“Art” of Flexibility

 If I have learned one thing since we began our journey of homeschooling …it is the art of flexibility. As someone who likes to have control of all aspect of her life and everyone in it…this is not easy. Our week started off a bit ‘rocky’. I had very crabby kids, arguments galore, tears, and just plain drama all the way around.  My initial thought was go by the plan…we are suppose to do school and that is what we will do! Ummm, no! Things did not work out like that our “attempt” was very sour and everything except productive. Therefore, this Momma who is learning to be a bit more ‘flexible’ pulled the plug on school and called it an impromptu field trip day!! Can you believe it?I packed the kids up, packed quick lunches, and we were out the door in 30minutes. 1hour later we were working on a farm at Green Field Village!!

 K.Bear and Pumpkin shucked corn for the pigs and the remaining stalks will be used for cow feed. The farmers were wonderful and taught the kids the importance of hard work and the benefits of farming simultaneously. This was much better than learning it in our text book!! Tossing the corn in the wagon was a big hit…even Mr. Smiles participated (unfortunately, I have no pictures since I had to pick him up in order to throw in the corn).

 Another big hit was the chickens (we spent a lot of time there..Oooing at them) the kids loved the noise from the rooster and the quiet waddling of the hens. Pumpkin then announced “Momma I think we should have some quiet chickens in our back yard..” My reply “our neighbors would love it…”

 Although, we did not ride the train on this particular visit we had a great view while we ate our lunch. The fall colors on the trees, the cool breeze blowing, and the chug of the train was truly something out of a book.

The mode of transportation we chose for the afternoon was the horse drawn covered wagon. Since we have been learning about  the 1800’s in history everything in the village seemed to correspond wonderfully. It was as if we were “living” our history lessons for the day!

In the end…I had 3! Yes, 3 sleeping kids on the way home and the “art” of flexibility really paid off. We learned tons, shared many great memories, and ended the day on a high note…instead of the downward spiral we were heading into. Thank goodness…at this particular time I was smart enough to know when not to push and when to let go….work is not called work for nothing. It is not easy to leave your comfort zone at times …but I believe God did not intend for our lives to be comfortable; rather we are to move forward in times of trial, accept new challenges, and accept all that comes our way!

Catch up…

This house has been virtually turned upside down for months….and its time for a bit of catch up!! There will be a “big” announcement coming in November so be sure to stay tune for that!!

But in the mean time I am going to “try” to be more diligent about “catching up” these days are filled with preschool drop off, working, praying about what to do for kindergarten, homeschooling on the down time, preschool pick up, play groups, field trips, sports, and so much more. I feel like time is slipping through the cracks and God knows we can’t let that happen….

We enjoyed some fun field trips in the past couple months one of which was to a local fair. Pumpkin went for her first pony ride and could not keep the smile off her face!! It was so much fun to watch her hop on and enjoy the ride. It made me wish we lived on a farm where she could do that everyday!!

Boo had her first encounter with animals and did surprisingly well …she was not interested in feeding them but she didn’t mind that they were in her tiny face at times. One of the best moments of this trip was when Pumpkin thought the cone filled with animal feed was a treat for her and she took a bite…she was so embarrassed. Poor baby 🙁 it was pretty funny though.

Pumpkin hopped right in every chance she could to feed the animals she is quite the country girl!
Daddy helped lots during this trip while mommy stayed on hand sanitizer patrol if I have never talked about my complete fear of germs…dirt…and uncleanliness…here it is…it makes my skin crawl…LOL 🙂

Fieldtrips and Fun

School these days has been more like one BIG field trip….the girls have enjoyed soaking up some Vit. D in the little pool! Have you noticed EVERYTHING goes in K’s mouth? Pumpkin never did this so it is still new to me…we recently went through the house and packed up all small piece toys so K. Bear who is now on the move does not choke!!

If I have never talked about K’s love for nursing well here goes; the girl LOVES to nurse…hates most foods but…..aaaaahaa I found something she likes POPSICLES…these are so yummy!!

Ingredients;
8-10 oz of vanilla yogurt (I use organic…but it doesn’t have to be)
1 can (of the frozen…concentrate juice thawed)
mix vanilla yogurt and juice…freeze in popsicle containers, or dixie cup w/popsicle stick
freeze over night and voila…you have some yummy healthy treats!!

We have been to Birthday parties galore over here the latest was staring “DORA” and a clown!! The kids had a blast and it was funny to see how the once fear of “characters” so quickly turned into pure joy and excitement! Pumpkin is getting a butterfly tattoo!

Feel the love?….Pumpkin loved Dora!! She would dance, tickle, and just watch everything Dora did!
We also enjoyed some friend time (Aunt time too!) we went to see Sleeping Beauty the ballet at one of the local colleges in the area. It was put on by a childrens ballet company and was quite amazing. The best part was Pumpkin sat through the entire 2 hour performance!! Not a peep!! That’s quite an accomplishment for a 3 year old! Especially my go-go girl!!

So what does our Summer school schedule look like?

We will be continuing with our Summer playdates, adventures, and field trips! We will likely start “school” back up in July so that we can take the time off between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pumpkin REALLY needs to work on her letters (any help on this would be ever so greatly appreciated!!) recognition, writing…etc. I can’t quite put my finger on it…just as I think she knows her letters she proves otherwise…and to make matters more complicated she is most definetly showing signs that she is ambitextrious!

There is a chance (I do say chance) that she might go to 4 yr old preschool in the Fall 3 days a week to see how “school” works. We may use next year as a trial run for her and see where she “fits” best home or school. We will however, continue to supplement at home if this is the case.

As for Mommy I am busy working on not 1 but 2 new business ventures and I look forward to sharing those…should be an adventure thats for sure!! I have always wanted my own business and decided now is the time to get moving…my goal is to supplement our families income in a way that would provide flexablity for a homeschool lifestyle if that is indeed the path our family takes. If not then we will hopefully have a bit of “play” $$!

Come check out other Tot-school families!!