A couple of years after we moved to our current home, we started to
hear what sounded like a small dirt bike coming from the park that is
across the street from us.
We noticed a dad with a son who seemed
to be a similar age to Jack. Daniel went and struck up a conversation
and our family ended up becoming really great friends with another
family who had two boys similar ages to ours, who loved many of the
things we loved.
Over the last (almost five years now), the older
two boys became proficient dirt bike riders and the dads and older boys
have been on many dirt bike rides together. Isaac and our friends
younger son have had to wait their turns, and after our first hike of
2021, they both got their chance.
The big boys, Jack and TB, have
graduated to bigger dirt bikes. Isaac has been riding his larger Trials
bike, but was hoping to try the dirt bike. S gave it a shot but was
still a little nervous and Isaac got his turn.
Our littlest boy is in
love! He had so much fun riding around the field on the little 50cc that
looks entirely too little for the 9 year-old boys now.
Our two
families have spent countless afternoons watching our boys ride the
field together, then ending the night with pizza. For old time sake, we
ordered pizza and our friends came over and hung out by the campfire
with us until way too late.
I am so grateful that the dads struck
up a conversation all those years ago. That conversation has led to many
adventures together for our two families.
Last week we completed the 10th 9th week of the school year and it was a busy one.
Monday we worked on several Boy Scout projects including taking a mini nature hike and making a bird house. That night the Boy Scout meeting included a trebuchet to chunk pumpkins and also a chance to carve pumpkins. It rained but we still had a blast.
Tuesday Jack and I did several science experiments involving straws while Isaac was at preschool.
Wednesday was our weekly hike and we did a new (to us) trail at McCoy Farms. The leaves aren’t fully changing yet but we still enjoyed checking out the variety of trees there.
While
hiking we discussed the Robert Frost poem, “The Road Less Taken” and
also a scene we had read in “Little House in the Big Woods.”
For
our studies, we finished listening to “The Wizard of Oz” and started
listening to a new podcast, One Third Stories, that is an excellent
resource for beginning to learn Spanish.
Thursday was Jack’s enrichment day at the Y.
We
began a new math program and really like it, but it is challenging and
there was some frustration over the lessons. But we persevered and I
think Beast Academy will be a great fit for Jack.
Then Friday was a field trip to pick apples at a local orchard with friends.
Friday afternoon Jack and Daniel went trail riding with another father-son that we are good friends with.
And Saturday both boys competed in the Youth Trials event at the Tennessee Trials Training Center where Jack picked up his second first place trophy.
I’m still trying to get a handle on what our days should look like this year. I tend to want to push through as much material as possible but am trying to remind myself that Jack is just in first grade and the main goal is to instill a love of learning.
What Our Homeschool Looked Like in October: Week 7(Sept. 30-Oct. 6) Week 8 (Oct. 7-13) Week 9 (Oct. 14-20) Week 10 (Oct. 21-27) Week 11 (Oct. 28-Nov. 3)
Disclaimer, I am going to get terminology all wrong in this post. This is just my POV after hearing all about it, second hand.
When Jack was a baby, Daniel would show him YouTube videos of various off road sports, especially dirt bikes in the woods. When we moved to the Chattanooga area four years ago, Daniel started taking him to the TKO event in Prentice Cooper every August (basically a dirt bike race through the woods).
This fascination with dirt bikes grew even more when another little boy, who is the same age as Jack, and his dad showed up at our neighborhood park a couple of years ago with a kid's dirt bike.
Daniel and Jack immediately befriended the other family (who also happen to have a younger son who is Isaac's age), and this has grown into a fun friendship over shared hobbies...
They have shared their dirt bike with us; Daniel has shared his dirt bike with the other dad and they have ridden together in the local woods; they took the boys on their first big mountain bike ride to Edwards' Point; and they have even attended a couple of events together (Motocross and TKO). I'm not sure who loves this more, the boys or their dads!
We are so grateful for this unexpected friendship and the bonding over bikes of all kinds.
Last month, when I shared the video of the boys riding, one of Daniel's old co-workers mentioned a Youth Trials competition that would be held in May (just weeks after our purchase). I told Daniel there was no way Jack would be ready to compete because we had just bought the bike and he had had very little practice (other than pretending to be riding a Trials bike when he was on his mountain bike, which meant riding over obstacles, doing wheelies, and practicing going as slow as possible without putting his feet on the ground).
A couple of weeks after the purchase of the bike, Daniel told me he
thought he should take Jack to the event. I still wasn't sure. (Jack had only just gotten boots and had only had a chance to ride in the stiff boots once before this event!).
Well,
it turns out he was more than ready. On Saturday, Daniel woke Jack up
really early and they headed to Lenoir City to participate in the
Hickory Hills Youth Trials competition held by Papa Joe.
As I have learned (I know/knew nothing about Trials bikes until about a month ago), Trials competitions are scored like golf. The lower the score, the higher you rank. You get points for putting your feet down while making your way through the course. The kids did four courses, each one subsequently harder than the one before.
Surprisingly, Jack ended up tying for third (with a twelve-year-old) in terms of points (both scored 10 points). The tie breaker was determined by whoever made it through a course clean (without dropping a foot). The other kid ended up beating Jack, but just barely!
We are so proud of Jack! Best of all, he had a great experience and made a new friend (and they all got medals, which he is super proud of).
It seems like Jack has a natural talent and ability for navigating
the trail and tight turns, planning ahead for his next move. With a
little more practice, I am sure he will be placing.
My boys are ready to go to the next event (it's fun to compete and
it's a good learning experience). I'm pretty sure it won't be long until
Isaac is taking his turn on the course as well!
Two of Daniel's old co-workers were at this event to compete in the adult trials, and also to cheer Jack on. Daniel got to test ride one of his friend's bikes, so it was a successful day!
