Guns,boys and... oh boy!

Red Winged Black Bird ( I had one as a pet once, they are SO smart!)


Robin

Swollow

“Discipline is not just a matter of punishment for wrongdoing, but of teaching our youth not to do wrong in the first place.” – Gordon B. Hinckley


Boys love guns! The noise, the power, the challenge! Teymoor and Isaiah have hours and hours of fun shooting their BB and pellet guns together.
With so much shooting going on,of course the subject of killing quickly became a common one. We had to make some clear rules and lay down the laws. We do not shoot or kill anything that we aren't going to eat, unless it was a danger to us! As tempting as all the flying and jumping targets may be, they are absolutely off limits!
We thought everything was fine until Isaiah came in one day,looking guilty,and confessed to shooting a squirrel. Writing this it sounds so funny. I mean a boy, with a gun...... duh. Well, as annoyed as I was about the squirrel ( I have a buddy hopping around out there without his tail and I like watching him) the #1 issue was HE DISOBEYED. So, the first thing that had to happen was punishment. The gun went out to the shed. :( Then my poor boy was so mortified at how much he had shocked and disappointed me that he cried for most of an hour and vowed to never shoot a gun again. ( Obviously a promise of passion, with no true future.) Tears, talking, hugging.... telling daddy... O.K. done.
Now what? Dad and Mom had to talk ,alone, and decide on a better plan.
We obviously believe in hunting for our food. Father and son talk about it often and are looking foreword to it!
I thought about Steve Erwin, he may get nutty with his croc-kissing and snake loving, but I love his passion and how his kids love animals. They would never even THINK of hurting one!
I though about my Cherokee ancestors. I was not raised to know about them but I have learned a lot more,as an adult, and agree with and respect their beliefs on the subject of animals and nature.
So.. We decided that just putting down the rules isn't a real answer. Information is power. For the last week, we have been learning about these animals. The more you know about and respect something, the more you want to protect it.
Isaiah spent hours watching birds with binoculars yesterday. He kept running in and calling "mom, come quick! You gotta see this!"
He has also decided that he wants to build a squirrel house and maybe catch one for a pet ( yeah,right...I'll let him keep dreaming).
By the way, I know many people who eat squirrels. We don't. The idea of eating ANY kind of RODENT makes me nauseated!!(Literally...while I'm typing!)Isaiah knew we don't... gulp...eat them, so no excuses there!
So now, he is back to enjoying his gun, plans to hunt someday, AND loving and learning about the local wildlife. In fact, when daddy tossed out a comment about going to shoot a bird Isaiah got quite upset about his new pals getting hurt.
This is how I want it. The way of the Indian. The way of history.
It must have been so very hard for Adam to spent the beginning of his life with the animals as companions and then have to kill them. It was a SACRIFICE.
I want my kids to be thinkers. I want them to have empathy and compassion mixed right in with their skill and courage.
This has turned out to be great for our homeschooling!
Above are some of the beautiful critters that we are enjoying learning about.