The Good Parts of Educational Advancement

Last night as part of Family Home Evening (yes, on Wednesday, we had to reschedule this week) we told the boys who their teachers for the new school year would be. This is the first time since we've had children in school that we've lived in the same place for two school years in a row, so it was a new experience for all of us. The assignments were just made and the boys have been eager to learn them.

First we told Cooper his teachers. In the Intermediate School, the kids have two main teachers, one for science and math and the other for language arts and social studies. Since he's going into fourth grade, the youngest group at the school, he wasn't familiar with the names. But he thought it was cool that both teachers are men, a first for Cooper's educational experience. Then I told him I knew of two kids from third grade that were in his class.

Me: Oh, and Gillian (his friend) will be in your class.

Cooper: (nodding) Anyone else?

Me: (thinking) And Lily.

Cooper: (gasping, then grinning) The blonde one?!

That gave us all a good laugh. Cooper is our little ladies' man, so I wasn't totally surprised. He tried to play it cool, but it was too late. Bryan pulled out his phone after Cooper's question and subsequent laughter.

Then I read the names of Peter's teachers. Because he's already spent a year at the school, he knew at least some of the names of the sixth grade teachers. And he's been anxious to hear about his math class in particular. Bryan had his camera at the ready this time for us to deliver the good news.

Peter made it into Pre-Algebra for next year. Here's his reaction.

A few minutes after this picture was taken his elation dwindled a bit when he realized what this advanced math class will mean: more homework.

Booklovers Unite

Happy National Booklovers Day! Being the bibliophiles that we are, this is an exciting holiday. To celebrate, I will share one of the most wonderful birthday gifts I received this year. My dear friend Brett made this for me and gave it to me in person when we were in Utah. I love it! And bonus, my kids knew exactly who it was when they saw it. That, my friends, is a parenting win.

Now, go read a book!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

On Friday I noticed that one of my tomato plants didn't look well. Upon closer examination, I found that something had been snacking on the tomatoes.

I looked even closer and found the culprit, or rather, culprits. There are at least three tomato worms in this picture, can you find them? They're green, nearly the same color as the leaves, and they have white stripes on their backs. I was trying to get a picture of the nearest, blurry one. It wasn't until I looked at the pictures tonight that I saw I had digitally captured the others as well.

Even after I saw it, I didn't know what it was. I was amused that our garden was so adored by the little creatures. I mentioned it to Bryan and he knew what they were right away. He also knew that they kill tomato plants.

Oh.

So on Saturday, after some research, I decided to do my part to save the garden. I went outside armed with a bowl of hot soapy water and a pair of sturdy tongs. My aim was to pull the critters off and drop them into the water. Peter was appalled and kept saying things like, "Okay, if you want that on your conscience." I was determined to remove as many as I could find.

It was awful.

Those suckers have a tight grasp. And when they are squeezed too tightly with a sturdy pair of tongs, they ooze green liquid.

See? Awful.

I don't think I got them all, but I got all I could find. Pesky bugs...

The Looming Inevitable

School starts three weeks from today.

Last night I finished going through all of the papers from the previous school year, tucking the important ones into books of remembrance for the kids. We have file boxes in assigned cubbies in the homework nook of our family room, complete with hanging file folders, ready for new assignments. Backpacks have been purchased and last week I bought enough prepackaged snack food for lunches to last from now through February. I found jeans for the boys for the new year on clearance at Target and stocked up.

And I'm not nearly ready.

Aside from the long list of school supplies that still need to be acquired, I'm simply not ready to send them back. In spite of the extra chaos, noise, and mess that comes with everyone being home during the summer months, this is my favorite time of year. I love that we can take off to the zoo if we choose, or stay in our pajamas and read books all morning. I'm not ready to live by the school calendar, not quite yet.

But perhaps in three more weeks I will be?

A Boy and his Bow

Peter spent the last two days at a Boy Scout camp meant just for eleven-year-old scouts. He swam and lashed and played. He did not sleep over, but he did stay late and arrive early. And he got to participate in one of his favorite activities: archery.

Sweet Ride

Cooper's favorite animal is the giraffe. That's why he was so excited to see this giraffe-patterned Mini Cooper parked near the line we waited in to feed a very tall giraffe at the zoo on Monday. It's Cooper's perfect car.

Back in Time

Here are a few more pictures from our trip back in time to the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Peter was not pleased that we were having an adventure. He wanted to stay at home, do his chores, and play video games. That's been his goal all summer. That's why, in part, I've been planning outings. Ornery, I know. Don't worry, by the end he loved it.

I didn't take many pictures at first because I was too busy listening to the presentations. We learned about fancy new inventions like the cooking spider and the rotating toaster. We watched a feather bed get spanked, the proper term for fluffing the mattress. And we learned where the term "sleep tight" comes from. We watched flax get turned into linen and sheep's wool become yarn. Really, it was quite fascinating for all of us.

Then we went to school. Phoebe was sitting next to me, too close for a good picture. We learned that once upon a time kids could advance to the next level of their schooling when they were ready, not when the school year ended. I have a few children that would benefit from bringing that system back. We also learned that students had to memorize everything: poetry, times tables, grammar rules. There were only a handful of books available to the students, so most teaching was done by vocal repetition.

I am extremely grateful to live now and have access to so many books.

This school was a modern addition to the farm, built to hold modern-sized classes. The woman giving the presentation made sure to point out that an actual schoolhouse of that time would have been half the size of this one. The girls had to sit on one side, the boys on the other, hence my picture of Peter and Cooper so far away.

Then we had a little time to fill before our final presentation, so we visited the animals. Sophie really liked the pigs. As we watched them in their pen, Peter announced, "I think pigs are the third most majestic animal." Elephants and otters occupy spaces one and two, in case you were wondering.

The last tour of our day was the barn. We learned about what went in to taking care of the animals so they could continue working on the farm. Before we were led to see the animals, the kids were invited to jump into the hay. The lighting was terrible, but if you look close you can just make out Phoebe, and then Peter, jumping into the huge pile of soft hay. Cooper and Sophie joined in the fun too, but their pictures didn't turn out as well.

Then we met a baby goat that my children all declared to be the cutest thing they have ever seen.

There were also horses.

And sheep.

In spite of a rainstorm that soaked us at one point, we had a delightful time. Actually, the rain took the heat off the day, so it was even more pleasant, though the thunder was worrisome for our tall boy who is bothered by such things. We all had fun and learned a lot, a winning combination.

Mulish

Today the kids and I visited a living historical farm. We learned all kinds of interesting things, but one item stood out to me.

The animal in this picture is named Janie. You can't tell, but she's a mule. The young man that showed us the barns and animals taught us that mules are smarter than horses. Horses will continue working, regardless of the heat or their health and well-being. But mules understand when they have done too much or when it's too hot, and they will stop working. He told us that they like to have a mule work with the horses because the mule will let the farmers know when the animals need a break.

After he finished telling us all this, I asked, "So what you're saying is, when we talk about the stubbornness of mules..." And I stopped, not sure how to finish.

"Yes," he answered, "it's because they're being smart."

Now, I know that human obstinacy does not always come from a place of intelligence, but this information is good for me to think on. We have a house full of shockingly strong-willed people. I think perhaps I need to do a better job of taking a step back from my own stubbornness and seeing the situation from the other side. Maybe, occasionally, that tenacious tendency comes from a place of self-preservation and protection. In fact, without much effort, I can think of a few times when that has been the case in our family.

So the next time someone calls you "stubborn as a mule," say thank you.

About Face

Today I woke up feeling brave, so I took the kids to the local zoo. After seeing many of the animals and feeding a hungry giraffe, we found the playground. The kids got right to the business of playing. At one point, Sophie was at the top of the play structure, waiting to go down the "sloopy slide," her name for enclosed corkscrew slides. An older boy, maybe around Cooper's age, was in front of her.

Suddenly, he turned and looked at her. His face contorted into an expression of shock. "Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed. "What happened to your eye?"

Sophie hears this question asked on a regular basis, though it is generally directed to me about Sophie and is often asked by well-intentioned elderly people. This was the first time a kid had used this particular tone to speak about her face, to her face.

After pausing for a moment, she looked at him and said, "It's my birthmark."

Again from the boy, hushed this time, "Oh my gosh."

During the exchange I could feel an unpleasant tightening in my chest, a dropping in my stomach, a clenching of my jaw.

Then another girl, this one closer to Peter's age, walked up behind Sophie. She addressed Sophie, "What did he ask you?"

"About my birthmark." And Sophie pointed to her face as she turned toward the girl.

In complete sincerity the older girl responded, "Oh! I love it! It's so beautiful!"

The grimace that had rested on Sophie's face was quickly replaced by a wide smile and she was bouncing when she hopped off the bottom of the slide.

I looked up at the girl and said, "Thank you, for what you said about her birthmark. Thank you."

"I meant it! It's beautiful!"

Isn't it amazing how just a few sincere, kind words can change a situation? I am thankful for that sweet girl and her effect on my sweet girl.

Breaking Tradition

Guess what we didn't do today?

It's something we did last year at this time. And the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that.

We didn't move.

No one came to our house and packed our belongings. No one hauled those boxes onto a truck to cart them to another part of the country.

And I am so happy about it.

Moving every summer for the last five years has been hard, even the first summer when we packed ourselves up and knew we would be back in twelve weeks. Yes, we embrace the adventure and find the positive things, but leaving friends and starting fresh so often has worn us out.

Tonight I am thankful that we are here and that we get to find adventures without finding a new address.