We’re grappling with the swing of life, trying to get a better hold this week. Or at least I am. Everyone’s got loads of energy, ahead of spring, and I’m trying to leash that into more activities that require attention + movement. We bought the kids new bikes, after a long search together, and have been on several rides already. Plus we picnicked – in what turned out to be freezing wind – and had a great time revisiting old nature haunts, just the three of us.
This week, Rosetta is teaching her cats to walk on a leash. She watched several videos about it, and spent lots of time getting them used to wearing the leash first. By the week’s end, she walked each one in the yard, with varying levels of success. One actually walked a little ways; the other slouched down, hiding, and refused to move. Her plan now is to keep working with each cat where it’s most comfortable. The ultimate goal is to leash train them, then purchase a cat backpack, and bring the one who likes it most to hike with us on a trail.
Wilder’s been working on building friendships. He’s got loads of online friends, but in-person has become more difficult over time as people (including us) become busier with activities. This week he spent almost a full day developing an in-person friendship with a 13yo he likes from Longmont. They played several games together and spent time talking about video games, likes and dislikes, and going for a walk. He also invited a friend he’s known a long time to our house to get to know him a little better. Stressing out about what they’d do together and what snacks his friend likes felt like a normal part of trying to bond with someone. It turned out to be unnecessary. His friend liked all of his suggestions and they went seamlessly from activity to activity until their time ran out.
Our week culminated with a homeschoolers’ field trip to Evergreen Lake for some ice skating, where we all stretched our legs + fell down on the softening ice until everyone grew hungry for dinner.
My notes from this week – trying to get started keeping track again, sigh. / Bike shopping, store #2. / Rosetta + Fiona / Wilder tallied his knife collection, just to see if value has gone up or down. Up by $233! / Wildlings, including a treasure hunt + game day (6) / Rosetta + Jedi / Making candy stained-glass windows (5) / Hello, Fiona / Hiking, light bouldering + a picnic at Pence Park (4) / Coffee shop chess / Double Jenga tower / Lego-ing with friends / Science experiment: homemade pop rocks with friends (3) / A very cold Thursday Wildlings at Sloan’s Lake / What we were supposed to do this week matched pretty closely to what actually happened, so I needed a photo of it! / Ice skating in Evergreen with homeschool friends + Grandpa / Petting adoptable cats / Wilder, posing with an ice sculpture
Unschool Stories 