Adventures of The Haven School for Boys: Week 3 Musings

We started our week by celebrating Labor Day with a day that was free from labor. We did spend time in thankfulness for Matt's state of employment--a gift we do not take for granted during such grim economic times for many. Our story from "Five in a Row" this week tied in perfectly, as Madeline was written during the 1930's. Among the collage of major 1930's events were pictures from the Great Depression--giant dust clouds rolling over the plains, mothers with children in tent camps, and men standing in snaking lines, hoping for any scrap of employment. I think it is hard for the kids to really internalize such times from just looking at a series of black and white pictures, especially when they themselves live in such freedom from want. But, we have to start somewhere in helping them plug into the larger picture of who they are in time and place. AND it helped me put into perspective the interminably long hours that come with Matt's athletic directorship! Joshua said the cutest nonsensical thing when Matt was leaving for work on Wednesday. He threw his arms Matt's legs and said, "I have a reposement that you have a great day and not get into any trouble!" Maybe he knew something we didn't...Matt's job always has the capacity to get him into trouble. But, the coining of reposement was my favorite part, and also the part that absolutely UNDID his big brother, who cannot handle untruth of any sort. : ) Naturally, that made it all the more fun.

Something terribly exciting and highly unusual happened on Monday. It rained. Matt and I like to teasingly quote a line from the movie adaptation of Louis Sachar's Holes when speaking of our desert's weather patterns: Once there was a place where it never rained. The end. But, on Labor Day we were pleasantly surprised by a few beautiful cloudbursts that even yielded some sporadic lightening. We took advantage of the freshly washed roads and set out on a morning walk for our Tuesday p.e. session. James spent his steps traveling from gutter to gutter, experimenting with flotation and currents. Or, more simply put--racing leaf boats down the river. Samuel walked nearly a third of the one mile loop. He probably would have done more, but he spent much of his time challenging my hand-holding rule. By the time we neared home, our faces were nice and rosy--not so much from the exertion as from the already triple digits of late morning. Don't be fooled by the rain--summer is still summer, and it will most likely still feel like summer even after we blow by the autumnal equinox on the 23rd. Other physical activities this week included a timed obstacle course (course designed by James, involving a broomstick starting line and stunts such as climbing up slides and airplane gliding on the swing) and, one of the boys' personal favorites--Aerobed jumping. I have an old Aerobed that doesn't really pass muster for a night's rest, but it does a fine job of providing a low-risk trampoline of sorts for acrobatics of all sorts. I have to thank a homeschooling mentor of mine (and hall of fame Harvard soccer player), Susan St. Louis, for providing me with an exhaustive list of physical ed. ideas for the boys that she used with her girls once upon a homeschool-time. I am always in need of finding new ways to get my guys moving. Their brains simply cannot function fully until they have exerted some little boy energy.

Latin: We learned how to ask one another How are you? (Quid agis) and answer with one of the following: I am fine. (Sum bene.), I am great. (Sum optime), and I am terrible! (Sum pessime!). You can probably guess which line James was drawn to. He and Joshua have been marching around the house chanting, Sum, sum PESSIME, I am doing TERRIBLE! all...week...long. There is power in self-expression, right? If we are to look at the bright side, at least they are practicing their Latin verbage! As you have probably already gathered from reading the words, there is definite cross-over into our English words "pessimistic" and "optimistic." Indeed, this is a perfect example of why I chose to attack Latin with the kids. There will be countless connections that will hopefully make their grasp of the English language even stronger.

The anniversary of 9-11 has been an overriding theme in our current events this week. CNN Student News had a wonderful student-appropriate summary of the events of that day. This is the first year that James was old enough to grasp some of the gravity of that day of infamy. His tendency towards hypochondria and anxiety made me careful about how much I shared. Even though he exhibits great bravado as a six year-old, I am not ready to completely disillusion his childlike innocence. But neither do I want to entirely shelter him. We will be ringing bells on the front lawn and listening for sirens with the rest of our community on Sunday at 10 a.m., and for the minute following. We will also be taking time to pray for the families of the fallen and for the safety of our nation as a whole.

We are nearly through a chapter book by Robert McCloskey, entitled Homer Price. The chapters are almost like short stories, as each one develops a plot independent from the ones preceding or following. Homer, the main character, has managed to tame a skunk, outsmart and apprehend bank robbers, "unmask" a popular superhero, and resolve a donut disaster, so far. It is set in the 1930's, so we have the opportunity to discuss outdated expressions and small town America. My main intention with these books is to simply let James get lost in another world and appreciate great literature for all that it has to offer, but it doesn't hurt that he is being introduced to new vocabulary and story structure as we enjoy ourselves. Joshua and I finished reading a Magic Treehouse book by the name of "Lions at Lunchtime." Although I am not the hugest fan of series books, they do have their place in reading exposure. Being that Joshua is only three, the predictability factor is a good thing for keeping him engaged...and this series in particular offers some valuable, albeit elementary, descriptive details about times in history and places in the world. Lions at Lunchtime took us to the African savannah, where we learned about the order of migration (news to me, actually), honey-seeker birds, and that hyenas are cowards (hmmm...not one that I'd test out without extended research). The next book in the series will be taking us to The North Pole. The other nice thing about these "easy" chapter books is that James can help read them.

On Wednesday we had the chance to watch a juggling act, hosted by a local library. The juggler's name is David Cousin, and he was absolutely phenomenal! James, who sometimes like to think of himself as too old for certain activities, said that he wouldn't be interested unless the juggler was throwing fire around. Well, David did not disappoint. The flaming torch was flying through the air within our first five minutes of attendance. James and Joshua's eyes nearly bugged out of their heads, and Samuel was stunned to frozen silence. He was an incredible showman, in addition to being a talented juggler. His act was fun, hilarious, and clever. It was worth making the 6 o'clock trek across the valley. We finished the evening with apple crisp. Flaming torches and apple crisp equals one great night for three little boys.

Lastly, and certainly not leastly, I will mention our power outtage adventure yesterday! At 3 p.m. the power went out, and at 3:01, Matt texted that Xavier's power was out. I knew this was not a good sign, considering we are not even in the same neighborhood. I immediately went into emergency mode, closing all western-facing blinds, packing clothes and food before it got dark, and picking up the disaster zone that was our house. Meanwhile, the power outtage only seemed to inversely affect the boys' energy supply. Their rambunctious behavior amidst my frantic planning and cleaning could have powered all of Bermuda Dunes! They were sweaty little buggers by the time we got out of here. I am still unclear as to how such a huge section of Southern California was blacked out for most of the day, into the late evening. All I know is that I was extremely grateful to have Matt's parents in town who did have power. The boys were fast asleep by the time the power finally kicked on, and I didn't have to rescue a single thing from the fridge. So, in addition to the adventures of this week, we got the exciting experience of sleeping four to a big bed at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Well, they slept anyway. I was pretty much awake most of the night making sure a) Samuel wasn't being suffocated, and b) the big boys weren't peeing in the bed. I sort of slept-walked through today.

I am so glad it's Friday evening...