Daddy gave us a job to do and we decided to tackle it with gusto, determination, and creativity! We conducted "outside school" in the backyard this morning as we picked up rotten apples off the newly exposed ground. Yeah, sounds fun, right? Let me go back for a minute...
We moved into our home November 1st last year and the crab apple tree in the back yard had been unattended for several months. Soon after we moved in ~ as we were unpacking and getting settled ~ the weather quickly turned cold. The remaining apples on the tree fell off the tree and were covered in snow in what seemed to be overnight. I figured that snow would melt and we'd be able to pick up the apples before winter really set in...but I was wrong. The ground is now exposed for the first time since then and boy is there a mess! Not only are the 100's of rotten apples on the ground (I really don't remember there being that many before....it's like they multiplied under the snow), but the puppy has made a habit of eating them and the make her stink in a way you cannot even imagine! And that's why Daddy challenged us to pick them up.
We set out this morning with gloves and buckets to get the job done. I pulled a large garbage can from the garage to empty our buckets into. While we worked, the school lessons and creativity came naturally. We counted apples as we put them into the buckets, talked about seasons and life cycles and even recited verses we have memorized about working hard for the Lord. We pretended to be our favorite characters from "The Little House on the Prairie" series...our current read-aloud selection. After about an hour, I could tell they were wearing out and I had to run inside ...so when I came back and heard them talking about picking up seeds, I figured they needed reminding that we were supposed to be picking up the apples. They explained that they were birds - specifically a mommy and daddy bird and they were collecting seeds (which were the apples) for their baby birds (who were in the large garbage can). Oh...I get it! We sang birdie songs and even flew away to birdie school where we talked about the many differences between flying birds and penguins (we learned about penguins just before Spring Break). This went on for another whole hour!
We still have a few apples to pick up this afternoon. The large garbage can is almost FULL...I can't believe how much work we accomplished in such a short time. After lunch, it's back to work then into the school house for a wee bit of "inside school." This morning has made me look forward to gardening with the kids this summer....and all the things we can learn in the process.
Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to homeschool my children for your Glory. Thank you for showing me ways to teach them more about you in the everyday chores of life!
3 comments:
Good job guys!
Don't you just love their little minds. It's always moments like those that fill a momma's heart with pride.
You know, the idea of home schooling has always freaked me out a little bit, but you make it sound fun and do-able!
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