Huhtala Homeschoolers

Today, I knew it was going to be hot so we started out our day with an early nature walk. Right behind our street is a long country road that has quaint little houses, pastures with big oak trees, cows, horses, weeping willows and LOTS of quartz for Payton and Bella to collect. I brought one stroller so Tyson and Bella could take turns riding. I wanted them to run and play as much as they could. It's probably about a mile walk but it took us over an hour. We had to stop and examine every flower, watch as a huge flock of birds went right over our heads, hide amongst the weeping willows, collect anything that caught our eye as interesting and stick it in the bottom of the stroller, and try to get the horses to come over to the fence. It was a beautiful morning and I think we just enjoyed the leisure of it all.




After seeing the horses, I had to listen to Katrina talk for the next 20 minutes about how she wished they had come over to the fence to see her. Didn't they like her? Could we go back after Daddy got home and try again? Do horses like having flowers in their hair? Could she put one in the horses hair? Could she bring snacks for the horses? Not without permission? If the farmer says we can? I'll bring carrots, apples and sugar cubes. Why can't we just feed the horses a yummy snack without asking? Maybe the farmer will come over, put a halter on the horse and lead it over to us. Did you know that at night, I talk to my animals like they are real. It's hard sometimes to pick which ones get to sleep with me.....If I win a race and win lots of money, I would buy the house for sale next to Grandmas with the horse land and buy horses for everyone in the family. If I had lots of money, could I do that?

I think, just maybe, she's trying to tell me she really likes horses.

Here's a picture of the next day...she had brought a mysterious purse with her. Turns out, inside she had brought just a few baby carrots just in case she saw the "farmer" and ended up using them to lure the horses over. Then she "accidentally" dropped one into the pen. At one point, I looked over and she had materialized one of those plastic My Little Pony brushes from "the purse" and was trying to comb the horses hair with it! Obviously, she had thought long and hard about this.




Once home, my kids gladly got out their nature journals and began to write about their walk. Katrina has written a page already and says she wants to write LOTS. "Pages and pages!" Then, she mailed one to Grandma Debbie. Payton is trying to press some flowers and may get to writing a sentence or two. The amazing thing is, they have been quiet for over 20 minutes and I haven't been out there. Usually I have to be right there directing them and keeping them on task, but for now, life has made an impression on their imagination, and I choose to fade into the background.