Hi Faithful friends and readers!

First off, just a quick apology for not being here last week.  Life surely happens around here sometimes and frankly, it just took over!  I was also in the middle of a column I help with at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  Please remember them in your prayers as they are in the heavy production time for the next wonderful upcoming issue!

Now, about that question.  Has anyone asked you if you are done with school yet?  I get asked that a lot.  Please don't feel alienated if you are "done."  Some folks actually get done!  We just do things our own way.  I know there is a sense of finality and satisfaction in finishing a project.  And we do finish lots of projects.  But there are many that we just keep adding to, and since we don't follow a canned curriculum, our answer is no, we are not done. 

Basically all these years we just keep trying to move forward with our learning, but not at a feverish pace.  Life itself can become a fast clip, but when you aren't pushing or following a public school model, then sometimes it can meander.  I like that term.  I LOVE to meander.  I love to walk slowly and take things in.  I like to examine creation.  I like to stop and smell the roses, as they say.  I love it when my kids meander too. 

Of course, getting kids, especially boys to meander is very hard.  They usually operate in one speed, and that is hyperdrive.  But believe it or not, my boys can meander, and stop, and examine and really SEE something that most people might just whiz right past.  I love that.  I really like seeing that happen!  One day when we were on a walk, my son spotted this ant moving this large green object.  It appeared to be a piece of fruit roll-up or something processed.  Nevertheless, this little guy was going to store it up for winter.  Consider this ant!

We have had several of those kinds of experiences lately in our relaxed homeschooling journey.  We enjoyed meandering down to the farm this week and planting sweet potatoes, watermelon, weeding, and all the while we were learning, working hard, observing, and enjoying ourselves.  Of course it was hard work, and that is a worthwhile education also.  But we got to see neat things like baby ladybugs.  They don't look like ladybugs, but they are pretty cool.

We acquired some tadpoles this week too.  They now live in a pond that we put into the ground.  When I went out to the back yard, I saw a baby bird floating in the pond and thought it had drowned.  But then I saw it moving!  So I picked it up and found that thankfully, it was still alive.  The kids held it and got it warmed up and after about 45 minutes it finally opened its eyes, fluffed its feathers and actually flew away!  It was a black bird, maybe a grackel.  I wondered if the mama bird would find it and continue to take care of it, and lo and behold, she found it and began to take care of it again.  It was a wonderful sight to behold.

While a lot of our learning is delight directed, lifestyle kinds of things, there are still academics that have snuck into our chaotic home.  My oldest has been going through a wonderful Algebra course, but was having trouble doing her lessons this week because of a sprained wrist!  Her little sister patiently and lovingly helped her by writing out the problems for her.  It was  downright sweet.

Something else really wonderful happened today, that we have been dying to have happen!  My youngest son found eggs in the chicken coop!  We got  a little flock of four chicks in March, and thought they might start laying around mid July.  Boy, did they fool us!  And the eggs were beautiful and so well formed.  "Freckles" was apparently the productive hen.  We are so excited about our little urban homestead.

So, in a nutshell, no, we aren't done with school yet!  We will never be done.  Learning happens all the time around here whether I want it to or not. 

Even Mom has learned a thing or two! 

Blessings,

Nancy

p.s. come by and visit me at my new website!  It's under construction, but that's ok.  No hard hats needed.

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