Unschooling..Let the Earth be our Classroom

2012-02-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

Here is our yummy Hadley Jude. Her picture was taken by a wonderful local photographer. You can check out her website @ Dana Marchand Photography.

Our Hadley is growing so fast!

If I had to say one thing about parenting that is so very cliche I would say:

They grow so fast. If you blink, you will miss it all. It is hitting home lately.

Amelie and Ricky no longer need help in the tub.

I can leave most of them playing in the tub alone.

The oldest 4 can go outside together without me.

I need to cherish each phase as it comes. Each smile. Each hug. Each whine and cuddle.

I wish I could keep them young and by my side forever.

One day this chaotic house will be quiet and clean. I surprisingly don't look forward to those days.

The Appointment

2012-01-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

The appointment. OH the appointment.

We had an appointment with a Ped for Cohen. The first on the list was vaccinating. Why don't we vaccinate. I am an irresponsible parent who needs to be protecting her children. Apparently that isn't what I was already doing. I expect this disagreement when I go to the doctors. I smile and nod. There is no need to argue with a doctor about vaccinations.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind vaccinating for some diseases. I have asked Ron to research and we will come to a decision together. If doctors would admit that there are sometimes severe adverse reactions then we wouldn't be as hesitant. It gets covered up and Voila! No proof. I have read enough stories to confirm that it does happen. Just admit it.

Next came eating. Cohen has a hard time with many foods. He eats very healthy foods and is constantly adding new foods. We never make our children eat something they don't like. 5 of our children are wonderful eaters. We have one who gags over most foods. As a parent I feel it is important to respect your children and work around things. Obviously the doctor felt differently. He needs protein he says. He is shorter than most kids his age and lighter than most kids his age. Woopdeedoo. Ron was the same way. His name was Scrawney Ronnie. Cohen eats eggs, peanut butter and GASP chicken nuggets. I even suggested getting a protein powder to put in the smoothies and he said NO. You are his mother and you need to sit and make him eat REAL food. It just gets better and better, doesn't it?

AND the grand finale.....Are you ready for it? He acts like this because he is UNSOCIALIZED! He needs to be in school so he can learn how to socialize properly. This is when I got mad. I am very confident with our homeschooling. There are field trips once a month that he is a part of, play dates, park day, Sunday school, his siblings...PLEASE! If he was any MORE socialized he would need naps from being too tired! He thinks kids should be around other kids their own age. OH so my children shouldn't be talking to adults, no babies, no teenagers. He says that they shouldn't be learning their activities from someone who would be say 14 because of the way 14 year olds act! Well, he obviously hasn't met the 14 year olds I know. I would be proud to have my son act like the teenagers he knows. The 14 year olds I know play with children, respect and love their parents, are parts of church youth groups, have intelligent conversations with adults, are happy, well-rounded people who are amazing at giving good examples. So please don't tell me it isn't healthy for my children to be around a 14 year old.

By this point I am saying Thank you for your time. So as a homeschooling, non-vaxing, co-sleeping, gentle discipline and no Crying It Out mom, I sure have my mountains to climb! Isn't that what we should be doing though? Fighting for our children to be the best we can be for them. Fighting for their minds, their hearts and their integrity. Fighting every doctor, uneducated people for what we believe in? I feel this is what is best for my children so I do it!

Of course I prefer to not fight and stand back but when it is needed, well, that is what I am here for.

One picture is at Christmas with the kids. They are all in the PJ's I made them.

Another picture is of our Hadley Jude.

The other is Reagan in her bed with the quilt I made her. I tell her that she is surrounded in my love. She is. <3

2012-01-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

My baby daughter has Mastocytosis. I don't know if it is Mastocytoma or Urticaria Pigmentosa. We have been very busy researching. Thank you for the understanding with not writing so much lately. A lot of our plate.

2012-01-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

I have not written in a while about our adventures. We have been a busy family enjoying each other and well...living. I will write a nice post soon.

The Stockings I made for the kids

2011-12-21T15:23:00.000-08:00

The stockings hung by the chimney with care

Amelie

Ricky

The Stockings I made for the kids

2011-12-21T15:19:00.001-08:00

Ricky

Cohen

Reagan

Hadley

Callum

Seeing the Lights

2011-12-13T05:03:00.000-08:00

Last night I made chicken pamesan, green beans with garlic and mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. We ate together and dad suggested we go for a drive to look at Christmas lights. As a child I remember going to a house about 15 minutes away. It is all beautifully decorated with moving ferris wheels and a lit up Santa's workshop. I mean, literally the yard is FULL of lit up decorations. We brought our dog Skip and our kitten Chloe and talked about the lights. When we got there we decided to get the kids out two at a time to walk along in front of the house to get a better look. In the dark I could see their shadows, hand in hand, looking at this creation. I held Hadley (babe) up so she could see the lights too. We then drove home all excited about this house and vowed to go back every year and maybe even bring hot chocolate next time.

Ok, lets try this again. Everything in this post is true. Lets put a bit of real in it, shall we? lol

I scramble around the kitchen trying to make dinner. The wonderful smells fill the air while the kids whine and argue with each other. One of "those" days! We are going to decorate the inside of our house tonight! The kids are so excited! Well dinner takes longer than expected and as I clean up the kitchen I am thinking of a way to change decorating until tomorrow night. Hey everyone, we are going to make eggnog and read stories together instead! A bunch of groans. Ron has the wonderful idea of driving around to look at lights. Coats, boots and a scramble later and we are all buckled in. We get to the end of the road and Hadley is pretty upset. We head back home to get a warm bottle and head back out again. She is still pretty upset so we pull over 1 minute up the road and I help her poop for about 20 minutes while Amelie looks around our truck for a spare diaper. She is finally ready to go back into her carseat so we head out. As we drive to our destination Cohen is whining that he wishes we stayed home to decorate. I am starting to think the same thing. How much longer? Wahhhh! So Ron says, here comes the lights! The house from my childhood is still there! It is beautiful! The kids are very excited and animately talk about the characters that are lit up and moving. I have this wonderful idea for Ron to take two kids at a time to get a closer look. He groans and doesn't want to but does. We take turns using two coats and I see them in the dark, holding hands, against the lit up yard. I can see that Ron is enjoying himself as well as the children. As Reagan is taking her turn she runs ahead and is beside the road. While carrying Callum, Ron is running with a sore back to catch her. He is annoyed but is fine and comes back to the car. Hold the kitten so she doesn't get out. (She doesn't like car rides!) Don't let Skip out! Here you take this coat and STOP CRYING, you will get a turn! They all see the beautiful display and Ron then farts and we are all gagging and he can't stop laughing. He then says, It is better to give than to recieve! We are all laughing and gagging. We then drive home talking about what we saw and Amelie says, "That is my favorite place in the whole world!" We get them to bed without brushing their teeth or flossing because it is so late. They fall asleep quickly.

Both stories are true. One is a bit more real. Yes, it is nice to share all of the positives with everyone but it is also nice to share what really happens. It shows people that we are all human and we aren't going to have life all handed to us with roses. In ten years we will look back and remember going to that house as a family and the magical feeling of it. I remember going to that house with my family and having hot chocolate that my mom brought. I don't remember everything surrounding it. I doubt my children will either. Sure life can get tough and life can get frustrating but hey, that IS life. Enjoy it and spend it with the ones you love.

Nooks and Crannies

2011-10-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

We cry too

I recently had a friend tell me that she likes the non-sugarcoated stories I share.
I thought about that. When I post something real it bothers me just a little bit. I am opening up a window into our lives. A dirty little window. I would love it if my family was always happy, smiling, helpful and well, inhuman. A home where we share, have clean floors and engage in learning activities 24/7. Why do we all try to show others just the positive moments? Is it because we are insecure about the bad moments? Are we afraid of being judged? I think that is it for me. I don't want to be judged. I don't want to be judged about the child whining in the grocery store. I don't want to be judged if my children eat at 8pm because we were too busy with life. I don't want to be judged about my messy house at 4 in the afternoon.
Well guess what. We all have these dirty little windows. We all have secrets we wish not to share and we all have insecurities and negative qualities. Do we hide them or share them to help others feel more human. I was just reading Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul and it had me laughing because I could relate. Isn't that a wonderful feeling? When we can relate to someone else? It makes you feel validated. It makes you feel a little less crazy and a little more normal.
So I am opening my window and you can come and take a peek. Shhhh...it's a secret.

1. Sometimes it is 11pm at night and Ron and I look at each other and ask, "Did you feed the
dog?"
2. When we have company coming we throw the laundry that doesn't fit in the baskets in
garbage bags and hide them in the back washroom. (Laundry is almost all done...GASP)
3. Cohen gets sucked into Lego Star Wars on PS3 and I let him play for hours just to watch him
jump around while he presses the buttons.
4. My kids bathe once a week if they are not gross.
5. At bedtime, I threaten Reagan with not doing the next days activities because I just.can't.
stand one more time out of her bed.
6. Cohen's main food staple is chicken nuggets.

So there you have it. Our home is a normal home with nooks and cranies. It is a home with love, crankiness, laughter, whining, sharing, pushing and just ... family. Family.

Africa

2011-10-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Thank you God for this food

Bear with me as I put my thoughts onto this blog.

Growing up I have always known about Teen Missions. They are an organization who helps people in Africa. They help them with a number of things like food, clean water, teaching and bible. We have family friends who work for Teen Missions so I have always been "exposed" to what happens in Africa. But like so many other people in our society we don't really get it. We see their sad little pictures of half dead being eaten by flies children lying in their parents arms. I say so bluntly because that is really what it is. It doesn't need any sugarcoating for our benefit. That is the reality. A little piece of their reality. We see images of these people and think "How sad" and move on or change the channel or turn the page. How easy it is for us to forget. How easy it is for us to get back to regularly scheduled programming, making dinner, going to work, answering the phone or changing a diaper. For many years I have thought about Africa off and on and thought about how I wished I could help. Send $10 here and there. I did my part! Every little bit helps but was I really doing all that I could?

Recently something happened to me. I am suddenly seeing the world in a different light. Before this something happened to me I envied people of their grand homes, nice cars, large properties and fancy decorations. I wanted I wanted I wanted MORE. Always wanting more. After this something happened I am left still wanting MORE but not for me. I am wanting MORE for THEM. With every little moment in my life I am seeing things with more clarity about the reality of our world. The fascination with celebrities, the biggest and newest and the MORE MORE MORE. How could I have been so blind? It all seems so trivial ... all of these things. All of this useless junk. I feel like my world has been turned upside down and inside out. I am finding that there really does have to be a boundary here. I cannot let this consume me.

A few nights ago I was feeling so incredibly overwhelmed with the needs in Africa. I sat and cried thinking about how I can't save everyone. I can't save that tiny child of 2 from clinging to his mother who is dying of AIDS all alone. I can't save that young girl of 10 from being raped on her 3 mile walk to get dirty water to drink for her family. I can't stop malaria. I can't stop the pain. I can't stop the sorrow. I can't stop the loneliness. I can't stop AIDS. I can't stop the rising number of orphans. I can't do it all. And that is ok. God has that child of 2, that little girl of 10, AIDS suffering, lonely people in His hands and in His heart. He's got them. I will keep this in my heart while I help another child of 7 from the same fate of the 10yo girl. I will help a different 3yo than that 2yo. I CAN still help some even if it is just a drop in a bucket. Is that why we don't help? Because we can't save them all? Or is it because it is so painful to face a reality such as that that we turn away? Is it because we are so consumed in our own greedy lives that we don't step up and do what is right? I guess it is different for everyone.

So this is what this one family is going to do.

We are going to start I CAN.

We are going to start doing all that we can to raise money for a well. This will be the start. The well costs $6600 for a village to have safe, clean drinking water. This will stop that 10yo girl from walking half or more of her day to find water. This will help stop disease.

We will be creating another blog about our journey as a homeschooling family to raise enough money to help some people in Africa.

There will be pictures of the things we do and information about what you can do.

You may want to donate to help or you may even want to start a family project of your own to make a difference.

Thank you for reading my late night post about what has been on my mind.

Here is a link to the lists of things we can buy for people in Africa. I assure you, the money goes directly to what you want it to.

http://www.aidsorphans.org/community-development-projects/
Click on Projects with Eternal Purpose at the top to see the list with pictures.

2011-10-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

I decided to go through my fabric closet. Of course this was exciting for the kids. I had a pile left for them so I let them pick what they were interested in. They then went off on their own and made up outfits. Amelie has a jeans pant leg on and the rest have cotton. I like how they work together to make each other look stylish. The girls do this often with their dresses. They get all dressed up and come out for a dance show. Will one of them be a fashion designer? Who knows. It doesn't really matter. If I had that thought every time they got into something I would be worn out! lol A couple of days ago Ricky was taking our door knobs off with a screw driver and putting them back on. Locksmith...probably not. Amelie likes to write stories. Writer...probably not. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs that they can have. They will figure it out when the time is right. That is where trust comes in. Trusting them to be able to learn what they need, when they need and how they need. Trusting them to follow their interests. Trusting them to follow their own individual paths. I am their facilitator. I wouldn't want to miss out on these moments for anything. It is who they are and I love it. I love them.

2011-10-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

Being yourself

My 2 year old son likes dresses. Pink ones, white ones and orange ones like the one here. He watches his sisters dress up and undress many times a day. Why shouldn't he join in? I don't have to worry about my children being mercilessly teased because they dress how they like. If I am going to be honest I may have an issue with my almost 6yo wearing a dress out. If he insisted I would tell him what reactions he may get and let him decide from there. I want to equip my children in this world but also allow them to self express. Fine line.

Artistic Lunch

2011-10-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

2011-10-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

I want to remember this

The boys share a room with us. When Cohen goes to bed at night he puts his most valued toy on his bed post. When I go to bed I see the silhouette of his chosen toy. I never want to forget him placing them gently on top. I may understand the book "I'll love you forever" just a bit more now.

Fear

2011-10-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

Sisters

Exploration

Hadley on the sidelines

Freedom

We had Homeschool Track and Field Day today. This means heading to the beach in the afternoon with the kids. As I look through the pictures I notice their smiling faces and the freedom they have. You do not see any pictures of me. If you did you would see worry. Anxiety. Serious. I have 6 children. 4 of whom cannot swim yet. 3 of whom who try to. Can you see where this would stem from? I try. I really do. I just don't find the beach relaxing. I remember my grandma (who had 8 children) telling me that whenever they would go to the beach she would be watching like a hawk and counting heads. My grandpa would be laying out in the sun without a care in the world. While I was hovering over my children I looked over at my husband who had the baby in the shade. Here he is relaxed and with a camera. He is taking in all of their smiles. Their silliness. Their exploration. I am only now taking in these images because I did not experience them today. Sometimes I wonder if my grandpa and my husband don't worry because they know that we do. Our children don't worry because they know that we do. After about an hour I did a trade with my husband. I fed Hadley while Ron was with them. Don't get me wrong. My eyes stayed trained on my children but I also got to see them from his point of view. I could see my whole family in the sunshine. I am so thankful that I did switch him because our children got to run. They got to explore without moms worried words. I would like to say that maybe this will change me. It won't. This is my fear. Once they can swim I know I will be able to relax at least a little bit. I will still be counting heads but I do that everywhere. I just have to be sure I have the right balance. I have to believe that every parent has fears. Every parent protects their children with a fierceness no one can match. I just don't want to smother them. I am ok with it at the beach. I tend to be more relaxed elsewhere.

Don't they just look carefree and beautiful? I am happy that I have a husband to capture beautiful moments at the beach.

Our children

2011-09-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

Moments in Time

2011-09-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU GOD

As I was signing into my account I hear a muffled cry. I look at my children and count. 1.2.3.4.5. Ok one is missing. Callum. I follow the cry and realize that my little 2.5 year old is standing on the porch trying to get IN! I had just brought the dog out and didn't notice my little guy escape. Thankfully, he wouldn't want to venture out to the road. It only takes a second, doesn't it? A fluttering butterfly followed onto the road. A toy run after. Searching for airplanes flying high. In one instant, I could be one less.

A 3yo boy was abducted in British Columbia. He was gone an agonizingly few days. Scores of people searched for this missing boy in hopes of finding him safe. Guess what. He was brought back. Back into the arms of his terrified and grateful parents.

Moments like these help me not take them for granted. Messy hands. Sticky faces. Muddy boot prints across our carpet. Hearing momma for the thousandth time in a minute. Whining about a sibling. These are all moments to be cherished. Most of my life I am with my family. I know that when they are grown I will not have any regrets on how much time I spent with them. Sure from day to day I picture a big, yellow automobile to pull up in front of my house and load them up for the day! 6 glorious hours for cleaning, quilting, reading and SLEEPING!!! Most days though, I feel so grateful and thankful that I GET to spend my days with my giggling, arguing, fascinating children. Really, life can't get much better than this!

2011-08-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

Time

2011-08-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about independence. I see older people whose children are teenagers or older. I cannot fathom being able to take a nap or quilt uninterrupted. Some calls me on the phone and asks if I would like to join them for a coffee/movie/dinner and I can say yes and not worry about the kids. I will sleep through the night. The house will not have more food under the table than on. I can watch my shows and not worry about little eyes watching and being influenced. I get little glimpses of what my life will be. Then I am up in the middle of the night with a little Hadley, nuzzled into my neck. I can feel her little chest going up and down against mine. She whimpers like a puppy in her sleep. Before bed I check on every one of my children to make sure they are there and covered. Cohen has his mouth open while he sleeps. Amelie is spread out and Ricky is curled up in her plethora of stuffed animals. Reagan I tread lightly because she will wake up and want to be up. Callum is out like a log and won't move. Throughout the night most will be out on the couch, spread out all over. Why do we have beds? lol We put blankets out on the couch at night because we know they will end up here. Growing up is bittersweet. While thinking about independence I think about missing this stage. The needing me stage. The look in their eyes that says I am their world. I look forward to who they will become but that can't stop me from seeing who they are. Quilting can wait. The memories cannot.

Touch

2011-07-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

One touch says it all. Cohen was playing soccer and got in "trouble" for playing with another little boy instead of playing soccer. I was ok with that but apparently the coach didn't like it. He had to come and sit next to me for a break. I didn't know Ron was taking this picture. He was behind us and took the picture of me holding Cohen's hand. This picture means a lot to me and I will tell you why.
I have SPD. Sensory Processing Disorder. I have a hard time with light touch. I worry often that I am scarring my children by constantly telling them not to touch me or removing their hand/foot off of me. I worry that when Cohen was falling asleep trying to run his fingers softly up and down my arm, I turned him away. When I am reading stories I panic when the kids are surrounding me and touching me. So this picture to me is a relief. I don't even notice how often we touch. I hug easily and kiss so that isn't a problem. It is the light touch. So thank you to my husband for giving me this gift.

Friends

2011-06-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Friends. Socialization. Blah Blah Blah.
This is the socialization that I love. Good friends. Positivity. Encouragement. Compassion.
This is a family of many who visit us often. I have honestly never heard a word of negativity come from one of these children. I am not saying it never happens but I have not witnessed it. When one of my children fall they rush to help them up. When a child is sad they are there and concerned. They have never called my children names or done anything with malicious intent.
They are a strong Christian, homeschooling family with strong morals. When my children play with them I know they look up to them and learn from them. I don't have to worry about what they will be exposed to and I like that.
I have decided recently that our kids will not be watching TV any longer. Yes, they will watch DVD's that we approve of or a kids channel early in the morning. Any other television will no longer be. No more commercials, no more previews and no more sexualization of everything.
I was watching Family Feud the other day and the question was...What would women like to know about their husbands ex-girlfriend? One answer was...Was she good in bed? First I thought, well that was inappropriate. My children should not be thinking about people being good in bed. I did not even consider the fact that they are getting the impression that it is normal for someone to have multiple partners. Isn't that terrible? And we wonder why there are so many pregnant teens with no morals! Why are we shocked? It is spit at them from every angle! TV, school, internet...etc.
Are we sheltering our children? Hell yes! Yes we are! Is that a bad thing? No, I don't believe it is.

2011-06-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Lets see how much I can write before Hadley fusses. That is what life is like with a newborn. Lets see how much I can eat before she needs to be held. Rush Rush Rush. It is to be expected.
I have to remember that. When I look at my house and I am just too tired to use the vacuum, dust or tidy up, it is ok. It is ok that the laundry is not all done. It is ok that my children have watched TV all morning. It is ok that dinner for Cohen last night was dry cheerios and peanut butter.
Hadley has been a fussy little baby the past couple of days. She doesn't want to be put down. This makes for a messy house and undone chores. OH WELL! Sure I say that on here but in my mind I am screaming for a break. I am screaming for a clean house and healthy meals. I am screaming for my boobs back. Ya I said it!
Now don't get me wrong. I love the cuddles, the soft skin and fluffy hair. I love the grunts, whimpers and new smiles. But that isn't what this post is about. It is about the expectations a mom puts on herself with a newborn. No matter how many times I tell myself that the THINGS are not important right now...I still feel like they are important.
BAH - crying baby. One day I will look back and think...why did I care about the stinkin house? Not today. lol

Miss Hadley arrives!

2011-06-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

Meet Hadley Jude! She was born on May 24th at a whopping 10lbs. This "little" person is the reason why I haven't been posting as regularly. First the morning sickness, then the pain from carrying a 6th baby and now she is here. Need I explain why I wouldn't have time to post now? lol. Hadley is the last to grace our family. I feel so incredibly blessed to have our 6 children and our wonderful marriage.
Birth Story:
At 4am I called the midwife because I was having contractions 4-5 min apart but only 15 min in length. I know myself so called. She told me to hold off (snicker) and see what happens. It is early labour. A half hour later I called again and they were 1 min in length. She said to meet her at the hospital. We called my mom and she left with my dad to meet us there. My brother Kaille came to watch the kids. Half way there I yelled for Ron to call an ambulance because I felt pressure. We pulled over and I hopped in the ambulance. (I don't need to go into details about peeing on the side of the intersection or hugging the paramedic and biting Ron during a particularly strong contraction. (Snicker again) Horrible ride with bumps and me yelling at the male attendant to rub my back and hold my hand. I get there and I am 8-9cm dilated. At this point I am crying for an epidural. I know that I could have had her easily but I had such fear from Cohen's birth going natural that I wasn't allowing it to happen. I was laying on the bed and vocalizing through the contractions. They were right on top of each other for a while. Part of me thinks I should have just stood up and given birth but I didn't. I ended up with the epi (heaven) and I relaxed. The neat part about the birth is she birthed herself. I didn't have to push. She literally came out on her own. She would come out a bit...go back in a bit. Apparently it was pretty amazing to watch.
She is another easy baby. (Thank goodness) Of course she wakes through the night and doesn't always go back to sleep for a while but she is calm and content.
She fits so nicely into our family. You can tell we were made for each other!

Easter

2011-04-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

This Easter morning I felt very grateful. I had 5 young children excitedly rushing out to see what the Easter Bunny brought. First they gather at the doorway so they can come out together. Usually this involves Ron getting his coffee and camera ready and the kids busting at the seams. They gather jelly beans leading from each of their beds on the floor. This is how they know the bunny came of course! You can see Reagan here gathering hers up. She is a little Ricky. She meticulously collects each and every one and sneaks them throughout the morning. The Easter Bunny brings things like cheese strings, juice boxes, raisins and yogurt drinks. Our children are very excited by this because they never get pre-packaged foods. They usually get a whole jar of applesauce that they then get in bowls. Cheese is cut. Raisins are bought in bulk. They also got some chocolate eggs in their baskets and searched the house for more.
I love holidays with them. It reminds me of how close we are. It is tradition. I love to look over at my husband and him look back at me and we smile. Memories. I don't look forward to the day that we all sleep in or when they are gone. I treasure these times and never want them to end.
We also watch the Easter Story about Jesus dying on the cross and what that means for us and all. We go to church and then head on over to grandma and grandpa's where they spoil them with chocolate and candy.
We are very lucky to have family and love.

2011-04-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

We are switching computers tomorrow so pictures will be posted. Yay!

So I went to a homeschooling conference this past weekend. It felt good to get away and enjoy some me time. I went with some girlfriends and slept out. It was definitely refreshing!

I want to write a post about a seminar I attended while there. This isn't the time. It moved me so much that I feel completely changed. I am looking at life differently and looking at who is in my life differently. Before I went I was feeling worn out, annoyed and watching the time and waiting for bedtime. Sure I am pregnant and I was sick but it was more the negative feelings. Lets face it. Parenting is exhausting not only physically but emotionally. This speaker hit me to my core.
I may not post about the details at this time but I will send you to her blog and tell you the name of her book. You will not be disappointed.
The blog is aholyexperience.com and her book is called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.
I sat there enthralled and crying. I was among many.

Now I am home and enjoying my children once again. Yes it is quite possible to enjoy our children when 33 wks pregnant. It is still possible to enjoy children when your body aches and all you want to do is close your eyes and not wake up for a week. It is still possible to enjoy children when you are weary and unsure. Just look at them. How could you not?

I am heading off to sleep now. I want to enjoy my children in the morning. :)

I love evenings like these

2011-03-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

Evenings when Ron is home. When he is playful and fun. When we are gathered around the dinner table laughing and joking. When we have pie for dessert. When I get a nap. When we read together and enjoy each other. When we say prayers. When they are healthy and happy. I love evenings like these.

I am very anxious for Spring to arrive. We have a small house so when the kids need to burn some energy it can get loud in here. I feel bad constantly telling them Shhhh.

Today it was raining. Melting the snow away. I just can't wait to see the kids outside in the sun collecting bugs and flowers for their mom. Jumping in puddles and making mud pies. Screaming and running around the yard. Vitamin D.

I find that when I am either pregnant or during the Winter I feel guilty. Don't get me wrong, I love homeschooling and don't even a little bit want to send them to school. Not even a tiny bit on the worst days. I just feel bad because they are locked inside with a hormonal mom. haha
When they are outside on a sunny day all the guilt fades. I see my children in a new light. On any given day my children are happy and thriving. Which is amazing being inside for so long. They do get out but not nearly as much as spring, summer or fall. I NEVER hear the words, "I am bored." Never. To be honest, I am not sure why. I am not one to constantly having them do activities. I don't lay out art projects with details on how to do them. I very rarely bake and include them. Our days pretty much consist of them doing their own thing. Amelie is one to write stories, sew, make comics, make up experiments or inventions. Ricky and Cohen enjoy playing with each other. Make believe, playing with toys and just plain having fun. Reagan and Callum like to play but not so much with each other yet. Roo can be dominating. I have noticed recently that Cohen and Callum are playing together. It is nice to see.
The main thing that I need to work on as a parent is getting more involved with them at a playing level. I read a million books a day, I snuggle and I take care of them. What I don't do is play. I want to train myself to like it. I really do. It is hard to get involved when they are so independent. They don't approach me and ask what they can do. Now if I notice they are bothering each other I take the cue and set the box of legos out and let them build. An activity. I feel that I need to get on their level more. That is my biggest struggle.
I will be posting more pictures again soon. Ron has to clear the camera so I can snap away again.
Night all!

SNOW and lots of it!

2011-02-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

2011-02-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

We have so much that we have been doing and I haven't been posting. I have had the flu and I am trying to recuperate. I have been tired and feeling sick for a bit now.
I am 25 wks pregnant now. Our little girl is getting stronger and the lovely kicks to the bladder have started!
The kids are wonderful.
Amelie has been doing some creative writing which is nice. I can see the progress as she writes. Ron is reading Narnia with her at night. It is wonderful to see them bond they way they are.
Ricky is still our sweet Ricky. She is so very compassionate and plays nicely with all of her siblings. She has a great attention to detail while doing her art. She is still pretty quiet and likes to be close to mom when we go out. I like how we have never pushed their independence.
Cohen has gotten very silly and loud. He used to play quietly for hours. Not anymore! It is great to see his personality coming out. He still won't eat most foods but again, I am very happy that we haven't pushed unwanted foods at him.
Reagan is still our fireball. I find if we give her more attention throughout the day she is much happier. I think we got in the routine of getting frustrated with her automatically because she could be hard to take. It has gotten much better. She is the sweetest little thing. She constantly gives hugs and kisses to all.
Callum is starting to talk a bit more. It is nice when they are at a stage that they can communicate what they want or need. He is still very quiet and patient but becoming a bit more assertive. He is mauled by his siblings.
Ron will be emptying the pictures from the camera so I can take a bunch more to upload. I have some scrumptious pictures but I am just too tired to upload tonight!
I hope all of my fellow homeschoolers out there are doing well and loving what they are doing.

2011-01-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

Most of us panic. We love our children. We are not following the crowd and sending them to school. We are not following the homeschooling crowd either. We are the less known group of unschoolers. I panic.
Amelie (8 now) was writing a story on the computer. She was asking me how to spell a bunch of words. I had a vision of her as an adult writing on forums or at a job and not being able to spell. Appel is not acceptable. Neither is flote. Spelling is one thing that bothers me if it is horrible. So should I place this insecurity on my children. I did. I printed up spelling lists appropriate for their ages. The girls were excited about this. They each had a piece of paper and pencil and wrote down the words I gave them. Amelie got an average of 8 or 9 out of 10 and Ricky got them right. (Amelie's weren't spelled the same as they sounded) I took a sigh of relief and I have continued to leave them alone to learn. Every once in a while I do this. I wonder if other unschooling parents do this. I just sometimes need the reassurance that my children will be able to be who they want as an adult. I don't want them to grow up and not have the opportunities that everyone else has.
But that is all relative, isn't it?
I believe they will have more opportunities to be who they want. They will have time and freedom to explore their interests and desires. They have room to fail and room to soar. They have the opportunity to not allow outside influences to shadow how they view life.
This doesn't mean that their crazy mother won't throw a few spelling quizzes at them though.

2010-12-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

My son. My beautiful son turned 5 this month. There is a difference between girls and boys. Girls grow up and need their mom. They call for advice, wedding help and just a nice chat. I hope that my girls will grow up to be close to their mom. Sons. Sons are different. I have noticed throughout the years that a son will grow up and find a wife. A mate. He will then turn to HER for advice, wedding planning and just to chat. There will be another woman caring for my son. Sure there are circumstances in each family that change that dynamic but in general, this is what I have found. So when my sons get a year older it almost feels like a year closer to independence. A year closer to not needing kisses on knees, to not praying with mom that nightmares stay away and a year closer to being further away. Sure us moms all look at our lives now and think ... oh how nice it will be when I can take naps when I want, when I can take some special interest classes that we want and when we can sit and have a tea without stopping to wipe a bum. Ah, the freedom. But at what cost? No more asking how we can see God. No more little hand made crafts just for you. No more holding hands around the dinner table for prayers. No more "Mom, can I just stay up for 10 more minutes?" No more telling them to brush their teeth. No more kisses and hugs goodnight. No more being the center of someones universe. I do want my children to grow up and experience life but at the time they are ready.
Here is an example.
Cohen who is 5 asked me at the dinner table.
Cohen: Mom, when do I get to go to school?
Me: Why do you want to go?
Cohen: Because I can play with all of their toys.

He is ready. No, not ready for school. Ready for some independence. Once a week he has Sunday School. We decided to let him stay for the hour on his own. If anyone knows Cohen, he has no filter. He says the funniest and most embarrassing things at times. He gets in your personal space and doesn't realize it. This was a big step for us.
When I dropped him off I had a hard time walking out the door. I was just down the hall but still. All through the sermon I thought of him. Oh, I didn't tell them that he still goes in the girls washroom. Will they take him to the men's? He would look under the stall and ask whatever unfortunate soul was in there if he was done yet. Maybe I should go and make sure they know. I stayed put. I am not going to lie! I did peek in on him and he was doing fine. My little boy.
Am I ready to let go a bit. Yes, I can do that. For him. That is what my role is. I am his mom. The person who is there to listen to him. To know when he is ready. To not push or coerce him into a situation he is not comfortable with. He is moving into independence on his own. Good for him!

I have been cranky with the kids lately. Pregnancy related...I know. I was feeling down because of the yelling. I had the wonderful idea of throwing flour all over the kitchen/kids/counters (you name it) and watch them laugh. And laugh WITH them. It was a lot of clean up but well worth it! While the flour will be gone from my kitchen the memories and pictures will last a lifetime.
It is nice to let go sometimes.

Family

2010-11-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

It looks like I will be blogging again!

1st reason is I am not sick anymore. YAY!

2nd reason I have realized that I can still upload pictures on here.

A lot of normal family things have happened in the last month. Halloween, Track and Field Outing, Vet Outing, Park days, time in the forest, walks, laughter, crying and noise.

We took our annual pictures in the local forest and there is one of them. I always feel the closest to my family when we are alone in nature.
The second picture is of Ricky at the apple farm. We all went and had a good time but I especially liked this genuine smile.
The third picture is of the Track and Field Outing. They had races, long jump, frisbee throwing and much more. We then went down to the cold beach and made sandcastles.

Right now we are going to the homeschool co-op and learning about explorers, exploring under the sea and space. This is more for the kids to have a good time than it is for educational purposes.

I am really enjoying our family dynamic. I love how the kids play nicely (at times) with one another. Amelie can play with Ricky or Reagan or Callum ... you get the idea. They play with different kids every day and I like to see that. I hope this is what is to come as they grow together.

I have been working on my dads quilt. It is almost pieced together and then the quilting will begin.

Christmas is fast approaching. We are much more ready this year. Of course we are not finished with presents but we also have 3 birthdays in December so we are concentrating on those as well.

We have been a family. A normal family who giggles, whines, argues, plays jokes, games and is pretty much always together. Just the way we like it.

2010-10-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

You must wonder what we are doing. At least, I like to think you are. ;)

The kids have been doing wonderful.

Amelie has been reading Magic Tree House as much as she can. I really should write down which ones she has so we can get more! She can tell time now. For some reason this took a while to click with her. She is so quick to catch on to everything but telling time was a toughie.

Ricky loves to draw and write what is happening in the pictures. She continues to comfort any who need it. She still likes to be on her own when out at the park. I see her exploring and really looking into things when she is alone. Ricky also has no problem interacting but prefers being on her own.

Cohen is well...Cohen. Saying a tonne of really sweet, funny things. I think he may be noticing personal space now. One can only hope! lol. He has been playing a lot of make believe with Reagan. His favorite book right now is This Rocket. THANK GOODNESS it is short because he wants to hear it daily.

Reagan...read the post below. Seriously though, she has calmed down the last couple of days. OH and she has decided to wear underwear and not have accidents. Have you ever heard of a parent who tries to keep a diaper on their child and that child demand to take it off and use the toilet successfully. I was literally trying NOT to potty train her until I wasn't sick. Yes, I hate the words potty train. She isn't a dog but I don't have the brain capacity to think of something better at the moment. Her and Cohen have library time on Tuesdays and they enjoy the special time with mom or dad.

Callum is starting to talk more now. Sure no one else understands him but he tries. ;)
He has good naps and is very easy going. He is really starting to like books much to my chagrin at the moment. I mean, you can only say BEAR and point so many times! BUT I do do it because a love of books is important to us.

Ron is moving on to day/afternoon shift work. YAY!!!!!!!!!!! I can have my husband back from midnights!
We are looking for a van with 8 passengers. That should be fun.
I felt flutters yesterday so little brazilian nut (that is apparently the size of baby) is doing well.

I have been quilting and I am hoping for a new sewing machine soon.

2010-10-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am at a loss. I have always been able to reason with my children. I respect them...except for one. I have this 3 year old that is impossible. The tantrums, screaming and crying is enough to drive someone mad. For every.little.thing she throws herself on the floor and has an all out battle with whatever object is around. She turns angry and is irrational. Do I think this is her fault? No. If I dig deep enough I will see that I haven't been fair with this little one. She is fire all on her own but I haven't dealt with it in the best way. I get busy with her other siblings and I have not taken the time to figure her out and help her. I think at this point I hold a grudge. I mean she is so incredibly irritating that I just want to put her in a relax time and be done with it. I want to punish her and make her stop. This is not the way I want to parent. I want to be there with loving arms and help her. I want to be her rock instead of her mountain. From this moment forward I am going to try harder with her and give her special attention to form a stronger bond with this little fireball. :)

2010-10-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

We have some wonderful news!! We are adding the last member to our family in May. This is why I have not written. I have been sick and whiny. Who wants to hear that? Be back soon.

2010-09-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

First: Happy Anniversary to my awesome husband! 9 years today. :)

I was really wanting to watch a cheesy, highschool movie and the stores here in town didn't have it. I went to a nearby town to get it. (The Last Song) I was watching it later on at night and it stopped close to the end. I can't stand DVD's. Can we get VHS's back? So anyways, the next day I called the store and asked them if they had another copy. When I got into the store there was an older man (say 60's) behind the counter. He had the movie ready for me and handed it over. He asked me if I would be bringing the movie back that night. I explained that I may not be able to because I had plans that evening. He literally tilted his head down and looked at me over his glasses. Are you serious? So this brought back my teenage years. It brought back the awkwardness and frustration the adults brought me. Just because of my age I was suspicious and looked down upon. We live in a society where the young AND old are not respected. Children have no say. They are placed in an institution and made to stay there. It sounds eerily familiar as they grow old. They will be placed in a nursing home without a say. Why do we place all of our respect to the middle aged? I am hopefully raising my children to respect the elderly as well as the young.
I try very hard to respect my children and not fall into what society feels is right. They are little people with thoughts and feelings. This is a reminder to not look over my glasses at my children when they tell me something just because they are children.
They will be respected, loved and honored just as I hope I will be respected, loved and honored as I grow old. Isn't that the way it should be?

A million emotions at the fair

2010-08-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

We went to the fair last night. I heard that the prices were ridiculous. They were. One of the downsides to having 5 children is money. Taking that many children to the fair is either a fortune or the kids miss out on rides, games and treats. I was considering not taking them but they were SO excited I didn't want to disappoint them. I prayed while going in because I didn't want my children to feel like they were missing out.
We had $35 to spend. Yikes! $10 of this was just getting in. How were we going to do this?
We got enough tickets for them to be able to go on one ride each.
Reagan chose a kiddie car ride. The guy working the ride allowed Cohen to go on with her for free so she didn't get scared. So two kids for the price of one! We then headed over to this climbing rope maze because that was Ricky's pick. It was only 3 tickets instead of 4 so Amelie got to go through with her. This was working out wonderfully! We then head over to the bumper cars because that was Cohen and Amelie's pick. We had enough to let Ricky go on too! I was actually praying in the line that they would allow me to go on for free with Cohen so that he could drive himself. I mean, what is the difference if the car is being used anyways, right? Wrong! They had so.many.rules regarding safety that Ricky couldn't go on.
Cohen had to be tall enough to go on the cars. He was. BUT he had to go on with someone taller than the next line. Amelie had to be taller than the highest line. She was. So Cohen and Amelie went in the same car. Ricky wasn't taller than the tallest line and didn't have someone taller to go with. :( He wouldn't let me on with her without tickets (because we all know how much adults get out of this ride!) Grrrrr! I was SO MAD! Ricky was bawling and I felt awful for her.
We had 4 tickets for her still so she chose to go on a roller coaster (a smaller one) Now I am terrified of rides (heights) so my stomach was in my throat watching Amelie and Ricky on it. (He let Amelie for free to go on with Ricky) They were trying to smile when they went by but they were terrified. (So was I just watching them)
Well while the girls are on this ride (shudder) this wonderful man allowed Reagan and Cohen to go in the jumping castle. We only paid for Reagan and he told Cohen to get in too. When the girls were done their ride he opened up the jumping castle and told them to get in too! By this time I am holding back tears. They had a great time in there. I told him thank you because the kids couldn't go on many rides. He said he likes to let kids on for free especially when he sees big families. Was that an answer from God? I think so.
Just before we left we bought a bag of cotton candy. We sat in a circle on the grass and ate our chunk of it. The feel would have been completely different if they all had their own bag.
We have such a close and together family full of love. I love my life!

2010-08-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

I could go into the annoying conversation I had with another mom at swimming lessons about unschooling but I am not. I am focusing on my children and how proud I am of them. Amelie and Ricky can now SWIM! What a relief! Cohen is like a little fish in the water. A very loud fish.

2010-08-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

In my quest in finding my most favorite blogs I have found the most touching, amazing blog!

I feel selfish keeping it all to myself. (And his 165 followers)

He is an unschooling dad who shares his feelings, thoughts and life with the blogging world.
It is captivating and raw.

Here it is: www.justabaldman.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I am Neely

2010-08-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time with labels.

I have a hard time looking around the corner of the box.

A while back I joined a gym. I bought some sporty clothes with running shoes. I observed what people wore and how they wore their hair. It was a whole different style.
If you know me, you know that I dress either "normal" or in a natural style way. I buy Organic food and would love to live in the woods wearing only natural materials.
If you haven't noticed already, these are two different styles. Some days I wash my hair with vinegar and baking soda and some days I want a wonderfully smelling shampoo and conditioner.
So this makes me an eclectic style.

Being a Christian.
Lets face it. There is a group for every interest and every religion. I am a Christian. I felt like I fit in with the Christian "group." Then I come to realize I may not have the same views on some topics. For ex. I don't believe that children from other countries will go to Hell because they were taught something else and were not exposed to Christianity. I actually tried to force myself to believe every.single.thing about Christianity but if I am true to myself, I just don't. So does this mean I do not fit in with the group? There is another group I don't completely fit in.

Unschooling.
As you know, I completely believe in the philosophy of unschooling. I see the results daily.
I see how radical unschooling can work but I don't fully follow that. My children eat what they want and how much they want. If they want thirds they are more than welcome yet if they don't want more than 3 spoonfuls, that is ok too. I don't go so far as allowing them as much junk as they want. I am not against that for other families but not for mine. They have a bedtime. Would you consider me a relaxed unschooler? Where is my label? Where is my title?

I have come to realize that I do not fit into a mold. I do not fit in a perfect, little box that can be placed on a shelf quietly. I do not fit into society's shape. I am not a sheep.
I am a loving mother and wife. I care greatly about others and help as much as possible. Isn't that what is the most important?
I am Neely.

Food Control

2010-08-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh Food! Food can be a beautiful thing. It nourishes your body and gives you the pleasure of so many wonderful tastes. Food can gather a family from busy times either around the dinner table or our favorite...on the grass having a picnic.
Or food can be a disastrous, relationship stopping thing. Food can be used as a crutch or used as a form of control from a parent.
I have seen many a fight over food between child and parent. I have heard threats such as these, "You stay at that table until you are finished!", "You won't get any dessert!", You will go to bed without any dinner!" What is this teaching them? My control over this situation is superior to the way you feel. It doesn't matter if you like the food or if you are not hungry.
When was the last time you heard a spouse say to another spouse, "You eat that food or you get nothing!" Hopefully never. So why is this so appalling for an adult but not for a child. One word...RESPECT. When you respect your child you care whether they like a food or not, whether they are hungry or not and LISTEN to and HEAR them.
Now what will happen if you listen? Are you afraid they will run all over you and demand the world? Are you afraid they won't have all of the nutrients they need? Are you afraid they will starve themselves? Or are you afraid of losing control?
Before I had Cohen I prided myself on how my children ate. How twisted is that? Oh my children eat whatever I give them! Until I had Cohen.
From about the age of 1, Cohen has been extremely picky. He will not eat most foods. He would literally not eat pizza if it was cut into a square. If I forced him (which I remember quite clearly doing one time) he would gag and bawl. This left me bawling as well. That incident was everything control and nothing respect.
I respect my son enough to put out the extra effort of learning what he will eat. Enough effort to prepare him something separate. Enough effort to take his feelings and self esteem into account.
He will not eat casseroles, most veggies (umm all veggies), some fruit, stews, meat (except nuggets) and the list goes on. Lets list what he will eat! Bread, peanut butter, jam, grilled cheese, pizza (just cheese), garlic bread, perogies, chicken nuggets, bananas, raisins, grapes, blueberries, apples, watermelon, cherries, cheerios, juice with veggies in it, almond milk. That is the basic foods he will eat. Look how much I have to work with! He will try some food that we are eating and will sometimes decide he likes it. Like this morning he ate a nuts and fruit granola bar! How exciting!
I feel it is more important to instill closeness and respect with my children than control over what they eat. He is one very healthy little boy not only physically but emotionally as well.

2010-08-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the recycling plant. I was surprised to see the excitement about the ins and outs of recycling. I thought they would be all over the big machines mashing up the bottles and cans. Even Cohen was picking up the information. Ever since the kids have been telling me to recycle and how. This is an important lesson that I wouldn't have thought to give. We go about our days and I will share information on what *I* feel is important and the kids can retain it or not. Recycling is important.
Ron and I have finally decided on a goal. We are saving up to buy land up North. Then while we live here we are going to build a self sustaining house and then move on out there. Sure this will take a while but well worth it. How could I not have thought to give the kids more information on how important it is to recycle?

'Raw' from an unschooling ma

2010-08-09T10:54:00.001-07:00

I bet you guys think I am an awesome mom. That I have the laundry finished and never yell at my children. I am sorry to disappoint you but that is not the case.
I was reading a blog the other day and she had shared some 'rawness' in her post. I thought about how I never share that side of me with anyone but my closest family and friends. I like to portray myself as the perfect parent while our days are not perfect.
When people read this I would like it to help them. I am human. You are human. We all have our secret little moments that we keep to ourselves. I am going to share a bit about me and how I feel. The Raw side of me.
I am a guilt parent. I read so many books about how to be the best parent I can be. I don't read the mainstream ones but the gentle parenting books. I love to read. The negative side of that is guilt. My guilt to not live up to the perfection I want. I yell. Sometimes for a whole hour I am in a foul mood and say mean things. Things like..."Only babies poop in their underwear!" That was my doozy today. :( When I get frustrated I have a hard time guarding what I say. Sure I have a sit down afterward with said child but it still makes me feel like a horrible parent and that I am damaging who they are. My worst comment came a few years ago when I hurt Ricky somehow. I don't remember what happened. Like I picked her up too roughly or something like that. She said, "You hurt me!" I then said back, "I'm glad I hurt you." Isn't that the worst? Of course instantly I apologize and sometimes have a few tears. It doesn't make it right though.
Sometimes I will sit for hours and read a book! If it is a good one I can totally tune my children out and read. I take care of them but the house falls apart. They may ask for something and get the response..."When this page is done." I have always wanted my children to know how important they are but sometimes I think I fail that by my actions.
I "cook" chicken nuggets and perogies at least once a week. Sandwiches maybe twice a week. I am not a home cooked meal kinda gal. I do want that though. I want to be that mom who has dinner cooking all day and placed on the table with the family all sitting together. Last wk I went for a bath and a book while my family ate. I needed a break when Ron woke up. I did order a good vegetarian slow cooker book that I am looking forward to. I see many more home cooked meals on the horizon.
I have doubts on occasion about unschooling. I don't doubt the philosophy. I doubt my laziness as a parent. Some days there isn't anything fun that we have done together. Doing art together, reading, singing... We are working on this. But I always seem so sure of myself and my parenting but I am not. I have doubts like the best of them.
On the flip side, I am always there for my children. I will never put them in a situation that they are not comfortable with. I am their rock. I cuddle/hug/kiss them endlessly and they know how much they are loved. I am very open with my feelings and they are open with theirs. We are a very close and attached family. I feed them nutritiously and teach them about God.
I know that my children are wonderful and beautiful children. They are amazing. I just need to start seeing that in myself more.
So there it is. Raw from an unschooling ma.

When to let go

2010-08-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

We were given three Monarch caterpillars at a homeschool meeting. You wouldn't think caterpillars are so picky with which food they eat but they are. Monarch's eat milkweed.
We were lucky enough to go through the process of caterpillar to butterfly. In the first picture, you can see one green cocoon and two caterpillars hanging upside down just about to turn. The green then turns to black and shortly after the butterflies emerge. How wonderfully beautiful. Through this process I witnessed a strong resemblance to raising my own children. You take care of them and then set them free. That is the short version of it. If you are me, you go more in depth with that thought.
I find that society is very quick to rush their little children to independence. The 1st's are celebrated with great enthusiasm. Moms hands hold baby Ruth's tiny hands as she guides her steps. A cheer erupts at a 1st tooth emerging. Baby sleeps through the night and mom gets awed "lucky you's" from friends and family. When I had Amelie and Ricky I was right in with the crowd. I was that mom rushing my babies to grow. Proud when they spoke their first word and calling Ron at work when they laughed for the first time. Sure memories are to be had there but what was I really celebrating? With my youngest children I allowed them to follow their own rhythm. I let them walk when they were ready and let Cohen decide when he was ready to use the toilet. It seems parents are in such a hurry to get them potty trained and sleeping through the night. This comes with Crying It Out Methods or Baby Sleep Training methods. This comes with accidents in pants and frustrated parents. (And maybe a few poops on the floor. Who can forget that?) Part of Unschooling is trusting in your children to know what they "need" to learn at any given time. It doesn't stop there. They eat when they are hungry (no waiting for dinner here!), they play when they want and sleep as long as they want. I allow their independence in a different way. I don't rush them into life but allow them to live their life. Too soon our children will be headed out the door into the big, wide world and we will be thinking...where did the time go?
I notice that I am very On with my children. Some may say I am overprotective or overbearing. I am THAT parent who is always there allowing my children to come to me if they need. I am at arms reach when my two year old is climbing high on the monkey bars. I am at ears reach when my daughter comes running into my arms in tears because her friends are being mean. I am there. I am their mom and there is no where else I would rather be. Literally. Am I hindering their independence? Am I stunting their growth? Phooey! I am their rock. I am their net when they fall...and they will fall. I am safe. I am mom.
I let go when my child is the only one in the sandbox, munching away. I let go when my child makes up a song about bums. I let go when my children drink rootbeer floats for dinner.
I am not in a rush to see them grow up and go. Why not allow our children the independence they crave (food, sleep...) and stop trying to shove their independence at them so they will grow up faster? I know I am in no hurry to let go.

Is Imagination a thing of the past?

2010-08-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Some cardboard pieces Ron brought home from work.

The kids playing with the blocks TOGETHER.

A noodle box Cohen was using as a garage for his cars.

Cohen emerging out of a cocoon as a butterfly.

In my teenage years I remember having a discussion about imagination and how times have changed. I still think and reflect on that conversation. When I was young I was outside climbing trees, catching frogs, making forts and making mud pies. (Yes I was a tomboy) I am not going to get into why our children are not going outside like we used to. (maybe another post) I am going to talk about WHAT we played with. I don't recall using plastic guns that have a million sounds built into them. I don't recall legos that had the design planned for you on the box and the exact amount of pieces. I don't recall plastic kitchens with miniature food. What I do recall is running around the house with sticks for guns and making the sounds, building with legos WHATEVER I wanted to make and grabbing blankets to make picnics with real food. Sure I had skip-its and those toys that you stood on and bounced, slinkies and skipping ropes. I am not completely against plastic toys at all. I don't sit at birthday parties brooding and picturing landfills overflowed with this long forgotten garbage. I do however picture the children's imagination seeping out of them. When we have toys that make every sound, light up in every different color and jump when you say jump, it takes that away from the child. In our house we have two toy boxes. One for toys and one for cars/trucks, tracks (basically Cohen's toy box) My children much rather a large cardboard box or some paper and new crayons. My child's imagination is much more important to me than a surprised look on a holiday. What would we do with a world full of people using their imaginations?

2010-08-02T05:08:00.000-07:00

Recently I received a "Blog with Substance" award from Leslie. My it felt good to be recognized! Since, I have been collecting 10 blogs that I can pass this on to. Here are the rules...

•Thank the blogger who awarded it to you.
•Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using ten (10) words.
•Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance.

I tend to over think things so that ten word philosophy may take me a while. ;)

And guess what! I won 3 wonderful books!!! Check out Leslie's blog and you will see! I don't win things very often so when I do it is very exciting!!!
THANK YOU Leslie for making my day. :)

2010-07-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

I lost our 4yo son today. Time inched by as I searched for him.
We went to homeschool park day so we had plenty of friends around. I started to watch for him on the equipment and noticed he wasn't there. It is a large play area. I wasn't worried for the first minute because there is a smaller park area next to the large one. I went there and he wasn't there. I went to the large pavilion picking up speed. There was a daycare eating lunch there. Cohen could have easily slipped in there and started eating someones lunch. Not there. There is a fenced in swimming pool that I looked over :( and then alerted my friends that he was missing. This is when I started crying. It had been at least 8 minutes. I started yelling his name and moving quick. He isn't fully aware to not run in traffic and the pool was right there. Did someone take him? Is he crying alone for me? I had to push those thoughts from my mind and keep searching. All this time I have no idea if someone else is watching my other children (I was guessing they were) because my mind was solely on finding my little boy. I remember crying and saying I can't find him. Then another mom I didn't know said he was in the girls washroom. She said he was telling her his life story as he went poop. That sounded like my Cohen. I rushed in and there he was pooping away without a worry. You know how parents get mad at their children for taking off? That didn't even cross my mind. The only thing I wanted to do was scoop him up in my arms and kiss him and hug him and be as close to him as possible and never let go. I did have to wait for him to finish because he takes FOREVER but I got my chance. This was a reminder for me to not stress about the insignificant things in life. AND to hug them more than I already do.

A day in the life of us

2010-07-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

When I was considering unschooling I wanted an idea of what our days would be like. It took a lot of research before I became comfortable with this lifestyle. From time to time I panic. Cohen doesn't know all of his letters! Ricky isn't reading fluently yet! Look at what THAT family is doing! On occasion, the doubts sneak in on me. One day I decided to watch my children closely and see what they are learning throughout the day. I was shocked at how much they learned while playing and following their own interests.
Yesterday I decided to take pictures of our natural day. I say natural because I didn't coerce activity just for a picture for the blog. I went about my day and grabbed the camera when I chose. This is our everyday life.
I challenge you. All of you unschooling bloggers. Put a camera in hand for the day and capture your everyday moments. You will be surprised at how much your children are doing! Or maybe you have already come to this conclusion. When you record your day, please let me know so I can read about your daily life caught on camera. :)

This is at about 8am. When my eyes are only slightly open, my children are rolling themselves up in blankets. I wouldn't mind a bit of TV time at this moment because it takes me a while to wake up. I do enjoy their laughter with coffee in the morning though!

Here is breakfast. Apples with granola. Ok ok, granola bars. ;) Did you know one of my pet peeves is sugar cereal? I can't stand it! Really, what is the point of it? I like to start their day with something nutritious.

Reagan, Cohen and Callum are playing on the windowsill with cars. It looks nice and sweet here but all.morning.long Callum and Cohen fought over the big transport truck. Still waiting for them to notice the TV ;)

Amelie is looking for a snack in the fridge (SHE JUST HAD BREAKFAST!! lol) and found and onion sprouting. She just HAD to put it in water to see if it will grow more. I can't wait for the lovely aroma this experiment will bring!

Cohen noticed two paper towel rolls and uses them as binoculars. He realizes it doesn't make objects closer like the ones camping did. This didn't last long. They ended up being used as a megaphone by Ricky.

Ricky got this awesome fashion dummy from my mom. You have a bunch of different squares of fabric and place it around the dummy. Ricky has formed many a cute outfit. Here, Reagan is trying her hand at fashion.

I look over and see Ricky, Cohen and Reagan piled on the couch reading. Ricky is improvising with a French book.

Callum is oblivious while he plays with his bus.

Amelie is writing a song to perform for her family. I wish I had a video camera for the song. :( She is so serious while performing.

Reagan decides to perform her own song up on the windowsill while we all smile and give praise.

The kids can't resist a moment like this! They all jump up on the windowsill and sing "I love you" while they rock back and forth. Yup, the best moment of my day!

And the day ends with the kids in costume. Did they sleep like this? Maybe. ;)

A Valedictorian Speech - WOW

2010-07-27T06:56:00.001-07:00

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/212383-V...aduation-Speech

Camping

2010-07-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes posts don't need words. I am tired from watching the kids around water and I am tired from unpacking twice in one week. Our dryer is dead so we have mountains of laundry! Ya, sometimes posts don't need words.

What would society think?

2010-07-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel the need to go? Head on out into the woods into seclusion? Growing up I have always wanted to fit in. I wouldn't wear an article of clothing if it was not in fashion. Even if I liked it. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't into brand names either but I did worry about what others thought. Since having children I have found a whole new idea of what is important in life and clothes doesn't even make it on the radar. Sure we need clothing for protection from weather and to feel comfortable. Clothing is also a way of segregating people. People that shop at high end stores are better. They can afford the clothing. High end clothing means high end people. People are judged by what they wear. Plain and simple.

Why can't we be judged on how kind we are? By how much we volunteer? By who opens doors and who pays for the next person in line at Tim Hortons, just because. I have 5 creative children who often choose what they want to wear, how they wear their hair and what they wear on their feet. They have been seen in the supermarket with rubber boots on a sunny day, winter sweaters during spring and holding umbrellas in the snow. Does it really matter? Is it really that important to follow society? I enjoy seeing the stripes and spots together and the pink and red and yellow and green and purple and brown strewn across my children in creative twists and creative places. Do I really want to squash their individuality? I believe the pictures here show you my answer.

We have also been known to get wet, fully clothed. Not only do we like to get wet but we like mud and sand and dirt and bugs and leaves and muck and and and... And guess what we love even more than that! Getting naked after! They strip down and we toss them into the van. This makes for some fun memories and pictures. :)
Run, play, get dirty, be yourselves and thrive.

2010-07-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

If you fill up a container with water and dish soap, you can occupy your children for hours!

The answer to my prayer

2010-07-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

I prayed that while we were gone on our mini vacation we wouldn't get negative comments about our parenting style. I can handle a negative comment from people who don't understand from time to time. I can handle a frown or a puzzled look from time to time. I can handle judgmental questions from time to time. I am confident in how we parent and it gives me a feeling of relief when I look at my children and how they flourish. What I was dreading was a constant stream of negative comments from family. Within any family there will be members that disagree with something...anything...everything. As long as we follow our instincts we can't go wrong.
We have to be confident in our decisions. I am not speaking only of ourselves here. I am speaking of all parents. Parents who vaccinate. Parents who don't circumcise. Parents who unschool and parents who work and send their children to daycare. We have to stand up and say, "This is our decision and we are happy with it." That's it. This weekend a relative was trying (in vain) to start a debate about homeschooling with my husband. *I* would have gotten frustrated and probably would have shown it. He was being judgmental and condescending. My husband was quiet and shrugged his shoulders. He doesn't feel the need to defend our choices because he is confident. I hope to fully achieve what he has. Calm. Silence. Confidence.
Anyways, the answer to my prayer was Mr. Bill. We were given the privilege of staying at his house for the weekend. What made this visit so special wasn't the size of his house. It wasn't the cool microwave or the vacuum that could suck up the chair if it wanted! It wasn't even the wonderful hospitality we received. It was how he was with my children. He made eye contact. He got down to their level. He greeted them with a smile every.single.time and he answered their unending questions. This man was very busy getting ready to give his daughter away and was surrounded by children who wanted candy and wanted conversation. He made them feel IMPORTANT. I could go on and on and on about how adults need to treat their children with more respect (because this is how I feel) but I am going to leave off with a comment from Mr. Bill. This comment was the answer to my prayer and helped me through the rest of the weekend. My children were strewn across his floor with puzzles and toys. He was stepping over them trying to get by and I said, " Sorry about the maze!" He replied while walking away..."Amaze...ing."

Yes Bill, that about sums up our weekend at your house.

Only in my house

2010-07-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

This is what I get to see every night when I rock Reagan to sleep. I lay her in my arms in the rocking chair and look down at her. When I start to sing she looks up at me with awe. She watches me until her eyes will no longer allow her. They start to roll and she rubs her eyes. Soon her eyes will remain closed and a few minutes from now her body will start to switch and then relax into sleep. For about 5 minutes she is sleeping but not yet deep sleeping. When I look down at this beautiful, peaceful face I wait for her mouth to fall open. Then I know she has completely let go. I will still hold her for a few more minutes though. Special moments like these makes me fall even more in love (if that is even possible) with her. Nothing else matters in the world than that vulnerable little face. Her head relaxed on my arm, her hand placed gently on my chest, her perfect little mouth open and her eyes seeing only what she can see. I am allowing myself more of these moments instead of dirty laundry moments. The moments where my heart quickens and my blood pressure rises. The moments where I am frustrated and yelling because it can only be MY house that looks like chaos. It is only my house with half eaten apples behind the couch, cheerios strewn across the floor and fingerprints on the windows. It is only MY house that the beds aren't made and dirty laundry has a mind of its own. BUT it is only MY house that I have a perfect little Reagan become a part of me again as we rock.

Rambled thoughts on Unschooling

2010-07-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

I wholeheartedly believe in unschooling. I believe in the philosophy. When I researched this topic it gave me that aha moment that I was searching for. You know that feeling of "this is right." There is a myth or misunderstanding among non-unschoolers as well as people that don't do public school. Unschooling is a parent not wanting to put the time and effort in to properly teach their child. This couldn't be more untrue or opposite. I find with unschooling there is a 24 hour rule. I do not sit at the table and teach for two, three, four hours and then feel finished for the day. I do not have a list that I put tiny check marks to appease myself. I do not have a stack of book reports or marked tests. I am however, always on. I cannot tell you how many questions my children ask. Why is the sky blue? How long would it take to travel around the world? What does about mean? Would a feather sink in water? ALL DAY I am answering questions, looking up info on the computer, helping them find books for their answers, reading to them, discussing with them and so much more. People ask, "Do you homeschool in the summer?" How could we not? Learning is a natural extention of our daily lives. I shouldn't even say extention, should I? It is who we are. Life is learning. It happens naturally in our lives. We don't close a book and say, "Well, done learning! Go play." Every little aspect of our lives involve learning. From gathering leaves, jumping in leaves, catching bugs, watching TV, laughing, interacting, being alone... Unschooling is LIFE. I find it interesting yet confusing how people think school helps with socializing and learning. Not only does it help but it is a necessity in aiding that. That couldn't be further from the truth. Why do we need to send our children, 5 days a wk to a group of 100 children to learn socialization and facts? We are so brainwashed as a society. Ok, going off on a tangent. lol..
Even among homeschooling/unschooling families there is an uppity attitude. Some homeschoolers think that unschooling families couldn't possibly learn the way we do. Some unschooling families are very picky about the term unschooling. If you coerce your child in any way you are not unschooling. Almost like you can't earn the name unless you do it exactly the way it says. You would think homeschooling families would be more open considering we hear it from all sides and we would stick together. Most times, yes. BUT there is politics in this circle as well. It makes me want to head up North, seclude ourselves and explore nature to its fullest. Hmm..but then we wouldn't be socializing and we would end up abnormal. ha

Why worry?

2010-06-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

So I am a worry parent. I worry about my children. I worry about finances. I worry about what people think. I worry I worry I worry. I think I take after my grandma in that way.
This is Ricky. She is my second oldest. She is quiet and tends to keep to herself. She is not really interested in math or science. (She does like gooey things in her hands if that counts) I find with unschooling you have to be ok with ALL of your children's learning styles. My oldest daughter is very academic. Loves math. Loves reading. She is quick and understands concepts well past her age. I have worried that Ricky doesn't have the want to learn. The yearning to learn new things. Who am I kidding here? She has a lot of interests. They just don't fit in with the societal mold of what is important to know. This beautiful child of mine is so very artistic. She loves design and she loves art. She is very precise when she creates her art. Dancing in pretty flowing skirts is her all time favorite. Always has been. This sweet girl has the biggest heart I have ever seen. If a sibling fall or is hurt she is right there to console with a concerned face. If a child is crying for something she has she is more than happy to hand it over to make them smile. What is really more important in life? I have learned my answer from my 6yo daughter. Love, compassion, passion, giggles, emotion, yearning to learn and being yourself. If I were Ricky, I would definitely love myself too!

Restoration

2010-05-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

The question: Why are kids of today rebelling? Why do they have no respect for adults? Do they need to be punished more harshly? Are parents too lenient?
I firmly believe that it is a disconnect between parent(s) and child. There are so many reasons that a disconnect can happen and if parents are not aware of this change, it can have horrible consequences. It doesn't have to be anything as drastic as divorce or abuse. Here is our little story.
Amelie was snapping at Ron. She was being disrespectful and snotty. A lot of parents would see this as needing to change the child. She should not be talking to her parent like that!! She needs to be fixed. It is not the child who needs to be fixed. It is the relationship. It was an obvious disconnect between father and daughter. I sat down with Amelie and had a heart to heart. I am not going to share our conversation nor am I going to share theirs. It is personal and I respect her privacy. She did share that Ron was yelling at her a lot. He is still adjusting to midnights and Amelie is high energy. Combine that...there ya go. I told Ron about our conversation and he had a good talk with her on their own. They decided to go out on a date.
This date involved fishing, coming home and dressing up (dad too) and heading out to the movies. I can tell you that Amelie felt like the most special girl in the world. It may not happen overnight but we have noticed a significant change in the way they speak to each other.
This reconnect didn't happen because we want her to comply and be fixed. This happened because she is important and she needed to be heard.
I saw with my very eyes the connection being put back in place. A shy smile, a brightness of the eyes and the face expressions of both.
If I had yelled at her to be more respectful and YOU DON'T TALK TO YOUR FATHER THAT WAY or whatever else I could have said, do you think that reconnect could have happened?
It is important to stay involved enough with your children (and spouse) to recognize when the relationship needs help.
In one of these pictures Amelie is saying, "Just pretend to kiss me, ok dad?" xoxo

Re-grouping

2010-05-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

During the winter months I worry that my children are not getting out enough. We are home a lot and don't go outside much.
In the summer months it is the opposite. They have soccer. They have homeschool park day weekly. They have library. They have play dates. They have homeschool outings.
While we are doing most of these activities together ... it isn't alone. It involves other children and other parents. I sometimes get busy talking to others and so do they. This is fine and healthy. It is just when it is too much. We go to outings/soccer/library, come home and eat and then get ready for bed. This all involves getting it done. Last week I was feeling like we needed to get our center back. We needed to spend some time alone. This involved me canceling a homeschool outing and heading out as a family to a conservation area. We were re-establishing our relationships. The most important relationships your children (and yourself) will have.
I don't understand how families who are go go go have this deep bond. They have school, work, activities, play dates... and the list goes on. I don't judge a family for their decisions. It is more of...how do they do it? How do they keep the sole focus on togetherness and the importance of family?
I am very much noticing the difference between a child who is homeschooled as opposed to a child who goes to school. This difference is partially the reason we needed the re-group time. When we have homeschool park day there is no leaving children out. There are no comments on what the other children are wearing. There is no teasing and no belittling. If this does happen the parents are there to help them through the life lessons. When we go to soccer it is a whole different situation.
So on this walk we reconnected. We listened to the world and each other. We hid in tree forts and felt the pebbles beneath our feet. We walked through snail infested water and held hands. We laughed and probably some of us cried. It is so very refreshing to see my children without a worry in the world hand in hand. When the world doesn't make sense...nature and family are always there to hold you still.

Puddles

2010-05-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

I was going to write about our trip to the dairy farm. I am going to save that for another post. What I am going to post about is something that happened at the dairy farm.
First, lets get a description of the pictures.
The first picture is Ricky letting Reagan pet a worm.
The second picture is of Callum playing in an ant hill (black btw)
The third is what happened when the outing was finished.

WHAT HAPPENED IN OUR CHILDHOODS THAT STOPS US FROM ALLOWING OUR CHILDREN TO GET DIRTY?

On occasion my children get dirty. Ok, filthy. We bring a garbage bag in our van for this very reason. (This is where we place their wet clothes)
Do you realize how many dirty looks we get as parents for allowing our children to play in puddles? You can see the other parents minds reeling... Disgusting! How fast do you think I can dial my phone to get the bad parenting police here? Ahhh I can see the disease spreading now! A smiling face suddenly contorts to a look of disgust when seeing a blissfully happy yet dirty child. What is it that holds a parent back? Well yesterday was the first time I heard another parent say...oh fun and allow their children to join mine. She even grabbed her camera. I was in shock! And you know what? THAT IS SAD! If parents could see their children's faces while running through a puddle maybe they would allow it. If parents could stop worrying about what society thinks and allow their children the freedom just maybe those parents will join in the fun?

Last year we went to a park. This park is something of a high-end park as far as parks go. A neighbourhood where everyone lives in a nice house and has two nice cars kind of neighbourhood. It had rained the night before so there was a huge puddle under the swings. It started out by one of my children walking through the puddle. Maybe a few gasps from other children buy you should have seen the look in the other childrens eyes! It was wonder. It was longing. It was incredulous that a parent would sit back and watch her children literally swim like fish through this puddle. I heard a few comments like...I wish my parents would let me do that! That looks like fun! These other children wanted in that puddle so badly.
While we were walking back to our car to strip them down the parents were looking at us with daggers. WHY? I DON'T GET IT!! At these times I turn back to my children to see their happy faces instead of those other parents.

I wish people could let go of their adult smugness/uncomfortableness and let their kids be kids.
It really is rewarding! And all you have to do is throw a load of wet clothes into the wash. Seems like such a small thing to allow them that freedom, doesn't it?

Changing the oil in our van

2010-05-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

It isn't changing your oil if you don't have 10 little hands in there too! Everyday tasks are so exciting to children. We definitely need to remember to include them in our day to day lives! There isn't any better way!

Cinema Outing

2010-05-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

Do you want to know what was so special about this outing?
Ok, first a recap. Every month I plan an outing for the local homeschoolers. April's outing was going to the cinema to learn behind the scenes and then watch a movie. (How to train a dragon)
Guess how many people attended! 150 homeschoolers in one cinema. It truly was amazing to see! It was also affirming.
The first picture is of some of the children touching the screen (because you know we have all wanted to at one point in our lives!)
The second picture is me standing upstairs where the projection room is and looking down at the older kids group. Yes you heard it right! That group is not all of us! They got a more in depth discussion about how the cinema is run.
The third and fourth pictures are in the projection room. I am surprised they allowed all of us in there considering how expensive the equipment is but they did.
I would have to say that this was one of my favorite outings to date.
My children loved the movie and loved spending time with friends.

2010-04-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

Time to update.
It is actually a good thing that I have not updated! We have been so busy with life.
There is a new homeschool park day that has started up. Every Thursday we will be headed out to play. The kids are really enjoying this!
We have been building bird feeders, changing the oil on the van, playing, learning and field tripping. The last field trip I organized had over 150 people attend. It was a tad daunting but a lot of fun!
Where are the pictures you ask? They will come. We have pictures from the cinema outing, changing the oil on the van... I will try and get them up today.
I have been enjoying them so much. I can't wait to see what the summer will bring!

Do you want to know my secret?

2010-02-24T11:03:00.000-08:00

I love to research. Ok not hot off the press news but all the same...I love to research.

Here is where the problem comes in. It ends there. I love to read up on subjects wholeheartedly with the plan to implement them into our lives. Nope. I am more excited about researching different unit studies to purchase than I am to actually purchase them. Don't get me wrong! I am like a kid in a candy store when Box Day arrives! I find the researching to be the climax though.

I do have some new books coming in the mail. Becoming Vegetarian and Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis. Will I research the healthiest way to be a vegetarian and then move on? Or will I convert my family to vegetarianism. I have to learn to accept that about myself and just be happy that I have a tonne of useless knowledge stored up for future reference.

Why do you unschool?

2010-02-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

Now that is a loaded question!
I would love to hear YOUR answers to this as well!

Here is our journey to unschooling.

My 3.5 yo daughter (who is now 7) was being signed into school. What a day! Most parents would feel excited, a bit sad and relieved that this day has finally come. What was wrong with me? I didn't feel excited. I felt a lot sad and had a knot the size of Mount Everest in my stomach. I watched my little (tiny) girl play with the crafts and "socialize" with the other children. I was watching to see who would one day possibly be her close friends, if she seemed happy and how the teacher interacted with them. Everything seemed fine yet I was not. It all seemed so unnatural to me. I was sending the most important thing to me ever off to a building with a bunch of other most important little things for their parents. Would I see her eyes light up? Would she turn to her teacher instead of me? This other adult who I had no idea what her morals and values were? Would I miss the most precious moments of MY life? Of hers?
I trudged on and pushed my feelings aside. All of the other parents seemed fine!
So this is what got us into homeschooling. This one pivotal conversation.
Me: If my (tiny) 3yo was crying for me would you call me? Would you comfort her?
Teacher: Well I will be busy with all of the children, I can't call you every.single.time.
Principal: The first day you arrive with her she may cling to your leg and cry. You just have to
shake her off and walk away.
Me: I believe this is the one moment I seriously considered not sending her.
Over the summer I felt sick every time I thought about school. Halfway through I hear from one of the other parents that the teachers were switched. THEY DIDN'T EVEN NOTIFY THE PARENTS! How could that be ok? Here is this adult that is going to be spending 7+ hrs with my child and I haven't even met them! Did I already say this all seemed so unnatural?
SO I delved into the overwhelming world of homeschooling. Sonlight, Waldorf, Enki, Right Start, Letter of the Week, Charlotte Mason all jumped out at me and screamed...Read me. Read me. Read me. and my head was screaming STOP! OVERLOAD! It was so completely overwhelming for me at the beginning! Not only was I struggling with Is this the right decision? but I was also struggling with HOW to teach my children.
We chose Sonlight. This is a wonderful curriculum and GORGEOUS books! I would proceed to take out the schedule daily (lets face it...a few times a wk :b ) and go through what my children should be learning and at what time. No honey, put that creative art down! We need to read about how a bee pollinates a flower! See where I am going here? I could see their eyes glaze over. I could see their shoulders slump. I could see the exact opposite of what I wanted homeschooling to be. Don't get me wrong. A lot of curriculum is wonderful and entertaining! It is just when that is the problem. Bees pollinating flowers can be very interesting. In fact, my children loved this. When it got to the technical side of a watch for ex. they lost complete interest.
This is when I started researching unschooling. It rang true It was us! Unschooling is not for everyone. It is for us though.
Soon I will get into A Day in the Life of us Unschoolers but we'll save that for then.
Why do you unschool? How did you get here?

They just are

2010-02-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Why the language in children shows? What is the point? Check out Annie the Movie. Really! Miss Hannigan says G.. D... a couple of times pretty clearly. Our children are only innocent for so long. In our house Amelie can be seen checking out Sesame Street (Shhh..I didn't tell you.), creating art, playing with children younger than her (gasp!), dancing, running, watching TV, dressing up. Oh and guess what!?! Who is Hannah Montana? She isn't even sure. Does this make my children sheltered? Do I keep them in a bubble? Heck ya! What is wrong with a great upbringing on morals? What is wrong with no cable or satellite? I would love for my children to miss out on music videos and whatever else they have. They love Veggie Tales. They love KIDS movies. Why rush them into the world full of sex, negativity and language? I like my naive children just the way they are! Don't you?

Unit Studies

2010-02-21T10:44:00.000-08:00

So we are jumping into UNIT STUDIES!! Now I am on the search for anything creative and fun with Solar Systems. I did find some fun pages to color with crosswords and word finds. I would like to find something more exciting and interesting. Like making my family become planets. Some fun ways to learn facts about our planets. If you happen to have info. for me I would very much appreciate it! Oooooo this is going to get FUN. :)

Homeschool Fair

2010-02-13T06:16:00.000-08:00

This past wk the girls were in a project fair. That morning I explained to Ricky that she would be talking about her Art on display. She cried.
So we got there and set up their projects. From the time her project was up to the time we took it down she proudly displayed her art. She talked about it with a huge smile on her face. It was beautiful to see her step out of her shell and shine.
Amelie had no problem sharing her project on horses. Are you surprised? On the way we stopped at a farm and the farmer cut of some of a horses tail. This left Amelie chasing boys around the room with the smelly tail hair. :) Only Amelie!
I am very proud of my daughters!

2010-02-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to share pictures with you of the Homeschooling Fair that the girls were in but...
it will have to wait.

Do you remember that sick teacher I had back in elementary school? Well he was finally sent to jail. He got 6 months today.

I am happy it is over.

Cohen's 4th birthday party

2010-01-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

Cohen's birthday was at the famous Chuckie Cheese's. He invited all of his friends and had a blast. There is a special package there that you can buy. This involves a cake (did you see my pic of the cake I made? I can't in truth say it was intentional but I made it an intentional motorcycle obstacle cake), music, Chuckie Cheese's special attention, balloons and free tickets. I will tell you how it went. All of the kids surrounded Chuckie Cheese so he didn't have a choice. The kids were offered balloons from someone. When it came time for Chuckie to throw the tickets all of the kids from our party went running and caught half and to top it off...when the staff and Chuckie sang Happy Birthday for another party, Cohen thought it was all for him! Ron didn't have a job at the time but we got the party package too! lol
This slightly reminds me of my mom smuggling pop and chips into the movie theatre. haha
Pssst..Ron got a job. He starts tomorrow night!

Who are you?

2010-01-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ok yes, Amelie looks hilarious in this picture but that isn't the point.
I have started quilting. It is a long but peaceful process that I am really enjoying. I am learning that the interests I have flow out to my children. They may not become fashion designers or teachers but a little bit of me pours out onto them. What do I do in my life that they can follow? What accomplishments can I share? I believe the most important is the love of learning. I am constantly learning. I love to read. I love to learn new things. Now this does not mean I am an adventurous person by any means. You would not catch me on a roller coaster or on the top of a building for that matter. You will see me however, sitting enthralled in a book. Researching on the computer. Reading my bible. Questioning things and finding answers. Laughing. Crying. Coaching for Special Olympics. Helping others in need. Being courteous. Yelling. Frustrated. Calm. Content. What do you portray to your children? They are watching.

goodwill treasures

2010-01-17T19:49:00.001-08:00

Cute story.
We have a small house. It is near impossible to keep it clutter free. Every chance I get I send things to goodwill. When I actually get a box together it is sweet relief. The other night Cohen was walking around the house and taking great care in what he was doing. I should have posted more pictures but I didn't. In every little spot in our house we found treasures from our goodwill box. At first I wanted to get upset. It is very frustrating to see that box be emptied. But oh the look of pride on my four year old sons face. He was being ever so careful placing these treasured items on our sewing machine, book case and even light switches. Everywhere we looked there was a goodwill item. Then he brought us around to show us how beautiful it looked. I told him it was beautiful and we took pictures. I am quite sure he got this idea from decorating during Christmas. And then here is our sweet boy (that night) sleeping soundly.
Thank you God for our sweet, sweet boy Cohen.

2010-01-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

Is it bad that I didn't send out Christmas cards this year? We have Ron's, Cohen's, Amelie's and Callum's birthdays in December. Callum is beginning of Jan. Not to mention Christmas! I think I will send them out in Feb so people will feel special. Sure, that's why we waited. :)
Here is the best picture we could get. They are impossible! I love them!

2009-12-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

I DON'T NEED A PICTURE! I DON'T NEED A PICTURE!

I have to remind myself. I don't write because I have to upload a picture. Sure, I love adding a pic but it isn't needed. So now I am going to try to write.

I have picked up a new hobby. QUILTING. I am really enjoying it. I do not have any of the necessities but I will soon. I am going to do it by hand until I can get a quilting machine. (and when I know I am going to stick with this)
It is therapeutic. I make a place mat with a friend. Well, WE made a place mat. :) It looks beautiful! I like getting into new products because I see it as an opportunity for my children to join in.

We have not been doing much of anything educational. It has been lazy. (As lazy as it can be!)

Christmas was nice. It wasn't too crazy. Not much to say here.

My sister and good friend is pregnant. Do we all know what that means? Tick Tick Tick. Kidding here. I do want another one but I want to wait for Ron to have a good stable job. For now I will settle with a mere 5 of them. Hahaha.

I am loving my life.

Ricky and her Art

2009-12-05T05:13:00.001-08:00

Does it need an explanation. Look at all of the purposeful detail!

2009-12-05T04:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures of Ricky with her art. She could literally sit all day drawing. She likes to have everything perfect.
Sometimes when I used to worry about Ricky and her lack of interest in reading and writing, I would think about her and her art. She definitely takes after dad here. As a side note, I don't worry anymore.

GORGEOUS

2009-11-24T08:09:00.001-08:00

GORGEOUS!! If I had to pick one picture out of the millions that we have THIS ONE signifies EXACTLY why we unschool. Look at their faces! Let me tell you what they are doing.
Last year Ricky was getting frustrated with reading. We put her books away and I told her to let me know when she was ready again. The other day out of the blue she said, "I want to read my BOB books again!" So here she is reading to Dad. She just finished the book. Look again at that face! Priceless! Look at Ron's face. Priceless! I wouldn't miss these moments for the world.

Our Day

2009-11-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

Our Day. Together. Love. Sharing. Happy. Content. Determination. Pride. Family. Interest. Smile.
Here are just a few words shown here. I love unschooling. I love my family.
This is Callum crawling for the first time. Ricky interested in a book. Amelie and Cohen reading together and Cohen enthralled in his train.

Speech Night

2009-11-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

Last night was our local homeschooling groups 1st public speaking event. It was amazing to see all of them head up there and battle their nerves. I was very proud of them.
I also loved afterward. The parents all got to chat while the children played. It was nice to see them play together.
One of the pictures is of my friends son Dylan.
Ricky decided not to go up this time. She sat and intently listened to all speeches. Maybe next time. ;)
Oh ya, look at the 1st picture of Amelie. You can see Reagan in the background.

The Human Body

2009-11-18T18:01:00.001-08:00

We were given this Human Body game by a friend. I am ecstatic! This game has trivia while putting together the body. Not only does this game have that, you can dress up the skeleton after. There is also a game where you have to keep the skeleton alive by giving him food, water and rest throughout the day. So basically you are learning healthy living. The girls absolutely love it! The best thing is that they can spend hours on this if they like.
THANK YOU Doris!!!

She had a craving! lol

2009-11-18T17:56:00.000-08:00

I do believe we have a little Ricky on our hands!

I am busy setting up a game on the computer (see above) and Roo is quiet. Uh oh! Is it the sugar jar? Is it whatever it is that catches her fancy throughout the day? Nope. It is a whole bag of Halloween candy! I found her sitting on the couch like she was supposed to be there, opening chocolates. Instead of feeling frustrated, I laughed. Perfect camera moment!

Ramblings

2009-11-10T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ricky is writing. Or should I say printing? Amelie and Ricky have been writing Ron and I letters. Amelie is learning a lot of spelling lately. I can't believe that the things I have been worried about fall into place. Writing and spelling. I do not sit them down and do lessons. I wondered if they would learn this. The answer is yes. They do learn this. Amelie is walking around spelling everything in sight. She is 70% right. I help her with the spelling. Ricky has been printing notes. 20 or maybe 10% are right. I try not to correct her too much or she will give up easily. I first asked her if she wanted the correct spelling. For the word "there" both girls spelled "ther". That was perfect because I could show Ricky that her big sister makes some mistakes too. This helped her feel better. Keep in mind she is 5 so I am very happy with 10-20%. I am very happy that they are taking an interest in printing. Amelie is very easy to correct. She is eager to learn. So is Ricky but she has a very strong sensitive side to her. You could crush her in a sentence so I tread lightly. Amelie has been playing this game on the computer where you flick up a ball and it hits squares that disappear. She plays way better than I do! She loves her computer games on Room 108. Ricky still likes to play with dolls or babies. She is very happy to play on her own. She has always been that way.
Cohen is a talking machine. I do not remember the day when I wanted him to talk more. If I could see my future self back then, I think I would tell myself to shut up and enjoy the SILENCE! My beautiful little man can talk! And guess what. He still has a soother to fall asleep and he is ALMOST 4. And guess what. I don't care! Sometimes I think...oh no! He is too old for that! That is society talking. He has it for about 15 min while he falls asleep and then spits it out. I don't have the heart to take away his mine suckie. He loves to play with his trains, cars, truck WELL anything transportation related. He is clever in his playing. Did I mention I could eat him. Right from his little ears that stick out a bit right down to his little toes. And oh boy, for a mom that has SPD, GOD sure is testing me! Cohen constantly loves to touch. He loves to touch lightly. All.the.time. It is very trying but I know he just needs it.
Reagan has a VOICE. She is LOUD and SCREACHY. She CRIES and WHINES. Are you irritated yet? Cause I am! I do love though how she is developing her own little personality. She is spunky and cuddly. I love her little smile and her crossed little arms and a pout.
Callum is a chunky little baby who is about to crawl. LOOK OUT! He will now be able to put every little thing in his mouth that he only sees from a distance. We are going to have to become best friends with the vacuum.
Oh I love my children!
I have two books to recommend. First is The Unschooling Handbook and the second is The Unschooling Unmanual. I am just starting to read the latter. Oh I love our life!

Let them learn MOM!

2009-11-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

I don't believe in sitting my children down and making them write or spell. I don't feel it is the natural way to learn. From time to time I panic and think...OH NO they can't write yet! I concoct creative ways to get them "on track." Then I go back to normal. I sit back and let it happen the way I know it will.
I was at the computer the other day and Amelie brings me this letter. She said she wanted me to make her something to eat. I told her that dad was on the way home with groceries. She then wrote the next letter. She seems to be writing fine and spelling just fine. Back off mom and let them at it! I "catch" Amelie and Ricky writing throughout the day at their leisure. That is much more rewarding than making them do it. I know that they WANT to and that is important.

2009-10-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

We went to a Halloween fair. The kids got to have their faces painted.
Look at the picture of my little girl talking to friends. It just so happened that some little girls from our homeschooling group were there and recognized Amelie. Is it so bad that mom was there with a camera taking pictures of it? lol Do they have to grow up? Do they have to gain more independence? I always want to be the center of their worlds. One day they will have husbands/wives/children and mom will be on the back burner. But that's ok. Mom will be there to help them through everything. Hopefully they hear what I say now for decisions they will make as parents. I don't look forward to the day when I have to close my eyes to something I don't agree with. That will be a hard hurdle! But they are still babies right now and I am going to soak it up while I can!

2009-10-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick look at how we spend out days.
Ron was making coffee and 4 out of 5 children went to grab chairs so they could watch how to make it. This is HUGE and I will tell you why. Last year I was making coffee somewhere and I didn't realize that you had to pour the water in the top. I left it sitting in the pot while I waited for it to brew. So at the very least my children will know how to make coffee ;) haha
I was sitting in the living room and looked over at my children. I went to grab the camera. Here they were sitting together playing music. They were scribbling on the doodle, rolling a plastic bus, shaking the abacus and hitting two pieces of chalk together for sound. Off to the side are Reagan and Callum hugging. I wish I had a camera built into my eyes so I could record our days minute by minute. (minus me stressed out or overwhelmed! lol) The tape would be full FULL of kids overflowing with wonder and curiosity. Not only are they thinking but they are acting on it. I think soon I am going to go through our day with our camera and capture a day in the life of... Again minus mom getting frustrated. Hmm..maybe that would add flavor :) We'll see!

Nature Walk

2009-10-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

We had a nature walk yesterday. The kids have colds so we can't bring them around other children. It felt nice to get some fresh air and explore the nature.
We found a large dead tree with the roots hanging out. (Psst..we even got Amelie to taste the root. We told her it is sweet. Haha) They played, found a snail, climbed over fallen trees, ran, talked, yelled, smiled and enjoyed the family. What more could one ask for?
People often wonder what we learn. Isn't it obvious?

2009-10-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

We went on a Field Trip with homeschoolers to the Airport. The kids got to go up inside the planes and walk around inside the Historical Aircraft Association. You can see the kids here flying around outside like airplanes. :)
They then went to the rescue operations building. Their fire trucks are a lot larger than normal ones.
I really love to see my children soar!

2009-10-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

Our Poor Ricky

2009-09-30T19:35:00.001-07:00

Ricky was playing outside with a bright green caterpillar. She suddenly runs into the house crying. The caterpillar stuck its fur into her hand. It took us 2 hours to pull out each hair with tweezers, all the while she is crying because it is burning. She also let this caterpillar crawl on her belly. The next morning she woke up with this rash. It turned out that this was a stinging caterpillar that had venom in its fur. Isn't that fun. But wait, it isn't over!
Then she runs up to Ron with a handful of these delicious looking berries. The next day I am on facebook and another mom I know has pictures of her daughter in the hospital. It so happens that she has eaten berries from a Yew bush. The hospital told her to rush her daughter in within an hour or her daughter would be dead. One or two of these fatal berries can stop a beating heart. I am looking at the pictures on facebook of these berries and Ron says they look familiar. Ricky had just brought him a bunch of these. Ricky brings us outside to show us where she gathered them. Right off of our front porch! Two whole bushes of them. I am SHOCKED that in three years none of our children have eaten these! Not done yet.
Ricky is playing hockey outside and gets whacked in the forehead with a stick. This leaves a big bruise in the center of her face. One more.
She continues to play and shortly after is stung by a bee. Of course! So we put some natural ointment on it that we got at the bee farm the day before. It was perfect that we had a bee that we found for her to take the stinger out. It was therapeutic I think.
We have decided to keep her in a bubble from now on!

And this is what happens to something that hurts our Ricky

2009-09-30T19:15:00.001-07:00

Only homeschoolers would ask the bee place if we can take home the dead bee we found :) We got to dissect him and Ricky got to pull out his stinger. Soon we will be looking at him under our microscope.

Can this get any better?

2009-09-12T18:51:00.001-07:00

Can it? I don't think it can. I wasn't paying attention to what the girls were up to. I look up and Amelie is teaching Ricky how to ride a bike. Amelie has just taken off with bike riding and she wants to teach her sister. You should have seen the 2 proud faces I saw! Absolutely beautiful! I love how incredibly close my girls are. I am happy that I went to grab the camera to catch this special moment.

Roo's 2nd Birthday

2009-09-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

What an interesting event this was! Her favorite present was her baby. She has been holding her ever since!
What can I say about Roo? She is the sweetest little thing you ever did see :) She knows what she wants and she is going to get it! There is no beating around the bush with her. I like that. As trying as that can be at times it sure does make me proud.
That day my mom fell and broke her leg. I think she just didn't like all of the attention her 2yo granddaughter was getting ;)
I love my little Roo SO much!

My boys

2009-09-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here are my boys. I love to show the closeness that my family shares.
Here Cohen ran up and sat between daddy's legs. He was being a baby penguin with his daddy. So Ron walked around the house with Cohen tucked safely with him. Wouldn't it be nice if we could always keep this safe? One day they will venture out of the nest and they will have to use all of the skills and morals they were brought up with. Our children need some years under their belt before we send them out into the big wide world. That is where homeschooling comes in. We can give them a strong foundation while they are young and they can work their magic around the world.
The other picture Ricky is feeding Callum. He demolished that by the way. I love how the kids are constantly showing each other love.

Grocery Store Outing

2009-08-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

Hmmm..what has been happening?

Ron got a job. It is an ok job that he does not enjoy. It is very long days lifting heavy furniture.

We went to another homeschooling outing. It was at the grocery store.
They made pizza and cupcakes and then made their way down to the store to learn about all of the different departments.

It isn't so much about what they learn. I love to see them together and loving every minute of it.

I love to see my children play with babies and then turn around and talk to adults. After that they may talk to a teenager and then play with someone their own age.

Did I mention I LOVE homeschooling? I am so grateful that we have chosen this path in our life!

The pics: Amelie is just being sweet Amelie. Cohen is eating his cupcake he made. Look at Ricky's mountain of frosting! If she could have made it to the ceiling, she would have.

Organic Blueberry Picking

2009-08-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

This outing was wonderful! First, the blueberries were organic. I didn't mind the kids picking them off the bushes and eating them. Second, it was in Rodney. We got to have a little drive together and talk. Third, it was quiet and relaxing. The kids picked, ate, ran, learned and had a lot of fun. Now we have some yummy blueberries for pies, jam and freezing.
This morning we had blueberry pancakes! YUM!

Splash Pad Outing

2009-07-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

This month's outing was at the splash pad. There were about 10 homeschooling families there. Oh the children had so much fun! It was nice to just let them run and play and be free.
It turned out to be a beautiful day!
It is hard in the summer. I would like to get some stuff done but at the same time I want the kids to be outside being themselves. It is a fine line. I feel like I need to find creative, fun ways for the kids to learn some things. Amelie should be practicing her writing. Ricky should be practicing her reading. I think that is what I am going to work on.
I would like to read more with Reagan. She is at an age where she wants to go go go. But boy you should see how smart this little one is!

Park Time

2009-07-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

We have been going out A LOT! Not every day but it is nice to see the kids outside and having fun. We haven't been doing much work lately but who wouldn't rather go outside and enjoy the weather instead?
Here are some pictures I took at the park.

Busy Busy Busy!!

2009-07-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

WOW! We have been a very busy family!
I have started a homeschooling outing group. It has grown from just our family to 28 families. It takes very little time to organize yet it is so much fun! The first outing was at Ojibway Park. The second outing was the fire station. This last outing was at a bakery/farm. The families really seemed to enjoy it! I think the farmer was surprised to see 20 families attend.
I am volunteering for the Special Olympics. This means that every Tues night I help. They have made me a coach for Bochi Ball. This is for the lower functioning people (which I wanted) They have made me feel really welcome :)
We have started our photography business taking pictures of children/people with special needs. I have done a few families and really enjoyed it.
We have been doing school here and there. We are not the type of family to do things on a schedule. Amelie and Ricky did a few lessons in Math today which was nice. They are both pretty good at it.
Cohen is really coming along. We actually had his worker tell us that homeschooling is what is best for him. SHE WORKS FOR THE GOVERNMENT!! It was shocking coming from her but very welcome. She helps Cohen with his understanding and language. He is a tad behind.
Reagan is starting to talk. OH BOY! another talker. Now we have 4 little munchkins chatting our ears off.
Callum is a fun little fat baby. He still doesn't do much yet. lol
I will post pictures shortly. I really want to start blogging more. It is a diary of our lives :)

2009-06-11T05:28:00.001-07:00

This is what happens every time my children paint. I don't mind though. It washes off easily and we wouldn't have such an awesome shot of him if we didn't allow it.
We have been pretty lazy lately. Well as lazy as parents of 5 children can be :) Ron and I are starting a photography business taking pictures of children/people with special needs. We are pretty excited about it.
A question asked of us about this time of year is "Do you take a break for the summer?" This question doesn't make much sense to me. Do we stop learning during the summer? Of course not! Learning happens when learning happens. You don't have to be in public school and you don't need certain hours where you sit down and learn. Learning happens through life. What a boring summer it would be if learning didn't happen! No children!!! Put down that worm. Get out of that forest! NO you cannot measure that ingredient! Nope no math for you guys today! No reading, laughing or playing! Get my point?

Fire Station Field Trip

2009-05-30T20:08:00.001-07:00

You can't tell but this field trip had over 25 children and about 10 adults. I am just posting family pics. Cousins Sawyer and Finn got to come too! You should have seen Sawyer's face. Look at it. He was SO serious and looked at those firefighters in awe. It was so sweet.

Fire Station Field Trip

2009-05-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

The fire station field trip was amazing!
First, the kids got to go through a trailer and learn about fire safety. A firefighter talked about safety in the kitchen with the stove, poisons and the microwave. It was wonderful. The kids were captured.
Next they got to call 911 and a firefighter was on the other end.
Then they filled the room with fake smoke and taught them what to do. They then crawled through a window into the waiting arms of another firefighter.
The kids then moved on to watch 2 movies about fire safety.
They learned about the fire house and their uniforms.
Then came the fire truck. They got to climb in and try out different things on the truck.
Thank you so much to the wonderful firefighters who volunteered to teach out homeschooling group!

Callum

2009-05-21T19:36:00.001-07:00

Look at this sweet baby face! Callum was baptized this past Sunday. When the priest was putting the oil under his chin, Callum was letting them rip. I didn't hear this but others did! lol
It was a nice relaxing family day. Thank you to all who attended.

Callum's Baptism

2009-05-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of the baptism. Welcome into God's family, little one.