Lessons Learned From Horses

I think one of the things that you will find me saying over and over again, is that homeschooling is not just academics.  I always try to have the vision that I'm not just trying to raise "smart" children, but I'm also trying to raise children who know how to make good decisions.  Recently, Sir Lancelot and I got some new additions to our family.  Introducing Dakota and Tinker.

Dakota

For myself, these horses have become a huge motivation to get the things done to actually GET done.  Horses need time.  They need people to work with them.  They need care.  But as a mother and a homeschooler, I can't spend ALL my time with our horses.  The house needs to be cleaned, children need to be fed, clothed, loved, nurtured.  But as a family, it's been fun taking care of our horses.

Tinker

Since we've gotten the horses, it's been a little bit easier teaching that work needs to be done before play.  Yes, the kids can get distracted, bored, etc. but when I remind them that we can't do the fun stuff unless the hard stuff is done, then they get back to work pretty quickly.  I've also seen improvement in attitude- not just in the kids, but myself.  Working with our horses has taught me a little bit more about patience.  Dakota is a jumpy girl, and needs work.  Tinker is spirited, has been worked with a lot, but also hates being alone.  When you lead her, she usually tries to get you back to where she can be with Dakota, but if you get mad at a horse- it's never a good thing.  Horses need guidance and PATIENCE.  Children are the same way.  Often times they are not trying to be "naughty", they're being inquisitive, practical.... not naughty.  They need to be guided- and as a parent, I need to be patient.

Sometimes though, I need to face reality.  A lot of children's work is play.  This is Ferdinand working hard on his Math-U-See.  Haha.  Kids, especially this young, really just need to play and explore the world.  And, I have to say that I'm completely ok with that.

Work and Play

Whenever Dad is home, we try to spend as much time with him as we can.  The past while, he's been putting up a fence around our yard.

 

 

These kids just love working with their dad.  They even make a few dollars.  I can't wait for the fence to be finished!  It's almost there!

Math-U-See may have lost some spark to it, but it's still working for us.  I just think Curly Girly doesn't like math as much as reading.  She loves using the manipulatives, but if the lessons go longer than 20 minutes, she starts getting really bored, distracted and it takes her a long time to do her worksheets.  So, we try to make the lessons a little shorter, then on to bigger better things like Charlotte's Web.

Little Elf just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  She's learned how to roll over, so most of the time, I find her like this, with a big wet spot on the ground from her drool.  I'm pretty good at remembering to put a blanket under her, but it escaped from my mind this time when I took the picture.  Tummy time is getting better, now that I think she's realized that there's so much to look at and "get to".  She's reaching for toys and loves her rattles.  I love this age!