Friday Nature Study

"And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be given as food.'"
--Genesis 1:29

We headed out back this morning, with our picnic blanket, apple slices and oatmeal cookies, a basket for collecting -- and my camera.


I've found myself shooting less lately, and I miss it. My blogging is uninspired without it! I still have so much to learn, but this morning was just about hanging out with the boys and being present to whatever we discovered.

We spread out the picnic blanket in the shade of my parents' backyard, and I read to them from "A Kid's Herb Book." They climbed the giant evergreen magnolia tree, collected unripened pecans as the birds above us threw down their rejects, and made seed piles.

Littlest found a tiny ladybug larva on the stem of fallen branch...

After about an hour, it started to warm up, so we headed to our own very sunny garden, and pulled up arugula, parsley, basil and carrots for lunch.


Then we came inside to make pesto and pasta. It was extra spicy from all the arugula, but full of vitamins. I've found that picking their own greens inspires my kids to actually eat them! They wouldn't touch pesto otherwise!

Go read Jimmie's post about why nature study is important for Christian homeschoolers. But, first! Could someone direct me to the blog hosting the Friday Nature Study meme? I can't find it anywhere! Thanks. :)

Edited to update: I found it! Go see more Friday Nature Table at The Magic Onions blog!

Children and church

Christian Unschooling.com has a new post up about taking unschooled children to "Children's Church."

This can be such a challenging issue. As adult Christians we want the fellowship, or the litany, and to be fed in the Word, and we want to our children to feel at home at church, so they'll continue to be a part of the Body as they grow up. Some people go from church to church looking for a place where children are welcomed and families have options -- not just a place to drop off their kids, not just a program to entertain and "educate" them, but a place where Christ resides.

For me, the issue has always been ensuring that I respect what my children are ready for. My oldest son wanted to be with me until he was a toddler, and then he wanted to be where he could play and move. I volunteered in the nursery, but he was fine without me, too. My second son was totally different. He wasn't ready to leave my side until he was 5. So, he didn't. He was either with me in church, or I was with him in Sunday school.

My third son is just now old enough to attend Sunday school without me. I've been a nursery volunteer since before he was born. I haven't seen much of the inside of the sanctuary in that time, but that's okay. This Sunday, I took him in, got him settled, and then sat in the hallway listening to the class for 45 minutes.

I hadn't planned to spend the hour eavesdropping, it just worked out that way. (Honestly, I just needed a nap!) I did want to make sure he was truly okay with being there. The initial activity centered on coloring, which he doesn't care much about. But they didn't make him do it. He just sat and chatted, and the teachers were very sweet.

We are fortunate to be members at a fairly small parish, where the rules are not so firmly in place as to make flexibility for each child impossible. I know some local large churches where new parents would never be allowed to stay in the nursery with their toddler, while both parent and child take time to get comfortable there. But that's been regular practice while I've been involved in our nursery -- partly because it was important to me.

I'm typically not afraid to make my opinions known when I think it's really important. And I'm willing to step in and help if that's what it takes to make things how I think they should be. Not everyone feels comfortable doing that, and I'm sure it could get messy and obnoxious if everyone were like me!

I think the important thing is to know what's right for your child, and not to give up or give in if it's clearly not working. Try something different. Don't be afraid to ask for changes. Pray about it, and do what feels Right.

Labor Day

"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"
--Matt. 25:23

We spent today working together in the garden, sprucing up and doing end-of-the-summer chores. We were grateful for weather that was bearable into the afternoon.

I raked up old mulch and dead grass, Scott cleaned the pool, and the boys helped move things into the garage and line a flower bed with bricks. I hoped that might make the emptiness more cheerful.

It's rather brown and bleak back there right now, but at least it's tidier now.

The tomato plants are still producing, but look withered and worn from the extreme temperatures. But the winter squash plants are finally taking off, and there's new growth on the watermelon plant! The first few vines produced nothing, so we'll see if the new ones fare better.

It's time to pull out the corn, and plant peas, but I didn't get to it today. We came in, cleaned up, and decided to join friends for a movie.

Littlest got to hang out with his Papa, and the rest of us went off to see "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" again -- a fun treat after a hard day's work.

Just a funny

My eldest son sat next to me, munching on a pear he'd picked from my parents' tree. This was dessert after a lunch of sliced ham, a cookie, and milk.

"What would your Perfect Day be like, Eldest?" I asked.

"Cookies for every meal!"

"Hahaha. But you wouldn't really want just cookies for every meal, you'd be hungry all day."

"You're right. I'd want there to be trees where the branches are ribs... pig ribs. And the sidewalk is made out of bacon, and the street is made of steak."

"So, your Perfect Day is all about the food?"

"Yep!"

Yeah, what can I say? That's my kid.