My Big Backyard

For anyone who doesn't know, My Big Backyard is a really great, educational magazine for kids my age. I love it, mostly because I enjoy being outdoors. It has helped me learn all about a variety of animals, some of which I can truly find in my own backyard! This picture, for example, shows me with a praying mantis I happened upon while playing outside with my Mommy. One of the best investments I think my parents ever made was some magnifying glasses. We use them all the time when we spot cool things like this! Speaking of cool things, here is a caterpillar we spotted climbing up the mulberry tree a few days ago! I thought it was really interesting, but as you can see from the picture, I think my sister was pretty disgusted! We watched the caterpillar eat a carpenter ant. I love bugs. I recently learned about the differences between gastropods and isopods. In fact, Mommy, sister and I saved some gastropods (snails) after the rain we've had. A bunch of them got washed out of the garden and into the driveway. We were worried someone might accidentally run over them, so we picked them up and returned them to the garden. Speaking of being outdoors, I started swimming lessons two weeks ago. I am making progress! I can jump off the side, blow bubbles, and paddle really well (when I have a float device). I am still working on conquering my fear of being under water. We start another session on Monday, and I'm hoping to get more practice in this weekend!