Book Love

I frequently pick up books at the library that I think my children or my husband might enjoy (in addition to those that they choose themselves).  Some turn out to be total duds.  That’s okay.  When I check out these books, they represent possibility, not certainty.

Occasionally I stumble onto something really wonderful for a member of my family.  Sometimes one of my library grabs will even grow into a long-term interest.  I feel so gratified in those moments when I see a sparkle in the eye that tells me I brought something new and exciting into their lives.

If you know me, or have read this post, you know how much I love books. I truly think they open up the world to those who look inside.

Here’s my sweet girl, engrossed in one of my successful picks.

Have you read anything wonderful lately?

Why I’m Not Tired of Winter

Here it is past the middle of March, the temperatures are still routinely in the 20s, and I’m not going crazy.  How is this?

This winter has been really pleasant for me.  So many people I know have recently traveled to Florida and Hawaii, and I don’t long to do the same. 

I had to stop and think about why I feel so content this winter.  If it is anything in my control, I will want to keep it in mind for the future.  I might find myself feeling cabin fever again someday.

Here is what I’ve come up with:

1.  We have had good snow most of the time.  Obviously, this is out of my hands, but it makes such a difference to my children and me.  Cold and snowless equals staying indoors way too much.  Cold with snow equals bundling up and playing outside a lot.  Fresh air, exercise and having fun are great ways to keep the mood up.

2.  I purchased new winter boots.  For several years, I’ve been wearing boots that left my toes chilly.  Warm toes contribute greatly to quality of life for a Minnesotan in winter.

3.  We have been meeting up with other homeschoolers on a weekly basis just to play and visit.  (We still do weekly classes and occasional field trips with a group as well, but it is something different to gather simply for the enjoyment of it.) This has involved visiting many new parks as weather allows.  Over the winter, we have met at sledding hills, indoor playgrounds and swimming pools.  Again, it is getting out of the house and being active.  Having others expecting us makes us more likely to consistently head out to the YMCA or whatever the case may be, and it has truly helped to pass the time.

4.  I have been very flexible about school work.  If my kids ask to play outside, I say go for it.  We can jump back into our school work a little later.  And we do, with everyone feeling refreshed.

The moral of the story: make sure you are properly equipped for the conditions at hand, and make sure to get out of the house and enjoy the season you find yourself in as much as possible. 

Sailing by Ash Breeze

I wanted to share another book that I really enjoyed reading with my children. This particular title, Carry On Mr. Bowditch, is a biography of young Nathaniel Bowditch, a bright boy who was forced into indentured servitude due to his family’s poor financial situation. He had dreamed of attending college, but his circumstances would not allow for that. A man who worked at the chandlery with Nathaniel described him as “becalmed” – like a sailboat that cannot make progress for lack of wind. Nathaniel, however, refused to allow himself to be stopped by circumstances that were out of his control. Instead of giving up his dream of further learning, he decided to study on his own at night. He taught himself Latin, physics, mathematics – anything that he was interested in. This bright boy grew into a brilliant man, all as an indentured servant. This in itself would understandably appeal to me. As a homeschooling mother, I value examples of successful self-directed learners.

My absolute favorite thing from this book, though, is the idea of sailing by ash breeze. When becalmed, the sailor must use his own power and row the boat. The oars were commonly made of ash wood. Ash breeze.

It is true that life can throw any variety of obstacles in our paths. Sometimes we feel quite stuck. As stuck as a becalmed sailboat. However, with determination and hard work, we can keep moving using our own power.

The next time I feel stuck, I will consider what is in my power to do, rather than dwell on what is out of my control. Sail by ash breeze.

Snowy Owl

We went to the Minnesota Zoo yesterday for their homeschool day.  It was fun.  They had set up stations throughout the Minnesota Trail focused on different areas: math, literacy, geography, etc.

One part of the day did not go as planned, but that glitch provided a valuable lesson.

It was a bird demo.  We, the visitors, were going to meet and learn about a snowy owl.  A few minutes after the demonstration was to have started, a zoo employee stepped out from a back room to apologize for the delay.  He was having a little trouble with the owl.

A few minutes later, he came out into the stage and said a few words about the owl. Part of what he told us was that the owl was still learning to be comfortable around people. He described what the owl was supposed to do when it came out, along with some other things it might do instead.

In the end, the owl never did come out. They ended up showing a Harris’ hawk instead.

The zoo employee explained that forcing the owl to come on stage when it was so uncomfortable would have been bad for it and counterproductive to the goal of training it to be part of educational demonstrations.

I couldn’t help but consider how many times adults pressure, or outright force, children to go ahead with things that make them uncomfortable or scared. Don’t they deserve to be treated with at least as much respect as the snowy owl?

Enjoying Fall – A Day in the Life

One benefit of homeschooling, for us, is that some days can be pretty flexible. After eating breakfast and doing a lesson in geology, my son asked me if we could “do school” outside. I told him that it wouldn’t work for everything we had on the docket that day, but that we certainly could for some of it. I began packing up books, paper and pencils, and my children went and bundled themselves up. A few short days ago it was 90 degrees, but it was only around 50 degrees now. While not terribly cold, it was colder than we’ve been accustomed to recently. I personally think they overdid it with the warm clothes, and told them so, but they remained convinced that it was all needed. I didn’t mind.

We headed out with our books, called “hello” to our neighbors who were waiting for the school bus, and walked to a nearby lake.

My daughter took up her favorite spot – a chair carved from a stump. She sometimes likes to draw while sitting in this chair, but this day was for reading.

My son clambered down the rocks and found a good spot. I soon joined him on the rocks.

I read to them from our devotion book, then Shakespeare’s Seasons - selections from Shakespeare’s work with lively illustrations showcasing the different seasons. (We had read “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare the previous day. There are really lovely books for children out there.) I then read a chapter from a biography of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman who helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. After my son read a story to me from his children’s Bible, the kids were ready to explore the lakeshore a bit more.

We all enjoyed looking at the various rocks.

My children examined everything from the soil between rocks to the air bubbles forming at the edge of the water.

They got right down to the water’s edge for a closer look at all that captured their interest. Amazingly, and thankfully, everyone stayed dry.

We then walked the short distance to our nearest playground. My kids had a great time. They divided their time between simply playing on the playground equipment, inviting me to join them in a game of tag, and imagining what it would be like to have to hide in a small secret room, leaving no trace behind, like the people in our Corrie ten Boom book.

When they were ready to move on, we walked home and had lunch. We then completed lessons in life science, math, and music. My daughter also had homework from the literature class that she is taking at our weekly co-op.

This a snapshot of a single day in our homeschooling journey. Some days are more focused on book work than this particular day. Some days will be less book work, as we might be out attending a play or visiting a museum. For a beautiful fall day, though, this suited us quite well.

Where She Excels

So often, I think we get caught up in children’s deficits when it comes to education. As a homeschooler, I definitely take it to heart if I think one of my children is having a tough time with something, whether it be remembering the times table or using proper punctuation. Whatever it may be. We might respond by spending a lot of time drilling that particular area, in an effort to eliminate that deficit.

How do I say this without sounding cavalier? I do care that my children, all children really, have ample instruction to have a solid grasp of the basics. But I think too much drill on those weaker areas comes at a high cost. One, if a given subject area is a struggle, chances are the child does not love it. Therefore all that extra work means forcing the child to spend more time on a dislike. Two, putting all that emphasis on a weakness may lead the child to doubt himself/herself. Three, it takes away time that might have been spent pursuing a beloved activity.

This summer, my daughter attended two art camps. She immediately looked at home in this studio. She glowed. She flourished. She shone. It was like seeing her fully alive. Art camp is definitely a place where she excels.

This is a child who is frequently creating all kinds of things in her free time. I think she is fortunate to have a little more free time than the average nine year old. Homeschooling two children takes less time than teaching a classroom of twenty or thirty students. It just does. My children, as a result, usually have time to spend on their chosen hobbies before the school bus rolls into the neighborhood each afternoon.

Watching my daughter’s experience at art camp, I could clearly see that she was in her element. She was happy. She was using her time doing something she loved. She was comfortable. She was confident. Like I said, she positively glowed.

I vowed to make more of an effort to help both of my children pursue those interests that elicit that glow, that passion.

Does that mean we stop studying math facts, parts of speech, punctuation and the like?

No. Not at all.

It just means I will be careful not to put too much focus on areas of weakness. I will not steal my children’s opportunity to become experts in those things they truly love.

After all, do you learn better about topics that you chose for yourself or topics that someone else has decided you should learn? I know how I would answer that.

It always seems to come to this – a balancing act. Balancing what I think they need to know with the things they want to learn. Being careful not to extinguish that natural drive to learn and do.

In the few months since that initial art camp, I’ve kept my eyes open for those times when both my children seemed to come more fully alive. I’ve devoted time to helping them pursue those interests, and it has been a joy.

Just some food for thought.

I hate to say it, but…

If anyone out there is wondering how the marathon training is going, I have bad news. The marathon is less than two weeks away, and it’s not going to happen for me this time. My knee started to bother me a bit in early March. It really didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. I thought that taking a few extra days off and taking it easy would be all I needed. In the end, I took more like two weeks off before gradually building my mileage back up. But then I was feeling great. I was feeling optimistic. I had certainly gotten behind on my training, but I felt like I would be able to do it.

I had gotten back up to a pain free 12 miler and felt fantastic. Yes, there are still many more miles in a marathon, but at that point, I thought I had time to slowly build up to a 20 mile training run. My particular training plan would have taken me all the way to 26 if I had been able to keep up with it, but I know some training plans only go up to 20. I felt okay with how things were going.

Then, the last straw.

I had set out for a long training run about two weeks ago, and just over 6.5 miles into it, my knee started to kill! I hobbled home and told my husband that this was probably it. No longer enough time to let it rest and build back up.

You’re probably wondering if I have sought any medical care. I have not.

Like I said, back when I had that first pain, I really thought it was no big deal and that some TLC would do it. Now, I could go get it checked, and maybe I should, but I haven’t. It’s too late to get ready for the marathon (this time), and it doesn’t affect me in regular life. Someone did advise me that it could be caused by unequal muscle strength in my legs (i.e. the front leg muscles, and to a lesser extent, the back leg muscles are strengthened through running, but the side muscles really are not – I haven’t been doing anything to hone in on the side muscles of my legs).

I should also admit that I dislike going to the doctor. I go for my annual check-ups, and I take my children for their check-ups and for other needs as they arise. For myself, though, I usually have to be pretty concerned to go in. I think it’s an effect of growing up poor.

So, when and if I decide to try tackling a full marathon in the future, I think I just might go have things checked out and seek some expert advice based on my personal experiences. But not necessarily before then. Feel free to offer your two cents if you have strong opinions about any of it. I’m willing to listen and consider advice.

On the bright side, with the exception of about two weeks off in early March, this was the first time I’ve run through the winter since I took up running in 2008 with the C25K.

In other news, I’m keeping busy making plans for school next year, including putting thought and research time into the idea of giving my kids more choice and flexibility in their learning. If you happen to look at my book list, you’ll see a couple titles that hint at that. If you’ve read about why we homeschool, you also know that tailoring learning to the interests and abilities of our children is one of the reasons we decided to homeschool in the first place. I don’t know if I could ever go all the way to unschooling, but I do think people learn more when it is something that they are interested in and have a reason for learning.  It has been interesting reading at the least.    So far, we have a science curriculum purchased at the special request of my daughter ~ it looks good, a music theory curriculum purchased at the request of both children, and a lot of historical novels selected (some purchased, and some available from the library) to read together next year.  We have a math program that both kids are loving, each at their own level, and phonics and grammar programs that have been helpful.  I went to a talk on literary analysis last month, and I’m all stoked to incorporate a bit more of that into our discussion of the books we read.  See, that’s something that particularly interests me.  I will try to restrain myself a bit if they don’t share my interest.  The last thing I want to do is turn them off books and reading.  I always try to walk the fine line of challenging them, but not frustrating them, and spending time on things that they enjoy, but instilling the discipline it takes to do something even when it isn’t fun.

I’ve also been to some used book sales recently and purchased books on geology projects, how various machines work, Greek mythology, a family devotion book ~ things that we can enjoy together that aren’t necessarily part of a curriculum.

In the food world, we have just started a new CSA season.  Thank goodness!  I had gotten into a cooking rut.  The CSA provides a lot of inspiration, and so far, the recipes in the newsletter have been outstanding.  I’ve finally found a recipe for sunchokes that I liked!!  I’ve mentioned that we had an unseasonably warm winter in MN this year.  We were having an especially warm spell in mid-March, and my husband decided to plant radishes, arugula and spinach.  We had to cover them a few times, but now we are enjoying eating a few fresh veggies from the garden.  We weren’t even able to start planting by this time last year!  What a difference from one year to the next.  Our mint has also come up in full force.  My word, that is one prolific plant!

So, there it is.  Some good.  Some bad.  Keeping busy with my little ones.  Looking forward to summer and all the new adventures it may bring.

I hope life is treating you well. 

 

 

Glancing back and looking ahead

Funny way to put it, but with another new year upon us, I thought I’d better take a peek back at my goals for 2011 and see how I did.  While I’m at it, I want to also give a little thought to the upcoming year.  So there you have it.

Last year, I proclaimed the following goals for 2011:

GOAL:  Finish The Chronicles of Narnia series with my family.  We have just started the second book, and we are all enjoying it so much!

STATUS: Completed!  We read the entire series together and loved it!

GOAL:  Travel!  My husband and I both got passports for the first time (shocking, I know), and I would love to use them!

STATUS: Completed!  My husband and I both got our first stamps in the new passports when we visited Costa Rica in March.  We have not used our children’s passports yet, but they still had a travel opportunity within the U.S. when we all visited Virginia in August.  They were both great trips!

GOAL:  Continue trying out new recipes with an emphasis on healthful foods.

STATUS:  Yes, indeed.  I’m not perfect in this area (or any other, for that matter), but I continue to experiment in the kitchen, particularly with our CSA foods.

GOAL:  Go on lots of bicycle rides with my children this summer.  Last summer marked the end of training wheels at our house, and it makes such a difference.  We can really move now!

STATUS:  We did some biking together, but not as much as I would have liked.  My bike had some issues, and I didn’t get it fixed right away.  We did more “mom walks or jogs while the kids bike way ahead” trips to the park, which worked out pretty well until my bike was in good working order.

GOAL:  Plant an herb garden and make good use of it!!

STATUS:  Done.
GOAL:  Consistently get enough sleep.  This means making sure I go to bed at a decent time!

STATUS:  This is a total work in progress.  It’s still an area of struggle for me.

Some things I have in mind for 2012:

*  Train for and run my first marathon!  I am excited and slightly terrified by the prospect.  My goal is to train well and finish.  Seriously hoping for no injuries to get in the way.

* Continuing to enjoy being active with my kids.  This includes things like sledding in the winter (if we ever get more snow), and biking and swimming in the summer.

* Explore trails around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  I got my husband a book called Best Hikes of the Twin Cities for Christmas, and I look forward to checking out some of these recommended hikes.  Before we had kids, we did a lot more hiking and camping together and both enjoyed it.  I’d like to get back to it a little more.

* Be more deliberate in my prayer life.  I am not sure exactly what this is going to look like, and I probably won’t have it figured out by January 1st, but I’m looking into some books that might help me find the structure that I’m looking for.  Prayer is already part of my life, but I want to give it more priority and more thought in my everyday life.

* Plant and use an herb and vegetable garden.

* Continue avoiding caffeine.  I still have a little whenever I eat chocolate, but I no longer drink soda.  I want to keep this up, because I think it has been good for me.  It’s been nine months now!

* Keep cooking!  Cooking at home most of the time is good for our budget and our health.

* Keep reading!  We haven’t decided on the next great series to tackle as a family, but we have enjoyed many books together.  I want to continue reading both with my kids and for myself.  There is so much to be gained from a good book!

* Keep learning!  As a homeschooling mom, learning is naturally a high priority for me.  A very important goal of mine is to give my children the time and attention to help them learn, as well as the books, materials,  and activities that will enhance their opportunities to learn and grow.  I also hope to be a role model for lifelong learning.  As I’ve said before, I am not perfect in this (or any other) area, but it is very important to me, and I will do my best!

As I write, I can see that I don’t have much that’s brand-new for me.  I see mainly “continue this” and “keep on doing that,” but you know, maintenance can take as much effort as a new achievement.  I won’t beat myself up about it.  My main focus at this point in my life is on caring for my family and looking out for our health, and I think these goals reflect that.

What are your goals for 2012?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

What’s Up?

Hi there. What’s up world? I hope life is treating you well. Things have been as busy as ever for me. I spend the bulk of my day doing schoolwork with my kiddos. I’ve got projects galore at work right now, as well. That’s good, right? I think so. I’m fortunate to not only have a job (especially in this rough economy), but to have a job that is flexible enough to allow me to be home with my children and still contribute to my formerly full-time workplace.

I picked up our CSA boxes yesterday. It was a vegetable AND fruit day, so my refrigerator, hanging baskets and counters are FULL. We’ve got squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, oranges and greens in mass quantities. Oh, onions too. We have a three tiered hanging basket full of onions and garlic. It’s a good thing I like cooking with them! We got a new item in our fruit share this week. I hear all the time how wonderful pomegranates are for us, but I never buy them. Why not? Because I’m really not sure what to do with them. Now that I have received several in my CSA box, it’s time for me to take the plunge and finally figure it out. We haven’t experienced as many new foods in the fruit share as we did in the vegetable share, but there have been a few. Pomegranates, persimmon and figs come to mind. It’s still fun trying new things, but I must admit, I don’t like all of them. I found out that I don’t care for figs (though I like Fig Newtons – go figure), and I’ve found that a cheese share goes largely wasted on me. In my defense, I did decide to sign up for the cheese share before I discovered that dairy bothers my stomach. Now that I’ve figured that out, I’m not eating all that much cheese. (And I’m a little picky about the cheese. Shh. Don’t tell. I don’t like to think of myself as a picky eater. Thankfully, my husband is not picky about cheese and enjoys all of them.)

In fitness news, I started the 30 Day Shred on November 1st. My goal is to do it everyday of November. With Thanksgiving coming up, we’ll see how that goes. I’m not sure when/if/how long we might be away from home, so that might throw me for a loop. I’m also keeping up with a minimal running schedule. I’m dreaming and scheming of races for next year. I plan to put the focus more on running starting in December or January (depending on exactly what training plan I will be doing).

With Halloween just a few days past, I have to admit, I am proud of myself. I ate a few pieces of candy on Halloween, but I haven’t had any since. I usually gobble up any leftover candy that we have, and then I dip into my kids’ candy. I don’t think it’s a big deal to eat a little candy here and there, but I have overindulged in the past. If I think about it, I would rather have a quality dessert now and then than eat Halloween candy. My husband’s homemade pumpkin pie is WAY better than Halloween candy! And I would like to eat nourishing foods for the most part, not fill up on a lot of sweets. So there you have it, my choice to stay out of the candy.

Hasta luego! (Have I mentioned that I’m helping my daughter practice Spanish?)

P.S. If you have any tips for me on how to eat the pomegranates, I welcome your tips!

Uncommonly Good

When I threw together this concoction the other day, I thought it would be pretty good. In my book, it’s hard to go wrong with butter, cheese and cream involved. Seriously, though, the combination of flavors was SO GOOD. With a taste like this, I had to share. Now, hopefully you like this savory type of dish.

Sage Squash Alfredo

Ingredients
Squash (I used kombocha and sugar dumpling squash from the CSA)
Alfredo Sauce
Navy Beans (cooked, about 1/2 cup)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
olive oil
1 T chopped fresh sage (this was from our garden, yum!)
pasta of choice, I used rotini

Directions
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash open and remove seeds. Place open-side down on baking sheet and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until beginning to get tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit, so you will be able to handle it.
*You can wait a little bit before starting the next steps. The squash takes longer than anything else. Have a glass of wine or play a game of hide and seek with your kids. Whatever you like to do with a little free time.
*Chop onion and saute in olive oil until tender.
*Meanwhile heat water to cook your pasta according to package directions. If you make your pasta from scratch, more power to you! (Maybe you could give me some lessons.)
*Mince garlic and add to pan. Continue to saute for another minute or so. Add beans and continue heating. Cut the squash into 1 inch chunks and add to pan. Add chopped sage and continue heating. *Finally pour alfredo sauce over the mix and cook until hot.
*Serve the sage squash alfredo sauce over pasta and enjoy!
(Because I am me, I served it with a layer of spinach beneath the pasta and sauce. I love my spinach! You can try that if you like, or skip the spinach.)

Do you ever find yourself surprised at just how good certain things taste together? I, for one, enjoy that kind of surprise!