Life on Coyote Mountain

The boys and I have finished our first week of school and are off to a good start. I feel much more organized this year, some how. You would think I had it all figured out being our 11th year and all, but I am always learning new and better ways of doing things.

One thing that has really helped me so far was to write out my goals for the year and what I want our days to look like. It is so easy to set aside  all those extras like art, music, poetry and nature study and focus too much on the three R’s.

I have made a solid commitment this year to not have my children miss out on the beauty of the world because I am SO concerned that they are right on track with math and language arts. Even though I think of myself as being somewhat of a relaxed homeschooler, it is easy for things like testing and how other’s children are doing to creep into my head and make me forget about my priorities, number one to raise four boys to be truly good people, to teach them to see the beauty in God’s world and in others, and to not let life pass them by, but to seek out opportunities to enjoy life.

So… how do you take that heavy order and transfer it into our school day? For one, I am really tuning in to what works well with my kiddos (when I see that glimmer of excitement in their eyes) and when they are looking like tortured little souls. I am making sure that we read poetry, do art, listen to wonderful music and enjoy nature at least some every day. It is hard to make everything fun all the time, but at least if we are enjoying learning most of the time, we are all winning.

I love learning new things. This is most likely why I ended up homeschooling my four boys, being that there is a daily discovery of new, exciting things.

This summer I have a nice list of new things to learn, one of which is making jam. I am amazed that I haven’t tried it sooner, but something about canning has always scared me off. Maybe it was the off chance that I might poison someone with a nasty case of botulism? Who knows.

A great new friend of mine recently offered to teach a couple of us the basics of making jam. We had a great day with the kiddos picking black berries and later getting together to wash, mash and cook ‘em up.

I have to say it was quite a bit of work stirring a bubbly hot pot until my arm nearly fell off but, it was all a lot of fun. Something about working in the kitchen with good friends makes for a lot of laughter and craziness.

The process was not near as daunting as I had thought, but the results…. wow! I will never go back to store bought again. I wanted to lick the pot clean it was so good. The only problem will be trying to keep my  seven minuscule jars in the pantry for more than a few weeks because the boys can’t stop eating it either.

So, before my summer flys by I will  be moving on to the next new bit of learning. Anyone  out there want to teach me the art of solar ovens? It is 100 outside and I really need to make use of that sunshine.

-Michelle

The boys had a great 4th of July yesterday. They had a nice swim in Grammy’s pool and ate lots of goodies.

They got creative and made these hats with fun foam, glue and a stapler. It was another great summer day.

I hope your 4th was as pleasant.

Michelle

So what do four very active boys do all summer to keep themselves busy? Get messy for one.The boys are never at a loss for something to do around here. If it involves dirt, goo, cutting, pasting or building they are usually up for it.

I caught them outside digging holes the other day… lots and lots of holes. They were searching for the time capsule they buried last year because they wanted to add to it. Unfortunately, they will have to keep on digging because they couldn’t remember exactly the right spot. Silly kids!

They have spent hours on their felt creations using this book and a bit of imagination.My husband brought home some cardboard inserts from paint sprayers which they got busy painting to look like mountain scenes for the little gnomes and felt animals they had made. 

I have really come to the realization that no matter how many gadgets and high tech toys my kids might get they will always end up making something better.This year we will not be purchasing Leapsters or electronic educational toys. They just don’t seem to play with those things. I am going to have to be MUCH more creative than that!

Another fun thing they’ve been busy with is making potions. They like to set up a “lab” and mix all kinds of things together. The weirder the mixture the better. I’ve been sending them outside to do these projects so that the mess stays to a minimum. I guess there wouldn’t be any fun without a little mess.

Dressing up never gets old either. An old rag and a painted on moustache and they become some scary pirates. At least I don’t have to come up with things for them to do. They are way more creative than I.

I hope you are all having a fun and creative summer, too.

-Michelle

We headed up to our beloved Hume Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Kings Canyon to get some well deserved fun and relaxation. The boys were immersed in nature for a few days finding a cool snail in the lake, lots of tad poles, plenty of deer and some very friendly ducks.

The weather was cool, but it was worth going up early in the season to avoid the crowds. The boys sure didn’t mind the cold  though. They swam in the lake with no problem.

Boys just can’t get enough digging in the sand and “fishing” with their home made poles. No one caught any fish with real or kid fashioned poles but, Justin did catch one in his hands. Go figure?

It was so peaceful sitting by the lake watching the boys romp in the cold water. I didn’t want to leave until I remembered the  leaky  air mattress I had slept on the night before and figured three nights was plenty.

I just love summer vacation.

For the past few weeks the boys and I have been losing our squash to some  hungry, little creature.  It was taking a good chunk out of each, leaving us with half-eaten veggies.

The boys got on the pest control band wagon and made some foil and skewer flags that blow in the wind and catch sunlight. They also made a scare crow with some sticks, scraps from an old sheet, a paper bag head and the leg portion from my Levi’s that I made into cut-offs. I thought it was a girl with a bonnet, but the boys insisted that he was a pirate named  Bert the Meanie.

We haven’t lost a single squash since putting these out in the garden. It is great to know there are natural ways of staying pest free.