Rebel Kids Homeschool

Shopping Bags to Shopping Bags

2011-11-27T19:02:00.001-07:00

We do a mostly homemade Christmas here. We're not big into consumerism, or shopping. We buy a few things, but we make infinitely more than we buy.

The other night, Zhara and I found a few posts on reusing plastic shopping bags. We try and use reusable often, but sometimes an occasional plastic bag cannot be avoided, and so, during the year, we save them for various things. This year we are making reusable shopping bags and purses to give gifts in.

Here is a tutorial :

The first thing you need to do is fuse the bags. We found this tutorial that was pretty helpful. My suggestions is to fuse 8 layers of bag at a time. This means that you should cut off the handles, and then fuse either 4 bags without cutting them open, or 8 bags cut open. This basically just depends upon the size of bag that you want to finish with, as the cut open sections will create larger fused sheets to work with later. Try and put the printed sides to the inside to prevent the ink from running. That can mean turning the bags inside out, or opening them up and putting two printed sides towards each other.

I put a towel on our tile counter top, and placed the bags on that, and covered them in a piece of parchment paper that was slightly larger than the bags to be fused. Apply an iron that is on the permanent press of cotton setting to the parchment paper. You will be able to lift up the paper and see the plastic fusing. Make sure to get the edges. Turn over and do the other side. When it is completely fused, you can decorate.

Zhara wanted to make them especially awesome by cutting out sayings or pictures or letters to create new words, sayings, or pictures on the finished bags. My suggestion is to apply these at the very end, lest you melt the lettering. Place them on the bag, cover with the parchment paper, and fuse those briefly until they are completely adhered. Let your sheets cool.

I went ahead and did like 20 sheets of bags with all of our old bags, then took them to my sewing room when cooled, and used them like fabric to make multiple bags.

I did several versions of bags, but since most of them would be going to women or couples, I tried to make them usable either as small shopping bags or purses. I gave them reinforced fabric handles (or you could purchase handles at the fabric store), and a small pocket inside. I also gave them a velcro closure (though you could use any type of closure) so that they could be more secure if used as a purse. I made the smaller version to the left by cutting two identical sizes of fused bags and sewing around three sides with the right sides together. I sewed perpendicular across the bottom seam and trimmed the excess to make a stand up bag. Turn it inside out. Then I decided to reinforce it some more.

I sewed around the bottom to make it sit easier. I also zig-zagged around the top seam to make it more durable.

I think this size would be great as a small produce bag, for light shopping, like the pharmacy, or as an everyday purse. I plan on giving this one with a bottle of my husband's homemade wine and some homemade chocolates, or a pair of homemade flannel pj pants for a lovely holiday gift.

The other size I've made so far is larger. It has two wide identical rectangles for the front and back, and two narrow identical rectangles for the sides, and another rectangle for the bottom. My tip is to sew the four sides, inside out first. Then size the final rectangle after those are sewn. Pin it to the bottom, and sew all the way around. Turn it right side out, reinforce where you'd like, I sewed about three inches down the top of each side to make it naturally turn in instead of out. I also zig-zagged the top, added fabric handles, an inside pocket, and a velcro closure.

I think this one would be a great size for a regular shopping bag, a larger purse, or a diaper bag. You could fit most gifts in this bag.

The smaller bag contains about 8 former plastic bags. The larger one around 16-20. You can make them as large or small as you'd like. My daughter has already requested small purse sizes for her friends for Xmas.

Make something from the heart, reuse an item that has major ecological implications for our planet, and perhaps pass along a love for the planet and taking care of it, to someone who might not otherwise use something recycled. Perfect!

Magnetism

2011-10-10T15:42:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we discovered that Lowe's has these awesome horseshoe magnets for $1.70 a piece. Today we bought three more of them (one for each kid, because I was attempting to minimize fights). We decided to learn some things about magnetism. So I pulled out one of our science experiment books, and a piece of poster board, and we got to it. We decided to record our findings on the poster, then as we learn more, we can add on.

First, we told each other what we already knew about magnets, and I wrote that down. Then I sent the kids on a scavenger hunt to find household items, and we tested them with our magnets, which taught us even more about magnetism and what magnets do and do not attract.

Then we did an experiment with a glass jar, and some paper clips to see if we could move them through the jar with the magnet. We could, even when they were attached to something heavy like a clay snake. We tried several other mediums to try and pull things through. The table was too thick. A lego board worked. As did a plastic cup.

We learned about polarity, and the north-south pull of magnets, and did an experiment by putting the horseshoe magnet on a stick and watching it "magically" rotate so that it was always pointing north/south.

Overall, a very fun way to spend an afternoon.

The Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-10T15:32:00.000-06:00

Eli and Wednesday as Frankenstein and his bride

This story could start with, it was a cold and wet afternoon, when the Dayhoffs and McKinneys trudged through the corn maze. Wow, was it ever! Despite much of the country, our late summer/early fall has been very warm, so we were rather taken aback when we arrived at the pumpkin patch on Saturday and it was around 50 degrees and raining. But we trudged on, as we were there, with our friends, and we were going to do this thing.

There was a great deal of discussion about which way to go to get through the very long, very windy corn maze. Sometimes they took votes, sometimes they asked dad. Wednesday just ran. The whole time. Very loudly. Everyone has their own method.

We knew it had rained, but we had no idea the extent of the mud.

Did I mention it was muddy? Very muddy? Like the end times muddy? Yay, it was.

A rare moment of Wednesday neither screaming nor running in the corn maze. She's waiting to have her list punched so she could get a piece of candy at the end for completing the whole maze.

After we made our way out of the mud, er, I mean corn maze, we headed over to the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were huge this year, and the pumpkins are all the same price, regardless of size, so the kids bought some big ones. Thankfully, we brought the wagon for just such an occasion.

The big kids took off for the back of the field with dad to see if there were even larger pumpkins there. Wednesday followed them for a bit, but then she got worn out. I don't know about pumpkins, but there was no shortage of mud.

Wednesday does a little heavy lifting of our pumpkin haul!

Maritime Studies, or Learning about Flotation

2011-10-10T15:11:00.001-06:00

Awhile ago, I told you about the science experiment kits that I ordered from Kids Woot this summer. They are wonderful for days when I'm not sure any of us are going to make it until dad gets home. Last week we had just such a day, so I whipped out the kit about boats and flotation. It has ten pre-prepared science projects.

I let the kids each pick one and it made things better, at least for awhile. This is your dose of homeschool reality -- it's good, but it ain't always roses I'm just saying. :)

Wednesday picked the experiment to determine what objects float. So the kids ran around the house collecting things to try out, and Zhara recorded what floated and what didn't in the science booklet that came with the kit.

It also suggested, in the same experiment, trying the floating egg trick. So we learned that an egg will sink in regular water, as the egg is heavier than the water. However, when you add a considerable amount of salt to the water, the egg floats, because the water is denser due to the dissolved salt. We were already familiar with the concept -- heck, we live 45 minutes from the Great Salt Lake -- but it was still nice to see it demonstrated

Our floating egg

Then we did Angus's chosen experiment, which was to use the enclosed clay (I told you these kits were awesome), and to divide it into two equal parts. With one we molded it into the shape of a boat, with the other we made it into three different shapes -- a ball, a ring, and a disc. Despite the sameness of size, the boat-shaped clay floated, while the other three did not, because the boat was made into a shape that displaced the water evenly, allowing it to float, while the others did not.

Finally, with Zhara's experiment we made a rubber band propeller boat out of the enclosed pieces, and drove it in the hot tub, learning about potential stored energy and how it is released. Wednesday got in for full effect.

Angus then made a boat out of Legos to see if he could get it to float in the same manner as the clay boat, which it did. Hooray for our own experiments!

Halloween is Coming

2011-10-03T14:09:00.000-06:00

We are fans of Halloween. Really, we are. So last year when our friends, the McKinneys, made these delightful Halloween votives out of old glass jars, I was in. We were going to make them with the McKinneys when they came over to play the other day, but then we got busy making other Halloween crafts, and playing, and that didn't happen. So today, having saved many a spaghetti sauce, jelly, and iced coffee bottle, we made some of our own, using a bit of paint.

Wednesday worked on a jack-o-lantern, and Angus made a Frankenstein and a ghost.

Zhara made candy corn, a Frankenstein, and a Bride of Frankenstein. And I contributed several of my own, because I'm just a big kid when it comes to Halloween, too.

We plan on adding tea light candles to them, and placing them outside on our front steps. I think they'll be especially spooky for Zhara's Zombie Prom in a couple of weeks.

Zombie Prom In Progress

2011-09-28T22:33:00.000-06:00

Each year Zhara hosts a Zombie Prom for her friends. This year she's going to have an Adopt-a-Monster basket for her friends to each take a monster home. I had a lot of fun making these felt monsters, which is probably why they're already done!

Making Silly Putty, or Why I Love Science Experiments with Unschoolers

2011-09-26T10:14:00.002-06:00

I must admit it, I have become slightly obsessed with pinterest. If you haven't checked it out, yet, you should! Craft ideas, homeschooling stuff, recipes, just so much fun. Anyway, last week, I found this great recipe on there for making your own homemade silly putty. Perfect, I thought -- we're super keen on anything that's part toy and part science experiment. We purchased the required ingredients. It wasn't tough. It took a trip to Wal-Mart, and we got Elmer's Glue-All (not school glue), which was conveniently still on sale for back-to-school, and a $3 giant bottle of Sta-Flo liquid starch. Oh, and food coloring if you want to color it, but we already had that.

First, we poured glue into the bottom of a bowl (one for each kiddo), then we added the food coloring until it was their desired color -- red for Angus, pink for Wednesday, yellow for Zhara. We stirred and stirred until the color was completely integrated.

Then we added the liquid starch, and stirred. It immediately starts to goo up, as it soaks into the glue.

It takes about 5 minutes to completely soak in.

There was lots of stirring.

And some poking.

And, of course, plenty of squishing and dripping.

It is science, afterall, we need to fully understand our results.

After it's mixed for about 5 minutes, then the real fun begins. You take it out, dry it on a paper towel a bit, and knead it until it turns into Silly Putty.

Look, we made Silly Putty!

After that, all bets were off, and we experimented wildly. This is why I love unschooling. One "experiment" always turns into about 40, as they ask more and more questions. In fact, as I type this, they are still at it.

What would happen if we ran it through the pasta maker that grandma got us for Play Doh?

Answer: It thins out and then immediately rebounds into shape, unless you put it on the very thin setting, which shreds it into bits.

How does it feel on your feet? Cold and squishy.

Can you build things with it? Answer: Yes, here Angus demonstrates making Patrick Star out of Silly Putty

Will it really pick up news print? Answer: Why, yes, quite well.

What happens if we make white Silly Putty? Will it pick up the news print even better?

Answer: Why, yes, yes it does

And the most popular and long lasting one thus far. How far will it stretch?

Answer: a really really long way.

They are still experimenting... I'll let you know when they're done. It may be awhile. :)

Building a Firetruck

2011-09-26T09:35:00.000-06:00

We do a lot of things. We go a lot of places. Sadly, though, because Adam has to work, we don't often get to include dad. This makes dad sad, and it makes the kids sad, because they absolutely adore him. That said, when you live in Utah, home of families with 10 and 12 kids each, doing things on the weekend can turn into a crazy explosion of people that none of us like.

So the last time we were in Lowe's, we decided maybe trying to do their Build and Grow building projects every two weeks on Saturday morning might be good, as it's early (at 10 am), free, and something we could do independently. Plus, dad loves to build. We've done them in the past, but it's been awhile. Plus, you don't have to sign up ahead of time, so if we decide to skip a week, we can!

So Saturday, we went and each of the kids got to build a firetruck. It was fun, Wednesday and Angus needed more help, whereas Zhara did it almost all herself. Each of the kids really did a great job, though, following the directions and building their toy.

We got to hammer.. and there were stickers!

Happy builders with their new fire trucks, with real working sirens!

Almost Camping

2011-09-22T16:01:00.001-06:00

If you know me, then you know, I am not a good camper. The outdoors -- I love it. Hiking -- awesome. Nature and wildlife -- I never feel happier than when I'm among them. But sleeping outside -- nope, I don't do it. Have I? Sure. Do I like to? Not one bit. I have a terrible combination -- a bad back (had a surgery several years ago bad) and being a terrible sleeper. This tends to mean a long, cold, uncomfortable, sleepless night, and a very cranky mommy the next day.

So, we prefer what I like to call, modified camping. We take the kids, and often the dogs, and we head out for the woods. We go for a long hike. Often we go way back, off trails, or on rarely used trails. We explore, let the dogs off their leashes, enjoy the beauty of nature to it's fullest. Then, when we're done, we find a campsite, start a fire with wood we've brought, cook out hotdogs, smores, play around the campfire -- you know, the best parts of camping. Then we put the fire out. Pack everyone into the car, dirty, tired, and smelling of yummy camp smoke, and head home, where we snuggle into our warm beds, use a real toilet, and wake the next day refreshed, happy, and able to shower. Perfection! We had such an outing two weekends ago in American Fork Canyon. It was lovely.

Wednesday was booking it along the trail that day. We could hardly keep up. She kept shouting back, "look out for that branch," and "there's a turn up ahead".

Angus carried this stick the whole way, then when we got to the turn around, he planted the stick, claiming the mountain for us. :)

Every now and again, we would break through the trees and into a lovely clearing or meadow. We brought a ball for Olly in our bag and he would run and play. Bailey, the bassett hound, would sniff thoroughly.

Those are some happy kids!

Dad brought up the rear, making sure the hound dog made it all four miles. Wednesday tired at the turn around, and I was very thankful that she's super skinny, as I carried her the last two miles on my back in the ergo, which I had shoved into our hiking pack.

When we were done on the hike, we headed to a campsite. Dad started a fire for us.

While they waited for the fire to build enough to cook, the kids climbed...

...and pretended to roast marshmallows on the unused grill.

Once the fire was nice and roaring, we roasted hot dogs and made smores, and ate!

Gone Fishing

2011-09-22T15:39:00.000-06:00

My mother has been a public school teacher for more than 40 years. She is a speech therapist and special education teacher. She has had some incarnation of this fishing game in use in her classroom for as long as I can remember. A few weeks ago, Angus met with a therapist from the Children's Center here in Salt Lake, where he is going to be taking Social Skills classes this fall. Lo and behold, if they didn't play this fishing game! He loved it, so I created one for us.

The poles are two pieces of PVC pipe. The line, some cotton yarn. I bought these awesome horse shoe magnets at Lowe's for $1.70, which I will definitely be using again for science experiment magnets. They are crazy strong!

The colorful fish are paint chips from the store, cut into basic fish shapes. I then wrote the letters of the alphabet and some basic arithmetic problems on them for when the kids were interested in doing something other than fishing. They've spelled things with them, fished for specific letters or problems, and used them in a variety of ways. Then I duct taped a large paperclip to each fish. Wallah -- fishing at home!

Angus, demonstrating his mad fishing skills!

A Fallish Bridal Veil Falls

2011-09-22T15:25:00.000-06:00

We love exploring the wilderness of Utah. We do it a lot, in fact. Today we ended up heading to a very chilly Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. It was no more than 50 degrees, and the kids proclaimed they were freezing throughout, though you will note from the photos that they still stripped to their swimsuits and explored the even colder water. Brrrrr! I did not join them. :)

We took our friends the McKinneys with us. It was their first visit to the Falls, and they enjoyed it thoroughly. Zhara took Josh and Emma (their two oldest) exploring up the side of the falls to the top of the first tier, which is her absolute favorite thing to do there. The younger kiddos and Stephanie and I stayed at the bottom, threw rocks in the river, and played in the water.


Thankfully, we brought lots of blankets, as they were put to good use!

Eli's favorite part was definitely throwing rocks in the river.

Sometimes you have to bundle up with friends.

Despite the cold, the kids still climbed on the rocks and logs in the water. I'm not sure how they stood it, as even on very hot days, my feet freeze from the cold mountain run off.

Winnie and Angus occasionally consented to merely peering into the water from the bridge.

Then there were the ever present invented games -- Winnie and Eli pretended to be flying with the orange blanket. And the entire kid crew got in on a game of doctor, whereby, one or two members of the party had "fallen down the mountain" and the rest used rocks, water, the laying on of hands, and shamanic chanting to revive them.

All and all, a pretty fun and beautiful day of "school".

Control by Crown

2011-09-06T18:39:00.006-06:00

When we first started homeschooling many years ago, I came upon an audio copy of The Story of the World, Ancient Times. We hadn't really listened much to it, and then Zhara became absolutely obsessed with mythology. Ah ha, I thought the other day, I wonder if that is still on the computer, and if it has anything about gods and goddesses on it. So the other day I went looking, and found it. I loaded it on to my ipod, and recently when we were in the car, I asked if anyone would be interested in listening to a bit of it. We listened to the part about nomads in the Egyptian desert, and then today we listened a little bit more. We learned about the upper and lower kingdoms of Egypt, and how about 5000 years ago a war was fought between the two kingdoms for control of Egypt. The kids liked the information about the one king having a white crown, and other a red crown, and that when the Egyptian king with the white crown was victorious, he took the other king's crown. He then placed it on top of his own, and from then on the Egyptian crown had both red and white portions to show that the pharaoh controlled both parts of Egypt. We decided to decorate our own colorful crowns to represent their "kingdoms".

I cut crowns out of poster board, and then the kids painted them with tempura paint.

Angus went with an all yellow theme.

Zhara with six large blocks of color.

Wednesday with a rainbow motif.

Dad was home sick today, so he even got to help out a little with the project.

The kids have been really excited to paint ever since I bought a big pack of new paintbrushes at JoAnn's the other night.

As always, one of their favorite parts of painting, is mixing colors, and seeing just what new unique combination they end up with.

We talked about pictures as representation, and I told them about hieroglyphics. Then we printed out this hieroglyphics translator, and decided that later in the week we would try and write our names in hieroglyphics.

Zhara stapled everyone's crowns together. The crowns were a big hit. The kids even used some of the scraps from the poster board to create other items for their kingdoms. Angus made a flag, and Wednesday and Zhara made arm bands. Angus has, of course, already stolen Wednesday's crown, and placed it on top of his own in a hostile takeover of Wednesday's country. That is, of course, to be expected, and likely to happen many more times before it gets old. :)

Zhara is really rocking the regal look.

Wednesday is one happy, if albeit partially nude, ruler.

Tear Apart Day

2011-09-01T08:02:00.003-06:00

My husband is a civil engineer, and according to relatives, spent much of his childhood tearing apart any form of electronic that came near him to see what was inside. Truth be told, he still really likes to tinker with things, not all of which make it back together again. :) So it was natural, I suppose, that we would decide to do a Tear Apart Day, as my kids share his base love of destruction for learning's sake.

The other night, while the kids were at karate, I headed to the local thrift store to pick up some cast off electronics. I got a computer keyboard, an old corded phone, a small cassette tape player, a remote, and a VCR tape. I spent a total of $12. It was worth it, I promise.

We discovered a lot of things. We found circuit boards. At dinner, Adam explained to Zhara how the circuit boards work, and what all the parts are.

We found lots of different sizes of circuit boards in the various items.

We learned that Wednesday is really good with a screw driver, except for when it's aimed at Zhara. Thankfully, everyone survived mostly unharmed.

We learned that the keys on a keyboard can really get some flight time when popped properly.

We learned that sometimes, no matter how hard you hit it, you just have to take the screws off to get inside.
We learned that electronic buttons are super awesome inside. Zhara said they remind her of bubble wrap that never pops.

We learned that there is a massive amount of tape inside a VCR tape. So much so that you can make multiple trips throughout the entire house. Or make your own Rastafarian wigs.

Or mummify yourself.

And finally, we learned that there's not a lot to be done with electronics after you've demolished them. We tried making things, but glue just doesn't really stick to them. It was an awfully fun project, though.

Readiness

2011-08-29T20:15:00.002-06:00

The amazing thing about readiness is that it's just so simple. It works. Whether you're helping a child learn to use the potty, ride a bike, read, or do calculus. When they're ready, and interested, it just works, easily, without the "work". In the past five days Zhara has memorized half of the times table. Not because she all of a sudden "gets" multiplication, whereas before she didn't, but because she was ready. She had a desire -- to be better at her Mythmatical Battles card game -- and she saw a need. Plus, she really wants to start Life of Fred Fractions. So in less than a week she has done what takes most school children months in school. She's not smarter, she's just ready. This is a life lesson for anyone, but particularly for me. My kids find their way to exactly what they need, when they need it. Don't worry, they know what they need and when they need it. Trust em, they're smart little buggers those ones. And they'll get there. I promise.

A Dinoriffic Day at the Zoo

2011-08-29T15:05:00.009-06:00

This summer the Hogle Zoo here in Utah has hosted a collection of awesome robotic dinosaurs. Because my children are rather obsessed with dinosaurs, particularly the male child, we have gone several times. It is their last week, though, and Angus is mourning. So today, despite the warm weather, we hit the zoo for our last encounter with the incredibly realistic robot dinos.

The T-rex is actually life-sized. And it moves. And growls. And roars. It is pretty awesome. I saw quite a few kids, though, that were rather terrified.

An allosaurus, and I think a stegosaurus, in the tall grass near the rhino enclosure. I honestly wonder what the actual animals think of these things that have invaded their zoo.

They also have a dinosaur dig site. Angus is: a) never one for shying away from digging in the dirt and sand, and b) never one to pass up a chance to discover something dinosaur-related.

They have dinosaur-related teaching exhibits throughout the park, as well.

By far, though, the kids' favorite dinosaurs in the exhibit were these dromiosauruses. It's a mom and baby, and they both randomly spit cold water at the kids. It's a really big hit, especially on a really hot day.

This is a mama and baby styracasaurus, which are pretty cool. The mom actually fusses and brays and tries to get you to back away from her baby.

The kids couldn't pass up the obligatory head in the dinosaur's mouth photo.

We didn't just see dinosaur robots at the zoo today, though. We actually saw zoo animals, as well.
Here Angus is exploring the exhibits in the snow leopard area. A halved ball that the leopards actually used to play with, with enormous holes and scratches in it, and of course, no almost 7 year-old boy could pass up the chance to pick the replica of the leopard's nose. :)

Wednesday is smelling some of the leopard's favorite scents -- allspice, perfume, and cat lure.

We visited the elephants, always a favorite, because of the sweet baby elephant.

Camels!

We majorly lucked out today, too, as while we were walking around, we actually ran into our best homeschooling friends, the McKinney's, making the same last round of the dinosaurs. So for awhile, we hung out and played at the zoo with them.

All seven of the kids here are crammed against the railing, watching the 5 year-old orangutang playing peek-a-boo with them from her big swing.

And they all had to measure themselves against the gorilla shadows.

We spent a good twenty minutes playing on the playground with the McKinney's before they headed home to have their lunch, and we went on to explore the zoo some more.

We had the luck of running into the same zoo docent twice today, so we got to learn a lot about a peregrine falcon and an owl that she was carrying around at different times.

And then sometimes the best part of the zoo is just playing, which we also did plenty of.

We rode the carousel. Even me!

Played on the new wooden tree horses

Ate a little lunch.

Played in the misters.

And with the giant reflecting water ball.

It was a good day, and a fitting farewell to the dinosaurs.

Game Time

2011-08-24T14:43:00.003-06:00

We like games here. We have a Wii, and occasionally the kids play on it, but they are more into actual real games. Zhara, especially, is a huge fan of making up her own games.

For me, games sometimes save an otherwise bad day. If things are tanking, people are fighting or yelling, sometimes I will pull out the games. It generally picks up the mood. It also tends to aid brother and sister relations when those are really bad.

We have a lot of games. These aren't all of them. :) I scourge thrift stores (checking to make sure the pieces are all there before we buy), shop the $5 games sales around Christmas time, and get recommendations for especially fun ones from friends on line. For those, amazon and google are a life line.

Some are stereotypically "educational" and some are educational as used. Regardless, they are all fun generally.

Zhara has been wanting to get better at math. She is also very obsessed with mythology, so a friend suggested finding Mythmatical Battles. I ordered them, and Zhara is loving playing this game. It's a two player game, so it requires some time sans little kids interrupting, but we are making it work. It is really helping her multiplication skills, and has spurred her on to want to memorize her times tables. So each morning, I am writing out a set, yesterday was the 2s, today the 3s. She looks at them and works on them throughout day, and then at night when we're reading books, she recites them to Adam and I. There's no expectation that she has to do them in a certain amount of time. Basically, it's for her to be able to play the game faster, so she's motivated to do it.

This look does not appear that she is loving the game, but actually she's just mad because I have stolen one of her favorite cards as part of the game. We also, just yesterday, got Zeus on the Loose in the mail. This is also a mythology math-based card game, but focuses instead on addition and subtraction. She loves it just as much, and it's really improving her mental math skills.

You don't have to have a "specialized" game to learn these kinds of skills while having fun, though. Zhara's been wanting to improve her spelling so she can do more on the computer without asking me for help, so we have been working some on it by playing scrabble.

But don't be confined to using games in only the way that the makers intended. Here, Wednesday is practicing ordering her ABCs using the scrabble tiles.

Sometimes the best games are ones we totally invent ourselves. Here's one we played today, that I made up on the fly. We took cookie sheets (one for everyone -- I bought some super cheap ones at Wal-Mart awhile ago that we reserve for playing with magnets). Several packs of dollar store magnetic letters, some manipulative counting bears we've had forever, and a pack of dollar store ABC flash cards.

Each person liked playing, because, despite the fact that they are vastly differing ages, each one got to do something different. I held up a flashcard with a letter on it. They searched for the letter in the pile, found, and placed it on their cookie sheet the right way up.

Then for Wednesday we would ask, what letter is it, what sounds does it make, and can you think of a word that starts with that letter. She is working on learning her letters and sounds, so it was a good fit for her.

For Angus we would ask, the letter, the sound, a word that starts with that letter, and whether it was a consonant or a vowel. He's got most of his letters, but needs work on their sounds, and what category they fall into.

For Zhara, we would ask, what letter is it, what sound does it make, what's a word that starts with that letter, and how do you spell that word. She is wanting to work on spelling, so that is helpful for her.

When they got those things (or close, with help), they would earn a manipulative bear. It was a big hit, and will be played again for sure. We didn't even count the bears at the end, it didn't matter, they were basically just to keep Angus from angrily competing during the game (which tends to happen if he's not "earning things" as we go along). And it worked.

Zhara then made up a card game. Sometimes these games are more well received than others, but she was able to wrangle both Wednesday and I into playing.

Wednesday liked it. Can you tell?

Chalk Making Science Experiment

2011-08-15T19:28:00.004-06:00

I love a good deal on science experiments. I found one this summer at Kids Woot (bookmark this site and check it daily, you will thank me). I got 3 complete science kits delivered for under $15. We worked on one the other day. Each kit has multiple science experiments. We worked on the Colors one. We mixed colors with dye tablets and water, and then made sidewalk chalk with the colors we made.

The directions were easy to follow, and the kids were able to do almost all of the measuring, mixing, and pouring themselves.

Zhara and Winnie mixed the colors. Then we incorporated the colors into the water and plaster mixture we made, and filled molds with our concoction.

Angus carried the molds to the cabinet for drying. He was a little nervous of dropping it -- note his eyes.

Then, the next day, we got to use our own homemade sidewalk chalk. Awesome science project!

Math -- There's So Many Ways to Learn

2011-08-15T18:48:00.002-06:00

The title is pretty descriptive here, and, I've written about this before, so this will come as no surprise to anyone reading, but there are LOTS of ways to learn math. Math in schools is typically taught by doing worksheets, or memorizing "math facts," or copying problems. In life, however, the only time I've ever used memorized math facts was when I use the times tables or basic addition in my head. I am also rarely called upon to fill out pages of math problems or formulas. My children are not worksheet people. Well, Winnie can be interested in a worksheet or two now and again, but as a whole, it's just not their thing. However, I know that math is important. I DO use math in everyday life, and my kids do, too, and will continue to do so for the duration of their lives, so why shouldn't they learn it the way they'll use it?

We have thus embarked on a way to learn math that the kids like, and can easily access. Here are some of the things we are doing.

Literature-based math:

My kids may not be worksheet people, but they sure as heck are book people. They love to read. We read each and every night before bed, so I figured why not check into some literature-based math activities.

Enter Life of Fred. Life of Fred is an amazing series of books that are all based on a quirky little mathematician named Fred. There is a 6 page story and 6 problems in each chapter. We've been reading at least a chapter a night, snuggled up together in bed. The kids do the "problems" which are super fun questions entitled "Your Turn to Play" outloud together, and have a blast. They beg to read Fred, and they are remembering the math from night to night. Plus they are learning all kinds of additional things, like who Archimedes was, and famous painters, and how to spell the days of the week.

It used to be that Fred's stories didn't begin until Fractions and Decimals, and therefore Fred was not accessible for younger kids, or kids who struggle with math. Just this year, however, the author, Dr. Stanley Schmidt, released four additional volumes for elementary kids. Find them, they rock!

Fred isn't the only game in town, either. Check out other literature-based math with your kids, if they are readers or book lovers, it may just be the key to their love of math, as well.

Manipulatives:

They aren't just for little kids. Sure, we're all aware of using Cheerios, or plastic toys, or colored cubes for counting, pattern making, and sorting, but what about for older kids?

My ten-year-old loves Legos. She has also been wanting to learn more multiplication. So we have combined the two loves. We found a Natural Math site that had a link for Lego times tables. Today Zhara and I started building one. This is not a short project, BTW, so be prepared for some input of time and effort.

First Zhara wrote out a table from 1s through 12s, in grid form.

We decided ahead of time that we would use square (4 peg) Lego bricks for the project. My job was to collect those, and deposit them in a pile for Zhara to stack.

Zhara then started figuring out each row, writing the amount, and then stacking the right amount of Legos in each square.

They grew and grew. Zhara figured out each amount herself. She kept saying she'd need help in just a second, but she kept figuring it out on her own without any help.

We got through the 3s today. Tomorrow we will continue on... though, despite the fact that we have thousands of Legos, we are running low already, and will likely have to dismantle some of the earlier rows to create the 4s-12s. It's been a lot of fun.

Computer Math Games:

Everyone can get in on this. Thanks to some friends and our own hunting, we've found some fun math sites -- multiplication.com, Timez Attack, and some great math games of all kinds at Fun 4 the Brain.

It's been a fun way for Wednesday and Angus to try out some of the skills they've learned from Life of Fred.

We've also discovered some games, apps and websites that the kids access through our iPad -- best buy ever for homeschooling, I swear.

So spread out there -- find new ways to get your kids excited about math. Everyday we find something new and fun to use to learn more about math, and we've yet to touch a single worksheet or pre-packaged curriculum math series.

A Day at the Beach

2011-08-10T16:33:00.004-06:00

Yay, our local swim beach has re-opened. By local, I mean 30 minutes away, but it's gorgeous, and the only gig in town, so we'll take it. It's been closed for construction for the past two months and we haven't been able to use it at all this summer... until now. Combine swimming and sand, and my kids are in heaven. It is up in the foothills of the mountains, so the water is cold, as it's past snow melt, but they don't care, especially not when it's 97 degrees outside. It's refreshingly cold then. The scenery is gorgeous, ringed by mountains, only a few houses in view. Clear water. Can't be beat.

So today we loaded up the sand toys, floaty toys, towels, and a cooler full of picnic lunch and drinks, and hit the beach.

The bag of Twizzlers I grabbed at the dollar store was a big hit.

So was the sand!

It didn't really get super busy until about an hour before we left, and by that time, I was busy burying children in sand, so it didn't really matter. :)

Super Heroes of Unschooling

2011-08-09T21:39:00.002-06:00

The kids are getting more and more interested in delving into more concrete subjects and concepts. We sort of noticed it when Zhara started watching Through the Wormhole, a physics show on the Science channel, with Adam and I, and really enjoying it. She's always loved science, but she was getting really advanced theories of quantum mechanics, so I ordered this cool book -- Physics: Why Matter Matters, which, like all of Simon Basher's books, has a great super hero theme, and thus, a connective tissue for our unschool was born -- Super Heroes. I have since ordered more of his books, and we created a super hero chart for our own selves.

We are:
Me = Super Mom (look, I got wings)
Dad = Octo-Daddy (of the cephalopod variety, not the 8 kids kind)
Angus = Dino Man (not shocking!)
Zhara = Sunny (a superhero who was created by a small piece of the sun breaking off)
Wednesday = Super Pirate Butterfly Girl

We even made a poster for our physics stuff -- we rock!

Summer off

2011-08-09T10:47:00.013-06:00

As always, we tend to not be around on the computer for very long in the summer. Too much time outside, or swimming, or playing with friends. No time for here, but I'm sure you all survived fine without our updates. Let's see, what's happened with us thus far this summer...

We celebrated Zhara and Wednesday's birthdays -- 10 and 4 respectively.

Wednesday's party was celebrated with friends in the backyard, on a rented and much enjoyed bouncy house. Zhara's was celebrated while we were visiting family in Kansas City. We spent the night with some of her friends and our family at The Great Wolf Lodge water park. It was pretty awesome!

A great time was had by all!

Speaking of the trip... we had a good time in Kansas City, but as always, four days in a car full of travel is a lot for two adults, three kids, and two dogs.

This is us enjoying Papa Gary and Nana Kaye's pond on the Fourth of July. And Grammy Glynda and Papa Bob introduced Angus to Alf while we were in KC, and he fell in love.

We also just did a whole lot of playing this summer.

Winnie and Olly made good use of the trampoline.

We used the hot tub as a mini-pool.

Some days we used whatever we could as a pool.

Here, Angus demonstrates the many uses of a cooler on a very hot day.

And sometimes we just hung out and invented new things to do with friends.
This day, the kids hosted an impromptu parade.

We found some new passions -- Angus discovered a deep and abiding love for Legos,

...and Lego Youtube videos.

Sometimes love is very very messy.

Zhara honed her circus skills with even more aerial arts classes.

And Wednesday took a British soccer camp and fell in love with her coach, Owen.

Everyone worked hard at karate. Zhara and Angus became purple belts, and Wednesday a yellow stripe little ninja. Angus and Zhara even got to attend their first tournament.

Ohhh, medals!

Sometimes the coolest finds, were small, but important.

Angus, discovering the joy of writing away for, and receiving a much-loved treasure.
And of dressing up like somebody you like (Mario!)

Even Mom and Dad got in on the action.

I ran my first half marathon.

Dad learned the love of making his own wine and hard apple cider, and doing some woodworking.

But that's not to say we didn't go anywhere, other than Kansas. We went on many outings.

To see the Pioneer Day floats:

To Kennecott Copper Mine, the largest copper mine in the world.

That's one big hole! So big, you can see it from space!

Hiking at Bridal Veil Falls.

The Utah State Capitol. We did the full tour.
The Gateway Discovery Children's Museum.
Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
A free Friday night movie on the lawn of the Capitol.

Picnic at the Zoo
Even lounging around with the pouches at a local lake.

Sometimes our best times were just hanging out at home,

especially when dad was at home!

Wednesday in the garden.

The summer wasn't totally rosy. Our landlord tore up our front yard to replace the sewer. Note the backhoe in our front yard. I'll spare you the 9 foot high wall of debris photo.

And we had lots of medical stuff...

Angus had a seizure.

We all got diagnosed with some major allergies.

... and Zhara and I, with asthma, as well. We're all learning about our new maintenance med.s

Adam has had a recurrence of his tumor, and at this time, we wait for further news on that, and what is to come for our family. Regardless, we are in it together, and for the long haul. We all made it out on the other side, and we will continue to thrive. To live, and learn each day, as we love doing.

Butterflies

2011-03-25T16:27:00.004-06:00

For the past month we've been hatching butterflies. We bought the Butterfly Habitat, and sent away for the caterpillars. They came as tiny little circles in a small container. They grew and grew and grew. And then eventually they climbed to the top of their container and became chrysalises. Four of our eggs survived to become caterpillars.

Once they were stable in their cocoons, we moved them into their butterfly habitat. There they have sat, pinned to the side of the habitat for a week and a half. Until today, when we were out shopping, we became butterfly parents. We laid a slice of orange in the bottom for her to feed off of, as the insect company suggested, Tomorrow we will buy some fresh flowers that we can drip sugar water onto for the butterflies to feed on after they all emerge.

We will keep them until it is warm enough to release them, and then we will let them go.

We went to the Fire Station!

2011-03-15T09:53:00.002-06:00

Last Friday, the Unschoolers went to visit the fire station in Sugarhouse, which is an older cool neighborhood in Salt Lake. It was pretty awesome. The firefighters of Salt Lake Fire Engine #3 were amazing. They showed the kids everything on the fire truck, talked some about fire safety, and even let them try on a firefighters outfit. The kids were in heaven. Note Wednesday's look of absolute excitement as she "drove" the truck.

We got to peek in all of the compartments of the fire truck. Who knew they carried that much stuff?

Everyone got to climb around both compartments of the fire truck, and we got to meet the people who ride on the truck, the man who drives it, as well as the firefighters who go into the blaze. Here our friend, Olivia, shows off her driving prowess.

The firefighters showed us what the uniform looks like when it's on. All of those super heavy clothes protect him from the fire, and he can get them on in less than a minute!

We all agreed that the oxygen mask made him sound like Darth Vader, but now none of us will be scared of the firefighter if we see or hear him coming to help us in a fire.

All the kids got plastic fire helmets to wear and take with them, but we also got to try on the actual helmet, which made everyone feel like a bobble head doll, it was so heavy.

Even Ms. Jennifer gave it a try.

The coat could have been an entire tent for Wednesday, and she fell over trying on the pants and boots. :)

Angus gave the coat a whirl.

The firefighters even sent a message over the intercom system welcoming us, and showing us what an alert would sound like in the event of an actual fire. At the end we all got coloring books and pencils. It was an awesome field trip. A huge thank you goes out to the awesome guys at Engine #3.

When it was over, the weather was so nice, we went to the park across the street to play. Almost as soon as we got there, we heard the sirens, and the firetruck headed out on a call. We had some good timing for our fieldtrip!

Zhara, Olivia, and Sophie enjoyed watching the ducks at the pond.

Wednesday and Mary were more interested in throwing dirt clods in the water. The poor ducks thought they were going to get fed bread, but no such luck from these girls.

As we walked around to play at the play structure, the fire engine came back, and we got to watch it park back at the fire station. Overall, an amazing day!

Make a Wish

2011-03-09T15:32:00.005-07:00

For years my children have wanted a wishing well. They've asked for it from Santa. They've wished for a wishing well. They've tried to talk me into buying one of those yard wishing wells at the garden center. So how happy were they when the Pooka Pages came out with their Ostara issue two days ago and there was an entire section on wishing wells, including directions for making your own? Over the moon.

First, may I just say how much we love the Pooka pages. She has so many fun seasonal crafts and stories. It's great. Especially if you are a pagan family. There was a rebus story, in fact, in there that Winnie loved. It's about Pooka the cat and his adventures. We read it twice and she was able to "read" many of the pictures herself.

Well, enough of the Pooka love, on to the wishing well construction.

As you can see from this picture, there are step-by-step directions in the Pooka Pages issue. First we took some of the sticks we had left over from our wand project from Imbolc. We used some cord to make cross pieces for the roof.

Then we glued the sticks to the side of an old (thoroughly-washed) tall sour cream container. She suggested using a clean tin can, which I think would work nicely, as well.

Next we took some polished stones from the craft store that we had left over from another project, and hot-glued them to the sour cream container. My kids wanted a sparkly colorful wishing well, so that is what we made.

We made two layers of them so they would look like a cobbled well, and cover the writing underneath. You could also paint the container beforehand to save on stones.

Then we loosely fixed a cross bar over the two side pieces with small pieces of cord, to act as a bucket wench. Loosely, though so our wench would turn and lower and raise the bucket. Our bucket is a lid from an old prescription bottle. We glued a jump ring on each side and tied more cord to them to make a bucket. Then we tied the bucket to one end of another cord and the other end of the cord to the cross bar. ta-da, working well.

Pooka pages suggested bark for the top, which we had, but it wasn't bendable enough, so we used a piece of cardboard instead. Angus and Winnie painted it.

When there was something that required me to do more of it (like the glue gunning) the kids colored the two well coloring pages from the Pooka Pages book. We read the story about the well before we even started.

Our completed well. We did the ritual outlined in the Ostara issue, and the kids have made several wishes already. They put some water in there, as no well is right without water. They keep chiding each other to be careful not to splash the magic out.

It is a rather overwhelming hit!

Playing

2011-03-08T09:12:00.003-07:00

You don't have to read my blog long to know that I am a rather big proponent of letting kids play. My kids learn more from playing than I think most things in this world. They have deep conversations with their friends while playing. They learn to interact with people. They learn social skills -- those things that everyone feels homeschoolers are lacking. So we are big on play in our house. We go out of our way to provide the kids with things to play with and on that will get them moving, and thinking, and having fun. We have a trampoline, which, often times when it is warm out, is turned into a water park by putting the sprinkler underneath it.

We ride bikes a lot when it's warm. Sometimes with me, sometimes not. Everyone except Winnie can now ride without training wheels, so they often just take off and go for awhile exploring.

We spend a lot of time at the park whenever it's even mildly warm enough, or outside swinging in the backyard on the hammock.

Since it's been cold, we've joined our local community center and we spend a lot of time playing there. It's a great community center, with a climbing wall, huge swimming pool with slides, and giant kid play area. Needless to say, it's a hit with the kids.

Here are the kids shopping in the play grocery store at the community center.

Climbing the climbing wall with our friend Olivia.

Angus climbed up and hid in the hole to scare people as they walked by.

Zhara and Angus's dad visited for the weekend, and helped the kids on the climbing wall.

We even ended up hanging a swing in the basement, which gets a lot of use when it's cold.

Don't underestimate the power of play, people. It rocks!

A Trip to the Grocery Store

2011-03-03T10:13:00.002-07:00

Utah has a locally-owned grocery store called Harmons. They have awesome foods, and source as many of their products from local and organic producers as possible. Yesterday our Unschoolers group took a field trip. We had a very nice tour guide, Jenn, who took us all around.

I think the kids favorite part was the fact that at every stop around the store, we got samples of food -- gelato ice cream, brick oven pizza, artisan cheese, artisan bread, fresh baked cookies, pasta salad, shrimp. We were not hungry when we finished.

This is Shauna, the cheesemonger. She taught us a lot about the different kinds of cheeses, why they look like they do, what makes the colors of the cheese, where they come from. It was really interesting, even for those of us who are lactose intolerant. :)

At the end we got coloring books and balloons. It's hard to beat that for an end to a field trip. The only thing Winnie was mad about was that we didn't get to go in the back. Otherwise, it was thumbs up all the way around. Thank you, Harmons!

Spring is Coming!

2011-03-03T09:51:00.005-07:00

See those? Those are seeds. They're next to my bed. They are sprouting, as I write this. It's worth the incovenience to getting in and out of bed to have these there. They are becoming amazing seedlings and micro-greens. You know why??? Because spring is coming! Yes, indeed it is, and we are excited about it. It's not here, yet, and in Utah, it may be late April or so before the snow completely stops, but the signs are there.

Yesterday we went on a field trip with our Unschoolers group. When we got back, the kids were antsy from being good for a prolonged period of time, so I turned them loose outside. It was only 50 degrees, but it was warm enough. They played in the front circle drive and literally (I kid not) climbed up and sat on top of the shed roof for like 2 hours.

Winnie is taking her stuffies for an outing. Apparently even they needed to get out and get some air.

The kids have really gotten into archery. Zhara got her compund bow and arrows for Christmas, but it's still a little dangerous for Angus and Winnie, so they are using this foam version. Dad has promised to take them to the indoor archery range that we found in town sometime in the next few weeks.

Even Olly enjoyed being out. It's hard to get a picture of him, he doesn't stand still long enough. I think I need a better camera for those pictures.

Evidence of the roof going. This was the girls (Zhara and her friend, Livie's) initial attempt at getting up there. After that, we got Angus up, and lots of blankets, pillows, and art supplies, and they spent the afternoon "feeling free" as Zhara said.

This morning Zhara was telling me that the three of them were having a long conversation on the roof about how much they love their lives. That they feel free, and like they can truly be kids and enjoy their lives because of how they are being raised. How Angus said that he definitely wants to raise his kids like this. Um, wow. This makes a mama cry a little. I am so glad that they realize what this life means. And, honestly, I cannot imagine a time when I was in school where I would say I loved my life just as it was. This is wonderfully crazy.

There was chalk and lots of ride on toys. There always are.

Angus would give Livie a ride just about anywhere. He's more than a little sweet on her.

Ostara is the name for the Spring Equinox in pagan culture. This year it is on March 20th. This morning we started talking about Ostara. We celebrate both pagan and Christian holidays, as we have both in our family. The kids love getting double duty on the holidays.

Yesterday we got the Ostara kids activity book that I had ordered in the mail.

This morning we read a story and did coloring pages about the coming holiday from the book Spring is coming.

Our finished artwork, hung for all to see.

Square Dancing

2011-02-24T18:55:00.003-07:00

I know, I know. Square dancing? You're saying. But really, it is awesome. Remember when we all went to the Seed Swap a few weeks ago and the kids had so much fun dancing? Well, the same folks that were playing and calling the square dance there, had another one last weekend. We went. It was so much fun. Just an amazing sense of simple fun and community. The kids played, and were loved on by everyone there. It was truly a great time, and definitely something we plan on trying and doing each month when they have it.

It was held in the Gleason Woodworking building, because Chris Gleason, the amazing woodworker who owns the shop, also happens to play in the Bueno Avenue Stringband that played for us that evening. Chris was just so kind and welcoming, and Winnie greatly enjoyed playing with his young daughter.

Angus, Zhara, and Olivia were massively good square dancers. I danced with them some, as well, and it was great fun and terrific exercise.

This is a blurry photo of Angus and I dancing. I'm the one in the black shirt and bandanna, and he's in the plaid shirt. He dressed like a cowboy for the occasion.

The girls danced so much they had to sit down and rest. They hit the snacks we brought, and shared them with some of the other kids that came to the dance. Even they found awesome kid community. There were tons of urban homesteading and slow food proponents there, all of whom were so glad to pass down something as cool as square dancing to a new generation.

The caller that was there gently and kindly taught us the right moves, and no one did anything but giggle at each other when we messed up. A wonderful urban beekeeper brought homemade honey beer, and the adults definitely enjoyed a bit of that.

Adam was a hit with the little ladies (Winnie and Mary), who talked him into carrying them about through the dancers, and back and forth inside and out to the barreled bonfire out back.

Humane Society Fieldtrip

2011-02-24T18:32:00.003-07:00

On Wednesday, our Unschoolers group went on a field trip to the Utah Humane Society. We had an awesome guide who had worked at the shelter for 20 years. She was funny, and gave us tons of amazing facts about shelters and animals waiting for adoption.

Did you know that if every shelter animal that is currently waiting for adoption was adopted, every single person (not family, but person) in the United States would have to own 2 dogs and 10 cats. Can you even imagine? We'd all be on Animal Hoarders! She stressed the dire need to spay and neuter your pets.

We also got a tour of the dogs and cats. We even got to pet a select few. We also learned the silly reasons that some people have for abandoning their pets, and how the pets at the shelter are priced for adoption.

At the end we went back to the learning room, where we got to pet a rabbit that is up for adoption, and see the teacher's dog (who was, of course, adopted from the shelter) do a number of impressive tricks.

Afterward, we weren't all ready to part, so despite the chilly temperatures, we headed to a nearby park to play.

Zhara really liked the spinning chairs.

Angus, Wednesday, and our friends, Owen and Olivia really liked this giant spinning merry-go-round.

Zhara vegged out a little on the chairs under the play structure.

Zhara and our friends, Emma and Olivia explored the nearby creek, and were amazed that despite the cold temps, there were still ducks around.

Our littlest friend, Lily, was too chilly to play, so she sat happily bundled for part of the time, and snuggled on her mom the rest of it.

Another Article

2011-02-17T15:31:00.003-07:00

I am pleased to announce that I will soon (I believe in the March/April issue) be published again in Life Learning Magazine. Here is the article that will run:

Life Learning Guilt
by. Jerritt Dayhoff

This article is not about your kids. My guess is that the majority of the books and articles that you read are about your kids. This is about you, because you deserve it, I swear, you do. Keep reading.

“I feel like I’m failing them, they fight all the time… that can’t be right,” says my friend, and neighbor, J, as she stands in my entry hall. It’s 9 pm, and it’s been a long day for her. “Sometimes it’s hard,” she says, as tears well up, “maybe pulling them out of school was a huge mistake.” Thankfully, we both have wonderful husbands, who get that life learning is not always the delightful endeavor it appears to always be in many books. We hit the craft store, tooling around, venting. She’s not alone, we have our issues, too. We both have multiple children – me three biological, one step child, J – four kids age eleven and younger. Days are rarely quiet, both of us have very spirited children.

Our friend, S, also an unschooling mother of four small children, has a wonderful habit of saying, within a few minutes of sitting down for a visit, “how’s unschooling working out for you right now?” It’s actually a wonderful tool. So many places we go we have to act like everything is perfect all the time, otherwise, why would we chose to take on this “extra” work? So having someone totally be like, “lay it out, we’re cool,” -- it helps.

“My job satisfaction is low right now,” says J, the last time the three of us got together. There were knowing and understanding nods. This life, while we all agree to be beneficial and a wonderful experience for our children and ourselves, can be unbelievably confusing and exhausting sometimes. Having friends, especially those that get it, and don’t judge, helps a lot.

So why can it be so hard? And why, when we feel tired and worn to the bone do we first and foremost blame ourselves? “I feel like I’m failing them,” says J, and “I feel like someday they may be laying on a therapist’s couch talking about what I did to them.” Why is this where we turn first? Why not, instead, that this is normal kid behavior that we can help them to learn to work through? Why? Because that’s not what society tells us to do with those feelings.

Parenting is hard work, especially when you’re trying to live as consensually as possible with your children. It means everyone gets a say, and when the adults are outnumbered by the kids, that can be really hard sometimes. It gets even more difficult when the kids don’t always get along, and when some of the kids are toddlers, while others are starting the road to puberty, or when your kids may not be the most easy going of children.

Let’s face it, kids fight, even kids living consensually, and with parents who are committed to peaceful life learning. Sometimes they fight with other kids, sometimes they fight with their siblings, sometimes they fight with their parents. Our job as parents is not to make the fighting disappear, but to make sure everyone feels safe and heard, and to try, if possible, to find a solution that appeases everyone.

Conflict is a part of a healthy society. We, as a family, are our own micro-society. It is how that conflict is expressed that makes the difference between whether we enjoy living in our society or not. So how can we assuage our own guilt over the conflict, and make life more enjoyable for everyone involved? It isn’t easy, my friend, but it can be done, at least somewhat successfully.

First, we, as mothers (and fathers, too, but mothers especially), need to stop blaming ourselves. Not everything is our “fault.” We need to stop focusing on blame and fault and start focusing on positive solutions. Blame doesn’t make things better. It simply gives you the guilt. Guilt, boy, it sucks. It’s the “what if,” “maybe I should have,” “if only I had done this or not done that.” Guilt is the voice that creeps in when you’re tired, or frustrated, or feeling like something’s not working. It gnaws at your confidence as a parent and a life learner, and erodes living in peace with each other.

That guilt comes from many places – our families, our friends, how we were raised, the schools our kids may have left, the messages that come constantly from the media around us, the fact that there are few representations of our lifestyle in any mainstream forum. The guilt makes us afraid. It puts the blame on us, the mothers (yep, guys, it’s almost always mom that gets the blame, sorry), for not doing enough, being enough, trying hard enough. That guilt tells us our children “should be reading now,” “should know their multiplication tables,” “will never get into a good college.” That guilt convinces us that our children would “not argue,” “would be better socialized,” “or be more involved,” if they were in public school. It tells us our kids would be different, better, less difficult, if only we were not their parents, or were better parents, or didn’t unschool.

Be prepared, I’m going to shout:

LET THE GUILT GO!!!

It’s not helping you at all. It’s easier said than done, people. I struggle with it everyday. In fact, I am pretty sure that my husband may laugh out loud when he realizes that I am writing a piece about letting go of guilt, as he has spent the better part of our marriage trying to get me to do the same thing. I was raised in a culture with some heavy guilt overtones. So for me, it’s a struggle not to first blame myself, but it’s necessary -- for me, and for you -- if we’re going to truly enjoy our life as it is.

If you are able to do the following, the guilt will lessen. It will, I swear, but you have to commit to these things in the same wholehearted manner that you have committed to unschooling your children:

1) Own your Decisions – honestly, they are yours, they are important to your life. Stop apologizing for them, and rationalizing them, and just own them as yours, and right for your family. You don’t have to explain them to anyone. You are an adult. This is your family, no one else’s.

2) Find a non-judgmental, non-competitive friend – sometimes that’s easier said than done, but it’s important. I’m talking about someone that you don’t have to clean your house for when they visit. Someone who isn’t going to talk constantly about how much better their kids are than yours. Someone who is okay with how you parent, even if it’s not how they parent. You deserve it. You owe it to yourself. Find them! You can search on-line, join local groups, talk to people at your kids’ activities, whatever, just don’t give up. I can guarantee you, that that person may save your sanity, and allow you enough space to see that you’re not caught in the swirling vortex of crazy life that you sometimes feel you are.

3) Realize that life isn’t always greener – It’s true. For a couple of years, I worked full time, had kids in day care, preschool, and public school, and… I was exhausted, and felt crazy all the time. I never had time with my kids, we were always just revolving through our separate days. I felt like I could be good at my job, or a good mom, but never both. School always needed something, homework was horrible, and my kids weren’t happy or thriving. Every time I feel like I am nearing the end of my rope, my husband generally needs to only remind me that it isn’t better. In fact, now since my son, who has special needs, would also be in school, life would be even harder than before. I get it, I do, but in moments of difficulty, another life always seems greener. I’m here to remind you, though, that it’s not. I promise. Not for you, or your kids.

4) Slow down! – I would say 80% of my crazy days stem from me doing too much, planning too much, expecting too much, or trying to be super mom. Some of you are nodding. I know you are. The days when I slow down, when I truly follow my kids’ lead, when we aren’t over-scheduled, or I don’t try and grocery shop with cranky kids, it’s better. Of course, sometimes, it’s not an option to just stay home, I get it. I am there often myself, but if you can slow down in any way, do it. Stay at home for the day. Sit and watch your kids invent a new game or build a castle with the couch cushions, it will be better. I promise.

5) Find something that is yours – I mean by that, find a hobby, something you have a passion for, something you love doing, or have always wanted to learn how to do. Maybe you like to knit, or garden, or write. Maybe it’s just reading romance novels. Maybe you work a few hours a week, or want to learn how to take better photographs, or spend some time volunteering. Whatever it is, protect it. Don’t feel guilty about carving out time for yourself to be able to do it.

Being a life learner, doesn’t mean just facilitating your children’s learning, it means learning for your entire lifetime, including your lifetime! You deserve to do that, too. It doesn’t have to cost a lot, in fact, it doesn’t have to cost anything, but it needs to be something you really like to do. I have several things, because I am one of those people who does not sit still well. When I need to relax, I knit. In the spring and summer, I love my garden. I also like to cook. My kids don’t always eat it, and I have come to be okay with that, because the cooking is really for me, not for them.

6) Stop competing – You, and your kids. There’s always going to be someone out there who does more than you, or at least they seem to. They are infinitely patient, their house is spotless, they have brilliant children, who are quiet, patient, do volunteer work, and have already written their first novel. Their kids read at three, and do long division in their head. That mom bakes her own bread, sources all her family’s foods from local sustainable sources, and grows the rest of their vegetables in their backyard. They volunteer at local farms. They make all their own clothing, and their kids have no desire to ever watch TV. They have gone off the grid, and their son built the family’s electric car from spare parts. You can read about these people on a host of blogs throughout the internet, and you may know some in real life.

These aren’t your kids. This isn’t your family, and that’s okay. The guilt over what you could be, or could be doing, or who your kids should be, is no different than any other guilt. It’s not doing you any good. Do what you can, without going crazy. If reading those blogs, or magazines, or talking to that person frequently makes you feel twitchy, if you’ve starting making a list of you and your children’s accomplishments, or you’re pushing your kids to do things, just so you can add things to your list, it’s not healthy. Back away. Stop reading the blogs, or magazines, or books. Limit your time with that friend. Save your sanity. Stop comparing. Enjoy your kids and your life as it is, that’s better than competition anyway.

7) Take time for yourself – Perhaps no phrase in the English language has been uttered more, and given less actual meaning for mothers, ever. I am absolutely giving you permission to actually make it mean something. Without guilt. Ask a friend to watch your kids so you can grocery shop alone – it’s amazing, trust me! Don’t call to check on them, they won’t die, I promise. Drop your kids off at the day care at the gym. Work out, or don’t. Take the whole hour. Don’t go by to check on them. They will be fine. I promise. Go to knitting night. I don’t care if your husband just worked a 12, and looks tired. You just worked a 24, and you look even more tired. I promise.

I understand that not everyone has tons of support, or kids who are easy to leave. I do. I’ve been there, too. I was a single mom for several years, and I have some wickedly difficult kiddos, but this is important. I have a friend who likes to say, mental health is one of her top hierarchy of needs. She budgets it in like she would groceries or the rent. If you have to hire a sitter, do it! It will get better. Maybe not right away, but it will. You will be a better mom, a better life learning parent, a more sane and happy person. If you can’t leave, then try and stay up past the kids for half hour every now and again. Turn off the TV, light some candles, take a minute and meditate, or sit quietly. Don’t DO anything. Just be you. Not anyone’s mom, but just you. You’ve forgotten that that person is there. I know that you have.

Life with kids is not always easy, but it is rewarding. Living as a life learning family is even more rewarding. I am going to leave you with a snippet of a recent day in our unschooling life, that will illuminate why I do it, and why slowing down and letting go of the guilt is absolutely worth it in the long run.

It was cold, and so we couldn’t really do much outside, instead, we did this. In the morning, Angus and Wednesday decided to build a ball pit. They turned the coffee table upside down (oh yay, not having nice furniture is extremely helpful for guilt-less parenting). Then they encased it in blankets and pillows (the only break down was when I tried to step in and help. Once I abandoned that attempt, things went much smoother). They filled it with balls and played in it for awhile.

Then Angus decided if he put the big comforter over the top, he could hibernate in it like a bear. They even stored food in there, but Angus quickly became annoyed with Wednesday's presence inside, and she was ejected from the den. I helped her, at her request, to build her own den out of the dining room chairs. She spent some time "sunning" herself on the roof.

After lunch, the kids decided it would be better if the coffee table was a speaking podium for a king. They stood it up long ways. Each of the kids gave speeches, even Zhara. Then Angus went downstairs and got the hobby horse, and they took turns rescuing the princess/prince from the castle tower which the podium had become. They even had to battle a dragon to do it, which required me to light candles, and them to blow them out to "defeat" the dragon. I insisted on being a part of the fire-related play -- I figured that was pretty necessary.

All of this went on throughout the day. People took breaks for snacks, to watch TV, to play on the computer, and play with dolls, and to occasionally fight with their siblings, but it happened, and it all came from them. They worked together, and despite having a TV on in the background, they were incredibly productive.

We recently moved into our new house, and it happens to have a hot tub in the backyard. We use it a lot. That day, in the late afternoon, we braved the cold to get into the hot tub, and I watched the steam rise off of my crazy kids as they jumped in off the side from the frigid cold. It was just one more part of the day. I suggested it, but the two youngest jumped at it, Zhara sat out this time. No one was angry because she chose TV over swimming, it just was. At that moment she was practicing taking time for herself, and we knew it wouldn't be forever.

As the weak winter sun started to set through the trees, and I watched my kids jump, steaming into the hot tub, reflected in the pale yellow of that sunset, with dinner cooking inside the house, and another day of learning about life behind us, I realized, this is one kick ass life I get to lead. And guilt be damned!

Valentine's Day Party

2011-02-17T15:10:00.003-07:00

We may not go to school, but that doesn't mean we don't have parties. Our local Unschoolers group got together last Friday, February 11th, for a rockin' Valentine's party. One of our families is part of a local co-housing coop, and they offered up their awesome meeting house for the party. The kids loved it, because the meeting house contains a kid's room, and a playground outside. The kids not only got to spend lots of time making Valentine mailboxes and eating treats, but running here and there about the co-housing community.

Here's Wednesday and her best friend, Mary working on decorating their mailboxes with lots of stickers.

Our friend, Owen, drew many of the boys away from the party with some comic books that he had just gotten from the library. When you're a 6-8 year-old boy, it's hard to say no to comic books.

After we made our mailboxes, the kids all mailed their Valentines.

We also brought snacks and treats -- you can see that table in the back of this picture. You can also see Magnolia, a small unschooling party attendee, who very much enjoyed the pink-frosted cupcakes.

Some people gave treats with their Valentines. Mary and Wednesday holed up on the floor to properly sort and consume theirs.

And Lily, therefore, was able to get in and steal the occasional cookie from those during the sorting. :)

A Chilly Day at the Zoo

2011-02-17T14:37:00.005-07:00

Last week, despite the chilly temperatures, we had had enough of being inside, so we met up with our friend, Stephanie, and her kiddos and headed to the zoo. It was cold, but we bundled, and because it was cold, we had the zoo almost to ourselves. Just because it's cold, didn't mean the kids could avoid the giant marble water feature.

Here's Zhara with our friends Eli, Emma, and Lily communing with the orangutans. This one seemed absolutely enthralled with baby Lily.

We learned that giraffes apparently like to eat Christmas trees. Great way to recycle, huh? Every one of them had their own Christmas tree to nibble on, but this one on the left seemed to prefer his buddy's snack to his own. While we were there the giraffes were being gross in several different ways -- the boys loved it.

Baby Lily prefers the zoo with a snack.

Getting to see the Amur Snow Leopard in an actual snowy habitat was pretty cool.

Wednesday, meet giant crocodile. Giant crocodile, meet Wednesday.

Angus, Wednesday, and our friend, Joshua, observed the desert cat. Normally, it never wakes up to move around for us, but that day it put on quite a show. We decided that it looks kind of like a house cat who ran into the glass door and flattened out it's face.

Wednesday had no problem watching this vulture consume a dead rabbit carcass. Grandma (who loves vultures) will be so proud. This vulture's friend up in the tree, put on a show of opening his wings to full wingspan as we walked by.

Honestly, I think the kids had just about as much fun climbing around on the rocks as they did anything else. After we finished walking around we headed over to the zoo's playground, and despite it being covered in snow, and the kids already being cold, they played and played until they could no longer feel their fingers, and we headed for home.

Parenting from the Couch

2011-02-03T09:04:00.005-07:00

I have a friend, Charlie, who refers to her theory of unschooling as benign neglect. I've also heard it described as turn 'em loose, and be around parenting, or improvisational parenting, or as my friend, Jennifer, likes to refer to it -- parenting from the couch. To me, it is one of the basic tenets of unschooling. Oh sure, there are days when there is more direction from me, but most of the time, my kids are best when they are doing their own thing. Depending on the day, they are more or less interested in me being a part of their play. The best is to just sit back and watch it develop. It's an amazing way of learning what they know, what they're into, what they've picked up.

Yesterday was a prime example of parenting from the couch. It's bitter cold outside, and we rely a lot on outside play, as we're all big movement folks, so being cooped up is hard, and we've been cooped up for months. Sometimes it makes you stir crazy, sometimes it brings out extreme creativity. I started a rag rug and knitted, in addition to what I normally clean during the day. My kids did this:

In the morning, Angus and Wednesday decided to build a ball pit. They turned the coffee table upside down (oh yay, not having nice furniture is extremely helpful for improvisational parenting... well, actually, for any parenting). Then they encased it in blankets and pillows (the only break down was when I tried to step in and help. Once I abandoned that attempt, things went much smoother). They filled it with balls and played in it for awhile.

Then Angus decided if he put the big comforter over the top, he could hibernate in it. They even stored food in there, but Angus quickly became annoyed with Wednesday's presence inside, and she was ejected from the den.

I helped her, at her request, to build her own den out of the dining room chairs. She spent some time "sunning" herself on it's roof.

After lunch, the kids decided it would be better if the coffee table was a speaking podium for a king. They each gave speeches, even Zhara. Then Angus went downstairs and got the hobby horse, and they took turns rescuing the princess/prince from the castle tower -- all three got involved on that one. They even had to battle a dragon to do it, which required me to light candles, and them to blow them out to "defeat" the dragon. I insisted on being a part of the fire-related play -- I figured that was pretty necessary.

All of this went on throughout the day. People took breaks for snacks, to watch TV, to play on the computer, and play with dolls, and to occasionally fight with their siblings, but it happened. And it all came from them. They worked together, and despite having a TV on in the background, they were incredibly productive.

In the late afternoon, we braved the cold to get into the hot tub, and I watched the steam rise off of my crazy kids as they jumped in off the side from the frigid cold. It was just one more part of the day. I suggested it, but the two youngest jumped at it, Zhara sat out this time. No one was angry because she chose TV over swimming, it just was. At that moment she was practicing benign neglect, and we knew it wouldn't be forever.

As the weak winter sun started to set through the trees, and I watched my kids jump, steaming into the hot tub, reflected in the pale yellow of that sunset, with dinner cooking inside the house, and another day of learning about life behind us, I realized, this is one kick ass life I get to lead.

More Imbolc Crafts

2011-01-31T13:29:00.004-07:00

Today we did the last of our crafts getting ready for Imbolc. We decided to do the candle project featured on the Pooka Pages. We purchased some small pillar candles and the kids and I used stickers, glue, and dried calendula petals from our garden from last year, to decorate them with. We then painted over what we stuck to the candles with warm wax from another burning candle to seal all of the items to the candle. We will burn them on Imbolc to welcome the light of the sun back. Of course, today it is snowing and sleeting, so it doesn't much feel like the warmth is returning to the Earth, but we'll do what we can.

Honestly, we feed our children, Wednesday is just generally too busy to sit and eat much,
but I am aware that she's a skinny kiddo.

Our finished candles.

Then we got out some wheat, corn husks, and raffia to make the corn dolly that we will carry into the house and leave by the fire to symbolize Goddess Brighid. Also I made a Brighid's cross or sun star. It will be blessed the night of Imbolc Eve and hung in the house to protect it throughout the year.

The kids had more fun making their own crafts with the items. The most popular was corn husk fans.

Angus's corn husk fan is apparently a Power Rangers Fan that works as a weapon.

The Seasons Change and So Do I

2011-01-30T12:42:00.001-07:00

GeoTagged, [N40.57922, E111.89329]

As most if you know we have been preparing for Imbolc. It is a time when we start the preparations for Spring, and welcoming back warmer weather and longer days.

In keeping with that theme we were more than happy to get to attend the Salt Lake City Seed Swap yesterday. The whole family went, as did some of our friends and their families. We took some of our extra left over seeds and seed potatoes and traded them for loads of new ones.

Zhara and her friend Olivia took our giant leftover bag of sunflower seeds around and came back with a huge handful of seed packets to try in their own little plot.

In a few weeks we will begin to start our seedlings and see what new things we can grow this year from the swap.

All the kids had a blast running around, snacking on the free food, and then square dancing to the band that was playing. It was an absolutely wonderful time.

I personally believe it is crucial to our survival as a species to teach our children where their food comes from, and involve them in growing it. It was wonderful last night to see all the families there doing the same thing with their children. It was definitely a beautiful community experience.

Of Blankets, Stars, and Brighid

2011-01-27T09:58:00.004-07:00

Imbolc is also traditionally a time in pagan culture when the Goddess Brighid travels from house to house to visit. We will craft a little dolly to lay out to welcome her by the fireplace, as she is the Goddesss of Fire and the Hearth. She also has the power to heal, and so today we read a wonderful story from the Pooka Pages (an awesome kids site). The story talked about traditions, sickness, and healing. It is tradition to place a blanket out in front of your home the night of Imbolc, and as Brighid passes by, she blesses the blanket. The blanket is then used all year long when someone is sick or sad to cheer them up and help them feel better. The kids discussed it, and decided that they each wanted to lay out their own blanket, so they wouldn't have to share if they all felt bad at once. So we walked through the house and identified which blanket each one wanted to lay out for their special blanket for the year.

We also talket about the need to thank the Goddess for visiting us, and bestowing good wishes on our house. So, since Brighid is also a Goddess of Poetry, we decided that over the next few days prior to Imbolc, we would write a poem of thanks to leave for her. We will also leave a snack for her, and her cow that travels with her, to nibble on as they pass by.

Also before Imbolc, we plan on making St. Brighid's Crosses or Sun Stars. Traditionally, these are made each year from reeds and then on Imbolc they are placed in the house for good luck and protection throughout the year. Next year, the sun stars will be put in the fire and new stars will take their place. Helping to remind us all of the circle of life that each year represents.

Making Wands

2011-01-26T12:24:00.003-07:00

The kids and I have been getting ready to celebrate Imbolc. Imbolc is a pagan celebration to commemorate the beginning of the return of the sun. It's starting to say goodbye to winter, and to welcome spring to come back and revive the plants. The actual holiday takes place on February 2nd (just like Groundhog's Day), and we will have a big, fun meal, and play some games and activities. Today in preparation, we made magic wands. On Imbolc we will walk around the garden with our wands, and encourage the plants to wake up, so our garden can begin again.

I went out this morning, and cut branches off of a large limb that fell in our yard before we moved in. Dad had drug the limb to the side of the yard until it's warm enough to chop it up, and I took the loppers and gathered several "wands" for us to decorate. We used a lot of paint -- always popular around here.

We also had a lot of fun with beads, ribbon, stones, and bits of leather. I think the wands ended up being very beautiful, and each different and unique in their own way. They will play a lovely role in our celebration of Imbolc.

(left to right) Mom's, Angus's, Wednesday's, and Zhara's

Playing PVC Telephone

2011-01-17T15:24:00.006-07:00

Remember when you used to play telephone as a kid. Maybe with a tin can and a string. Well, over the past day, my kids decided to take it to a new level. Last year we bought a bunch of PVC tubing and connectors at the hardware store one day and the kids have spent months playing it with in every possible capacity. Last night, Zhara started making a telephone out of it in the living room.

It was originally designed as a wake up alarm, apparently, for people who fell asleep on the couch. There was a lot of testing, including some involving animals, I'm sorry to say.

Thankfully, the testing was completely humane, and the animal appeared to actually enjoy being included in the activity.

Then there was a discussion of a need for more PVC building materials and connectors, as well as some stabilizers, so we headed to Home Depot after lunch. We obtained about another $20 worth of materials, came home, and I cut PVC tubing to the required lengths specified by Zhara, using the chop saw. Then they decided that they had so many more awesome pieces, that it should actually be a permanent telephone system between their rooms. So they (and when I say they, I really mean Zhara, with a little help from me) set about building an elaborate PVC telephone system.

Thankfully, the rooms at the new house are very close together.

There is a bit of a step over to get into the bathroom now, but no one seems to mind.

Please avoid noticing the nastiness of Zhara's room. She doesn't mind, and we close the door when others come to visit. :)

Zhara is pointing out that her telephone end is fitted with a valve, so she can turn her brother and sister off, if they won't stop talking.

Angus's goes up to his top bunk.

It goes around the corner, into and through our room, and into Winnie's room, which, yes, is actually a large closet, but she doesn't mind, and we ran out of extra rooms.

Everyday Math Success

2011-01-08T09:46:00.006-07:00

I think one of the biggest worries for many unschool parents is whether their kids will learn math without text books, worksheets, and drills. I have the same worry sometimes. Occasionally I will buy a book of math work or flash cards figuring maybe if I strew them about, my kids will pick them up and roll with it. My kids aren't those kind of kids, though. There are some out there, I'm sure, but not mine. Instead, my kids are hands on, everyday math kind of kids. And they are getting it. It may be at a slower pace than their schooled peers, but I can see it coming, and I know that they are going to get it, and in fact, that they will have a better understanding of math than I do who simply had it drilled into my brain in school, with no real concept of how those math concepts applied to the real world, because of how they are learning it.

One of the areas that has really helped the kids learn math is playing online games like Stardoll and Club Penguin. They are given amounts of money, and then have to budget it over a month. They have to add and subtract amounts to determine if they'll have enough to buy what they want, and to hold them over until they get "paid" the following month.

I've also tried to keep on hand several sets of math manipulatives -- we have colored bears with sorting cups, colored foam blocks, dominoes... really any group of things can be a math manipulative. The kids add, subtract, sort, multiply, make patterns, etc. with them. Zhara loves to make up games for the littler kids with them, and she and I have started playing a game with the dominoes. The domino set we got for $2 at the thrift store has high amounts of dots on many of the dominoes. She is learning to figure out the amount of dots by multiplying the width and length numbers. Then she goes to the multiplication table we have on the wall of the Learning Room to figure out the amount, and she is starting to remember many of the multiplication amounts without looking.

Here Winnie is working on making a pattern with the foam blocks.

We also, as a family, really like to play board games and puzzles. Puzzles are awesome for spatial relationships. Board games often involve adding, subtracting, multiplying, keeping track of scores, and even reading charts. Yesterday the kids and I played Yahtzee Jr. When it came time to figure out the scores, Angus read the chart that the Yahtzee Jr. board forms, and Zhara recorded them, added them up, and decided who was the winner.

So when you're kids are playing video games or online games or anything with numbers or amounts involved, pay attention, they very well may be picking up WAY more math than you expect.

The Flat Lady Chronicles -- Stop One

2011-01-07T08:50:00.004-07:00

The Flat Lady has arrived in Kuopio, Finland. Yay! We're so glad you're hosting her, Sabrina.

Here she is at Sabrina's house.

Friend our facebook page, The Flat Lady Experiment, for more information, and the most up-to-date Flat Lady information.

Her course thus far, plotted on the world map in our Learning Room.

Of Pianos and Publishing

2011-01-05T18:17:00.004-07:00

We got one. Yippie. The piano fund worked. Go figure. We had it tuned today and it's beautiful. Zhara and I have both been playing it. All the kids love it, in fact. It's 110 years old, and just beautiful.

In other awesome possum news. I am a published unschooling author! My piece on Nature and Life Learning Children has been published in the January/February issue of Life Learning Magazine. I am so excited. They even used a lot of the pictures I submitted with it of the kids in nature. I feel pretty cool frankly.

Cookie Making Extravaganza

2011-01-05T18:02:00.004-07:00

We had the Pashleys over yesterday. We have the Pashleys over a lot. They are some pretty awesome people. Anyway, we ended up making sugar cookies and then eating those and chicken pot pie for dinner. After dinner we amused ourselves by dancing to the Wii game we got for Christmas Just Dance. It was rather humerous.

Olivia and Zhara were very meticulous decorators. Perhaps pastry chef is in their future.

Winnie and Mary had a wonderful time with "dough!" At least, that's what we heard shouted a lot. While Owen, REALLY likes frosting.

A Day of Sledding

2011-01-05T12:49:00.005-07:00

We've had lots of snow lately. I mean, really, we live in Utah, of course we have. So, last weekend we took the kids sledding at Sugar House Park which has some of the best sledding hills ever. We all had a blast.

Winnie, not shockingly, was a fearless wonder when it came to the sled. She only got mad if she allowed you to ride with her, and then you dared to try and slow down slightly as you came to the bump at the bottom. She wanted to go full out, the whole time.

Zhara must have gone down this hill 100 times. She was quick as lightening getting back up. She wasn't ready to quit until her fingers literally froze and it started snowing again really hard.

One of the times Winnie actually allowed Adam to ride with her. You go REALLY fast on a saucer sled when you add a 250 pound dad to it.

Zhara trying out some trick moves.

Angus started out only wanting to sled about 1/2 down the hill, but he worked his way up to being brave enough to do the whole thing. He looks like a total ski dude here, doesn't he?

The Flat Lady Takes Flight

2010-12-31T09:20:00.003-07:00

Yesterday the Flat Lady got shipped. Literally. She's currently winging her way to our friends Sabrina, Kia, Rasmus, and Ilmi in Finland. We can't wait to see what she gets to do there in the winter. I'm sure it will be awesome. Safe travels, Flat Lady!

A Busy Past Month

2010-12-29T17:32:00.006-07:00

We are moved in and enjoying our new house. It has a hot tub, and we have had our unschooler friends and now neighbors over often to use it.

Homeschool Hot Tubbing Rocks
We made a long driving trip (2 days each way) to and from Kansas City just prior to the holidays to visit our family and friends there. It was good to see everyone, and enjoy some holiday time with them.

Skating in shoes on Papa Gary's frozen pond.

And then had a good and quiet Christmas here in our new house.

Zhara got an archery set for Christmas, and is loving it.

Thankfully, Adam taught archery at a summer camp for many years and is helping Zhara to learn more about the art.

Angus got a lot of tinker toys, and for a boy who loves him some building of all kind, it's been a good gift. Winnie got some new baby dolls, including some made by me, and a pram, and has enjoyed taking care of her babies. Most of our gifts were homemade this year, and that has been a nice touch.

We're currently planning for the new year. We are still planning on doing our fun day activities. The kids and I sat down yesterday and filled out the calendar for January with something different and cool each day. We had a couple of days we hadn't filled in at the end, so I suggested the kids go over to the large world map we have on the wall, close their eyes, and point. Angus got Australia. Zhara got Bolivia -- so we have Australia and Bolivia Day this coming month, too.

The other thing we're really excited about is our Flat Lady Experiment. It's similar to Flat Stanley, but with a twist. You can find our facebook page here. We made a flatish sewn doll (Zhara helped):

Then we put out a call to all of mama's mama friends worldwide to volunteer to host the Flat Lady for a visit. We asked the volunteers to take a photo of the Flat Lady in their town, near a landmark they live near, or just by a scenic byway, and then to include the photos either in the package or on the facebook page. Finally, they are to gather some information, souvenir, or other photos from their location, and then to include those within the manila envelope that the Flat Lady travels in, and send them on.

So far we have volunters from Finland, Canada, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas. We're so excited. If you're interested in hosting the Flat Lady, send your address to my e-mail: jerritthooper@gmail.com , and I will put your name on the list. Eventually the Flat Lady will make her way back to us, with lots of photos and interesting information for us to peruse. And until then, the kids can follow along with her progress on the facebook page.

The Flat Lady herself

A Fall Day & Changes

2010-11-15T14:17:00.007-07:00

I am not a religious person, but I was raised Episcopalian, and though I long ago fell away from the faith, I have always appreciated the words of Ecclesiastics, and later it's reinterpretations by Pete Seeger and The Byrds. It is one of those passages, that even the atheist in me finds incredibly moving and spiritual. When I do find spirituality, it is always in nature, and thus, perhaps this is why I am drawn to it so. In it we are told:

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven;
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a
time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

It has always helped me as the seasons changed, as well as when my life has changed. Right now, our family faces both. We are, in the overused parlance, at a crossroads. Through no fault of our own, the house that we are renting in Utah is being sold, quickly. We could stay, could fight to try and stay in it with a different, and yet unknown owner, but we decided to take this as a sign that it was not meant for us to be in this house. We've never really felt at home in Lehi, or in this place. We started looking closer in to the city. We were under a short timeline, as the house is being sold on December 2nd. We worked very hard, and found a nice home to rent close to many of our Unschooling friends -- a house that seems, at least, to fit us much better. We applied and were approved for the home, and now I have set about a marathon packing. We are moving on November 20th, so as to be in the house before the holidays. It seems crazy, and most days right now, I feel out of my mind, but the kids are excited, as are the grown ups, and perhaps that is what is seeing us through.

We have been in an almost constant fugue of activity the past few days. So after a crazy morning, when Angus suggested we head for the park for a bit on this windy, and previously rainy/snowy day, we headed out.

We played at the park, and then wondered down to the pond for awhile. We stayed over an hour, probably longer than we should have, but nature called us, and we were unable to say no to it's siren's song, which is a much nicer tune than that of the scritch of packing tape.

The kids climbed, and ran, threw leaves, and dreamt of where to put fairy houses in the woods. The dogs splashed in the water and chased the ducks. It was a good break, and reminded me that we will get there.

This is our time now, and very soon, it will change and there will be another time for us to enjoy and move through. We cannot rush this moment, so as to reach the next faster without causing some problem that none of us really wish to face. I think the same is true for children.

I should be reminded of this lesson, and that passage from Ecclesiastics more often. Perhaps I would worry less about my kids, my home, and my life.

Building Fairy Houses

2010-11-12T20:33:00.001-07:00

It was fairy house building day!

A few unschooling friends and I have started a kids' craft circle. We are meeting every other Friday. Today was our first get together. It was a huge success.

Twelve kids, four moms, tons of boxes and craft supplies, and hot glue guns -- can't go wrong with that combo.

We had a LOT of craft supplies. The kids were in heaven.

The kids did such an amazing job. All of them were incredibly creative.

This is Zhara's. As soon as we got home she put it on the front porch for the fairies to make use of. It was the cutest thing. She's so excited.

The kids also had plenty of fun just playing, and making a mess out of Stephanie's house. Big thanks to Stephanie for letting the kids run wild, and have a great day.

My Musical Kids that Have Taught Me to Let Go

2010-10-28T14:17:00.009-06:00

My kids like music. A lot. I suppose that isn't a big surprise. I like music. A lot. I always have. Sometimes my children's choice of music requires me to put on my best unschooling mom face and soldier on. I do not like Miley Cyrus. I do not like many of the Disney artists that my oldest daughter listens to. Not just because I don't care for their music, which I don't, but because I generally don't like the way they portray themselves to kids. I don't like that often they sexualize children. I don't like that they are often rude, mean, and demeaning in their programs. I don't like the culture of purchasing and consumption that they seem to promote to my kids. That said, my kids listen to them. And they watch their shows. They know how I feel about them. We talk about it often, especially if I hear some of the rudeness come out of my own children's mouths. We discuss that we are a peaceful household, and that an attitude like that is not promoting a peaceful place. That said, they watch it. They listen to it. They google it. For awhile, I think one could say that Zhara was obsessed with it. I generally only offer my opinion when asked for it.

But, and this is a big but, I have waited. I trusted, and I waited. My children are smart cookies. If they ask about how I feel about someone or their music, I share my opinion, but I don't push it. If they want to talk about or purchase products that these stars are promoting, then we discuss that. Why do they want to buy it? Does the child think it will actually make them like this star? Is it better because it has their face and picture on it? But if they persist, and we can afford it, we get it. There have been times that my children have been dissappointed because the product didn't do what they were promised it would do, but they learned it on their own, not because I told them it wouldn't work.

My musical children have taught me to let go of a lot. I want my children to be free thinkers, to enjoy music, and art, and books, and media of all kinds. I want them to speak their mind and form their own opinions. And the hardest part of all of this, is that often, in fact, very often, their opinions differ wildly from my own. I think this is hard for many parents. It really crosses all borders -- ideological, cultural, religious. If we value having our children be free-thinkers, though, we have to learn to let go. They will get there. Where they get may not be our ideal scenario for them, but if they got there themselves, then it is no doubt exactly where they should be. Being a free-thinker, and a well-rounded child, does not mean being dictated to, it means finding one's own path.

So it was on that note, that I waited. For a couple of years I have waited. I have listened to Miley Cyrus and her croonies drone from the radio and my computer. I have listened to Radio Disney, and heard my daughter talk at length about shows that I find annoying at best, but I waited, and I listened and I asked questions. And during that time, my oldest daughter because amazingly skilled at googling, and using Youtube. She learned how to research on Wikipedia and to spell better to be able to use the computer. Much of what she was googling and Youtubing was the music that I found difficult to even listen to, but she was growing.

One day, we found ourselves in the grocery store, and my younger son asked for some item because it had somebody's picture on it. Before I could even reach for it, Zhara pipes up with, "you know, it doesn't actually do what it did on the TV. They just say that so you'll buy it." "Oh," says Angus, "nevermind." And we passed on, and I stared in partial bewilderment that my children had gotten this on their own. I hadn't preached it. I hadn't said no. I had just waited. Occasionally, as unschooling parents we get a very tangible reminder that yes, unschooling most certainly works, but there is a lot of patience required for those ah-ha moments, and often a lot of uncertainty in the middle. I am not immune to wanting to control my children's actions. It is ingrained in us in our society, there is no way we could not be influenced by it, but unschooling is about letting that go, and trusting our children, about being their guide and co-pilot, not the one in control.

So having read this far, you will understand my excitement when a few nights ago as a family we were watching Glee's Rocky Horror Picture Show special. I explained the musical and movie to Zhara. She is newly-obsessed with zombies and all such things spooky and dark. So this was right up her alley. She danced and danced with wide-eyed wonder. She was enchanted. That night she spent hours downstairs listening to Rocky Horror and Glee's renditions of it on the computer. The next day, I gave her my old well-worn cd of Rocky Horror Picture Show from college. She was delighted and squirreled it happily away in her room. It's a step. A baby step, but a step.

I haven't heard the Disney folk for a couple of days. I have no allusions that they are gone, yet, but I suspect that Zhara is starting to get bored with the formulaic songs and pat endings of their songs and shows. I suspect that she is learning to move outside of her comfort zone music-wise. Maybe part of that comes from the fact that she is getting better at piano, and learning more songs and styles of music there. My children all love to sing and dance. We have a music room filled with instruments and there is rarely a time when someone is not playing something.

I suspect that they will each have a different path to music. Angus, has always seemed more in tune with my musical taste, but regardless, he will have to find his way, and he may have his own path of Justin Bieber or boy bands to get there, who knows. Only time will tell. I am proud to say that, as difficult as it is sometimes, my husband and I are stepping back and letting them find their own path. It is theirs afterall to walk. We will give our opinions when asked, and expose the kids to as many different artists and genres as we are able, but in the end, it is our children's lives to live, and not ours.

We keep them safe, but we don't shelter them from life. I may not like the life that some of these stars promote, but if I shelter my children from them even existing, I fear that not only would I be limiting my own kids' learning, I would be making that unknown thing even more absolutely enticing when it is, ultimately discovered.

Of course, who knows, perhaps sometime in the next few days, the kids may find a few cds on the kitchen table to explore. And if they happen to fall in love with the Beatles, or the Cure, then we're all better off for it, aren't we? :)

A Day at Home

2010-10-25T17:03:00.001-06:00

Today we never left the house. Not for even one thing. This is rather unlike us, but the kids had kind of scratchy throats, and weren't interested in any outings, so we stuck close to home. We did all kinds of fun things, though.

According to our schedule, it was supposed to be super hero day, but we all sort of forfeitted that for some reason. It ended up being more of a building and learning day.

This morning, I snuck about the house collecting bits and bobs from junk draws, craft boxes, the garage, the recycling bin, anywhere I could think. Then we spent the morning, and into the afternoon creating robots. We all had fun doing it. I even made one. The idea originally came from my friend, Nat, and it rose back from the depths of my brain when I saw the article below in a Usborne Activity book I found at the library last week.

We spent hours working on them. It was a truly marvelous time.

Winnie, meticulously threading some beads.

Zhara made an entire family of robots. This is her working on the dad. Then she photographed and posted her creations on Facebook for her friends to see.

We used a lot of stuff.

When we were done, Zhara spent a lot of time photographing her robots with my phone. I showed her how to e-mail them to herself, save them to the computer, and put them up on facebook. She spent time on facebook chatting with her good friend, Layla. The facebook chatting is improving her spelling, I think. She still has to ask for the spellings of many words, but it doesn't seem like as many as before.

Angus and Winnie spent time working in their workbooks. This requires some explanation -- A few months ago we were in Costco and they saw a kindergarten readiness workbook, which they both asked for. So sometimes they get them out and work through some pages. Today they decided to do some matching games, dot-to-dot, money, and basic addition and writing numbers.

Angus, I think is feeling a little self-conscious because his best friend, Owen, is able to read and write quite well, and Angus isn't. I have assurred him that everyone gets those things at their own pace, but that if he wants help, we can work on it. I think that's what prompted the workbook work today. Angus spent so much of his very young years in intensive therapies. He was so far "behind" for so long. Of course, he's going to be slower at the traditional academic stuff, but I know he'll get there eventually. Sometimes it causes a mama to worry some, but I'm working hard to let that go.

Can't fail to mention the cup stacking. The kids got out all the Dixie cups from a box yesterday and started stacking. There have been many building variations since then, and they seem to be enjoying it, as is the puppy who is very much enjoying eating the stray Dixie cups.

Note the dog lurking under the table, waiting for wayward cups.

Circus Day

2010-10-24T19:19:00.001-06:00

Last Monday was Circus Day. We read a circus picture book, made up our own midway games, and the kids pretended to be clowns, animal tamers, and acrobats. It was good fun. We even had a circus-inspired dinner of chili cheese dogs, popcorn, apples with carmel dip, and cotton candy. Yum!

The world's cutest clown.

An animal trainer dressed in animal print. Please disregard the pile of laundry in the background. :)

The members of the not-so-trained dog act.

The knock-down-the dinosaurs circus midway game.

Daddy played the game, and won this!

My acrobats.

Zhara, the clown.

Angus, the bear tamer.

A Halloween Outing

2010-10-24T18:40:00.002-06:00

We headed to a local historic farm, Wheeler Farm, last Wednesday with our unschooling group. It was lots of fun, and was a great bonding experience for the moms. We rode the hay wagon, dressed in costume, petted animals, and played in a fun corn and straw maze. Sadly, it ended with a bang, in a bad way. One of our good friends, Stephanie, has a cracker jack 7 yo tree climber, Josh. He climbed way up in this amazing twisty tree that all the kids were playing on. Unfortunately, he lost his footing, fell almost 25 feet, and broke his arm and badly bruised his hip. As bad as the situation was, it did really solidify how close us mamas are becoming. We all pitched in, helped with the kids, drove Stephanie and Josh to the hospital, and watched Stephanie's other kids into the evening. It made me really proud to be part of a great group of kids and moms.

Jennifer's and my kids in their awesome costumes.

Angus, Eli, and Josh, pre-fall, in costume.

We spent a lot of time in the corn and hay maze.

Little girls on a tractor.

Gracie, Mary, Olivia, Zhara, and Sophie on the hayride.

It's a wagon full of unschoolers. Literally, we had the whole wagon!

Zhara, making herself comfy in the tree.

Josh's fateful climb up the tree.

While waiting for Jennifer to take Stephanie and Josh to the hospital, the kids passed the time by climbing in an open grave -- decorative only, thankfully.

Angus, back at Jennifer's house, entertaining Josh's sister, baby Lily, while they waited for their parents to leave the hospital. When in doubt, put a baby in a basket!

Winnie cooking herself at Ms. Jennifer's.

I am glad to report that Josh is now home and doing well. He'll soon have a hard cast that the kids can't wait to sign, and a great story to tell his grandkids some day.

An Autumn Hike

2010-10-16T19:03:00.002-06:00

It was just too beautiful of a Fall day not to head up to the mountains for awhile today. So we did. It was gorgeous. We took the dogs, and hiked two different trails. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Winnie using the binoculers she bought at the thrift store this afternoon to watch the river.

When one sees a mountain, one really must climb it.

Child exploring the river.

Bassett hound exploring the river.

Fall in Utah.

Hiking on the second trail.

Two passing mountain bikers snapped an impromptu family photo for us.

Exhausted Olly dog on the way home.

Some Days...

2010-10-14T16:58:00.001-06:00

Some days impromptu playdates keep mama from running away. Not every homeschooling day is easy, but all of them can be survived.

Apparently throwing sand in the pond is more fun when one is half naked.

"Fishing" sans bait and actual poles.

Jennifer came to pick up Owen this afternoon. Olivia went home late last night. It had been a trying morning between rambunctious dogs, a whiny toddler, and food aversions. We all took a walk to the park, and then the pond. We gathered fuzzy caterpillars and explored.

The kids needed it, and it was good, until we had to leave. Zhara couldn't handle Olivia leaving without making a fairy house in the woods. No amount of convincing that we would plan a whole fairy house making day for next week, and that we would spend the next few days gathering supplies would appease her. We walked for home, and she stayed behind to cool off. Jennifer's family headed home and the kids and I drove back to get her, but she was still not better. It took awhile to get her in the car. We headed to Target because I had put off going for three days and we desperately needed things. We bought premade lasagna for dinner because it's been that kind of a day.

We've had lots of kiddo tears and upset. I think we're all tired from two very busy days with friends. Regardless, mama's done and ready for daddy to be home. Come on, daddy!

A Day with Unschoolers

2010-10-13T18:34:00.002-06:00

We had a great day today. Not only is it Adam and I's anniversary, but we had a wonderful park day with our two favorite unschooling families. Our kids all get along, which is great, since there are 11 of them total. We played at one of the coolest parks in Salt Lake. Then we lunched at McDonalds, and played more. Then we went and played some more after lunch. I even brought two extra kids home with me, which means ours are happily content hanging out with friends this evening while we watch bad TV together. Now if Winnie would fall asleep, the day would, indeed be perfect!

Dinosaur Museum with Dad

2010-10-10T18:47:00.006-06:00

We are very lucky to have in the town we live in, a museum that houses the world's largest collection of mounted dinosaurs. For my dino-obsessed kids, this is a big bonus to living in Utah. It is called the Museum of Ancient Life, and it also has tons of other amazing skeletons and exhibits in addition to dinosaurs. Quickly after moving to Utah, we purchased a family pass to the museum and we go every few weeks. The kids never tire of it. And though we go quite a bit, Adam rarely gets to attend these types of things with us, since he is working. So last weekend we took him to the dinosaur museum for the first time. It was hit. The kids had so much fun being tour guides, and Adam enjoyed what he could catch of the museum as we sped through it. Everyone wanted to be the first to show him their favorite exhibits.

Even dad is dwarfed standing under a brachiosaurus.

Everyone loves digging for "dinosaur bones" at the end.

Chinese Culture Day

2010-10-10T18:34:00.002-06:00

We ended up moving Chinese Culture Day to Thursday because we were going to go to the park with our friends on Friday. Instead, Zhara felt lousy with the same thing the rest of us had, so we skipped that. It ended up being fun, though. We had gotten some books on China at the library, so we looked through those. At lunch we made noodles, and ate with chopsticks. My kids love any excuse to eat with chopsticks. We also looked through the books for Chinese words and phrases and tried to a) remember them, and b) use them with each other.

We drove into town in the middle of the day and played at a park. Not traditionally Chinese, I suppose, but it was a lot of fun.

My kids are always the park daredevils.

For dinner we made Kung Pao chicken over rice, which everyone seemed to like a lot. We also made a special dessert. I was going to make almond cookies, but I was afraid that the kids wouldn't actually eat them, so I made almond cake instead. And they surely ate that.

Mmmmm, cake.

After that Zhara and Angus had karate. We talked about the fact that karate is Japanese, and Kung Fu is Chinese, but that both are martial arts and share many things in common. So that was how we rounded off our day of Chinese culture.

Children of the Corn

2010-10-10T17:10:00.007-06:00

I call the kids "children of the corn" a lot. I don't remember how it started, but they enjoy it, and are really unaware of the obscure and odd movie reference, so it works. Well, yesterday, they truly were. We went to the corn maze and pumpkin patch. Oh my goodness, we had so much fun. We went to a slightly smaller version from the huge one right down the road from us. Mostly because the one at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi would cost around $60 for us to all go, so we scrapped that one fast.

Here's the map.

Instead, we went to Utah's Crazy Corn Maze in West Jordan, Utah. It was a truly good time. The corn maze has a map that they give each kid to follow and they have to find checkpoints along the way. It is not easy navigating through all that corn. At each checkpoint, the kids had to punch a hole in the appropriate spot, and then if they returned the completed map at the end, they got a prize. Oh, they were all over that.

Zhara and Angus did almost all the navigating by themselves.
There was an occasional consultation with dad, but mostly, they made it through on their own.

Our fearless leaders.

We made it to the end, and had an absolute blast along the way. Honestly, it was so much fun, even for Adam and I.

Punching the map.

Winnie's favorite part by far was the corn. You'd think the child had never seen corn, or had not spent the bulk of her life in the Midwest. She loved it. She would stop constantly and scream -- "look, corn!" with amazement, as if we weren't completely surrounded by it. She collected kernals in her pocket, and bounded along happily singing odes to the corn.

After we emerged from the corn, the kids claimed their prizes -- coupons for McDonald's french fries or Chik-Fil-A ice cream -- both we enjoy very much.

Then we headed over to pick pumpkins. We each trekked out into the field, and picked one just right for us. That way we will have plenty to carve and decorate for Halloween.

At the end, there was a huge climbing wall. Everybody wanted to climb it, but it ended up that Zhara was the only one brave enough to make it up above dad's head. She made it all the way to the top, though, and hit the buzzer and everything.

No one wanted to leave at the end. We all had such a good time, but we went home, and ate homemade chicken noodle soup and fresh bread and talked about what a good time we had at the corn maze. This will definitely be a yearly ritual for us.

Beautiful Piano Music

2010-10-06T15:11:00.003-06:00

Zhara in the music room practicing.
Notice the roller skates, she doesn't even take them off for this.

Zhara has been playing piano now for about 4 months. She is doing an amazing program called Simply Music. It truly is absolutely outstanding. It is music taught as though it was a foreign language, which frankly, it kind of is. So that the kids learn to "speak" it first by immersion -- playing it -- and then they slowly introduce the reading part of it. That way the kids don't get bored playing scales and such. It is amazing. It is basically teaching kids how to play by ear, and THEN also teaching them to read the music on top of it.

It has been such a gift for us. Zhara loves music, but struggled with traditional methods. She can honestly play so many complex songs already. Like close to 17. She practices every day. She enjoys the piano so much, because she CAN play the songs so quickly, that I don't even have to cajole her to practice most of the time. She's playing blues, and classical, and pop songs, and to me it is unreal how good she is at these complex songs after only four months of lessons. The lessons are group lessons, and one parent attends as well, so it isn't easy for us, but it is totally worth it.

Right now we just have a keyboard, as pianos are expensive and hard to come by really cheaply in Utah -- Mormon kids play them some piano, let me tell you. So, we are thinking for Christmas, that we are going to ask the grandparents to contribute to the "buy a decent used piano" fund instead of buying toys and individual presents. We'll see if they're interested, but Zhara would love it. She yearns for a real piano, and I want to hear her play more on a real one. She practices on one in class, but never at home, and you can tell she misses it when she's here.

Illness Breeds Creativity

2010-10-02T05:34:00.002-06:00

So, yesterday, by our kid-created calendar, was supposed to be PJ Art Day. Well, we did stay in our pjs all day, mostly because I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I thought I might have strep, so I liberally dosed myself with oscillococcinum and the lemon balm honey that I make for sore throats. The body aches and exhaustion was treated by a combo of laying on the floor with a blanket while the kids played around me, and Adam leaving work early (after lunch) so that I could sleep. Of course, he felt bad, too, so we were quite a pair.

The kids made pumpkins out of construction paper in the morning, and then did a combo of play and TV in the afternoon. By evening, we were all sad not to be able to go to our good friend's party, and Unschooling Art Exhibit due to sickness, so we consoled ourselves with take out pizza.

Zhara then decided that she had an intense need to measure things. The kids have spent several days constructing long PVC tubing runs from the second floor, over the balcony, and onto the first floor. Several months ago, we were at Home Depot getting something, and they decided that they could not live without PVC tubing and connectors. It has been a favorite toy since. Anyway, Zhara spent time building a 15 ft long pipe to reach down from the balcony, then filling it with marbles from the top. Yes, we have a lot of marbles. Kansas City had an awesome marble store that we visited a lot, so we have acquired quite a few. Then she poured the marbles out, with some success, into various measuring cups and determined that she could get more than 3 cups of marbles in the tube. Then there was much measuring of the tube with the tape measure. It was all very scientific, and she had lots of fun.

Then in the evening, the illness-induced creativity took a less than productive turn when one child (not to be named as he/she feels very bad about it) decided to dust the TV, DVD player, and cable box in the basement with vinegar water, and shorted the whole shebang out. We are hoping that it dries and recovers in the morning, otherwise, we will be down to one TV in a 3 story house. The one in our bedroom. Le sigh. Anyway, time will tell the outcome of that one.

I awoke at 2 am, feeling better, and completely unable to sleep, so I have tossed, turned, prowled about, fed dogs, played on the internet, and thought it particularly useful to just go ahead and blog, so that I felt I had been productive... or something. :)

Well, it's not a day at the park...

2010-09-30T16:24:00.004-06:00

Zhara masters the monkey bars.

Actually, it is...

Today was Park Fun Day. Winnie picked it. We had so much fun.

Wednesday and Angus and I spent the morning watching They Might Be Giants music videos on YouTube, and playing board games. They have so much fun with those videos. We have the cds, but they adore watching them on the computer.

Now, I knew TMBG back in the day. Like smashed under the stage in Columbia, MO as a screaming freshman in college, circa 1994, back in the day. Wow, that makes me feel really f-ing old. But anyway, now TMBG have aged, as have we all, and reproduced, check here, too, and so now they are a totally awesome kick-ass kid's band. My post-funky punky self finds it wonderful that my little punks now listen to the same band that I rocked out to in college.

Zhara slept in, and when we were all ready to go, we packed a picnic lunch and headed off to the big park in the middle of Lehi for Park Fun Day. We ate, swung, climbed -- it was fun. The kids must have climbed over the top of the tube slide 100 times each. I think we strike fear into the hearts of the reserved Mormon mothers at the park, but my children are just daring free spirits, not to be constrained by piddly park guidelines. I even got to knit some in the shade of a tree.

It really was one of those magical days with kids when you think, "oh, yay, I knew there was a reason that I had procreated, but I couldn't remember why, and there it is." It was lovely. Warm, my kids running and playing together happily, swinging in and out of the dappled sunlight. We probably looked like the picture of the happy, contented homeschooling family with all the other moms thinking, "my kids would never act like that if I homeschooled." And, of course, 98% of the time, neither do mine. In fact, they are downstairs now fighting over who gets to sit where on the sofa, but I'm still in my moment of delight at the park.

Cool, it really looks like poop when they aerate the soil!

This afternoon, the high even lasted long enough for Zhara to teach Angus how to use the computer some. She worked with him on using the mouse, and set him up a StarDoll account like hers, so that he can play dress up on line with a guy he designs, and then can interact with her online. Of course, somehow my cursor is now a sparkling bunch of purple grapes, but you have to be thankful for small blessings.

Sometimes, somedays, it works. You understand why you do it. It all comes together and there you are, in the park, answering your kids questions about aerating the soil, pine needles, and dappled sunlight. And for one brief moment in time, you really, truly appreciate what you have, in the moment that you have it. You are completely present and grateful. It doesn't happen often, especially not as parents. So often someone has spilled something, or eaten something, or scraped something, or peed on something, and you're too busy cleaning it up, or patching the boo boo to be present. But every now and again, I get it. And then, I am very thankfully that we found this way of life.

She's a cheese head -- get it?

Science, Legos, and the Moon Landing

2010-09-29T12:35:00.004-06:00

Well, the past few days we have been trying to at least touch on our special day status each day.

Monday was Lego Day. We built Legos in the basement. The kids want to build a replica of Bridal Veil Falls here in Utah out of Legos. Turns out that despite the massive amount of Legos that we do have, we don't have near enough browns and grays to construct the Falls.

Then around lunchtime, the kids got to talking about the moon and whether we, as a people, had ever been to the moon. So I got out the book that Gretchen gave me called The American Story, and we read the chapter on the moon landing. Then we pulled up the images of the landing on the internet and the kids watched Neil Armstrong on the moon for a few minutes. Angus thought that the saying, "One small step for man, one small leap for mankind," was hilarious. We talked about what it meant, but it apparently it was still really fun. We read about how many people worldwide watched the landing on TV, and then looked up the population of the US at that time. Zhara was amazed that 300 million more people watched the moon landing than even lived in the US at that time. We also talked about the space race, and John F. Kennedy's role in it, and after that they had had enough history for the day.

Tuesday was our activities day, so we spent a lot of time running between tumbling, piano, and karate, and tidying the house.

Today is Science Day. This morning Angus and Wednesday and I did a rainforest animal puzzle, and Winnie helped me bake a carrot cake from scratch. My kids are wild for carrot cake, and there is nothing to me as scientific as baking, so there you go. Then we all went on a nature walk to the pond. We found tons of wooly worm caterpillars, and brought one back with us for our bug habitat. We will set him free in a day or two, but for now, he is happily munching on leaves. There is much controversy about whether he should be named Spike, Bob, or Fuzzy. I'm staying out of it, frankly.

A Day at the Zoo & Potatoes

2010-09-26T14:39:00.008-06:00

Yesterday we were busy, and productive, so today, we went to the zoo. Sunday is a wonderful day to do kid-friendly activities in Utah when one is not religious. Everything clears out remarkably.

Snuggling with dad.

The kids and I have been to the zoo a couple of times since we've been here. We bought a pass a few weeks after moving. Adam, however, due to the fact that he is always at work during the week, had never been. So the kids got to introduce him to the zoo. I will say, that Utah's Hogle Zoo is not particularly impressive, but the kids have fun, so it doesn't really matter how awesome of a zoo it really is, actually.

Prairie dogs

My family acting like prairie dogs.

Cougar, being a cougar on a warm day

Their favorite part, is generally the beginning, where there is a giant marble ball water fountain that they can lay up against and touch, and the end, when we go to the very expansive playground. The animals are pleasant distractions in the middle. My kids tend to end up acting like monkeys the most of the time anyway, so it works.

We're home now, and the kids are helping Adam put together the Ikea toy chest we bought last night to store our potatoes in for the winter. We got an entire hour-long date last night, as the kids finally decided that the Ikea playplace would be fun, and agreed to stay without us for an hour. It was delightful.

It is time to dig up the potatoes, and get them in from the garden before it gets too cold. Zhara drew a lovely pattern on the side of the toy chest, and Winnie is helping Adam drill holes over the pattern to ventilate the spuds. I'm excited to get them up. We planted red and blue potatoes this year, so it should be a fun winter of red, blue, and purple mash and roasted potatoes.

Fun with power tools.

It was hot, dirty work, but we got it done -- our potato crop. We did lose quite a few to snails, but I think that we'll still be well fed this winter, regardless.

Crazy Hair Day

2010-09-24T17:55:00.004-06:00

Ended up not to be too crazy, actually. No one wanted to do my hair, so mine was just in a bun part of the day and down the rest. Boo!

Winnie went crazy by actually allowing me to touch her hair. Normally she wears it in a lovely furry fro on the sides, matted dreds in the back look, but today she relented and agreed to let me actually touch it. I managed to even get a couple swipes of a brush in. She wore these piggies in her hair until almost 2 pm, which is like a world record, I think.

How could this face ever be destructive? Behind it lies an evil genius ready to strike!

Angus did the traditional very spiked, very wet look that he favors. It's kind of The Fonz meets Keith Richards, but it works for him.

Complete with rock star meets monster face.

Zhara originally wanted to me to braid 9 braids in her hair, then braid those into three braids, then those into one. I told her if she ever hoped to leave the house today, that she might want to simplify the plan. So we went with the princess side french braid into a pony tail at the back, and then for a while, into a side ponytail. It also made it until about 2pm, so overall the hair was successful.

This shot says, "mom, get the hell out of my face with the camera!"

While we ran errands, the kids watched Aliens in the Attic in the car, which they had checked out from the library yesterday, and for the past two hours there has been a very involved game of Aliens in the Attic occurring on my main floor. Complete with homemade (during dinner) PVC pipe guns filled with marbles and things being flung from the balcony. We will be prepared in case of alien attack apparently. I feel so much more secure now.

An Unschooler's Schedule

2010-09-23T20:00:00.005-06:00

The kids and I sat down yesterday, and made up a schedule for October. They love having special days -- pj day, science project day, games day. So I printed out a blank calendar page for September and October and we filled the last few days of September, and the whole month of October up with fun days. I had previously put all of the kids' activities -- tumbling, piano, and karate -- on Tuesdays, except for the second evening of karate a week, so that I always know that day is out for extra activities. It works well with the schedule, too.

Today when we went to the library, we checked out books for each of next week's days -- Lego Day, Funny Hairstyle Day, Park Activity Day, and Halloween decorating day. Then each week when we go to the library we'll do the same. The kids are really excited. And actually, so am I. They came up with some really good ideas. We even have a Chinese Culture Day. We put that one on payday, the day we normally go grocery shopping, etc. so that we can go out to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. So, if this experiment works, then we will keep it going for the whole year.

Tomorrow is Crazy Hairstyle Day, and also payday, so I am very much looking forward to us all going grocery shopping with some very inventive new 'dos. :)

The Seasons, Playing, & Nature Deficiency Disorder

2010-09-21T09:19:00.013-06:00

Zhara and Angus exploring the beauty of the Uinta National Forest just south of us.

One of the wonderful things about living in Utah is the beautiful landscape. I mean, honestly, we can see mountains from every window in our house, and we don't have pricey real estate. We live a block from a wetland preserve, and a couple of miles from the 22 mile long (and still pretty polluted -- thank you US Steel) Utah Lake.

A family bike ride, & stop for exploration, along Utah Lake.

Thankfully, my kids like being outside, and so do I. So we spend a lot of time playing in the woods at the edge of the wetland preserve or hiking in the mountains. My children have even talked me into camping three times this year. I hate camping. Having had back surgery a few years ago and being a notoriously bad sleeper, I am not, in the verbiage, a happy camper. After last weekend, I did extract a promise that from now on I will not be required to actually sleep out in a tent. We can hike, we can roast marshmallows, and then we can go home and I can sleep in my bed. The children have agreed to this concession, but I digress...

The toasted marshmallows are the best part anyway.

The thing that I have noticed though about my kids, and actually about many of the unschooled kids that I have met, is that they seem to have a really good sense of the turn of the seasons, and the natural world and Earth around them. For unschooled kids, Fall doesn't start at the beginning of August when school starts again. And neither does it for the Earth. These kids still swim in September. They run barefoot in the sprinklers and make mud pies in the backyard with friends, several weeks into other kids sitting dutifully at desks. When the first nip in the air starts, they go exploring in the woods to see what is changing.

Angus and Winnie swimming in leaves last Fall in Kansas.

When it snows, they don't watch it out the window, they bundle up, go outside, and spend the day sledding.

Last year's snow people exhibit in our old front yard.

When it gets especially warm one April, they aren't stuck wishing they could go outside and play, they pull out the slip-n-slide and learn about gravity and water flow, and how much fun it is to be outside on a warm spring day.They bury their hands in dirt and plant things -- outside -- not in little styrofoam cups on classroom windowsills, come spring. On a warm summer day, they grab their best friend and go roller skating around the bike path for an hour, coming back hot and sweaty and seeking water, but never so happy.

Whether children are urban or suburban or rural, it shouldn't matter. Nature is there. The outside is waiting. Sure, it may look different to explore nature in a city, but that doesn't mean kids don't learn just as much. They just learn about a different outside -- the one they actually live in!

That is not to say that my kids don't watch their share of TV, or play on the computer. They do. They are not big videogame kids -- that is their own doing, nothing imposed by me, but they also love to get outside. When they want to... not in 20 minute scheduled increments, after a rushed lunch, and a morning spent sitting stark still. Not as a blip in the day, but as a big chunk of it somedays and a smaller bit others. And of their own volition.

Painting with another homeschooled friend in the front driveway.

An art installation.

"Oh, look, a rolly polly, let's make it a house."

"Wonder what paint AND bubbles would make..."

I feel more and more like the nature deficiency disorder we hear so much about these days has a lot more to do with how we raise our children, than with our children themselves. If left to their own devises, I don't think we'd have a problem at all. Richard Louv in his book, Last Child in the Woods, noted that children are spending less time outdoors, and are therefore less connected to the natural world and the seasons. I have to posit that this is at least partially a product of the school structure that we have set up. Many kids are in school year round. They aren't even getting a summer to run around and just be kids. Or if not in school year round, then in afterschool care, or numerous after school activities. They are ALWAYS inside, in a forced learning environment. They are never just left to play and explore on their own. How could they not become cut off from nature? How could they not become cut off from natural exploration and learning on their own terms? How could they not forget how to just play?

For some reason, in the Western world, we have come to view play as a bad thing. As "just playing." As not having an actual purpose. As not being as good as say, reading, or studying, or learning to "play" an instrument, or doing a worksheet on something "useful." Now, don't get me wrong, my kids take activities -- some take karate, some piano, and another tumbling, but it's not their main source of recreation.

Angus, Zhara, and Olly playing in a river bed during the dry season.

Cultures that are more tied to nature, and those of years past, recognized play for what it is, incredibly useful at imprinting a culture's values, learning, and history on the next generation. Children in these cultures are, and were, absolutely encouraged to play. By playing, they learned. They learned what was important to the culture. They prepared themselves for their adult roles, and they made community... without ever being "taught" about it. Today our children have become absolutely cut off from community, and their traditions and culture. They leave college with no sense of themselves, and no idea how to actually live in community with others, if they can even find a community to be a part of. Look around at the home foreclosures, the massive debt, the huge antidepressant use, overstressed young parents with no outlet and no one to turn to for help. As a people we are in crisis. A crisis of stress, overwork, and a complete inability to relax and enjoy our lives.

Young adults graduate college or post-graduate work, finishing 17-20 years of education without even a clue of how to live life. In the great name of technology and living not "as" their parents, but always "better" than their parents, we have chipped away at living. We have chipped away at play, at learning to live, at being happy, at feeling secure and satisfied that we have, are, and can be enough. We have given up community, and relaxing, and being in nature and just enjoying life.

Unschooled kids can play. I mean, I have watched my children literally meet a kid, and then throw down in an imaginary game of whatever within seconds. And mine are not the most social kids on the planet, so there you go.

Hiking across a log in the mountains.

There's just something about getting back to being encouraged to play, to let go, and be themselves, to be imaginative, to use their brains for things other than Learning with a capital L. We spend so much time cramming our children full of numbers and letters and facts, that we forget they are kids. We worry what colleges they will get into, before they are old enough to walk. We worry whether they will get a good job, before they are old enough to know what college is.

We need to spend more time worrying about giving our children license to truly enjoy life. To enjoy each other. To roll down a hill with reckless abandon. To invent another world, and then people it with their friends dressed in amazing and outlandish costumes. Unschooled kids are primal in the absolute best sense of the world.

A tea party with friends.

And they are prepared for their future. Armed not just with facts, but with the ability to interact with the world around them. With the ability to meet new people, and team build on site. With the ability to real world problem solve. These qualities, the qualities we are told are so sought after in today's marketplace, they aren't taught in a classroom. They can't be! They come from creativity and imagination. Those things that are absolutely beat out of children in traditional school. They come from running outside, jumping on one's bike and taking off for the woods to explore alone, or meeting up with friends and spending the day directing an off-the-cuff imaginary world.

Zhara picking wildflowers.

Those qualities... they come from playing. They come from being outside, and exploring the world through play. The very thing that our society tells us our children are doing too much of -- just playing.

I can bet you that there is not a homeschooling family, particularly an unschooling family, reading this, that has not heard the comment, "but it seems like all your kids ever do is play." Well, hallelujah! Maybe we should start taking this as the supreme compliment that it is. How much happier will our children be in twenty years when, instead of having to pop an antidepressant to deal with stress and anxiety, they can recognize that they need a day off and take a hike in the woods? Holy Cow, I would be ecstatic! And honestly, so would they.

Zhara checking the water depth of the freezing cold mountain snow runoff.

Angus back at the same river in the Fall when it's an almost dry river bed after the dry season.

Olly and Winnie checking things out.

A hike with dad.

Last child left in the woods? Not in this family.

Of canning, and gardens, and feeding oneself

2010-09-20T20:18:00.006-06:00

Many of you know that we have a big garden every year. This year is no different. The seeds got started a bit late due to the move, but it happened, and we had very abundant crops. Apparently, despite it's desert biome, in Utah, if you water it, it will grow. The only real garden pests that are here are the snails, and while EXTREMELY prevalent, you can tend to beat them off of most crops enough to still get a good yield. Basically, if you can get your seedlings through the screwy weather and the unbelievably unrelenting weeds, then they will thrive. And ours did. We have eaten lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, carrots, cantaloupe, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, broccoli, and herbs in bulk this summer.

And we have had plenty of leftovers to put things up.

As well, as being gifted many bushels of apples from a local friend's apple tree.

Our pantry and freezer are filling up, and the kids have had a blast helping. It's funny, they like different parts of it. Angus loved starting the seeds, watching them sprout, and planting the garden itself. Winnie loves picking veggies (especially tomatoes), and well, all the kids had a blast picking apples. Zhara and Winnie have enjoyed putting up some of the fruits and vegetables of our labor. Even Angus got in on making apple cider. And they have all generally liked eating them.

All in all, I think gardening and growing at least some of our own food has been wonderful for the kids. In the past few years, they have learned about eating local foods, composting the leftovers, what comes in at what times, the labor that goes into caring for a garden and feeding a family. They get their hands dirty, and have fun at the same time. We never ask them or force them to help, but without fail, someone will wander in while we're working, ask a question, and start poking about until they are handed a trowel, or a bucket, or an apple to juice, and it goes from there. The learning just comes without anyone teaching, or writing, or having a study guide.

Helping dad with the apples.

Apparently, juicing apples for cider makes a person "the man!"

I'm back!!!

2010-09-17T16:48:00.004-06:00

Yay, I know, we disappeared off the face of the planet there for several months. Utah will do that to you. We're moved and settled. We've found a niche in a nice little unschooling community here in Utah. I have taken over planning outings for the group twice a month, and thus, we have met several very cool families here through that. We spend a lot of time heading into Salt Lake, as Lehi is small and very conservative by our standards. Let's see, what's up with the kiddos...

Zhara -- is 9 now, still fashion-obsessed. She is still drawing fashion sketches in almost every spare moment. She also loves working on the computer, often on fashion games and programs. I think design school may be somewhere in her future, or maybe she'll just end up on Project Runway. She is starting to get interested in sewing, so we are going to set up one of the machines up here in the kitchen so I can help her some with the basics as she starts out. She roller skates almost everywhere now. And she has made a couple of new best friends who are homeschooled -- Olivia and Manee. Overall Zhara is becoming a totally mellow awesome kid. I never thought she'd mellow, but there you go. She is taking piano and karate, and loving both of them. She even practices piano of her own free will. Who knew?

Angus -- is 6 now, huge and missing several teeth. He is still dinosaur and Lego obsessed. He is also loving our new puppy, Olly. They have become best buddies. He has made good friends here, too -- Owen and Joshua, also homeschooled. Mostly they spend the bulk of their time dressing up like superheroes, and annoying the sisters.

Wednesday -- is 3 now. Tall and skinny, and still just as crazy and talkative as before. She loves the mountains (as do we all), and spends the bulk of her days as naked as possible. She loves going to the library, and then sitting down and reading every book she can get her hands on when we get home.

We still adore homeschooling, and feel absolutely blessed to have found unschooling when we did. Our entire life as a family has changed in wonderful ways. The kids help me cook and bake and work in the garden. They watch movies and ask a thousand questions about what they see in them. They play games and do art and we read. It's good. They are so open and ready to learn in every moment, even those when they are fighting with each other tooth and nail.

Utah has taken some major getting used to. On many days we have been ready to chuck it all, and head back to the plains, but Adam is doing good work, and we are learning new things and meeting new people, so it is worth it all in all. At least that's what I'm telling myself today. :)

Bicycle!

2010-03-11T09:20:00.002-07:00

So guess what our new house has? A walking and bike trail right behind it. So, Adam is fulfilling a dream that I have had for several years, and we have decided to get a cargo bike so that we can do a lot of our running via bike. Of course, Ms. Zhara is going to have to get on the stick and learn to ride herself, but I think she'll get it once we get out there and going. Anyway, we found a cargo bike manufacturer in Salt Lake City that makes just what we have wanted -- Madsen Cycles. So we can go visit the manufacturer first with the kids and they have scratch and dent bikes at the factory... that are like $300 cheaper. Whoa yeah!!! So very very excited.

Here she is:

Movin'

2010-03-09T21:08:00.002-07:00

Salt Lake City Here We Come!

Sorry, we've been MIA on here. Adam got transferred REALLY quickly to Salt Lake City. But got a promotion with it -- yay! And now we are doing the him there, us here, us packing, him finding us a house thing. It sucks now, but we are totally looking forward to an awesome new unschooling adventure in Utah, and we found a house yesterday, so we should be out there in the next two weeks. We have a guaranteed two years there, so that should give us plenty of exploring time.