Nez Perce

Parenthood is a constant reminder in wonder. Not a day goes by that I am not amazed at the things my kids say or do. The ordinary is extraordinary. The colors are more vivid. The world is unfolding for them. And again for me.
Here was one such day. L. found an army of ants. We followed where they were heading. The hole / cave was so perfect, feather and all. That moment so true.

My little farmer (who still allows me to put overalls on him) decided the celery needed watering. I snuck this shot.

All hell broke loose when I interrupted the boys’ making something secret for me. J was assisting L in his quest and he was beside himself mad that I could see. And so I left, but not before catching that face.

J continued to learn about the food of the Nez Perce Indians and dug up bulbs just like they did. He then later ground the bulbs with mortise and pestle, quickly to learn how much work goes into a little bit of food.

J got enthusiastically got started on the house building of the Nez Perce, the teepee. We hit our favorite leather shop for scraps and got things rolling. The boys gathered oak branches for the poles.

The cornhusk dolls came out and J. made some leather clothing for them, just like the Nez Perce ~ something I had not at all anticipated.

Autumn Time

Around Halloween time, we headed to our favorite pumpkin patch with the killer view of the ocean.

Working on math, we got going with a circle with 10 nails to work on 3’s and 4’s times tables.

The craft store FINALLY had those flat glass thingies you can paint and glue magnets to, so I grabbed a bag and the boys took off with painting them, some with jack-o-lanterns. We got birthday favors and holiday gifts made ahead of December!

During the week of Halloween, I decided it would be fun to look back into our family history and learn some about the people who died before us. I made a family tree and read some letters about family members to J. We met up with our friends at a picturesque graveyard and the kids did rubbings with beeswax crayons on some of the tombstones. They also reluctantly practiced their math by figuring out how old some of the people were whose names are on the tombstones.

Little brothers found some funny bugs while we were there …

Mother Nature continues to show us the change of seasons, L. decided to pick some flowers, with the help of our dog Bourre. I melt any time the boys bring me flowers.

Add a costume and we’re in another place.

Got the pumpkins carved. Eager, we were.

Getting into full character.

I found this bean idea from a blog I can’t remember which ~ and wrote numbers on them for adding up various combinations. J. seemed to enjoy this ~

Headed over to a party to bob apples and play with friends ~

Then finally the day to dress up and collect candy. Trick or treating, then another bash…

Reroofing the house takes on new levels ~ lots of butcher paper to use! Plus ways to make mama nervous about my kids.

Plus large boxes have proven through the generations in our family to be of the utmost in fun.

November turned into a good time to start measuring. The butcher paper turned into a good thing to measure our bodies on. We started by hearing a story and measuring our own body with fingers and feet, then moved to a yardstick with real numbers. Here J and L are measuring the width of the house with their feet; it turned out to be lots more of L’s than J’s!

Of course, diversions happen daily. This one was worth observing first hand ~ shingles on a conveyor belt to our roof!

We headed outdoors to continue measuring real things ~ the circumference of some of our trees. The biggest was a Redwood that was 15′ diameter! It took a piece of rope to go all the way around.

So the boys discovered that great grandmother had hidden in the attic for years, and we had stashed away for *someday*. It was good timing, cap guns and all. We tried no guns and it worked for a while, but you just can’t keep something like this away from a kid, a boy no less. So they were captured big time. I was glad to see the cowboy costumes back in service, anyway. Socks with flip flops and all.

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For Martinmas, we made paper lanterns with our homeschool friends and had a lantern walk followed by a bonfire here. It was sweet.

My little boy brought me a surprise boquet the day before his 5th birthday. Had to grab the camera for that one.

He really wanted to help make his birthday cake.

We had fun making some party favors and early holiday gifts.

And gathering persimmon leaves for a birthday crown.

Seizing the moment to catch a ride on the dirt board down bark chips.

Oh, yeah. There was squash to harvest, too.

Birthday morning L. was surprised with a homemade bow and arrow and quiver from big brother and Papa. It would prove to be useful later in the day.

Five years, five friends, it was simple and fun. The kids had archery, pin the tail on the donkey, zip line and homemade pizza by Papa.

Zip line.

The costumes were not planned, but I knew would probably have a role somehow. J. was on big brother patrol.

We began our Native American studies, studying about the Nez Perce Indians of WA and Idaho, a connection with meaning for our family. We learned about their food, clothing and shelters. Here J. is making a teepee.

Another example of spontaneous play ~ here, the downspout turns into a great ramp for cars = gravity lesson….