Field Trip: Tide Pools

 Our little co-op has been having great fun learning our way through history this year. Ruby and Henry have made great progress; Ruby is reading chapter books as fast as we can give them to her it seems, and Henry is reading his first sight words. They both love learning, and for that I'm thankful!

This month's field trip was to the local beach, where a European couple who teach science here generously offered to take our kiddos for a guided tour of tide pools near their house. Our family loves exploring these constantly changing treasures wherever we go here, and it was an extra special treat to have the Smits along to answer our many questions.

Capturing creatures isn't my thing, as I prefer to observe (and teach my kids to observe) animals in their environments. However, the kids each had a small net and were encouraged to see what they could discover. Ruby was pleased to find a large sea cucumber.

 There were also dozens of assorted crabs, including this one I hadn't seen before, with hairy red legs:

 Henry found a starfish, but Ruby put it back in the water (without telling her brother), "so that it could be healthy and live." I love that sensitivity about her. In all fairness, she put her sea cucumber back as well, but we had to have a little family meeting about communicating important life events, like when you put your brother's treasure someplace he can't find it, without his permission. It was a really cool one, school-bus yellow with long, thin legs and grey tips.

Here is our friend Emmett with a cute starfish he found:

 One thing I like about beachcombing is that twice a day, with each tide, you get a totally new set of discoveries. And I like to think we have at least that many new beginnings each day. Each morning bring a new day with no mistakes, only opportunities, right? Still, I need a couple of restarts most days. When I'm near the ocean, I sense that God is big enough to handle all of my 'even though's".

I'll leave you with what was by far the coolest find, a sea turtle washed up on shore...it was over a foot across, dead less than a day. The kids really enjoyed checking it out. Hopefully, it can be cleaned up in a few days and used for older science classes.

Moon Over Mt. Meru

 If my camera could do the northern skyline justice right now, I'd post a picture of the moon high over Mt. Meru for you to enjoy. It's stunning and made me think about all the great moments of today. Let me share a few with you.

 This might not be your idea of a great time, but seeing a black mamba just about made Ruby and Henry's day. We've been studying reptiles in school, and Arusha's Meserani Snake Park provided a great setting for a field trip.

 This Gaboon Viper and its poisonous friends were behind glass and concrete, but they were still pretty intimidating. This guys' head wouldn't have fit in my hand.

The Horned Viper below was also massive:

 There were also several non-poisonous snakes and we got to hold a couple, including this sand snake. Ruby named him Nofeet and Henry asked if we could have him for a pet. I guess he really misses our kittens that disappeared last year.

 Speaking of disappearing, there were also a few large pythons at the park today, accompanied by photos of similar pythons who had eaten sleeping guards. Let this be a warning for anyone tempted to nap on the job!

The park also offered a guided tour of the Masai museum, and camel rides with a view of the local cattle auction. When Ruby and I were on the camel, she said, "Mommy, I love God's creation."

 And really, what's not to love?

There were a variety of crocodiles there, too. Separated from the camels and people, of course...that would be exciting though! This Nile crocodile is about half grown and was around 8 feet long. Our guide said that she was about 20 years old. I thought she looked pretty with the foilage in her skin.

 Loti, our guide, carefully held a young crocodile for the kids to touch. This one is about three years old and was snappy.

 Loti, a Masai warrior, also chatted casually with us about birds, conservation, and how he killed a lion in 1996 to achieve his manhood in the tribe. Later, Jonathan, our guide in the museum, added that Masai men must be circumsized at age 18 before they kill their lion. Immediately after which they drink large amounts of a honey-based alcoholic beverage.

 Several small Masai villages line the road to the park.

We're staying with friends who love Jesus and teenagers in Arusha, and Len had a great time speaking at their camp this weekend. Seriously great fun!

While he was busy at camp, I took the kids to the local Cultural Heritage Center and enjoyed the art gallery immensely.

These look way more real in the photo than in person. Here, my children dramatize a buffalo chasing a child. Good times at the foot of Mt. Meru!

Reminders

This week I was reminded of where we've been with Ruby-girl, and how far we've come.

We were playing a game together, one of a set we play often that helps teach social skills. Each of these game boards has a different focus, and the one we played yesterday focused on idioms.

Usually, Ruby loves these games and begs to play one more time. Usually, she tries to stay ahead of me and finish first. Yesterday, however, she froze up after her first turn. After that, she tried to manipulate the die so that she only landed on the spaces I had just landed on and explained. Tears were in her eyes for much of the game as her chin quivered, a breath away from crying.

What was the source of her pain? You're on cloud nine! Don't spill the beans! You're on thin ice! Cut it out!

These and other sayings that are such a part of our daily life were terrifying to Ruby, because in her literal understanding of the world she has no idea what people mean by saying such things. In our game, players land on a space and explain what people really mean when they say, "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach!" or whatever the idiom.

A couple of times, her answer was, "it means they don't like you". This broke my heart as I realized how confusing life can still be for my little girl who has worked so hard for each step of progress. Social cues that are effortlessly understood by most children must be studied and learned by others. For these children (and adults!), navigating social situations can feel like an endless test they are constantly on the verge of failing.

So I sat there yesterday, trying to explain simply yet logically why someone would say, "You're in hot water!" to someone who was not actually being burned by hot water. Or why, when someone says, "Time to hit the books!" they really mean it's time to study or read, not that you should hit the books with your hands.

And I remembered other places we've been with Ruby:

• temporary bouts of paralysis
• seizures
• huge regressions in development
• specialists and tests with no answers
• being given a variety of grim labels for our child
• tears and prayers and hurting hearts
• amazing therapists of many kinds
• going on a diet the 'professionals' said wouldn't work
• seeing the diet help our daughter dramatically
• reading research for hundreds of hours
• praying and praying and praying some more
• searching for and finding a homeopath skilled in helping children like Ruby
• being amazed with the progress we saw from said homeopathy
• making great friends who share this journey

By the grace of God, Ruby's made so much progress, and I'm thankful for that. Today was a good reminder that we're not done making progress.

After that round of Idioms, there was no "Just one more game" from Ruby. I left it out, however, hoping she would look at it in her free time.

Tonight, as she and Henry were playing before bed, being silly and pretending to discipline each other, Ruby went to the table where the game board was. After a few seconds, she declared, "Henry, you're in hot water!"

My heart is a little more joyful tonight.

Homeschool: Settling In

Ruby was reading a book to Henry this morning and it struck me that I really love this homeschooling thing. I'm exhausted as I write this, nine hours later, but I'm also appreciating the hidden benefits to teaching our kids at home versus outsourcing.

As we continue into this adventure, several new benefits have presented themselves, but three stand out today:

1) Our children really like each other - because they are learning the same material (at different levels) and sharing more experiences together, they are bonding over history and reading (Ruby reads at least once a day to Henry and once a day to me) and life in general, and I like seeing them be friends like that. They have a lot to talk about and they frequently discuss what they're learning.

Last year they each spent most of their freshest hours in different environments, with people we like and love, but who all scatter at the end of the school day. So they came home tired, having spent their best waking hours away from family, and each told the other about their day. But they weren't really sharing life together other than eating dinner and getting ready for bed, which I'll admit aren't our most peaceful times each day. Now, we usually eat breakfast together after everyone's slept as much as they need to, and it's much better family time.

2) We really like our children - My hypothesis on investing in children is being proven: the more you invest in your children, the greater the returns. I'll admit that I had a lot of fun last year, having more lunches with friends, having more alone time, prayer time, writing time and husband time while the kids were in school.

However, there is a thrill that comes with looking into your child's eyes as they tell you all about Squanto or how to find the answer to three times six or how they just wrote their name. I will admit it is a lot of fun watching Henry learn addition and subtraction by having a war with kanga balls and then seeing how many we each ended up with, how to even our totals, how many to add or subtract to get zero, and so on.

Len has been able to get in on the action, teaching a few hours a week while I volunteer locally. Yes, he works late one extra night a week to make up for that time, but it's great for him and great for the kids to spend that time together.

3) School is flexible, like life - There's been a virus going around the last few weeks, and it would have knocked each of our children out of school for a few days. However, since school is right here, we were able to keep up with our lessons. One night we built compasses out of needles and corks and tried them out at dinner. Once in a while our bedtime story is some component of the curriculum.

When we travel, school comes with us. It takes much less time to teach a concept to fewer children, and so we spend less time in lessons and more time practicing and reinforcing that concept as it occurs throughout daily life. Field trips happen one or two times a year in most schools, only because the logistics of transporting dozens of children with few adults can be burdensome. However, hands-on learning is how most children learn best. The flexibility of this homeschool model of education is showing amazing results so far, and we are only in our first semester. Not the easiest road, but it is lovely! :)

Field Trip: Njiani

Our little homeschool co-op is planning one formal field trip per month (one cool thing about homeschooling is that you get field trips as often as you want!) and this week we went to a local furniture designer's shop to see what she does and try our hands at designing.

After a tour of her shop, which included talking about furniture function and materials, we went outside and the kids got to draw their dream furniture. Ruby drew a very ornate throne (above) and Henry drew a series of tables and what looked to me like a wine rack. He said he couldn't tell me what it was because it was a secret.

He is a mysterious little person.

After drawing their furniture, they were given some clay and sculpted their furniture. This is Ariana's drawing and model of a gorgeous room divider Catherine has in her shop right now. The original piece is made of wood and handmade lace.

Then, just for good measure, the kids each got a wooden soap holder to sand, varnish and paint if they wanted to. Ruby got one made from coconut wood:

After a brief clean-up, we all enjoyed lunch at Njiani, prepared by Catherine herself. The kids also enjoyed playing in the large garden there. We look forward to seeing how it develops as play areas are added!

Note: As of October 1, Njiani is open Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Green Goodness

"You win the man contest today." Len's face contorted as he struggled to finish today's green smoothie.

I guess goodness is in the mouth of the beholder.

Two things happened this summer: I had some health problems, and we had Kindles delivered to us by a great mission team visiting some friends. Since I was unable to be as active as usual, and had the ability to get books instantly instead of waiting several weeks or months, I put the Kindle to work trying to find ways to be more healthy.

Cheese has been almost an addiction for me since I can remember. Friends in high school used to tease me about perpetually having cheese in my hand ready to eat. For most of my life, I've seen other food largely as a vehicle for cheese. Breads, vegetables, meat, pear pie...everything is better with cheese, right? And I justified this by touting the protein and calcium in each ounce.

When Ruby was diagnosed with autism and we decided to try the gluten-free, casein-free diet for her, she could no longer eat cheese, which was one of her favorite foods as well. I gave up eating cheese when she was awake, but went directly for one or two cheese snacks as soon as she was in bed. A nice Stilton on saltines is a great way to end the day. My cheese intake went up again after several months, until we moved to Africa. Good cheese (rennet free, raw milk and hand made) is difficult or impossible to find in Tanzania, and even mediocre cheese is quite expensive here. Still, we've managed to consume a 2-kilo block of cheddar each month or so, cheaply made cheese I wouldn't have touched in America yet we pay three times as much for it here, and are thankful to have it.

All this talk of cheese is to tell you that I realized this summer that my diet had to change if I was going to be healthy again. And a few books from the Kindle have helped direct that change.

First, I downloaded a free book, Raw Food by Erica Palmcrantz and Irmela Lilja. I had read quite a bit about raw food diets over the years, but it seemed extreme and restrictive. However, the more I've learned about how the body metabolizes food, and the more I've started trusting that God knows what he's doing, I've become more and more convinced that what we need is growing right around us, not packaged in boxes or supplements or medicine. My friend Danielle from college always said, "Let food be your medicine," and I wish I had listened to her more then.

So, I made some recipes from Raw Food (Avocado Soup, Hawaiian Breakfast, Beet Soup and smoothies), and was pleasantly surprised when my family liked them. Fresh fruits and vegetables are relatively easy to find here and are more affordable than other food, so we jumped into raw food. Added bonus: these things are all gluten free!

As I was looking at sale books on the Kindle one night, I bought another book: Green for Life, by Victoria Boutenko. In it, she addresses several health benefits of eating fresh greens, and encourages the reader to try one green-based smoothie a day for 30 days. She also discusses pH in the body and how cancer cannot grow in a body with a slightly alkaline balance. I had read about this many years ago when my sister and then my dad were dying of cancer, and was pleased to find so many ties between alkalinity and greens in the diet. The idea of getting greens in a smoothie appeals to me greatly, since it's easy to make and easy to drink, and with a little more fruit, easy to get the kids to drink!

We took Ms. Boutenko up on her green smoothie challenge, and it's been going well, but we missed the last two days. This may explain why I tried to make this morning's smoothie super green. By the look on his face, Len thought celery (stalks and leaves), green pepper, cucumber, lemon and pineapple, with two dried apricots for more sweetness, was green nastiness. When I finished mine and asked him if he was going to put his down the toilet if I left the room, he let me win, and I finished his. For his sake, I hope he brings home some sweet fruit tonight!