Can we go to the creek, pleeease momma?

I love outside lessons. There's a creek not far from our house, and my boys love, love, love being there. My youngest teen brings home pieces and parts to the creek, he's taught me more about that environment than I ever learned in a classroom. Did you know that crawfish mommas raise their babies for 6-7 years?

KCCO

This page is going to be one of a kind on my blog.

So....Let me start.... somewhere.

Hunter is 21, was two months shy of heading west to put his welding education and knowledge to use. (West, ha! Pretty much anywhere west of us covers the whole US of A ;-) ) Hey, we'd been telling him to go, be free while you can! He's a die hard Chiver!!! #KCCO

So, his buddy J was back home from a welding job, they go way back. Like, to preschool. The first time that J came over to play I had to get on to them for shooting (honest to God real) arrows straight up, and running to avoid certain impaled arrows. Sixteen years later, I still cringe but jeez, boys will be boys and all that. Ok, Labor Day. Boat. River. Friends.

My husband had just arrived home from his own several day stay in the hospital when J's girlfriend called me, Hunter had been in a four wheeler wreck, they found him unconscious near the woods and called 911. I hurriedly gathered up Cajer, my granddaughter and husband and we rushed to the hospital. We were met by a nurse who showed us to a very small room where my parents were already waiting. Long story short: 

Within about 24 hours, we knew a lot: He is darn lucky to be alive. Every doctor who saw him told me that, Tom saw where he wrecked... God has plans for him still. I'm not surprised. Anyway...hearing about his injuries was overwhelming but so much nicer than hearing from the chaplains... although he had a TBI, it wasn't expected to be long term.(and it isn't!)  He really just smashed the ever livin' hell outta the left side of his body: while still in the trauma bay he had his left leg put in traction (he got screwed. To the bed. They DO that.) as preparation for surgery in "the morning" which meant "four to six hours so we can make sure he's gonna live before we bother" /I often force my sarcasm upon others/sonotsorry. His face: eye socket, sinus cavity, jaw, ear were bone soup and he had lost his hearing. (Huh?!) His shoulder was damaged and left to heal, as was his broken hip.  During the many tests done to search for damage they discovered a problem with his heart that requires surgery. No doctor in our area has done this surgery on an adult, so I'm currently trying to figure out what the options are for his surgery.  He was in ICU for... 4 days? Then on the floor for two, when I was shocked at his release!!! (Seriously wth!) Apparently, in the medical world, if you're a jerk they do in fact hold it against you once you're not requiring the life sustaining services provided by ICU. In fact, they will band together like a village and go right to your doctor and next thing you know, you HAVE your bed, YOUR food. And your pain! Rough, rough time right there that brought our family together in amazing ways, really showed us God has this, we are just along for the ride. Put your helmet on! Things are still very hard, he has another X-Ray in two weeks to see how he's healing. He's in physical therapy twice a week, hour and a half driving for a half hour appt, thank God for blessing Hunter and me with Tom, he takes him since that much driving is rough on my back. If you'd like to donate please click here. We have a great friend who set up this account to help us through this time, as we have pretty much lost the lawn care business. 

work those fingers!

This was initially a great thing to play with. However, I'm glad I didn't go all out painting and all, as it didn't take long for Cajer to show his slightly younger nephew how to shoot with rubber bands. I will make a similar one with fewer rubber bands.

I will be adding more ideas soon for increasing "finger skills" ;-)

Gypsy the Teaching Rottweiler

My assistant is a two year old 100 lb or so black lady. Love her! I had a can of magnetic paint that I got on clearance when I was pregnant with Cajer. It was pretty... lumpy! After a few cycles in the blender (that now resides in the landfill...) it worked great. I painted paper towel tubes and glued magnets on for a marble run. Cajer turned it in to a Dog Treat Dispenser and Gypsy was all too happy to help her student with this lesson on gravity, cause and effect and she even cleaned up the mess!

Yesterday, today, tomorrow... this month!

I made a Today Board and a monthly calendar. I'm still working on the special days: I Voted!, veterans day, thanksgiving, etc.

Learning about brush strokes

Painting is fun. Fingerpainting is messy fun. Try using different things to paint with: pinecones, sweet gum balls, hot wheels cars, spaghetti noodles.

Sensory fun!

I love me some sensory boxes! I'll start taking more pics!

Monarch Butterfly Festival

Cajer had his wingspan measured, put out a woodland fire, had a lovely picnic and learned about butterflies. I learned they have great programs for kids from 1-16!

It Takes A Village...

I take Cajer to an art class for unschool/ homeschool students for an hour each week. It's a great way to have fun and let him learn about people as he plays on the playground.

veggie painting!

I'll get better that this blog thing.... but veggie painting is fun! Here you'll admire celery painting from Cajer...

forensic science at the preschool level.

A fingerprint lesson and full blown laboratory experimentation ending with toeprints, of course. 

Where We Live!

fun. part #476

Cajer loves to play with water. Duh, sorry. Water is fun. Don't fuss that your kid is a mess, God made them extra washable! (Again... more water to play in... !) There is a reason they get less slimy as they grow up, you don't have to wash a new baby nearly as often. He's playing with qtips, water dropper, spoon, cotton balls, and water with a drop or sixteen of food coloring. (He's quick, damn!)

A great way to teach so much. gardening! animals!

Hubby and I both enjoy gardening. It's a fantastic way to teach SO MUCH. From the compost pile to seeds to plants to food... and yes, I'm dealing with a four year old who has several much older brothers. So the end result is A) we poop. Which led to a lesson on septic tanks, sewers, holes in the woods and outhouses. Or, B) the animals we raise eats it, giving us healthy food (pigs, chickens, eggs) and they poop which gives us fertilizer. (And flies, whines the city girl!)

Practicing animal care, hand eye coordination, counting, cleaning out leftovers, so much more. We aren't raising a bubble filler here, y'all. At the moment, he's a chef!

Here is the Cutest Grandson Ever, he loves animals of all kinds. But we found out he's very squeamish about lil baby chicks! Ha! (I may or may not have chased him with a feather...sigh. mature move, gramma...!)

    

Eggs. Of course we have eggs. Collecting eggs is how my man has learned to count. 

Here's a great summer find: 

Indians

Cajer has developed an interest in Indians! Here we sit in the woods, in a canoe. We didn't care for cold Wisconsin winters so we came south to Florida. He also is curious to learn about their picture language - I created flash cards using symbols I found on Google image search.

Of course, every Indian needs a tipi. (3 sticks and a sheet!)

Testing, testing... 1..2...3....

Hello...

I'm Alli... still weak in the knees in love with my hot firefighter. When we met, he had one, I had three... we Brady Bunched it, adding Cajer to this zoo we call home on Halloween afternoon of 2010. We are in north Florida on a little chunk of land.

The older kids survived public school, I suppose. I often gave them a semester off and either homeschooled or virtual schooled. I won't go too deep into my opinions on public (and many private) schools; let's just say Cajer will be taught by the adults in his life that we approve of. After much research on curriculums I learned about Florida Unschoolers... hello!! :::lightbulb::: Definitely the way to do this, in my opinion... and here in Alli land, my opinion is All That Matters.

Anyway, Cajer turned 4 last week and I decided to keep a blog of his educational wanderings. So, here goes....