Have Barf Bucket, Will Travel

We've all had enough waiting around the house to see if the Princess is going to barf again. So we decided to head out to the lake to look for a letterbox and spend some Nature time. I'm a "sort-of" Classical homeschooler, so Nature Study is "sort of" important to me. By "sort of", I mean that I am a wanna-be Classical homeschooler who often gets sidetracked by my institutional/traditional background and training.

The ramifications this attitude has on Nature Study are that the joys that can be found in venturing into God's beautiful creation are often squelched by worksheets, writing assignments, and assessments. I'm working on it, I really am. In fact, some time ago I purchased the homeschooling Nature Study bible: Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. I have a love/hate relationship with this volume. The book moves around our house a lot; it may spend a month perched on top of the "Things to Sell on Ebay" pile until I decide to give it another shot whereby it moves over to the "Homeschool Materials Bookshelf." I hate to admit that my problem with it is color. I love black and white photos a la Ansel Adams, but the photos in this book are a la photocopier quality, and they are neither inspiring nor helpful. I suspect the publishers wish to preserve the integrity of the Ms. Comstock's book, but a color revision could be offered as a choice at least.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine gets it. Yesterday I downloaded Creative Nature Study. Full color and chock full of great Nature Study ideas and testimonies from moms who have done it. After perusing the articles, I determined that today we would do some Nature Study, puking baby or not.

And we had a great time. No clipboards. No writing assignments. No tests. The kids had just binoculars and their little legs with which to explore the lake shore. Of course I had my camera, and after telling the kids I would photograph whatever they wanted me to, they quickly set me to work taking pictures of every little rock and plant that crossed our path.

We were unsuccessful in uncovering the letterbox, but after leaving our footprints all over the drought-sticken lakeside, we decided to head back to the car--dirty shoes, treasures, and all.

Next stop was Carvel. I made a promise yesterday, prompted by the incredible guilt I felt about canceling all of this week's activities. I told the kids that if Audrey kept everything down today we would go out for ice cream. They kept careful watch on their little sister and her barf bucket, and since she didn't have to use it, they cashed in on my promise. We did, however, eat outside not only to enjoy the beautiful weather, but also just in case...and the little Princess kept down her ice cream.