Workboxes are Coming...

I have been absent from my blog for a few days.

I have been busy ramping school up to full time while trying to clean, put away and organize *stuff* so that I might soon get a handle on all of my school piles.

I think I finally have all of my canning stuff put away.

I have put away a full box of kid clothing that my mother blessed upon us during her last visit.

Today, my goal is work on a chair full of sewing projects and move them into a clear plastic storage tub where I can see them but they will be a bit farther out of the way.

I still have a box of "high school musical and play booklets" to look through and figure out what to do with (every trip my mom brings something else that I have to decide what to do with).

My goal WAS that by our trip into the "biggish town" on Tuesday I might be able to purchase one of these beauties to use as a workbox system.

http://www.csnstores.com/Alvin-and-Co.-SC10MC-SC10SM-ALV1125.html

Click HERE to learn more about workboxes.

I didn't think I could afford these super cool drawers and I still think it's a HUGE investment but after much thought I think that I might be able to make one tower of 10 work for both the 1st grader and the preschooler. (Preschooler using the last 3 or 4 drawers.)   Since I do most everything with my 1st grader at this point I think this would be handy to keep my teacher manuals in as well.

I can't wait to get one....

but then....

I was sent an email by CSN Stores and was directed to their site.  Their site offers these even cheaper than my local store and the other sites I was looking at online.  Some of those other sites have free shipping so I will still need to look and compare and contrast.

Then while I was looking I saw these AWESOME carts as well.....

 

Left:  http://www.csnstores.com/4D-Concepts-363024-FDC1028.html?cv=     

Right:   http://www.csnstores.com/4D-Concepts-363023-FDC1026.html

now, I've got to think some more.

I like these even more. They have room to store supplies right there in the cart or to hold the preschoolers activities RIGHT THERE!!!   Now I can't decide!  Oh, yes I can.... I just looked at the price AND the dimensions.....  I think I might still do a little bit of dreaming though.

Maybe I should just stick to thinking about the original workbox set up.  :)


Actually, what I REALLY need to do is stop typing and surfing and finish up that cleaning project so that I have a place to put my awesome new workbox cart.  :)

What do you drool  over when you surf?

Time for a Nap

The below was received the other day in a fwd: fwd: fwd type email.  I usually DON'T open these but the gal who sent it to me has never sent me anything I didn't appreciate so I opened it.

I'm wondering if any of you out there ever feel like this cute dog?

-------------------------------

An older, tired looking dog wandered into my yard.   I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.  

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head. He then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.  

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar:
'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep.   Can I come with him tomorrow?

 

HELP Needed (How do you stay organized?)

We did a bit of school this summer which was mostly unit study like.

September found my hands in food most days and our family took most of September off.

We started school the last week of September and have slowly been ramping it up ever since.  

I am now pulling off full days of school but I am horribly confused.  Last year schooling my oldest was easy. Our subjects were Math and Reading, with other incidentals along the way.  I had two folders.  One folder had reading papers to do that day in the right pocket and math papers to do for the day on the left.  EASY PEASY.  The other folder held our work that was finished until I had time to file it in a large 3 ring binder.  (Yep, at this time I keep EVERYTHING because as I am in year 2ish and I just don't yet grasp what I *NEED* to keep and what I don't.  My state actually requires nothing more from me than a commitment to teach 875 hours of which they legally are not even allowed to check.  But call me paranoid for now it all goes in one binder and at the end of the year it goes into "storage."

Flash forward to this year, I have a little one who wants to do preschool stuff but thinks that simple fine motor "games" are silly, too easy and boring (they ALWAYS turn into Star Wars Play)!!!   I refuse to use super expensive printer ink on thousands of letter activities when it takes him 1 minute to do the activity and then he's done.

I then I have my first grader and we are doing math, reading, spelling, handwriting (lessons, copywork, dictation), science, history, memory and when I have enough energy Art (I detest art projects with the kids even though I personally love crafting w/o children, mostly because they could care less about the details and turn everything into...... can you guess??....... Star Wars).

I can't keep up with myself and am having a super hard time juggling all of my **STUFF**  My nearly 4 yr old wants to "do school" yet I can't find anything he can do on his own that occupies him.  He then goes off and plays but his talking, whispering and sometimes even breathing distracts and upsets my 6 year old.

I plan using a planning sheet for the week, I try to pull out materials for the week but can't keep them straight.  I like 3 ring binders but have way too many, can't keep them straight and never have the right ONE in my hand when I need it.  I also have piles of projects and books all over the place.  I have a nice 8 inch wide magazine holder box thingy but my folders and books don't all fit in it (and it's buried at the moment.

What I really keep desiring is one of those GROOVY WorkBox Systems.  I kind of want one for the preschooler with learning activities and games in each box and then I want one for ME AND THE 1ST GRADER.  He can do VERY LITTLE alone at this time and likes to keep moving at a rapid pace (well, unless we are having an "attitude moment") from beginning to end.

HOWEVER, those boxes are E.X.P.E.N.S.I.V.E!!!!   (Read, I can't find any that are free or near free or even super cheap.)

I'm thinking of grabbing a handful of those 3 ring binder folders that are sturdy plastic.  Making one for each subject and putting them in a special 3 ring binder that is *MY* "work desk" for the day/week.

I dunno and that is what bugs me the most.  I am typically one who needs intervention FROM organizing my stuff.  My favorite rainy day activity is organizing and sorting and then RE-organizing and RE-filing!  This however has *got* me.

How do you all keep yourselves organized?  How do you pull off more than 1 or 2 kids of different levels?  (And NOPE... you all are NOT going to talk me into converting to doing ONLY or MOSTLY unit studies, sorry!)   If you don't have workboxes, what do you have?  How do you keep your "school stuff" from taking over your "life" space?

I'm not kidding!  LOOK!!  This is my most used space directly ahead and then to the left.

My other challenge is that I am one of those homeschooling moms who do not have a room devoted only to school or part of a room devoted only to school.  I do have desks in the corner of my kitchen but I have found this year that we are working and moving much faster NOT sitting at a desk but instead working at the breakfast bar in our kitchen or the kitchen table or on the couch.


Please.........  I need intervention.    How do YOU ALL DO IT??   Tell me what works for you.  Where do you keep the stuff you use daily or weekly?  Where do you keep the stuff that you are prepping for your next lessons?  How do your organize for your day and week?


If you don't have workboxes what do you do?




Please help.

What is Your Homeschooling Style?

The Old Schoolhouse hosts a TOS Blog Cruise.  Each week there is a topic introduced for TOS Crew members to write on.  So far this Blog Cruise Season I have not had a chance to write but I thought I would jump on board for this week and try out the Cruise Waters.

This week's topic is:  What is your homeschooling style, and how did you choose it for your family?

I have always wanted to answer this question with "Classical Of Course!"  But the more I look around and pay attention to what we are actually doing I realize that I aspire to be Classical but in reality I am actually Eclectic.

What is Classical Education?

Classical Education views learning from a Trivium perspective.  Here is a quote about the Trivium from Classical-homeschooling.org.

Therefore a child will first embark on the stage of brain development that classicists term the grammar stage. In this stage he has a natural affinity for storing up a tremendous amount of information on any number of things, from nursery rhymes to math facts, and recalling that information at will. He will then progress to the stage termed the dialectic, where his abilities to reason are honed and sharpened, and everything is turned into an exercise in argumentation. And lastly he will advance to the rhetoric stage, where self-discovery and expression are the paramount concerns, and where cognitive abilities come into their full flower of maturity.

The Well Trained mind suggests that 4 time periods are to be taught in sequence in each step of the Trivium.  The four periods are: Ancients, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and Modern Times.  Thus these are taught in the grammar stage (1st-4th grade), the dialectic stage (5th grade-8th grade) and the rhetoric stage (9th-12th grade).

Classical Education is literature based instead of image based.  Utilizing the brain to translate symbols into words and then into complex thoughts requires the brain to work hard instead of it being passive with higher tech "educational" tools.  THIS is something our family (or at least we parents) really likes about Classical Education.  We are a TV'less family with no Wii, no video games, minimal toys that make noises and very limited media exposure.   I know many would disagree with me but popping in a video to teach your children seems like a crutch instead of a tool, but again that is my opinion for my family and I could list off a few exceptions that even we submit to.

In a world where there is so much talk about students graduating from high school and even college without having a grasp of elementary topics or when talk is about the school's being "dumbed down" to the lowest denominator (as is NOT their fault, imo) the ability to push my children to the level at which they start to be uncomfortable because they are challenged is one BIG reason why I homeschool.

Classical Education is systematic.  It is not a hodge podge of study what you fancy at this moment (although there IS room for adding in topics of interest).  It systematically moves through a time line and then pulls non-history topics in  when the current history period being studied brings them up.  So topics known to the ancients are discussed while that period is being studied (human anatomy, how farming began, classification, etc.).  Astronomy would be brought up during the Renaissance and Chemistry, Physics and computer technology would be studied during the modern era.

I read that the grammar stage was the time where the teacher helped the child to learn as much as they possibly could remember.  Everything they learned at that young stage was like a coat hook placed into the walls of their brains.  When the SAME topics come up 4 years later the child is in a new stage.  He thinks and learns differently, HOWEVER because those topics were already addressed those children already have a pre-placed coat hook up on their brain wall upon which they can start hanging more and more heavier information.  They read a picture book of the Iliad in 1st grade, they repeat the same story that goes into more depth in 5th grade and they read THE Iliad in 9th grade. How many high schoolers have read the Iliad?  How many grown-ups have read the Iliad?

Now, I as I type all of this I am drawn back to my original answer.  I WANT to say we are Classical.  Classical is my goal.  Classical is my rubric.  HOWEVER, Classical Education doesn't come in a nice little box.  To be honest with you I really DISLIKE nice little boxes with pre-made schedules anyway.  Classical Education requires a deep understanding of what's going on in the time period that is selected and some time to get organized.  There are some great references out there as well as great discussion boards but it does take work.

I am teaching my oldest 1st grade and thus am learning as I go.  I peek into "The Well Trained Mind" and I read websites however, I tend to pick, pull and supplement with a variety of materials in a variety of subjects and even toss in a unit study on occasion (overall I REALLY DISLIKE Unit Studies).

We are working on a LOT of memory.  My goal is that in 2 years my son will have a basic world history timeline memorized.  I think this will GREATLY benefit him in the years to come. We work on science definitions, history facts, bible verses.  I want to help him get as many pegs as I can but I have yet to find that "MAGIC BOOK" that gives me all the info I should teach him in our memory time.  BOOO.  I'm looking, I really am.

One huge strike against me (us) being a strictly Classical Education family is that I am a text book lover.  I find it hard to request books from the library through their search engine or through random lists because to me it feels like stabbing in the dark and hoping to catch something good, sometimes it works and other times it wastes my time.  I like the security of text books because I feel like we will not find any major GAPING HOLES if I follow them through.

But I skip around too.

You can read more about what I use and a little bit on why I chose it HERE.

With all this said, I still want to answer that we are Classical Homeschoolers, because deep down in my heart that is where I badly want to be.  I get a bit baffled as to how parents who have children 2 years apart actually pull off the 4 stages of history, perhaps they start out of order for kid number 2?

Anyway,  What is your homeschooling style? And why?

Would you like to learn how other people on the TOS Crew Homeschool?  Click HERE.

Fall = Lefsa

Lefsa.  I'm so badly craving Lefsa!!

What is Lefsa?  Are you crazy?  You don't know what lefsa is???

Oh that's okay.  I still love ya.  I'm here to help you learn something new today.

The first think I'm gonna tell you is that it is pronounced "lefsA" but it is spelled "lefse" yet the thought of all of you reading it with any "E" sounds at the end would just freak me out so I typed it the way I say it.  :)

Here is the Wiki entry on LEFSE.  Wiki does such a nice report on it I'll just let you read theirs instead of making my own report here.  (Yep, lazy I am....or is that busy?)  Scroll down and check out that rolling pin.  I wonder where grandma's went??? HMMMMmmmmmm?????

Here is how I get my lefse at my local grocery store.  YEP!!  You read correctly Lefse is made from YUMMY potatoes!!  Hubby hates lefse.  My mother would eat lefse sandwiches but below I will show you the way she made them for ME and the way my children LOVE THEM!!!

 First one must take the lefse out of the packaging and peel the pieces apart.

 I have assembled the pieces as it would look before it is cut.  (Also, prior to me eating the first piece when no one was around to catch me.)  :)

 You're correct, it DOES look like tortilla bread!  But it's super thin and MADE FROM TATERS!  :) With a very cool rolling pin that you must go to Wiki and see.

Next up (the only way I eat it), you butter your wedge and sprinkle sugar on it.

 Next you start rolling it up from the wide side so it looks like a super croissant shaped yummy straw!  :)  (Can anyone tell that I like this stuff and that it brings out the kid in me??)

 Then you eat it.  And my first born was like me... he wanted to watch the long skinny thing going into his mouth as he ate and thus I have no "good" pictures of him eating this yummy treat.

 Much unlike his jovial, brother who thinks this stuff is YUM.  Is Jovial a middle child trait??

All of you who do not live near those with Norwegian ancestory are REALLY missing out...... that is until you wrap lutefisk in the stuff, or even braunschweiger.   BLUCK!   Leave me the lefse with the butter and sugar and I will likely not share.    OH FINE!!! So since you all are holding a prod up to me..... I CONFESS, I CONFESS......  My boys ate the pieces you see.  My girl still doesn't know lefse exists.  Hubby thinks it's gross and that there are better ways to prepare potatoes and...........yep, I ate the rest of the package.  Bad me.  You know, writing this post makes me want to go buy some more.   yummmmmm.  Better go get some before it's out of season (it's a FALL product!) and if you pry it out of my hands causing excruciating pain.... I MIGHT share some with you.  :)

(By the way: running spell check on this was really funny as each yellow highlighted word was "lefsa", "lefse", "lutefisk", and my invented words such as "yummmmm."  :)  hee hee hee hee hee.  I almost published it w/o turning the spell check off (leaving all those "misspelled" words white but decided not to.  heee hee)

Brill Kids Little Reader Review

Members of The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Crew

were recently asked to review

by Brill Kids

What is Little Reader?

Little Reader is a learning system designed to teach children ages 3 months and up phonics and how to read.  It utilizes your computer in order to present personalized, unique lessons that are ever changing and never the same.

Little Reader suggests that it only takes a parent 5 minutes, one or two times a day, 5 days a week in order for children 3 months of age and older to learn how to read over 3,000 words in 180 categories starting with single words and building into story reading.   I've read that some of my fellow TOS Crew members actually saw this start to happen with their little tots.

 Little Reader uses the Flash (Right Brain) Method. It is Multisensory and interactive and uses Intuitive Pattern Phonics.  It varies font, font color, font casing, pictures and mixes in video and actions.  

The program may also be customized to include family members and pets.  For example the pictures that can accompany the word "nose" can be customized to show the noses of mom, dad, brother and sister.

 There is also a Brill Kids forum available to talk with other parents using this program, extensive customer service and there are plenty of downloads to utilize once your child has moved beyond the original program's download.  

The TOS Crew received Brill Kids Little Reader Basic (download only) which sells for $149 for one semester (6 months) and $199 for two semesters (a full year).  Those who purchase Little Reader Basic often utilize the free printables accessed from the website.

For those who like to hold and work with physical materials Brill Kids also has Little Reader Deluxe available for $369/year.  The Deluxe version includes flap cards, flash cards, story books, lesson plans, the software and much more.

Are you interested in seeing more?  Check out this video to see what Brill Kids has to say about their Little Reader Program.

I wish that I was able to give you a great review of this product, but alas my Linux system (WHICH I DEARLY LOVE) has presented yet another barrier in my life.  I was VERY ready to use this program with ALL THREE of my children.  My 6 year old who claims he "hates" to read (because it's a lot of work).  My nearly 4 year old who *usually* knows his ABC's and my nearly 2 year old who is just starting to use words and sounds.   My thought was that this program would benefit them ALL.

I guess I will just have to hope the company takes some time to work on making this program compatible for those of us out here who think too much of the world is already run by Microsoft and so we choose to abstain as much as we can from that world.  (Go Linux!)  

Right now Little Reader is compatible ONLY with Windows XP, Vista, and 7, both 32 and 64 bit.  (Sorry Linux and Mac users.)

Brill Kids also has Little Math and Little Musician.

If Little Reader sounds interesting to you please click on THIS link to read a wide variety of reviews from my fellow TOS Homeschool Members who used Little Reader with their families. 

 If you would like to read more reviews on other products visit our TOS Crew Blog. 

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 Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

Digital Field Trip Winner

Life is trying to take me prisoner again.

As soon as I can escape the castle tower, I PROMISE to post the winner of the Digital Frog International Digital Field Trip Series contest here......

ALL BLUE LETTERING REPRESENTS MY EDIT TO ANNOUNCE MY WINNER.  ALL BLACK LETTERING IS FROM MY ORIGNIAL POST.  SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.

AND THE WINNER IS:
(Generated by www.random.org)

The author of 
Our Village is a Little Different. 
CONGRATULATIONS!
 And now I must return to the castle where a volcanic eruption keeps growing and growing mounding more and more laundry upon MOUNT FOLD-ME and where hungry children await their mother creating a gourmet meal and where dishes (of the dirty kind) abound.


THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ENTERING MY FIRST CONTEST.   :)

Perhaps I could use the pile of clean laundry waiting to be folded (AKA: Mt Fold-Me) as a makeshift ladder to help me climb down??  (hee hee hee)

Hang in there there IS a winner and once I figure out how to use RANDOM.ORG to find that winner I will let you all know.

Also coming today is a "review" on Brill Kids Little Reader Program.

My "Must Get Content" Workout Epiphany

Contentment.

Contentment is a topic I LOVE to lecture others about.

Contentment is is not easy. It's pretty hard. It goes against most every message that is inputted into our brain from society at large. It is not natural. It is not second nature. It takes work and is often VERY CHALLENGING. But it is OH SO GOOD.

Just like most spiritual disciplines I find myself in peaks and valleys with contentment. Sometimes I wish that we could just stay up on those mountain tops, but without the dark, difficult valleys how could we possibly realize how great those moments of high actually are? I know, easy to say and less easy to emulate.

Canning burnt me out in most every way. I felt relief at the end of my canning but then looked at my very neglected home and felt an impingement of doom. Will I EVER be able to dig out of this mess while at the same time ramping school up to full speed?

I began wishing for things. THIS is when I KNOW I need to work once again on my state of Contentment. You see, contentment is closely tied in with gratefulness. You can not possibly be content without a deep understanding of how thankful you are for the blessings in your life. When I have been the most content (often during my hardest moments of struggle) I was able to find the “treasures found in dark places” (Isa 45: ). When you feel like you are at the bottom of a pit yet can count the blessings you might very well have a healthy sense of CONTENTMENT.

However, canning left me exhausted, tired and just wanting to escape. I wished for a getaway at a fun, luxurious resort. I wished for housekeeping (from a different state so they'd never bump into me anywhere) to come whip this house into shape. I wished for my body to have super powers so that I could multiply into many people: one to cook, one to clean this room, one to do deep cleaning, one to do laundry, one to do dishes, one to care for the kids, one to do all the computer writing I want to do, one to sleep non-stop, one to soak in a tub, one to organize my school stuff, one to mindlessly surf, about 4 to read books that I have in a pile and on a list and few extras for the things I have not yet mentioned like catching baby books up to speed.

Today I was wishing I could manage to keep the bathrooms clean while also wishing my children didn't NEED me so much. It was with these thoughts that I FINALLY heard the Spirit whispering. “DO YOU REALLY WISH THAT??? WHERE IS YOUR CONTENTMENT????”

Yep, like a good ol fashioned black and white movie slap to the face I realize that for a week now I have been in a “woe is me” “life is too hard” mindset. SHAME ON ME!!! Even as I realize this I find my innermost being whining and saying “I don't wanna!!” I don't wanna buck up. I don't wanna find the blessings. I don't wanna be a grown up and WORK. I don't wanna do all those things that a super hero Multi-man could do in seconds. I don't wanna live in reality.

BUT.........

Then I stop and realize how super cute my kids are. How wonderful my husband is. How thankful I am to HAVE a house and to HAVE food (even if it is often not what I want). How thankful I am to have my faith and live where I CAN talk about it and not be in fear of showing it. How thankful I am to have amazing animals that my family can love (and later eat). How thankful I am that our lives have taken a more physical path instead of a more technically infused one because sometime manual labor makes you all that more thankful for the things you have. How thankful I am for all of my clutter because that means I have stuff when I could be living on the street with just a bag on my shoulder. How thankful I am for so many blessings.

God is indeed good and now that I've readjusted my mindset ONCE AGAIN I can see that and be ever so grateful. Gratefulness is the first step toward contentment. I must say as I type this I am not quite back to contentment. But with some serious heavy mental, emotional and spiritual work I should be there soon. Contentment is NOT easy. It takes work but it IS possible and it is SO AMAZING when you are there. I imagine it feels much like the difference between a once overweight body to one who has lost 200 pounds and is in mighty fine shape. The Lord designed us to do that heavy work so that we might be fit and strong and fully suited to do his work. Now comes the hard workout part of this process....... working off all of the “I wishes....” and “I don't wanna's....” But once I've got them worked off, life once again will be lighter and easier to handle. I can't wait. I LOVE CONTENTMENT!

Tally Marks - A Harvest Recap

I am looking forward to my canning equipment being put away and life as I know it returning back to some sort of normal.  I'm not really sure what "normal" is but I'm pretty sure it means less touching, manipulating and canning of food.   :)   I am very excited to have it all stocked in my pantry though.  :)  Hooray.

So, I wanted to share my stats with you, mostly so that I can find them and refer to when I wonder WHERE ON EARTH the end of August, all of September and the beginning of October went.

Here's what we got:

6 quarts of dehydrated apples.

4 quarts of dehydrated tomatoes.
(In hindsight I think we are going to regret not dehydrating as many as we usually dehydrate.  I lost track of how many we had in the cloud of those last pickings, my burn and life in general.  STINK!!)

13 quarts of dehydrated shredded zucchini. I'm going to love these this winter.

35 Quarts of Applesauce,

19 quarts of plain tomato sauce, 37 quarts of spaghetti sauce,

5 quarts of apple pie filling,

about 2 quarts of roasted pumpkin seeds,

18 cupss of pumpkin puree (frozen in 2 cup bags) and . . . .

A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE.

Okay, so no pears or partridge,but Hubby did butcher 2 goats and a lamb this past month and he did also build an amazing woodshed to keep our wood nice and stacked and dry.  :)

Life is Good and now it's time to get caught up on my blogs and my school preparation for preschool activities and think about what to do for birthday month (Abram turns 4, Gracie turns 2 and Hubby turns 37) in November, and . . .

Please forgive the weird spacing.  I REALLY want to fix it but what I want more is to finish this, schedule it to post in the morning, hit publish, finish planning school for tomorrow, clean the kitchen and go to bed.  :)   (See, I REALLY AM a recovered perfectionist.)

A Perfect Fall

This autumn has reminded me of what Fall “should” be like. Or rather, what it was like growing up in Central Illinois. Warm T-shirt and jeans weather in the day. Sweatshirts in the evening. Bundled under warm covers at night only for it to warm back up with sunny blue skies the next day.

The leaves started to turn before I was ready but this year they put on a beautiful show.

Growing up I would spend hours after school watching the combines in the corn fields that surrounded our house. The corn was ALWAYS a beautiful golden tan color and made the loudest noises when a breeze blew. I loved watching the combines kick up dust at sunset. I used to have a few pictures that were just perfect snapshots of this memory but they have faded now.

When we moved from Central Illinois to Central Wisconsin I was SO home sick that first fall. I could not see the horizon with the rolling hills and DETESTED it. Everywhere I looked the trees were turning colors but the corn was still green. That was just backwards and wrong and it made me sob. I remember going on a Women's retreat with the Navigators. I was a graduate and thus was supposed to be a “helper.” Instead I was a BASKETCASE and detested the beautiful fall that surrounded me. It was cold, the colors were all wrong and I could not see farther than I could throw (sometimes). I was miserable.

Then as we went on a walk and my head was hung, God started to show me the brightest red leaves. The deepest golden yellow ones. Orange as I had only seen in mums and pumpkins. I began to slowly pick them up. By the end of the walk I had an amazing rainbow of leaves.

A funny thing about growing up being surrounded by cornfields is that I could count how many trees my 1 acre yard had ON ONE HAND! Leaves were abundant in parks but they were not part of my daily landscape. Here in my part of Wisconsin you are not able to escape them. Colored Fall leaves began to be something I clung to in the fall. God could sooth my grieving soul with a bright leaf when I was missing my flat, tan cornfield that went on farther than I could see. Huge combines bigger than many houses would be mere dot on the horizon at the other end of the field and would just grow and grow and grow as they moved toward me. Here in Wisconsin it is not uncommon to see 4 and 6 row combines and some fields don't even combine, they pick and chop the entire plant into little pieces and toss it like garbage into a wagon to be used as silage. Super Bizarre.

Fourteen years later I have acclimated. I still miss the horizon and find myself taking the “country route” more often hoping to catch a glimpse of a combine working the fields, but I've adjusted to partially green corn plants coming down and to the quick chill in the air and fast changing leaves.

Yet, some years are like this one. The corn is tan. The leaves changed slowly. There is STILL tan corn out in the field and it is absolutely beautiful contrasted to the dark green hay fields next to it. The leaves have shown their splendor, turned brown and most have dropped to the ground, yet we are still warming up to 60 degree temps and intense sun with bright blue skies. It's stunning to me.

And for the FIRST year it has not been snowy or frost laden and we have had LEAF PILES to play in during those 60 degree middle of the day warm ups. It was perfect today for the pictures that are to follow. I am giggling right now because this post was going to be a Wordless Day. HAAA HAAA HAAA. See what happens when you get me all sentimental about my favorite season which I feel I only get to experience once a decade. :)

Kids thrilled to pieces that they can make a mess and I don't care. Warmth outside without bugs. Wild critters all around (the bugs are super active at the moment). Add onto that a beautiful backdrop and a shout of Hallelujah that today I finished my last batch of canned goods! Life is Good. Life is SO VERY GOOD!

Now, I feel I am ready to embrace the onset of winter. I'd be thrilled if it held off a bit longer, but I feel ready to go. Life is Good.

Just HAD to take one more shot.......with the animals in the background!  :)  LOVE Our Homestead.

A Goat Went Courtin' on a Sunny Day Uhh huh....

May I introduce you to Lafayette:

This is our smelly male goat pretending to be sweet............ a few days before he realized his hooves would break that chicken wire and that my favorite peony were the most delectable treat he had ever had.

Yesterday a farmer we know wanted to take Mr. Laffy out a courtin....
It's a great deal. He mates with the farmer's doe goats and we have one less smelly boy to feed. (THE GOAT!!!)  We will get him back in a few months when breeding has taken place and then he might go visit another farm.

We have a young doeling who was born this year. The moment the leash was placed on Mr. Laffy she started to cry and continued for a good 20 minutes.  It's actually a bit funny.... you know in an annoying way.  :)

I have one request to ask.  If you are ever in Mr. Laffy's presence (and I call him that only because I have to do a google search in order to spell his "real" name) please don't tell him she was over her lonely, broken heart after 20 minutes. 

Thank you. :)

And for those of you who regularly check in around here I have SO MANY pictures for you.  I've taken pictures of all my harvesting.  I am nearly done and I think tomorrow I might have a final harvest count (done in quarts).  I really wanted to keep the posts coming with "HOW TO's" while I was working but it just was NOT Possible.   When I can telepathically post to this blog I will be better and keeping you all up to the minute but for now you must simply wait.  :)  Sorry.

Hope you have a marvelous week.

A Zoo'rific Field Trip

On October 5th we went to the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN.

It was FUN!

They sponsored "Homeschool Day" and I was very prepared to educate, educate, educate.  Our day proved to be a bit different than I expected.

We DID get to see a lot and learn a lot but most of the "learning stations" were over the heads of my nearly 4 year old and 6 year old.  They were all also packed and required LOTS of READING.  So, like any good homeschooling mother, I snagged all the worksheets to file away for a later date and made the most of our day.

There was one other epiphany that I had on this field trip:  sometimes it's okay to just stop and smell the roses (or would that be animals??).  Can I change that to "Sometimes we just need to shut up and watch the animals."  I was trying to rush us to all of the "demonstrations."  We didn't get to see ANY of them.  When I decided to stop rushing around so that the "highly educated zoo people" could teach my children I then felt like I needed to *TEACH* them something at each stop along our path. After doing this for about one and a half hours (of our 5 hours there) I began to listen.  Often when we go places I am one of the FEW adults "catching educational moments."  During "HOMESCHOOL DAY" it was easier to find parents who were NOT doing mini lessons and lectures along the path.

When I realized this I decided that not only was my introverted self getting tired of being tour guide but likely my children were getting tired as well.  From that moment on I DID give them glimpses of info from time to time but I didn't FORCE myself to "teach" every 15 steps.

At this point we began to lighten up and enjoy each other.  I was able to see their amazement at these magnificent creatures the God created and they were able to enjoy exploring and observing without having to pay attention to mom.  I have been teaching them how to use the 5 senses in observation during our science lessons and they were able to show me (without knowing it) that they were capable of DOING this all by themselves.

By the end of the day we were UTTERLY EXHAUSTED (my near 2 year old refused to nap the entire day!!) but we had FUN!  And isn't that what learning is about?  I figured with the marvelous world of the world wide web we would be able to learn so much more at home as we wanted to.  What a joy!

Here are pictures of our amazing day!

My monkeys found they were actually too little for many things.  Oh well!

Otto (6) pointing out a sting ray to his baby sister.

My #1, #3 & #2 amazed with the creatures in this tank!

Gracie with birds who appreciate "girl colors."

The boys found the athletic ability of the Flamingos to stand on one leg impressive.

Someone other than"the mama" was looking at Grace, can you tell?

Eeek! An Abram Bat.  The cute thing is he was flapping his arms behind the board and was actually BEING A BAT!!

River Otters = FUN

My shy little girl missing the fun.

Archeology is the study of the past from what is left behind.

This was a hard picture to take as this "Gentleman" kept grooming his underside and parts were showing that were not appropriate for this blog or my personal photo album.  *wink*

Camels in MN!!  Anyone tell me which of the 2 kinds of Camels that exist they are w/o a search engine???

SHARK! So cool!

Zoo Field Trip a success with lots learned by students AND TEACHER alike!

And best yet?  We were not even back to our own state before I could see this:

YES!  You observant people caught me!  THIS picture was NOT from zoo day.  I had forgotten to put Gracie's hair up on Zoo Day and the boys were wearing blue instead of orange..........but.........  they looked like this none-the-less.

Besides it's just not smart to turn around and photograph your children while driving home in rush hour Minneapolis-St Paul Metro Traffic!