Kid Tribe and "The Land"

Our homeschool co-op is called Kid Tribe. This is our third year of doing it. Only two families (I think) from the original co-op are still in it. So it has morphed over the years. This year, we are doing a fall garden at our friend Jenalyn's land. They bought ten acres and are building a house. Their kids call it "The Land" so that's what we've been calling it, too. "We're going out to The Land." 

The garden has been a BIG hit. I can't count the number of times Annie has told me how much she loves our co-op and the garden. Our ranks have swelled this year. It's been fun to have new people and lots of people. I think we have eight families. It is so fun to see the kids arrive (it's about a forty-five minute drive), get out of the car, and ooh and aah over the progress of the garden. They flitter from the tomatoes to the beans to the squash to the peas and exclaim in wonder at each stop. I loved The Secret Garden, and watching the kids makes me feel like the truth of that lovely book is happening right in front of me!

The kids also love to play in the trees and explore "The Land." Capture the Flag was all the rage for a few weeks. One family (of mostly boys) even went home and sewed homemade flags for the game. There's also fort-building and lots of animal bones to find. We've seen turtles and deer. And the moms try to put together a little lesson every week about plants or bugs. Last week, several people couldn't come. So we had a smaller group, and the kids had their hearts set on building a fire. They were trying for forty minutes or so to do it with a magnifying glass. Eventually, they used a lighter, which was much more successful. A missionary who was there helping on stuff with the house showed them the log cabin fire starter technique. They were in heaven. My friend asked her son to pack a lunch for them and was confused to see that he'd brought cheese-its, cucumbers, and two bags of marshmallows. But that was his plan all along--to roast marshmallows. And that's what they did. With fondue sticks over the fire.

Here is a picture of the first squash we harvested. There was a big ceremony and much checking of readiness before it was picked.

This is Malabar Spinach. Isn't it a pretty plant?