the little things

Coral and I were working on some 4-H paperwork tonight, after I foolishly mentioned tomorrow's agenda right before bedtime. She was instantly engaged and not to be put off, so I showed her what needed attending and she immediately wanted to begin. Now the majority of it is pretty mundane stuff: writing name, age, address, club, and the like down for official records. It would take me about thirty seconds to fill it out for her and be done. Now for a recently-turned-six-year-old, it's a pretty monstrous task. It's also one she's not about to let me help with. This is where I've learned patience is a virtue. She got through name and age on her own, and the address took a bit but wasn't impossible. Then we hit a snag.

See that line there? It's kind of small. Our club name is kind of big. It ran through my mind that she'd have a hard time squeezing it in, but I refrained from mentioning it. She got the first part of the club name in there with no problems: "Osceola." Then she started to realize the dilemma on her own. "Adventurers" is an awfully long word. This is where I could have screwed it up by grabbing her pencil and telling her I'd write the rest.

"I don't think the rest is going to fit in there..." she reflected as she stared down at the line. I waited a moment before making a suggestion.

"You could always make a line underneath for the second word. There's space for one."

She sat thinking and then drew a line under the first, and looked at it for a minute. "Do I have to write the second word on that line? There's still space on the first one."

"No," I answered, "you can keep writing on the first line if you want."

"If I run out of room I can just write the rest of the letters on this second line." That settled, she decided to continue writing "Adventurers" on the original line. She got through the first three letters and paused again. "It's not going to fit but I don't like the line underneath."

"What if you made a little line that curved over the top?" She didn't grasp the concept and handed me the pencil, so I drew it in.

"How will the word go over the line? Can I run the letters up the hill or just stick them on top?"

I replied in an even tone, "Whatever you think looks best."

She tediously fit the rest of the letters on the segmented line, letter by carefully-placed letter, and finished the word. Then she neatly erased the bit of excess line sticking past the end of the word.

Sitting with her watching her writing out those two words probably took ten minutes. I could have had it down in five seconds and been on to something else. Instead, I let her call the shots. It was her paper, and her very real problem. By sticking with her and making sure I valued what she was doing, and letting her maintain control, she was able to figure out a solution. Instead of dreading writing large words the next time she comes across them, she knows she can work it out and I won't get frustrated with her questions or how long it's taking.

Sometimes the little things can be very big.

4-H : a palette of fun

Ibis seems to get short shrift around here on the blog, mostly because she spends so much time outside dangling from the monkey bars and avoiding me, schoolwork, chores, and my camera. However, she did have a lot of fun completing an art-themed project book for 4-H this year and I managed to snag some evidence to share. This huge book called A Palette of Fun is available for free online and she tried out six of the activities. I think Coral joined in for all six as well, and even Alexei and Hobie took part in a few. Art is ageless!

First, the kids all worked together creating a giant mural for what was then our schoolroom wall. Painting directly on the wall wasn't an option but a huge piece of paper from a roll we snagged for fifty cents at a yard sale filled in nicely. We nicknamed this our "graffiti wall" because anyone was free to add to it as they felt inspired. Sadly I never took any photos as it grew more colorful.

In September Ibis broke her right arm (and of course she's right-handed)  and waylaid our plans for awhile. School was challenging and handwriting went right out the window. Oddly enough she soon discovered a real talent for painting left-handed and proceeded to paint over fifty different works while her cast was on. They are still some of my favorite paintings. Who knew?

Six weeks later with a healed arm and heading into the holidays, she found joy in the many scissoring projects in her art book. Ibis has for some reason always had a bit of an obsession with cutting paper, so this was right up her alley. It only took me about two hours and several online tutorials to figure out how to fold the paper for paper snowflakes, which she then proceeded to learn in about five seconds. Kids have a way of making you feel old. We burned through a ream of paper in about a week as she practiced cuts to create various snowflake shapes; when you live in Florida I guess paper snowflakes have real appeal. In December she packed up her supplies and gave a demonstration to our 4-H club on making their own snowflakes. Everyone left with a wintry decoration and we managed to scatter about a thousand bits of paper all over the library (we picked them all up, I swear).

As fair time rolled around, Ibis decided to turn her paper snowflake project into a tabletop. Basically a tabletop is one of those three-paneled science fair boards turned into a visual report on a 4-H project topic. I wasn't sure how well something as basic as the folds for a snowflake would go over, but it won a blue award at the fair so the judges must have liked it. She was very proud of herself. It was funny seeing a board titled, "Let it Snow," in a sea of citrus and steer entries!

For the fair and another of her art projects she decided to make a papier mache Country Critter. Country Critters are made to look like specific animals using whatever materials you have on hand. She and Alexei chose to enter the small frame class which includes chickens and rabbits, at dimensions of 18" to 24" high and long. Thank goodness they didn't want to try their hands at making one of the giant cows! Since Ibis's art book already had an activity on papier mache, we decided to try that medium for the rabbits. None of the kids had ever seen anything like homemade flour paste before, and their reactions were priceless! It was a long and slow process waiting for each layer to dry, but in the end the kids' rabbits looked really cute. Ibis decided at the last minute to glue on cotton balls to make it more authentically fluffy like her real rabbit model, Snowball. It was a wise move because her Country Critter rabbit took Reserve Grand Champion at the fair and won a trophy!

Because we didn't have nearly enough else to do in February with the fair, she also entered another of the art book's activities, a cute 3-D flower painting, as well as about 567 other things. My kids love the fair.

Since we homeschool, the art book tied in nicely as a fun Friday activity already pre-planned for us during the spring months. Gotta love using 4-H as homeschool curriculum! First Ibis, Coral, and Hobie experimented with all sorts of different "brushes" for painting, including cotton balls, Q-tips, a toothbrush, a wad of aluminum foil, a straw for blowing, and a string. The string art was Ibis's favorite and Coral really liked blowing paint around with the straw. Hobie just enjoyed doing whatever his sisters did, hair bows and all.

Her final activity was learning to create contour drawings of familiar objects. She chose a stapler and she drew the very basic, simple outline from different angles and then turned the shape into an imaginary creature. It turned out really neat! This was one of my favorite art projects since it combined something practical like the drawing with something super fun. This is a project I could see us repeating a lot.

Like all 4-H projects, this included the requisite paperwork and record keeping. We attached photos of each project to showcase her work rather than the work itself since most of it wouldn't have fit in the project folder. I know Ibis has big plans for more creative works this summer!

Now we just need to go to McDonald's and eat more ice cream sundaes because we've depleted our supply of paint water cups (the sundae lids). Ahhh the sacrifices we make for our children....

4-H : a year with rabbits

With three out of four kids now owning rabbits, this was a big year for us in 4-H. Alexei and Ibis attended two 4-H rabbit shows and we had two litters of babies, the first unsuccessful and the second a big old fluffy pile of cuteness. Of all the 4-H animal projects this one is probably the easiest and most popular, especially with the younger kids!

For the first time last November our county decided to host a district rabbit and poultry show, meaning it was open to 4-H kids in all 6 counties in our area instead of just our county. A 4-H show is really great because it includes more than just handing over your rabbits to a judge to decide who has the best conformation. Since it's all about kids and learning, the rabbits themselves are judged one by one against a standard that takes into account the rabbit's care and condition, and then the best rabbits go on to further rabbit-to-rabbit competition. The kids can also enter showmanship, where they individually go up in front of the judge and demonstrate knowledge of handling and scoring a show rabbit. Finally, they can take the skill-a-thon, which is a written test of rabbit parts, breeds, nutrition, and general knowledge. Lots of learning going on!

At the show, Alexei took his American fuzzy lop buck and doe to the table and won two blues. His buck took Best of Breed. Ibis showed her Netherland dwarf buck and received a blue. Alexei also showed Coral's Netherland dwarf doe and she got a blue, then went on to take Reserve Junior and then Reserve Grand Champion. It was really exciting watching the judge go back and forth between Candy and another rabbit trying to decide on that Reserve placing! Coral was grinning ear to ear. She can start showing rabbits in the fall and can hardly wait.

The kids practiced hard for the skill-a-thon and Alexei surprised us all by winning the first place trophy in the junior age group. See, homeschoolers can take tests, too ;)

Our other big rabbit show was at the fair in February. The fair is super exciting but also means leaving the rabbits on grounds and going to feed them every single day for ten looooong days. I'm never sure who's happier to have them home afterwards, the rabbits or us! At the fair Alexei only showed his buck, who took a blue. He also came in second place for junior showmanship. Ibis showed her buck and Coral's doe to reds. She tried showmanship and was so nervous!

As a brand new class this year, rabbit costume was added. It was so much fun! We thought long and hard about costumes and Ibis finally went with dressing her rabbit as a "buck" (dollar bill) and herself as a banker, and Coral gave Alexei the idea to dress his rabbit as a "lopster" and himself as a fisherman. Alexei took 1st in the junior class and Reserve Grand overall. That was by far the most fun we've had showing rabbits!

Finally the fair wound down to skill-a-thon day. The kids had lots of fun practicing at home; I'd ask questions from their study guide and toss marshmallows at them for correct answers. In spite of the sheer mayhem of the rabbit/chicken activities going on around them as they took the test, Ibis massively improved her score from the November test and wound up with the 3rd place junior ribbon! Alexei also did a great job and earned 2nd place. A fellow homeschooler came in 1st. Apparently marshmallows open minds. Who knew?

After the fair we decided to try breeding Ibis's buck to Coral's doe in the hopes of some Netherland dwarf babies. Surprisingly in March Candy had one stillborn baby and 3 little healthy bundles that have quickly grown into adorable little fuzzballs. This baby bunny stuff could be seriously addicting!

The 4-H year wrapped up with the completion of the project books. They finished their 6 activities each on rabbits, looked over photos from their club demonstrations, and shared about their leadership and community service. It was a great reminder of what they had accomplished and they're already planning out their costumes for the big region-wide show in October!

I wonder if they'd do chores for marshmallows?

4-H : focus on photography

Today Alexei and Ibis put the finishing touches on their 4-H project books in preparation for handing in at Thursday's County Council meeting. Once again I was completely impressed by their efforts and the broad range of activities in which they participated this year. I can't say it enough : if you homeschool, 4-H is a gold mine. This year Alexei continued his work in the photography book, took on the second book in the rabbit series, and completed his first year in the shooting sports air rifle project. Ibis finished her first year in the rabbit book and her first year in an online art project. Hands-on curriculum, opportunities for leadership and citizenship, and healthy competition were highlights of their 4-H year.

If you've never seen a 4-H project book in-depth, it may all sound foreign. Most of us can't get past the idea that 4-H is "only for farm kids" but if you are willing to look further, I can guarantee you will be amazed. The following are some details from Alexei's year studying 4-H photography, and I'll have future blog posts on the remaining projects (no really, I promise!) See for yourself what 4-H has to offer!

Within the photography project book, Alexei completed six activities. He learned focal composition, point of view, photo storytelling, tips for great photos, judging photographs, and using a flash. The book is set up journal-style with the opportunity to add photos, make notes, and answer follow-up questions for each activity. This was his second year using the same book; it contains 15 activities and he had to complete six or more per year.

Being in a leadership role is always one of Alexei's goals, and as a junior member he had to show leadership in photography one time during the year. In September he was elected to the position of chairman of the club historian committee, which basically means he coordinated the photographing of all of the club meetings, demonstrations, many of the workshops and activities, and the fair. We bought him a scrapbook in which to place all the photos taken by the historians and write down descriptions, and he brought the book to each meeting for club members to see and add photos to if they so chose. At the end of the year, he presented the scrapbook to the club leader.

4-H encourages citizenship and community service, both within the project area and outside of it. Alexei attended our local city council meeting during 4-H week, where the city made a 4-H proclamation. He represented the club and also took photos of the event for the club's scrapbook. Raiding our pantry every month to bring food for our club's food drive became a ritual. Never again will we have the opportunity to eat canned foods.

As part of each project, the kids must put together a demonstration and do a show-and-tell in front of others, typically at the club meetings. Alexei chose to bring in a poster of photographs he had taken showing how the effects of camera speed and aperture let light into the lens. He explained how slowing the speed and/or opening the aperture by lowering the f-stop let in more light for brighter photos. He encouraged everyone to try it at home to take better photos of their Christmas trees. Anyone not involved with cameras probably fell asleep during this speech, but I paid rapt attention :D

Another aspect of 4-H, and typically the most exciting for the kids (and adults!), is entering a project-themed item into the fair. Since there are photography classes this was an easy one for Alexei. He entered a photo story and four individual photos in the categories of people, plants, still life, and architecture. He won a Best in Class medal, two blue ribbons, two red ribbons, and $26 for his photography. Did I mention this was the most exciting part for the kids?

As the year winds down, each project book is combined with paperwork filled out by the kids citing all of the above activities, goals, project highlights and challenges, future plans, a financial list, photos from the year, and a short story summarizing the year. Then they're turned in and graded over the summer by club leaders, and in August all completed books by active 4-H members receive certificates with member and project area pins, and the high scores for each project earn medals. Alexei is hoping for a second photography medal this year!

Since he's gained so much confidence through his project activities, leadership roles, and competitive wins, he's planning on running for the County Council's club historian this coming year. Only time will tell!

a month in the life

Ironically one of the biggest thoughts family, friends, and complete strangers pelt me with on a regular basis concerns not the school part of homeschooling, but the home part. Thanks largely in part to television and sensationalism (oxymoron!), they envision us sitting around 24 hours a day isolating our kids from the rest of the world. Many people now understand that homeschooled kids are often academically ahead, but still we're accused of "not socializing our children," as though a typical school classroom is the answer to everyone's problems.

To better illustrate some of the social opportunities my kids were given this month, I thought I would list them out and include some photographs. Our lack of isolation is boldly apparent. This month included the local public school spring break with which our P.E. programs coincide, so the number of classes attended was a little less than usual.

As homeschoolers we had eighteen official gatherings in March:

we participated in seven homeschool P.E. classes

we visited a park with P.E. classmates seven times

our homeschool co-op hosted three book club meetings

we attended one field trip to a Civil War reenactment camp

As 4-H members some or all of my kids took part in three events in March:

we attended one club meeting

we participated in one county-level club meeting

Alexei competed in the (one) 4-H state air rifle competition

As a family:

we watched one Civil War battle reenactment

we witnessed the miracle of life when one of the kids' 4-H show rabbits had babies

As regular old kids living in a busy neighborhood:

we were guests at two parties

the kids played with their neighborhood friends on numerous evenings and weekends, interacted with siblings, went on shopping trips, took care of our leased horse, etc., etc., like any regular old kids do.

One thing my kids don't seem to lack is social opportunity. Contrary to belief, there's not really a lot of staying home involved in homeschooling!