That Whole Unschooling Thing...

In theory, to make our legal count of 180 days, we have two more weeks of school, plus this week.  So 14 days remaining.

However.

I'm done.

The kids are done.

I'm pretty sure the entire school room is done, because certain places - shelves, binders, etc. - have reached maximum capacity and have begun to spill over into new areas.

The kids have asked to take one week during their extra-long summer break to do a review week, so really we only have to have 9 days left.  I'm cool with that.  Very cool.  Practically chill.

When it came time to make my weekly lesson plans yesterday, I couldn't muster the energy.  I didn't want to climb the stairs and repeat the same process I've done for the last 33 weeks, give or take.  I knew the kids didn't really want to do the work.

And so I said to Oz, "Y'know what?  If they were in public school, the last 2-3 weeks would be field days, field trips, awards ceremonies, movie days, end-of-year tests, and general shenanigans.  So phthththththth."

Today when the kids dutifully climbed the stairs to the school room and asked what they were going to do first, I shocked them.  I pulled a piece of paper out of the printer and made two lists.  One list was for Doodlebug, the other for Boo.  These lists contain everything that I'd still like them to finish in the next two weeks - grammar books for both kids, a couple of math assignments for Boo (Doodlebug is thoroughly enjoying his pre-algebra and has asked to go ahead and continue despite the probable futility of the effort), the play that they're creating/writing, and some reading.  That's about it.  I mean, there are a couple of other little things to wrap up, but those are the big items.

The kids were thrilled.  They worked nonstop from 8:30 to noon, when I told them to put away the stuff and eat lunch.  And after they ate lunch, they went back upstairs… and kept going!  Boo pulled out a stack of posters and learned about the battles of the Revolutionary War.  Doodlebug yanked out a book about drawing comic strips and made some really cute ones.  Boo wrote a letter to her friend, addressed the envelope, and mailed it.  And I sat on my backside and didn't have to do a thing!  It was glorious.

I told Oz about it when he got home, and he started laughing and said, "So you're unschooling now, are you??"

It's only taken me five years to let go and unschool for a whole nine days.  I might be a bit of a control freak.  But for that amount of time, yes… yes, I suppose I am.

Tornado Watch

One of the hazards of living in Oklahoma... and Tornado Alley in general... is spring weather.  Tornadoes aren't, of course, limited to spring, but that is the time we're most prone to them.

We've been lucky this year.  Just a few days ago, the news stations were actually talking about the fact that we were in a 'tornado drought,' because there had been so few tornadoes this year.

I think Mother Nature heard them.  She's vindictive like that sometimes.

Yesterday, the first round of storms came through.  I wasn't particularly worried about them coming here because while it was humid, it was also cloudy and windy all day.  The conditions just didn't seem right.  Sure enough, all the storms fell apart before they got here, and we only had a small cloudburst, just enough rain to make the gardens happy.

Today, though, things felt... and still feel... different.  It was sunnier, more humid, hazier, and just generally more like the weather that I've grown up to know means storms and tornadoes.

I've swept out the closet under the stairs (we're spending our tax refund on a safe room, but it's not here yet), and totally unlike yesterday, I've had the kids pack bug-out bags.  Sometimes when you can see a tornado coming your way, the safest thing to do is actually climb in the car and head south or east as fast as you can, then come back when it's over.  I've only had to do that once, but hey... it's an option.  And when that's an option, it's nice to be able to tell the kids to pack their pajamas and a couple of their favorite things, just in case.

Hanging out and waiting

As for Oz and I, he's home, too, and we're watching the weather on television.  It might as well be labeled the state hobby, because when the weather gets nuts, nobody gripes about missing their favorite sitcoms or dramas unless they're total brainless boors who just need to be nicely dropped into the nearest hook echo as a reminder of how nasty these things can be.

Radar and knowledge of local geography are your friends

This is what the TV looks like during tornadic hours.  Lots of red and yellow.  Storm tracks.  Helicopter footage.  Wind inflow and outflow patterns.

More radar

I also usually have radar pulled up on at least one tab on my computer while the weather's going on.  I know it's fairly useless if we lose power, because the Internet will go out, too, and I'll have to swap to using the 4G on my phone or the weather app on Oz's iPad, but it's just another layer of knowledge for me to add to my database, so I can make informed decisions about what to do for my family.

To someone who isn't used to tornadoes, it probably seems like I'm freaking out, hyper-aware, and just taking far too many precautions.  To those who live in Shawnee or Moore this week... well, I think they'd say I'm doing exactly what I need to do.  My heart breaks for them and any others affected by these storms.

To help those affected by tornadoes this week, please consider donating to the Red Cross.  They aren't paying me to say this, but I'm saying it, anyway.  You can donate by visiting their web site or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.

Because It's Warm Today

It's in the 60s outside this weekend.  I sat outside in short sleeves, reading a book and listening to music, and didn't freeze.  The kids played outside for hours.  And when I walked around the house, I felt a tug.  And I knew... it was time to plant.

Obviously the weather isn't going to stay warm.  But I knew when we moved in that I wanted to have a healing/herb garden this spring.  I still haven't worked out how I'm going to have a vegetable garden since our back yard is so steeply sloped (I suspect I'll have to do some terracing and don't want to try to figure that one out/spend the cash to do it yet), but I can do herbs.  I planned out the garden spaces, ordered the seeds, and really hadn't planned to plant quite yet.  Still, yesterday I realized that if it takes a couple months for the plants to germinate and get big enough for transplanting, it's probably time.  Technically they say that April 1-15 is our planting time for outdoor plants, but I have a feeling that March will be better.  I go with my instincts when it comes to gardening, and in this drought and with the hot, hot summers we've had the last two years, I think earlier is better if I want any sort of yield.

So I planted the seeds, and now I wait.

The container on the left holds my aloe plants.  My poor, poor aloe plants have been through the wringer.  Originally I had a dozen little plants in that container, but the cat has dumped them out of various window ledges a couple of times.  I'm amazed that I still have two, and I'm hopeful that they will continue to grow.  If not, I guess I start over.

It may be January, and we could have snow again before all is said and done, but spring isn't too far away.  It'll be here before I know it!

Crystal Bridges

I finally got around to emptying the SD card in my camera tonight.  A few weeks ago - the weekend after we listed the house, to be exact - the four of us piled in the car and took a trip to Crystal Bridges, an almost-brand-new free-to-visit art gallery/museum in NW Arkansas.

It was well worth the drive, if I may say so.  We paid a few bucks to see their current traveling exhibition, which brought the total to $10 for all four of us ($5 for adults and kids under 18 are still free).  Our favorite part, though?  The grounds.  They were beautiful.  There was live music (really good music, too!) in a small amphitheater located in a woodsy area near the museum.  There were water features and beautiful garden areas.  It was all very picturesque... I hope I was able to do some of it justice.  Enjoy!

Spring Busy-ness

I haven't really had too many chances to get on here and post lately; I've just been busy.  But I wanted to get on and immortalize some of the best times from the past few weeks.

M1 has discovered a love of model making.  He's graduated from models that snap together to models that glue together, and he's thrilled about it.  He loves the painting and the putting together of pieces, and I can't wait to see what the final product looks like.

The kids had two weeks of Spring Break.  The first week was sunny and brilliant, and we spent a lot of time outside.  The second week, though - the week that all the public schools were on break - was rainy.  And that was brilliant, too, because we went to an almost-vacant zoo on a misty day, and I let the kids puddle-duck on a rainy day.  They loved it.

M2 turned 7 at the end of the break...

... and she had a wonderful party at a local pottery painting place.

She doesn't look 7.  It's scary how fast they grow.

This past weekend, the Easter Bunny paid our house a visit.

M1 knows that Mom is involved in most of these sorts of gigs, but he can't for the life of him work out who might be involved here.  (On a completely unrelated note, my sister works for a costuming and drama department at a college in another city.)

The kids always love hunting for eggs...

... and they got to have TWO hunts this year, one at home and one at Granddad's house with their cousins (step-cousins? How do you relate your step-sibling's kids to your kids?)

Mostly, though, we've been doing a lot of this.  Working.  Plugging away.  The kitchen has been completely repainted, and we're waiting on the contractor to get a date set to come do the foundation piers and leveling.  The kids and I did some painting on the exterior of the house today.  I need to steam clean the carpets, Oz has to repair a couple of floor pieces, and once all these things are done... THAT'S IT.  Other than cleaning like my life depends on it.  The end is in sight, though.  I'd love to get the house listed next week!

Fingers crossed.  It's been an eventful spring! :)