The Streetpoet

I had the privilege of keeping Zachary and Brennan at their house for a little while today and we took the opportunity to walk up in the hills to see more flowers! Donna told me about an owl’s clover flower that she had seen and wanted a picture of it, so she told me where to find it. We took sandwiches for everybody, slathered sunscreen on exposed parts of us (even though it was a hazy day) and set off with the youngest two in the double stroller. We got up to the top of the second hill and sat down for a quick lunch and to turn around to go back because Ian was miserable for some reason. It was interesting managing the double stroller with Brennan still in it while carrying Ian, herding the other boys, and still grabbing some flower pictures with a mac lens and the wind blowing! We all plopped down in the sandbox and spent a very happy hour playing until Donna got back. Zachary very graciously allowed Jerome to borrow his bug cage to tote home the two snails and two ladybugs, and one pill bug he found. There were others…but he couldn’t hold them all in his hands, they sadly flew or crawled away. Once safely home with his prisoners he sat down and faithfully drew and colored them, and cut and pasted his drawings into his nature notebook for today’s entry.

He then got to go spend a couple hours building legos with Jesse for the second time this week! What a treat!

Thursday began as a cozy, rainy day and we got a good start on our school work. Jerome read the book “Are You My Mother?” by P.D. Eastman from beginning to end! I’m pretty sure that’s the first book he’s read all by himself! I’m so proud of him! Reading is still hard work for him and we were on the couch for over an hour getting through it, but he wanted to finish it and he didn’t mind the interruptions.

He ran outside to ride his bike after his lessons were done as the sun had come out, and Seth helped him walk it back up the driveway every time. Ian sat in the yard with me and we watched his brothers, felt the rain on the grass, and enjoyed the late sunshine. I had fun with my big lens, too. 🙂

As Gigi was able to come over early Wednesday, she got to see Jerome’s success in riding his bike! Yesterday he got the hang of picking up both feet and keeping his balance! Next he says he wants to practice making turns. 🙂

Recently I have been reading about classical education and particularly Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy. The subject is huge and I’m not posting about that tonight, but I wanted to preface the recap of our day with what I’ve been reading. My friend Jill recommended “Pocketful of Pinecones” by Karen Andreola about making Nature Notebooks, along with the book “Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons” (which is the book Jerome is currently thriving on), and she mentioned others that I made notes of when I had her over to my house to glean from her store of knowledge and experience. I am also gleaning from people like Charlene, Misty, Judy, and Mom who have all gone before me are reaching back to give me what treasures they have found. I’m so grateful to them!

We had the delightful surprise of having Peter come home early as his school campus was closed and he didn’t know it until he got there. The boys and I had already gone to the library after lessons and picked up a box of Agapanthus from Grandma as she had extra from thinning hers out. Peter helped us plant them in front of the old tree stump in our side yard. As he was digging he found what we thought at first was a tiny snake that had gotten it’s tail chopped off under the hoe, but it turns out after some research that it was a California legless lizard and it probably dropped it’s own tail. Jerome learned how to water the new plants so as to soak them and not flood them, and we’re hoping the new plants take nicely…and cover up that stump. 🙂 Jerome is also learning how to ride his bike without the training wheels, as one fell off today, and Daddy took the other off. He’ll probably get the hang of it soon, and we need to get him a bigger bike!

During dinner I shared with Peter and Jerome how I wanted to begin a Nature Notebook with him soon, and what one was. I also want to order the Handbook to Nature Study by Anna Comstock to aid us in our study. We were laughing that we might not have to even step out our door to do some nature study, and yet how grateful we are to live as though in the country here. As we were reading library books after dinner Jerome wanted to learn how to draw a snake, and then continued to draw the asparagus plant in my kitchen window quite accurately! Tomorrow he will draw the Agapanthus and we will paste it in under his snake drawing, which is really supposed to be a legless lizard!

So today, rather by accident, we began Jerome’s Nature Notebook and made his first entry!

In other news, Ian is standing up on his own more and more from a squatting position and is quite proud of himself. He positively crows when he gets up and he knows we’re watching him. Here are some pics.

Saturday came up overcast and hauling enormous clouds that we thought might rain on us, but I was grateful for the muted day as our shoot was scheduled for the middle of the day at the Gardens of the World. I’d never done a shoot there before, and had to request a reservation for formal photography, but there was no cost to get in, and it was so beautiful!

Yesterday I had the honor to meet Paul, Christine’s fiancé, and am looking forward to photographing their wedding in July! They are so in love and I enjoyed watching them interact and share a closeness with each other that I hope deepens with the years. I’m so happy for you two and honored to be your photographer!