So I found this book at a yard sale last weekend- The Golden Book of Camping and Camp Crafts. The cover art and title immediately caught my attention. I knew that Nicolas would adore this book- the subject, the illustrations and the theme in general.
The book was printed in 1959- that's fifty years old!- and cost me a mere 50 cents. I knew that it would bring hours of enjoyment for my boys and spark their imagination with new ideas of how to enjoy the great outdoors.
This is the page that I knew they would be drawn to once found. I was right. Of course it sparked an entirely new series of inquisitions about just when they were old enough to carry their own pocket knives. Nicolas spent the entire weekend drawing scenes inspired by his new book. He asked me to make them into a real book for him. He stacked the drawings and I simply stapled them together for the mean time. I would eventually love to turn this into a real real book for him someday.
Here are some of his drawings...
His attention to detail has amazed me. He actually described to me how an arrowhead has nicks and notches on it while he was drawing it. Fascinating.
I let him use my set of colored pencils for his project. They are not top-of-the line, but they are a few steps above a typical child's set of colored pencils. He calls them artist's pencils and really took pride in using them during the times when he was trusted with Mommy's special pencils. I think it let him know how much I value his work and trust him.
So I have these two boys who are smitten with everything and anything that is found in the great out doors. They were nearly born grasping sticks in their hands and it seems they have yet to put them down ever since.
They spend their days planning and building traps, forts and snares. They have made their own hatchets out of wood, twine and rocks. They ask our dear librarians for books on things like Native weaponry and woodworking.
I was asked last year by Nicolas, who at the time was five years old, if he was old enough to have his own swiss army knife yet. You may ask why a five year old would know about pocket knives and I would tell you that it is because they have already been given three or four of them by their grandfathers for "when they get older". This you see, is like showing candy to a toddler and then quickly snatching it away for a later date. It just doesn't go over so well.
Other interests include locating birds of prey, map making complete with symbols, chasing turkeys down our street, perfecting animal calls, whittling sticks (with adult supervision of course) and climbing trees to dangerous heights (thus the ever-growing amount of white hair that has recently starting growing).
Sometimes I wonder where this all came from. I am a firm believer in gender differences and my children alone have confirmed my beliefs- same home, same parents, same books, same educational experiences, no cable TV- different interests entirely. But I still question sometimes whether these interests, no passions, have been learned from their environment or if they are coming from somewhere deeper and stronger that I have no understanding of.
And then something happened the other day that solidified one of the theories that I have been holding to for years now.
My Dad, their Grampie, came to visit on Monday afternoon. We were visiting out front and before we knew it, Nicolas was up in the tree, taking his place among the branches. Before I knew it, Grampie was right up there with him.
Yes, my Dad hoisted himself up in the tree and took his place with his grandson high about our heads.
It was a moment I will always remember. And I just had to capture it.
All of the small connections that I have been making in my head over the years started weaving themselves together into one large and sensible idea. Genes. There must be a genetic component to all of this sticks and stones buisness. And from what I can tell, a lot of it has come directly from my Dad.
So the next time my child brings in a handful of- what he is calling deer dropplings- and accidentally drops them in the living room, I will have my Dad to thank. The next time I find one of them hammering nails in our front yard tree in an attempt to tap the tree for sap, I will remember my father. Special thanks also go out to...
My husband- for passing down his dare-devil bike riding skills and love of After all when you start rididng motorcycles at age 4, this tends to happen. My brother- hunter, archer and woodsmen extraordinaire, who just returned home from his first bear hunt with, ahem, the desired end result.
My husband's father, their Pepere- whose love of motorcycles has yet to fade and whose desire for adventure continues to this day. Who has owned a boat, numerous motorcylces and nearly purchased an ultra-light just a few years back (thank goodness).
And to my grandfather, my Papa- a life-long pilot and scubadiver, whose adventures took him to Burma and India during war-time and whose portrait with a Bengal tiger we have framed in the boys room.
Feeling especially domestic today. Today was a day for clean sheets, meal (and dessert) planning for the next week and a day to bake a batch of granola to enjoy for breakfasts in the weeks to come.
My recipe for granola is, like many of my other recipes- a spin-off of some original recipe I collected years ago. I have turned my granola into something a little different from the normal honey and oats recipe.
Mine goes a little like this...
Maple-Cinnamon Granola
18 ozs whole rolled oats 1/2 cup coconut oil 1/2 maple syrup 2 T cinnamon 2T vanilla 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1 cup sliced almonds 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
Mix the dry oats and cinnamon. Melt the coconut oil in a glass measuring cup and add the maple syrup and vanilla to that same cup. Pour over oats. Mix by hand in large bowl until well combined. Mix in seeds and nuts. Bake on large cookie sheet in oven preheated to 250' for about 45 mins, stirring half-way through.
Add raisins or dried cranberries after granola is done baking.
As I write this, our entire house is filled with this oh-so good maple and cinnamon aroma that is intoxicating enough to even lure the children in from outdoors. "What is that yummy smell", they ask. As I lead them to the oven for a peek, many oohs and aahs are heard. And then the disappointing news that the granola is for breakfast tomorrow morning. The room becomes silent and a row of tiny heads towards the floor in defeat.
An urgent message of encouragement is needed by all and they are looking to me to provide them with some redeeming news.
I think fast. Weigh the options. Consider that my husband will not be with us for dinner tonight. And make a momentary decision that will deliver both delight to the heart and good nutrition to the bodies of my dear little ones.
Granola is delicious on yogurt as well. And with a little fruit? Perhaps this will become tonight's dinner.
We started back to school last week. We hadn't planned to begin until this week, but we all were feeling the need start up. The kids asked me on Sunday if they could start school the next day and I immediately agreed.
I think we were all in the need of a bit more structure and purpose in our lives. I believe that they had their fill of seashell searching, bug chasing, rope swinging, wave catching and bike riding to their heart's content. You see, this had become their full-time job.
Now, these activities can become their leisure activities for afternoons and weekends. Their little minds were growing desperate for some new challenges!
And as for me, my full-time job has become tracking down- and either buying or borrowing- old and out-of-print books, organizing weekly schedules and reading, reading and more reading.
We use living books for all of our subjects- other than math and handwriting- and this translates into lots and lots of reading. Learning about science, history, nature through narrative stories has my children captivated, so it is no chore at all "getting it all done".
I can say that there are new piles of books lying on nearly every surface of my home that were not there two weeks ago and although we only read a little bit each day, we still have several books going at once. Here is a peek at what we'll be reading from this term:
The Bible- Old Testament stories Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula An Island Story by H.E. Marshall Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall A Child's History of the World by Hillyer Michelangelo by Diane Stanley Marco Polo by various authors The Handbook of Nature Study Science Lab in a Supermarket Robert Friedhoffer Great Inventors and their Inventions by Frank Bachman American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb The Heroes by Charles KingsleyThe Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake
This seems like an overwhelming list, I know, but we only read a bit each day or week. In addition to all this reading we also have artist study, handicrafts and nature study.
The children are also encouraged to read other books during the afternoons and evenings that are not listed above. Currently Sophia is reading through a darling series by Elizabeth Enright and just finished the first book, The Saturdays.
We are trying to focus on school during the first part of the day and have our afternoons free. We used to rely on the time when Elias took his naps for focused times of reading, but now that he is old enough to join in or play/work independently while we read, it is not an issue.
In fact, Elias has been asking for his school work lately. I have been trying to keep him challenged with a combination of play and work- counting objects (like all of the stones and shells we collected this summer), puzzles, coloring, his hammer and tack set (a Montessori preschool activity), his indoor sandbox and of course, reading.
Each day is different and has a feel all of its own. It takes tremendous patience and energy on my part to both stay committed to our plans and also to allow room for spontaneous learning and unplanned experiences.
So far, so good.
I traditionally take a photo of the first day of school. It's usually pretty tame and involves the children sitting nicely on a bench. They can usually manage to maintain this pose for about thirty seconds, so my time is limited. Here you have it.
His attention to detail has amazed me. He actually described to me how an arrowhead has nicks and notches on it while he was drawing it. Fascinating.
