Just a Swingin'

This is what recess looks like this week at our house. Fall is pretty much at its peak right now. The leaves are so colorful, the air is cool, and we have had some gorgeous sunny afternoons. It's a bit cooler than I remember it being, but as long as there is regular sun, who am I to complain? I'm just so happy the kids are home. By the time the bus usually gets here (the time they used to come home), it's already getting cooler and most of the nice weather has moved on. Homeschool definitely has its perks. Ask me if I've had time to go shopping, get my hair cut, etc., and well, that's another story :)

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Then and Now

When I was in 2nd grade, my family moved to a small German town called Fredericksburg. When I think of my childhood, the Fredericksburg years really stand out as some of my most treasured memories. We moved from a neighborhood in a nearby city to a home on 15 acres out in the country. I remember how excited my siblings and I were when we first walked the property with Mom and Dad. We talked excitedly about all the adventures, animals, and exploring that would accompany this move. I vividly remember my Mom telling us we could each get our own sheep and walk them around the back pasture when we got home from school (they were new at this farm thing too!) My sister, Erin, and I were about the same ages as Rollin and Nina are now when we moved.



I'm not sure when we acquired which animals, but in hindsight, for not having much "farm" experience, my parents sure seemed to jump in with both feet. We had chickens, dogs, rabbits, Shetland ponies, and goats in no time (what happened to the sheep?!) I try not to talk about all the animals too much...my kids are constantly begging and negotiating for new animals! Not sure if the tennis court came before or after the animals, but when we wearied of running around the property and trying to get our stubborn Shetland ponies to buck us off, we played tennis. Though this period of time in Fredericksburg only lasted about 6 years, they were great years and I think my siblings would all agree,  it was a really good life.

We went back a couple of years ago and some new animals have taken up residence down the street.











































































My Dad traveled extensively during this time. My Mom had some pretty serious health problems which resulted in a severely limited diet (hello rice cakes and carob!). Although we had many friends, some of whom are still dear friends today, Fredericksburg is a small, tight-knit German town where many of the families have lived and worked there for generations. Moreso than other places we lived,it took more effort to forge strong friendships and connect with people in the beginning. Our church was tiny, because our town was small, so while we enjoyed Sunday worship, it didn't provide much of a community either. There is such a thing as too small :) Given all these factors, sometimes I find it so interesting that we thrived as children and as a family during this time. We became so close and we created many memories. Sadly, I am already hard pressed to remember much of the day to day details of my childhood, but it's interesting that I can still picture many scenes and vividly recall many experiences from our years in Fredericksburg. How I would have loved for blogs to have existed back then to see in more detail what we were up to.

Now that I have my own family, I find it interesting to see how Zig and I moved our family from a neighborhood to the "country" about the same time as my parents did. I often think more about what made our Fredericksburg years so special. From a child's point of view, they seemed like very peaceful years. I remember coming home from school and spending hours outdoors. We didn't come home from school, hop in the car, and head to the next activity. There was freedom to roam, downtime, work, and play. On weekends and during the summers, we would spend the mornings doing chores or attempting to dodge chores (pulling weeds was my parents' favorite) and then head to the pool in the afternoon. There were the occasional soccer or tennis matches on Saturdays, but for the most part we were home a lot. We had grandparents nearby. And cousins. My parents kept a tv in the closet and we only brought it out to watch on special occasions. We played a lot.


Sela sitting in the bluebonnets at our favorite park,  Lady Bird Johnson Park. (2010)

When I decided to homeschool this year, I was looking to do things a little differently to try and capture some of that peaceful downtime that I longingly remembered. We love our friends, school, and neighborhood, but I hated how busy and tired I felt running the kids around after school, especially during the winter months when it's so dreary. I don't like when the kids come home and it's already getting dark. I think eating in the car just feels wrong, like we're not really living or appreciating life enough to sit down and enjoy a meal together.And I got tired of complaining when I knew I had the power to change things.

While we are still making adjustments to the way we do things, I feel like a huge burden has been lifted with homeschool. I love how the learning never stops, how we can head outdoors when it's nice, and maybe finish our history reading in the evening as a family. I love that we can spend more time on certain subjects and move ahead in others. I love that I can choose better literature that both challenges and entertains. And I really, really love that we don't have the morning rush in the morning and the homework to fill our evenings. The flexibility is so nice.  Nina loves that she can do some of her work at the computer with a little mug of tea to sip on while she works.

The kids are still seeing their school friends several times a week, and I think this is what has made the transition so seamless. Sela and Nina are taking part in the school play and while we're not as connected to what's going on at the school as we would be if the girls were actually attending all day, we feel like we have just the level of involvement that makes everyone happy.  I also don't feel trapped as much anymore when I see the forecast.  I'm treasuring this year, and maybe it will turn into years, who knows. I don't have as much free-time, but in many ways I'm becoming more efficient and productive. And it's peaceful. Like Fredericksburg.



Rollin and Nina climbing for grapes.


Got one!






School in progress

Owen Beach and the Zoo

Visiting a zoo or aquarium when most other children are in school is pretty dreamy. We headed to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium after the kids finished their work this morning. This zoo is fantastic. I can't believe we had never been before! I much prefer this zoo to Woodland Park Zoo, even though it's a bit further away. I bought a membership on the spot because I know we will be returning for the sharks alone!




There were no crowds, no preschool groups with a ratio of 20 kids to 1 teacher running wild, and just a few people here and there. We went to Owen Beach first and had a picnic. The kids had a great time exploring up and down the shoreline. What a gorgeous park! The sun was out and all I could think of all day was, I'm so happy to be homeschooling. I love my kids and it's a joy to learn (and play in the sun) alongside them!


Owen Beach




Evan was here










driftwood fun


Baby meercats.


Mount Rainier

Peacocks in the parking lot. No, Rollin is not riding one :)


This was the first time I attempted an outing requiring quite a bit of walking with no stroller for Evan. He  hates to be confined so I end up chasing him while pushing the stroller so I decided to bag the wheels. He was a little trooper, but was pretty tuckered out at the end of the afternoon.

Homeschool Update

We've been slowly ramping up over the past couple of weeks. I want to keep at least a brief record of our year, but my nights are still consumed with pouring through books, blogs, the library catalog, and Amazon. But we're getting there! Wherever there is.

  The kids collected, studied, and sketched several abandoned birds' nests from our yard this evening. It was fascinating to discover that two of them had many strands of Kona's hair woven into them! Birds are pretty resourceful little creatures!

And now a brief update:

I took Evan for his check-up a few weeks ago. Upon finding out I was giving homeschool a go this year, my Naturopath remarked that most of the parents she knows who homeschool spend every spare minute of the day/night in preparation, and it's a huge, albeit rewarding, undertaking. We both laughed. I laughed because that has totally been me these past few months, and she probably laughed thinking I'm CRAZY!!

Anyhow, I am cutting myself some slack on the temporary obsession with research. I wanted to really get an overall grasp on the various approaches and curriculum options before I took the plunge. But the problem is, there is always more to learn. One thing always leads to another. And there are so many amazing resources out there for homeschoolers. So many different ways to do it "right." Actually, I think every single homeschooling family does things differently to some degree. This is awesome, yet difficult at the same time. Awesome because the flexibility to choose the best for your family is one of the hallmarks of homeschooling, but difficult because that basically means everyone is on their own journey in many respects through trial and error. I really wanted to  bypass the error part, but I've heard and read enough to know that's a pipe dream. I'm grateful I had the time this summer to put a great deal of thought and study into this, although it never feels sufficient. Even if we only do this for a year, I will be so happy for all I've been learning. I'm feeling bad for Rollin, but he's happy in school, and I think this is all I can handle well at this point. He does join us in the afternoons though, which has been so nice.

Now back to the point Dr. Candace made referring to balance or lack thereof.

I do want to keep the balance in my life. My SIL does it beautifully, and still seems to have time  daily to focus on her interests, so that is heartening.  I know others who do so as well. So I've decided I will strive for the same.. I will maintain balance in my life. I'm really happy being home. There are no shortage of things to keep me busy, engaged, etc. But I definitely love to get out and spend time and connect with friends and pursue my own interests. I don't want to lose that, and I know I will miss these dimensions of my life if I let them slide. However, I can tell I'm just going to have to make a conscious effort to do so. Already this week I've started to talk myself out of book club as well as seeing a film with friends tthinking I really need to nail down my history program or whatever. No Bueno.

I got off topic. This post was supposed to be about how things are going so far. And I must say, Sela, Nina and I are loving the transition. There are some bumps and I still feel unprepared, but even my imperfect efforts seem to be met with enthusiasm. And THIS is what I love most....All the after school rushing around, drama, crazy shuffling to activities, tired kids, what's for dinner, homework, no family time is gone! Oh, I can't express how much I love this aspect already! The girls had voice lessons today, in the morning. We did Math, Science, and Writing this morning before they went to Voice and then PE at the school. This afternoon we began a U.S. History series and were able to sit and watch two segments (form the History Channel)together from 3 -5pm. We ate dinner together, played outside, did nature journals and then read together for an hour. The girls read in bed for another hour or so. I love that school just becomes a part of life, and it doesn't have to end at 3:30. I can feel the stress disappearing. The girls feel the PE is plenty to keep them in touch with their friends, which again, surprises me.

It's also starting to cool off here (well, it never really got hot), and there were even a few drizzles today. I panicked, but then I realized I can leave!! Yes, I don't mind sacrificing my free time right now if it means a ticket out of here in the winter. Hallelujah!

Here we go!

We love our neighborhood school. We love the families, the kids have great friends, we have been happy with the teachers. But this past year, I started to entertain the idea of homeschooling...again. I talked to most of the people I know who homeschool, and then spent the summer studying up on the different approaches, curriculum options, etc. There are stacks of books all over the house, dozens of homeschool websites up on my computer, and online shopping carts with orders waiting to be placed. I have learned so much. So much that even if in the end we didn't homeschool, I would still incorporate much of what I learned into our life.

This week the kids received their teacher assignments, and the phone was ringing off the hook with friends checking who was in whose class. I started to feel a bit panicky. I felt a little bit of that excited adrenalin that comes with back to school. I started to watch the girls closer. I tried to listen to Sela as she spoke with her friends on the phone. I checked in with them over and over and over again to make sure this is what they wanted. They never wavered. Especially Nina. She is so excited. And she is my little social butterfly.

The decision came down to a few things. I desperately want freedom from the constraints of the school calendar. Winter is long in the Northwest, and I want to be able to get away. We want to spend more time in Kauai and I want my kids to see their cousins in Texas for more than just a week or two. I want to take field trips locally on a whim. I don't want homework to fill our evenings. And I am extremely excited about the academics, and the opportunities for hands-on learning. Oh my gosh, we are going to have so much fun learning together. I can hardly wait!! And this may be selfish, but I want to really "be" with my kids this year. The years are flying by and even if it's just for a year, I want to make it count. I know what's ahead when the kids are a couple years older, how busy it gets. I have many friends there already. So I'm stealing my kids back this year, and it's going to be great!

Nina wrote me three cards today telling me how much she loves me and how she is so thankful I am homeschooling her this year. On a day when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and even melancholy about not seeing all my friends as much this year, I felt such a reassurance that this is worth it. I sat on the bed with the girls talking and laughing for over an hour this evening. We made plans. We laughed like crazy. We talked about getting our back to (home) school pedicures tomorrow. I told Sela that Rollin, who will be going to Kindergarten at Hollywood Hill, requested pancakes from "Sela's Diner" for his special first day meal. And then I tucked the girls in. Our official start date for homeschool is September 6th.

Stay tuned!