Saturday, March 28, 2009

March Madness

"Children are born passionately eager to make as much sense as they can of things around them. If we attempt to control, manipulate, or divert this process...the independent scientist in the child disappears." --John Holt





[March Madness]That sums up this month. lol. Well, at least it is almost over and it wasn't all that terrible. It is a dreary, snow drizzly day here. But at least we have some fun things to do this weekend. This afternoon we have a birthday party to go. Camden is still asleep. We were up late. Holden and Cliff went bike shopping. The boys' friends have come by a few times this morning already hoping to play.

“Kids who are in school just visit life sometimes, and then they have to stop to do homework or go to sleep early or get to school on time. They're constantly reminded they are preparing "for real life," while being isolated from it.” Sandra Dodd


The kitchen sink we choose is causing some problems. But we should have that worked out and installed within a week or so. We are learning to be patient here. Not being patient can cause a whole other set of problems we are finding. We may take the sink back and get just an over mount sink vs a duel mount. We haven't decided.

As I downloaded photos to see what I could include here, I noticed the boys had taken quite few photos of the dog and their dad writing a paper. I am adding the most un-gruesome shot of the rabbit head we found last weekend. In one photo you can see Holden sitting next to an unfortunate soul (dead young raccoon) we found on a muddy hike we went on last week. We left it for other animals to feed on. It may seem gross to some, but it is just a fact of life, and nothing to abhor.

"School days, I believe, are the unhappiest in the whole span of human existence. They are full of dull, unintelligible tasks, new and unpleasant ordinances, and brutal violations of common sense and common decency."
--H.L. Mencken

It is amazing to see all the interesting things we can fill our lives with that don't cost us more than a few dimes. Most of those things take place outside. I am so excited about spring and watching the re-emergence of plant and animal life. It is such a fascinating time of year for those of us who live in the world of four seasons.

Camden is awake now and I am going to shower. Happy weekend all.

~Heather
xoxo

P.S. Cliff being in college again has only strengthened his resolve to unschool the boys. He has never been so stressed and unhappy as when he is in school all day and studying at night.

3 comments:

piscesgrrl said...

Did you just make me look at a dead rabbit head on your blog?? LOL!

Heather's Moving Castle said...

Yes, you did. I am as shocked as you are! Funny thing is I never imagined a rabbit head in my house. But having boys who like to collect skulls of small animals we find, you can imagine how we ended up here. It all started on a camping trip when Holden was 2 and we found the skull of a raccoon.

This is the first time we have kept the head to get to the skull. Our dog is the murderer. She's quite the hunter in our backyard.

Heidi Snavley said...

I loved this blog! All the great quotes and pictures of your children learning naturally, as all children should be allowed to do.