The First Nature Walk

We went on our first nature walk.  I personally think it was a HUGE success.  Of course, I think my girls were having too much fun to notice that I planned this for school.  Oh, Laura knew in her head.  But in her heart, this was wonderful for her.  She drew a picture and wrote about the trip in her nature journal.  She explored with her sister.  It was so amazing to see their smiling faces.

The fall leaves were falling.  The water was beautiful.  We even had a man fishing on the other side of the pond.  The trees all around are a rainbow of colors.  It was refreshing.  It wasn't cold.  There was a hint of the crispness that is coming in the next couple of weeks.

Megan -

Charlotte Mason recommends a lot of outside time for children...especially the younger children.  Today Megan got it and then some.  She didn't want to come in!  We were outside together for hours this afternoon.

She ran and ran and played and played.

Laura -

Laura worked hard on her nature journal.  She was detailed in her pictures of herself throwing rocks into the pond.  She wrote about it too.  After complaining earlier in the day about having to write, she didn't even hesitate to pick up her pencil and write about what she did on our nature walk.  She wanted to get it all down before she could forget a detail.

Laura was great at helping to watch Megan too.  Megan, being a typical three year old, was fascinated with the water.  Laura kept her from getting too close.

She had a great time.  She wants to go again tomorrow.  I told her we would try to visit different places.  It was wonderful just to see her excited about anything school related.

I realized today, sitting by the water and contemplating the direction we are headed, that I have failed to inspire my kids to love much of anything.  I had all these ideas when I first began to homeschool.  Sadly, I should have stuck with some of them because they were closer to what we are beginning now than the direction that I let fear and doubt and even laziness drive me to.  I remember, over the summer, shopping for curriculum.  I just kept looking at everything with a heaviness feeling that there had to be a better way.  If I had really known that with the right level, and the right understanding on my part, Heart of Dakota could have opened up many doors for me last year.

I figure I just wasn't ready.  I had too many fears to deal with first.  The main fear is wanting to make sure that my kids are on par with the public-schooled children.  I've taken some heat for homeschooling in the first place. Laura struggled a little in math, and suddenly I'm being questioned.  The irony is that if she would have struggled in public school, they would have put her in an LD class.  That would have been the fix. Now, given some time to mature and one-on-one attention, she is nearly caught up to where she should be.  Actually, I think she may be right on target and getting ahead a little.  She has mastered concepts that I see others her age still struggling with.

I'm excited again about homeschooling.  The heaviness I felt is gone.  Today's nature walk was amazingly fun.  We didn't get into anything indepth.  No bug or bird classifications were happening.  However, we were outside.  The girls were playing with flowers and weeds, playing in the leaves, looking at the water.  The other stuff will come.