One of Mark’s favorite “little kid” places was the waterfall. A bucket would fill with water, the chimes would begin, and before long LOTS of water would come down. Water would come down from all around the “tree house”, but most would fall in the front.
One day, the bigger kids were all waiting for the bucket to dump. Adrian, unaware, was playing by himself off to the side. When the bucket dumped, he was caught under the waterfall and ran out, “quick as lightening.”
Allan tried not to work much this last week. He was able to play with the kids and take them on the “big kid” rides.
He decided to do the boogie board and it was exciting watching him. There were a few guys sitting around watching. I knew he was doing very well, but it was nice hearing other people complement him too.
Most people “wipe out” on their first few rides. Allan was able to stay on for over a minute (time limit) plus do a few tricks that many people struggle with.
His favorite ride though was one that many people skipped. One day there was no one in line and he would do the ride and then hurry up the steps to do it again. He would lay on his back and then spiral around a bowl until he dropped down a hole in the middle into a pool of water. I loved watching him having fun while showing off for me!
Adrian really enjoyed the (extremely wet) water tree house for the younger children. It had toys to shoot water, buckets that dumped water and slides.
He learned how to go really fast on the slides and would race whoever he could persuade to go with him. He gave me some pointers, wiggling his little body to show me how to do it. His lessons improved my speed, and I even beat him once or twice (out of about “50” attempts.)
He impressed the life guards that he talked to. One of the girls, after watching him give lessons, told me that he was “a keeper”.
Adrian was just big enough to ride some of the “big kid” rides. We asked him on Thursday if he wanted to ride some of the milder ones. He was willing to do the Cheetah race and loved it. When asked about some other rides, he said no, maybe after lunch. After his nap, he still refused to try them.
Before leaving he started talking about riding the Victoria Falls. He really wanted to do it. So Allan took him down twice. He loved it!
After a week playing at the waterpark, the kids are exhausted!
Today we met some unschoolers and discussed what unschooling means. Allan and I have a lot of questions, but know that we are not unschoolers! We learned a new phrase, eclectic homeschoolers! I guess that describes us, using a little of both ideas.
For school today, the kids learned about boogie boarding and “wiping out”.
We debated a long time on how to do the girl’s hair for the waterpark. We knew it had to be braided, but we did not want to have to brush it out every time we swam. So, we went with a cousin recommended style. A few years ago we came to the Kalahari with Allan’s cousin’s family. Michelle planned to do her little girl’s LONG hair in little braids. So to match, we did all the girls similarly.
We took about 4 hours to put about 25 braids in each girl’s hair. Then they have 5 pony beads at the end. Their hair is cute, and I won’t have to do anything with it for a few days. We slathered each braid with conditioner as we braided it and the girls take a shower to soak their braids before swimming.
They give the thumbs up to this cute and easy to care for style!
One of the nice thing about homeschooling is the ability to go on educational field trips! This week we are in the Kalahari, a waterpark in Ohio. Our family is at an “unschoolers waterpark gathering”. We will meet other homeschoolers, most with different philosophies on life, play in the water until we are sick of it, and have the chance to play as a family.
The children will do school, but it won’t be paper and books. We will interact with strangers, explore unknown places, have lots of gym time, learn to do new things and just enjoy life school.
Our first activity (art 🙂 ) was to decorate our door. This week, as the kids color additional pictures of African animals, we will put their art work on our doors.
When Audrey was 11 months old and Mark was 5, we went to Pakistan to visit some relatives. Allan was going to do some computer work for his uncle while the kids and I explored with his cousin.
While there, we bought some clothes for the kids. Aren’t they beautiful?
Megan’s hair has been growing so fast! We have tried pulling it back to keep it out of her eyes, but it still comes out of the elastic or barrette and gets in her way.
Allan informed me that it was time to cut Megan’s hair. I knew it needed to get done, but was really hoping to be able to put it off a little bit longer. So, Saturday night, Allan cut Adrian’s hair and then Megan’s bangs.
She did pretty good. She started fussing just before it was over, but sat pretty still for her first hair cut! Allan was right (he almost always is), she does look better 🙂
I do have to laugh though… almost no one noticed her hair cut!
If you happen to drive by our house tonight, you might see the ice candles leading the way to the front door. I am so glad that it is finally cold enough to make them!