Last Friday we spent the morning at Pearce Estate Park with quite a large group of fellow home schoolers. It was the first day you could actually smell Spring in the air here and it was glorious. This particular park is one of my favorites because we went there often as children and because it is very natural - very large trees, large grassy areas, and a pondy area. There are many pathways and a variety of birds in the area. If you care to visit the Fish Hatchery it is in the same area but we didn't go there on this particular day. Rowan and his friends spent time near the water picking out empty snail shells - the snails may have been sucked out of the shells by the birds that visit the area. The kids were very fascinated by picking things out of the water and moving floaties all about. The kids went back to the playground often while venturing out nearby to chase each other, have pretend light sabre fights, or just investigate. As time went on more and more families joined the group which meant more kids to join in and play. It is interesting to watch Rowan grow so on his own without pressure to be or do too soon. A year ago he would have been uncomfortable with different children joining the group and he may have retreated back to my side until we left. On this day he laughed and smiled, ran without much care as to where I was although I'm sure in his way he made sure I was still on the radar. An older boy about 8 or 9 joined the group activity and the play became a little rougher - much more chasing, wrestling, carrying off, and so on. The boy fit right in - while his energy was faster and louder, and maybe a bit rougher, he respected the younger boys without being prompted. They would run after each other, chase each other around a Mom, then the older boy would lift one of them up and carry them off with a bit of difficulty - then carefully set them down when they were too heavy. This morning was one of the days where the magic of home schooling was evident but subtle - children joining in and leaving as they felt they wanted to, parents visiting on the side and available when needed but not being intrusive, children included in something somewhere throughout the area and just having pure fun. Not once in the two hour + period did I witness teasing, anyone being left out intentionally, or anyone being hurt physically by another. There was a lot of physical activity among the children, adults connecting and sharing in the watching over of little ones, and learning so naturally.After lunch we drove across the road to the Bird Sanctuary for a class called "The Best Nest" where the kids learning about many different kinds of nests and why different birds build their nests a certain way. There was an interesting puppet show after the initial discussion and the kids then made a nest craft. Outside we saw a pair of geese hiding quietly in the water under branches and behind trees with their new family of goslings. This class seemed much more interesting to the group than the last one although many of the kids had a lot of physical activity prior to the class so that probably helped them sit and concentrate for a while as well.
This past week we took another walk along the river in Fish Creek Park and Rowan and his good friend gathered various supplies so they could make nests along the river - sticks, leaves, grass, etc. There were more mosquitoes than I remember at this time of year but the kids had a great time anyway. We saw several recent hatches of bugs in the water and gulls busy at the water. Several boats also went by with people fishing.
So far we have tried to get out and enjoy as much sunshiny weather as we can after our long hibernation!
