Teacher Notes

 We’ve been talking heavily about animals lately.  We ordered new chickens.  10 new layers, and 50 meat birds (25 for us, and 25 for Knut’s cousin who is going in on them with us).  The meat birds we picked aren’t the traditional broilers, but a breed called “Red Ranger.”  While broilers are often so fat at butchering time that they can’t really walk, Red Rangers are meat birds bred for forging.  We intend to have these birds in a moveable “tractor” they’re called and eat what they can find from our yard, not from feed.  A tractor is netting on an A-frame structure that is moved via tractor every few days…or so I gather. It takes a few weeks longer to grow these birds, but it will end up being much cheaper for us, and healthier in general, and as an added bonus: less mowing this summer!

I’m aching for some milk source, though Knut is very reluctant to get a cow.  Silje and I are brainstorming getting a milking goat or two.  He’s still reluctant, but a bit more open about that idea.  It wouldn’t be this year, but we have to answer a bunch of questions first before we decide when we could get some.  I have no time to research, so I handed the research project over to Silje.  She checked out every book at the library on goats, and is taking notes for Knut and I.  She’s supposed to note what kind of goat we might want for our area, what their needs are, what typical problems are, what day to day care might look like, etc.

Since she’s the biggest animal lover I know, she’s loving the project.

 
This little man is getting bigger and bigger.  Knut and I have spent the last few months trying to spend some extra time with him.  We both feel that as the quiet child he gets dropped in priority sometimes and we don’t like that.  So we’ve been reading more and having more discussions with him to try to develop his speech a bit better.  All I know is he’s smiling way more these last few months.  His heart is so open and beautiful.  He just loves to laugh so much.

 David is doing much better attention-wise with our experiment with fish oil, but he’s still our David.  He’s still bubbling over with energy.  I’ve been watching his eyes during our eye exercises to help him be able to track while reading better.  Then Silje wanted to try the exercises because they looked fun.  I watched her eyes and I noticed such a huge difference in eye movement with those 2 kids.  Silje who is a huge reader, would track during the exercises with great speed and accuracy.  David had to work hard, and when his eyes tried to cross his midline, it was really hard for him not to turn his head.  When he was able to control his head, his eyes would almost jiggle in protest to go any further.

After a few minutes of working these exercises, his eyes are able to cross the midline, but you can tell he’s really concentrating to get it done.  I’m encouraged that it seems to be improving, and I hope that in a few months he won’t be constantly losing his place while reading.  He’s been to the eye doctor, but this never got brought up when he got his reading prescription.  When we go in next time, I’ll make sure it is.

Oh, and Ingrid adores when he plays with her.  She adores when any of them play with her.  She’s the most spoiled baby alive.

Sigh.  I love that smile.