So I get brown rice, seaweed And a dirty hot dog

16.  Had a cook- out with lots of family

17.  Attended a friends cook- out under the full moon (almost full)
18.  Bought blackberries at the farmer's market and made a cobbler

You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely....

Well, now, here I am, and please excuse my absence. We are all adjusting to our fall schedules that look the same every day, basically with little new or exciting thing to post. We do LOVE our new rolls, but they do leave me brain dead by the end of the day. I miss my playdates, laundry hanging, bread baking, and back yard schooling. However, I really, really love being a teacher again.

I feel like my experience as a homeschooler has deeply affected my attitude about learning, teaching, and education- for the better. I now have a deep respect for the individual learner, whereas before, that respect was just an idea that I did not know how to activate in the classroom. I have become more lenient and seek intently to discover where the child is in their learning progression and build from there. I realize the idiocy of trying to make sure that every child must know the same thing in the same way to recognize results. I realize that these young people 11-13 year olds are cooped up in a cement building for 8 hours a day with little more than seconds to whisper to friends, run around, or even breath fresh air. I understand, more than just theoretically, that taking away things that their bodies physically needs (friendship, movement, imagination, and fresh air-let alone freedom of choice and ownership) can be devastating to their ability to learn. I am positive that each child I teach has parents that not only know their child best, but also that 99.9% of parents are extremely concerned about what and how their child learns. I know how far a child can soar with one- on- one attention and instruction and the ability to learn at their own pace rather than by Friday at 3 PM. I am learning new lessons every.day. about kids and myself and teaching and learning. This is a journey that I relish, and I am able to approach this year more confidently than I ever have before. I am also more calm, more willing to listen to my students and their parents. I am less likely to freak out when my lesson plan doesn't get executed perfectly. My paradigm has shifted and it is no longer "my" classroom, but theirs, and I am just a steward of the students' classroom. I am there to support and encourage, not to run the show - my way of the highway.

By the way, this approach is not one that I was taught in teacher school. "They" emphasize in teacher school to come out strong and hard, to lay down the rules, and take charge immediately. But this year, I didn't. This year, I started with kindness, fairness, and lots of opportunities for the kids to be themselves. I sprinkled that with fun, games, music, and hid enough Spanish language to allow them to ask for more. The students are kind back, they are asking questions, they have positive attitudes, and so far they are learning and speaking Spanish.

Love it.

You looked for work and money...

And, on the flip side, the positive side of our upcoming changes.. (I'll be teaching middle school Spanish, Evan will return to MTSU, Ollie will be attending a local magnet school, and Eli will be home with Dad and at Mother's Day Out 10 hours a week.)

1..I will have vacation. As a homeschool mom, I rarely, was "off." A friend mentioned that when they went to the beach, she still cooked, cleaned, did laundry, and really didn't get a break from her routine. So, away from home 40+ hours a week, will allow me to feel relaxed and "off" when home and with the family.

2..I will have quiet alone time daily. I will drive in the car 30 minutes a day by myself each way. I love this time, which for the past two years I have missed. I can listen to my beloved NPR or music of my choice. It will be lovely.

3..I will have less home chores. As a work at home mom, I took on most of the household chores, that Evan will now take more of an active role in. I won't have to unload the dishwasher 3 times a day or have to cut the grass or cook diner EVERY night.

4..I will not be solely responsible for maintaining friendships for my children. They will meet kids at their school and will not have to depend on me to set up time for them to enjoy other people their own age.

5..Everyone needs a routine shake-up. Our routine is about to drastically change, and I think this is a refreshing necessity of life-the changing of the season..

6..We will all have time apart from one another. I will no longer be responsible for every food, drink, poop, clothing, and educational experience. I will enjoy them, relish them when I am able, but they will be less likely to irk me after a day away. I will appreciate the opportunity to care for my children.

7..Ollie and Eli are stoked for the first day of school. The excitement and anticipation is not the same for homeschooling. They got new hair cuts and new clothes and we are counting down the days. It is almost as exciting as Christmas, and I can tell that Ollie is stoked.

8..Ollie will LOVE school. He thrives on routine and predictability. He loves friends, and he loves learning. He said he's most looking forward to doing math. I am not as into routines and math as he is..

9..Ollie and Eli will have time apart. They will have experiences to talk about separate from one another, and I think too, that this will be positive.

10..For the past 2 years, I have owned and operated a business from home leaving me to feel at times scattered and distracted around the home. I always have 10 million things going on and my schedule is a collage of various appointments. I am away most evenings which prohibits lengthy, enjoyable dinners and family bike rides or games of kickball. Now, when I am home, my work will not be here. I will be home in the evenings. With everyone else...

This is going to be fine. This is going to be fine. This is going to be fine....Wash. Rinse. Repeat..

Is just equality in school...

I know that most of you know both how awesome homeschooling is and how much we love it, but allow me to count the ways that I have fallen in deep, earth shattering love with this way of learning. Actually, I can't count them, but I have thought of 10 reasons.

1..I am a teacher by heart and by nature. I have been able this year to share learning with my children. I have had the privilege that I am so afraid another adult would take for granted to watch my children learn, grow, and explore. I have been able to give them time to speak and to listen and figure things out. And, it has been magical.

2..I have met the most amazing women. My faith in humanity and in myself has been restored this year. I have found kindred spirits and formed friendships that I hope are long lasting. Homeschool moms rock my world. They do so much weighing what in life really IS important. Smart, funny, loving, and kind. I never really liked girls too much until I met them. Now I know, they are out there, and I don't feel so alone or unique.

3..The kids got to do so many fun things, so many field trips and co-ops. I have documented them all here, just click on homeschooling. We had a year 100 times better than making my inquisitive child learn how to stand in a straight line and identify the abcs, only because that's what you do in kindergarten..

4..We owned our experience. We owned our day.. No one else.. Now that is freedom. No bells or punch cards, but rather a natural ebb and flow of our own chosen activities. Our year was ours, and we had what we made..

5..Our home was our responsibility, and learning was up to us. We learned that to eat, we had to cook, and grow food, and plan. We found out how to make learning happen. The way we experienced life and learned was our job.

6..We got to demonstrate to our kids that family and home were of utmost importance instead of just paying lip service to our principals and core beliefs. Evan and I got to be THE examples for our children. We got to choose our acquaintances based on folks who saw things pretty close to the way we did.

7.. My kids got to learn at their own pace. We based our lessons and field trips on things they thought were interesting and cool. And, then, they didn't have to learn something by a certain time and date or else. Ollie didn't have to color, unless he wanted to. Eli got to act silly without a parent teacher conference about said silliness. Self-paced, individualized learning is a buzz word in education right now, but that is much easier to do with two kids that you know extremely well.

8...We got to be flexible. We got to travel without "missing" school. We got to sleep late and read on the floor in our pajamas. We got to change plans, get lost driving, or be bummed because something didn't play out as planned. All, very, very important lessons and experiences for adults, too..

9..I had time to be a homemaker. I had time to cook, and clean, and garden, and hang laundry out, and wear my apron. I loved it.

10..(Last one..) We got to buck the system. We got to question the why behind our public education system both in practice and philosophy. We began to ponder the importance of methods and curriculum. We began to evaluate our own lives in light of this discovery that life doesn't have to be a hamster wheel of work, buy, sleep, work, buy, sleep. We can teach our children so much more about life than a school that is preparing them to join the workforce and be a productive citizen. Our goal contridicted school districts that are forced to try to get every kid know the exact same thing and demonstrate that in the exact same way. Our kids didn't have to think about or know the "standard". We can teach them about learning for learning, to pursue dreams and inquisitions, and to ask questions.

Somewheres in this universe there’s a place that you can call home....

I love gardening.
And, somehow I forget over the winter how much I love it. I think that is a good thing, because I get to re-experience the joys every year. I learn something new each season, grow something different, try new ways. I do not have a large garden at all, but rather have my "flower" beds planted with yummy veggies. The eating part is scrumptious (tonight's dinner included homegrown carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes), not to mention the other obvious benefits of saving money and "eating local."

But I also love how gardening is such common ground amongst folks. It makes for such pleasant conversation. You can ask anyone who has even one tomato plant about it in the summer, and their eyes light up. Gardening conversation spans political affiliations, nationalities, income level, religious views, and age. It is a great common denominator. I can ask anyone about what they are growing and learn something or just bask in their description of something they have grown to love and to know as if in a deep intimate relationship.

I also get a kick out of the sharing part of gardening. In my neighborhood, we hand cucumbers over fences, leave squash and peppers on each other's doors, and water when we go out of town. There is a elderly Laotian couple that baby their garden with umbrellas and constant tending and grow beans that I have never seen before and peppers that make you sweat when you look at them. The lady speaks no English, but we've swapped veggies, and she'll gladly take our grass clippings if she sees us out. The above grapes were dangling in our yard from another neighbor and he invited us to pick as many as we can handle. What comraderie amongst neighbors!

I also get so excited to grow something new. Here is my first watermelon. Isn't it precious? We only have the one, but the vine that we grew from seed, transplanted, loved on, watered, talked to, babied, has sprouted and has several flowers. I have found great recipes that involve the mint (harvested today and drying) and watermelon together. Yum!

And, lastly, I stand in awe that things grow that we can eat and that this binds us a human race. I can't wait to make pickles and salsa, and ask you about your garden, and hand you a tomato. I am grateful that even if you have been a gardener for decades, you can appreciate my oohs and aahs for my first watermelon and tiny carrots.
All pictures and thoughts captured today from the garden.

He’s getting ready for the show...

Taking the week off for Phish shows.
The kids are experiencing a right of passage: a summer week with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. They are swimming and eating hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.
We are listening to NPR and dropping swear words at need without shame.
We are sleeping late and eating late.
We are paying the teenager next door to water our tomatoes
and missing morning giggles and kisses and the ruffling of blond hair.

I can see the day coming when even your home garden Is gonna be against the law...

Every year I get braver around my tiny garden area and plant a little more. It brings me such joy! Above, my most abundant crop, marigolds!

Broccoli and new to the plot, cucumbers.

Couple of maters...

And, my absolute favorite, snow peas! These are so yummy and crisp.

Carrots!

An onion, that, by the way I had no idea would bloom so beautifully..

A bloomed marigold and corn, heirloom from the mobi Indians..

She was thinkin’ ’bout her father, who she very rarely saw....

I did sew more.
This week was VBS which I did not help out with at all!
I have felt a smidgen of guilt a couple of times, but in truth and defense, I did have to work a bit during that time, and as my mom reminded me, I can work VBS another year when I am not already with me kids 24/ 7. So as a self indulgent treat, I made gifts.

I made a few capes for two little boys celebrating birthdays this week, and arm-chair caddy's for our daddies.

Cheesy, maybe, but I have such a hard time figuring out crafty things to make for dads. Girls are easy..I whip up some jewelry or something knit, but what do you make for guys?

Generally, I am really bad at following patterns and directions because I have never taken a class and feel lost when technical terms pop-up, but I did okay with these two endeavors. The cape, I just made up and the caddies, I had written instructions for. The material is all leftovers from previous projects. What are you making for father's day?

Two big bags...(well, 3, but that's how Bobby D sings it)

So, I can sew..
While Ollie was at soccer camp this week, I made bags! I had such fun doing them, as I haven't sewn in too long.

The material I've kept for ages with the intention of someday using, and it is always a joy to dip through my bin reminiscing about old fabric from dresses or curtains or even furniture that I have loved. These fabrics feel like old friends and I am pleased to bring them out of the closet.

Sits with Utopian hermit monks....

So, I just canceled plans with wonderful friend.
For no reason. Wellll, it was for a reason. A very simple one. Overbooking.
We run our tails off as homeschoolers, and every once in a while we have to stop and take a few deep breaths. When planning our week, I generally separate our time into blocks of AM/ Afternoon/ and PM. Generally every evening Monday - Thursday is full of soccer or Spanish classes. Morning activities range from co-ops and field trips to play dates, volunteering, or lessons. ALL of our activities are valuable and fun. All of them bring us great pleasure and help us learn. I don't put them on the books if they don't. So it is both painful and with regret that I strike one of them from the books. Not to mention that I realize that our friends also maintain a delicate balance with their schedules and likewise make a point to include us in their daily routine. So canceling is not something I take lightly. I know what you give up, when you say you are going to meet us out. Just this week, another mom friend and I had to go back and forth about four times before finally squeezing in an hour and 1/2 nature hike together. Well worth the effort and time, but crazy that we have so much going on...I say this because I love all of our friends and obligations so much. They are a blessing and we would feel isolated and devastated with out each person in our lives, but we do have to cancel sometimes for our own sanity. Sometimes, once every week or so, we have to stay in our pjs, be home to air the laundry and bake, and lounge around and read. And truth be told, we LOVE our family time and our home. We yearn to be together when we are away. Our home is a haven for us, and on the weekends we cling to one another. My favorite moments are spent on a quilt in the backyard with all four of us engrossed in a novel. And, my favorite friends are those that understand and respect that, the ones that are still there when it it time to have others around us, the ones that take no offense to our hermit-like tendencies. Thank you for understanding.

passion rules the arrow that flies...

For awhile, a long time ago, we had magnetic poetry on the fridge.
I imagine this was probably long enough ago that we actually had time to linger around the fridge coming up with haikus and witty word play. I have kept them in a junk drawer all these years, and have just pulled them out to use in our reading lessons. I divided them into parts of speech, and Ollie is making sentences with them, exploring reading and nouns, verbs, and adjectives. This sounded like a quaint little homeschool activity until I realized that we also had an adult version of magnetic poetry. I'll spare you the most explicit words, and just let you know that I had to sift through a few things that I didn't want them sounding out..I did however leave the pile of unmentionables sitting on a book in the living room. My bad, because inevitably I found words like bra, pubic, tremble, and nude spread across the living room floor and also stuck to the bottom of my feet. I will be passing these along, if any of you need them. Maybe this could be my version of a giveaway. What would you do with a magnetic version of passion and luscious? On second thought, I don't need to know what you would do them..

When the roses fade....

My roses bloomed

You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,

Sourdough - My version
The above critter was found rolled up in my cheesecloth. I could see a dark splotch as I used the cloth and as I unrolled it, I discovered the source.

2 cups of water to 1 cup of flour. Cover with cheesecloth (lady bug free) and let sit for several days. I let mine sit for 3 or 4 days. It starts to stink. Like puke. Don't stir or touch.

Then, it looks like this. Bubbly and gooey and stinky. Mix with bread ingredients of choice. I did very simple: flour, salt, olive oil, water, and about a cup of starter. Mix, knead for at least 10 minutes, let rise for several hours, then bake with a pan of water in the bottom of the oven.

, This is a thick, hearty bread that will last only a day or two.
I've found, the more you knead, the better the consistency.

I am also trying to use up all my yarn that I currently have instead of buying new.
I end up with the dregs..Soon to try re-knitting..

And rest yourself ’neath the strength of strings

We are striving very hard in our home to institute a day of rest. It sounds silly to have to TRY to rest, but it is hard to sort of schedule in a chore-less, errand-less day. We have done this twice, and I have found myself looking forward to it during the week as a light at the end of the tunnel. To know that there will be one day set aside to lounge around in the sun on a blanket and read-all day, to rejuvenate, and talk and hug has helped me breathe deeper during the week. We took our day of rest yesterday as it was sunny and warm; today is to be filled with rain, laundry, and baking..

she violently knits

So, I am slowly, slowly knitting myself a set of dishcloths and they are both beautiful (to me) and useful. I like them more than any dishcloth that I have ever used before.
If I make a mistake, it's okay because it is for me..

Meat shakin' on your bones

So, back to my 10 week plan for a better me.

I have been keeping up with all of my goals, except jogging or bike riding.

I hate this weather. It is bringing me down, man, and I've used that as an excuse..

Last week, the goal was to buy no meat unless it came from a great local source. Due to price and availability, this cuts our meat consumption considerably. We normally only eat it once or twice a week tops, and during our co-op were able to eat local easily. During the winter, we bought Laura's and "natural" chicken. But, I realize that we could easily do more. So for now, we are vegetarians. I am looking for local meat that is in our budget, and when we find some, it will be our special treat-which will be much healthier for us anyway.

We are also working on outreach. I found a great volunteer opportunity for myself and the children. We are working at our church's food bank, and the kids absolutely love it. They get to shelve food, load grocery bags, and enjoy people. It has really been a blessing to us.

This week I have made an attempt to cut our dairy intake by half. This has been the toughest so far. I love cheese so very much, and without meat, I use it as an easy part of lunches and dinners. We use our local dairy for milk and I often substitute soy milk in recipes. We long ago quit buying creamy condiments. Likewise, I can fool the family with recipes that require eggs, but the cheese! My beloved cheese. I tried to simply skip it at the grocery store, and made a trip back to the store for some today - it is only Tuesday.

I guess the nice thing about making your own goals, is that they are yours to repeat, retry, be reminded of, and generally just own. I will continue to try on this cheese thing or at least seek healthier, more sustainable options.

My spiritual goal for the week puts an emphasis on church attendance. I find so much comfort and value in being part of a community of love and kindness ---this family of God's that accepts everyone and binds together to discuss eternity and outreach and love. I surround myself socially with like minded individuals, and my church attendance helps remind me that we are all so very different, but often can have the same heart, the same hurts, concerns, and joys.

I put all of these goals here, for no other reason than to help keep me accountable. I will eat meat and cheese if I come to your home and you are cooking it up. For any of our lifestyle choices here at home, I never, never want to make a host feel uncomfortable. We like the taste after all, but are rather taking small steps here to lead healthier lives and be more responsible consumers.

I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied

This weeks change for the positive, my goal, is to spend more time in prayer, meditation, and yoga. Namaste.

Gonna change my way of thinking

Hey, did you notice the new feature on the blog? On the right, I have labeled my posts, so if you want to see all the awesome pictures I have of Eli, you can find them in one easy spot. I haven't yet labeled ALL the posts from past years, but I am slowly working on it. Yay!

Also, just a quick update on my resolutions. Work out and bible reading are going great. I am going on week 3 of keeping up with these two things. My goal this week is to memorize a bible verse a week and cut out fried food. I dreamed last night I was eating a big plate of curly fries, so I have a feeling this one might be harder than I thought. I do like adding these changes bit by bit, and will keep you up to date on becoming the person I've always wanted to be...

I'll leave you with my verse from this week (from memory :) "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." Philippians 4:5

Please tell her thanks a lot

So speaking of Christmas and all, I love thank you notes. I love hand written notes or cards of any kind. My grandmother did, too, and was often the first one to send Christmas cards. Now, I'm not that good, but I did inherit all of her old cards - boxes and boxes of them. They are all from the 80's and below. Some do not have envelopes and most, if not all were probably purchased at garage sales. I have a drawer full of postcards organized by states in ziplock baggies. I hope to write each card in my lifetime..I will never buy another card or envelope, but I will continue to send them for years and years. Thanks again, Sunny, for a wonderful legacy of friendship and family. (And, thanks, Mom for making me write them all of those years...)

He says, "Your wife", I say, "She's busy in the kitchen cookin'."

Here is a pretty typical picture of me. In qreat-grandmother's quilted house coat in kitchen, cooking. Even when friends come to visit, I tend to hang out in my kitchen. This was "Christmas" night with my family and the following are only a few of the many highlights.

Magnolia leaves painted together at our morning art projects done at the beach during Thanksgiving, framed and gifted.

My first quilt.. My grandmother pieced it before dying, and after years of trying to pay someone to finish it, I with a little help from my friends, finished it for mom.

Blue sock monkey and oceanic pop-up book..

And plenty of drinks, eats, and love..