What are your kids doing today?

[tortoise]

Farm kids go through birds and bees early. And explicitly. No way around it!

It's okay to not answer. "I'm not going to tell you now." I covered that with DS when he was 8. It was easy because he already had seen animals and connected dots.

There's lots of stuff he asks about that I tell him that I'm not going to tell him until his armpits are hairy.

 

[tortoise]

Summing up the last few days:

Fort Robinson State Park (we didn't see it all, but stopped at the natural history museum)
Ashfall Fossil Beds (fabulous!! Great fossil dig activities for kids!)
Toadstool Geologic Park (treacherous for tires and ankles)
Smith Falls State Park (loved it!)
Niobrara State Park (cowboy cookout! Fun!)
Harrison NE (population 251) fire department fundraiser pancake breakfast (surprise! Fun!)
Side of a road in the middle of nowhere, Nebraska to see the solar eclipse in totality and we found burrow cast fossils too. DS10 loved that! Reminded us of Montana two years ago when we found a fossilized vertebrae!

Nebraska' State Parks are beautiful and well-maintained! The tiny towns we passed by had very nice city parks. Beautiful place, definitely worth taking a road trip through Nebraska!

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Our youngest was helping to build the new rooster house.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ahhhhhhhhh! Hope you're getting that on video to show her when she's older! Especially to show her someday BF.

 

[tortoise]

DS10 is digging thistles out of the lawn. After the first 10, I'm doing to pay a tiny bit per thistle he digs. Maybe $0.25 each.

DS10 and I stopped at the BIG library in the nearest large city yesterday. He geeked out and brought home a huge stack of schooly books. Trigonometry for Dummies. The History of Pi. Algebra 2 for Dummies. Organic Chemistry for Dummies. Thank goodness for good books and good libraries - I wouldn't know what to do with this kid otherwise!

We went to a live taping of a favorite public radio show last night (hence the big library out of town). DS10 brought a Sherlock Holmes book to read while we waited. The man sitting next to him asked what he was reading and they hit off a conversation. So proud of DS10 for impeccable chit chat.

 

[NH Homesteader]

I do. Until we have to read the same book for the 80 millionth time! Ughhhh

 

[Beekissed]

Grandgirl 1 is out visiting, helped me doctor the tomcat, who has a warble hole in his face and a load of deer ticks. Hazards of the life, I'm afraid. All fixed up now and we'll see how he goes along.

Tomorrow she'll help me with various chores like rewiring the utility trailer, hauling leaves and wood chips, and planting things in the garden. Then we'll go back to her house and plant things in HER garden too.

 

[sumi]

Mine is "rescuing" young birds this afternoon. I told him to PUT IT BACK as the poor thing's parents are out there and will take care of it. Kids! I need to steer him in the direction of his homework soon…

 

[tortoise]

Yup! Reading aloud is a life-saver! Only way I can keep up. And now he's getting to material that is legitimately interesting.

I'm looking forward to doing it all again with DS2!! Not quite to pre-reading yet. He's interested and ready and I could push it. I could have taught him the rest of the alphabet by at 2. I could have taught him sightwords since he loves flashcards and is very good at discrimination. But what's the point? Rushing in pre-K just makes elementary school more unbearable. Schooling a kid who is "gifted" is more like getting dragged by a goofy labradoodle on a leash. Parents of those kids aren't pushy, they're searching for the brakes! Don't be too worried about being pushy, or about people thinking you are. We don't get to pick our children, and their academic performance is almost completely out of parent's and school's control. Whatever. Let haters hate and don't be bashful of your daughter's abilities.

I'm anticipating doing school on the swingset in good weather.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Well it's not really a lack of ability, she's perfectly capable. I taught special education in public school and worked with kids of all different abilities. I just want kids to be kids and think that it's rushed too much in school. All of our schools now have full day kindergarten, which I think is tragic. My daughter spends more time learning by doing, which I think is more natural to her way of learning. She learns very quickly.