happenings around the home....

My sweet fairy girl decided to surprise mama with breakfast in bed 💚
 
This fluffy dude is trying to hone in .... Yes that's a sock on his head
 
...and his snout


Cardboard + duct tape = a new car in the making! 



sock monkey carvan
 

Fairy Girl giving me the grand tour of the castle, horse stables, bridge, and lake

Who says Rome wasn't built in a day?

Castle and stables (but apparently the castle lacks a lavatory, per the current discussion;)

Fairy Girl's Project...she's been collecting, collecting, collecting.....

the magical backyard playground

Shhhhhhhhh.....my girls are building a secret fort in our magical backyard forest.

 
They donated a stick to a good cause:) 

Creativity Abounds!

Little Angel  used to be very interested in art. Three years ago we bought her a table and chair, so she could have her own creative space.....then, after I brought her to a couple of art classes....she lost interest. Unfortunately, one of the teachers told her she was doing something wrong in her project (what??!!!)....and that literally resulted in her not creating anymore art for TWO years!!! See how easily a child can be affected by someone!
I never pushed it; the creative process comes from the heart and soul. She had to work through this on her own terms.

A few days ago we hit Michael's. The girls are old enough now where I can do my thing and they can do theirs. Fairy Girl came back with some needle point projects and Little Angel came back with paints and brushes!!
And then she came home and turned created her sweet art studio!!!
Happy Happy Mama!!!
Joyful Joyful Little Angel!

I think I give my girls too much freedom....they just don't know how to occupy themselves :)

Fairy Girl: "I built a kingdom."

fairy girl's getting into mischief again:

rainy Sunday creative day:

Fairy Girl's painting

Little Angel's painting

fairy girl's fairy garden

create day!

Fairy Girl created this sweet Trojan horse bank at a Home Depot Kids' workshop....a customer thought she was so cute and put $.50 into her bank:)


Little Angel created this very sweet Fairy Garden from a kit she received for Christmas: 

and mama created these amazingly delish and healthy peanut butter cookies, in honor of National Peanut Butter Day!

fairy girl made a bed for her barbies!

freeschooling!

Freeschooling is a term I first heard yesterday...I like it...this is what we do!

Left to their own devices,continued....my girls love to play Club Penguin. Little Angel recently discovered that it is available in many languages and has recently decided she wants to learn some Russian. She's been playing Club Penguin in the Russian format...listening to it In Russian, and using a Russian to English translator she found in a google search to further her learning process. I couldn't come up with this stuff for them....eclectic-freeschooling at its best

barbie in the kitchen

when you leave kiddos to their own devices (we homeschoolers lovingly refer to this as an "unschooling" day;) This is the kind of mischief they will get themselves into: girls came up with their own big
project today. It involved creating/
crafting food and plates, etc for
their Barbies. They researched the
internet to find the project they were envisioning; read the instructions,
found the materials, and are working
together to create the items.
This involves kitchen work, measuring,
and baking….and team play.
Great Project!
(note, they are making paper mache'….
I've never made paper mache' before; they completely came up with this on their own). If you give the kids enough freedom and time, they sure know how to get into "mischief." BTW, this all followed after they took photos and vidoes of their Barbies and continued work on their ongoing script for the Barbie Movie they are writing.

my little hoodlums

p.s. "hey mommy, we can make our own playdough out of flour and water and salt!" 

in which Fairy Girl writes a song

 My eight year old wrote a song and sang it....title, lyrics. It's called "ain't got much money, so settle down honey" (and she is aware that it is indeed not grammatically correct, but that it's ok to take liberties for the sake of poetry and song-writing;)

Future country singer or comedian

Gingerbread House

So I returned home at 10 pm last night, following band rehearsal and grocery shopping, expecting that everyone would be upstairs asleep, and I would put away the groceries and wash the dinner dishes. But I had a bonus!!!! Daddy was fast asleep on the couch, and the munchkins (were creating an even bigger mess, ahem;) wide awake and having fun creating this sweet gingerbread house: 

why we homeschool....

my girls love their playtime....and believe me, it's very creative and "constructive." Not only are they having fun playing Barbies, but they have been in the process of writing a script , for a few days now....for a Barbie TV show.....they are using Word for this, complete with setting, character development, and dialogue. Amazing what kids come up with when you give them freedom to create on their terms! 



I've always been the mom who swore she would never over schedule my kiddos. Yet, as a homeschooling mom, you tend to feel somewhat obligated to get them out and about in the world....in group activities. Yet my girls have confessed that although they enjoy a park day here and there, they miss having our "own" field trips. The energy of having a group timetable takes away their freedom to learn and explore at their own pace....they don't like feeling rushed, etc.

That said, we have an open and respectful family/homeschool environment....we all agree , less is more! Once or twice a month for a group trip, at most works best for us....nature-oriented! Homeschooling is not just about fostering a natural and creative learning environment for us, but most importantly, it's about self-discovery, freedom, and family closeness.
 

somedays we homeschool.....

and many days we have turned into total unschoolers....and I can't even begin to tell you just how wonderful that is!  It is all flowing so very naturally now; and these girls are really, and I mean REALLY flourishing in learning and creativity.  Yesterday I received two unexpected custom bracelet orders.  And our printer had run out of ink (We need the ink to print our project pages for "Moving Beyond the Page")....yes, the two are related, as they both led to my decision to let the girls BE yesterday.  This is happening more and more...not out of laziness, but because it really works for all of us.  They are both reading very well now...and they both LOVE to read....because our house has always been surrounded by books, and because I never "forced" them to read (other than quick little phonics books when I was teaching them...but they enjoyed that).

We will never be total unschoolers, I'm much more comfortable with an eclectic approach...it's all about balance.  I want them to be strong readers and more importantly, to have a love of reading...always.  I want their natural curiosity to never be diminished.  I want their natural creative drive to always be fun and to carry them through life.  I want them to have a good solid foundation in math.  I want them to be good at expressing themselves, both verbally and written.  And most importantly, I want learning to always be natural and fun!  I think we've got an excellent start!

So, as I was saying, yesterday turned into an unschooling day.  I completely left them alone, while I worked in the bling studio, etc.  And this is some of what transpired.  They decided to play school :)  Yep, that's right, school:)

This is what they've decided to do today..... Thus far, they have used our online version of our math curriculum (Math U See) to help quiz themselves and memorize their multiplication facts (not because I'm "forcing" it...because they are choosing it!)...and in this photo they are reading all about Shetland ponies, and their origination and history (I don't even know what book that's in, but they found it).  I can honestly say, that in the 18 plus years that they will be here, many of which we'll be homeschooling, I don't think it EVER would have occurred to me to talk about Shetland ponies with them! 
 
And now they are painting fruit bowls (or something) that they sketched.
 
 

Later, I heard them writing a story or a report together, about the stars:)

We aren't unschool purists, I balance it out with carefully chosen materials, that we all love....but when left to their own devices, they continue to create, learn, and thrive!  I've actually come to realize that balancing in creative/unschooling days is a VITAL part of our homeschooling experience; it will carry them MUCH farther than me directing their every day!  THIS is how they will discover their own true passions in life!  I think it's a lot harder to do, when you are busy cramming in school work and homework and activities all the time.  BE time and CREATE time are a vital part of life.....and in my eyes, they are probably MORE vital than the academics!  Kids want to learn, and they DO...when they are given the opportunity and given the gift of freedom to choose!

dragonflies and butterflies are free to fly

that's what we decided to call our homeschool two years ago.  

Somedays I incorporate a light curriculum; somedays are pure unschooling.  You'd be (ok maybe not, but I am;) amazed at the amount of creativity that comes out of these (and I'm sure any child) girls who are free to be and create.   When left on their own to choose, you will see them go about their day, something like this: wake up, somewhere around 8-ish (sometimes earlier).  Usually Angel Girl will lie in bed for quite awhile reading (sounds like her grandma;), and Fairy Girl will come downstairs and wake up to a cartoon or netflix show (we only have Netflix and an antenna, and we LOVE it!).  Then after I make my way downstairs, she willingly gives up the tv so I can do my Kundalini yoga (which I'm now doing four days a week, Monday-Thursday) instead of the seven that I had started out doing the first month.  It does take up at least 1-1.5 hours, and well, I'm just NOT an early person....I tried for awhile there; I really did;)  (you know, for about a week:D)  At that point Fairy Girl heads over to the computer, or just yesterday decided to pick up the first book in the "Harry Potter" series (seriously, just a few months ago she was still reading "CAT" from her basic phonics series!  How did this happen!!?   These girls love to read!  Probably because I've always surrounded our house with books, taken them to thrift shops or Half Price Books to pick out their own books, and I've NEVER "scheduled" reading time (other than sitting with them to help them learn to read..and that was kept to a minimum and stopped the second they weren't enjoying it).  And just like that...age 7 for both of them, the reading clicked.  Reading is freedom....freedom to create even further...freedom to bake in the kitchen (Angel Girl started reading recipes and baking from scratch just after she turned 8....she got bored with the box mix stuff very quickly, like after the first week, which is a good thing:) (I started her out with box mixes, only to help her feel more comfortable in the kitchen...she LOVES to bake!)  I also had put a "meal ideas" list on the fridge for the girls to draw from, you know, when they want to work in the kitchen!  (i.e. mommy hasn't gotten around to feeding them yet;).  Seriously though, it's not a bad thing....I can literally lock myself in a room all day (no worries, I don't), and know that my girls can completely occupy themselves, feed themselves, and are safe.  I KNOW this because I am with them all the time (and know they will almost always make good decisions), but still give them their freedom to think and create and choose. 

 

And today, while I was sitting outside in the most perfect weather in the world, really NOT wanting to come in....dragonflies and butterflies were everywhere, and a beautiful doe even hopped the fence to my side, while I was there, and she stood there looking at me...it was such a beautiful moment...until Piper (who was otherwise occupied elsewhere in the backyard on the lizard hunt), discovered the visitor and chased her right out;).....anyway, while I was doing "my thing," the girls took it upon themselves to start creating a website.  Fairy Girl came out with paper and pen, looking for ideas (I googled free kids' websites from my iphone and wrote ideas for them to try)...and they found one that they are working with.  And they are even creating business cards:)  I think they have some sort of princess fashion line in the works.  



Finally, after being driven in by the out of control mosquito population (they are worse at night, not so bad during the day), I fed them a noon breakfast of scrambled eggs and fruit, proceeded to make banana nut bread (because those over ripe bananas were just begging me to;), and assemble and half bake a black bean lasagna for dinner.  Soon, I will get dressed (really, I am in yoga clothing, NOT jammies...I'm not THAT bad;) and work on some bracelet orders.  The girls continue to sit pleasantly together, working on their website, they are SO excited about their newest project!



Does this sound like school? The way most of us have been conditioned to believe school should look like?  probably not?  Are they learning, absolutely!  Are they on the same time-table as their traditionally-schooled peers?  In some areas yes, in many areas no.  Am I concerned about this....I probably was a few years ago, but now, absolutely not!  Can they read, write, articulate, multiply by hundreds and even thousands?  Yes!  Do they have all of their multiplcation facts memorized, NO...do I care, no...that will come in time, as needed, when they are ready, as they choose.  Those are just examples, but my point is.....yes, we have a "schedule".....mostly for the sake of giving them time to create, or time for us to work together some days.....our "schedule" is year round....other days we just go on our girls' day outings.....hit the beach or pool, go on a field trip....and some days we stay home and create! 

I do have to set some "boundaries" during traditionally schooled days off....they are in a much better rhythm and flow if they have these times to BE and CREATE, (or the days we choose to work together with our "curriculum.")......it's hard for others to understand, who aren't in a "homeschool" situation, that homeschooling/unschooling just doesn't look the same as traditional schooling....but believe me, it is working, it is REALLY REALLY working (thank goodness, these girls are learning despite their mama;)

Anyway, this whole post was inspired by something I saw this morning on a blog called "Time to Wake Up":


"I see the current public school system as one of cultures most effective programming stations. They sit you down, tell you whats what, and if you don't memorize it and regurgitate it, you fail and you are told that you are wrong. You feel stupid and this makes you think that the better you are at memorizing what they tell you is true, the smarter you are. It creates silent, hard working conformists. And try getting a decent job without passing these tests.

If the public school system really was designed to create critical thinkers, the teachers would tell you everyday "Question everything, especially authority."  (from the blog, these are not my words).  

But I can't say I disagree either; at least not when it comes to my own kiddos.  We choose the homeschool/unschool route, because it's the right fit for our family.  It is NOT the right fit for everybody...I'm a FIRM believer in respecting one-anothers' choices.  But, one of the top reasons why I believe in homeschooling for my family, is summarized very nicely in the quote above...for me it's all about giving them the best chance possible in keeping their natural creative drive, so they can truly have the opportunity to discover themselves and their own passions and interests; and family closeness!  I am certainly not saying that homeschooling is the only way to achieve this, or that traditional schooling will somehow impede the progress of this....I personally LOVED my school experience and thrived throughout school; and am very close to my family; and I like to think I'm still creative;)  But, this is the right choice for MY family and my girls, and my girls are having a REALLY good time along the way!  I'm very grateful we have the opportunity!

just another day in Paradise!

Mark this day...August 15, 2013....it was a high of about 69 degrees!  This must be some record low for this area.  Windows are open, breezes are flowing, the house smells SO good!  What a cozy October/November-like day it is!  I think I'm gonna have to bake something in honor of it...something involving pumpkin might fit the bill;)

just a couple of snapshots from our day:

homeschooling's not all fun and games you know...wait a minute...YES IT IS!!!!

more popcorn...pretty please.....I'm so cute, you can't resist this fluffy face:)

this morning the girls were playing "office" (aren't you digging the spectacles?  I am;)  the girls both begged me in the worst kind of way for glasses...they don't need glasses...but apparently it's some sort of fashion statement....so I took them to Wally world, and for $9 a piece, I was able to purchase demo frames:)  This was two years ago....they no longer require them for a fashion statement, but they do use them for engaging in such activities like: playing school, or playing office....apparently glasses make people look more intelligent, or professional or something;)

Anyway, here's how it all went down:
Playing office worker...dictionary, toddler phone, and most importantly, the candy dish:D (quote from Fairy Girl : "the community candy pot keeps workers coming back:D")  (it's true, I can personally vow for that;)

after a little while:
Now she's on the P.A. System yelling at all of her employees to stop taking two hour breaks on Thursdays:) 

and soon after that:
And now she packed up her stuff and said she got fired...."can you come to my office please, oh and bring a box:D" 



well, since she managed to get herself fired, I guess there's not much more to report on this posting;)