Lessons from our pets

We love animals.

 My family had many pets while I was growing up.. (dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, geese, ducks, rabbits, turtles) . I wanted our children to also grow up having pets in their lives too!

 I mean, who wouldn't want a furry creature to greet every morning?

Not animal person? KEEP Reading!!

There are SO many great benefits for children in owning a pet. If you google this topic you would find many articles telling you all about it! Here's a good one: Benefits of pet's for children

I would however, like to take a moment to share about the Pets in our Family, and the benefits we have seen in our own children of having God's creatures in our home.


In the last few months we have lost 2 of our 4 pets.

Two Summers ago my husband was deployed; and during that time we got ourselves a rabbit (our only pet at that time) .

The kids were so excited! We were ready for the adventure! We had just studied Peter rabbit.. and well he looked just like that little guy!
His name was Bun Buns... He was our house rabbit. =)

Bun buns to me was a bit of a bummer... he was always scared, and had alot of "quirks." after one year I felt like it was time to give him up..he was alot of work for not much in return. The kids could never hold him, without him freaking out.. just not the kind of "house "rabbit you would have hoped for... But we kept him... we were fond of him.

Then a few months later, Came Super Hammy the Hamster. We were not planning on getting him. But someone gave him to us for Free! The kids again... were excited! Now we had 2 rodents to care for.. while daddy was away.. Hammy was hilarious. Very friendly and even won 3rd place in a pet contest for Best Pet trick. We loved him.

After this came along a new Rabbit.. A beautiful and very friendly Rabbit.. named Rootbeer. He was also free.. we saw him at a yard sale. He was an outside rabbit, but loved kids.. So he came home with us.

By this time my friends were calling me Mrs. Doolittle! =)
I thought that perhaps we were going to let Bun Buns go as he was stressed out often. And just keep the other Rabbit and Hamster. But the kids loved him so much, so he stayed..

2 Rabbits, Hamster &.....


Last spring we were in Korea visiting my husband.. we would visit the animal shelter daily to help volunteer and take care of the animals. This was my husbands weekend fun..
We met many adorable animals... The kids wanted to keep all of them.. We were NOT getting a dog. I just couldnt' take on that responsibility with almost a year left as a single mama...

And then we met Brinkley.
This was THE Dog we had always dreamed of. We fell in love with him, and Adopted him.  We just had to figure out how to get him from Korea back to Germany. =)
Brinkley stayed with my husband for a few months and flew back with him in the Fall...

Days after he arrived in Germany.. he caught our rabbit outdoors... on accident. They were somehow loose and he was playing "catch." He did not hurt Bun Bun's that would could tell.  We took him to the Vet, the vet said he was perfectly fine.. But he later died that night. It was to much stress for him.  It was awful. We had a funeral and burried our little furry friend. 

 So, we knew we had to say goodbye to Rootbeer the rabbit as well for fear of that happening again...

Then a few weeks ago, Our totally awesome Hamster passed away in his sleep.
We had another funeral, burried him next to bun buns under the front Tree...

*Responsibility- each kinder has jobs... when the fun of having a new pet wears off... and they no longer are as excited to "care" for them... They had to continue with their responsbility of feeding and caring. They thought of them while we were out and about, they remembered when we needed more food. They cleaned their cages.. They took ownership.

* Appreciation for God's creatures- They learned to appreciate even  the smallest animals and the  blessing of them in our lives. We would laugh at things they do, marvel at their abilities,  and give lots of hugs! Keep in mind rodents do not give back emotionally... you care for them with almost no return on your investment..this was a good lesson for the kinders.

* Bonding- my son could not bond with animals. He was always afraid, or just couldn't relate perhaps just didn't "Care." For my daughter it came naturally.. He never spent more than a second petting an animal. So it made me really want to have animals to help him bond, and connect with them. By talking and pointing out funny things, amazing things, and showing him how to bond, with hugging the dog here and there, petting him and talking to him, even putting silly clothes on him. We pointed out other animals out and about and talked about how cute they were, etc..  within months he was able to relate on his own, and now has an amazing bond with our Dog...

*Empathy- when our pets passed away, this was an amazing learning lesson for them. They cried. We all cried. They drew pictures to remember them. They made a cross from sticks for the burial site, We held a funeral and shared our favorite memories. We said goodbye. This was a wonderful learning experience , although sad... for our kinders They learned about death, in a gentle way.

*Science:  Habitats. We took the time to research (favorite foods, abilities, etc) about the animals we had.. We did a lapbook study on rabbits... we would spend  hours watching them "be"

*Social development: With our pets, our children were able to comfortably share and talk about their pets without being nervous when friend came to visit, or at the acadmic fair, or at the pet show... they totally opened up in situations where they normally would have been extremely shy. It was amazing for me to see.
*Excercise: Having the dog, it makes us get out each day and move! We go for long walks in the woods, play fetch.. run with the soccer ball.. and it's a great way to keep us moving each day.

Owning pets is not always easy. There are days... days we moan to take the dog out, days we want to do a last minute trip and can't get a sitter... but the benifits far outweight the negatives- for us.

 For now, it's just the Brinkley and us... well and some tadpoles .. =)

He does school with us.....

Enjoys reading time... with us on the couch...

And while we loved having these great creatures among us, we will have to stick with God's smaller creatures:  butterflies, caterpillars, tadpoles and backyard lizards till our Dog can learn to behave with smaller animals.

Not a Pet person? Can't have pets due to allergies or current life situations? It's okay!!
There are other ways to encourage a love for God's creatures without "owning" a pet.

I always say to our friends who aren't "Pet People": consider pet sitting for folks on Holiday,visit the animal shelter and volunteer to bathe, walk and feed the animals etc. Visit your neighbors pet often, Take horse lessons, Feed the ducks at a local pond , help out at a local farm, go to the zoo often and observe, preferably with a petting zoo to allow your kids time to connect with God's creatures!

                     Consider the thought of having a furry friend ..... they are a great blessing!

Do you have Pets? What are some lessons your children have learned through them?




****UPDATE: Since this post we have adopted:
2 Rabbits & 2 Guinna Pigs! Our rabbits just had babies, and we were blessed with watching the miracle of baby animals, and how they grow!

END of summer Bucket List - update

Well we have completed our Summer bucket List for the season!

Here are some highlights from the last few weeks of summer ! ( a little late I know... i forgot to hit publish on this page a month ago!)

Indian Pow-Wow at the Bostalsee

The kinders Had a great time! It was a bit small, But they were able to take their time to see all the neat displays... and do a craft.

The kinders made their own leather and seashell bracelts...

Lake Fun

Cardboard Box Challange!

This started out so fun! The kids were so excited, and we had some friends over to play...

                                    But then the RAIN came! And it poured and poured!!!! ...goodbye fun box day.

Zoo day!

We just went to our local zoo, the kids and I.

                                                                  It was a great afternoon!

KT learned to ride without training wheels this summer! She was so excited!

We had one last pool day with friends! It was such a great afternoon!

Goodbye Summer!

Meet the Kinders....

It's the Not Back to school Blog hop this week... Meeting the Students!

Here are our little monkey's!

2011-2012

 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:6-9

KT:

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who live him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

JT

Psalms 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

This is my special Verse this season:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

I can't homeschool these kinders on my own. I can look like I have it all together, I can plan the whole year, have a pretty cool school room; 

But I can't do this without Jesus to help me EVERYDAY. 

....Begining this school year without my husband...again. There are days when I really think I can't do this anymore... But then I remember, that my hope and dependancy is not in Man.. but in Christ. And together we will take it Day by day.
(only 5 more months out of the 19  till he returns for good!)   =)

Do you have a verse for this school year? Please share it!

Thanks for stopping by, Have a Wonderful School Year! Whatever your hands find to do , do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10

 

Spring Seed Planting Party!

Is it the beginning of SPRING where you are ???

Are you ready to start planning your Garden with your kinders?  How about a little shin-dig to get into the spring fun?

This weekend we had our first Seed planting party!

 It was probably one of the most FUN days we have had this year!

I set up different stations around the yard. We had 22 kids, and rotated our activities.

Come see what we did!

Each Child brought a Clay pot to paint, and some seeds to share!

I repurposed  coffee tables and already had a small picnic table to use for the kinders.

PAINTING STATION

I had some old boards in the garage that I painted the different Station signs on. Easy - peezy! Ad some old sheets for the table, fresh garden flowers and pinnwheels....and you are set!

I set out aprons for all the kids, since this paint was not washable... (probably should have told the mommies that! =( oops.)

And our first part of the day was painting! 

Look at how adorable they are!

KT was so proud of her butterfly Flower pot. =)

My son's hands after a good hour of painting his! This is huge for my anti-messy child! He had the BEST time! He decided to be creative and use his fingers as his brush like some of the other kids!

GARDEN MARKERS STATION

Our next station was Making GARDEN MARKERS for our seeds! I set up tons of popsicle sticks, markers, crayons, paper, scissors, glue, tape, and tons of stickers...Once they choose their seeds, they worked on these...

They all made some GREAT markers!

Time for Snack!!!!

Our next station was the REFRESHMENT Section.

I made this little table from 2 chairs and a board...it was the perfect height for the Kids, and worked in a pinch!

We served Water! =) Perfect, no mess drink, and everyone likes it!

All the families brought a snack to share,  and we made these adorable little Dirt Cakes!!! I bought mini flower pots, (50 cents each) felt flower decor,(pack for $2)  and gummie worms.

Aren't they adorable? I just used plain vanilla pudding and ground up oreo cookies since it was easier than the actual dirt cake recipe. =)

Our next station was the DIRT station!

Time to fill our pots!

We also had families bring Egg cartons to fill as well.... Each Child recieved their own shovel, and were able to take it home as a party favor. (only 30 cents each at the german toy store!)

I bought a 6lb bag of soil, laid out a tarp and framed it with firewood. The dirt was just enough for all the kids, with some left over.

Next, onto the SEED PLANTING station!

Here, we set up a table for the Children to work out, and plant the seeds.

I laminated the seed growing process and placed it on our seed table.

If you do this, make sure you have the kids put the seeds back in their envelopes, otherwise you won't know which seeds are which, and it will be a "Mystery Garden" =)

How cute did they turn out????!!!

Next the WATERING Station!

Children took their finished potted seeds to the watering station and lightly watered their garden.  Also available for free play!

I hung simple pendant banners around the yard.....

The next station was a SENSORY Box!

 This was a HUGE hit!

Daddy built these for me before he left. I wanted 2, and I wanted them big enough for at least 4 kids to play around them at a time. They are simple to make.

We use them for all sorts of Themed activities for the kids.

This one I filled with 8 packs of black beans, and 1 pack of brown peans, plastic bugs, butterflys, fake flowers, flower pots, and 3 little square grass decorations.  

The KIDS loved it!!!

 There were a few who only wanted to play with this most of the time... Thanks Daddy!

This was a great size for them! I also set it on top of two old vintage drawers I had laying in the garage to raise it off the ground a bit...

I laid out a few quilts to sit on, and some stories for the younger ones and the mamas....

With so many families coming, I knew i wasn't going to have enough lawn chairs, so laying out blankets was a great way to seat everyone, encourage relaxing, as well as cost effective! =)

I also set up a little table with a sequencing game of HOW DO PLANTS GROW?.. I used a cookie sheet, and magnets for this, and it kept the wind from blowing the pieces away!

I laminted the HOW DO PLANTS GROW book, and placed it outside with the game, And one of the Mama's read this to the kids before they headed over to the planting table!

What happens when you are all done planting and you have dirt and water left??????????

That's right, TONS OF FUN!!!!!!

You wouldn't believe how much fun the kinders had playing in the mud!

Mud PIES!

I have NEVER seen my children this dirty. =) And to my surprise how much FUN they had being dirty!

The dirt pile is going to STAY!. 

 P.S. . KT's pants had flowers on them, they are NOT black....=) see her now!

Something else I did,  was take a few seeds to examine the differant sizes ... an Avocado Pit, an acorn, and asked the kinders to GUESS what it was...

Counting FUN!

I have a boxes of little wooden counters of all kinds of shapes, and things from a local craft shop. They are very inexpensive ($1-2 pack of 10)

I wanted to have a display on the table of the differant parts of a LIVE plant the kids could look at and touch. .. Roots, leaves, flowers, stems, ... Great hands on for the kinders... NEXT time! =)

 STATION: SHOWER TIME!!!!!

Tiny little Toes Had fun here today....

What a totally FUN Day!

Thanks everyone for coming and sharing with us!!!

And this is where we will transfer our new seedlings when the weather is right..... our square foot garden....

The Kinders and I are heading to Asia in a few days to visit this guy! Remember he left last spring, and came home in November, and then trotted off to another part of the world for a YEAR? Well, we are SO blessed to take a month to be a FAMILY again... =) The Lord has worked out every detail and we are so thankful.

I will be sharing Next week on our CRAFT room! Woo Hoo!!! (after the jet lag! )

Thanks for visiting!

Now, Go Have a PARTY!!!

                                                                         Helpful links:

From Seed to Plant printable

How do plants grow sequence game

And here are some other great GARDEN Ideas for your little ones!

Garden Preschool Pack- from Homeschool Creations

Printable Veggie Seed Packets from Mama Jenn

Growing Ideas  from Mama Jenn

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