Growing Things

Early in the spring I planted a small garden with the children. I envisioned a spring and summer full of wonder as we watched the little seeds sprout and grow into beautiful plants and then being able to enjoy the fruits, or in this case veggies, of our labor. This was not to be however. Almost none of the seeds sprouted save for a few peas, which quickly died. Our little project instead turned into a lesson on disappointed hopes.

It was not all for naught however, our tomato plant fared well and we have harvested a few ripe tomatoes from its vine. There are more plump green tomatoes hanging there as well though with all the cool nights, they are not ripening (I will have to attempt to fry some). And, after hearing of our woes, a neighbor shared some of her pole bean seeds with us. Having learned from our previous planting mistakes, we placed our little seeds of hope in the garden, watered them daily, and waited. Sure enough, after a few days we saw the little heads of our bean sprouts and in the following weeks watched as the plants climbed higher and higher up their trellis and then start flowering. Jus a few days ago we picked some nice large beans off our plants. I prepared them and it was just enough for the kids and I to eat them with our dinner (Luke was working late that night so was unable to enjoy them with us). They were delicious and I at least felt a sense of accomplishment as we dined.


As a way to further the kids experience with growing things I picked a project that would be more likely to have good results. We made grass caterpillars using the legs off an old pair of Lily's stockings. We filled them with dirt and grass seeds, tied the ends, and glued some old buttons on for a face. The kids had to water them every day and, of course, wait. After a couple of days, they were yelling excitedly that they could see the grass sprouting through the stockings. And over the next several days we watched as the caterpillars grew their fuzz.




It was like making our own little Chia Pets. It may not be very useful and we won't be able to eat this one, but it sure was fun!

A good beginning

These are shots from a nature hike we took recently through a wetlands preserve. It's an area we drive by on an almost weekly basis but had never stopped so I decided to just go the other day and see what it was like. It's too bad that the day turned out to be cloudy and on the verge of rain but we took a chance and the rain held off til just after we left. Now that we've done it we'll go back on a prettier day--maybe when the foliage is at the height of it's autumn change.

We thought this Queen Anne's Lace looked like a bird's nest when closed

2 of the 4 Praying Mantises we saw: one of them flew away from us, which was rather startling

This was towards the end of the hike when Noah said, "I think we should go back now, this is sorta creepin' me out". Hopefully on a crisp, sunny fall day he won't feel that way.

This nature walk marked the end of the first two weeks of our second go round with homeschooling. It's been an easy-going, enjoyable time too. The kids were ready for it I think--at least they haven't put up much of a fuss even if they aren't as enthused as I'd hoped they'd be. We are using a whole new curriculum this year and I like it a lot. It's literature based, which means we do a lot of reading together and that enables Lily to participate in the learning experience rather than feel left out as I think she did much of the time last year. Noah is reading like a champ these days and instead of just looking at the pictures or asking me to read something to him, I will find him reading to himself in his free time. He also loves to listen to books on CD and will often listen to the same one over and over again.

Today, after a morning of schoolwork, was spent at the park with a large group of friends, some old some new, who we will start meeting with regularly next week when Monday Homeschool Classes start up again. Noah will be playing soccer again and Lily will just be playing. There weren't any classes offered this session that were a good fit for either of the kids but it is really great for them to just get out and play with a really eclectic group of kids and I love to have the time with all the mothers. It's a great place to share ideas and stories and supporting one another in our common goal of educating our children. We all use different curriculums and are from all different walks of life but we at least have that one thing in common.

After seeing the way the kids played together at the park today, I am so excited for it to start again. Together, boys and girls, ages 3-8 built a log cabin out of dead tree branches and sticks in the woods at the edge of the playground. They had a fireplace inside, reinforced the walls with rocks, and built a fort near-by complete with sling shots and other 'weapons' to protect the cabin. It was really rather impressive!

So, yes, it's been a good beginning and, though I have already spent some time wondering if I have really chosen the best curriculum for our family or if I'm doing it right, or doing enough, I know that this road that we've chosen is right and good and will be a blessing to all of us.

Block Island

This past Friday Luke and I dropped the kids off with their Aunt and Uncle and we headed out to Point Judith, RI where we caught the ferry to Block Island, a teeny little island (9+ square miles) just south of Rhode Island known as the Bermuda of the North. This trip was in celebration of our 10th anniversary and since we started this marriage off childless, we decided to celebrate it sans children as well. We knew the kids were in good hands and would have plenty of entertainment to keep them occupied and free of any emotional upheaval at our departure. They couldn't wait to have 3 whole sleep overs with their cousins and had been talking about it for weeks in advance!

The ferry ride was a one hour jaunt across the Block Island Sound. It was beautiful and sunny and relaxing. The perfect start to our weekend. We docked in Old Harbor at about 2:30 and headed up the road, luggage in tow, to our hotel. All of the rooms are named after shipwrecks from before 1872 and ours was the Princess Augusta, which ran aground on the island in 1738. It was decorated in the Victorian style and was spacious, comfy, and beautiful.

We relaxed for a bit and then headed back to town and walked around looking at all the hotels, shops, and restaurants which dominate the Harbor area. We ate the first of many delicious meals, walked out on the jetty at sunset, and visited a gallery featuring amazingly beautiful pictures of the island. We met the photographer, Malcolm Greenaway and chatted with him and his assistant who gave us some good tips about the island. When she noticed our name on the credit card slip (from the purchase of his coffee table book) she told us some of the history of the Rathbun family and the island.

Apparently a John Rathbun(/bone/burn/bum) was one of the first to settle Block Island and arrange for it's purchase. In 2007 the bi-annual Rathbun family reunion (for which my in-laws have received invitations) visited Block Island. They visited the headstone, which was erected in 1983 in honor of John Rathbun and his wife, the Southeast Lighthouse,

which sits on the land that was originally allotted to the Rathbuns and viewed the Rathbun family Bible at the Historical Society (we were not aware this Bible was at the historical society when we visited so did not know to look for it). It was rather surreal to find out there was so much ancestral history tied up in this vacation hot-spot.

Because the island is so small most people bring or rent bikes in order to see all the sights. We'd been told this was a must-do and so, despite the on-and-off rain Saturday,we joined the pedaled throngs. Of course as soon as we set off the intermittent nature of the precipitation became a steady light rain and progressively worsened during our up hill ride to the lighthouse. When we reached our scenic destination the heavens opened up and let fall a veritable downpour. We sheltered on the covered porch of the lighthouse and waited out the worst of it.

Well, what we thought was the worst of it anyway. No sooner did we re-mount our bikes than the skies opened up yet again and we rode back down the huge hill pell-mell through the driving rain. Needless to say, we did not ride bikes any more that day. But, hey, it sure was memorable.

We were quite pleased when the sun was shining brightly through our windows on Sunday morning. We surely got our money's worth out of the bikes that day riding around the entire southern portion of the island. The only mistake we made that day was that we went in the opposite direction from the day before. This made perfect sense to us at the time but it wasn't until we were more than halfway around the island and were still riding up hill that we realized why it was a bad idea. We jealously watched as more and more bycyclists went flying past us in the opposite direction while we were wheezing and struggling up yet another incline. I have to say though, I am quite impressed with the fact that I actually did it (granted I did walk up a couple of the steepest bits) and did not collapse in a heap on the side of the road.

We saw some beautiful sites including the Mohegan Bluffs. You descend a wooden staircase of more than 200 stairs to a gorgeous stretch of beach nestled between the cliffs. That was really quite impressive.

Later in the afternoon we had to return the bikes and since we hadn't seen the Norhthern stretch of the Island we rented a moped for three hours. We drove up to the North Lighthouse and, though it was closed, enjoyed the views of an impressively rocky beach and Sachem Pond, just one of the many ponds that dot the island. That took all of a half an hour so the rest of our three hours was spent cruising around territory we'd already seen on the bike just hitting things from a different direction. Had we not already ridden the island on our bikes, three hours would have been a perfect amount of time but, as novel an experience as it was, it was a little bit of overkill. We learned many things on this excursion that will better serve us when/if we return but we certainly had an enjoyable time figuring it all out. Now we know.

So, Monday after we breakfasted (a scrumptious full buffet that was included in our hotel stay and was served on the patio overlooking yet another pond and the ocean) and did some shopping, we packed up, checked out and boarded the ferry for our trip back to the mainland. On our way out of the harbor we had a great view of Crescent beach that we didn't see coming in because we were on the other side of the ferry and my camera batteries died just as the boat past the last bit of land. How perfect.

We spent so much concentrated time outside walking/biking/riding--It was such a unique vacation. I have never seen so many different landscapes/oceanscapes all crammed together on one tiny piece of land (it's just a pin-head-sized dot on our wall map of the US). I have never spent that long away from my kids (and yes, I did miss them). It was an amazing weekend spent enjoying eachother and and the incredible beauties of God's creation. What more could you ask for (besides a longer vacation)?

Here is a slide show of the rest of the pictures I took (the good ones anyway). Hope you enjoy! You can also go to my web album to see the pictures in a better format.

PostScipt: When we pulled into Becky and Charlie's to retreive the children, we heard Lily yelling, "They're here, they're here!", and were anxiously awaiting the emotional reunion. So, we were a bit taken aback when Noah walked forlornly out to the kitchen to meet us and said, "Awww, can't we stay just a little while longer?" Hm, so glad you missed us!

Post Forthcoming

As many of you probably know, Luke and I were able to get away to Block Island in celebration of our 10th. I have much to tell and pictures to post but have not yet had a chance to organize them or my thoughts on the weekend as today was our first 'official' day of homeschool. I will post as soon as I get the chance...I know you are all waiting with bated breath...