This thing called 'homeschooling'!?

I will be honest... this whole homeschooling thing has been a bit of an adjustment for us all! I have had a few moments of missing that friendly yellow school bus that used to faithfully pull up to the end of our street to whisk our kids to school...to a place where people knew what they were doing to educate our children. To a place where they could interact with other kids their age, feeling the anticipation of battling their Bey Blades at recess. To a place that afforded them the chance to learn from other adults who may not be quite so easy to argue with about assigned work. "Awww MOM, do I have to read THAT much?!?" But at the end of the day, when the latest language lesson is reviewed, the neighbors have been visited, the mess of dinner has been cleaned up (somewhat), the next day's lessons are prepared, and these three happy children have been snuggled into bed after a full 14 hours together, I can see the gift that I am given through this thing we call 'homeschooling'!

I have many moments when I love what I am seeing beginning to develop in our kids. I am thankful that there is no standard of 'cool' at the school in the garage as the two crazy teachers dance around to teach the latest memory verse. I love that we can stop any lesson to follow that random thought and 'why' question (well, sometimes!). And, I am thrilled to watch our kids learn to care for the littlest members of our school, even if that means having to play some games a different way. These are the things I remind myself of when I am a little unsure of this new role of teacher that I play!


So, here is a glimpse of our latest week at the school in the garage... under the grapevine... amidst the swarms of flies... soaking in the smells of the horses just over the fence. Yes, this is not a typical place to find a school, but check out the learning it provides. I must admit that not every week is quite as full as this one turned out to be! But let's savour the victories!

And welcome Kodo, our class pet! The garage can feel small with 6 energetic and stir-crazy children. So, the solution is to run laps around the house. This lap run was interrupted by a skinny and terrified chameleon, frozen stiffly up against the grapevine pole in our yard. We observed him for a good 15 minutes, his little round eyes spinning wildly in every direction, convinced we wouldn't notice him if he didn't move a muscle. Suddenly science was on the timetable and we had enthusiastic children discussing 'habitats' and 'adaption' and we smiled, knowing science was DONE for the day!

Each Thursday, the center of town gets invaded by a travelling market and taken over by little shops of colorful, sparkling rugs, knock-off Adidas shoes, fragrant spices, seasonal clothing, silver jewellery, and just about anything else found at Dollarama. School moved to the market place this Thursday and the kids were given a scavenger hunt. It was just about impossible to decide on one thing to fill categories like 'find something smelly' or 'find something sparkly'. But, in the end, this street musician won the 'most unique' category with his bag pipe that was a goat's belly when filled with air. What adventures to be had in the market!

 

We live within two hours of the largest desert in the world, the Sahara Desert. We visited a town in the Sahara in summer and saw the thermostat reach 54C. Imagine swallowing a blow dryer... yeah, that's kind of the same thing. We were delighted to experience the beauty of the desert in much cooler temperatures this weekend. The shoes and socks were off instantly, despite the many droppings of the camels who called the sand home, and we dug our feet into the orange, flour-like sand. Amazing! The boys sported their Arabian turbans and we each climbed up onto the back of a camel for a short loop around the camp. 

Next stop, the Kzar's of Tataouine. For you Star Wars nuts, you may recognize these ancient buildings from an episode of the Star Wars movies. Free tour to anyone who can tell me which episode it was in... Southern Tunisia boasts a number filming sights. Up until 40 years ago, each darkened room provided a cool place to save oils and grains for times of famine or distress in the desert. Our friend laughed and said, "This would be like tourists coming to see the Pioneer Grain Elevator in Winkler!" We were so amazed to find out that we could freely explore and climb; no roped off areas here!

The last stop on our day in the desert turned out to be the unexpected highlight of the day! We wound along the bumpy roads until we came upon some towering rock cliffs. Climbing and winding its way up the side of two adjacent mountains is an ancient Berber village called Shanini. At first glance, it can be difficult to make out, as the buildings, fences, and walkways are the color of the cliffs. But as you make your way up the paths, you discover a a labyrinth of homes and shops dating all the way back to the twelfth century. What a hands-on experience with history as lively discussions on 'the different ways people used to live' cannot help but take center stage. The most fascinating part of this all? Shanini is still inhabited and we were warmly greeted by a few of the residents.

We soon realized that our kids had not eaten anything since breakfast that morning and it was definitely time to get some food in our bellies. We had so much to take in with our eyes and minds all day that we had not noticed that our tummies had not taken anything in. So, it was time to say good-bye. What a gift to our children and to us to experience a little piece of this place called Southern Tunisia. This was a day when I truly felt like our kids had received some fine 'educating'. Let's just hope we can remember to fit in some math in there somewhere too.....

At home in the sandbox!

I remember my first attempt at making a sandbox! I so proudly hammered together a 8x8 box and filled it with clean, grainy sand so that our kids could dig and explore the wonders of sand! Well... that 8x8 box now seems a little unimpressive as we are now surrounded by an entire world of sand! Our daily view includes a whole lotta sand, olive trees, cactus, and even some garbage in the mix. What is it like to live in a sandbox??

First, it can be a bit tricky riding your bike up the trails to your house. I have now had a few good wipe-outs on my bike. Don't worry, it was only my pride that showed any bruising. I am now officially the lady who sounds funny when she tries to speak the language and the lady who can't stay on her bike!

                                                               (a view of our street)

Secondly, we realize you have to quite faithfully water the trees as the sand loves to suck every droplet of water that falls (which is basically nothing!). Darnell is frequently reminded by a local lady that our orange trees are dying because of HIM. It's the man's job! He finally took that job seriously this week, so let's hope we have some juicy mandarin oranges to eat by Christmas time.

(the front of our house, with the thirsty trees all around)

Thirdly, you need a spade to shovel out the sand from your house each day... or hour. My broom is getting a full work-out!

                                 (the yard, looking towards the street and the trees the kids climb)

    

                    (our favorite part of the house, the gazebo off the back. We can often be found here, eating our meals on cushions)

Overall, this home in the sandbox is treating us quite well. It may look different, the sound may boom through the stone walls and tile, and we may break 5 glasses a week on the tile floors, but it is becoming home! So here are a few pictures of this new sandy world we call home!

(To tempt you pottery lovers, here is a picture of just one of the many hand-made pottery markets)

                         (The main roundabout in town! Anyone looking to start a scooter gang?
                                                                      You'd do well here!)

Mary had a little lamb....

.... and so did all of our neighbours! Sadly, the sheep on our little island did not share the same fate as the soft, fleecy lamb of Mary's happy tune!

This weekend has marked the biggest celebration for our friends and neighbours. It is a time to remember Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in submission to God and God's offer to provide a ram in his stead. Each family buys and slaughters a sheep in remembrance of this event. We have had many reminders of the up and coming holiday as sheep have seemed to take over the island. An instant sheep market was erected and make-shift stalls and hay took over one of the main roundabout's in our little city. I had to wrestle my bike through the crowd on the sidewalk, as men poked sheep and bartered for just the perfect one.

Each morning this past week, we have woken up to the chorus of bleating sheep coming from all corners of the street. I have had many moments when I have literally laughed out loud as I have sat outside under the pomegranate trees, listening to the call and answer from the various sheep tied up in each neighbour's yard. It was almost as if they knew what awaited them!
And then Friday morning arrived. Our boys were up bright and early, eager to witness their first slaughtering of an animal. I was a little hesitant to let them observe the death of an animal, as we are used to finding our meat in the meat department of the local Superstore... but this is a normal part of life here, and something all the local children are apart of. So, each Epp kid found a perch on the fence and awaited the big event! We met some new neighbours (I guess it helps when your kids are literally hanging over the stone fence into their yard!) and were invited to come be apart of the festivities first-hand. Darnell learned some new techniques for effectively separating the animal fat from the skin using a bike air compressor. Yes, its that simple! We enjoyed the generosity of other neighbours as they shared some spicy, greasy sheep's meat with us. And we got a good laugh at Darnell's sheep friend that he made over the fence. Another set of neighours had hung up the head and legs over our fence, making it appear as though the sheep was making its last attempt to escape...into our yard! Gave Darnell a jump when he looked up to see it 'eyeing' him below! Overall, it has been a very interesting weekend for this family from the Prairies of Southern Manitoba! We have met many new people and have been blessed by the hospitality and warmth we have been shown by those around us!