Pony Camp

Last week was quite lovely. Amirah had, needless to say, a wonderful time at Pony Camp. Here she is with her favorite pony, Buttons. The instructors at Silver Buckle Rodeo are really wonderful and we all very much enjoy the lovely atmosphere there.



While Amirah was in camp, Eli, Raizel, Avi, and I had morning adventures at Kiwanis Camp in Battle Ground (nice water feature), at Leverich Park in Vancouver...


At Lewisville Regional Park outside Battle Ground...


and at Fred Meyer and Starbucks.

On Monday we went to the lovely wading area at Lewisville Regional Park and played in the water. At the zoo I always find myself doing the "1-2-3-4" count fairly often. At the creek, the chant never stops! It was fun despite having to keep a close eye on them all. Wednesday we went to the F family's house, and visited with Mr. and Mrs. F :) and 3/4 of their wonderful children. The two youngest came home from Ethiopia half a year ago. Fun to see them both looking so much bigger! We also picked lots of delicious raspberries. Tuesday and Thursday were more mundane adventures - doctor and coming home to clean our neglected house. Friday we watched Amirah share all the new skills she learned in camp then we came home to get ready for shabbat. And shabbat, of course, was lovely.

Today I told Amirah that I really thought she should take a trip to the art museum with papa, and you would have thought I had told her she was going to Disneyland with all the jumping up and down. I'm going to print off a dozen or so pictures of paintings currently at the museum and have her go on a treasure hunt. They were hoping to go tomorrow while Grandpa D is visiting, but it's closed on Mondays. :( Hopefully this coming Sunday might work out.

I also told all the kids that I ordered ALL of them their own siddurim (prayer books). Initially I had just purchased them for Amirah and myself, but then I figured I might as well get one for each. Raizel and Eli were both so excited they too ended up jumping up and down Disneyland-style! I love seeing this enthusiasm and utter delight. It's why I homeschool. This is the feeling I want them to have for the rest of their lives - that learning is not done to show mom and dad or your teacher that you are good or even great, but that you are learning because learning causes the thrill of discovery and understanding to run through your veins. It is utterly for its own sake. All four children have that joy, and it is my job to do all I can to preserve that. That joy is what enables them to tackle difficult things with gusto. They are not afraid of messing up or not doing it perfectly. Wrestling with knowledge and asking questions IS what it is all about.