Monday Monday

We are about to enter into our 8th year of homeschooling. I have never been great with school photos. Seems like my head is elsewhere (planning, organizing, cooking breakfast, etc.) but not this year! We are ready! Let the "formal" studying begin.... on Monday. ;)

I sure hope they treasure this time together as much as I do.

Summer Bucket List

Quite a few years ago I made a list of things we wanted to do in the Fall. I made a cute 12 x 12 poster with everything written down and would cross things off as we went. 

I haven't done that since, until this Summer. At the very beginning when things were exciting and there were so many possibilities I scribbled down some ideas on a scrap piece of paper. 

I found that piece of paper yesterday while cleaning up and this is what it included: 

 River    Camp    Berry picking    Stargazing    Campfire   
 Basketball    Volleyball    Small road trip    Birds of   Prey 
 Finish front room    Kitchen    Swimming    Sleepover
   Pizza & Movie     Make jam     Write letters    Zoo    Oregon    Roaring Springs    Date with each child   
      Date with Micheal     Garage sale  

I was surprised we had done so much! It has been a really fun summer! I'm looking forward to finishing off the list! 

40 Pines

I awake to a crackling fire. The good kind; contained in a metal ring. Husband is up early. 

Coffee is on. 

I open my eyes to sun streaming through 

onto my son's perfect, smooth, young skin. 

His hair is more blond than usual. 

The big kids rustle out to join their father, excited for the day. 

What will it behold? 

 Bathing in hot mineral water, climbing rocks, 

panning for gold, 

fishing, eating, reading stories. 

Mama and Dad take their turns in the hammock, counting the tall pines - 40 - surrounding them, while the kids run and ride. 

This weekend we celebrate life, specifically the life of our 12 year old first born and only daughter. 

We camp to commemorate the keeping of time. 

How long since the last trip? 

Almost four years, right before the birth of another sweet life, our third son, last child. 

A breeze flows through, chasing away the heat. I hear robins and some unknown insect chirping about the beauty of the day.

I hear the river skipping down, down, down. 

I smell nothing but the fresh mountain air. 

This is the perfect Summer day. 

We all

Last night. Wow. Can't believe I stayed up until, well, this morning; 3:30.

Had the most amazing conversation with my cousin, best friend and childhood playmate.

We haven't been in touch for years. Actually we were 10 when we last hung out and we are in our 30's now.  If it wasn't for him and his amazing communication skills and huge heart, we probably still wouldn't be talking. I'm terrible in that way.

But he did take the time to connect and I'm so thankful.

As children we were inseparable, playing all summer long in the trees, catching frogs, and the general running amok that kids do. We shared some stories with my own kids last night. Some I hold dear to my heart and some I had forgotten about. My cousin has an amazing memory!

We shared the joys of growing up together, then when the littles had gone to bed we got down to the harder issues. Things we have wanted to talk about for ages, but have not had the chance to, until now.

We all carry burdens. All of us have gone through terrible and beautiful things. Sometimes the terrible are harder to figure out. What exactly did happen? Why? How did you get through it all? Where were you?

We were inseparable for years and then at 10 years old, we no longer saw each other. All of a sudden we were ripped apart and our lives took two very different directions. As a child you just roll with it, not really understanding everything, but going where the adults in your lives place you. We were only a town away but I never saw him. My life was then consumed with basketball, a new best friend, and lots of time with my sister. I honestly never even thought of how his life was and as he shared his story with me last night, I was so ashamed of my shallowness, my lack of thought toward him, my forgetting.

In short I had never thought of his side of the story. I was just whisked away and that was that.
Meanwhile, he was in his own home, dealing with even more darkness, sadness and confusion.

I'm not going to go into mass details for his sake and all of ours for that matter but my heart is heavy at the thought of the burdens we all carry. The things that happen to us and are flung on us or taken away in confusion, and we must all figure out how to deal  and keep going on.

Decisions matter. They do not only affect yourself. Decisions affect all of those around you and most likely a generation after, possibly more.

Sin hurts. But God heals.

I don't think much about what happened all those years ago. I don't dwell on it or feel like it defines me in any way. I truly feel healed from it all. My story is not the same as others though. Some still are reeling from the pain, figuring out how to move on, how to forgive, or maybe just swallowed up by the choices of others and deciding to join in. I have Jesus in my life who has healed me, given me peace and washed all the hurt away as only He can.

But having such a beautiful and heart felt talk with my sweet and strong cousin has made me see things differently and more clearly, which has allowed more healing, more understanding and more love to come into our lives.

I'm so thankful for the gift of humility, love and care that my cousin is to those around him. He truly is an amazing man! I am blessed to have him as a friend again.

God is teaching me sympathy right now. He is showing me things that I couldn't see in the past but are so clear now. He is softening my heart, molding it to look more like His.

I'm so thankful for the people God uses to help me on my journey and I sure hope to be a help to others as well.

In short: be humble, love much, and go the extra mile to connect with someone. You won't regret it. Be the healing balm to someone's life if you can. That's a good choice and we need more of those in this world.

We all carry burdens. We all can love. We all can make this world beautiful.

Choose rightly. It matters.

I have been listening to a lot of Jon Foreman.  He says things better than me.

Life with Living Books

A few highlights from my day:

I printed out these pages (scroll to the bottom for the print outs) for the kids, hoping it would encourage them to want to read some of the books or maybe even all of them! They took them eagerly looking over the pages of suggested titles and were delighted that they had already read a couple or were in the process of reading one now.
Grace is reading My Side of the Mountain and promptly ran upstairs to continue her much loved book. She will get the joy of checking it off her list and rating it, too, alongside the real joy of getting transplanted into another place and time, caught up in a story. 

I also printed off a series of 20 questions to ask each child. I started with Zade this morning: Of all the things you are learning, what do you think will be the most useful when you are an adult? He answered with READING. :) 

August perused his pages of suggested books and decided to read Blueberries for Sal and as he read I sat by him on the couch and pretty soon Liam came over and we all laughed and enjoyed the book together.

Our days are made up of many things, but reading is a huge chunk of it. My kids have read more than I did in my entire school career and that is not a stretch of the truth! We choose books that are living.  Whole books, written usually by one person who is passionate about the topic. Books that tell the information through beautiful story telling. It has been such a fun adventure these last few years and I look forward to the many years ahead filled with beautifully crafted books and all the discussions that come with them. 

Teaching

Today our Latin phrase was:

docendo disco scribendo cognito.

It means, I learn by teaching, think by writing. 

We talked about how we must really know and understand something to be able to teach it to others. Also, how writing can help us get our thoughts and ideas out and properly organized. How writing can actually help us think. 

I had the kids each teach the rest of us how to do something. 

G showed us how to wrap a present. 

Z taught us how to connect the Wii to the T.V.

A's presentation was on how to make a fruit platter. 

It was fun to see what they chose to teach! 

It was good for me to keep my mouth closed and let them do the talking! 

They each did a great job keeping the right sequence of events. They "did" while they taught so it was probably easier than if they were just thinking through the steps. They spoke clearly, made precise movements and rarely looked anyone in the eye! ;) 

They were each very enthusiastic in wanting to share their presentation. I think there is something in all of us that desires to share and talk about something we know and it's important to be able to get the opportunity to do so. It's also important to be able to share exact words you are thinking. I know I have struggled with finding the right words my whole life! I want to challenge my children to speak clearly and use the right words, taking the time to think about what it is they are trying to communicate with others. Words matter. 

Last year I read a book about C.S. Lewis and found it fantastic that his tutor didn't let him get away with shoddy thoughts spoken wrongly. His tutor would challenge him until Lewis got it right and spoke clearly. I know C.S Lewis was blessed with an amazing mind but look also at what great teaching and an attention to detail produced in him! 

As a homeschooling family we don't have a lot of audience, but I will continue to do more exercises like this one and find ways for them to speak in public, also. 

In the mean time we will continue to teach each other and think by writing. 

Nature study while roadtripping

One of the things we made sure to squeeze into our car for our big road trip was our nature journals and all that we need for nature study. Our small backpack was full!

Nature study and journaling with it is newish for us so as much as I want the kids to do it, I am really just making it more and more of a habit for myself at this point. The kids are doing nature study weekly but not researching what they come across by themselves right now. When we do it together I do the research and let them know what it was that we saw, but more often than not at this point they are observing and drawing only. Most things they know the names of but we will definitely be incorporating more poems, latin names, thoughts, facts, labeling, etc. as we continue this beautiful journal.

I was so excited to take a road trip with our whole family! The last time (two and a half years ago) we drove to my parent's place it was the kids, my Mom and I. We had a great time but it was really nice having Micheal with us this go round.

One of the things I was really looking forward to was seeing such different landscapes, animals, insects, plants. We live in a pine forest on a mountain. We drove through deserts, hills, flat lands, huge mountain ranges, and prairies.

Our first stop was Arches National Park just north of Moab, Utah. Huge red rocks! The softest sand you have ever felt! Rock formations. So different than our back yard. It was lovely! I took pictures and we will draw in our journals from those pictures.

Next we stopped in at Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado. This place is seriously cool! We had more time so we were able to get our journals out. 

There were lots of desert plants like this Yucca.

Oklahoma is where we mostly got in our nature journaling. I was trying to do as much as possible, not only to learn what is there but to work on my drawing skills! 

Lots of great things in this beauty filled world to observe, think on, draw, and learn about. Now we are back in the mountains and Spring is here. Trees and plants blooming all around us. Insects out and blowing into our hair! We have started watercolor lessons, too. Our journals are getting better and better!

First Saturday of Spring

After a bit of school this morning, we headed to our picnic spot. Spring is a wild and crazy ride! You just never know what the weather will do. Today was sunny with a touch of warmth. Yeah! We will take it!

Can you spot the little people?

 

Thankful for these days of slow living.  

Saw:

Buttercups

One bumblebee

Elk poop

Pine cones from multiple years

Tree roots

Heard:

Pine cones falling

Buzz of bumblebee

Kids telling stories

Soft breeze

 Chips being crunched ;) 

Felt:

Rough grass

Pokey pine cones

 Sun's warmth

Kisses from the Lovers

Tasted:

Turkey sandwiches

Chips

Tomatoes

Apples

Water

Smelled:

Fresh air

Elk poop 

Not a Fail

This may surprise you, but I see myself as more of an "indoorsy" girl. When I started to learn more about Nature Study, through the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education, I was challenged. But also inspired. 

 We live in a beautiful place. We are surrounded by nature. We literally can open our front door and be on our merry way to seeing, observing, hearing, and feeling all sorts of lovely plants and animals. But really, just about anyone can. 

This morning we woke up late -not surprising!- and my sweet niece was all ready for her first nap. Instead of trying to make all the rest of the kids be quiet, we quickly got our shoes and jackets on and plodded down the road. 

It was slow goings. The little one didn't want to walk. Two others were on bikes and the other two were in their own world playing a game they made up. 

 We weren't observing. 

We weren't listening to the birds. 

We didn't stop and wonder.

One of the kids on a bike rode home by herself. My one pointed question was, "How many earthworms can you find?" They looked for maybe one half of a minute and were then sucked back into their own game. 

BUT, we were outside! We were in nature! We might not have consciously noticed any minute detail, but we weren't inside with our faces zoned in on a screen. And for that I say, "We did not fail." 

This whole nature study thing is becoming a habit. It's getting us in a different atmosphere and changing the rhythm of our lives, and what my brain is thinking about. It's not always idyllic, with us drawing or figuring out the Latin name for lichen, but it is idyllic in the sense of it becoming more of what makes up our days and how it is forming our thoughts of creation and the world we live in. 

I am thankful for nature study. I am thankful for the beauty that this Earth is made of. I am thankful that my kids are still young and we can do this together. 

Remember (mostly talking to myself ;) ), it doesn't have to be perfect to be able to be enjoyed. Taking steps, DOING, is so rewarding. 

We chose adventure

A few nights ago, Micheal and I were talking about our next order of business on our little cabin in the woods and he reminded me that "we chose adventure!" Yes, we did! And this weekend's adventure was putting me to rest by taking a tree down. A huge tree. A huge, dead tree. Right behind our house.

Our house was built with one side basically right up to the side of the hill. While we love the idea of a hobbit sauna, we wanted our home to have a walkway around the whole thing, so naturally we dug it out last Summer. And quickly thereafter, saw that one of the trees was dying. We had chopped apart one of it's main roots. Every time a gust of wind blew, I would lie in bed and fret over that huge tree killing my whole family.

A friend of ours is in the "Hey, I climb trees, and fall them" business, so he and another friend and their two awesome wives came over this weekend and helped us out. 

With boots on and snatch blocks set to go, up the tree he went!

This was super fun and nerve wracking to watch. He cut the limbs off as he went up and the crew would gather them up in a pile. Then he chopped the top 1/3 off and then the rest.

There she goes! He expertly fell the tree in between all the others, missing anything and everything. Truly spectacular to watch!

I am relieved to have this behemoth down and happy to have one cord of wood for next winter already.

This was the beginning of this years home projects. We have SO MUCH to do but are enjoying the process. Next up is a new kitchen!

Nature walks

Our side of the mountain is soggy, heavy, wet. 

The rivulets race down the hill. Who will win? 

Little feet jump the puddles. Over and in. 

Mud is caked on the soles and tires, ready 

to be washed off by the steady rain pouring 

down, down, down. 

 

As my 3 year old's narrative is shared with the hundreds of birds, mine is internal. 

"How has homeschooling shaped who I am?"

"Would I be interested in all this if not for homeschooling?"

"I am embracing my PNW side, here, walking in the rain."

"Look at that floating mountain!"

...........

 Spring in almost upon us! We are outside more and more. There is so much to explore right outside our front door. We don't always investigate what is what. Mostly we walk and jump, stop and look, talk and show. Then we head home. 

This weekend the big kids went with their Dad on a little road trip to see family. Liam and I weren't feeling quite up to it, so we stayed home. We took walks, watched movies, read books, swam and snuggled. It was lovely. It was quiet. It was just what we needed.

In the last few weeks we have been walking more. At first the little lovers would whine and cry, and ask to be carried barely into the walk. We kept telling him no. We took our time. We aren't running races. ;) This weekend, we took three walks. Once we walked 3/4 of a mile to the pool, swam, and walked home. He didn't whine once! He explored. Poked mud. Ran! It's been so, so lovely. I'm not the type to strap my baby on me and hike so this has been a long time coming. 

Now, we rest. He will sleep well tonight!

This week

Outside this week. 

In nature. 

Walks. 

Cleaning the front room. 

Kids making a house. :) 

Jumping in melting snow puddles. 

Finding lichen and realizing it's not moss. 

Finding more lichen! 

Drawing lichen. 

And pine cones. Those are hard! 

Reading Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver.

Thoroughly enjoying those poems. 

Daughter entering art into an exhibit for kids. 

Selling one of her pieces. 

Playing basketball. 

Piano lessons. 

Cabinet maker came to measure kitchen. 

Cooking dinner with husband while listening to French cafe station on pandora. 

Drinking tea with honey. 

Nap on Sunday afternoon. 

These are the things I am thankful for this week. 

I count them and remember. 

I am humbled by this life filled with such things. 

I am happy. 

No, I am more than that. 

Content. 

Joy overflowing. 

 

Delight

"Push pause!", I called out. 
 "Come outside with me, the sky is gorgeous." 

Living in the mountains, surrounded by tall Evergreens doesn't provide the best sunsets, but we still try to take in what we can. 

One of the things I have tried to fit into our homeschooling days this year is nature study. I got us all notebooks and we really do attempt to draw what we observe, even if it's out of a book or off a computer screen.  

Tonight the sky was beckoning to be seen and enjoyed. The pinks and oranges were beautifully reflecting off the slow, wispy clouds. It changes so quickly. One minute you are in the middle of a light drenched forest, the next moment all the light has flitted past and darkness is fast approaching. 

August grabbed his notebook and colored pencils. Grace and I snapped a couple pics. The rest just took it all in through their naked eyes. 

It was a lovely few moments together.