Learning to Walk

It is kind of like homeschooling, isn't it? Learning to take small steps and have confidence in ourselves. Here are pictures of Theo learning to walk.

Berry Picking

Today I took the kids to Biringer Farms in Arlington. It was a 49 minute car ride through mostly grass and marsh land. Upon arriving, I set up the twin stroller, picked up some empty flat boxes, and made the trek out to the strawberry fields. Georgia enjoyed herself, pointing out the tractors and taking extreme delight in eating two berries for every berry she placed in our box. Theo mostly complained and whined from his stroller until Georgia would ever so kindly run over to him and hand him a berry to quiet him down. The weather was overcast and the rain didn't start until just as we were pulling out of the driveway to go back home.

Beach

Today we spent the morning at the beach. Golden Gardens Park is about 1.5 miles from our home and I really hadn't braved an outing with the kids there, so decided that there was no time like the present. We loaded up our sand buckets, three shovels, beach towels, lunch, and set off for a morning of sandy goodness.

I am embarrassed to report that we live 1.5 miles from a sandy beach...but Georgia is unfamiliar with sand outside of our sandbox. She spent the first 30 minutes at the beach hysterically crying and kicking off her Croc's because she had sand in her shoes. We are talking flailing, screaming, crying. I finally got her calmed down while we walked along the concrete sidewalk. I found a small stream of water running towards the ocean and talked her into getting wet and digging in the sand. Somewhere in the confusion, I lost one of our shovels, but consider that a small casualty when trying to keep track of the kids and managing temper tantrums.

By the end, Georgia thoroughly enjoyed digging in the sand and playing in the water. She had another temper tantrum when it was time to leave. Thank goodness Theo is pretty flexible and was content to sit on a blanket in the sand, digging with a shovel. It would have been much harder to manage two screaming kids.

I don't know how educational this trip was, but it was sensory filled and involved exploring our community. We will definitely go back to dig, scavenge during low tide, and play with others.

Number 1 Reason

I have been pondering my number one reason for homeschooling? I am having a difficult time choosing, but here is what I have come up with:

1. I want my kids to experience life.

Simple and to the point, but I really mean it. I don't want them to color in pictures of turkeys at Thanksgiving...but instead to visit a turkey farm and learn about the life cycle, breeds, foods, etc. of turkeys. I want them to raise a turkey, if they so wish. I want them to travel and really live life. I don't want my kids calculating "story" problems in a workbook...but instead going to the store and calculating how to feed the five of us on $15 a balanced dinner. I want real life to be at their fingertips during every second of the day.

I want them to have endless stories of places they have visited, people they have met, and questions they have answered. I am unsure if you can get this in any type of enclosed building housing thirty kids for 7 hours a day, 180 day a year.

Dead Bird

Today, our "classroom" briefly had a new pet. Last night, Jon was out gardening and noticed a cat playing with a baby bird. He rescued it and we put it in a shoe box, hoping to give it time to recover. It did, and even ate baby food from a chopstick this morning. Unfortunately, it's health declined and by this afternoon it had died. Georgia had been really curious about it and now that it has died, keeps saying, "Poor dead bird."

Challenge

I just watched an Oprah show about giving up technology for a week. I am eager to begin this challenge and wonder if my family will be game. If we begin it, the challenge is simple: no tv, cell phones, computers, or video games for 7 days. In addition, there is no eating out and we must budget our groceries to max out at $125 for the week.

The intended outcome will be a more present and connected family...something I am sure we all can agree is beneficial.

Would anyone like to join us on this challenge? There is no time like the present to begin.

Social Graces

This blog has been a little slow because I feel like we aren't ready for typical lessons, which I anticipate blogging about in the upcoming years. Georgia is too young to write her name, read her own books, or even ask many questions. Since we are still working on her speech, counting (everything adds up to nine), and the differences between pink and fuchsia, our learning process is pretty elemental.

Today, she gave us our first lesson. We are beginning with social graces, and when you think about it, everything stems from them. We were at University Village looking for an outfit for her brother's birthday tomorrow and a woman walked past us on the street. Georgia said, clear as day, "Hi!" to the woman as we passed. She turned around with a big smile and said "Hi" back. In that moment I realized that I had done something right in teaching G to approach people and be friendly. I quickly felt pride in her outgoing nature and realized we need to use this as a stepping stool. Our next step is developing a solid handshake and looking adults in the eye when speaking with them.

These seem like really elementary lessons but don't they practice this in preschool and kindergarten? If they don't, they should and if they do...well, isn't it better to practice it in real life instead of with your peers in an artificial setting?

As it stands now, I am feeling pretty good about our decision to homeschool.