The Compassion Experience

I believe I was a teenager when I was first introduced to Compassion International – my church youth group sponsored three children over the course of several years.

Compassion is a Christian organization that brings together children in the poorest countries with sponsors from around the world who are willing to help through financial assistance. The sponsors and children are also able to communicate via letters and some even eventually meet.

The program has had success in getting these children a secondary education, with a path for college and a future employment. The sponsorship also provides for medical care and other needs.

Over the weekend, a local church hosted a Compassion Experience. This event allowed us to have a glimpse into the lives of three children (now grown) who had benefited from the Compassion program. They each had very different lives, but all were touched by poverty.

Daniel and I regularly talk about how we can teach our kids the importance of compassion and empathy for people who have different life experiences from us, and we felt like the Compassion Experience would be a good opportunity to plant that seed.

With young children, this experience wasn't a perfect fit, but Jack did choose to walk through all three stories.

We all listened to the story of Carlos in Guatemala together, then Isaac decided that he was finished so we decided that one of us should just let him play outside.

Jack and I listened to the story of Kiwi in the Philippines and then we traded and Daniel went with Jack to hear a story about a child growing up in Uganda.

Each story led us through a series of rooms. As we listened to each child's hardship, we had the opportunity to see how they lived, what they ate, and how they were expected to contribute to their family.

Jack is almost five and some parts of these (true) stories were pretty intense – for the Philippines story they had him listen to a kid friendly version.

When we finished, we asked him what he thought. He said he was sad that the mom of the child in Uganda had died. So even though he was young, he still connected with the story.

Mostly he enjoyed playing with the food in each country, and I have to confess that I am pretty sure the headphones were probably his favorite part.

I think that two years from now he would have a better understanding of what the stories were about and why we were there.

Still, it was a good experience and if you have a chance to attend one of these free events, I would definitely recommend it.

There are so many children in our world who need help, and if nothing else, it is a good reminder of how much we have to be thankful for, every day.

Ocoee Whitewater Center

For some time, Daniel and I have been kicking around the idea of taking our kids to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail. With Jack teaching himself to ride his bike this summer (and then taking him on an 11-mile ride while on vacation this summer), we felt like we could totally handle the experience.

But, as happens more than we like, life got in the way. By the time we got around to planning our trip, our lodging options were limited because we put off finding a place. Then we talked about camping somewhere like Big South Fork, where we could still bike and hike, but we kept putting off committing to an actual plan.

Last minute plans are not Daniel's favorite, but I was determined we would do something fun for the long weekend... and then I came down with a stomach bug. Thursday afternoon, I collapsed on the couch and I didn't end up really getting off the couch until Sunday.

It was a miserable weekend, but it turned out that not having planned anything was for the best.

By Monday I was feeling like a human again and Daniel had the day off so I suggested we take a drive and go to the Ocoee Whitewater Center in Cherokee National Forest (about an hour-and-a-half from where we live). At the last second we decided to throw Jack's bike in the back of the car.

My initial plan was that we would walk/bike on the Rhododendron Trail #332. This was supposed to be a flat 1.6 miles, one-way, from the Whitewater Center to Powerhouse #3. But in the end, we just did about a mile stroll around the Olympic course at the Whitewater Center.

It was a gorgeous day and after a brief walk/ride, Jack hopped off his bike determined to explore the gorge itself. So we let him.

I had brought extra clothes for the boys, but didn't bring swimsuits or towels – it's October and I hadn't really considered that the kids might want to get wet.

Well, get wet they did! Jack ended up climbing around barefoot, in shorts, wearing his bike helmet for protection in case he slipped on the wet rocks.

Isaac was determined to get in. Without a swim diaper, we opted to let him skinny dip (not a first). This little one of ours is so ready to be big. He insists on tramping around, not wanting to hold our hands, completely unconcerned about the water that is swift and too deep for him. He is unbothered by rough terrain, he just wants to go. He wants to be where his big brother is, doing what he is doing. Truth be told, he was not a fan of being stuck in his stroller for most of the day, but I think he still had a good time.

Jack had a blast. He started out rock hopping, but soon was waist deep in the water. He found little areas that he could slide on the rocks, letting the current push him through the shallow waters – what was too deep for his little brother, was perfect for him. And when he wasn't playing in the water, he was biking as fast as his little legs would let him – often just out of our sight.

I love that our boys both love the outdoors and exploring, being immersed in nature. We are excited that while we can do fun things with them now, once Isaac is a little older, we will be able to do even more. And that is a lovely thought.

Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving and I was thinking about my family, spread all over. It's been a long time since I truly celebrated this holiday (I normally try to at least make a pumpkin pie, but with being sick that wasn't going to happen), but nonetheless, I am thankful for my family and that I got to spend the day with Daniel and our boys.

SuperFly Jump Park

Our church recently rented out the SuperFly jump park in east Chattanooga for a preschool family gathering, and we had a fantastic time (even the grown ups!).

There were trampolines to jump on, foam pits to jump into, an American Ninja Warrior course to attempt, and so much more.

I made it across two of the Ninja obstacles without falling in, and across the slack line (with the aid of a rope for balance). Daniel climbed across a climbing wall, in addition other obstacles.

Isaac was determined to go up the stairs to the trapeze swing – I spent part of my night steering him away. Jack had an amazing time doing as much as he could do.

I think the favorite activity was to run up the nearly vertical trampolines and then slide back down. I was able to hold Isaac in my left arm as I ran up the slide, and then held him in my lap to slide back down with him. So much fun.

Jack was so sad to leave (crying in the parking lot), and he wasn't the only one. We will have to go back one of these days.

Up until now I have put off taking Jack to a jump park because of the size of the park, and concern about injury, but now that we have done it, I think we could manage going back with a small group.

This event was perfect for all ages and gave us the opportunity to connect with some friends from church that we don't see as much any more.

Jack thought it was an awesome small group outing, we said it was actually a big group outing :) It's nice to connect with a bigger group.

Outside 365 | September 2016

School is in full swing with Fall Break just around the corner, but we are continuing to stay busy with lots of outdoor activities.

Our boys spend a portion of every day at a playground – either at preschool, the Y, or across the street from our house, or some combination of the three.

A video posted by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Sep 17, 2016 at 8:06am PDT

On the weekend, we have joined the many other families across our nation who have committed a portion of their weekends to soccer. This means we spend an hour of every Saturday watching a herd of little boys chase a ball around a field. Jack has decided he likes the goalie position best because it involves the least amount of running. Hah!

This month we also took the kids paddling on Labor Day, on a waterfall hike with their cousins, visited the local zoo, and even went to a farm. We are staying busy, busy, busy, and the outdoors continue to play an integral part of our lives.

Something I have been mulling over lately is Jack starting kindergarten next year. It's funny, because when he started at his current preschool at age two, I felt like he wasn't learning enough and that there was too much play time (I was wrong!). A friend talked me off the ledge and told me that kids need to play and be kids at this age. After much research, and watching Jack learn through playing at school and simultaneously from us at home, I am sold on the importance of play time.

Three years later, I'm on another ledge. I read articles like this: "On the Wilderness of Children" and I cringe inwardly knowing that a long day of school, in a cinderblock classroom awaits my soon-to-be-five-year-old.

"We have forgotten that these were the original purposes of the factory-like institutions that most of us grew up in; we speak of our familiar school experience almost as though it were an integral part of nature itself, a natural and essential part of human childhood, rather than the vast and extremely recent experiment in social engineering that it actually is...

When we first take children from the world and put them in an institution, they cry.  It used to be on the first day of kindergarten, but now it’s at an ever earlier age... But gradually, over the many years of confinement, they adjust.  The cinderblock world becomes their world...

The truth is we don’t know how to teach our children about nature because we ourselves were raised in the cinderblock world. We are, in the parlance of wildlife rehabilitators, unreleasable..."

A video posted by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Sep 21, 2016 at 8:39am PDT

I think back to my own childhood with its half-day kindergarten, and I wonder why we are required to send our kids to a full day of school at such a young age. I talk to parents whose kids are currently in kindergarten and two recesses seems like such a small amount of time. And I wonder if we will be doing the right thing in sending Jack into this world? I know he will love school. He already talks about it – riding the bus, going all day long, being with his friends. He doesn't know that his play time will be greatly diminished. 

I would love advice from those of you who have kids currently in kindergarten in public school. I even looked into the local Forest Kindergarten, but the cost (and drive time) for the full kindergarten option is a lot. We live somewhere with excellent schools, so it seems like a waste not to take advantage of that. I just want more time for my kids to be little. More time for them to run wild. To be able to learn through playing. The good news is that I have 11 more months to chew on this before Jack starts kindergarten.

*In terms on homeschooling at this age, I am on the fence about this as well. Jack craves time with other kids and I know he would be heartbroken to not be in a school setting. Also, this mama goes a little crazy being with my kiddos 24-7. I love them dearly, but I don't know if that is something I could realistically do...  

 
A Look Back at Project Outside 365: January 2016 ⎮ February 2016 ⎮ March 2016 ⎮ April 2016 ⎮ May 2016 ⎮ June 2016 ⎮ July 2016 ⎮ August 2016

Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival

While Chattanooga is not Nashville, we have been impressed by the city's free family-friendly music offerings.

During the summer,  Nightfall is a free concert series held every Friday night in Miller Plaza, rain or shine; Riverfront Nights is another free concert series offered on Saturday nights at Ross's Landing; and every fourth of July, the Chattanooga symphony orchestra has Pops on the River at Coolidge Park to celebrate our country's independence. And on top of that, Signal Mountain has the Mountain Opry where local bluegrass bands play for free on the weekends.

In addition to those great family (and dog) friendly options, every October for the last ten years, the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival has taken place at Ross's Landing. We haven't been able to go every year, but this was our fourth year to attend and we had a great time.

This year we went on a Saturday afternoon (so we didn't see some of our favorite's like Chatham County Line), but we had fun none-the-less.

There is a huge field at Ross's Landing where everyone sets up their camp chairs and the kids can run and play. Jack learned how to hula hoop and Isaac was determined to sneak off to the "cake by the slice" tent.

We met up with friends and had a lovely afternoon. Who knows, maybe next year we might be able to last into the evening. The laid back, family-friendly, music scene is just another reason we love where we live.

Jack shows off his dance moves at the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival. #threesistersbluegrassfestival #3sisters #chattanooga #jackjack #mohaus2016

A video posted by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Oct 1, 2016 at 11:59am PDT

Five Pulley System

A typical day for our family ends with me putting Isaac to bed and Daniel doing something with Jack. They may go to the park, ride bikes, or work in the garage together. Currently Jack is really interested in pulleys and how they work. This past week Jack wanted to put together a system of five pulleys so he could lift himself off the ground.

With Daniel's help, they arranged the pulley system, created a harness out of a tow strap, and gave it a try.

Jack learned that as they added pulleys to the system, it was easier to lift things. In the past he has used pulleys to lift objects, but this was the first time he lifted himself.

With Daniel's help and encouragement, they came to the conclusion that five pulleys are enough to lighten the load of Jack's 40-pound frame allowing him to pull himself up. Though I think he liked Daniel pulling him up the best.

Best quotes from the experience:
"Two plus two, plus one, is five." (0:25)

"I'm as strong as myself." (2:21)