Ten Things I Learned in August 2013

Wrapping up the last moments of our summer break. Reflecting on some of the fun things I learned the last month {and linking with Emily} and saying farewell to the lazy days of summer. It is back to the grind as school starts up and we buckle down and crack open the books tomorrow. I just thought I keep it light and highlight a few things I discovered.

1. My little one loves to snatch shoes and the louder the clip-clop the better! Obviously, it doesn't even matter if they match! No matter our age, we always try to walk in some else's shoes--even if it is not a good fit. Isn't that a life lesson we have to keep learning: stop comparing and walk in the way set out for you.

 2. I never knew baby bunnies look like little piglets. So I have named them 'bunlets'. We are watching these baby bunlets grow. In one week, they doubled in size. By the end of the month they were adorable little white fluffballs. My children have fallen in love with them and think they should be able to keep them all!

3. I have heard about others going Geocaching for years but have never done it.

Geocaching is the real-world treasure hunt that's happening right now, all around you. There are 2,207,372 active geocaches and over 6 million geocachers worldwide.

This month we found ourselves with friends in pioneer graveyards, out in fields and bushes, and along country roads looking for geocaches. It was great fun. I have to admit that the ones in the pioneer graveyards, I spent more time reading the gravestones than looking for the geochache. If you have never heard about it or tried it, grab a few freinds and a GPS and go for a treasure hunt!

4. For the first time in my life {that I can recall} I had poutine. I've been wanting to check out a poutine joint close to home and one day on the way to the beach we had poutine for lunch. I came to the conclusion that I prefer pure unadulterated french fries with salt and a wee bit of ketchup. The gravy and curds and all the toppings on the french fries are just too rich for me.

5. I did a fair bit of reading this month. I love to read by the water while my kids are playing. This summer I read quite a few library books on writing. The one prominent recurring theme was that if you want to write well, you need to write! Genius!! It is one thing to read about ways to improve your writing {which is also important} but just like anything else, if you want to improve you have to practice.  One fun way we practiced writing together as a family was writing three line poems. One person would say a word and then everyone would write a poem with three lines within three minutes. After three minutes we would share our poems and then do it again!

6. I am sure most people who have an iphone already know this, but I learned how to take screen shots on my phone this month . . . I was out on a nature trail with some friends and our husbands and kids were on a hunt to find us. I took a screen shot of our location with the compass app on the phone and sent it to them to find us according to our GPS co-ordinates. Kind of like geochaching, but for Moms instead ;)

7. We were invited to and had a wonderful time at an old-fashion pioneer picnic with chicken racing games and all. I found out that my husband is a champ at watermelon eating contests!!

 . . . and my daughter loves to highland dance to bluegrass music even though she's never had a lesson in her life . . . She thought she was the star performer!

8. I tried my hand at homemade nutella! I roasted some hazelnuts, melted down some chocolate and threw a few other things in the Vita-mix and voila!! Well, my first attempt was a fail, but the challenge is on to find a good recipe so we'll see what we come up with.

9. Mornings in the mist at the lake with my children and coffee is a marvelous way to start the day!

10. The end of August always comes to quickly. One person asked me: "How on earth do you do it: homeschool? Don't you need a break from your kids?" A few days later I read on Facebook about a friend who loves to homeschool because they have so much fun!! Honestly, I fit somewhere right in the middle. Yes, some days I need a break {and get yellow school bus envy} and some days are fun, but seriously, some days we just keep plugging away and I sure wouldn't call it fun. But, as we start up the new year, I am thankful for fresh starts and hope my children always find joy in learning.

So, at the end of Labour Day and on the eve of the first day of school, I've printed out fresh charts, we've got the school room {mostly} ready and we'll take a deep breath, continue in prayer and jump right in to another year of learning.