Kiwi's Odyssey: Trying to finish the vege grower ...

About Pierre

Aaahhhh, hubby! We met at university and just 'clicked' and the rest is, well, history ... in fact, not only did I get my BSc at university, but I also got my Mrs. after graduation ;) ... and Pierre is still as handsome as the day I met him !

Pierre has proven to be a wonderful man and wonderful provider to his family. Pierre is loyal, loving, kind, funny, warm hearted, and a 'trickster'!

Try this on: ‘Babe’, I’m seriously thinking that I can’t go back to work – I just can’t leave Cody … he took so long in the making and with 5 loses every day is a gift! What’s the point in having our son and not been able to watch him grow up and being there for him? Followed shortly thereafter by: Followed by – Oh and babe, I want to homeschool our son … I assure you I’m ‘normal’, but this just seems ‘right’ for our family.

I just want to confirm here just how amazing my husband is. And how much he has sacrificed to make this possible. And how he has given me the greatest gift - the gift of time to spend with my son.

Thank you babe!

About Cody

I just hate to put Cody is a ‘box’ when he’s growing, changing, accepting responsibility for his actions – or not - depending on his mood, and developing into a wonderful human being. Cody’s first passion is his love of nature, animals, insects, and reptiles … a true naturalist!

Cody is very sensitive and affectionate. For a seven year old Cody has a wicked cool sense of humor and has that twinkle in his eye when he cracks a funny. His belly laugh is contagious!

As for inquisitive – Cody truly must know. And in his mind, he already does know how to lay flooring, work the skill saw, install the sprinkler system, drive the minivan … he isn’t convinced he’s not old enough for a drivers license:) He has a wonderfully analytical mind! Keeps his mum and dad on their toes!!!!

Cody enjoys playing outdoor games/sports and is well coordinated. But Cody would give it up for the finding of a toad, snake, salamander, dragonfly, butterfly etc. I’m thoroughly enjoying spending time with him, learning hands-on with him, seeing life through his eyes, encouraged by this enthusiasm and passion for living. Right now we’re a ‘team’ and it works well for our family.

How we got started Homeschooling

Cody is my miracle Canuk! And I knew that homeschooling was right for our family when Cody was 3 months old. I sure didn’t have any of the details mapped out in my mind back then, but I decided the best way to figure it out was to dive right in head first. But first, I had to figure the ‘mum’ thing out! (I’m still trying to get that one right!)

I initially read any homeschooling books I could get my hands on and started to make contacts with local groups. My goal was to get involved with other homeschooling families and ask them a ton of questions while my son started slowly building friendships with other homeschooling children.

I knew I looked like an alien from the expressions that found their way to the many homeschooling parent due to the age at which I started Cody’s involvement, yet, even to my amazement – and thankfulness, there was a ‘niche’ for us. At 12 months old Cody and I were involved in three different homeschooling groups and activities, and regularly meeting some amazingly wonderful families with a wide range of homeschooling views and directions.

Cody really started connecting with the younger siblings of homeschooled children and just as we were getting settled and into a routine with our fellow homeschoolers, my hubby up and gets a job in the States.

So we had to start all over again. I must say I wasn’t looking forward to being the ‘three eyed monster’ once again, but still believed that finding a good support group was definitely beneficial in our homeschooling experience! So, when it came to house hunting it was important to me to research homeschooling groups that would be accepting of a 30 month old.

I could not believe my luck when I found a homeschooling group that actually catered for younger children – we hit the homeschooling jackpot!!. Our activities with the group include: recess, lesson days, library days, park days, field trips, monthly parent nights (which actually does discuss the forward growth of the group) which blends into what we are doing now.

Where we’re planning on going

One of the cool things about homeschooling is being able to look at what others are doing, asking tons of questions, sometimes being allowed into the ‘classroom’ at home, and often ‘touching and feeling’ projects that others already tried with their feedback.

It’s awesome when the ‘light bulb’ comes on and you think to yourself – that’s wicked cool and man I just have to do that. Knowing my son’s learning strengths and challenges, I can see what could work for us and maybe how we can change the resource/activity to be tailored to his needs.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Trying to finish the vege grower ...

So I'm trying to finish off the vege seed grower ... finding the time has been a challenge! However, I did get to do some more today ... here's how that went!

Getting my stuff together.

Measured the chain, used plyers to create hooks on either side of the chain for easier light mobility.

Drilled holes in the shelves with smallest drill bit I could find - measured to fit the grow light fixture. Screwed in the small screw hooks.

Drill small holes (same drill bit as above) in the light fixture and screw in hooks.

Putting the light fixture up with the chains.

Shelves are almost ready for some action. Still have to plug into a strip and set up the timer.

So I jumped ahead!!!! Here's the exciting part ... and the scarey part!

I purchased some seed growers - but really don't know what size is for what. So I got 3 different sizes and figured it's got to work somehow! I planted Eggplants, Peppers, and some herbs ... trying my hand at documenting them ... and decided to use the bigger grow squares. Now this is where I ran across an unsuspected hick up ... watering them!!! I see there's a tray underneath, and they say to used warm water ... so up to the kitchen I go ... fill her up ... and then - OOOOHHHHHHHHhhhhhh. How on earth am I going to get these flimsy plastic growers all the way down 2 levels to the basement???????

So out I go and find some plywood and mark it out into 24 inch pieces (worked out exactly - but not planned that way) used the circular saw and made a plywood 'tray' for each shelf! So now I can move these flimsy grow containers if needed. I have half a mind to get some cheap handles and that way they actually look and function more like real trays ... we'll see! I might find some recycled ones yet!

So there you have it in a nut shell! Almost there! I did spray with a plastic sprayer from the top also ... guess we'll see tomorrow how the water has absorbed!

I didn't get to half my seeds and worry that I'm either over growing or undergrowing ... guess that's all part of learning! Happy seed starting!

2 comments:

The MomFebruary 4, 2010 at 5:58 AM
Great job! One of the reasons I love having the grow lights in the school room, is that I don't have to juggle them up and down the stairs. Those are the same planters I got at job lot. So far so good on them. Don't worry when the peppers take forever to come up, that's normal. They can take 3 weeks or so to sprout.
ReplyDelete
Replies
kiwi gomesFebruary 11, 2010 at 12:39 PM
I still have no sign of life! ??????
ReplyDelete
Replies