Searching for Cactus

We just returned from a week in Death Valley and it was a wonderful adventure with the kids. I love taking them out into wild places. I love how easily entertained they are. I love seeing them explore and discover and get comfortable outside. It really is so deeply satisfying. Is it because this is what I love so much? Or is it seeing them so occupied without any material things, no toys, no legos, no stuff.

Anyway, at one point after a hike, Chris pulled our rented mini van over to the side of the road so we could look more closely at some cactus plants. I thought about encouraging them to get out and have a look, but the boys were tired from our hike and whined about getting out. I said we'd be just a minute and right there near the car anyway.

Sure enough, after a few minutes they unbuckled themselves to see what we were looking at. Then they wanted to find their own examples of the plants. Both boys pointed things out with great excitement and took their time looking at the spines and comparing the varieties of cactus. It was perfect. And a good lesson for me in letting them take the lead.

Homeschool Resource Center

Well, we're thinking about signing Beck up for the Homeschool Resource Center in a neighboring school district. Some of the benefits of doing this include:

1. attending any of their offered classes is optional

2. you get a budget of $600 per year per enrolled child to spend on curriculum materials, theater tickets, art supplies, etc...

3. some of the classes (like pottery or the lego design class) look like fun

4. access to an art lab, science lab, and library

Drawbacks include:

1. you have to meet with one of their staff (not a certified teacher) to go over curriculum goals each quarter

2. your child has to participate in state testing - although they are willing to work with you if you'd like to do an alternative method of assessment

3. I'm sure there are others that I don't know about yet!

Seasonal Tableau

We're just a few days away from spring, (though you wouldn't notice by poking your head outside around here!) And with the changing of the seasons it's time to change the seasonal display! I love this idea because it's so fun and simple and even obvious, yet I hadn't thought of doing it before I saw a photo of one on "our unschooled family" blog. I'm sure it's done in Waldorf schools, but this year the boys and I have been setting up our own seasonal displays.

We gather all the little odds and ends around the house that might work: a teacup from my grandmother's collection, a porcelain Hagen-Renaker animal or two, a photo, a pressed leaf, a shell or rock, a curl of bark or twist of ribbon. We talk about what the season reminds us of, what we like to do and look forward to doing, find things outside on our ramblings and then put it all together in a little display. It changes daily as they like to add and subtract from it and play with the figures and other loose parts.

A few times they've been dead set on adding something that seems totally unrelated like a little black plastic gorilla that Yogi likes to add whatever the season, but that's ok too. The Nature Corner book has been recommended too, but I haven't gotten my copy yet!

Meditation

I just wanted to point out this book, Peaceful Piggy Meditation since I've really never seen any other written for kids that even mentions meditation. I started my own meditation practice a few years ago out of desperation. I was suffering from chronic muscle tension brought on by stress. After years of trying various things ranging from muscle relaxants to acupuncture, massage, and chiropractor - nothing really worked. The acupuncture came the closest, but it meant weekly visits and a lot of money.

Then I had my second baby when my first was only 18 months and the pain became unbearable. I look back on that time and shudder. The tension between my shoulder blades was so intense that I couldn't sleep at night.

So, I ended up taking a class on relaxation at the community center where I was introduced to meditation and yoga. I never thought of myself as someone who would meditate, but I went into it with an open mind. And then an amazing thing happened. The tension in my back slowly started to go away. I felt happier, I became pain free, it was empowering.

Over the last few years I have gone through spells of doing nothing, and other times with focused daily meditation and I can truly say that it has the power to change your experience of being alive. It's simple, but not easy and sometimes a little mysterious.

My kids see my cushion in the basement and they've seen me meditate so I like how this book just keeps it in the conversation. Instead of being dismissed as something only certain types of people do, it becomes something very normal that anyone can do.

The author, Kerry Lee MacLean, also has a website where you can learn more about the her work. Click on the Meditate with the Piggies if you want to share it with the kids! It's pretty cute.

Literacy Hit Parade

I've been wanting to write this for several weeks now, but with 3 kids ages 5 and under, I'm having a hard time finding the time! Anyway, here are my latest big hits in the literacy department.



1. Book easels. My husband says these make our house look a little like a library, but I don't mind. I know from my years as a children's librarian that the books on display are the first books checked out. The kids just can't help it. They look so inviting and they have to have them which is just fine with me. At home I set up book easels in our living room and just put a new set of books in at the end of each day. Invariably, these are the first books my kids ask about. And a lot of times they just pluck them off the stands to look at them on their own. I've been checking out a lot interesting nonfiction these days purely for the purpose of independent browsing. I purchased my easels from DEMCO which is one the library supply catalogs I used when I was a librarian. They are simple, inexpensive, and 100% effective! The large all-purpose easels are $2.49 or $2.39 if you buy 6 or more.


2. Clip on reading lights for bed. I love to settle into bed each night with a good book. It's been a lifetime ritual and one I'm passing on to my kids right now. For Christmas both boys got an inexpensive clip-on light for their bed. Each night after we read stories together, they get to pick a few books to take to bed. We say good-night and they are on their own to look at their books and turn off their own light when they're ready. Besides promoting reading on their own, I like how this makes them responsible for lights out.


3. White board easel: We got ours from Ikea and then bought a big set of colorful whiteboard markers and an eraser from an office supply store. It's set up in the living room and each day I try to write one "secret message" for the boys to read. I usually include their names which they can already read and a few other easy site words and then also include some words which are easy to sound out. They love trying to read the messages and when they see their own names they are always interested to see what it says. Sometimes they just erase it and use the board for their own pictures or messages which is also great. I just try to sneak a message in at some point during the day and wait for them to notice. It's fun and gets us talking about words and letters in a natural way.