New Year New Goals

After being inspired by ladies from my yoga class, I decided to set New Year goals.  Categories include: personal, family, home-school, work, and  financial.  I figure this should cover most areas of my life that I need to focus on in 2018.

In effort for some accountability, I wanted to post goals.

Personal:

• Read 60 books
• Eat Whole30 for January
• Daily 1 hour exercise
• Loose holiday weight

Family:  

• Ski/snowboard
• Baseball season
• Crafting 
• Texas trip
• Bear hunts
• Camp/scout
• Archery shoots
• Elk hunts

Homeschool:

• Morning basket daily
• Arrow units most months
• Weekly play games
• Poetry teas each month

Work:

• Lead 5 classes per week at local studio
• Set up Etsy shop
• Launch 10%Outdoors blog
• Blog weekly on home-school life

Financial:

• Pay off truck
• Save enough cash to cover Christmas next year

Fablehaven Series

FableHaven, by Brandon Mull, is the series we are just over half-way through reading and can NOT get enough.  While our read aloud time happens in our Morning Basket time, I wanted to give it a flair of its own, so I chose to use the audible version.  The character voices and performance of the reading draws us in each time.  We simply can't listen to only one chapter at a time.  Truth be told each day we listen to 2 or 3 chapters still wanting more.  The chapters average about 30 minutes each so this is a lot of read aloud time.  

Shared stories like these have been the heart of our home-school from the beginning and remain so to this day and hopefully in the future.  Embarking on the Bravewriter lifestyle, my desire was to incorporate copy-work, grammar, and reverse dictation center on our current read aloud.  This is much like the Arrow Guides found on the Bravewriter website.  With a little bit of help from the from the free Arrow Guide (James and the Giant Peach) for layout ideas and Pinterest for short grammar definitions and anchor charts, I was able to create a 4 week guide with an ending writing project.  

Lesson learned: 
Don't be afraid to love what you love and create what you need around it.  

Bravewriter Lifestyle

After sharing our Morning Basket, I felt compelled to share how we include rich, meaningful activities into our weekly routine.  I try to be flexible when inspiration hits us, so she keeps visiting, but this is how I frame our week.

Monday:  At the request of my kids, I added an additional free write first thing Monday mornings.  Math games are slotted for Mondays because I love alliteration.  This currently includes Munchkin, Sorry, Trouble, and Animal Card-line.  The list goes on and on.

Tuesday:  Poetry Teatime complete with snacks, hot tea, and lots of poetry books.  Currently, I added May B. by Caroline Starr Rose.  This is a novel written in prose.  I read from this book while they eat the yummy treat.  Then each chooses poems to share aloud.  

Wednesday:  Again with the alliteration, we do word games on Wednesday.  This includes Scrabble, Banana-grams, Hangman, Charades, and Express Yourself.  These are the most fun and get the most loud.  This is also the day we include work on writing projects.

Thursday:  Because I have budding entrepreneurs, we listen to the Jr. Money Maker's podcast on Thursdays.  This works nicely since our home-school group meets at the park in the afternoon so we listen on our drive.  I also like to include nature studies on Thursdays but sometimes it happens on Friday or even the weekend.

Friday: Friday free writes happen each Friday with donuts and a favorite drink.  It is amazing how sugar gets the words flowing.  It is also the day we conduct messy experiments from our Big Book of Massive Epic Engineering Disasters.  

November's Morning Basket

How about a quick list of what is currently in our Morning Basket and how we rotate the items.  

Devotional:  Case for Christ for Kids by Lee Stobel

Science: Tales from the Story Teller's House by Thornton W. Burgess  (This is an older book, but we love everything by Burgess.)
True or False by Discovery Kids
The Book of Massively Epic Engineering Disasters by Sean  Connolly 

History: The Story of the World by Susan Wis Bauer

Math: Life of Fred Fractions by Stanley F Schmidt, Ph.D.

Grammar: Nitty-Gritty Grammar by Edith H. Fine and Judith P. Josephson  (We also use Mad Libs weekly.)

Art: The Treasury of Art Master-Pieces by Thomas Craven (This was a $1 find at our library sale.)

Read Aloud: FableHaven series by Brandon Mull (I also have a FableHaven Book of Imagination for each of my kids to work through as they desire.)

Wow!  Looking at the list that seems like a large amount of material.  It is a good thing there is a sort of rotating system.

Monday: Devotion, Burgess Story Book, True or False, Read aloud, Life of Fred

Tuesday:  Devotion, History, True or False, Read aloud, Life of Fred, Mad Libs

Wednesday: Devotion, History, True of False, Read aloud, Nitty-Gritty Grammar, Life of Fred

Thursday:  Devotion, History, The Book of Massively Epic Engineering Disasters, Read aloud, Life of Fred, Art

This routine does not include our rich activities or independent reading.   More on that to come. 

Our Reads for November

So each month, I like to list our current reads for myself and just to give anyone looking for ideas for books a reference.  

Myself:  I am currently struggling to fin a fiction book that holds my interest.  That said, I am working through John Holt's Teach You Own, which is inspiring and thought provoking.  Along side my bible reading each morning is A Gracious Space: Daily Reflections to Sustain Your Homeschool Commitment (winter edition).  I love the short snippets that spur me on during this season of homeschooling.  

Bubba:  The three book series Stormrunners, by Roland Smith, is currently captivating him.   It is full of action and unpredictable events, which he truly enjoys.  

 Sis:  Always reading, this child is obsessed with Sammy Keyes and the ..., by  Wendelin Van Draanen and Tara Sands.  She loves the mischief the main character encounters daily in each mystery.

So there you have the books exciting us this month. 

Journey to Homeschooling

This is our seventh homeschooling our two children.  Our family moved across the country to Idaho from Texas the summer after my oldest turned 5 years old.  
A little history:  I taught first grade for 10 years in the Houston area and a year at our local junior college.  So with many changes that came with our move, I felt God calling me to keep our kids home and be the stability in their lives. 
Most moms say they feel intimidated and unprepared to homeschool.  I had the opposite problem and now consider myself to have been over confident.  Although, I took on homeschooling like many others with too much curriculum and too many planned activities.  All went well for a month or two but slowly the fun drained away and the tears began.  (His and mine.)
At this point in my mind, we were ahead of the local half day kindergarten, so I just scrapped it all.  Everything that wasn’t brining us joy was removed.  Instead we filled our days with pretend play, game, dress up, picture books, hikes, library activities, park days, and bike rides.  Guess what? Both kids, then 6 and 4 years old thrived.  This freedom to play was exactly what they needed.  What we needed.
Basically, that is what we have done for the last 6 years.  Adding longer chapter books for read alouds, unit studies, organized math together, personal private blogs for each child, and independent reading as each year went by.
This year, with my oldest moving into what would be considered middle school, I felt God nudging me to reevaluate and make some changes.  I did so reluctantly because we really loved our unschooling lifestyle.  That said, I could see the three of us craving more structure, more predictability to our days, and more challenging work.  Just throwing money and curriculum at the problem was my first attempt and you guessed it.  Failure the first month of this school year.  With a long visit from my parents we took a break.  During this break the kids each worked on a major furniture project with my mom and dad, while I researched, read, and investigated what changes made sense for us.  
Now, daily we come together for our “morning basket” which encompasses:  devotion, history, science, art, and our read aloud.  Next, we move to what I consider “desk work.”  Here we cover math using Life of Fred and grammar, spelling, as well as writing using Bravewriter.  The biggest shift has been bringing a new level of enchantment to our day.  Usually in the afternoon, we join back up to play a game (most times enhancing math or language skill, but not always), enjoy a snack during poetry teatime, bake a sweet treat, OR (big or not doing all these every day) take a hike/bike ride through nature.  My favorite addition is on Friday nights my husband joins us for movie night complete with pizza and popcorn.  
All of this to say, whether you are new to homeschooling or not, recognize it is flexible, always evolving and changing.  Be a student of your kids, so you can recognize when a change needs to occur.  Don’t allow yourself to be so stuck in a method that it becomes your identity to the detriment of your family.  

FALL

Top 10 Things I love this fall

Enjoying hot tea each day.  My current favorite is Sweet and Spicy.

Running in the crisp morning air with Scout.

Soaking up the sunshine and blue skies.

Baking pumpkin muffins with my daughter.

Watching my son's football team play each Saturday.

Slower mornings

Seeing the beautiful trees as their leaves change colors.

Savory soups and stews for dinner.

Backyard fire-pit with s'mores (of course).

Movie nights indoors with everyone piled on the couch. 

My Heart

Love: the key ingredient in a family, a home, a life.  It is often overlooked when our world gets busy or hectic---running from one commitment to another.  Today, I am thankful for the opportunity to cherish the loving moments.

• cuddling up with books anytime
• free-writes with donuts and hot drinks
• fun board-games with loud outburst
• hikes on forgotten trails
• movie nights at home with pizza, popcorn, and cokes
• read alouds that lead to shared jokes on characters, setting, and problems
• long juicy conversations
• knowing our kids and them knowing us

I am thankful I took the road less traveled, not only choosing to stay home but keeping our kids home as well.  Thankful, I questioned conventional thought of daily separation of the family. But mostly I am thankful for the God-given love I receive and am able to pour out to my family.  

This is my life.  It is my prayer I pour out love, everyday, in every way.  

Switching Gears

So honestly this is why I haven't posted in over a month after vowing to return to blogging. I don't want to be that wife, that mom, that home-schooler who remains stuck in path because she is committed to the path.  I am committed to my family, so we evolve and change to fit our needs.  

After years of unschoooling---moving in-and-out of self designed and directed units---fall of 2017, I felt like a change was needed.  So after two months of visits from family off and on, but mostly on, I dove into the wide world of Bravewriter.  Yes, we were already enjoying the poetry teatimes but I really need to know more.  With the encouragement of a friend, I began reading Writer's Jungle by Julie Bogart, which is really a guide for moms on the writing process.  

WOW!  Julie really spoke my language.  I found myself nodding along as I turned page after page.  Yes! I told myself, to the plan to implement this Bravewriter lifestyle.  Knowing I may get push back from my kids, I prepared my heart and my mind with prayers as well as research.  

Guess what?  Success!  

Copy work, grammar work, reverse dictation, free-writes were all new and embraced with requests for more.  The things we did in the past but had fallen out of habit during summer months, returned with enthusiasm.  Poetry teatime, word games, movie nights...

Fall 2017 is going well.  Our relationships are strong and our home-school has a fresh breath of new life.  

Return to Blogging

Well, after a long hiatus, I am returning to blogging.  May, June, July, and August were so blissful with no commitments other than the plans we made each day or week. For our family, September brings with it cooler weather, new routines, practice schedules, and hunting.  

Before jumping right into our current life-learning, I want to savor and deep-dive into the experiences gleaned from our no-commitment summer.

After a super fast trip to Texas for a wedding, we settled into a relaxed routine of reading and playing games in the morning and swimming in the afternoon.  Each of us loved this time of slower mornings, even though often bubba and I would go mountain biking early before everyone else woke.  We tend to be the early birds here.    

Daily activities included hiking, catching crawfish at the river, creating rope swings in trees, floating the river, boating, paddle boarding, and swimming.  

Of course, being an avid hunting family, there were some hunting experiences mixed in our summer.  Bubba got his first turkey.  What a wonderful  way to learn patience!  My husband also shot his first black bear after hunting this bear for 3 years! Another practice in patience. 

GM brought a new addition to our family with Pepper the Rabbit.  She is a Neverland Dwarf and weighs-in towards the heavy end for her breed at 3 lbs.  Pepper is sweet and with a desire to cuddle just like GM wanted, wrapped in a small package of fur.  

One more fun outing to note was our family trip to pick cherries a town over.  Everyone enjoyed climbing ladders to find the juiciest cherries.  Before we knew it, we were taking home 30 lbs of cherries to bake into cobblers, pies, and just enjoy. 

Even though our summer was "commitment free," you can clearly see that it was rich with experiences, learning, love, and life.  Many people believe in order to have a productive summer (or life for that matter), you must adhere to a schedule, be busy, set lots of goals.  I believe there is a time and place for a schedule, being busy, and setting lots of goals.  I just don't believe childhood, especially a childhood summer,  is the time.  Enjoy the experiences!

Kids Reading

GM jumped into the world of Magic Tree House books with both feet.  She would read 1-3 a day.  Next she would enjoy playing on the magictreehouse.com website and create a picture of her favorite part of the book.  In less than 2 months, she has devoured the entire series.  It is so rewarding to find the right book or books for the right child.  What will she read next???

Kids Reading

Currently, bubba is reading through Jake Maddox's JV series.  He truly enjoyed the first group of sports books by this author so was excited to find a series written for a more mature audience.  These are worth checking out if you have an athlete in your home.

Read Aloud Books

Last month, we dove deep into the fantastical world of Peter Nimble. Two Large books written by Jonathan Auxier, the author of The Night Gardener.

The amazing story kept each of us completely captivated that we couldn't wait to begin the sequel to Peter Nimble which is Sophie Quire.  

Kids commented that they loved the way the author tells a story and really enjoy the characters!  Such a wonderful find.  This is a current living book that families can enjoy together.

Screeching Halt

My family in general is healthy.  Meaning we rarely get sick.  Well, one week in April all this came to a screeching halt.  Blame it on the rainy baseball games, germs my husband brought home from the plane on his last trip, or the kids' friends at the park as they were "getting over" illness.  Whatever the cause that first cough had my mom sense on high alert.  I began handing out vitamin C and reminding everyone to use the "germ fighter" essential oil.

Too late, in 48 hours my son was running a high fever (in my books) and this active boy was loafing around way more than usual.  As much as I wanted our co-op day with friends to go as planned with the classes, time with friend for my son, and afterward sleepover for my daughter, I had to lay my agenda to the side.  This boy even at 11 needed his mom.  

One call to the doctor, followed by two checks (one listening to breathing and one a chest x-ray) confirmed pneumonia, and all ended with a 5 day z-PAC with an extended stay on the couch.  

I could say that day was wasted but is so was not.  Learning to listen to your body to go to the doctor when you are sick, experiencing x-rays, researching a discussing pneumonia (which led to other illnesses), watching movies together, discovering new favorite teas...

The list could go on and on.  Not conventional learning, but true learning.  

Side Effects

Side Effects are listed for everything we take or do.  Medications, excercise, vitamins, foods, drinks...

Are there side effects to learning without limits?  

Are there side effects to freedom in learning?

You bet there are.  

This past Easter, my daughter decided to get baptized in a church we had been attending.  I wasn't completely surprised by her desire since we had discussed baptism as questions came up.  So on Easter Sunday, after a group of individuals were baptized, the preacher opened up the baptism to anyone with a yearning to express their faith through this act.  GM stood up, expressed her faith, and was baptized.  When we shared with family what took place, they were concerned.  Not because they are not Christians, because they are in fact Christians and believe in baptism.  Concerned she didn't take a class, sign-up, and make a thought provoking declaration alerting others to her decision.  I wasn't.  She had self-taught.  Bible reading, church attendance, and questioning a friend who took the baptism class left her feeling prepared.  This was the right step for her.  She didn't need to check boxes others require of themselves because she lives in freedom.  

So side effect of learning freedom, individuals follow the path that works for them.

Living Eyes Wide Open

A simple walk around the block with my son turned in to a long "nature watch."  Yes, nature watch.  He noticed ants gathered around a piece of food.  So we sat on the curb to watch.  Noticing and discussing the ants movements.  We compared them to documentaries we had seen on ants and other insects.  When he became bored, bubba tested theories of moving the food and watching the ants reactions.  After a while, we lost interest and continued our walk back to our house.  This is a simple moment in natural learning.  Stopping to watch and observe, learn and test, instead of being driven by an agenda.  Living a life of learning freedom means living with eyes wide open.  Open to learning by stopping and sitting on a curb to watch ants.

Working to Achieve

Many times people will say "if you don't make your children work hard they won't do it themselves."  

Finding that to be false time and again, has been my experience.  Most recently, this occurred in my daughter's desire to place at an archery shoot.   

As a family, we participated in a local archery shoot on Saturday.  GM age group shot 15 targets at 10 yards each.  She scored 83 an thought it was good enough to be awarded a medal.  Yet when the award time arrived she took 4th.  This was humbling.  Especially when her brother took 1st in his age division.  

Immediately, she made plans to return home and recruited her dad to help her improve her accuracy.  Together they spent time working on her sight, bow, and stance. The next day, she returned to shoot Sunday's course and scored 128.  A 45 point improvement! 

Did we force her to do to this?  Did we make her practice?  Did we even suggest that she return and try again on Sunday?  

No, no, and no.  She took it upon herself to work hard, improve, and try again.  She wanted it.  This is key.  She wanted it more that we did, therefore she achieved it.  

The Most Difficult Aspect Unschooling

Battling FEAR:  While God has not given us a spirit of fear, there are times it creeps into my mind.  
-are they learning enough?
-are they behind?
-do they have enough to do?
-what happens if?

The JUDGEMENT:  Public school parents they you are crazy for homeschooling.  Other homeschooling moms think you are crazy for not using a curriculum.  

To overcome these set-backs, I must center myself with prayer, affirm that God is leading each of us, and read inspiring words from other unschooling families.  Another practice is to journal our days.  I record what is being discovered and studied.

Most Rewarding Aspects to Unschooling

There are 3 major aspects to unschooling that I find most rewarding.

Relationships:  The close bond between each of us and together as a family has grown stronger through our following God's guiding us in unschooling.

Freedom:  The ability to decided what and how we learn, the flow of our day, and commitments we make as priorities is paramount in unschooling.

Time:  The ability to spend our 24 hour hours each day to pursue God given passions and develop our talents.  

Journey to Unschooling

Our path to homeschooling was set in motion by a major, cross-country move.  I envisioned our son, followed by our daughter, attending elementary school in a small community where I work as a first grade teacher.  

In the fall of 2010, this idea began to fall apart as high stakes testing became a larger and larger driving force in schools and my husband started to entertain the idea of moving west for a job. Being a supportive wife, I joined him on a business trip to Idaho and fell in love with the slower, laid-back lifestyle.  We even visited local schools only to discover large class sizes.  

Once we returned wheels were turning to make make the move and for me to find an alternative to public school.  In my search, I discovered Idaho had extremely relaxed homeschooling laws, so I read everything I could get my hands on in the area of homeschooling.  

After  we moved, we officially began "homeschooling" kindergarten.    Well, requiring work only lasted 3 months.  In December, I released the control I was desperately trying to hold.  Instead we baked, played games, hiked, enjoyed books, watch movies, and pretended.  In doing so, I found they were both learning and thriving.  

Since that turn in December of 2011, we have dappled in unit studies and math curriculum at the request of one or both kids.  Yet, we continue to return to the freedom of unschooling to fill our needs.

Christian Unschooling

I LOVE this book, Christian Unschooling, so much that I re-read it each year.  It motivates me to continue on this journey God has called me to walk with my family.  

 Within each read I discover new insights.  During the recent read, I fell in love with this quote.  

"In order for unschooling to work to its full potential, an educational environment must be created.  Mom and Dad must have books readily available and must be seen reading.  Math must be shown as a valuable subject that is used in daily life.  Parents must have interest, passions, and an eagerness to learn."

Just this weekend, I demonstrated this "eagerness to learn" by teaching myself to create a bow for by daughter.  I know everyone learns through modeling and seeing behaviors around them.  I want both children to grow up with a sense that they can teach themselves or find resources to teach them desired information.

Math in Action

 One question asked over and over of unschoolers, is, "How do you unschool math?"  For some reason, it is easy to envision naturally learning to read and write, but not math.  This is a sad testament to how isolated we were taught math skills and concepts. 

Today, I wanted to give you clear illustrations of living math.  At the beginning of our homeschooling journey, I focused on keeping math concepts grounded in the real world.   

 Sewing alone involves measuring, basic adding and subtracting, as well as multiplying and dividing, and fractions.  GM organically encountered and worked through these concepts as she sewed pillowcases for friends, a rag quilt with her Gigi, and American Girl Doll clothes.

Legos provide building blocks for so many math concepts.  (pun intended).  

 Fly tying, baseball, building, and hunting are hobbies Bubba enjoys.  Each contains several math concepts.  With fly tying, he must measure and budget for materials. Baseball centers on scores and stats, mathematically figured.  In building, he must use measurements, fractions, as well addition to figure the amount  materials to purchase.

 Hunting uses a scoring system for trophy bucks. Below is how Bubba scores squirrels.  This involves more measurement and fractions.

Playing putt-putt with these two involves tedious score keeping.  This is more adding and possibly multiplying to achieve final scores.

 A fun way to choose candy at our grocery store's bulk section is to  take a given amount of money and figure how much candy each can get in pounds with set price per pound.  This involves dividing, decimal points, and multiplying with (possible) fractions.

These are just a few easy examples of using everyday activities that building math concepts.  I am sure you can find some more.  More importantly, when GM and Bubba are involved in their activities they are self-motivated to further their skill because it is meaning full to them.  

Questions to ponder:
Would it be better to memorize facts or truly understand the process and how to apply it?

How could you improve your child's understanding in math?

What activities naturally involve math concepts for your family?

Derailed Days

This.  

Some days are just derailed from the beginning.  

Someone is tired from activities the days before.  

Someone is distracted by the snow outside.  

Someone wants nothing to do with the "plan" for the day.  

Someone didn't get enough coffee this morning.  

Someone overslept.  

Someone was up all night.  

Any small occurrence can derail the best day.  Most of the time we can regain focus and continue, but sometimes that isn't happening.  

What do you do on those days?

Around here we go for a hike (literally), play outside, walk the dog, listen to a story, bust out board games, enjoy card games, work on arts and crafts.  For days that everyone is exhausted, curl up watch a documentary, movie, or series.  So much learning can take place, stirring conversation up from events viewed.  Many days this is a short excursion from our activities, but sometimes the whole day's plan is tossed and we do something else.  

Do Unschooling and Co-ops Mix?

Good question, right?!  Well, the answer isn't an easy one.  Lots of factors figure into the answer.  

Are the kids wanting to be part of the co-op?

Does the co-op meet the needs of the family?

Is the work/classes optional?

Will the teachers support the kids in their choices?

Currently, both children attend a homeschool co-op that meets their needs.  They enjoy the classes and choices they have within those classes.  Teachers are great facilitators who defer to parental wishes.  

It seems like a dream come true.  We enjoy the flexible schedule offered of attending 2 times a month (instead of 4) and many optional interest based classes.  These classes include: ballet, art, poetry, chess, knitting, sewing, kung fu, physical fun (workout class), and survival.  As you can see, the selections my kids highlighted were the project and play based ones.  There are other classes that weren't of interest but not required by the co-op.  And definitely not required by me, so this is our place for now.   

It goes without saying that at the beginning of our homeschooling journey, we had a less pleasant experience with a very strict homeschool co-op.  With that past, the kids were reluctant to try another one, but are so glad they did.  

My advice for finding a co-op:
Read their description (often you can read between the lines the flexibility offered)
Ask to visit or a trial day
Discuss class options with your kids to see if they have interest in what is offered.
Speak with like-minded parents who attend the given co-op

Essentials to Homeschooling

The essentials to homeschooling (& unschooling) I found over the years are not material items, but the following:

• Flexibility
• Patience
• Joy
• Love
• Gratefulness

I did not (& you probably won't) start out with an abundance of these qualities.  Homeschooling your children grow these traits in your being. 

Flexibility to change gears in the middle of plans, activities, and day.  Patience to read one more chapter and clean up one more.  Joy in the moment of running through the sunshine or shoveling snow together.  Love for each other and individuality.  Gratefulness to spend each day with your family.   

Growing takes time and dedication so don't give up on the seed you have planted in your heart and in their hearts.  

Week 2 of Fast

Last time, I explained that average Americans spend 3+ hours on social media per day and that I chose to use those extra hours (although probably not as many as 3 in my case) to pursue my passion for knitting and crocheting.

This past week, I didn't put up my needles and hooks completely, but I did spend most my "extra" time reading and writing in my  journal.  

The fast itself is getting easier.  I don't find myself reaching for my phone or thinking of who I need to "share" this moment with on my friend list.  Instead, I am LIVING in that moment, sharing it with real individuals around me, and smiling more!

Ember the Rabbit

A rabbit can teach you so much in such a short amount of time.  GM received a mini-lop rabbit for Christmas along with a hutch, food/water dishes, x-pen, toys, food, hay, and grooming supplies.  

Prior to the arrival of Ember the Rabbit, my daughter checked out every book the library has on rabbits, purchased books at local book stores with information on the care of rabbits, and watched hours of YouTube videos detailing every aspect of owning a rabbit. We both felt she was ready.  

Then the inevitable occurred...


Ember bit GM.  

There were tears mostly due to hurt feeling than physical pain.  GM learned that Ember has her own personality, desires, and preferences.  Somethings can't be taught by books and videos.  They must be learned first hand.  

Week 1 of Fast

One week done.  I won't say it was easy, but it did get easier.  

Did I miss out on things?

I am sure I did.  

Guess what?  

Nothing I missed really changed my life.

A simple google research says the average american spends 3+ hours a day on social media!  Wow, that is enough the get you thinking....What could I do with 3 extra hours?  

If you have read this blog more than once you know I am going to say pursue your passions.  Well, I LOVE knitting and crocheting so I gathered my stash and found some patterns (not on social media) to create.  

The beauty is my kids joined in on the crafting with me.  GM started a scarf and Bubba worked on his parachord belt.  I know you may be thinking "knitting is for old ladies," but this skill is making a comeback.  There are lots of clever items you can make beside the old school mittens.

 These are a couple cute creations.  

What would you do with 3 (or even 1) extra hours?

What Interest is Everyone Pursuing?

I often tell people, "our family does hobbies well."

Passions, interest, hobbies, whatever they are drive our family as individuals and together as a group.  

Last spring, we briefly entered the world of snow-skiing (and snowboarding for my son).  This year we jumped in with both feet.  Everyone got a season pass to our local ski resort, leased equipment, and gather necessary clothing.  Fortunately, this winter our area received record snowfall, enabling us to go up the mountain at least twice a week.  After skiing several times and hating it, I switched to snowboarding.  This has proved to be such a learning experience as my son is trying to coach me and help me improve.   I realized quickly, we learn similarly through trial and error not criticism.  Funny how God provides these moments. 

Archery was my husband's passion since our marriage, but over the last few years we are all becoming involved.  We each have our own compound bow to hunt with as well as compete in 3-D archery shoots.  Our local area holds weekend 3-D shoots that include hiking, shooting, and scoring in the spring and summer.  This is great family fun, so as the snow melts each of us has begun practicing.  Some (hubby and son) more than others.  

Pursuing interest as a family builds relationships.  The key is no one is forced to participate in given activity.  Such as when I wanted to quit skiing, I didn't get coerced into continuing.  My son only suggested  I try boarding since I enjoy wake-boarding in the summer.  Another example would be when my daughter and I sit on the couch to knit instead of joining the boy to practice archery.  We don't like the cold and choose to wait for warmer temperatures.  Our relationships stay strong because we know our desires for a given activity are respected as individuals.  

Social Media Fast

Social media is everywhere.  
Check in on Facebook for discounts.
Pin it on Pinterest and have best projects.
Post it on Instagram for instant sharing.
Stay connected across state lines.
Have more friends.
Enjoy shared experiences.

Well, the more time I spend on these sights the more anxious I become, the more worried I become, the more comparing I take part in my everyday life.  It doesn't feel good.  

I want to be present for the people in front of me not some stranger looking for advice.  I want to look into the eyes of the individuals in my family while we enjoy a game or show.  I want to grow deeper friendships with the ones who are my friends in real life.  I want to spend time creating good food, craft projects, and a home.  I want to play games with my son, go on hikes with my husband, and skate with my daughter.

So I am taking a social media fast for 2 weeks.  I will continue blogging since this time is spent in the early hours before anyone else is up and gives me a creative outlet for my points of view.  

The rules:  

• Start date February 15-March 1
• NO logging into, checking, or posting to Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest
• Texting and emailing are aloud
• Speaking in person and on the phone is encouraged

I will share my findings each week.  Feel free to join me on this unconventional quest.

February Slump

So this is actually a thing in homeschooling.  

February Slump

• the newness of the curriculum has worn off
• kids are tired
• weather is dreary
• holidays are over
• excitement of venture of homeschooling has fizzled out

What do you do?  My advice:

Something fun!  Something everyone enjoys!  Something that gets everyone out of the house!

Our favorite solution is a day on the mountain skiing and snowboarding and ice-cream.

What do you do?