This is our general Monday through Saturday routine. If anything comes up (like cleaning the water system, installing solar panels, or baby pigs being born) we are flexible.
630-7am: We eat breakfast; Anders and I do our myofunctional therapy exercises.
7-8am: Anders plays outside, often he ends up helping Herman or Erick with their work. Henrik plays outside with his babysitter; his favorite thing is the animals. Just walking on the uneven ground of the country is amazing exercise for him. This is my writing hour. Tom heads to his office (here at the farm).
8-9am: I do an hour of schoolwork with Anders. Henrik helps Emelia in the kitchen.
9-11am: Anders finishes up his first set of schoolwork, then he usually reads or heads back outside. Henrik and I take a nap (I am pregnant right now, so very tired).
11-1130: Anders continues to read or play outside; he does a second check for eggs. Henrik and I hang out.*
1130-12: We eat lunch; Anders and I do our myofunctional therapy exercises.
12-2: Anders does schoolwork with his dad. Henrik goes on adventure with his babysitter; he loves wearing his rubber boots and tramping through mud and puddles. I exercise for thirty minutes and then have my unstructured time of the day in which I read, write more, make phone calls, or get emails.
2-3: Anders plays outside or helps someone with work. Henrik and I do a cooking project or go for a walk.*
3-4: I read to Anders or spend time with Tom. Henrik swims (plays in the fountain -- I specifically designed the fountain in the courtyard to double as a swimming pool for young children) or plays outside with his babysitter.
4-430pm: We eat dinner.
430-530: Anders and I do the forrest trail; Tom and Henrik hang out. Sometimes Tom and Henrik join us on the forest trail. Henrik can do 2/3 of a mile (including a lot of uphill) before asking to be carried.
530-630: I give Henrik and Anders evening snack; then Henrik has a bath, brushes teeth, and goes to bed. Anders cleans up, then takes a bath, and brushes his teeth.
630-730: Anders I do myofunctional therapy, then I read to Anders (and Tom). Sometimes we play a game instead. Sometimes Anders builds a fire and we watch fire t.v..
730pm: Tom, Anders, and I pass out the second the lights go out.
On Sundays we relax, read, play with the animals (especially the baby pigs,) play board games, and clip finger nails.
We almost never leave the farm. Because ... why?
Currently, Anders spends a considerable amount of time digging up ants in the jungle. He brings them home, keeps them in a box, and feeds them. He keeps a notebook where he makes pictures of all the different types of ants he has found. He records what their different bites/stings are like. He also spends a lot of time with the baby pigs.
*I love farm life for Henrik in the exercise, the animals, and all the different people and activities he gets exposed to every day. I don't love farm life for Henrik because it's too full of leisure since Tom and I are not the farmers. I love doing cooking projects with Henrik, cleaning a room with him, organizing something, doing laundry, or doing errands. But other people do all those things here, so that leaves me to play with Henrik or "hang out" – which is not nearly as enjoyable to me as doing something with him.
It occurs to me that Amish farm children develop incredible work ethic and life skills because their parents are farmers. Though I encourage our staff to have Henrik and Anders help them in anyway they can, it is not the same as working for survival with your parents. The Amish don't support work that takes them away from their families. Being here, I note that whereas most blue collar work can be done with children, and children can become experts in it at quite a young age if allowed, with office work or intellectual work it is much harder to "bring your children to life with you."
