Normally, the boys get to sleep in on weekends. But today, we are meeting family for breakfast out at Patty’s Diner in Gold Hill, for the best Chicken Fried Steaks in the world. It is important ...
This is not a cookie cutter situation, where we can prescribe a common solution to a standard situation. This is Ben and this is me, and when Bean comes into the mix next year, it will be even more ex...
It’s a bit of a stretch, yes? I mean, I know that I’ve heard Thurston Howell, III (of Gilligan’s Island fame, for those too young to remember) speak of his ancestors, but this is a b...
To preface, let me say that some people will be offended by this. Others will be horrified. I was horrified, to be honest. I could barely watch. I got up and started folding laundry, but Ben watched i...
Eloquence in words, and turns of phrase, must start with a reverence for the letters themselves; then the words, the sounds, the rhythms and rhymes, the haunting juxtapositions, the intertwining of he...
Lately, Ben has been wanting to be scared, and scary. This morning, I stumbled onto Neil Gaiman’s Official Website for Young Readers, called MouseCircus.com. There are a couple of stories there ...
Our first week in to this Old-School Homeschool style has been a total blast. We are completely focused on art projects, and giving Ben something to do with his hands while we tuck the actual educatio...
Ben and I were reading about Castles in the Middle Ages yesterday, and we decided to try to find a YouTube video of some of the greatest castles in the world. Sadly, we didn’t find what we were ...
This was originally posted on my Artful Homeschool Blog – but I think I’m disbanding that after one day. I’d rather have one blog here at Country Kid Farmers....
Here’s how the conversation went with my husband earlier today… “I’m afraid I complicate things,” I said. “No, Really?” he laughed. “But first you simpl...
Ben started with a drawing, then did a paper cut-out of the body for this guitar, then headed to the shop to use his new saw that cuts angles. His dad helped him cut out part of an old license plate a...
After a day filled with highs and lows, as I suppose is the standard fare of parenting, I got a chance to go to the grocery store on my own. That trip included a detour into Barnes and Noble for a qui...
Even though we buy paper and tape in bulk, tonight Ben just needed another form of canvas, and so he started giving Bean tattoos with marker. We discourage this sort of thing, generally. A long time a...
This week, I was inspired by the drive and determination of Skateboarders. We went for an afternoon to play at the park with a friend and her kids. It was a bit of running around that we needed to bre...
Over the weekend, I got to spend a few minutes out in the shop with Scott. He needed my help to move some giant thing over onto the lift, and then push it under the back of the torn down vehicle. See ...
Gears are at the heart of so many things around here. Scott is building a race car for the Drag Strip that is around the corner from our house. Both boys like to build motorcycles and bikes, and finge...
Chores. I remember being a kid and having chores, and thinking I was overworked and under-appreciated. I remember feeling like all I ever did was work. I know it takes a while to have a grownup mind, ...
Ah – the glories of learning off the computer! Could there be a more exhilarating way to see in a quick moment all the geometric wonders involved in those wonderful Cathedral windows of old? (Pe...
Part of Ben’s fourth grade art curriculum includes a look at Gothic Architecture. We live in the age of the computer, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. What we can see in little pictures in...
Our hike through Poison Ivy wasn’t nearly as scary as I’d imagined. Yes, we had to stick to the path, and all the moms and dads had to keep reminding kids to keep their hands in and...
This article is based on a prompt from a blog I enjoy called the Tao Te Ching Daily – which gives beautiful, peaceful, soothing, inviting, mindful advice about living. The Tao, as I understand i...
Saturday, we wanted to run down to the Eagle Point Farmers Market for some veggies, but instead ended up at The Wood House for their Farm Festival. My boys adore antiques and things that show how life...
After Scott and I finished Morning Chores, he left for a day of removing an emergency tree. Ben started his day by inviting me to join him at the Kitchen Table. “We can pull out all the art supp...
We were watching The Voice after the kids went to bed, so that might be influencing my flair for dramatics tonight, but honestly – sometimes, as moms, we just have one of those days! Days when w...
That, apparently, is what it is like to be an artistic welder, and spray sparks all day in the process of creating. This is according to Cheryl Garcia, whose studio we had the distinct pleasure of vis...
