Release Me!

Our local Nature Center, which might as well be called our second home, has a great program to repopulate Lake Michigan with Sturgeon. They raise them at the center and once a year introduce  those old enough into the depths of Lake Michigan. We have been wanting to participate ever since we became members, but the event has always been on a Sunday. That type of activity doesn't fit into our family's idea of Sabbath Day observance, so we have been disappointed. You can imagine our supreme delight when it was announced that this year the event would be held on Saturday! Yippe for us!!

We just love our nature center; the children really get a chance to feel connected there through their fabulous programs. My favorite is the homeschool Ed-Venture program. Three hours every other Friday for the duration of the school year. Did you hear that? Three hours. It's my favorite day of the week :)

Truthfully, I love it for many reasons and the most important is not that I get three kid-free hours twice a month. They began the program upon its inception and have made lasting ties and grown with a core group of peers. They have been participating long enough to have teachers their siblings have had, and the opportunity to form lasting connections with these wonderful adult leaders is remarkable. It's just fun to see them so excited about real life and anxious to be outside, no matter the weather. They are outside rain, hail, snow, or what have you. They wear their Bogs (most awesome boots ever!) because they will always be getting into some kind of water: vernal pond, Milwaukee River, and various creeks and ponds on the property. And in winter they have so many layers I can hardly see their faces, but they are warm and toasty regardless of the freezing temperatures and falling snow.

Yep, whether making homemade Christmas gifts (stools, wooden ornaments, jars of lentil soup, stick and twig creatures, etc.), climbing trees, exploring all the natural play areas, or hiking the trails, we always have a great time at our beloved nature center and we are so thankful to have found it. I hope that this relationship gives my children the gumption when they get older to get out and do even when everyone else is tuned in to the closest screen. Purposeful parenting; hopefully it garners the results I am looking for.