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!
