Wired For Noise

Technorati tags: Halloween, Costumes, Pictures, kids

Yesterday while A napped E and I took an adventure walk to a dry creek bed a few blocks away.

We chatted about the colors of all the leaves around us, how they crunched under our feet, the smell of a fireplace roaring somewhere nearby, and the wind that blew us around.

Once there we found little leaves growing in some sort of vine, most covered in little holes chewed out of them. E gathered a few up in his pockets and made me promise to read him The Very Hungry Catapillar when we got home. The creekbed walls have been filled with large rocks, perfect for E to throw and cheer when they smashed. I sat and watched him for a bit, until I noticed one that had broken open had something odd in it. Fossils! Nothing news worthy, just a couple pill bugs and some other kind of bug, a few little bumps that are probablyplant based. Its fairly common to find if you’re looking. Now if only my camera were better I would be able to share photos that don’t look like blurs.

the Midcontinent Pennsylvanian sea. This ancient sea extended from Oklahoma through Kansas and Missouri to Iowa and Nebraska about 300 million years ago,

The Paleontology Portal

Technorati tags: adventure, autumn, Nature, fossils, Midcontinent Pennsylvanian sea, Oklahoma

About two weeks ago I made a big pot of beans for dinner. E was curious to see what the beans were so we sat on the floor and explored a few while the rest cooked. I asked if he would like to try and grow one and his little eyes lit up. Thus “beany” was spared from becoming dinner and stuck in a glass jar with some wet paper towels. E has been absolutely amazed to watch “beany” grow and change each day as we pulled the wad of towels up and examined what was happening. Today ‘beany” was saved once again as we transplanted him from the tiny glass jar to a real pot with dirt and a warm ledge in the kitchen window.

Of course you know this was really nothing more than an excuse to play in the dirt. Boys, like plants, need sunshine and dirt to grow and bloom.

Technorati tags: dirt, boys, beans, growing

Today I met with my MOPs group for brunch and crafts. The conversation floated around from sleeping habits to playtime to birthcontrol and various other “mommy” topics. Somewhere along the waythe subject of school, and more importantly preschool, came up. I found myself biting my tongue throughout the conversation, reminding myself that (as usual) I’m the odd man out. This fact was reaffirmed when the conversation headed towards childbirth, but that’s a different post.

It seems as if everyone in my group is planning on sending their children to preschool, in fact half of them already are. I almost laughed out loud as they nodded and agreed with each other on the importance of 3 year olds learning how to stand in line and listen to the teacher. I swear i’m not exagerating, these were some of the much important skills they all accepted that young children needed to know. One woman, an older mother of two, nodded sagely and apouted how important it was for children to go to school before they go to school. They need to learn how to act and what will be expected of them when they enter the public school system. The old standbys of socialization, independence, and freedom were laid out; along with the asurance that children not attending preschool would be so far behind and posibly unable to catch up. The dreaded “repeating a grade” was said in hushed tones to get the point across at how very important it was for every child to be coloring inside the lines. One woman even spouted how important school was so that the children could have daily P.E. class. Apparently going to the park isn’t even good enough anymore without a licenced teacher there to teach the children how to play.

What perplexes me the most is how eager they all were to preach the merits of preschool and make it clear what would be lost if a child did not attend. Not knowing that there was a secret homeschooler hiding in their ranks they seemed so desperate to convince each other that preschool was the best choice. I wonder how the conversation would have went had I outed myself.

But then again, there are other aspects of myself that I still haven’t let on to them yet. If I hadn’t alrady paid good money for membership I’d seek motherhood support elsewhere, I’m am definately the outcast of the group.

Technorati tags: preschool, Education, Parenting, Homeschooling, preschooler, Moms, MOPs

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves - Julia Rawlinson
The Secret of Saying Thanks - Douglas Wood
Grateful - John Bucchino
Turn! Turn! Turn! - words from Ecclesiastes
Pumpkin Town! - Katie McKy
Mouse’s First Fal - Lauren Thompson
Autumn Walk - Ann Burg
Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic - Steven Schnur
When Autumn Falls - Kelly Nidey
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf - Lois Ehlert

Technorati tags: booklist, Autumn, preschool

This morning we were supposed to go to the pumpkin patch with the other families. Hayrides, a petting zoo, apple cider, and pumpkiin picking. Too bad no one informed mother nature as she dumped rain on us all night and morning. I don’t know who was more dissapointed, E or me.

So instead we gathered at the table and made our own pumpkins. Hopefully later we can go to the store and get some green ribbon to glue them on to and hang up in the living room.

Technorati tags: pumpkins, pumpkin patch, Autumn, preschool

I’ve been putting together my box to send out for the Homeschool Shoebox Swap. The bsics are that each person signed up creates a box of things that reflect the area they live in and then mail the box to the person they were matched up with.

So far I’ve collected a stack of travel guides that show all the various things there are to do in Oklahoma, addd some pictures of bison I took last spring when I took E to Woolaroc, copied some recipes of foods served at the local Pow Wows to create a complete meal, and I’m going to print off a fact sheet on each of the local tribes that surround us. Beyond that I’m not sure. I think Monday I’ll visit the town museum and see if I can take pictures or if they have any brochures about town history. And I might visit the chamber of commerce and see if they have any local maps and things.

What else? If you were expecting a box full of things that you would use to teach your kids about another place what would you want in it? Hmmm….

Technorati tags: homeschool, geography, History