Cinderella

The Missoula Children's Theatre came to town and did a one week long intensive theatre camp. We heard about it on Saturday, the auditions were Monday morning, and the performance on Friday. So basically the kids had 4 days to learn the script, the music, and the choreography for a musical called Cinderella.

And they did it, they did it well.

Presenting, Lil'Bug's stage debut!

A rare photo of Mama.... waiting for the lights. Blueberry Girl was really jealous and several times this week marched p to the director and demanded to be included. Alas, she is too young and will have to wait. She was Lil'Bug's biggest fan though and her encouragement and enthusiasm could be heard throughout Chariton.  

Lil;Bug was really nervous. Four days isn't a lot of time to remember all the cool moves and song lyrics!

She was front row pumpkin girl. 

Deep in thought. There was some drama back stage......see? Real life happens outside of school too. 

The older kids in the cast were awesome. They took to Lily and were sweet to her and the little kids. They did an amazing job with their parts too.

My sweet pumpkin.

My sweetie pie. 

The Spring Fed Creek and a Strange Girl Named Emily

We have 10 acres in the wooded part of our farm, to the East of the 8 acre pond.  That pond is a man made water body where a Spring fed creek was dammed off. The excess water from the pond, the drain that allows the level to stay the same, puts the water back into the creek path on the other side of the dam. So the creek, through small most of the time, meanders through our woods and eventually through several other farms, feeding into the Chariton River and Lake Red Haw. 

We rarely go to that part of our farm because where the water drains is a very deep hole and the creek water can be wide and fast. Our kids are too little to safely explore there even with us so mostly that area is left to itself. 

Chad and Lil'Bug took a long explore the other day to document it. So here it is, from the bee path all the way to the underpass where the creek leaves our farm under the road.

Lil'Bug came home and insisted her name was Emily and we found her in the creek bed, sleeping. She insisted I label this post, "The Finding of Emily" and so it is.

More on Structure

So I was thinking, what prompted the suggestions for structure was actually a really bad day we had here. Actually, it wasn't all that special as far as parenting goes- every kid has a day like this. Lil'Bug went all sorts of nuts and drew on walls (so did Blueberry Girl), CUT my new curtains, painted on a chair, and generally threw lots of tantrums. It was the day after a really bad storm smashed up the new playhouse the girls had built with their grandpa and took several healthy limbs out of trees all over the farm.

Perhaps it was reaction to the storm? I made a point of engaging Lil'Bug a couple days later while playing chess and asking her.

She overheard some very adult conversations about 22q11 (the anomaly that Zap was born with) and was afraid that he is going to die. Then she overheard us wondering if one of us has it too, since it can be inherited and she was afraid that we might die too. What incredibly big fears to struggle with! No wonder she was working hard to redirect with art mediums! I do that too, but when I do art it is considered ok, because they are my curtains or my chairs and walls to paint on. She doesn't understand ownership and only knows by example. That makes sense. We talked through it. I doubt it will be the last conversation or the end of her fears.

The doctors appointments threw off our regular structure and that broke up our normal routine and caused me a lot of stress. She felt that. SHE was able to process it more than I was at the time.  Quite honestly, she wrote "1 love you" and "I <3 U" all over everything. Love letters to mama.

Every kid has bad days and bad behaviour. Finding the actual cause and addressing that is more effective than punishing with busy work and calling it structure. Just more of my thoughts.

Structure Verses Flow

Lately people keep telling me I need more structure to my day. That bothers me, not because it is true but because it is so beyond not true that it borders on ridiculous. Why?

Our days are very structured, just not by the clock or a bell.

We wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast. Usually around 7, sometimes earlier and sometimes later.

Then we turn on music and dance. After that we pick up the downstairs in a quick tidy and decide which big chore each will do. Then we do it.

Usually there is time after for play outside or upstairs or art project. Depends on the weather.

Then we all make lunch together, unless whatever game is being played is way too fun. If that's the case, I make lunch.

We eat it, then clean up.

Outside or upstairs and upstairs goes the downstairs laundry pile. Sometimes we have to run errands and this happens after lunch.

If at any point anyone gets so muddy they are uncomfortable, a bath is taken. While bath is run we tidy the bathroom and I start a load of laundry.

If at any point someone wants to be read to, we drop everything and read.

Eggs get collected in the afternoon, snack at some point, sometimes we have friends over.

Dad calls and lets us know he's leaving work. We start making dinner so it is ready when he gets home.

By then the girls want a movie so they tidy up the living room again so I can get to the TV (or that's my story to encourage clean up. I won't step on toys to put in a DVD and a "path" will not do.....).

Dinner, then more play and one girl helps with dinner dishes. Bedtime involves teeth brushing and feeding pets. Usually between 8 or 9, but often Holly goes to bed earlier. Each girl initiates bed time for herself on her own.

How is that not structured? Just because we let the day flow does not mean it lacks structure. I make time for structured activities like baking cookies or doing science experiments but most of those are opportunities as they arise. For example, we were making cheese and the girls remembered something they heard about salt and lemons fooling the taste buds into thinking it tasted sweet like sugar- so we tried it. It worked! When we walk the woods together we take paper and colours and draw or write. I may not buy or create detailed projects or lapbooks, but we do a LOT of structured activity just living on a farm and sometimes that means looking at a clock once in a while. But we also have some flexibility.

I guess what I am saying is that just because my school house isn't a big concrete box with a symmetrical floor plan and rooms you'd expect, doesn't mean our foundation is weak or that the building isn't strong. No, it just means that our structure is not like everyone else's and we live in that landscape. In architecture it would be more like a town, you have the suburbs, the schools, and the old district and that's where most people live and learn. We aren't like that either. We're a farm. We're a funky farm house with crazy curtains and roaming chickens. We have music playing and art always out and immerse ourselves in books and nature and anything else we get curious about. For you Harry Potter fans- I aspire to be like Molly Weasley to have a home full of love and laughter.

As I was writing this I realized....we were making cheese. Most people have to buy a kit or plan a day as do this as a structured science or home ec project. We HAVE to do it every other day or the milk gets wasted. It's fun and it's tasty and the girls know how to do it by learning right along side of me. They saw animals giving birth and helped with after care of the newborns, they help when animals are injured, they help with daily care. They help cook, shop, and meet with customers. They help clean, repair, and decorate our home. They do this every day because it is part of our life. It is structured because life is.

Anyway, just some thoughts. :)