Category Archives: For the Kids

Kneeling in the Garden

Posted on April 13, 2017 | Leave a comment

Yesterday, the boys planted a “secret hideout” using mammoth sunflower seeds.

They planted the seeds in a ring and then planted flowers, watermelon and broccoli inside.

Why watermelon and broccoli?

“For a snack while we are hiding out.”

While they were busy planting and plotting, I knelt in my own secret hideout.

I planted spaghetti, acorn and pattypan squash around the base of the squash arch. Today, I’ll plant the morning glory seeds I soaked overnight around the outside. I can’t wait to see what the arch looks like in a month.

I planted alyssum around the edge of the garden and transplanted a few more tomatoes. The ones I planted on Monday were very sad from wind and frost. I’m still hopeful they will bounce back though.

I planted the globe amaranth I had started indoors, as well as the purple basil in the herb spiral. There is still no sign of the cilantro and basil I planted a few weeks ago.

I planted the last pepper. I do not know what kind of pepper it is. I really must figure out a way to label better. My masking tape ends up falling off and my labels fade, even when I use a permanent marker.

I know it could be a sweet chocolate pepper, a jalapeno or a hungarian hot wax.

The tomatoes are the same. The pink boar’s all kept their masking tape on, but the crimson sprinters and mortgage lifters shed theirs when I wasn’t looking.

I have this problem yearly. It seems like it would be an easy enough thing to do, labeling plants, but for some reason I cannot seem to get it.

Oh well, I like a surprise.

Kneeling in the garden
Smelling earth and trees
Thanking God in heaven
While I’m on my knees

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Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, For the Kids, Garden Stories, Life, Poetry, Writing

Innocence and Bliss

Posted on April 11, 2017 | 1 comment

Yesterday was wonderful
We strolled around the swales
A sunset bright and beautiful
Boys running through the trails

Pretty buds were blooming
The water overflowed
The innocent enjoyment was
A wonder to behold

The grass is getting greener
The trees have little buds
As the day turned into night
The boys splashed in the mud

The summer heat is coming soon
Blue skies and brightest sun
Sprinklers, frogs and muddy feet
Swimming, biking…fun

Splashing in the swale

Searching for frogs

Racing through the maze

Investigating

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Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, For the Kids, Garden Stories, Life, Poetry, Writing

Hard at Work

Posted on April 10, 2017 | 1 comment

The tomatoes I started are leaning…actually, they are bending over in the pots. Rather than transplant them yet again, we planted them in the kitchen garden today.

The boys were a big help. They love to plant, dig for worms and play in the dirt. This was also an excellent opportunity to talk about life-cycles and the importance of healthy soil.

Science outside today!

Jake found a bunch of worms and wanted to build a worm home and keep them…inside.

We talked about how worms are a sign that the soil is healthy. Worms break up the soil so the roots can grow and their castings are a great fertilizer.

“What are castings?” asked Joe.

“Basically, worm poo.”

As you can imagine, that got a few giggles.

At least 5 worms were in every shovelful of rich, black dirt. The squirmy, wiggly worms told the story of the chickens scratching and fertilizing their way through the garden.

Both boys worked hard at digging their holes. Joe planted two peppers and Jake and I planted three tomatoes.

I pulled the squash arch out and put it closer to the deck this year. I also lined out my paths and will come back over the cardboard with wood chips once the ground dries out a bit.

This is our garden so far. Doesn’t look like much does it? A few chives, some tomatoes, two lovage and a couple of pepper plants. We’ll plant more next week, and the week after.

By June, this space will be lush and green and, with any luck, starting to produce.

 

 

 

 

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Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Education, For the Kids, Garden Stories, Homeschool

Awake

Posted on April 1, 2017 | 1 comment

Today, Joe and I walked around the homestead and heard buzzing, chirping, croaking and singing.

Spring is here, softly waking everything up and gently pushing back on a very determined winter.

We tried to sneak up on the croaking frogs, but before we could sneak all the way to the edge of the pond, the croaking stopped and we heard the plip plop of frogs diving for cover.

We heard the birds talking to each other and the rustle of critters in the grass. Joe was very excited to find worms and other crawly critters.

Buds are forming on trees and the majority of the autumn olive Ray and the boys transplanted last weekend are doing well.

Cherry blossoms are opening. We ended up with a handful of cherries last year that were a bit too sour for my taste. Maybe we will get enough this year to can.

Due to all the rain, our swales are full and overflowing.

The sun was shining and there was only a slight breeze, so we brought the plants out to stretch and bask in the sun and fresh air.

I plan to plant my cabbage and broccoli in the garden today. I may also throw some lettuce and spinach down and replace the carrot seeds the chickens ransacked.

They can withstand cooler temperatures.

The chicks also got to spend a few hours outside. It is still too chilly to leave them out at night with no mama to keep them warm though.

Yep. Spring is definitely here…now if we could just get it to stay put.

Winter, raging and railing
Holds tight to the cold
It roars into March
Pushing with rain and snow

Spring, sighing and shushing
Quietly stands against the cold
It whispers soft sounds
And stands determined and bold

#atozchallenge

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Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge, Chickens!, For the Kids, Garden Stories, Life, Permaculture, Poetry, Writing

A Little Wet

Posted on March 30, 2017 | Leave a comment

It rained a little bit today
Ok, it really poured
The hens were flooded
The garage was soaked
A stream flowed down the yard

The chickens seemed upset
A little mad at me
They splashed with rage
Squawked and glowered
Irate, enraged…angry

I sighed and tried to soothe them
But they wouldn’t have a bit
They turned their backs
They stomped their feet
They threw a little fit

Then, I turned and looked out
Across our puddled lawn
My boys were splashing
I heard them laughing
And my chicken woes were gone

Rain or snow or sunshine
My boys are playing hard
They love to splash
They love to splish
In our wet and soaking yard

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Posted in Chickens!, For the Kids, Life, Poetry, Writing

Feathers and Fluffballs

Posted on March 23, 2017 | 4 comments

We’ve had a whirlwind few days with chicks hatching and cheeping day and night.

Seven eggs had hatched fully by the end of Tuesday. It was getting a little crowded in the incubator, so we decided to risk  the 8th egg in order to get the other chicks in their new home, under a heat lamp and with food and water.

The incubator is temperature and humidity controlled to mimic the warmth of a mother hen sitting on her eggs. Once the egg has a pip, a small opening for the chick to work its way out, opening the incubator exposes the egg to dry air.

Drying the pip could make it more difficult for the chick to break through the egg without assistance.

The final egg had pipped before we opened the incubator, so we knew the risks.

After we had settled all of the chicks, we sprayed the sides of the incubator down with water to try and keep the humidity in and put the lid back on…and waited.

In the wee hours, the final egg hatched and a scraggly, wet little chick stumbled into the empty shells on clumsy claws. We let its feathers dry out a bit, before moving it with the others.

The boys and my nieces have named them all…although the names have changed frequently since we moved them.

Here’s the final list…for now.

Yellow Feather
Nita
Cheep Cheep
Sir Hubert McFeatherington
Fluffy
Fin
Cheepy
Flappy

A few of them have a couple gray dots like their father and they all have big feet with feathers on their legs.

This has been an exciting and amazing project for the boys. Joe has been so careful and gentle with the chicks and the eggs. He lets us know when it is time to leave the room so “the chicks can sleep”.

We’ve also learned a lot about the chicken…from anatomy to the lifecycle to how the chicks are able to go a few days without food and water.

I think the best part was when I asked Joe if he wanted to look at a piece of shell under the microscope.

While we were oohing and aahing over the little yellow fluffballs, my niece asked me “what if they are all roosters?”

Hmm. I didn’t consider that eventuality. Didn’t I order all hens? I’m sure Pecky and I talked about it, didn’t we?

Feathers and fluffballs
Yellow chicks with small gray dots
I hope they’re all hens

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Posted in Chickens!, For the Kids, Haiku, Life, Writing

Pruning

Posted on March 6, 2017 | Leave a comment

Trailing after daddy
An eager little boy
Pruning back the vines
Filled with pride and joy

Watching daddy closely
Wanting to do it right
Puffing up with pride
When daddy says, “That’s right!”

Working til the sun sets
Big to smaller shoulder
Sighing with contentment
Feeling a little older

I see their smiling faces
I hear their laughter too
I smell the dirt and sunshine
I feel humbled anew

This man I hold so dearly
Will take care of us all
These boys I love so fiercely
Will soon grow big and tall

So as that time draws nearer
I’ll relish every day
From working in the sunshine
To all the games we play

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Posted in For the Kids, Garden Stories, Life, Poetry, Writing

Hatching Our Own: Step 1

Posted on February 27, 2017 | Leave a comment

This week, we will start incubating the fertilized eggs we’ve been collecting.

Pecky and 5 hens have been separated for just 2 weeks. We gave them about a week to get settled and then started to collect the eggs for incubation rather than eating.

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Once we have 12 and I’ve tested the incubator, we will be ready to start the process.

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The incubator I ordered holds 9-12 eggs, automatically turns the eggs and keeps the temperature and humidity at the right spot…at least that is what is advertised. I’ll have to report back on the success.

The boys and I are very excited to get this started. Every time I collect the eggs from “Pecky’s Girls”, they ask if there are baby chicks in them yet.

We’ve talked about the life-cycle of a chicken, but we will delve deeper as we go through the process.

Pecky and his girls
Separated from the flock
A science project

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Posted in Chickens!, Education, For the Kids, Haiku, Homeschool, Pecky Greenleg, Poetry

Seed Starting: A Lesson

Posted on February 13, 2017 | 2 comments

It’s that time again.

The time we flip through catalogs filled with seeds.

The time we inventory our seeds.

The time we start our seeds.

This year, I decided to turn the process into a lesson for the boys.

They were eager to help.

First, we created our mix. I added some vermiculite to a commercial seed starter to make sure the soil was extra loose.

At this point, I will not put fertilizer in with the seeds. The potting mix is already balanced with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium so I will wait until we transplant to the garden to add the extra boost to the soil.

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Then we talked about the three main requirements for growing healthy plants.

“What do seeds need boys?”

“Water!” said Jake.

“Sunlight!” said Joe.

“And air!” I added.

Next, we filled our containers with the mix.

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When it came time to put the seeds in, the boys had almost lost interest. It took them quite a bit of time to fill the seed containers with soil, so I really couldn’t blame them. They each plopped a few seeds in and then went to play.

I finished sowing the seeds, watered them and covered the whole container with plastic wrap to keep the moisture and warmth in and encourage germination.

We put the tray in the schoolroom so we can watch them and water them. The windows are south facing and we get a lot of sunlight pouring through so it really is the perfect place.

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Finally, while the boys sat down to watch an episode of Wild Kratts, I grabbed my coffee and started looking through my catalogs once again.

Now that I’ve inventoried what we have, I’ll be ordering what is missing…and what looks good too.

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Starting seeds with kids
Exciting, joyous and fun
Learning for us all

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Posted in Education, For the Kids, Garden Stories, Homeschool

Sight Word Towers

Posted on January 30, 2017 | Leave a comment

Reading is the gateway to independent learning.

“Mom, what does that sign say?” will become “Mom, that sign says ‘Stop!'” when the boys learn to read.

“Mom, what do roly poly bugs eat?” will become  “Mom, I just read what roly poly bugs eat!” when the boys learn to read.

Reading is also a challenging skill to teach. There are so many rules, and teaching the logic behind all these rules to a 6-year-old can be frustrating and tear jerking.

Enter sight words.

Joe gets frustrated when he doesn’t get something right the first time he tries.

When he gets frustrated, he gets angry.

When he gets angry, I get frustrated.

And when we are both angry and frustrated, there are tears…on both sides.

So, in an effort to keep learning as frustration-free as possible, we constantly try learning in different ways.

Joe loves Legos, so I grabbed a bunch of blocks, a fine point Sharpie and a list of Kindergarten sight words.

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I wrote sight words on both sides of the blocks and called Joe over to play a word tower game.

I asked him to pick up a block and read the word. If he got it right, it went on the tower.If he got it wrong, it went back in the bag to be tried again later.

He loved it! He was having a blast building the tallest tower…and then it fell over and crashed.

All. Over. The floor.

His lip trembled and his eyes filled with tears.

And then, suddenly, he smiled.

“I’ll build a town instead!”

He picked up the blocks and started building houses.

We went through over 150 words, most of which he was able to read after one or two tries.

He was excited…and what’s more, he was engaged.

He’d found a whole new way to play the game, and not a single tear fell.

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Posted in Education, For the Kids, Homeschool