Holiday Highlights

Well, the holidays in this house really do begin with my birthday on December 19th. This year it was on a Wednesday and was the day my cold settled in. After a visit to Ikea for Nagy Papa's Christmas present, we came home and ordered grinders since I didn't have the energy for the restaurant we had planned on. I did manage to find some energy to play with my new ipod though.

Thursday was a morning of rest, for me at least, and the afternoon found me accompanying E to a birthday party for a boy on his basketball team. I don't remember if I blogged about it already, but he ended up on a basketball team with a boy who he had spent a lot of time playing with on the playground during R's soccer practices last season. The boy likes E as much as E likes him, and invited him to his birthday party when the ended up on the same team for basketball. E had a fun time at the party. He was a little intimidated at first, since all the other kids go to school together, but settled in just fine, although he did remain quite reserved, even rolling his eyes at a boy who was being as silly as he usually is. It was pretty funny.

That night I ended up having to miss the holiday party for my womyn's circle. I was very bummed, but needed the rest.

The next day we spent finishing up a few Christmas presents (the boys make their own), and watching more TV than we should have. The Waltons have brought me great comfort during this illness. Friday night B and I missed another holiday party; one given by friends "for adults only and involving copious amounts of alcohol". Argh.

Mom and Deb arrived on Saturday morning. Debbie was like a whirlwind of baking all day; I had the ingredients for six cookie recipes which I never had the energy to get to, and she gladly took over.
Dinner that night was at Hometown Buffet. We thought they might enjoy it since the place definitely has "something for everyone". We all had an enjoyable dinner and were glad we went early before the rush.

The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur for me. The boys had a fabulous time though being with Grandma and Aunt Debbie. Grandma brought these to decorate:
and E was kind enough to do mine. They also made more cookies with Aunt Debbie, even going to the store to buy more ingredients for ones I hadn't planned on. R was very proud of the Peppermint Bark he made totally by himself. They also did some shopping with Grandma along the way. They played games together; Rummikub before Christmas and Waterworks afterwards (Santa brought it). Grandma also read E The Winter Solstice book I had bought to read on the Winter Solstice. And Grandma spent some time making minor adjustments on the fabulous pajamas she had made us for Christmas:
Christmas morning was really wonderful, as usual. The boys got way too much from Santa and enjoyed it all. The adults all had a relaxing and enjoyable time too.

Unfortunately though, we were so relaxed that we didn't get out of the door until later than we should have, and arrived at B's brother Eric's in New York about an hour late. He was great about it though, and there was still plenty of food (brunch). Despite the fact that I could barely breathe, I had a really nice time, and was so glad to see Eric make my mom and sister feel so welcome. It's been a long time since my in-laws and mom have spent time together and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Although I had my camera with me, I unfortunately did not take it out. Not many photos this year at all, I'm afraid.

Aunt Debbie was disappointed that White Castles was closed, but we did find a pizza place to get a New York pizza before heading home. Once here, we ate some leftover pot roast and sat around and relaxed. (I had pretty much shoved a pot roast at my mother the night before saying "here, make this".)

The boys got to spend some time with Aunt Debbie, showing her around Webkinz World, and explaining how to get things done with her new pig, which they had gotten her. Both of them are really looking forward to spending time with her online.

It was sad watching Aunt Debbie and Grandma go on Wednesday afternoon. For the boys it had been a wonderful Christmas, and for me it meant that I wouldn't get the opportunity to be the hostess I always enjoy being. Oh well.

Other than picking up Nagy Papa from the train station that night, and taking him to an appointment the next morning (his car needs a water pump) I've pretty much spent the last few days in my pajamas sleeping or watching TV. Although today we did manage a few very local errands.

This will always be "The Christmas that mom was sick". Oh well. You know, so many times when our children get sick, we wish we could be sick instead of them. And I've told myself a hundred times this week "better me than them". I really meant it too. But enough is enough! If I'm not feeling better by Monday I'm going to the doctor. This is crazy.

Wordless Wednesday

"A New Energy Expender"

Learn more about Wordless Wednesday, and find the blogroll of others who are participating here.

Merry Christmas

Well I've been sick for six days now; horrible, horrible, cold. Each night I go to bed hoping I'll wake up better, get only four or five hours of sleep because I can't breathe or my nose is running, and wake up with an all-new symptom to add to the collection. And Christmas is my favorite holiday.

I've managed to enjoy much of it though, and certainly the boys are in heaven, so I will blog about it all before it floats away from my already foggy brain. Tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday, but Thursday I will sit down and try to write it all out. I will enlist the help of the boys, since they have memories of the last few days with Grandma and Aunt Debbie, and without me. So we'll try to put together the full story of our holidays this year and post it by Friday.

I'm very bummed about being too tired to write since I sent out my blog address on my Christmas cards this year, and can see by my counter that more people are checking in, and this is not exactly the best introduction to my daily blog. But what can you do? Hang in there, check out the archives, and hopefully you'll find it worth the return trip.

I'm so sick

I woke up on my birthday (Wednesday) with a horrible cold, which actually might be the flu, but either way four days later I still feel awful. I'll post something tomorrow, hopefully, or honestly, just whenever I feel like it.

Woe is me :-(

Wordless Wednesday

"Keeping Still"


Loving the idea of Wordless Wednesday. Learn more about it, and find others who are participating here.

Here is the blogroll for Wordless Wendesday (the list of blogs which participate)

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

A friend called yesterday morning and asked if we were available that evening for a trip up to Old Sturbridge Village. They were having a Christmas in Candlelight event and I was so glad we could join them. So after the boys spent a full day of fun out with old friends, we picked up B early at work and stayed patient through a couple of setbacks which put us in at 1/2 hour late, and were happy to meet up with our friends in Massachusetts!

We got to see some chestnuts roasting on an open fire in the very first building we went into. We got to taste them too - yum! Seems that the chestnuts R found may not be edible, so we got some tips on how to tell, and will check them out again next year. (Gotta love the how the connections keep happening!)

In no particular order, we had an opportunity to make some crafts, which we plan to hang on the Christmas tree in hopes that Santa will fill them up with treats. And we enjoyed some authentic mulled cider, which was better than the cider and cinnamon sticks we enjoy heated up at home.

We enjoyed a ride on a horse-drawn sleigh, which was so much smoother than a typical carriage ride (remember to click on the photos to enlarge them).






A wonderful bonfire warmed up our butts quite nicely, as did the numerous cups of tea, hot chocolate and cider which the general store provided free to members.

We also had the opportunity to visit with Santa, although E decided he would wait to visit the "helper" he knows and is comfortable with at the hardware store today. Father Christmas was also there, but I encouraged the boys to join me outside when he started talking about the history of Santa Claus; no need to fool around with the very firm belief still existing here.




B let himself be coaxed into doing some Virginia Reel dancing, while our friend L jumped right up to join in. The rest of us relaxed and watched:

We came home with a store bought Christmas ornament for our tree, and free ones which they handed out at the tinsmith which are just as beautiful. We had a really "wonderful" evening. I'm so very glad we went. And this definitely convinced me that we need to renew our OSV membership; I had been ambivalent about it till now.

The absolute only complaint about the entire evening is that this photo came out the way it did:







argh.

Craft night in Maine

Grandma hosts two craft nights per year; one for all the girl cousins, who have been doing it for many years now, and for the past two years, one for the boys who were born in 1997 (and E, even though he's younger, because "he's my grandson"). So we headed up to Maine on Saturday after both boys' basketball was done, and arrived near bedtime.

Sunday morning found us at a diner having breakfast with E's namesake, and Aunt Debbie.
Sunday afternoon was filled with crafts.
Unfortunately, like last year, one of the cousins couldn't make it. Different cousin at least. Everyone had a wonderful time anyway, and Grandma found out that her thought that no one was really into it, was far off the mark.

My sister and I did some shopping and had an enjoyable lunch at Applebees during the crafts, since it's strictly a drop-off party. We arrived back early enough to ensure that we got a photo of all the attendees.




While in Maine, we also enjoyed the 12 inches of snow which had fallen before we arrived. The boys love going down the steps along side the house, down into Grandma's backyard. It's a good hill and the bumpiness is enjoyable; at least that's what I hear.











They also worked hard to make a tunnel in the plowed snow, and were very proud to get it done before we had to come home.

Grandma ventured down into her backyard to explain to the boys how her new pier is going to look when it's done.
We enjoyed some shopping with Grandma on Monday, and then when Aunt Debbie got out of work at four, a movie. We went to Smitty's, where dinner is served before the movie, and enjoyed some pizza, chicken nuggets, chicken quesadillas, and french fries before watching Enchanted. Heads up to parents of little ones, the ending of this movie is scary. It was very contradictory to the tone of the rest of the movie, and the previews gave no indication that it would end this way, so if you have kids who are sensitive to that sort of thing, beware.
We enjoyed it though, although it wasn't as funny as the boys had hoped. "They took all the funniest parts and showed them in the advertisement." A good lesson in marketing.

We also enjoyed some fun with my nephew Mikey. The boys had a blast playing with their little cousin, and E loved when Mikey wore E's Sponge Bob slippers as long as he did. What a cutie. I'm so glad he enjoyed being with the boys as much as they enjoyed him.
His dad, my brother, had gastric bypass surgery while we were there. I got to see him in the hospital, and other than a grouchiness which demonstrates the disappointment that his idea that the whole thing was going to be a walk in the park was wrong, he is doing fine. Unfortunately though, bringing him his belongings meant that we got a late start home, and missed R's soccer practice. Not ones to waste an opportunity, we stopped into the West Farms Mall, and got some Christmas shopping done for B, and a quick heely around both floors of the entire mall, before continuing home.

I've learned the beauty of listening to audio books while driving to Maine alone. I can listen to whatever I want since the boys watch the DVD player, and the three and a half hour drive zips right by. I still have two discs to finish though! Ender's Game has been great so far. I will probably pick up the next one (it's a trilogy) in book form.

B was making hamburgers when we arrived home, so when they were done we all sat and visited and recounted our weekend. We all had a really enjoyable time.

What is it?

Back in September, R brought this home from a morning walk with Nagy Papa. We considered cutting it open to see what was inside, but it looked so cool, we thought we'd just enjoy its present state another day. It was very prickly, and actually hurt to hold. I don't remember how he got it home.

Well, by the time Dad got home that evening it looked like this!

Needless to say, we decided not to cut it open it all. Glad we did, because the next day it looked like this:
Well, imagine our surprise to find what was inside! This city girl had no idea what a chestnut looks like when it falls from a tree. And I must admit it was so much more fun just watching it day by day, instead of looking it up to find out what it was.
The pleasure we received from checking on it and watching it bloom right before our eyes was so enjoyable.

And just as enjoyable was seeing this a couple of weeks later at the Durham Fair.

It's amazing how connections happen if we just pay attention and recognize them. R was so excited to see these at the fair and know what they were. And he was also very happy to see they won a blue ribbon.

Of course, we couldn't resist touching them and enjoying that familiar prickly feeling too.

A giant bee's nest

Check out the size of this thing! We stopped using the shed since we discovered it in there mid-summer. It would have cost us $140 to have it removed, so we left it there and moved the tractor into the garage. And we've been patiently waiting for it to get cold enough for the bees to cease being a threat.

Look at the beautiful texture on this thing:

I think I had more fun cutting it open than the boys did. Actually, B and I were really enraptured by the thing. The boys showed some interest, and enjoyed the cutting it up part, but nowhere near as much as I did.

The dozens of bees were still alive in there, but very much groggy from the cold, so they were no longer a threat. It was interesting to just look at their behavior in this state.

We also had the opportunity to see larva; it does not have wings or legs but looks like a small worm. Typically it stays in its cell until it urns into a pupa, which we also got to see. It was really cool to see them all lined up in their cells the way we've only see in books before. Here is the one we had handy and looked through after we saw all this cool stuff, and wanted to know more about everything we had seen!
We are so glad we did without our shed for a couple of months, and didn't spend the money to rid ourselves of this thing, because doing it ourselves was very cool! We even saved several pieces to bring inside and display.

Remember - you can click on any of the photos to see them up close.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been feeling the need for a break from my mother's family, so this year we stayed home for Thanksgiving, rather than go up to Maine.

This fabulous day started with R and E surprising B and I with breakfast in bed. This was the first time R had made sunny side up eggs and he did an excellent job. Also on the first time he made coffee. He figured it out just by watching me make it every day. E did the toast. I don't think I can adequately convey what a wonderful surprise this morning was.

After breakfast we all rolled around in bed together for quite a while. The only thing missing was the Thanksgiving parade since we don't receive any broadcast TV anymore. But it was still wonderful. B and I watched an episode of The Waltons while R and E kept busy getting their free food for their pets on Webkins.

Last time I made Thanksgiving dinner I did not especially enjoy myself, but this time I kept my preparations to a minimum. B was appalled to see a box of Stove-top Stuffing on the counter yesterday, but on the other hand he didn't offer to make any from scratch.

The day was very relaxed and enjoyable. I made the turkey and gravy last night so I could have the oven free for other things, and that worked out perfectly. The turkey ended up taking a couple of hours longer than the longest time on the label. I don't know whether that was because the inside was still slightly frozen when I put it in, or perhaps my oven is off, but either way, I had planned for the turkey to come out, and to prepare the gravy at 9:00 pm, and I actually didn't get to bed till 1:00 am. Would've been mighty crappy to be waiting that many hours for an overdue turkey on Thanksgiving!

I heated it up in the oven today in a quiche dish with some water thrown in, and the turkey stayed nice and moist. And I didn't have to think about actually cooking or preparing anything till an hour before we ate.

Dinner was very good. In addition to turkey and gravy, we had mashed potatoes and corn, and a casserole with the Stove-top and broccoli and cauliflower, which was quite good. We also had some cranberry sauce which I made yesterday. I was very happy that it tasted so good since I made it with maple syrup and unsweetened applesauce instead of sugar. Yum!

I toyed with the idea of making some pumpkin bread, but that was a two hour ordeal, and I really did want to keep it simple. So yesterday I made pumpkin cookies instead; a box of spice cake and a can of pumpkin. Spoon on cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Easy and yummy.

Nagy Papa joined us, which was very nice. He had thought he might bring someone from his condo complex who had no place else to go, but it turned out she did. Worked for me since it meant I didn't have to get the boys to wash the walls in the hallway. That's coming soon though anyway since they are getting pretty gross.

I left a message on my mom's voice mail since she didn't pick up when I called this afternoon. I hope she is having a nice Thanksgiving. I miss being with her for it.

It was a beautiful day and we all spent some of it outside. I hope it's this nice tomorrow when we get back to our leaves!

After dinner we watched A Christmas Story which I had picked up from the library this week. And during the end of that we ate some of my pumpkin cookies and the Reese's Pieces ice-cream cake Nagy Papa brought from Sweet Claude's.

Last year for Christmas Nagy Papa gave R a K'nex kit with three pieces of an amusement park. He had cleaned his room earlier this week, hoping that some friends could come over and play (unfortunately that didn't work out), and couldn't resist filling up that empty floor in there! He enjoyed showing of his amusement park (with ferris wheel which had come from Grandma another time) to Nagy Papa. He is now talking about modifying it all. We'll see where this weeks takes us.

E spent a portion of the day creating a laptop computer out of paper and sending emails back and forth with Nagy Papa. And getting his feet incredibly dirty outside barefoot (while R ran around in shorts).

What a great day! And it's nice that since I cooked I have leftovers. We are looking forward to turkey sandwiches tomorrow, and turkey pot pie on Saturday. And I used the carcass to make a stock so we can use that for other stuff this week.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Risk

Our playgroup used Wednesday for an "educational" activity this week. The boys were not interested in making and talking about their own altars for The Day of the Dead, or listening to a book about it, or learning the Mexican Hat Dance, or eating Mexican food with their playgroup friends. They want playgroup to be playgroup. So instead we stayed home and learned how to play Risk.

I was never really a fan when I was a kid, but I'm so loving it now.

There are amazing things to be learned from this game. All those little pieces on the board are roman numerals. We learned them very quickly. Multiplying, or skip counting, depending on whose turn it is, is also essential. We talked about how geography has changed over the years, and what happens to people when someone else takes over their country. And most importantly we learned about sportsmanship. That one has been an ongoing lesson...

We spent at least five hours playing on Wednesday, and left the game on the table for four days before we agreed to call it a draw. I'm thinking about cutting the legs down on one of the tables in the basement to use as a coffee table in the living room. It will take up a lot of room, but will give us a place to leave stuff like this. So far no one else likes the idea except me. One of those tables is leaving the basement either way.

Snow

Yes, that is snow. Friday, November 16th. Litchfield County, CT.

Final Beardsley Zoo class till the spring

This time the younger class got the good teacher. She still has problems with watching the time though and always ends up spending too much time on the lecture portion and having to run through the activity. E got to touch another snake this week during the lecture.

The fun activity today was going through those cool "staff only" doors. This time around we got to see the zoo keepers preparing all the food for the animals. We got to see them cutting up fish and meat for some of the carnivores, and veggies for some of the herbivores. Both age groups got to see this at different points.

They also got to go into the basement and check out what was in the freezers. Yes, we got to see lots of different bags filled with different sized frozen mice. It was really cool. I'm so glad I'm a chaperone and I get to do this too.

The younger kids got to prepare the food for the bison and deer. They had big garbage cans full of food (the dry stuff like they have in the candy machines to buy to feed in the petting zoo) and the kids had to measure the food into buckets for breakfast the next day. They had to weigh the food to precise amounts, since they are very strict with the amounts the animals eat. R says the older kids did the same thing for the farm animals. He loves getting to hang out with the two boys he's gotten to be friends with in this and the White Memorial class.

About divorce

Today E asked a couple of interesting questions. First he wanted to know what a half brother is. Evidently R had gotten that one wrong.

He also wanted to know what happens when people get divorced. After explaining how forms are filled out to submit to the government, etc., I got "Oh. I thought people dressed up in their fancy wedding clothes again, and slapped each other all over to take back all their kisses."

Our passports...

have arrived in only 10 days! I simply cannot believe that 10 days ago, on Saturday, November 3rd, we sat in the post office getting all our paperwork in order, and here we are 10 days later with our passports in hand. I guess the government is all caught up now!

The whole world is ours...

A Pirate Show

A homeschooling family here in CT organized a show at a local library; a pirate who performs Cajun, Zydeco and New Orleans music for kids. He was supposed to have performed from 1:00 till 3:00, but the show went from about 1:15 till 2:15. He would've been a lot better if parents got in free. Fifteen dollars to see this guy was simply not worth it. He is the kind of guy that the libraries should pay for and invite the neighborhood kids to see him for free.

The boys had fun though. But when I asked R, he admitted that the show wouldn't have been if we hadn't run into some old friends there.

A few weeks ago we watched National Geographic: Blackbeard - Terror at Seaand the boys learned about the reality of being a pirate. The show was really terrific, blending acted out scenes with facts to create a captivating program. R loved it, and was thrilled to be able to recognize Blackbeard's flag at the Renaissance Faire last month (never did get around to blogging about that - maybe I'll find time to go back).

Anyhow, when the homeschool show pirate asked the kids if it would be fun to be a pirate mine said "no". E still loves a good game of pretend pirate, and playing with his pirate action figures, so I had to chuckle when I heard the response. I guess he can appreciate "pretending" to be a pirate vs. "being" a pirate.

I quit my job

I'm copying this over from my other blog. I originally posted it on the other one since it is more about me than info about our unschooling family, but then I decided it's really one and the same. Plus, I know some people only read this one and would miss out. So here it is; I quit my job...

I've been freelancing for a woman for a several months now. She actually sent me home with a mac so I could work when she needs me to. It's been really wonderful to make some extra money for us, and I really do like what I do.

Recently though, my client discovered she has breast cancer. So she started farming out her work, so that she can have the next few weeks unencumbered. She gave me two jobs to work on. One for a local Chamber of Commerce, and another for a car dealership which does a weekly newspaper ad. I knew the next couple of weeks would be very full and somewhat stressful, but I felt I owed it to my client to be there for her. Plus, to be honest, all those billable hours would be really nice.

Well after several days of working on the Chamber of Commerce thing, my client added up the hours and decided it would be best to give the job back to them. Apparently even paying me at less than what she was billing, she would lose money. It was a combination of reasons, really. The customer made many changes which had not been included in the original quote, and passing the thing on further down the line meant communication was being lost; kind of like the telephone game. So I spent four hours on something before I was told that it needed to be completely redesigned, at which time I spent another four hours redesigning it. If my client had not been ill and distracted, I'm sure the information would have been passed on correctly the first time around, but that was not the case, and I spent a lot of time doing work which was wrong. So in the end she (rightly) decided it was best to give the job back to the agency and let them deal with it.

Then we have the car thing. These folks are completely unprofessional. I'm not going into the details of the whole thing, but the bottom line is they were supposed to have had the ad all approved so I could upload it to the newspaper by noon on Thursday, and Friday at 5:30 is when I was finally able to upload it.

So I told my client that I would not be able cover the car ad for her until she returned to working full time. It would make me a slave to the house on Thursdays and Fridays and wasn't fair to the boys. So Saturday morning she came and took her computer back so she could give it to someone who could cover for her.

My feelings are so mixed. Bottom line is that I made a choice to stay home and raise my children, and homeschool them, and to expect them to entertain themselves two days a week for the next several was not fair. Not to mention that we would have to cancel plans already made for those days.

I also feel frustrated that my client left feeling that I took way longer to do the work than she would have. I know this would not be the case had she been her normal self - instructions would not have been missed, and I certainly would not have had to spend the enormous amount of time I had to gathering all the files together from all the different places she had it stored. I only hope that when she is herself again that she is able to see that I am still valuable to her, and that the time I spent on all her work is justified. "If you always do your best, there is no way you can judge yourself." Man, this book rocks. It is my life preserver.

There is also a piece of me which feels proud on a couple of levels. First, I have my priorities straight. Second, I feel that car dealership and the agency who represented them really were unprofessional. I refuse to work with people who don't respect me, especially after I explained my circumstances to make sure they were okay with my time limitations.

Finally though, I am dealing with the whole money thing. It doesn't seem fair that society judges people on their worth according to their monetary worth. And that that viewpoint is so prevalent that it has rubbed off on me, even though consciously I know I what I contribute to my family is worth more than some extra money. If I could just get my husband on board with that...

We love E

Yesterday we were on the way home from a Halloween party, when two streets away from home E started flipping out because he bit into one of those glow necklace things, and it broke in his mouth. R said the inside of his mouth was glowing. E was really stressed.

I sped up to about 45 down our 25 mph street and raced into the house to call poison control. Seems it's a frequent question, and we shouldn't worry about it. I had already directed E into the bathroom to rinse out his mouth with water, and luckily he hadn't swallowed any of it, so other than some "slight burning and a glowing mouth" we shouldn't be alarmed.

"I almost died!" E took quite a while to settle. And then we discussed the fact that this is the second time that he has fiddled one of those darn things into breaking. B took out his stress by starting to yell at E about it until I whisked the poor kid away.

After I got E into his pajamas, I found R sitting out on the driveway.
"Come here R."
"What?"
"Was all of that upsetting to you? Do you need a hug?"
"I thought E was going to die!"

We had an interesting conversation about what would've happened if poison control had said to call an ambulance, and I assured R that they would have pumped E's stomach in time. I pointed out to him that he did an excellent job of staying calm and not adding to E's stress in the back seat of the car; that it is a great thing to be a person who can keep his head clear while an emergency is occurring, and wait till it's all done to cry. He beamed at me through his tears.

Photo by E

Beardsley Zoo Classes

Thursday 10/18 - 12:30pm-2:30pm

Predators/Prey

We'll tour the predator area and take a close look at the adaptations the critters have for their hunting lifestyle, We'll learn how zoo keepers help these animals hone their hunting instincts and show their wild side! Hands-on project: students will make an enrichment item for one of our predators.

"I don't want to go, it's not as good as the nature class at White Memorial".

"Well E was afraid to go without me, so I'm a chaperone now, and I can't just not show up."

"OOOOooohhhhh."

"Wow look, these are all my friends from the White Memorial class."

No, I'm not the only one who is willing to travel to classes across the entire state. This stuff is so worth travelling for and our state is so darn small anyway!

R went off with the bigger kids and I got to chaperone the first through third graders. Unfortunately, this time around the educators switched classes, and E got the boring guy R complained about last time. It took a remarkably shorter time than I expected for E to look like this:Just a little positive reinforcement that we have made the right decision to keep our boys at home. The guy had no clue. If I only had E in a class I'd ask the female teacher to stick with the little kids, but then poor R would be bored. I guess we can hope they switch back and forth. It was especially tough for the little kids (one boy who obviously homeschools because he is a kinesthetic learner, and was driving the poor kid next to him crazy, especially) because the zoo educators weren't as organized as they could have been, and had the kids sitting and doing nothing as long as maybe school kids are used to in school, but was torture for homeschoolers. I do have to say that E might actually be able to go un-drugged in school, because although he learns very little while he is sitting still, at least he doesn't bother anybody either!

The "lecture" portion of the class did include some hands on with feathers, and a tiger's jaw. And of course, a real live python which E insisted I take a picture of to send to Grandma.
The best part of the class though, the part that makes it worth it to drive 40 minutes for, is the out of the class-room and into the zoo part. The "Hands-on project" part. This month the younger kids made raw meat sandwiches which were wrapped up in vines. Then the zoo educators/keepers held the wolves in a holding area, while the kids ran free in their roaming area and placed the sandwiches around for them to enjoy.After that, they brought the kids out of the wolves' roaming area and into the human viewing area. Then when the kids were all in place and had a great view, they let the wolves out to enjoy the sandwiches (excuse the crappy arrow, I was in a rush).
E was so incredibly excited to see one of the nine wolves (7 of which, E loves to remind us, were born this past May - the month he was born) pull one of his sandwiches off the rock he placed it on, and another pull out the one he hid under the log.This was great stuff. E had a phenomenal time, and R told us about the pvc piping they sanded, glued together, and stuffed with food for the otter enrichment "hands-on project" the bigger kids did.

We are so blessed to be able to educate our kids this way.