Every time there is a big shake up in cow world at the barn I have a day or two of freak time.  Cows are scary.  Confronting a fresh heifer is scary.  And all of this is very good for our homeschool.  All homeschooling parents should be visibly challenged from time to time.  Because its humbling.  Because it creates an air of compassion for the challenge of learning.  And because it models the learning process for kids.   I'm learning so hard I come home with a stomach ache.  Oh yeah, the kids can relate.

I've learned I can carry a calf and how to do it.  With emphasis on how to put them down.  Avoid dropping them.  Probably best to sink to your knees unless you happen to have arms and a back of steal.  Which I do not.

I'm learning how to train an inexperienced heifer to give milk to humans.   I'm learning to redouble my vigilance for my personal space, for where the Mother Cow is, where she is going, and where I hope to be.  I'm learning to remember patience, that the slow way is the fast way.

I'm learning that I have a predictable learning curve and reaction process.  That is not only valuable for the children to see.  Its valuable for reminding myself.  Kind of like the process of grieving - it helps to remember you are in A Process and it Will Proceed and Progress Is Likely.  The prognosis is positive if yet painful.

Riley made the quantum jump to reading proficiency.  She reads for fun now.  She reads well enough to play Zombie Flux easily.   She is studying Irish flute and heading for fiddle.  Henry is having a surge with guitar.  His practice is more experimental and repetitive now.  Both children are doing a lot of writing.  Riley, via a locked diary and Henry on graph paper and concerning secret worlds.  Learning and growing are happening.  

Also, there is a puzzle out on the dining room table.  I like doing puzzles with my family.