Tea Time Soothes a Grumpy Soul :)

Fabric Scraps, Glitter & Puffy Foam Stickers: What We Leave Behind

Crafting is not my thing.  Well, that's not being completely honest.  It's a bit more than just not my thing. I don't like it.  Have no interest. No desire. No talent. Never have. If I somehow inadvertently find myself having to sew or hot glue something (this happens occasionally against my better judgment and will), you're likely to hear the grouchy under-the-breath mutterings and snappings of a woman most definitely out of her element and comfort zone.

My mother passed away 5 years ago this coming October.  Before my obsessively creative, baking, cooking, crafting, sewing, quilting, embroidering, scrapbooking mom left us after an extended illness, she decided to leave me far more than her vast empire of accumulated supplies.

Sewing lesson at Grammy's house.

She left me with my daughter, Libby.

At that time, a 7 year old child that my mother had guided, shaped and molded for many years - encouraged, inspired and enticed with love, companionship, time, multiple trips to craft and fabric stores, and the allure of an endless supply of fabric scraps, glitter and puffy foam stickers.

Libby and her friend sharing a craft
booth at Market Day.

This middle child of mine (now 12...almost 13) has a deep passion for all things crafting.  Not trite or contrived little arts and crafts projects mind you.  But real, serious, purposeful handicrafts. (No more puffy foam stickers - though glitter still abounds.)

She creates on a daily basis - from the time she wakes up till the time her brain shuts down for the night.  She has researched and explored cake decorating, how to deep fry oreos (the best and worst idea EVER), the best recipes for homemade cookies, cakes and cupcakes. She has made beautiful creations from clay, and recently started her own business designing and selling handmade jewelry. And all of this is just a sampling of the rabbit trails she's ventured down. :) We frequent craft and hobby stores and checking out local thrift stores and antique shops is next on the to-do list.  Pinterest and YouTube are necessary and invaluable resources in her world.

As for me, I find myself looking at things through Libby's eyes...through my mother's eyes. 

With a bit of spray paint, small hors d'oeuvr trays from work have far more potential.  A cork board destined to be tossed in the trash could be re-purposed.  Perhaps covered in fabric and ribbon and used to display necklaces she's made. 

My kitchen table is covered with lumps of clay, scraps of paper and fabric, scissors, a gazillion assorted tiny beads, glue guns, nail polish and glitter.  And when I say covered, I mean covered. We push it all to the side just to be able to eat or do anything else at the table.  I frequently fantasize about having a craft room.  Not for myself, but still...

So while crafting has never been and is most certainly not  "my thing", I find myself facilitating my daughter's interest and talent wholeheartedly and with far more creativity and imagination that I once would have thought possible.

If my mother were here to see what she's created, what she's left me with...well, I guarantee you she'd be laughing.  She knew me well and while she'd be proud, she'd still be laughing. She couldn't possibly have known the extent of the passion she fostered in my young daughter before she left us. On second thought, maybe she did.

Because the truth of the matter is, what she left behind was much more than fabric scraps, glitter and puffy foam stickers.  What she left behind was a bit of herself.  And that is something priceless.

Hearts for Home Weekly Blog Hop #34

Welcome to this week's Hearts for Home Blog Hop.  The Hearts for Home Blog Hop is all about sharing encouraging and inspiring posts that show your heart is for your home and family.  Family friendly topics are welcome and include homeschooling, homemaking, cooking/recipes, parenting, marriage, faith, family, crafts, and the like.

Last week's most popular post was from Campfires and Cleats.

Schoolroom Organization and Schedules from Campfires and Cleats

Here are a few of my favorite posts from last week:

Tara over at He Sets You Free seems to have taken a peek at my bookshelf when pulling together her list of inspiring and encouraging books on the Charlotte Mason method.  ;)

Inspiring Book (Charlotte Mason Homeschooling) from He Sets You Free

Annette at In All You Do...Breed-Love shares why she feels it's so important we keep things real in front of our children. She says, "While I don't believe in airing your dirty laundry in public, I do believe it is important 

to disagree in front of your children.  Why?  Well, here are a few reasons why we argue in front of our kids."

Why We Argue in Front of Our Kids from In All You Do...Breed-Love

And just for the sheer YUM factor...Chrysa at Thrifty Jynxy shared this recipe for S'mores Rice Krispy Treats that I *have* to try.  I think it will make a simply scrumptious tea time snack this fall! Not to mention how much fun the kids and I will have making it together.

S'mores Rice Krispy Treats Recipe from Thrifty Jynxy

If your post was featured this week, congratulations (!) and please feel free to grab a button to display on your sidebar or in your post.

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Take a moment and visit the other wonderful link up co-hosts: Hearts of Home Blog Hop Co-Hosts

Back to (Un)School!

"When are you guys starting school?"   This has been the question of the past month.  It's on everyone's minds and on the tips of their tongues.  It's what everyone wants to know. It seems to be the question that every homeschooler weaves into every conversation with another homeschooler and it's blazing all over Facebook and other social media sites.

So...when do we start school??  

If only there was a simple answer to that question for us.  Like August 14th or August 26th or September 3rd.  But as unschoolers, the truth of the matter is that my answer to this question isn't really all that quick and easy to give.  Simple?  To us, yes.  It's delightfully simple.  But for folks wanting a quick and easy answer (a date)...it's a bit more complex.  

To say we never stop or we learn all year round might give the impression to most that we "do school" all.year.long.  Ugh.  Not at all what I wish to convey.

To say we NEVER EVER start school gives a whole different negative impression.  Technically, it's true.  We never "start school".  We don't "do school".  Nope. Not our focus at all.  But we do learn.  Goodness, do we learn!  We joyfully pursue interests and passions, work on individual skills and projects, go to interesting places and meet up with awesome people, and focus on setting and achieving personal goals.

Our goofy attempts at a "Back-To-(Un)School" pic.

The answer I tend to give is that as fall approaches, our routine begins to shift.  Everyone else goes back to school (most homeschoolers included). Our homeschool co-op  and art class starts back up sometime in mid-September.  The tea set gets dusted off, new family read alouds are chosen and goals for the coming year are discussed as we go along our merry way.  

Honestly, by the time September is here, we all start getting restless for a little shift in the routine. Summer is full of friends and sports camps and swimming and nature study and the beach and family vacations.  Coming into fall, basketball and hockey season feels dangerously imminent.  And I have to say that while these sports are two of our children's chosen passions and we LOVE THEM wholeheartedly (borderline obsessively), they do bring about a temporary end to life as we know it.  So after the mix of wildly hectic and much needed lazy days of summer -and- before sports become the epicenter of our lives, we feel a strong pull for something *different*.  A bit of a different rhythm.  A tad different routine.  Not much different.  Just a tiny bit.  Just enough.

You may ask, "if you don't *do school*, what exactly do you do?".

Short answer:  We follow our interests and pursue our goals. 

Longer, more rambling answer:

For my 9 year old son, plans would include but not in any way be limited to - having me read aloud to him, watching lots of documentaries, playing video games (!), reading on his own (with a bit of help from time to time), learning to type and being able to spell some things without having to ask me or his dad all the time (not surprisingly, related to video game interest), playing games more often (Apples to Apples, Sequence Numbers, Bugopoly, Rummikub, Uno and the like), going to some more military battle/war re-enactments, having a regular tea time complete with yummy snacks and the aforementioned read alouds, learning to cook and bake (like his father does so well), riding his bike, doing some awesome experiments (time to open up the crystal growing kit), learning more about electricity, earth science, astronomy, military history, tanks, battles, wars, weapons, tornadoes, hurricanes, the Titanic and other shipwrecks and disasters, playing with friends, going to a natural history or other science museum, working on his handwriting (in his mind this is tied into the tea and yummy snack time), working on his drawing skills and possibly exploring cursive.  I'm sure there's about a gazillion things I've left out! 

My 12 (almost 13!) year old daughter will continue with her passion for nature study - drawing us all in as she goes. In addition to her nature explorations, she'll spend the majority of her time cooking, baking, cake decorating and devoting herself to her current all-encompassing passion for crafting, jewelry design and researching and implementing related business ideas...from the moment she wakes up till the moment she passes out at night.  It has been my experience that not many 12 year old girls express a need to have their own personal drill and solder gun! This middle child of mine is also curious about the Life of Fred math books so we'll be checking that out to see if it's a good fit for her pattern loving brain. :)

My oldest daughter has plans to pursue her interest in photography, devote a good portion of her time to fitness and nutrition in preparation for basketball season (basketball is her all-consuming passion), spend as much time as possible with her friends and listening to her beloved music, continue reading books of her choosing as well as some that I suggest (book selections that we read, share and discuss together), getting her learner's permit as soon as it is feasibly possible and filling out job applications in her quest for flexible employment (the "need" for funds has recently become highly important). She also has a couple of more traditional looking academic goals she'll be working on in a very relaxed and unschoolish fashion including algebra (insert a tiny shudder from me) and a living books based unit study on biology (about which the Charlotte Mason method groupie in me is super excited about).

Rounding out their learning, both girls also lend a helping hand with family projects, join in for our family read alouds, watch a variety of documentaries and enjoy our nature walks and trips to museums.

Another component that is crucial to this lifestyle of learning is my involvement.  I facilitate, expose, encourage, share, chauffeur, assist, involve and invite.  We've all found genuine enthusiasm to be wonderfully contagious...both theirs and mine.  And so we share our lives, our interests, our gifts, our skills and our passions.  We laugh together, discuss & debate anything and everything under the sun, wonder, ponder and ask lots of questions, seek answers, argue, fight & generally annoy one another, apologize, offer support, and overall delight in each other's company.

And there ya have it.  Our back to (un)school plans.  What we do. Shifting with the seasons, we continue to learn.  We live our lives, follow our interests and pursue our goals...without school. 

Back-To-(Un)School!

Hearts for Homes Weekly Blog Hop #33

Welcome to this week's Hearts for Home Blog Hop!  I have enjoyed linking up on Thursdays and am excited now to have the opportunity to participate as a weekly co-host. Take a moment and check out the most popular post and also one of my favorites from last week's Blog Hop. :)

From The Mrs. - Our Homeschool Spaces

Here's a couple more of my favorites:

This Woman Writes - Homeschooling Young Children
"There's something about the word "homeschool" that prompts people to focus on the second half, "school", and totally ignore the first part, "home"."




Education Possible - Take Time To Make Memories With Your Family
"The time that we have with our children is short and fleeting.  Are you taking time to make memories together or is your time just being eroded by the pressures of daily life?"





If you were featured, please grab a button to display on your sidebar or in your post.

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Backyard Nature Study

Making Learning Fun: Circus Ponies and Clown Cars?

I've seen a good number of homeschoolers concerned about and devoting an awful lot of time and energy to making school "fun".  In the attempt to engage their young learners and hold their interest and attention (on the curriculum's required topics and subject matter), well-intentioned moms proceed to pull out everything but the circus ponies and clown cars!  The more they give, the more that is expected.  Every day, every week, they strive to find a way to one-up themselves.

And these moms are tired.

Comic from homeschool dad, Todd Wilson.

When I read how much work some homeschoolers do in the name of "making learning fun",  I'll be honest...it makes ME feel EXHAUSTED.  And I'm not even there hanging out in their personal three-ring circus.

Don't get me wrong, I spend an inordinate amount of time facilitating my children's interests and passions. Military re-enactments & museums, craft stores, shows & shindigs, researching questions, ponderings, curiosities & video game walk-throughs, reading aloud together, new games, projects & experiments, nature walks & related projects, basketball and hockey practices, games & camps, and an abundance of get-togethers with friends who share in similar interests.  Obviously, somebody has to seek out and be on the look out for these opportunities and experiences. Somebody has to get them there.  Somebody has to pay for the stuff.

And that somebody is me. :)

But I don't focus on making these things fun.  More than that, I am absolutely 100% philosophically opposed to making learning fun.



When learning is real and meaningful, when it has a purpose, when it stems from a child's interests, goals and needs...none of that hoopla is necessary.

Because here's the thing - learning IS fun.  All by itself. On it's own. You don't need to turn it into a three-ring circus.  No bells or whistles.  No circus ponies or clown cars. It.Just.Is.


Instead, take the focus away from trying to *make* something fun and shift it over to your children.  What are they interested in?  What excites them and lights up their eyes?  What topic, subject, project or experience do they not stop talking about, EVER??

Feed these interests. Support their gifts and goals. Facilitate, encourage, and involve. Live together.  Laugh together. Share yourself and your own interests, passions and skills.  Make your children's world just a little bit bigger every week.

And sometime maybe, take a trip to a real circus to see the ponies and clowns...just for fun.