Learning all life long

Learning is not something that begins and ends in school, quite the contrary. Here is a little list of my favorite lessons from the past year or so.

It will always be more tempting to go back to sleep than to get up at five am. On the other hand, I will never regret getting up, once I am out of bed. (One foot at a time, one eye at a time.)

Life is enriched and made more beautiful by starting the day with a simple "thank you."

Babies, planned or not, will always be a source of love, joy, lovely smells, cuddles, sweet nights and days of giggles, spills and sticky kisses. There's nothing like a baby in your life to warm it up and reveal the beauty of life again. And there is nothing like a child to reveal all of the wonder you may have forgotten is in the world, or to ask you probing questions that awaken your curiosity again.

This does not mean that everyone should go out and have their own baby today. You may want to just go sniff someone else's for a minute. One must be reasonable and know when to say enough babies. (And that, I'm afraid, is a lesson I will never learn!)

Meditation, taking time to be, to remember that we are human beings and not human doings, has also made an intense difference in my quality of life. This time of quiet, not of reflection, but of inner stillness, requires more discipline from me than an intense housecleaning session or a run in the heat (probably my two least favorites.) Meditation, for us utilitarians, does not give one a sense of having accomplished anything measurable by society's standards; no work was done, no calories burned, no stitches knit in that time. The worth is there nonetheless, patient, biding its time as a bulb in the winter, growing stronger with tending and watering.

A Tribute to Tasha Tudor, who passed away June 18, 2008 at the age of 92.

No one asks anymore, but if they did, I would say that when I grow up I want to be Tasha Tudor. This great lady passed away yesterday, but leaves in her stead such a legacy that she will be remembered for moons upon moons to come.

Each one who loved Tasha Tudor will have their own memories of her. It may be that what you remember about Tasha are her fabulous, magical gardens, beautiful beyond compare. It could be her lovely books, with their flowered and ribboned borders and irresistible characters are your favorite. It might be the way she lived and dressed, farming as though it were still the 1830's; knitting by firelight, spinning, weaving and stitching her own period clothing. Or yet again the wondrous toys she created and played with; her puppets, animals and doll houses.

Her elegance of spirit and simplicity of life are an inspiration to many. Her unwavering belief in her vision allowed her to live passionately and fully. Her disregard for what the world said or did meant her focus stayed true. Her farmhouse, carefully reconstructed and allowed to age gracefully, was a reflection of the path of her life.

She accomplished more in a year than some of us do in a lifetime. This, I think, is what leaves us the most perplexed; how did she do all of the things she did? As a mother of small children, I marvel at how she simultaneously farmed, wrote and illustrated books, tended her beautiful garden, raised her four children and created elaborate doll worlds and many celebrations for them.

Her secret, I believe, comes back to her passion for all she did. She loved what she did and worked in joy and love. Allowing yourself to work on the things you love, along with diligence and patience, will yield better results than any forceful running about to fulfill someone else's "to do" list.

I light a candle to the memory of Tasha today and pledge to live this day to my fullest. Today I will remain true to my love of peace and beauty, of creating a good home for my family. I will pursue my passions, nurture those of my children and enjoy each sip of my tea.

Cockatiels

Cockatiels are the second most popular pet birds in the world. They are very beautiful too. They can often be taught to talk and whistle tunes. When you buy a cockatiel, make sure its eyes are clear and bright, its feathers are smooth, shiny, dry, clean, and lay flat on its body. Its beak should be smooth and well shaped, its nostrils clear and clean. Twenty inches by twenty inches is the bare minimum for a cage. Seeds, pellets, and fresh fruits and vegetables are a good diet. Hard boiled eggs can be fed sometimes. Cockatiels are less noisy than other birds and are good with small children. Bird names that I have thought of were: Jasper, Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, Ginny, Luna Lovegood, Madeye, and Voldemort. Poisons for birds: bleach, ammonia, oven cleaner, glue, nail polish remover, paint, perfume, heavy metal, lead, and zinc. Sugar, salt, fatty foods, and chocolate is very bad for birds. Electric cords, ceiling fans, windows, doors, and mirrors are also deadly to birds.

Caitlin, Tuesday, March 25th.

The first moment

"That sounds very waldorfy honey..." - I wondered if she was serious, then I realized the tone of her voice. I think the kids will enjoy posting about their homeschool journey, about history, history of China, Greece; about their pet rats maybe, or about math.

Hmph, talk about being coerced into a writing project! I guess it's my turn. I am Mama, of these five marvelous beings, wife to the funny guy making statements I need to refute lest I be labeled "anti-family project" and blogging is not quite my thing. Computers are not my thing, technology is not my thing. My dream would be to be Tasha Tudor, living her life, pretending it was still 1830. A farm somewhere, wonderfully isolated, milking my own goats and cows, growing flowers and vegetables, canning my own produce. Knitting by the fireside, baking and cooking, reading for days on end, writing to "keep the wolf from the door", that would be the life.

However, in the name of family unity, I am willing to attempt blogging; even though the very sound of the word is offensive!

Our family journey is largely of the learning and living together type. We speak both French and English, having our roots both in France and in Iowa. We already live, in great part, our ideal lives. We read a lot, especially in front of the fire in unpleasant weather. We take frequent walks in nature, sail the Mississippi (don't laugh, it's quite large where we live!) We're building a canoe in the garage, and we enjoy gardening, cooking and baking together. In the past year we have come to include a new level of structure to our day, this in order to accommodate life with a new family member. Our darling baby number five arrived in May of '07, and I felt that something needed to change or chaos would take over the household.

In our great voyage into the unknown waters of more structured learning, we found that the world of Waldorf met ours halfway. It has opened doors to a harmonious way to begin the day on a positive note. We come together to light a candle, share our joys, sorrows and a poem or two. Waldorf has validated my love of knitting and baking, making them suddenly bona fide avenues of learning. It has introduced many festivals throughout the year, and more festivals mean more fun, as well as more reasons to read up on other cultures and civilizations. It has also meant the discovery of fascinating math projects that we have incorporated with joy, instead of the dread that used to accompany "math time" at home. My meditation and yoga practices come under the category of "inner work". I tend to make more time for them, since their immediate impact on my family and our learning together are clearer.

Thierry, Angela

I'm a musician!

If your in-laws have recently arrived for a month-long visit and your house is topsy-turvey, or if the scale says you've put on five pounds though you've been dieting for the past two weeks, if you can't draw to save your life and your last cake fell because you can't bake either...here is an instant confidence-booster:

Learn to play the recorder. Right now. In about five minutes. Then go play a song. It feels great!

I have been procrastinating. For about a year. Since adopting many Waldorf ways to our home setting a year or so ago, I have been avoiding the recorder. Waldorf schools begin their day in singing or playing the recorder. Doesn't that sound lovely? I would love to start our days in music, but poetry is as close as we were coming, and that was pretty good. Besides, I had to master it myself before I could teach the children, and I simply had no time for one more thing. Sure, my daughter taught herself and my husband can pick it up and play it. And once upon a time I played it as a small child with my mother's tutelage. The plan was to work on it some day, when I had a minute, and "layer it in" as our homeschool consultant advises of each new endeavor.

I checked out a book on flutes and recorders from the library. Yesterday, with hubby and parents out of the house, I picked up the once-renewed, about-to-be-due book, turned to the finger chart and played through the exercises on the first page. Then I zipped through the second, third and last page and thought; huh, I can do this. I pulled the only recorder book I could find off the shelf; a Christmas duet book I'd ordered a few years ago when my dd decided she would learn recorder. It is May and I know we have other recorder books somewhere in this playroom, but I was not about to argue with fate or reorganize my library. Ten minutes later I was playing "Away in a Manger."

Victory! My kind of instrument!

Yes, friend, you too can play music, you too can make melodious your household each morning...Karen Carpenter was right...and even if you cannot and should not sing (like me), you can play the recorder. Go on, find yourself a $2.50 recorder (rainbowresource.com has a couple at this price), check out a book at the library, and you'll be on your way!

The In-laws Have Arrived

After a wait of seven years and much planning, dreaming and some dreading, my in-laws arrived Saturday night for a month-long stay. This is their first time in the United States, their first time leaving France, and the first time they have visited our family since we moved here in 2001. Such an event!

The last time they visited we had two children, not five, and we lived an hour and a half from their home, not 20. We were not homeschooling then either, and we had not converted to a simpler, more practical way of cooking and eating, and if I was still nursing a toddler, I was hiding it! Oh yeah, and I was not trying to plan the first family reunion in years and years with my family and them too, nor a family trip to Chicago, two birthdays, French Mother's Day, Father's day, shopping trips and sightseeing.

Will I have any hair left when they leave?

It has all begun splendidly, with many gifts and much joy all around. We made a real French meal yesterday for lunch, (at the end of which my father-in-law said only: don't you have any lettuce here?) They helped us in the yard all day. We took them on a walk, made a nice dinner, with fresh-from-the-oven scones and gingerbread in the shape of roosters (the French national bird.)

We are all on our very best behavior, we shall try to maintain this for one short month and all go home with happy memories. Watch for updates.

Playgroups???

At circle time yesterday, our daily morning gathering, every single person named "park day!" as their joy for the day. The three-year-old named it his sorrow too; but he always has two joys every morning; one he calls "my joy" the other "my sorrow". (His baby brother is usually his sorrow, and though we know he means it to be a joy, you have to wonder...) After a winter hiatus of meeting in church basements and gymnasiums, and many weeks of illness keeping us from our weekly appointment with friends, we were all thrilled to be meeting our friends outside again.

Being an intensely private person, from a family of people that love to be alone, the whole concept of purposely planning a get-together with a bunch of other people with a zillion kids is a painful notion, at best. I have practiced play date resistance successfully ever since we moved to this country seven years ago. No mommy groups for me, thank you! But I have to tell you, this weekly rendez-vous has become the highlight of our week. And it was finally nice enough yesterday to go back to the park.

Not for you, a set play date each week? Bear with me a moment, if you will, while I convince you of the error of your ways. Knowing that one day each week you are setting aside for play and (the great buzz word of the school people, "socialization") creates several advantages. One, you get to see your friends and talk to people you like. Two, the children get a running, shouting, friend-filled day to look forward to. This is good for everyone. But you must make sure that your park day is with people you like to spend time with, because, don't tell the kids, but the socialization is mostly for you. Three, in setting up a regular day each week, you help to build a rhythm to your week, a fundamental of a Waldorf environment and good for children. Children do well with some sort of regularity in their lives. It need have nothing to do with school work or a school day. I know that's part of the reason you are homeschooling, us too, gleefully even! However, working rhythm into their lives in agreeable ways is both reassuring for them and makes life easier for you. Since I stopped asking myself the question each week of "Are we going to playgroup?" it has become easier to plan my week around it, prepare a loaf of bread for sandwiches the night before, or throw together a pasta salad and fruit. It has become a part of my routine, and not something I try to add in at the last minute.

How to go about creating a park date? Well, this is how it worked for us. A few homeschooling friends were meeting sporadically on nice days at the park a few years ago. Each week we would work out what day and where we would meet the following week. One day we decided we would set a day each week. We fiddled with the meeting time and place, but finally settled on Wednesday around lunch time. Little by little, our group grew. One brilliant woman had already set up a website for area homeschoolers that was inclusive to all, no matter what your reasons for homeschooling were. I began posting our weekly meetings there to get the word out. Last year we had our first "Not back to school picnic," in September. Over 25 families attended.

Our group is special, in that it is inclusive and unique in the area. I very clearly desired a space to come together, first with friends whose families had grown to the point of making getting together at our houses impractical. Second, one in which my family and I might connect with people from many places and many walks of life. Exploring the world is part of why we have chosen to homeschool.

Connecting with others who felt this way has been such a good part of my life. Dedicating a time for play for all honors the child in each of us. If you haven't already, you might want to give it a try.

A Book Review

Anthony Horowitz. Stormbreaker. Speak, 2000.

Alex Rider is a fourteen year old spy hired by the MI6 intelligence agency, when his uncle Ian Rider who had been taking care of him since Alex parents had died in a plane crash when Alex was a baby, was killed on a mission. His first mission takes place at Port Talon, England, but he is on the mission his uncle was killed on. Before going on his mission Alex has to train with SAS unit in the Brecon beacons.

I liked this book because on each page there is more action, I first read this book when I was eight and now it is my favorite series. If you like fast moving books with spies and evil maniacs with plans to destroy the Earth, like I do, read this book.

Aragorn