Change is (usually) good

Wait! Don't go! You're at the right place. It wasn't a broken link or a computer glitch. This is Wake Up Start Learning. Change is (usually) good. A little color does wonders. You know how some people change the colors in their living room or kitchen every couple years, so as to fit in with the latest trend in the magazines? I'm not quite that ambitious. Or rich. I just change the colors in my blog :)

Change is also sometimes not so good, though. I'm referring to the change when your sweet darlings, now ages 5 and 6, are old enough and smart enough and...well, conniving enough, to realize that any amount of time spent out of mom's sight is time to try out something that in most cases will probably result in death or dismemberment. Iggy and Ooky have always been fine to hang out in the backyard without me watching their every move. I could throw a couple loaves of bread together knowing they were sweetly playing outside. (Ok. They might tussle, they might terrorize a bug they find, but all in all it was pretty ok.)

Alas, things are different now. The change has happened. The boys are growing up.

Yesterday, while I ran in to the house for something, I look out the back window and find the sweetums scaling the dog kennel. A dog kennel that probably shouldn't be scaled. Not long after that, while left unattended, they find a three foot rusty metal tube (with tetnus shot written all over it...) and are trying to pound it into the ground with croquet mallet. They lost a ball they were kicking and just decided to "step" into the creek to get it.

Um, hi. I'm the mom. Who exactly are you, and what have you done with my kids?

Maybe its the sun. Maybe its being outside now 97 hours a day. Maybe its a summery need for more boysish independence. I don't know. My mother did ever-so-sweetly remind me, however, that I said boys would be easier to raise than girls.

Thanks, mom.

One of the few times I like to be fenced in...

...is when we're talking vegetable garden time. We put in a second garden this year (which we fondly refer to as the "bottom garden" because it sits lower in the yard than the other one) and before we could plant it, we needed to fence it.

However, I'm cheap. Frugal. Thrifty. Iggy says we are "good for the earth". Whatever you want to call it, I was not spending (alot of) money on this project.





So, my gem of a Hubster reminds me of all the deadfall in the back 13, meets me in the yard with his chainsaw, and beckons me to the woods. Sweeter words were never spoken.


We decide to locate the right chunks of dead logs, cut them into fence length pieces, and haul them back (over two arch bridges) to the yard. Who needs a gym??






Ooky and Iggy showing off their mad skills:

















Some logs become fence posts, some are rails. A few special pieces are reserved for a fancy gate. Here is the work in progress:











Here is the awesome gate my husband built. (Barn hinges found in the garage, so we didn't even have to buy those!)

Ain't she lovely?









So at first we sort of kind of crossed our fingers and thought it was going to work. I mean, dang...its a lovely fence. And free! But the next night...

One of the several families of geese (babies, mom and dad)that hang out here were frolicking in the garden. I had to laugh. Ok, so somewhere in the back of my mind, we knew we'd have to find some chickenwire and tack it along the bottom of the rail fence, so as not to let the little critters just walk on in. I had just really crossed my fingers that the little critters would behave more and stay out.

Then again, if they would just behave, we wouldn't have needed the fence in the first place :)

Of eggs and lucky charms

Every so often, someone ends up asking "So. Why did you decide to homeschool."

It could be a fellow homeschooler trying to figure out if we're on the same path. It could be a distant relative wondering just how far down the road of freakiness I'm planning to go. Or it could be someone else with a totally different motive. Anyhow, I got around to thinking I should have an answer for the question. Here's what I came up with.

Simple answer: Because. We did.

Unfortunately that doesn't usually work. People think I'm overtired or crabby or anti-social and don't want to talk about it. But really, for me, at this point, that's the simple answer.

I know. You're waiting for the more involved answer. Something heady. Something really amazing.

Here's my best shot:

There are homeschoolers who will answer because God told me to. There are homeschoolers who will say I'm tired of the government interfering in everything. There are even a few homeschoolers who will say my children are far too genius to bother themselves with public school nonsense. But for me, (and I think a whole bunch of us), we really aren't that sure. Or maybe we started with a specific reason, got into it, and broadened our reasons. Or changed them completely. Or maybe we don't even know why. We just wanted to. It worked for our family, and that was enough. To some people, it was as simple as having made the decision to have eggs for breakfast. It was an option that looked good. So I chose it.

I realize I will get blasted and slammed for that. As if I didn't put any thought into my children's educational future. (I obviously did. Ask my gem of a husband.)What I mean to say is I didn't stand in the breakfast nook freaking out about whether to have lucky charms, toast, oatmeal, or eggs. I like eggs. For a whole bunch of reasons which probably aren't important to anyone but me. So I chose eggs. If you like lucky charms better, good for you! I am not going to try and convince you that you should have chosen eggs. Let's face it. Lucky Charms are tasty - especially on top of ice cream. But I chose eggs. I find them tasty.

Perhaps we can make a deal? If you promise not to tell me that I'm killing my kids by choosing eggs with their supposed high cholesterol, I promise that I won't bug you about the sugar content in Lucky Charms. :)

A fantastic life lesson Subway vs. Walmart

Money can be such a funny thing.

Ok, perhaps not a funny thing, but a pesky annoying thing nonetheless. Like when your kids are done with swimming lessons and are sure they are going to die from lack of food. So they ask you fifteen times to go to Subway and although you appreciate their more healthful choice of Subway than its many less healthful counterparts (take your pick), eating out simply isn't an economical choice...so therfore, simply shutup.

That doesn't calm the beasts (who are overtired from swimming) and you're kicking yourself for not packing them a snack...so you do some quick thinking. Stopping at Subway would kill about $25 (enter $5 footlong song) for all of you to eat. One meal. Which is so un-awesome, you want to spit. And you feel like you need to teach the kids a lesson about this (the money, not the spit) so you come up with a grand idea.


"Kids", you say, pulling into the Walmart parking lot. "We're going to play a game. Ready?"

You divide the family into teams. Hubster and Iggy on one team, MamaTea and the Ookster on the other team. Each team gets $25 (the amount you would spend at Subway for one meal) and has to buy groceries for the family. The team with the most stuff (best use of money) wins...consellation prize to the team with the most creative find.

"We can buy whatever we want?" the children ask.
"Yep. Have fun."

Now I realize I was opening myself up for a cartload of ice cream and candy bars. But I took that chance.

Here were the carts...


Looks like some decent choices to me!Can't complain about green beans, turkey, bananas, or tunafish!!

"Gee," said MamaTea. "Look at all the food you can buy for the same amount as one meal at Subway? How long do you think these carts of food will last us?" (Answered by happy smiles from boys who are wicked excited to get home and figure out what they get to make for lunch from the groceries they picked out.)

What a fantastical life lesson we learned at Walmart. We're still working out of those walmart bags from a week ago....

Bad Guys and Chemicals

It was one of those days when I felt really very, well...not smart.

While leaving a building with a sign posted for handgun conceal/carry:
Ooky (age 5): What does that sign say?
MamaTea: It says "this place bans guns on its premises".
Ooky: What about cops?
MT: Well, I guess they could have them.
Ooky: So who are they talking about?
MT: Well, adults can go take a class and get a piece of paper that tells everyone they have a license to carry a gun with them.
Ooky: And?
MT: So that sign is saying even if you have that piece of paper, you can't bring a gun into that building.
Ooky: Why?
MT: Well, they don't want people having guns in certain places because...well, you know. They don't want anything bad to happen. Any accidents.
Ooky: But mom, the bad guys wouldn't pay attention to that sign anyway. Because they are bad guys. So the guns will still be in there anyway.
MT: Um. Well, yes. You're probably right.

And here is my equally as unintelligent moment with Iggy, age 6.

Iggy: (screaming in the door from outside) Mom! Isn't everything in the world from nature?
MT: What do you mean?
Iggy: Like, stuff. You would have to get the parts to make stuff from nature.
MT: Well, not always. What about the chemicals and things that scientists create? What about all those new and different things they come up with everyday?
Iggy: (looking at me like I'm stupid): Mom. They had to start with something. And things start in the earth. Even if it turns into something unnatural and bad for the earth, it had to start with something. I mean, you can't just make something from nothing. (He exits quite annoyed with his mother.)

Its a good thing my kids are comfortable with the knowledge that I actually don't know a whole heck of a lot about anything they apparently need to know. Google is my friend. Excuse me, I have some research to do. :)

Yes, they know how to read.

There is no proof in this post that my children can read or add or know whether or not Minnesota is state (yes, to all of the above, for those who care). But here's a great day at school, Iggy, Ooky, and MamaTea style (note: pictures taken over the span of a few days.)


We grab ice cream or a big cup o' joe at the local coffee shop.












We work on more deadfall shelter in the back woods.













We may use our deadfall shelter to enjoy a snack of scrambled eggs eaten out of a tin foil bowl.











Then hanging out with Skippy, the Canadian goose who lives in our backyard and will do just about anything for mini marshmallows.











Time at the community center (which has awesome totally wicked cool homeschool activities and classes) is always a big winner!










And visiting Grandma while she recovers from surgery, and steering her wheelchair to her dinner. And not bumping her into the wall too many times.

All in all, a grand day in "school". :)

Where is middle?

I don't even know what I want. Isn't that crazy?

I love homeschooling. But every so often, I struggle with the question of what the hell am I doing. Not in the sense I'm not sure in what order to teach American history or what to cover in 1st grade science. I'm talking more along the lines of...well, everything else.

Daily I struggle with how much structure. We can't be super structured, because as has been mentioned before, planning school out with no wiggle room doesn't work well when Dad, who we all enjoy to spend time with, may be home. Or might not. Or maybe he will be. But wait, I guess not. (Law enforcement, I tell ya.) But no structure? My insane little men can drive me insane when left to their own devices for more than 4 hours at a time. I know adults who can't handle non-structure. So once again, the answer lies somewhere in that elusive middle. The middle part that isn't easily found. I am completely convinced that throughout the course of life, "middle" shifts around many times.

We have an issue right now with groups. We used to be a non-group homeschooling family. Now, we essentially belong to three. That meet every week. Its not working. Plop swimming lessons on top of that, and seriously. Are we doing school, or are we learning how to behave in a car? We went from nothing to everything. And not even really on purpose. Where is middle?

I've decided some of the same things that make homeschooling so absolutely awesome are the same things that make it really really hard. For instance, homeschool celebrates our individual decisions. The differences between us. The freedom to teach our kids the way we want. And while those are the things that make homeschooling so great, its also what makes homeschooling tricky. Its great to be different, but everyone is different. A homeschooler is not a homeschooler is not a homeschooler. So try to throw us together in a group setting and have a suitable outcome...hmmm. It can be chaos! Where as in public school things are planned out and you know what is expected (regardless of whether or not you agree with it)....things are planned out! (easy!) You know what is expected! (Easy!) (Amazing how the emphasis changes the meaning, eh?)

Homeschooling is awesome because its up to us. But its also scary as hell because its up to us.

I'm just a little caught up in that right now. That sometimes I don't know if we will ever find the right method of learning. Or the right group for what we're looking for. Cripes, sometimes I don't even know what we're looking for.

Like I said in the beginning, I don't even know what I want. Except, perhaps, happy boys. :)