Country Life is Healthy For Kids (But You Can Meet Nature Needs in the City)

                       

We had been reading about pioneers in much of our read aloud times; Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sarah Whitcher, Kirsten, and so I should not have been surprised when she came to me, eager and pleading with a faded prairie skirt that I was to put on. I hesitated at first, I had lots of real life pioneer work to do; caring for the goats, folding up the line gathered laundry and watering my thirsty fruit trees, but as I saw the disappointment in her face at my hesitation I complied. I slipped the bulky skirt and thread bare apron on over my jeans and tromped about the property doing my chores while trying to be as Ma like as I could with my modern busy mind.

As we worked and played I reflected on an article I had read earlier in the day. This study was conducted in Australia where a school had their safety conscious playground removed and were left with a mud hole and some spare parts. The results were amazing. Suddenly kids were engrossed in creative play and as a result anti social behaviors decreased. This article talks about even more health and wellness benefits which come when children are allowed free play in the great outdoors. 

                        

Many of these benefits I simply take for granted. With homeschooling and country life we are free to adapt to our children's needs. Instead of putting a child on medication to help them focus in class, I can set them on an exercise ball to finish a math lesson, and then send them outside to jump on the trampoline to get some wiggles out. It would never even occur to me to make a child sit indoors under artificial light all day and then pressure the parents to medicate him so he would comply with my unreasonable demands. When did adults forget that children need time to play, to explore and to think their own thoughts? When did school administrators get so enslaved by the idea that all children should learn and test the same things at the same time that it would be worth putting non food substances in their body to make them able to comply? When?

I realize how privileged we are to have the freedom and the means to live in the country and to homeschool. And I was still privileged when we lived in a tiny suburban house with a tiny lot. During those intervals when I couldn't just send the kids out to run circles around the property, or bounce on the trampoline to release energy, we had to be creative. It often meant leaving areas of our small yard unadulterated so the children could plant flowers or build minuscule roads for their matchbox cars.

He's smiling because he just walked through a creek!

And no matter where we live we have made forays into the natural world a priority. Hiking trails, creeks, beaches and ponds all offer calm and creative places for our children to explore and connect. Where better to encounter Father God, who is the source of all life than in the natural world that He created with such care.

       
                       

Looking for a good read aloud about a girl who got a little lost in nature? 
check out Sarah Whitcher's Story (affiliate link)

Linking up with Welcome Home Wednesdays

A Weekend at the Hospital

It was Saturday morning. I had been rushing to finish up school, prepare for the three birthdays in December and shop for Christmas. We had a new stove being delivered and so Scott asked me to take our just turned 11 year old son to a karate tournament to help support his studio.

I am very happy that my children are learning Sho Shou Kung Fu, it takes care of P.E. and self defense requirements as well as being good therapy for my learning disabled child. However, I don't like fighting. When my brother would pull out the boxing gloves at a family get together and let the preteen boys go at it,  I was often the most vehement protester. I don't want my children to get hurt and I don't want someone else's child hurt at the hands of my child.

Flash back to Saturday morning, in order to help out my husband who was waiting for the stove I took my son, leaving behind loads of household chores for what I hoped was a short day at the tournament.

                               

When we got there and saw all the people I started to realize it would be a longer day than I realized. My son finally got his turn in the ring and was holding his own until his third fight. This child was clearly more advanced and several times took my son to the mat. During the third intense grapple when my son was determined not to go down, something went wrong. Suddenly my son was lying on the mat with his leg twisted crookedly over his other leg, moaning in pain. I ran to the mat and tried to comfort him as the medical personnel on site assessed him. As soon as they mentioned a break and that we would need an ambulance I called 911. At that point my emotions were a mixture of rage that my son had gotten hurt and grief that he was in such intense pain. It was his femur, a bone that, when broken results in pain that is said to be more intense than childbirth.

The paramedics arrived and turned my sons uniform into rags as they cut it off him to prepare for traction. All through these moments I was trying to be calming, hoping he wouldn't pass out from the pain. When they pulled his leg straight he initially cried out but then settled down as the pain eased. 

                                     

We then hurried off to the ambulance where we agonizingly bumped over country roads to the nearest hospital. The sweet nursed brought ice water and prayed for us, but the incompetent doctor pulled the traction off, letting my son's leg jolt painfully back into its crooked position. The ambulance drivers once again replaced the traction and we headed back into the ambulance to drive another hour to the nearest children's hospital. 

                                  

My son brightened up a bit when his karate coach showed up with a second place medal. I, on the other hand found it small consolation for the pain my son was going through, from the initial break, to the IM Nail surgery where a metal rod was inserted through the bone. Even the subsequent week at home was painful, a task as minor as getting off the couch to use the restroom was an excruciating ordeal.

                          

Although this was not the first medical emergency I had gone through with a child, it was certainly the worst. The whole experience has melded together in my head as a long string of misery.

However there were several moments where the hand of God was clearly seen, moments which gave me strength to keep moving forward.

The surprise of gentle, praying nurses. The coach who skillfully distracted my son during the third traction transition, the sweet friends who brought us dinner and filled our hospital room with prayers, and the sweet friends, family and neighbors who brought blessed distractions during our first days home.

The most surprising blessing was seeing my son respond so graciously to such an incredible trial. This precious boy has given me more than a few days of frustration, fighting me over math lessons or provoking fights with his two younger siblings. Having a few quiet days with him in the hospital and seeing him respond so sweetly to the misery he was going through gave me an enormous boost of love and respect for this child, and although this was a horrific experience for me, my trust in God has not wavered. He is our only hope, every good thing comes from Him,  and I know that all He does is good.

James 5:10-11 KJV

[10] Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. [11] Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Swim Lessons for Little Ones

Having a backyard pool has been a huge blessing to our family. Aside from saving us money on summer outings and air conditioning, it has also added lots of good physical activity for my children.
Although my youngest son spent so much time in the pool last summer that at three, he was swimming across the pool, we still wanted to see him refine his budding skills this year.

We were fortunate to have a local connection who could give swimming lessons. She is a coach for the young swimmers on our local swim team and has been training as a swimmer for several years. She really knew how to pass her skills on to my young children without any pressure, they had fun and learned better skills at the same time.

Even my older children were excited about the lessons. She was able to give them some valuable tips for becoming faster, more efficient swimmers. This was a great five day stint of P.E. for our family, and since that class is not my strong point I really get excited when I can find valid things to write down for P.E. Weeding the garden, sadly, does not look that great on a high school transcript for Physical Education Class. Swimming in the family pool is one option that we have found to work well for our family at the present time.