Wednesday

Binky's model for his bat class.

His owl sketch while waiting for bat to dry.

Two friends we found on our walk yesterday.

I never tire of this view.

While on a walk the other day,

Binky said, "I love autumn.  The sun is different.  It's golden and makes everything orange.  I love it!"

The funny thing is, I was thinking the same thing when he said it!

Goose and Binky started their homeschool charter classes last week.

They were very excited.

Goose is taking a history class about the Overland Trail and

a business class.

Binky is taking bats and outdoor games.

Yesterday I dropped them off at 10am and did not pick them up until

1:30pm.  They both have been asking me not to stay for the day.

Last week went very well.

Yesterday... not so good.

As I'm walking towards the kids, who are on a swing set, I see Goose's friend grab Binky by the arm

and twist it until he is on the ground!

Needless to say I start running over there and yelling at this girl, who is 11 and 3 times the size of Binky, to stop!  She is pinning him down at this point! 

When she hears me she lets go and Binky gets up.

I tell this girl that what she did is not acceptable!  She says Binky was annoying her all day.

She growls and goes silent.

I remind her that if she has a problem, she needs to go to the yard person or a parent, but violence is NOT acceptable!  I couldn't believe I had to remind this 11 yr old of this.

And what upset me even more, is that Goose did nothing to help the situation.

She watched as her friend did this to her own brother.

So, after talking with the yardperson, she and Binky head over to Goose and her friend to talk about what happened and what they should have done instead.

I needed to fill out some unrelated paperwork, not to mention cool off a bit myself, and then I joined the group.  The girl is crying and then apologizes to Binky.  He apologizes for bugging her.

I ask Goose why the girl was crying.

I found out that she has done this before to a kid at her old school.

She was crying because she knew she was in trouble!

This is the third incident with this girl. The first physical incident, but the third incident.

Well, we had a long conversation at home.

We teach our kids that violence is not acceptable.

You use your words, you get help from an adult, and/or you walk away.

And standing by and allowing violence to happen is also not acceptable.

You use your words or you get help from an adult, but you do not stand by and watch it happen.

Especially to your little brother... no matter how much he annoys you.