Down on the Farm

Cow's milk, morning glory tunnels, butterfly gardens, goats, ostrich races. Crowe's Nest Farm has it all. This education center provides a hands on experience for the public to see how important farming is. I wasn't sure what to expect, and it was more than I could have hoped for.

Our field trip started in the big red barn, where we observed a variety of snakes and geckos. Several taxidermy animals were on display, as well as bones and horns. We also learned about the resources provided by farms for everyday products. Cotton clothes, honey, boots. There were plenty of things I could teach P about, and several I learned about myself.

Next was a milking demonstration. Farmer Dave showed us traditional milking and used the milking machine. He even walked us through the production cycle from the cow to HEB. We also met some baby pigs, and an 11 year old turkey. P had a great time thanking the animals for all they provide: milk, steak, bacon, sausage, and Thanksgiving dinner. Of course it'll be interesting to see how much he eats now.

The kids were in for a treat because the next stop on our trip was the hay ride. Here we learned about the bison and ostrich living on the farm. The ostrich decided to race us for a stretch, hinting at how fast the large bird could travel despite his inability to fly.

Learning is also about using our bodies, and I loved the freedom we had to explore at our own pace. We started with fence climbing, then checked out the pony, chickens, baby & adult pigs, peacocks, goats, llamas, pheasants, hawks and owls. We also had time to wander the gardens and play in "secret tunnels."

Although it was a bit chilly on our trip, in warmer months I look forward to seeing the butterfly garden. We found morning glories with beautiful purple blooms, and this mystery plant too. At home we learned the Datura blooms, then leaves a spiky seed pod - making plants that much more interesting to small hands!

The farm has a wide open picnic area where you can eat while watching and listening to the longhorns. The kids enjoyed being kids. I hope they have more knowledge now about how important farming is, and I know they have a much better idea of how fun a farm can be. 

"Hey, hey! Come here!"

"Hey, hey! Come here!"

As a parent when we hear this call, or any of it's similar variations, it could mean any of a thousand different ideas. Sometimes kiddo is clearly excited, sometimes angry, sometimes it's a mystery. When I react to this call I've had a variety of seemingly unimportant responses.

"My tag is itchy."

"I want you to watch me eat."

"My toy is stuck."

 It's very easy to brush off "Hey, hey! Come here!" And I have, more times than I can count. Being a stay at home parent means you have to pick and choose what calls to react to, not to mention how to react and when. If I'm cooking on a hot stove that call usually has to wait. Or when I'm finally making that important phone call. Or honestly, simply because I'm tired and we've done this 100 times today.

When we went hiking today the trail pushed kiddo. It was still doable for him, but I'd heard plenty of comments about how tired he was, he's shared several times how I was going the wrong way or too fast, and he made us play red light green light, which resulted in mainly red lights. I'd been coaxing him along to the scenic view toward the end of our trail, and I'd finally reached it. But kiddo had stopped before me, and uttered the expected phrase, "Hey, hey! Come here!"

I really wanted to say no. I wanted him to catch up to us, to enjoy the view I;d had in mind our entire trip. I caught a break though, and since we were planning to stop for a few minutes I went back to kiddo. And the view was breathtaking.

"It's the whole city," he said in awe. And even if it wasn't, it sure was a fantastic view, superior to the one where I'd stopped, even if only a few yards away. I almost missed it. We enjoyed the view for a moment, then continued the last few steps to our stopping point.

I hope he learned that mom is willing to have adventures on his terms at least part of the time. I hope he learned how to observe the world around him using not only his sight, but with his sense of smell and hearing. But if he didn't we still have plenty of time. More importantly than his learning was mine.

I was reminded to stop and smell the roses. Or rather, stop and see the view. He wanted to enjoy the hike just as much as I did, we simply had different methods. I had an agenda, he took it all in one step at a time. I was reminded that even though he has little feet, little legs and a little voice, he still has big ideas. And they're worth listening to.

Life is rushing by all around us. I hope we can both learn to take it in stride. For now though there's someone calling, "Hey, hey! Come here!" I'll take that as my cue.

The last days of school?

We have always planned to educate our child at home, even before he was in our lives. But like any parent, we've questioned our decisions and we want to make sure we're making the best choices for him, not simply the choices best for us. I was delighted this past week when kiddo finally said the magic words, "I want to do homeschool."

A little bit of background. We enrolled kiddo in a language immersion preschool shortly before his 3rd birthday. We see a second language as a valuable tool in life, and we wanted to give him a solid foundation. In our area there were a few programs to choose from, and we found a fabulous school. He's thrived there with the small classes and mixed ages. This summer though we hit a rough patch, and we took another look at area school, and reevaluated our situation. Instead of pulling him from school we actually added a third day to his schedule.

Five months later though we've hit another rough patch. We see three options: keep chugging along, go back to two days a week, or withdraw him from school at Christmas. For a variety of reasons we see this last option as the most viable.

We recognize the world is a large place to our four year old, so when he says "I want to do homeschool," does he even know what he's asking for? We've slowly become more involved with local homeschooling families, and he's had his share of exposure to the school environment. We know that any choice we make isn't forever. But we still struggle with the ever present parental self doubt.

Looking at the next several weeks as his last days of preschool is bittersweet. He's made friends, I've made friends, he's been given a different view of life and been well prepared for more knowledge. It's been fun, but we're excited for the adventure ahead!