...... HOMESCHOOLING?!

I know this isn't the "official" video or post on it:
But I hope this gives you a general idea of why we're choosing to to UNTRADITIONAL SCHOOLING.
Yes: the proper vocabulary usage is "nontraditional" ....
 but I like UNtraditional better. Feels a little more.... UNtraditional!

I decided to do this simply because of our lifestyle: not only do we eat and live differently but we also LOVE to travel!
I believe in having freedom. That freedom is what led me to pursue a different career path. How could I do that and then get tied down into a school system where our lives are literally ruled by school's time and calendar year?
How could I saying that our family time is limited because you can only take off so many days / year without being considered truant?
It was just : a crazy double standard to me.
One that I couldn't live by.

Life is so short: why spend most of your precious childhood indoors? I know from personal experience and from watching my own kids that life goes by so fast.
Why miss it? Why not enjoy it?
Why not see a sunny day and be able to take off and go to the beach instead of being tied to a desk (at school or at work?)
I want to be able to show my kids the freedom to design their own life and then teach them the self-discipline necessary to facilitate that.
I want them to know that just because everybody does it or because society says it's "normal"... doesn't mean that you have to follow suit and just go with the flow.
YOU can choose to be different.
YOU can choose your own path.
YOU can design your life.

That's my hope for my kids anyways.
So here's a little sneak peek into what's going on so far!
(PS - we started kindergarten with Christopher in the summer and he's HALFWAY done with the curriculum already!)

Thanks for watching!
and please: know that IF you have your kids in school....
I am in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM trying to make you feel bad!!!!!
No no no!!!!
Homeschooling is NOT for everyone!
This was just a very personal decision. One that I, PERSONALLY, struggled with.
And up until a time ago I thought people who homeschooled were outcast weirdos and homeschooling meant you had to dress them in khakis and bake pumpkin pie all day and never do anything cool.
I had NO idea it was do-able.... much less fun (and rewarding!)
So I wanted to shed light on that.
I completely respect every parent's decision and I absolutely appreciate the respect I get with the decision that I have made!  You all are fantastic.

Christopher's First Day of School + 33 Weeks Baby #3

Time is certainly flying by!
Had my first official "craving: crepes.  I had them 2 days in a row!
Friday was Christopher's first day at school  :)  
Well.... first day of actually GOING to school anyways!
We do school a little UN-traditionally (sort've like everything else in our life!)
We started homeschooling in summertime but now there is this really great program in the area
where he is able to technically be enrolled in the public school system and then he attends school 1x / week with other kids who are enrolled in the same program.  On school days they cover electives and do things like: play, music, gym class, lunch, recess, art, library time.  It's pretty awesome!
I know this isn't the explanatory post as to why I decided to do it this way... so I'll give you a recap:
1.) Christopher STILL takes naps during the day and NEEDS to rest.  I think school isn't designed around the needs of the child or the family.... but involves convenience and it goes against our natural biological clocks!
2.)  School simply isn't for everyone. Each child learns differently. Christopher is one of those kids.  He's very social and outgoing; a truly unique personality that I know would be squashed out in traditional school.
Anyways.  That and the fact that we like to travel and have freedom.... and going to school everyday.... getting up at 7 and getting home at 4.... that just didn't feel very free.

So onto his first day of school: I was / am 33 weeks 
I woke up early to bake him some zucchini bread.
He woke up at 6:22 A.M.!!!!  Can you tell that somebody was a little excited?! 
Then Ryan woke up, too and was giving Christopher "fashion advice" for his first day of school and how to look "cool" so other kids would play with him (I was sitting in the other room just laughing as I was listening to them!)
He eventually settled on a button down shirt and a red sweatshirt over the top and some jeans.  He also wore his neon green + blue tennis shoes.
In his backpack he wanted to take his pencil box and crayons.  And I believe Ryan also shoved a carrot in there for his snack time ;)
Then we went outside to scramble out some "first day of school pictures"! and piled into the car.
He was excited to make friends and see his teacher.
We walked in and he introduced himself to everyone he met in the hallway: "Hi!  My name is Christopher and I'm five. What's your name?"  and the one woman told him and then he stuck out his hand to shake hers and said, "It's nice to meet you!"  and then she walked him to the classroom.
It was pretty adorable!

This kid is going to be the one that's like. "Yeah whatever mom. See ya later!" When / If he goes to college someday. He's TOTALLY like me!  He just walks into the room.  Didn't even say goodbye just started talking to the teacher and the kids and then playing with a vacuum they had in the toy area.
Ryan was NOT impressed to leave brother behind. 
I think he thought we were just going to take him and then we would all stay for a little bit and then go home. So if you notice his face in the picture below: he was NOT impressed with how things ACTUALLY went down. (i.e. we left Christopher there)
His words were, "I am MAD.  I miss my brudder AWREADY!"
and he insisted that he was NOT going to have fun at the adventure center (the place he goes to in the YMCA while I swim) and he was just going to sit in the corner and not talk to anyone!

Ryan and I had a very .... quiet.... relaxed afternoon.  Odd doesn't even begin to describe it!
I made dinner in advance so that day I could just come home and lounge with the boys because I figured Christopher would be pretty tuckered out. 

We went back to pick him up and Ryan let go of my hand and took off at a full run: pushing past everyone to get into the room.  I called after him, "Ryan - come here!"  and he responded with, "I need to go get my brudder!!!!!"  
I was able to follow shortly behind and I found Ryan in the classroom standing proudly next to Christopher with this HUGE grin on his face.  When I walked up to them Ryan says to me, "I found brudder. I'm happy now!"  -----> *heart melt*  awww!!!

His teacher and a couple other administrators / program directors all said he was VERY helpful and did well on his first day. He liked music class very much and was one of the loudest singers.  For his "theme week" (each kiddo gets to pick a theme for one week out of the school year) Christopher chose "trains".   
 One of the other things I heard (which I hear alot) was, "Wow. He's not shy AT ALL, is he?" ..... nope. He sure isn't!  9 months old and he would put his arms up in the air in the "pick-me-up" baby sign language: only he would do it do complete strangers in the store!  There were plenty of times where I would just turn around and he would be following somebody else or another family around the store.  The doctor's assessment of, "Don't worry.  This will pass.  He'll get stranger anxiety just like every other kid" did NOT come to pass. Ever.








Anyways: needless to say his first day was a big success. 
However, I know there's NO WAY he could do it everyday! Oh my goodness!  
He was tired out.  We called everyone and he wanted ME to tell them about his first day instead because he was tired and he "had a sickness: allergies".  
He was VERY excited that his dad called to ask him about his first day.  
The day before he had been pretty upset that Rob wasn't going to be there to see him go to school.  That was a little prick to the heart. 
So Friday evening was spent just lounging around the house :) 
Hope you enjoy the pictures below!
ps - when Ryan and I came back to the house there was a package sitting on the doorstep and inside was the adorable rattle and onesie that you see pictured below! AW! 

Christopher: VERY Excited!
"My first day of school!!!"

Ryan: NOT so excited
"I am MAD.  I miss my brudder awready!"

The ADORABLE rattle and octopus onesie that was waiting on the doorstep!

Field Trip to Historic Pointe Basse

One of our favorite places to go in the area for family fun is Historic Pointe Basse.

 We LOVE historical sites and especially doing things outdoors so this is perfect.  The atmosphere is amazing and we always learn something new everytime we go!  If you're in the Rapids area you HAVE to get here!  The kids will love it! Even if you don't have kids.... you'll love it, too :) 

For those of you who remember me posting : we attended Heritage Hollydays in December (this was a couple weeks after we had left Missouri) and we loved it.  Imagine an 1840's settlement completely covered in fresh white snow, lanterns illuminating the glistening snow along the path through the woods, and listening to "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by candlelight.

Photos I posted to facebook of Heritage Hollydays are below: just click the link to view them :)

Old Schoolhouse

The Boys Walking on Lantern Path

Apple Cider over the Fire in the Trading Post Cabin

Ginger Cookies in the Wakely House

The Boys and I in the Wakely House

Today was the Pioneer Fest and it was amazing.  

The admission fee was $5 / adult and kids preschool & under were free.  Ages 7-12 were $2.

So the total cost for 5 hours of fun? $5 ..... sure can't beat that!

The Wakely House was built in 1842 and has been completely restored to it's original look. (I just found out today that my grandma's friend lived in the house as a child before it was turned into a historical site!  Cool, huh?)

All of the actors today were dressed up in authentic gear from the period; some were representing settlers and had more "rustic clothing" and some were representing the upper class from the time and their camps reflected their social status.  In the camps of the upper class, the clothing was very proper and elegant, &  the tents were elaborate and came with all of the 'modern conveniences' (which - at the time - included a wash-basin and rope bed) Our first stop today was the schoolhouse where we got to see what they used in the clasroom instead of a water fountain: a porcelain (I believe!) water cooler that you can see in the picture in the video above.  The boys were very shocked to see that the lunchboxes in the 1800's were actually just re-purposed tin pails!  Christopher purchased a "Jacob's Ladder" from the schoolhouse and Ryan purchased some wooden dice with "Pioneer Games".

Then we walked through the woods and stopped at the admissions where we picked up some furs to trade at the Fur Trade Camp with the French Trader. (You can see this part in the video)

Then we came out at the "settlement" that had a shed, blacksmith shed, teepee's, a camp, the Wakely House, a garden, food tent (where we tried fry bread and "Prairie Dogs" which are actually just hot dogs covered in fry bread.... for those of you who are curious!) and lots of activities that pioneers from that time would've done!  (making tools, starting fires, spinning yarn....)

Then I think one of the boys' favorite things to do (besides be in the blacksmith shop: we were in there for 45 minutes) was "High Tea" at 2 p.m. 

We sat in a tent and sampled three different types of tea that had been brewed over the fire in one of the "wealthy tents" of the well-to-do settlers ;)

1.) Blueberry

2.) Chocolate

3.) Cinnamon & Sage

we were also treated to some desserts!

lemon meringues, chocolate chip cookies, cranberry oatmeal scones, and scrumptious blueberry bread.

While we were enjoying our tea one of the re-enactors showed us what the different meanings of "fan waving" meant for the wealthy girls who had gone to etiquette school!

Ever wonder what people did without cell phones and texting?  They had a secret code! 

This was so that a girl could communicate with a potential "suitor" from across the room simply by using gestures with her fan that she had learned in etiquette school.  Some of the gestures were.... well.... let's just say they were a little shocking for such proper ladies to be saying!  We got a good laugh out of that.

The boys stayed extra long at the tea tent and the wonderful women there even served them 2 extra rounds of blueberry tea even after everyone else had left!  Then after tea time we walked around the camp - at this point it had stopped storming - and got to see a handmade cedar boat, talked with a Scotsman, saw snowshoes being made (they got to feel rawhide!), watched a woman working at a pottery wheel, and just enjoyed talking with each settler outside of their tents.  Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot about the HOMEMADE ICE CREAM!

Yeah. 

It. Was. Delicious.

Tasted like whipped cream a little bit, too. Mmmm.... so yummy.

And the cool part?  The ice was harvested from a local lake (Lake Nepco -- fun fact: Nepco stands for Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company ... it's an acronym!)  anyways.  The ice was harvested from the lake at the end of January and they store it in the shed on the property covered in saw dust.  The man said that the ice they harvest in January will usually last them until their last demonstration in September! How's that for being resourceful?

 And it was so cute: Ryan had this big gloober of ice cream on the side of his mouth and the man making the ice cream handed him a napkin.  So instead of using the napkin, Ryan wiped his mouth off with his hand, blew his nose into the napkin, and then gave it back!!!!  Thank goodness the guy had a great sense of humor ane he just laughed. Ryan's face was so priceless.... he was completely clueless as to why this is not an acceptable thing to do! 

The boys had such a blast!  And, of course, on the way out they had to say good-bye to their favorite: the blacksmith man :) Christopher told him that he was going to keep his ring forever and tell everyone about the blacksmith man. (They haven't taken their rings off yet and it's been 6 hours!) 

Overall: if you're in the area....I really hope you go!  It's such a cool thing that's right here in the backyard for those of us who live in Central Wisconsin. And for cheap family fun?  You definitely can't go wrong.  There's so much for the kids to do.  For $1 you could even take a canoe ride down the river!

If you'd like to read about all of the places we got to visit today, click the link here:

http://www.historicpointbasse.com/todo.cfm

Thanks for reading!  Hope you enjoyed the video from our "trip" today! 

If you'd like to leave a comment please do so on the main page.  Love hearing from you all!

Also feel free to click around the links and check out the site as new things are being added weekly. 

Hope you all have a great weekend and are enjoying the beginnings of summer!