Stir Crazy?
It has been raining so much lately that the ground is completely saturated. Even if it is not literally raining, the humidity and the mud make going outdoors unpleasant. So our family has spent more time in the house than usual. At first it was not so bad. We cleaned the house, caught up on laundry, baked cookies, watched a movie, etc. We enjoyed our leisure time.
But as the days stretched into one big rain storm, we started growing a little weary of each other. To have six people in the house all the time can be challenging. Add to that number, Lane was in and out of the house while he fed the animals, worked on some cars, and caught up on paperwork. My mother is also visiting here from Oregon. So, we had seven to eight individuals in one house who were all tired of being indoors. Can you spell F-U-N?!
I decided to call all the children down to the dining room table. I asked them to get out their Creation Notebooks. While they retrieved them, I set out the Bible and various books of poetry. I asked them to find a poem or a collection of verses about rain. My oldest, who was the most disagreeable at the time, groaned and complained, but I pressed on. Clayton found a great poem entitled, “Down the Rain Falls” by Elizabeth Coatsworth. Kyla found the familiar “The Old Man is Snoring” poem and copied it. Jake found a poem called, “April Rain Song” by Langston Hughes. They all copied the poems of their choice into their notebooks in their neatest handwriting.
Then I asked them to share their poems with everyone present, which included myself, my mom, and the two little ones. I asked them to articulate and say the poems with feeling. Clayton sounded very annoyed with the whole assignment. Kyla’s recitation had us all rolling with laughter. She used different voices and was very silly. Jake got into the assignment. He immediately ran and set up a music stand to use as a podium.
After they read their selected poems, I pointed out literary terms. For example, Jake’s selection was full of personification. I explained what personification was and showed him an example in the poem. He immediately showed me two other examples of personification within the poem.
Then we talked about water in general, including its chemical make-up. The kids learned its fancy name of hydrogen dioxide. We discussed water in its three forms: solid, liquid, and gas. We discussed freezing and boiling points. We drew the water cycle out to include in our notebooks. We had a regular impromptu science lesson.
When we were finished, we were surprised that it was time to start getting ready for dinner. The whole afternoon flew by as we learned about the very things that were keeping us inside: water and rain. Almost everyone had grown more pleasant. Clayton still resented being inside. So, I sent him on a thirty minute walk in the mud. He came back a different person. I guess we are all just a little stir crazy.
I cannot imagine not being able to go outside for any extended period of time. I do not know how people farther north cope with all the snow and ice. I do not know how Alaskans deal with the long periods of darkness. I am very happy to be living where I do. I have to put up with rain storms every once in a while. However the string of rainstorms do not seem to be stopping any time soon; therefore, my family needs some tips for surviving a potentially bad case of stir craziness in the near future. Contact me or leave a comment with your best tips.
I am going to leave you with the poem I found and copied.
Rain in the Night
by Amelia Josephine Burr
Raining, raining,
All night long;
Sometimes loud, sometimes soft,
Just like a song.
There’ll be rivers in the gutters
And lakes along the street.
It will make our lazy kitty
Wash his little dirty feet.
The roses will wear diamonds
Like kings and queens at court;
But pansies all get muddy
Because they are so short.
I’ll sail my boat tomorrow
In wonderful new places,
But first I’ll take my watering pot
And wash the pansies’ faces.
I’m with you girl. I’m ready for a little sunshine. I sure hope an early frost doesn’t get my fall garden!
Since we are used to the rain, we have the kids each write down something they would like to do, each fold the paper the exact same way and draw out of the hat. Then that is what we would do. By the end of the day, they each were able to do their suggestion, but it kept the bickering at bay. Good luck and there is nothing like a little mud slip and slide!!
Great idea! Thank you.
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