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Those Darn Leaves

Would you believe we are still dealing with leaves? We had quite a wind storm yesterday so it really piled them up again. The trees are bare now so I can safely say this is the last of the lot. The kids had a great romp in the piles.

We worked on one of the walls of PineCone Clubhouse. The "rule" is we can only use natural materials that we find laying around. We found some HUGE pieces of bark that made some great walls. This is a work in progress and we are excited to see how it turns out.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving, just the four of us. The Christmas spirit has really kicked in and we are all busily working on our handmade projects. We have come up with some fabulous ideas...but I can't share ...because...it's a SECRET!!!

Loretta's 4th Birthday

Retta turned four on November 24th. We celebrated this special day in grand style with good friends, happy games, singing, gigling, feasting and surprises.

Big sister Anna was here and helped with the Clifford decorations and cake decorating. That was a great gift for Mom.

Retta recieved many great gifts..lot's of art supplies, and her first new bike. She has been on it non-stop since.

As bedtime arrived, Retta... very tired and overwhelmed...layed on her bed sobbing. "Mama, I just don't think I want to be four. It's just so hard. Can I please just stay 3?" Why is it so hard? "It's just too much pressure."  (Gez, I can't wait until the 13th birthday!)

Archaeology by night

I tried to get Retta to come in last night from her on-going archaelogy dig. I used the arguement that it was getting dark and she needed to come inside. She sprang up, and said, "Just a minute Mommy!" She ran into the garage and came back with a flashlight. "See Mommy, now I can stay out."

It's hard to argue with the future scientists of the world.

Tears and Tree Spirits

Anna and Tyrus were here on Sunday for a visit. We have been taesing Tyrus for sometime to bring his ax when he comes to help split logs. We lost a elm tree in Hurricane Isabel last year it has been laying by the barn seasoning until this year. Dad and Tyrus decided to start spliting..... Musa was out watching.

I noticed Musa walking around the yard looking upset. I called him in and asked what was wrong. He repeatedly said nothing was but it was obvious from a Mom's point of view, there was. I continued to push and he started crying. Sobbing. He collapsed in my arms.  He finally pulled himself together enough to tell me. He said that Tyrus had "chopped" a tree. After much discussion and detective work it turned out that Tyrus had tossed the ax at a tree, sticking the ax in the tree trunk. Musa was horrified as he felt the tree was in pain and was now injured. He was devastated. He couldn't understand how Tyrus could hurt a tree.

This went back to a Earth Day celebration we had at the house last spring. We had decorated a tree and made a cool path leading up to the tree and the kids were asked to approach the tree, ask it permission to approach, and then hug the tree and feel it's spirit. Musa had a very positive experience that day and now feels very strongly that trees have spirits and feel pain. He has vowed not to hurt them.

We spent time discussing how different people feel about things. We explained that when Tyrus was growing up firewood was a source of heat and so he may have grown up with a different idea about trees. Musa seemed very relieved to know that Tyrus had not done this as a malicious act, but rather out of a different belief system. He put it to rest and went about his day. He was reassured that we would watch the tree closely and provide first aid as necessary.

Tragic as this was for Musa it was an enlightening experience for me. I sometimes have looked at my son and wonder how much of the "Barrett" spirit is within him. Today I saw that it was alive and well. Little does he know this is the beginning of his life as an activist, always fighting for the downtrodden and misunderstood.  

PARTY TIME

PARTY TIME

The Coleman Homeschooling Academy officially starts it's winter break today. We take a break from our regular studies until January 5th. We started this tradition several years ago as we decided we just wanted to enjoy and embrace the holiday season to it's fullest.

As with some homeschooling families and certainly this one, learning is a way of life. Although, I do structure with some light curriculum, we believe strongly that life is learning. Children are natural learners and do so much better learning what they choose instead of what is shoved at them.

So, although we are on break, the projects and learning will most certainly continue. We spend a lot of time cooking, and snugling around the fireplace reading books and catching up on movies. We review traditions and reminisce of seasons past. We tell stories of generations past and traditions that have come forward. We decorate the house in grand fashion and remember the origins of old ornaments and adornments such as the old advent calender that hung in the gray house of Ballard. We joyously sing Christmas songs regardless of our beliefs and sweetly remember the favorites or those gone before us. We cook favorite recipes like Aunt Carla's pumpkin bread and ginger drink, Grandma Maude's apple pie, my mothers sinful sweet potatoes or my father's favorite Christmas eve treat..little smokies. There's Grandma Loretta's collards and Anna's sweet potato pie. We laugh about making Dad cook and eat those nasty chitterlings outside.

We have lot's of projects to design and complete.  The finishing of homemade gifts, sanding wood, cutting fabric, sewing and sawing, and candle making. Painting and stamping, cutting and measuring, keeping secrets and telling legends. Wrapping, tieing bows, taping and packing, making and sending cards. If we are lucky there will be snow angels to make and icicle treats. We can sled down our fabulous hill and visit Pincone Clubhouse in the snow. We will sip hot cocoa and discuss the origins of cinnamon sticks. We will recycle ordinary, everyday trash into beautiful art sculptures reflective of the season.

So...who needs curriculum..we cover social studies, history, language arts, music, art, math, science and religiousstudies. All in the form of a great celebration. Sure makes me think of turning this into a year round way of life.   

Eyeballs, Fish and Yet More Leaves

We had a long 4 day weekend. Dad was off work on Thursday for Veterans Day and Friday we had physicals scheduled with our family doctor. Saturday and Sunday we spent hanging around the house. We got our Christmas lights up and continued the major task of leaf removal or should I say leaf rearranging. It would be virtually impossible to actually remove all the leaves from this property, so we just attempt to blow them into the woods.

Retta spend yesterday digging through the flower bed with a pair of tweezers. She busily washed each grain of "stuff" she found and then identified and classified them. She swears she found the remains of some fish. She said there must have been an ocean here one day. She proudly showed me a small grain of sand and announced that it was an "eyeball." She will spend HOURS digging through the dirt. She has the patience of a saint.

Musa really helped out this weekend. He spent several hours blowing leaves. It was such a great help. The older he gets the more I am able to count on him to help out around the house. He is accepting resonsibility more and more. He will do anything I ask him, and is really quite good natured about it. I believe he will be a strong, awesome, reliable person when he grows.