Fraternus and 4H field trip

On Wednesday night we went to the accolade ceremony for Fraternus.  All the senior boys received swords and a challenge to stand for honor and virtue as they enter into adulthood.  It was a beautiful night.

Marky's squad of 7th/8th grade boys-

On Friday we went on a wonderful field trip to the 4H center.  We broke into two groups- older and younger.  I stayed with Tucker and Charlie's younger group and we had a great time.   Our first hour was a lesson on map skills- guess who was most excited?  Tucker said, "oh- wonderful- maps are one of my most favorite things in the world!" 

At one point the teacher went around and said, "if you could go one place in the world where would you go?"  And Tucker said, "Tuvalu!"  The instructor said, "okay- where is that exactly?"  Surprised he didn't know, Tucker said, "it's in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Australia."  :) 

Then we had a fun time using maps to find letters to make words.  The children LOVED doing this and ran around like crazy finding their letters. 

The second class was on survival skills.  We learned about the 10 most essential things to take on a hike and how to survive if you are stranded. 

They loved learning to build fires.

Everyone got a chance to strike a match-

They built this one by themselves-

Then we made a temporary shelter-

Meanwhile, the older children went rock climbing and on an "Amazing Race" competition- boys vs girls.  They all loved it.

The boys to Marky's right and left are less than a year younger than him- he's just a giant.

We had a nice picnic lunch.  All of these girls are so sweet!

After lunch we went to a class on birds.  We talked about how useful it is to have different types of beaks and feet.  We learned about feather design and how an owl's frayed feather edges help it to fly silently. 

Then we played a fun game where each child had a nest they tried to fill with food while other "blue birds" try to steal the food from their nests. 

And we met a precious little owl and learned all about him!

Then it was time for everybody's favorite- canoeing!  They gave us basic instructions on how to canoe and we jumped in the river!

Mommy had to go with Frick and Frack. Guess who did the paddling?  :)

I kept saying "On the shores of Gitche Gumee, Of the shining Big-Sea-Water..." from "The Song of Hiawatha" by Longfellow.  Nobody knew what I was talking about- they weren't raised by poetry loving BB.   BB has memorized more poems than most people ever hear.   :)

We made it back- we went pretty far down the river if you ask me.  My whole body was exhausted from paddling against the current!  The tween boys made it look easy!

Sissy's crew made it back soaking wet from water fights with other canoes.  :)

Such a wonderful day- the things we do for our children!  Happy Mother's Day everyone!