Ben and Ethan have been having a stellar soccer season so far, they are undefeated with one tie game. Last Tuesday's game Ethan got two goals in and the game before that earned a point on a sweet goal kick. Benny has gotten a goal a game, except for this one last Saturday which was against their best matched team. Both sides played fairly and fiercely ending in a 6-6 tie. Although neither Parton brother scored they did their part in getting the ball away from the opposing team who all stood at least a head taller then themselves. Below are the Parton brothers in motion, a snap of the Tuesday game fan club, Mr. Jake so happy to be taking our soccer practice walks again and a beautiful pine in bloom.
Spent four days helping at the Ruth Fox 5th Grade field trip to the Willows and had a blast! The collage below starting top left and going clockwise is Ethan using a native wood and stone tool to break up the garden, final notes from Mr. McCreedy in the ampitheater, spear throwing (Ethan has his Red Wings jacket on in the center), Ethan and his buddy Preston working on starting a fire, and a bunch of the boys up in the treehouse during break. It's hard to see in the group picture but in the background is a wind turbine they install last year, thanks to a generous grant, that supplies power to the ecology center and the Chatfield School.
Making all natural ice cream with ingredients you can pronounce: milk, cream, sugar, and REAL vanilla, put in curner, add ice and rock salt, then crank, crank, crank, til YUMMY!
Along with the ice cream they made pizzas and cooked them in the mud oven, they ground the flour, rolled out the dough, grated the cheese, the sauce was canned but organic, put it all together to bake in a mud oven, and then partake. While that was going on they also worked together to add to the wood pile using a furrow tool and hand saws. I helped keep things organized and moving along in the kitchen while Mr. McCreedy worked on the outside projects. I loved how he directed the discussion at the end of this class asking for their thoughts and comments about what they worked on, made, or felt. Every group thought it was awesome that they worked together to create their "snack" and believed it tasted better than anything they could buy at the store. Mr. M always complimented their teamwork stating that he never had to tell anyone to be doing something because they all got right to work and kept at it. Although our pizzas were vegetarian, he made a comment that it would be great to have some locally grown bacon to put on them. So I'm going to mention it to our Project Clover group to donate some to the ecology center for next year. I think another cool add on would be fresh grown basil or mushrooms (which could be grown in boxes at the center).
The other two days I assisted with the mud hut mostly keeping kids focused on the task and helping them get their feet washed up afterwards. They mix the compound of 2 parts sand, one part clay, a little water, then some straw, with their feet, stomping across until it is of the correct consistency. Next they take it over to the structure and add it to the wall that is in progress. Prior to working outside they learn about the Kahokian structure found in Pennsylvania that led them to understand this building technology. This was another fun class although many of the kids always want to try and slide across the mud which we quickly put a stop to. It will be cool to see the structure once it's finally finished. This is the same technique used to make the mud oven.
Project Clover, by the way, is from our educational focus for the North Branch Finish Line Swine Club. They are learning about entrepreneurship and borrowing from the Armanda 4H we've started Project Clover a non-profit company that is raising funds to purchase a lower priced pig at the 4H auction to have processed and then donated to charitable organizations in the area such as a food bank or soup kitchen. Ethan has also been working on getting trophy sponser for fair as well in the hopes of winning his own Kindle Fire or iPod for selling the most.
In other news Alexandra will be taking her Winter semester exams this week and then waiting to have transcripts sent the the colleges she applied to for Fall. She also needs to have her ACT results sent in. There's been a few bumps in her assistant manager duties and pay status but she seems to be working things out. Having an older teen continues to be a learning process for me, you have to know when to push and when to back off. No matter what you hope they'll do or think they should do, ultimately they do what they're gonna do and you just have to live with it. Disconcerting does not even begin to describe it.
Lastly, I found out our numbers in the Chatfield School "lottery" and they are not as encouraging as I had hoped. Ethan is #11 out of 18 for 6th grade and Benjamin is #5 out of 8 on the list for 7th grade. The secretary couldn't tell me how many openings there would be if any, or when she would know more. It is a very vague process. So the boys and I have been under negotiations as to how to proceed next year. Although my heart's desire is to have the chance to educate them at home again they are not so inclined to the idea. Plus part of me feels like I've gotten some good things started in the district with the running club and choir and such so maybe the fates are telling me my work is not done here. However I did plan to keep things happening here even if they do get into Chatfield but in all honesty it would be quite challenging. Both boys agreed though that if a spot opened up once school did start they would be fine to make the transfer. I'll let you know how the debate on other topics such as classes, sports, etc. pans out, in a future post.
Looks like we're in for some April showers as we begin our Michigan May...so be sure to run between the raindrops!
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