Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - Why We Raise So Many Animals, Part 4 |
It’s probably no surprise to you, but raising livestock is work. We knew that when we started out, and now we really
know it. The good thing about this work is that it is a family work. There
are chores involved with raising livestock that even small children can
do. When my children give Daisy fresh “hand-picked” clover to eat while
I’m milking her, they are participating in the production of the actual
milk they drink. This is a family work that is very worthwhile for both
children and parents. We have not fully utilized this benefit yet (but
do I ever have plans!), but
it is worth thinking about and deliberately contriving a place where
children and parents can work alongside one another and receive such
tangible "fruits of your labor". There is a bonding that takes place in
a setting like that which you can’t get in any other way, I think.
Here’s
another benefit to children who grow up in a family that raises
livestock: homeschool science. Whether you homeschool or not, biology
takes on a whole new meaning when you are eviscerating home-grown
chickens and your children watch your every move, asking “What’s that,
Mommy? Oooooo….what’s that?”, every time you pull something out of the
bird. You get the lesson and the “experiment” all in one. And dinner
too. Haha. Seriously, though, learning about animals in books and
learning about them in real life is just not the same. Raising animals
is a great learning experience (for all of us).
One last benefit
for children in raising livestock is so that they’ll have good stories
to tell when they grow up. They can tell their children how they had to
get up early in the morning every day to milk the goats (and cow?) and
do their chores. Since we are
homeschooling, they won’t have the option of telling their kids that
they walked 10 miles to school every day uphill, in the snow, and
barefoot. But this will be a good substitute. No doubt there will be
many more stories my kids will be able to tell to their children
someday. There’s a lot of story material around here. Some more violent
than others. Like watching the dog chase the ducks around the pond and
actually catching one. You know, stuff like that. I can’t wait to hear
what they come up with.
No doubt there are more benefits that having animals is blessing my children with. I just can’t think of more right now.
Next time: self-sufficiency.
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Monday, May 29, 2006 - A Mom's Lament |
MY KIDS ARE GROWING TOO FAST! My youngest just turned three this
weekend, and I don't have any babies around any more! No more diapers.
I must say, it is easier to travel now, but I miss my babies. Chicks
are just not the same, as enjoyable as it is to watch them cheeping and
figuring out how to scratch the ground. Baby goats are also a lot of
fun, but now that they're four months old, they are too big to be out
roaming around (they eat my young trees because we still don't have a
fence to keep those little rascals contained). I just look at my
children and wonder where the time is going. I get so caught up in
day-to-day life, sometimes I forget the importance of working hard to
keep their hearts.
Note to self: Work hard to keep your kids' hearts! It's important! Keep
praying! Squeeze out every spare moment you can to hug, kiss, tickle,
and play!
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Thursday, May 25, 2006 - Winning and Losing: Every Mother's Dilemma |
It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. True? I
haven't really had the occasion to explore this topic as a mother until
just recently. My boys, through some fortuitous circumstances, have
landed on the same t-ball team, despite being 21 months apart in age.
Two boys, one schedule. I am a blessed mother.
But as I was saying, we haven't yet come to talk about winning and
losing in competitive events like sports. My older son played t-ball
last year, but the subject didn't come up because the team did not win
a single game. Naturally, at the end of a game, we just wouldn't say
anything about winning or losing. We just told our son what a good job
he did playing ball.
Well, last Saturday, my boys' ball team won their game. You can not
imagine my shock. Now here's the problem: do I get all excited about
winning, all the while knowing that this may be their only win ever?
Should there ever come a point when my boys learn that winning is
actually the point of the game?
I've been thinking about this, and I think that as a collective
society, we downplay the importance of winning too much, just so the
losers won't feel bad. I'm all for my boys feeling good even when they
lose, but they need to know that winning is the goal of the game. The
end result of everyone on the team stretching themselves to do their
very best should be to do better than the other team, and therefore win
the game. This is a big trend in schools - no academic competition
allowed. The losers feel bad about themselves, and the goal of
education now isn't to become educated, but to have the kids feel good
about themselves no matter what.
I don't want my boys to feel bad about themselves when they lose at
t-ball. But what I'd like to see when they lose, is for them to be
motivated to work harder and practice more. Because as a mother, I can
use all the help I can get in helping them learn to love hard work (or
at least accept it as necessary to reach a worthy goal and not entirely
unpleasant).
Now here is my disclaimer: I'm not saying I will be beating my boys
over the heads with winning, totally making their lives miserable when
we lose (because we will lose...a lot). When I say I will talk to them
about the importance of winning, that's all I mean. Just bringing it
up. Not majoring on it. Their natural competitiveness will take it from
there, right? At least, that is my idea. In theory. We'll see how it
works out in real life. 
Blessings!
Amey
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Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - How Exciting! |
I just won a copy of a magazine called Mary Janes Farm from Catherine Ann at Cat's Corner. I'd never heard of the magazine before, but it sounds really cool. I can't wait to see it!
This has been re-evaluation time for me for our homeschool goals,
curriculum, and such. I'm seriously considering using the guidance
given by the Ambleside
community. I really like what I have seen so far. The Charlotte Mason
method, even though it is nicknamed the "gentle art of learning",
really seems to provide a lot of structure if you go at it with a group
like this. I need the structure, so I'm going to give it a try. I had
been going at it on my own, using ideas from various classical books (Well-Trained Mind, Teaching the Trivium,
Dorothy Sayers, Douglas Wilson, etc.). But I find that at times it is
difficult for me to maintain the discipline I need when there's no
"formal" schedule involved. The end result has been that we have not
read NEARLY as much together this year as we should have. And I think
we have overdone it on the math. My thoughts are that 45 minutes to an
hour a day of math for a first grader is TOO MUCH.
So, I am
starting to gather the resources I need to get started with the
Ambleside schedule. Which is also very exciting, because BOOKS are
exciting. 
Blessings!
Amey
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About Me
I'm a midwestern gal, living my dream life on 7 acres in the country. I love Jesus, my husband, three children, Daisy the Wonder Goat, and our chickens. I'd still love to someday have a miniature jersey milk cow.
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Health through good nutrition
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