Wrestling Alligators and Identifying Oregano

Over the last couple of weeks, Lu's been reading The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht in his spare time. He's learned about how to escape from a sinking car, how to identify a bomb, how to wrestle an alligator, and how to fend off a mountain lion.

In three consecutive days, Lu got stung on the hand by some unseen creature, I got stung on the toe by another mystery bug, and Cha got stung by our friend Mr. Scorpion. Lu's hand was swollen for a day or so, my toe was a purple and swollen itch for several days, and Cha had all kinds of reactions including a numb tongue and painful joints. So, that was exciting.

Cha learned how to catch a scorpion with his bare hands from a local man. One day Lu decided that he was ready to try this. He was feeling brave. It was going to be a great and memorable step towards manhood. He grabbed the stinger just like he'd learned. He got it! But then he was unpleasantly surprised when the scorpion folded up backwards on itself and grabbed Lu's fingers with its pinchers (which is a pretty yucky feeling). Lu freaked out and couldn't fling the thing from fear that it wouldn't let go, so Cha had to step in. It was funny, though poor Lu felt pretty poop about it afterwards. Nasty little creatures they are.

I've been letting myself get too wound up over Lu's fidgeting lately. So the other day I let him sit on the exercise ball while he worked on math and decided I'd just see what happened if I let him move however he wanted. I even helped out by writing down the answers that he dictated to me while bouncing away and pondering numbers. We got so much done! I just let him do a bunch of it mentally while bouncing in a trance. And he got all the answers right! So why do I get so worked up over the fidgeting? It obviously isn't getting in the way of his learning (even though it does seem to be getting in the way of my teaching). I used to be the exact same way. I hated school mostly because I wasn't allowed to move. Maybe that's why I insist so much... Maybe deep down I think that my own academic failures are due to how fidgety and day-dreamy I was (am).

In my last post, I was having major Math Crisis. MEP especially shakes my confidence - even though I know it's really good for us, but this week, our new resource - Glencoe Math - has given us a boost. The explanations are really clear. In just a few pages we've learned so many new concepts, without any stress or tears.

Prime Factorization
2 weeks ago I'd have been like Say Whaaa?

Lu wanted to do another experiment using the Scientific Method.
He tested ants' interest in different foods.

Chocolate, bread, sugar, mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
They're hard to see, but there are a few ants in there.

By leaving it untouched, the ants proved my point that cheap chocolate just isn't worth eating. It's the kind of stuff people put in piñatas. Yuck. Imagine what it's made of if an ant won't touch it.

We were out in the yard this morning during our break when Lu excitedly announced that our cotton tree was in bloom.

I asked him to give me a tour
of all the edibles in our gardens that he knows.

Lemon Grass

Parsley

Two types of Oregano.

Pigeon Peas

Basil

Mint

Two kinds of Lettuce.

Bananas of course.

And Garbanzo Beans!

The garbanzo beans were a surprise to me. I didn't know what all we had growing in the garden. That's more Cha and Lu's area of expertise. I, meanwhile, am in the kitchen melting down raw cane sugar to replace the partially refined sugar we've been using. It's delicious, and so much better for us.

So, between knowing how to run a vegetable garden and how to wrestle alligators, Lu's definitely in the right direction as far as learning sustainability goes (even if he can't sit still for more than 13 seconds). I'm so grateful for everything he learns with his dad (provider of the survival book and many survival lessons).