Good friends

We were leaving for vacation in just a few hours and still needed to pack...for two different trips. It could all wait though because not one but two of our dearest families came to visit. Being unschoolers reminds us to keep what is important in perspective. Since moving to the Cape we don't get to see some of our old friends as often as we would like. We were so lucky last Monday that not one, but two would be coming to visit on the same day!!

Mackenzie and Scout playing with bubbles.

We spent a couple hours at Sandy Neck beach, Mackenzie and Tracy soaking in the sun.

The water was warm and calm, perfect for Scout's first dip in the ocean!!

Zach was working and that made the day all the better. Stephanie was so

impressed at how beautifully he had grown up (not that anyone ever had any doubts!).

The day ended with Scout's first haircut.

Thank you Tracy...I just LOVE IT!!!

Summer happenings

Summer is in full bloom...some recent happenings

A local shop gives us, almost daily fruit scraps for the animals.

Scout loves finding anything long to drag behind her!

Ace always patiently waiting for the next throw.

Who can resist a chair just my size!

Zach and Scout spending time together.

Sam spent July 4th week with us to babysit Scout while everyone was working overtime. Here they are at Sandy Neck Beach.

A baby bird flew into the bathroom one night through an open window.

Little helper

We are always working around here. The "to do list" is always growing. We try to get as much done as we can each day. Scout is always with us and we balance getting tasks done with caring for her needs. She likes to help and we take the time to foster her interests and let her help. She has a lot of pride in what she does and it is important for her development to feel she is part of the process. Some of the things that she INSISTS on doing each day are: leading the horses in and out of the paddock (she holds the end of the lead line and walks them to where they need to be), drags their halters back to the shed, brings hand fulls of hay to the gate when we feed them, drag her little manure rake around the paddock when we are cleaning up, takes out a brush and brushes her pony when she is out grazing,  throws trash away, puts things back after she takes them out, puts her cup on the table instead of throwing it on the floor, uses a rag to wipe the floor if she spills something, wipes her face, takes hand fulls of kibble out of Stennis's food bin and puts them into his bowl and picks up the empty dog dishes and stacks them up after they eat.

We don't believe in paying children to do "chores". We want her to grow up wanting to pitch in and do her share because we are a family and work together to get things done. Right now we take the time to encourage her and help her anytime she wants to join in and help.

Potty training!

We have been using the potty, for about a month, as a place for Scout to sit while she brushes her teeth. The goal was to make the potty a place she liked and felt comfortable. She usually pees in the morning after waking up so we have been letting her be naked as we got ready in the morning. She likes to copy our morning routines and also use this as an opportunity to instill some good habits. She like to shower, brush AND floss and then put her sunscreen on.

On July 5th, while brushing her teeth she peed in the potty!!! Of course, we had a big celebration and we were all home to join in and congratulate her. From here on we kept a sun dress on her and let here keep the diaper off all day. She has used her potty, at least once, each day since. On the second day she came to me once to let me know she needed to go. On the third night she asked to take her diaper off to go potty. Last night she went poop in the potty while brushing her teeth after a shower!

She is 18 months old.

Give it to recieve it

Respect, caring, thoughtfullness, patience, empathy, kindness, responsability, just some of the qualities that we want our children to have. But how do they get it? Because we told them to behave that way? Not likely. Children need to be treated with respect, shown that THEY and their opinions matter. That what is important to them is important to you. Just because they are little don't forget that they are living creatures that matter too. Children are learning how the world works. We need to nurture that curiosity. We are not "the boss" of children. We should not order them around telling them to do things "because I am the Mom/Dad thats why." How will they truly learn those qualities if we are not setting a good example? We don't let Scout have everything she wants. We do however, let her do everything that is important to her. If it takes a little more of our time to wait for her to finish then so be it, she is learning about her world and we respect that.

Art day

We had our second art day. This time the kids collected items from the woods in small baskets they could carry. Then we had contact paper framed with some colored foam. It was easy for them to make a collage by sticking their treasures onto the paper.

Animal encounters

Recently we have had some fun animal encounters. The most fascinating aspect is learning how normal these are for Scout. Everyday she is surrounded by animals, walking freely around her. She is able to walk up and touch them at will. When these "wild" animals come close to us she doesn't act any differently then she does when it is a domestic animal. With both she enjoys observing them, very rarely moving quickly toward them or touching aggressively. She is never frightened, even when feeding wild baby ducks and they grab at her fingers when the food has run out. She looked at us with a questioning face while it was happening and when  we explained they were hungry her face softened as if she understood. She is so remarkable.

Feeding squirrels and pigeons in the park in Boston.

"Knuckles!!!"

Swimming with baby ducks in Snake Pond. We have decided to come here Wednesday night for the summer instead of going to the Y for swimming lessons. We all go together and bring a picnic dinner. W stayed last night for about 2 hours. We had a blast.

Scout feeding the baby ducks some of her pretzels.