I'm a Cub Scout leader. (Bear Den leader to be exact.) I went in to sign R up for scouts, and ended up as the leader (guess I'm a sucker when it comes to the kids.) It takes up one evening a week, and has been a good thing.
This is our second year going to camp. Imagine, me, eleven boys under the age of 8, and some "parent volunteers" every day from 7:30 until 4 hiking all over a 300 acre camp to participate in all kinds of activities (6 activities a day plus opening and closing ceremonies and lunch). We'll call it a learning experience. (The boys did have a most excellent time.)
So, here's what I learned.
- If I get up at 4 I can get the critical chores done and have a cup of coffee before I have to meet the boys needing rides at the school.
- Animal trumps vegetable at our farm when time is tight. (Animals get fed, watered, and milked, but the garden doesn't get weeded, watered, or planted. I guess plants don't scream as loudly as the animals if I miss a day.)
- Weeds grow more than crops when you are not looking.
- Low stress animal handling techniques (See Bud Williams) work as well with little boys as they do with cows. The opposite is also true, as some of my "help" proved. If you yell and scream and get in their flight zone cows (and little boys) will go crazy and run away.
- My kids may drive me crazy some times, but they are WAY better than anyone else's kids.
- We (ACJ&R) are a heck of a team!
1 comment:
Isn't it nice to be a part of your children's world rather than expecting them to be part of your world all the time.
I found that if I listened and watched my children I learnt and re-learnt how to look at things as they are and not through my 'training' or prejudices.
I'm not sure I could have taken a week of others people's children bu I did manage working at the playgroup, only 2 hrs per day. and tyriing as it was it was good to be there for the children.
Deborah
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