I wish I was one of those people who BLOG - like, every day BLOG. Like my friends at Joyful Liberation and Hiking Without Happy Meals. Those ladies are BLOGGERS - with the all-caps designation. I, however, seem to be relegated to the 'when inspiration hits' category of bloggers - with a little b. I somehow can't shake the need to have something Brilliant or Earth-Shattering to say before getting a few words down on a page.

So here is something not-so-Earth-shattering, but wonderful nonetheless. Some of our Sego folks - namely, our Pet Corporation, have decided to hatch some eggs. I ordered an inexpensive incubator, and we are looking for some fertile chicken eggs (actually, I should probably ask both of the ladies mentioned above, now that I think of it....). The plan is to hatch the eggs at school, brood them there for awhile, then bring them home to add to my family's fowl flock. Educational for the kids, cute and fun for everyone, and in the long run, more eggs for my family.

I don't know of a Sudbury school that hasn't had animals of some type, somewhere, at some time. Something about animals and children is universal - maybe it's the cycle of life, maybe it's scientific curiosity, perhaps it's simply that baby animals, in particular, are just so darn CUTE. And what child can resist an adorable, fluffy chick?

OK, fine, I can't resist them either. I've wanted chickens for years, and am so happy to finally have a home that can accommodate them - living on almost 5 acres is something new to my boys, but brings back great memories for me. I was THRILLED last Saturday when we were ready to pick up our first 6 chicks. Watching my children learn to care for these babies is magical - knowing that, unlike our other pets, these creatures are going to provide EGGS (and not just companionship!) is amazing. They don't even have names yet (except the white one is Blackey and the black one is Whitey - thanks Gabe), but I find myself so excited to see them all in the mornings. We are also getting 6 full-grown layers next week, a couple of ducklings soon, and of course, the hatchlings from school when they are ready.

Learning Through Living feels like it can be hard to achieve sometimes. I wonder, often, how to have children experience some things that simply aren't experienced in 'normal' life. Connecting kids to the source of their food through gardening, raising chicks, or visiting working farms are some of the ways that real-world connections get made. With my own children, picking up goat milk from Drake's Family Farms gives us at least a tiny glimpse of the reality of our food. I'm thinking a Sego field trip to my house, when the eggs hatch and the babies are ready to come home with me, is in order. In the meantime, anyone have any eggs?