Nature Hike

So we've decided to homeschool D.  I sort of cringe while I type that because for some reason homeschooling is one of those polarizing topics.  I keep running across people who either rejoice because I am keeping him from becoming an evil psychopath from going through the dreaded public school system or I am destroying his social skills and turning him into a freak by keeping him away from public schools.  SO, between psycho or freak, I guess I picked freak.

But seeing as I'm sort of known for not having particularly strong opinions in general, it's not surprising that I do not subscribe to either of these extreme ideas.  Actually, I'm just excited at the fact that I can teach my own kids.  Mom, you'll be pleased that there seems to be a bit of the teacher in me because I really enjoy thinking up the ways we can have our own little preschool.  D is diggin' it and he's taken to me teaching him very well.  He's a tiny genius and it's fun watching him learn so many things.

Really preschool is awesome.  Absolutely anything can be considered preschool education.  Like laundry.  I mean we've got sorting by colors, following directions for which cycle to use, matching socks, fine motor skills in folding, etc, etc.  Now lest you think I am viewing school as slave labor, I will point out that having a four-year-old help with laundry quadruples the time each task takes.  I'd use a bigger word than quadruple if I knew a sophisticated word for 25 times as much.  Like Twenty-five-uple. 

Soooo, all that to say that we took our weekly nature hike today! We talked about season this week so we read the "Autumn" page in our library book to find what things we should find in the fall.  D's research yielded the following list, "Leaves, acorns, berries."  Ok, good list.  I have to say I wasn't sure we'd find berries.  Turns out I'm not too outdoorsy.

We headed to the local Conservation Department where they have a lovely hike that goes through all the local eco-systems or some such thing.  I really only like the forest part.  The prairie bores me to tears.  But I digress.  Here are some pictures:

2 cuties on a log.  Gotta love 4 year old smiles.

Turns out there are berries EVERYWHERE.

Excellent pointing skills.

And stinkin' cute.

Our big find.  Notice how no trees in these pictures are turning?  Yeah, the colored-leaf find was a bit sad.

2 cute tushies.

D said "Wait!  You HAVE to take a picture of the super awesome antenna!"

 And inside the Conservation Department is just as fun. Fish tanks, bee hives, snakes.

So there ya go.  No more complaints that I never post pictures of the kids.  The highly educated kids.