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The Horse Report

P1010013

We brainstormed and it went really well….She had a fantastic, diverse list going, not all easy to ‘study’ mind you, but a great list nonetheless:

  • insects
  • how to grow flowers
  • how to sing
  • fish
  • swans
  • how to make a clay teapot
  • how to sew a cushion
  • Jesus
  • how my heart works
  • puppets
  • how to take a good nap (that’s my girl!)
  • crocodiles
  • how to make birds out of wood

Then I had her circle five (I said three, but she had to stretch it to five) that she was really excited about and wanted to know more about and eventually, she narrowed it down to two. Ironically, it was between Jesus and horses. That age old struggle….
And when the rubber hit the road, we found ourselves back to horses. And today, I’m totally fine with that. I loved the comments that you left yesterday, they seemed so right on–about encouraging her, supporting her, seeing her through this love of horses wherever it may take us. Good advice, people. Very good.  Thank you.
P1010015
So we got out a big roll of paper and started making a list–all the things that she wanted to know about horses and what we needed to do to figure out the answers. Here are a few:

  • how to be a good rider
  • do they roll in grass or mud
  • how to keep their teeth white
  • do their babies get right up when they are born
  • what kinds of ponies do I fit on
  • how to give them lots of love
  • should you cut up their apples
  • the bones of a horse
  • how to sew a saddle pad
  • what kinds of flowers are safe to give them
  • how much is five feet for a horse (hmm…that one’s my favorite)

And ask me what I was doing while writing this post? Lacing up riding boots. In 30 minutes we’re headed out the door for her lesson. And we’ve got some questions for her instructor today–a long list of questions. I’m hoping the first one will be, "How much is five feet for a horse?"

P1010013

We brainstormed and it went really well….She had a fantastic, diverse list going, not all easy to ‘study’ mind you, but a great list nonetheless:

  • insects
  • how to grow flowers
  • how to sing
  • fish
  • swans
  • how to make a clay teapot
  • how to sew a cushion
  • Jesus
  • how my heart works
  • puppets
  • how to take a good nap (that’s my girl!)
  • crocodiles
  • how to make birds out of wood

Then I had her circle five (I said three, but she had to stretch it to five) that she was really excited about and wanted to know more about and eventually, she narrowed it down to two. Ironically, it was between Jesus and horses. That age old struggle….
And when the rubber hit the road, we found ourselves back to horses. And today, I’m totally fine with that. I loved the comments that you left yesterday, they seemed so right on–about encouraging her, supporting her, seeing her through this love of horses wherever it may take us. Good advice, people. Very good.  Thank you.
P1010015
So we got out a big roll of paper and started making a list–all the things that she wanted to know about horses and what we needed to do to figure out the answers. Here are a few:

  • how to be a good rider
  • do they roll in grass or mud
  • how to keep their teeth white
  • do their babies get right up when they are born
  • what kinds of ponies do I fit on
  • how to give them lots of love
  • should you cut up their apples
  • the bones of a horse
  • how to sew a saddle pad
  • what kinds of flowers are safe to give them
  • how much is five feet for a horse (hmm…that one’s my favorite)

And ask me what I was doing while writing this post? Lacing up riding boots. In 30 minutes we’re headed out the door for her lesson. And we’ve got some questions for her instructor today–a long list of questions. I’m hoping the first one will be, "How much is five feet for a horse?"

23 comments on “The Horse Report”

  1. I’m so glad she found so many things that interested her besides horses. I would do the same start with the horses and move onto another item on the list.

  2. I was also a little girl *obsessed* with horses. And though they’ve been with me more in some times (childhood summers) and less in others (college) over the years, I think they’re a great hobby because they can be a lifelong pursuit. Some of the folks whom I ride with every day now are in their sixties, and some are still in high school. So, yay for horses– hope the lesson went well.

    (And, I think five feet for a horse is 15 hands… very advanced question 🙂

  3. This is so funny. My daughter is now doing a research report on horses too. Of course she’d probably like your daughter’s version of the report better than hers – much more fun!

  4. I just wanted to make sure you knew I was kidding about the homeschool/horseschool thing.

    The beauty of homeschool is that you can learn about anything and everything that you want. I am all for extracting from their passions. You are doing an amazing job of cross-curricular activities and integrating all sorts of topics and subjects.

    I think it is great that you did an inventory of what she wants to learn. Growing flowers and insects in the spring, Jesus at Christmas time, puppets in the winter. You can start to plan your whole year out on this inventory. Great idea. Maybe keep a running list of things she shows interest in and when she asks questions like “Why is the sky blue?” Then you can say “Let’s write that down on our learning list and we will find out!”

    What a fabulous teacher you are.

  5. Your support is so wonderful! And I imagine you embracing this “passion’ will make it all the more fun and interesting. I also wanted to say that I love your handwriting. :0)

  6. “Ironically, it was between Jesus and horses. That age old struggle….” This made me die laughing. Thank you. I needed that this morning. I also like that, “what kinds of ponies do I fit on” was one of her questions. Because you know she’ll want one of each, when she figures it out. The five feet question is pretty hilarious too. Good luck!

  7. I can’t get Emma out of my head every time I see anything to do with horses! I saw this cute little pink shirt with horses on it at the store and I just wanted to buy it for her! What is it that’s so catching about getting on board with her passion? Now if only I could find a pink shirt with Jesus on it…

  8. Well, although everyone has given fantastic insight, I have to tell you that I am so impressed that you were so open to everyone’s opinions. I have such great respect that you could take everyone’s advice and make a purpose and a plan. A big cheers to you! You taught me something today.

    R/

  9. At least horses don’t make people give you strange looks. My youngest has been obsessed with killer whales/shamus for the last 3 years and will happily tell everyone that she is going to be a trainer and every fact known to man about killer whales. I don’t think she’ll grow out of it! But she is the only one of my children that has had a continuing “passion”. As frustrating as the single mindedness can be, it is also lovely!

  10. Well, I have a few answers if you want them:How to be a good rider: Keep on practicing!Do they roll in grass or mud: Sadly, mud (with Mickey anyway)Do their babies get right up when they are born: yupShould you cut up their apples: it doesn’t really matterWhat flowers are safe to give them: all I know is that buttercups aren’tHope this helped!!!

  11. Cool fun. What about types of horses and where they came from? What about getting your local vet to send you some info or pop by for a cuppa and a chat.

  12. I grew up just as obsessed with horses, but luckily for my parents- they already had a working horse farm.15 hands is 5 feet. 1 hand = 4 inches in case you are asked to do more calculations.You should see if there is a 4-H chapter near you that is horse-related, check with your local cooperative extension.Good luck!!

  13. Such a fun list!

    Just a little note for you… I think it is wonderful that you are allowing her to discover her passions and encouraging her in this area. It is neat to see parents that really want their kids to discover for themselves who they are. Sometimes I think it is all too easy to want kids to be like ourselves (I don’t have kids yet, but I can understand that pull I think), when they need to be themselves and have different hobbies/interests/even careers someday:)

  14. So adorable…I went through that phase too. I devoured any info on horse care I could. The encyclopedia of the horse is a good one. As a one time horse owner I would be thrilled to answer any questions she has…though I’m sure she has plenty of people to go to! =)

  15. How I wish my kids were concerned about taking a good nap. I have two 4 years and under who don’t nap at all. I miss nap time (altho I still take a nap & they consider it an opportunity to watch PBS).

  16. Yeah, I was one of those “obsessed with horses” girls too, but I was lucky enough to have horses growing up. And I LOVED them……until I turned 14 and started loving boys more. After that my dad said that he wished he could figure out a way to put pants on the horses so I’d pay more attention to them. So the obsession went away until college, when I went off and decided my first major was to be Equine Science. Yep, there is such a thing. Only I changed it a couple years later to English. Those horse obsessions tend to stick sometimes though………..good luck!!! 🙂

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