Charlotte Mason Would've Loved My House

All these years of encouraging Nature Study with my kids have backfired.

I wanted them to learn to identify trees/birds/flowers.  To observe butterflies and clouds.  I envisioned family nature walks, hand in hand, where we did bark rubbings, picked flowers to press, spied birds, and spotted rainbows.

Somewhere, things when wrong.

MY kids want to fill my house with things I pray I don't find in my bed.  They want to dig up every last grusome detail of a Bloodsucking Conenose's behavior and then systematically fill me in at the dinner table.  What is this Conenose that I was happily ignorant of five minutes ago when I was mashing your potatoes?  "Mom, did you know that it climbs on you at night and sucks your blood while sitting on your mouth?  They call it the kissing bug."  Lovely.  Remind me to keep my mouth closed when I sleep.

They want to 'capture and keep' everything they find as well.  For further observation of course.

"Mom, trust me, this cricket can't get out of his tiny jar.  He loves it in there."  He did not.  

"Mom, those little tadpoles won't go anywhere, they can't."  Ah, but they could. 

"Mom, just one more glass jar.  I need it for my 14th crawfish."  Sure thing, we don't really need drinkware anyway.   

While I do feel slightly betrayed by Charlotte Mason and all the Nature Study books/articles I've read in the past, in truth I am glad.  The kids are learning.  Observing.  Identifying.  Consulting resources.  Gathering and internalizing information.  Preparing them for a lifetime of independent learning.  Til then I'm checking my shoes before I step into them.

Today

So, I figured out why I am blogging more this week than say...the last year. Ben bought me a nifty little netbook that is ALL MINE. That's right. Mine. Kids cannot even breathe on it. That said, here is today:

Sonora and Quinn pooled their creative juices and made a note delivery service. Your note will be printed and delivered via paper airplane for the low low price of 1 cent.

I requested a note to be sent to Ben letting him know that I love him. Here is the finished product.

Judah is not quite used to our new school schedule and he was worn out today. He was getting REALLY cranky so we put him on the closest thing we could find for blanket time. This is how we found him a few minutes later. School is tough.

Finally, I busted these out tonight for the first time in about 4 years.

Excited to start a new tap class tonight. Classes started in August so I'm hoping that I can catch up. Haven't tapped in years, so I'm looking forward to it. Fun + Exercise. What a deal :)

New Shoes?

You would think I would know this lesson. I mean, goodness...I've been a mom for 12 years. Apparently not. Lesson: Never leave a toddler with scissors unattended.

Desks, Lockers, and Cabinets Oh My!

About a week ago, Ben's job had an auction to get rid of all the stuff they didn't need after their move to a new building. We scored: 6 rolling chairs, 5 'desks' (probably more like printer tables), a locking storage cabinet, and a set of 18 lockers (the small 1 foot square ones) for $65. I was impressed with the price, but the kids have been SO excited because today was the first day of our entire homeschooling life that the kids have had their own desks. We have always schooled at long tables or the kitchen table and I gotta say...I LOVE THESE DESKS and the kids have spent quite a bit of time personalizing everything. Guess it's contagious, because I'm excited for them! We also moved the schoolroom downstairs (to be closer to laundry and cooking...sigh...) and our bedroom upstairs so I'm hoping that this will work great this year.

Oh, and to throw in a random bit from today...our yard is swarming with these little guys. The boys are loving it. Me, not so much. Although, he looks like he's smiling at me :)

H~s 9th

Happy Birthday to my beautiful 9 year old Harper! And, since I am in a picture kind of mood, here is a collage of H's Yellowstone trip. You know what I noticed most about H in all the vacation pictures? She is always smiling. I know that there were times in our trip where she was frustrated or cranky, but she always tried to smile for the pictures. I love that about her :)




(I had to add the following because it really shows her heart)

He has a six shooter, shooting EVERYTHING.

Her name is Harper.

AND, this...this, is the cutest video EVER.








(Just to make sure it's heard...his first words are "I shoot a mountain lion, Harper.")

She's such a good big sister. LOVE you H!

(Wow...2 blog posts in 2 days. A record. :)

2011 Vacation Slideshow

I had SUCH a great time making this. We had a wonderful trip and made many memories. I've done my best here to put them in the order they occurred. It is my hope that this video captures a small fraction of what I have stored in my heart.


(Don't expand because I saved this video in an easy to upload format because it was so long :)

Lego Love

The kids heard that my little jewelery box was breaking so Quinn and Harper took action. Quinn designed the fancy little box and Harper fashioned a ring tree. Love, Love, LOVE them!