Nature literally came knocking on our door today. Number 6 went out to find my broom for me and seconds later came running back in with eyes as big as saucers! He'd never seen such a big turtle before.
Number 4 was brave enough to touch the shell too!
We decided to take the turtle to another pond that was far enough away that he wouldn't come back to ours and eat up all our little fish and also secluded enough that it wouldn't bother anyone if we dropped him off. We loaded him up into the back of the RTV and piled in... all 8 of us and headed out. Little did we know.... turtles are pretty good climbers. He actually made it up the side of the dump bed on the RTV and bailed out before we made it to the pond. We figured he was close enough and that we should just continue on with a little sight seeing excursion. Darrell quieted the kids, who always love to sing while riding in the RTV, and encouraged them to drink in their surroundings....to take in every possible detail, from the blades of grass to the buds on the trees...all in true Charlotte Mason style. That's when we spotted the beaver swimming across the pond.
We drove up to the edge and tried to see if it would swim to the other side and go up the bank. We got out and walked around the pond, watching for his head to pop up again. The kids wanted desperately to see it up close, but the beaver disappeared... and as we walked around the pond we figured out where he probably disappeared to...
Number 2 explained to the little kids how the beaver builds the hut and makes a spot for the babies up at the top. She gave them a few more details and then we moved on and found the dam the beaver had been working on.
I bet it really hurt his teeth chewing down that stop sign!!
We drove on around and let the kids do a lot of running and playing. There's nothing like a big, wide open field to let a bunch of kids run off some energy! They found an old hay bale and had lots of fun running and climbing on it.
We drove around a little longer, just really enjoying the beautiful spring day and being together. Number 7 fell asleep in my arms and we stopped and let the kids run around some more. Darrell joined them in a game of tag. It was such a joy to watch him running and chasing the kids in his silly/crazy style. The kids really love it when Daddy plays with them. They absolutely eat it up!!
I'm so in awe of the life that we live. We work hard...every day. We all do. So it's nice to be able to take some time like we did today and just enjoy life and the beauty of this world God created. Our kids are always excited to see living things...from deer to rabbits to squirrels and even turtles. I hope that excitement never dies. I hope that life never becomes so mundane that the little things they enjoy so much now mean nothing to them. I think that is why I love homeschooling so much. We live a lifestyle of learning....whether they know it or not, they are always learning. It just seems like fun and play to them, but today they learned that snapping turtles are detrimental to the fish swimming in the pond. And rather than shoot it, we took him to a place that he wouldn't really bother anyone. They learned that beavers will never swim up to you and pose for a picture. They learned to work together as they helped each other climb up the broken down hay bale. They also learned that Daddy can still outrun them...even with a bum knee. And they learned that God has a special plan and place in this world for every living creature...including themselves.
Such wonderful, beautiful lessons in life that they didn't get from a book or a classroom. They learned these lessons by living life... all because one not so little snapping turtle came knocking on our door!!
