the Neighbor Asks Us What We've Learned

Our backyard neighbor Andre' is a hoot. Just last week he came up from our basement and told me how yummy our dinner smelled, and could he stay to have some. When he called his mother he said (so Susan told me) that we wanted him to stay, so could he. After dinner he informed us that he could probably stay to roast a few marshmallows, too, and he did.

This afternoon he came while I was away with Grace, and he asked the boys what they learned in school. "Nuttin" was the intelligent reply. Andre' is doing the ABeka video school, and he told our boys the several things that he learned. He apparently wanted to stay for dinner again, and when Mark told him that it was a small frozen meal that they were having and there might not be enough, Andre' replied that it was okay to have just a little bit.

What are we really learning? Today Ben learned that if he does a poor job on his copywork that I'll make him do it over. and over. and over. He also figured out how to (independently) make swords with a narrow board, a hacksaw, a hammer and nails. He made at least two of them. Bradford progressed in reading, and he also figured out how to make the sand in the yard very flat using a PVC pipe. Nathaniel learned that being outside for quiet time is more fun than lying on his bed sucking his thumb.

I think we're doing great, considering I've got a half dozen kids all under the age of 9. I read the funniest thing today on Kilby's blog, and I posted it below. Kilby is a young friend of mine who came up on the spur of the moment to help me when the twins were born. She is now helping a widow with five children 12, 9, 7, 5, and 3 in Yazoo for a few months, and she's keeping a blog about her time there. She's also a gifted storyteller.

Getting geared up for school was a hassle, since it's harder to keep track of five kids than you'd guess--unless you're a mother. Once you get two on task, the other three have slipped out the door, or through the grate, or down the toilet or something, and once you've found them, the others could be anywhere. --Kilby