Much Ado About Nothing

And one for the Bard!

We were lucky enough to catch Montana Shakespeare in the Parks last night for Much Ado About Nothing. They set the play in the South, Gone with the Wind style. Oh my, I would have never been clever enough to dress Beatrice in Scarlet, but it is PERFECT! You can write me an ass--but I don't believe we have ever laughed so hard at a play, not in Ashland, not in San Francisco, not anywhere. The kids loved it. We parents loved it. Just spectacular!

Merchant of Venice August 23, 2011

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks

We drove over to Libby, Montana to catch Montana Shakespeare in the Park's Merchant of Venice. We were prepared for a beautiful drive up Highway 2 and a wonderful play, but we didn't count on Yaak Falls.

It was spectacular; I can't imagine what it would be like in spring! The rocks are amazing, many some of the oldest rock our Earth has to offer! Searching on the internet I find it is Precambrian Mudstone, exposed during and Eastward shift of the Pacific Plate. I can't find my Montana Geology book so I have to go buy one before the curiosity kills me to find out exactly what is known for sure. Usually there are information signs explaining these things, but alas, there were only a map and a camping with bears for the novice (hint: don't sleep with your sausages!) But there are black and grizzly bears in the area. We weren't lucky enough to see any, but the falls were incredible!

We continued North from Yaak Falls and then took a forest service road that follows Quartz Creek over the mountain and  by Loon Lake. It was just gorgeous. 

Libby, Montana may be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Too bad about the asbestos, but really, it is a green valley on the Kootenai River, nestled at the feet of green, snow-topped mountains on all sides.  The play was fun and of course we enjoyed it like nobody's business, but for the day I think the mountains won our affection over this particular production of  Shakespeare. Really, it was stiff competition and the Bard was a close second. 

Chicken Incubation

We watched the rooster do his job.
We left the broody hen to do her work.
While she was working, her friend decided to brood as well. Several hens contributed to the clutch. Some were eaten (by chickens), most are still there and one of them, just today...

My two mamas

HATCHED! 

Here is one that accidentally got into our eating eggs. It will be preserved in alcohol for a specimen. I am guessing it was about 1 week from hatching:

Outdoor Learning Center

Son bottom right at Minnehaha, Spokane

This past week my daughter attended the ALL GIRLS SCIENCE CAMP with the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center. They toured the Upriver Dam, learned about the Spokane Aquifer, did a tour in Liberty Lake and learned about beavers, and then on the last day--a canoe trip down The Little Spokane River! She had a great time, even though she didn't know anybody at the camp. She tried to convince various cousins to go along, but alas, science camp is too much like school and this is summer vacation. I found it on a fluke while checking for an open house, since we love to see the raptors they have at the Outdoor Learning Center. While she attended the camp, her brother got stuck hiking at Minnehaha with mom and dad, identifying plants and that sort of thing. Good fun all around.

And so it begins...

kind of.

I have been teaching my children at home for years. It wasn't my original intent; I had different dreams and aspirations for my occupation, none of them originally included having my own children, let alone home schooling them. But I was lucky enough to be in the tiny percentage of people whose best placed plans and protections failed and so I took the challenge.

Twice.

And while I grew up thinking that homeschooled kids were weird and that public school was the best option, I had never actually had to turn a child over to a teacher--or to witness what happened to the children in those classrooms. I volunteered regularly. I was involved. And unlike a lot of grown-ups, I really remember, viscerally, what it was like to be a child. Watching them wither in that environment was, for the most part, more painful than childbirth.

Of both of my children, each made it through one year without me yanking them out. My son had an amazing student teacher for the 3rd grade; I went to pull him out and she asked if I would let her try. I did and was never sorry. My daughter had an amazing kindergarten teacher for that same year. The following year, I pulled them both out--for good. My only regret is that I tried to make public school work for them, especially for my son. That I didn't trust myself sooner. That I wasted so much of their time and mine trying to make it work.

I probably shouldn't bag on the public school system; I have two siblings and various other relatives and friends that work in the system. But it seems even the best schools are kept in check by convincing parents to pump kids full of mind altering drugs and getting rid of the undesirable students. I don't want my kids to sit still while learning. And they don't learn sitting still. I want them to move. I want them to love active learning. I want them to think.

I could go on for hours, but I won't. That is behind us and this blog will keep track of this year. Maybe more. Just a bit of where we've been to start it off.

Let the cataloging of the adventure begin.