Living and Learning
Sometimes a break is the best thing in the world. I’d much rather keep plowing through something until I’m finished, but I’m slowly realizing that even short breaks really do make you more productive. We took off more days than I’d originally planned over Thanksgiving and ended up only doing about two days of school work. The break was one of the best things that could have happened to us. School is going so much better since then and I think we all just needed a chance to clear our heads.
After pulling hard for so long, it is so much fun to enjoy doing school again and to see the boys be fascinated with learning. When school isn’t going well, it can take all. day. long. When it is, we can be done in four hours on average and sometimes even less. We all LOVE those days. This months we’ve been doing a few fun things. Last week we had a random warm day so the boys and I headed out to the woods to gather pine branches, pine cones, and a small tree. Adam spent a few weeks learning about birds this semester in Science. He already knows so much about birds that he readily identified all the birds he was supposed to study, but we learned more about their habitats and preferences. Did you know birds actually prefer a feeder that allows them to sit? That explains why they like the bird feeder Adam designed and built better than the one hanging on our front porch. We also learned that they like to have a little sand to help their digestive system and that they love to have access to water for drinking, especially in the winter. Sure enough, our ignored all summer bird bath gets attention when we manage to keep unfrozen water in it now. They suggested filling a tree with popcorn, cranberries, and grapefruit halves filled with peanut butter and seeds. I’m not quite willing to risk having Liam walk past peanut butter on a regular basis, but we did go look for a tree for our front porch that we could use to feed the birds.
Thankfully, Adam found one in the soft, boggy ground close to the creek. We dug and pulled and dug and pulled and chopped off roots close to the surface so as to avoid more digging and between the three of us we managed to get it out and up the hill. The boys stuck with stringing popcorn longer than I thought they would and happily planted our tree on the front porch. The birds are completely ignoring it thank you very much.
I am loving Liam’s kindergarten program. It is super easy which is exactly what I was looking for since I personally don’t think five year olds need to be in school. He absolutely loves learning his letter sounds and is starting to read easy words. He fusses about his Math pages in order to sound cool like Adam, and then gets all excited about them in spite of himself. It’s way too cute to watch. I love that they incorporate learning about the world around us as he learns letters. One week he learned the basics of solids versus liquids or gas. Last week he studied insects and we set up our first ant farm.
That same week Liam biked along ahead of me on my walk and, like usual, we encountered a wooly bear caterpillar. This time though, the caterpillar was completely black. Liam was convinced it was Bobby. Over a month ago he found an identical caterpillar while he was at camp and Chief Kendon helped him name him Bobby. Liam kept him on the front porch in a little box, but Bobby disappeared. He was beyond pleased to find “him” again. He tucked him into his shirt pocket for safety while we finished our walk and as soon as we got home we made a little house for him.
In spite of plantain (which Adam remembered is their favorite food) and a small amount of water and plenty of air holes, I’m suspicious that Bobby is dead. He hasn’t moved in a few days. Liam is convinced he’s just hibernating and I don’t have the heart to force the issue. So he “lives” on in his little house on our dining room table where Liam can take off the lid and watch him at mealtime.
While I love kindergarten, I am also starting to enjoy teaching Adam so much more. We’re moving past the basics since he’s in fourth grade and he delights in learning Math concepts I didn’t learn until eighth grade (yes, my education was sub-par until then). Today we were studying exponentials and he learned about squared and cubed numbers. In the afternoon I was browsing Pinterest and stumbled across something similar to this:
I loved, loved seeing the recognition cross his face as it started to make sense and our subsequent shared laughter. Sometimes this growing up stuff is so much fun!
Well if the birds don’t like your tree, I sure do. It’s cute there on the porch with it’s popcorn and berry strands!
We have a “Bobby” lover here too and it isn’t the boy around here. 🙂
I think I am finally sort of getting into the groove of homeschooling, and Kierra is finally enjoying it again after grumbling about it most of the year. We made some changes and I think that helped a lot. I still have much to learn, but I am starting to think that I might like to do this for longer, and Kierra isn’t pining away to be in school anymore.
We don’t do as many cool science things as you do- partly because she’s a girl, I suppose, and partly because I am still figuring out what I am doing (and I get overwhelmed if I try to do TOO much!). It looks like you are doing a fabulous job!
So I need to know: What kindergarten program are you using?
Is it wrong that I laughed out loud about Bobby’s potential death? I mean, that’s funny stuff right there. I’ll never forget Thomas seeing a bird that our dog had caught and wounded and was pretty much in the process of finishing off and he wanted me to save it. I had to say, “There’s nothing we can do for that bird now but let Poncho finish the job. Cycle of life, kid, cycle of life”. I laugh now but it was awkward in the moment.
I wouldn’t blame you about not doing the pb bird feeder thing with an allergy around. We did smear pb on a pine cone one year, that was attached to string and rolled in birdseed. Then we hung it from our tree. They picked that thing down to nothing left but pine cone. I am pretty sure we left the bare pine cone hanging there for about a year after that.
How’s mama feeling these days??
glad to hear you’ve found your groove again with school. yes, sometimes a break is exactly what we need in order to keep going~ your little tree and sled on the porch are so pretty – liam’s boots are awesome. :)) funny about bobby- who knows. maybe caterpillars DO hibernate.. i know if i were one i sure would! yay for pinterest and all the wonderful resources we can find.
have a great rest of the week, friend. xo
Just a thought on the birdfeeders to avoid pb. Our children’s school has an environment center they visit. To avoid the peanut allergies, for years they’ve had the students spread shortening on the pinecones instead and roll them in seeds. The birds seem to like it!
Liam’s apple is really good! I like all the smiles–especially on the front porch picture.