, homeschooling, homeschooling-2nd-grade, homeschooling-7th-grade, homeschooling-curriculum, homeschooling-first-day-of-school, homeschooling-first-day-of-school-photos, homeschooling-grade-2, homeschooling-grade-7, triplets

{A}’s Chipmunks: A New Generation

August 14, 2009 By Laura 6 Comments

{A} usually posts on her own about her chipmunks.  But I’m doing it for her this time, and I think you’ll understand why by the end.

hand-taming-chipmunks-4

For any of our new blog visitors, you may not be aware that {A} has been hand-taming chipmunks since she was about 9 years old.  She’s blogged about it several times and I’ve taken lots of photos along the way.  If you (or your kids!) are interested in all of those older chipmunk posts, we’ve conveniently created a page of those archived posts,  all together, in one place. You’ll find the link to the archives in the right hand side-bar. Just click on it and a whole page of lots more photos and posts (written by {A}) pops up.  The posts are from most recent at the top,  to the oldest posts as you scroll down.

You may wonder why this post, and the {A}’s chipmunk archives, are in the homeschooling section.  Well, I’ll tell you. One of the reasons we wanted to home school our kids, is because we wanted them to have enough time on their hands, to discover their passions.  To want to develop interests enough, that they seek to learn, on their own.  To relish in the joys of childhood, and immerse themselves in them.  To wonder, discover and experience.

It’s a beautiful thing, as a parent, to be able to witness that with our children, as much as we do.  No more have we seen these things unfold in the most fascinating way, than with {A} and her chipmunks.  Her patience, belief and determination have been impressive, to say the least.  She has LEARNED SO MUCH, from spending time with her chipmunks, and from researching a lot, to find out what she wants to know about them.  Her love for her chipmunks is so real.

One of the chipmunks she’s been closest to was a girl chipmunk she had named Chipmouse. (To make a long story short about the name, I was the first to spot that chipmunk out the window on the banks, when she was a baby, and I thought it was a mouse.)

Chipmouse is the chipmunk that {A} was photographed with in the last couple of posts. Well, this past spring {A} noticed that Chipmouse kept running and disappearing into the drive-way, so she investigated, and that’s when she discovered this new chipmunk hole:

chipmunk-hole

We put the bricks around it so that no one would drive over it.

Soon, {A} noticed Chipmouse had nipples.  Turns out, Chipmouse had babies down in that new hole.  So {A} was watching for a good month before one day, she started yelling and running into the house all excited because the babies came out. There were 3 of them.

A few days later, we started having a problem with the outdoor cat from the neighbor across the street, stalking the chipmunks.  : (   We were doing all we could to protect the chipmunks, and keep an eye out for the cat.  But we aren’t up at sunrise and there are time we’re not home!   So Michael talked to our neighbor guy across the street, who talked to his girlfriend who’s cat it was.  He reported that she said we had permission to ‘shoo the cat away’ or squirt her with water or whatever, but there was nothing she could do, because ‘it was an outdoor cat’.  We didn’t like that answer.  We give these people all of our pine wood for their campfires, and we were just asking them to keep their cat off of our property.  If we wanted a cat in our yard….we’d have a cat of our own. It was unfair. So Michael and {A} were spending a lot of time trying to guard the chipmunks.  But that cat had a hiding spot, and we knew where it was, there in the plentiful brush. It was always ready to pounce, the second a chipmunk popped out.

It wasn’t long before the first incident came to be.  Michael was standing in our living room, looking out the window, when he saw the cat running from our drive-way across the street with something in it’s mouth.  Of course…the rest of us had no idea what was happening, when Michael made some inaudible noise and went FLYING out of the house and RUNNING as fast as he could across the street, right into the neighbor’s yard across the street, and out behind their house.  The kids and I knew whatever just happened, it wasn’t good.  It seemed like forever before we saw him coming back, but I had NEVER seen a look on his face like the one he had. He was rippin’ mad.   The cat had gotten one of the babies….which it dropped when it saw Michael coming, and the baby chipmunk ran terrified into the nearby woods.  We all knew it wouldn’t dare ever come out again, even if it knew it’s way. It was just a baby.

From then on, Michael and {A} were losing sleep trying to protect the rest from that cat……but soon, Chipmouse…..{A}’s longtime friend, and mother of the babies, was missing.  And then another baby, gone too. Shortly thereafter, Michael got into a chit-chat with the lady over across the street and her young daughter (in her 20’s), as they were heading out for a walk,  and the daughter admitted she had found a dead chipmunk at their doorstep on the deck.   Michael was SO upset, and {A} was crushed.

She developed a very close bond with the only chipmunk she had  left. She had named her CB, which stood for ‘Chipmouse’s Baby‘. lol  CB created some new holes just a few yards from the side of our driveway, on the edge of our (kind/considerate) next door neighbor’s gardens and waterfall.

hand-taming-chipmunks

hand-taming-chipmunks-1

They spent lots of time together.  {A} could be out there with CB for hours, just playing with her, feeding her, and making sure she was ok.  Just trying to protect the life of her only chipmunk left.  But again…..we couldn’t be there 24/7.   That cat was ALWAYS watching, waiting, for any opportunity.

That’s what led to building the chipmunk house.  It not only kept the squirrels from eating the seed {A} put out for her chipmunk, but it was a safe place for CB to load her cheeks with feed—which takes a couple minutes you know!!  The poor thing was in a nervous panic, because of the cat around.   So…..the chipmunk house was planned out, shopped for, and built pretty quickly.  It worked great!  We loved to watch her go in, run up her little ramp to the second floor, and fill her cheeks.  You could really see that she felt comfortable and safe in there.

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house
Here is CB, posing in front of her new home.  lol.

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-1

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-2

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-3

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-4

Then she would cautiously come back out, and run to her hole to store her seeds.  Then come back and get some more.

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-5

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-6

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-7

homemade-chipmunk-feeding-house-8

{A} Spent a good part of her birthday, with CB.  We could have all done anything she wanted, because it was her special day. But after mass and a couple of pet stores she wanted to go to, spending time with CB was what she wanted to do.

She much of the same for several days, until one day just before mid-July.  CB wasn’t coming when {A} called her, and we haven’t seen her since.  Or any other chipmunks, for that matter.

hand-taming-chipmunks-2
(This is {A} on her birthday with CB)

We know the inevitable happened.  The cat got the last of her chipmunks.  We have all been really upset about it, but {A}’s heart has been broken.  She’s had a few days where she just wanted to be alone in her room, and we knew why.  Loss like that
is hard for a kid her age.  Hard for anyone, to lose someone they care about so much.   When we got up in the morning, we could look out the window and see {A}’s chipmunks sitting on the stump or the waterfall next door, just watching the house….waiting for her to come out and see them.   That neighbor, by the way, has 3 indoor cats.  They understand and agree that it is not right to let the cats go after the wildlife at our bird feeders, and they have watched {A} grow up training the chipmunks between our yards, too.

Is it FAIR, to have to tolerate having a cat on a killing-spree, in your yard all of the time, because someone else decides they want their ‘domestic’ cat, to be ‘an outdoor cat’?   They kill just for for the sake of doing so.  They go after wild birds, chipmunks, etc., and just bat these creatures around, until they die.  And then they just leave it!  Or bring it to their master’s doorstep.  Hunt and fun over. Senseless.  We believe, if anyone is going to have a ‘domestic’ cat, they should get fixed, and keep it in their own house. Or at least in their own yard!  We should not have to accept a hunting cat on our property on any given day, because some cat owner wants to let their cat outdoors. It’s not fair. It’s not responsible. And it’s not considerate of anyone else, who never wanted a cat!   When ONE home has an outdoor cat, the WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD has an outdoor cat, whether they like it or not!  It’s not fair.

The harshness over the end of this post (so unlike me…you all know it…) is because we are so upset.  We loved these chipmunks.  Our daughter invested many hours of her life training these sweet little creatures, who loved her, as much as she loved them.  She invested her heart in training them, and developed real relationships with them.  It’s just sad that she ended up losing them all, because they become a play toy, for someone else’s pet.

hand-taming-chipmunks-3

If you haven’t read them, I think you would all enjoy the photos and posts in {A}’s Chipmunk Archives to the right there.  There are no rants there, I promise. They are all written by {A}, and there are some great photos to go with them.  We hope you enjoy them sometime!

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Homeschooling, Nature Study Tagged With: chipmunk-feeding-house, chipmunks, homeschooling, loved-chipmunks-and-neighborhood-cats, training-chipmunks

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 11
  • Next Page »

We are wicked happy to have you here! We hope you find much inspiration, help, humor and enjoyment here.




Archives



POPULAR POSTS

* * * * * *

SUBSCRIBE to House of Joyful Noise blog! Every new post, delivered right to your email box!


Privacy Policy

Amazon Affiliates

Never at any additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission for our endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products from our website. Your purchase through our links helps support our family, while sharing with you the products we authentically use and recommend, for various ideas, and letting you know where you can purchase them. Thank you for your support!

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 HouseOfJoyfulNoise.com · Genesis Framework by StudioPress