Homeschooling journey

THIS. This is what makes it all worth it. If you've followed my blog since the beginning (or close to it) you know our long, rather complicated schooling journey. From a Waldorf school we loved to reluctant homeschoolers due to wanting a Waldorf education but moving a state away from said Waldorf school. I struggled immensely with schooling my oldest - her strong-will coupled with my self-doubt was a recipe for disaster. There were many days I felt like throwing in the towel and calling the nearest public school but something always held me back. We added two more children to our schooling lessons (and a crazy baby/toddler that wants all attention on him), moved two times more to two different states and somehow our homeschooling carried on. Dare I say we actually even started liking it? There are still days that make me want to throw in the towel and I will probably never be that homeschooling mother that gushes about how easy and perfect homeschooling is, but I am so very thankful that I get to spend every hour of every day with all my children. As we all know, time is fleeting and before I know it my children will be grown and off on their own. I don't want to miss a moment with them due to fears and self-doubt.

I came on here just to share this beautiful beeswax sculpture of the Ingalls family that C presented to me on the last day of school (we incorporated Playful Pioneers into our school year) along with a handmade card from K that made me cry. Instead I ended up typing a novel! Anyways, mamas if you struggle with schooling just know it gets better!! I can vouch for that! You got this!!

Homeschooling journey

Wild and Three

*singing along to his birthday song* C made these sweet Baby F and fox beeswax figures!
My sweet, spitfire baby boy is three!!  How does time fly by so? It feels like forever since I was last pregnant yet I can still remember it so well. I can still remember all his little kicks and hiccups and then I can remember when they stopped. I can remember going into labor and having that gut feeling something was wrong. I can remember my midwife's words of how he wouldn't have made it if we waited even a moment longer to get to her and the weight of my very tiny 5 pound baby in my arms. Oh my sweet baby boy. He was an answered prayer and his life is truly a miracle. I am forever blessed for knowing him and love him more than I could ever put into words.

He is the most demanding, energetic and strong willed of all my children, but I feel like that is because he had to be such a strong fighter at the beginning of his life. He wants the world to know he is here and not someone to be forgotten. I love his strength and tenacity. All of these traits that might be challenging at times to parent will serve him well as he grows into an adult. Especially when you couple them with his enormous compassionate heart, his ability to love in any situation and his little gentlemanly manners. Not to mention his love for cuddling and giving hugs and kisses every moment of the day. Goodness, I am the lucky one!

I apologize for the rather horrible photos. It was so dark the morning of his birthday. We stayed home and kept it low key because we just really needed some down time as a family. Of course, everything was fox related. It reminded me a lot of his first birthday. I honestly don't remember much of his second birthday, as sad as that sounds. I think I have tried to erase most of that year in Oregon from my mind.  He even wore the same pants I made for him on his first birthday. Would you believe I made them so big that he can still fit into them at age three?!

He mostly received clothes from us. I couldn't really think of anything fun and exciting to give him. I guess that is what happens when one's birthday is exactly one month after Christmas. His Nana and Grandpa made up for it though with a new book and a John Deere toy to play with on his farm mat I made him. Oh let's not even talk about the 10 year in the making farm mat. I shed a few tears after I took it out of the washing machine (purposely felting it as per the pattern) and it came out super felted and literally half the size it was. All the beautiful detail is now gone but you know what? He still loved it and that is all that matters. C made him a sweet set of beeswax figures seen above (goodness how I love them) and Kevin's Dad (!!) sent him some tinker toys that he and L instantly built things with. Lastly (and perhaps the most uncommon gift to give a three year) he got his own peace lily plant. Our church is filled with peace lilies and every Sunday Baby F is always admiring them. It seemed like the perfect gift for him and he loved it. He tells everyone all about "my plant". He might be a crazy plant boy in the making - like mother like son I suppose? 😂

Wild and Three

beautiFULL

These days have been beautifully full. We took our dying dog Paw Paw to the yearly blessing of the animals on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. The children all brought a chicken as well and Baby F, who is not old enough to be responsible for a pet at the blessing, brought his favorite stuffed animal fox. I am sad I didn't get any photos of the actual blessing but if you just look at the face on my baby boy in the 2nd photo from the bottom, you might understand why. 😉😇

Kevin and I took the boys to a local harvest festival while the girls were having some special Grandma time. Baby F really enjoyed the folk band that was playing. I love to see him get into music like that. The festival couldn't hold a candle to our beloved Portland Waldorf School Harvest Festivals but we still had a good time. I think the boys were just happy to see firetrucks and pumpkins. They are easy to please.

Kevin had the chance to help out our landlord in the fields last week. Of course this made him a rock star to his boys. They watched in awe as he drove by. Our landlord is teaching him everything he knows about the tractors and farm life. Kevin told him just how much our boys love watching him when he is in the fields working so he brought them a John Deere book to look at and a toy catalog. I thought that was such a kind thing to do. It was a big deal to both my boys, especially L. I am afraid to say because well, Murphy's Law, but we really, really like our landlord. He is such a kind, caring person. We feel so fortunate to be renting from him and just to know him.

This move has been a blessing to us on so many levels.

beautiFULL

Our First Week of Homeschool 2018

Dye baths Left to Right: goldenrod, pokeberry, grass, carrot and beets carrot dye bath beet dye bath C'sfingerless gloves before pokeberry dye bath I feel rather silly posting this now as we are about to start our third week of school tomorrow morning but things are going so well (so far) that I just had to share. My children have all been very diligent and perseverant for the most part with everything we have done. Somehow I have been on the ball and waking up in the wee hours of the mornings to make sure we are all on schedule. I pray the year continues in this manner.

Our first week included nature walks to our creek, (including one day that was so hot we decided to take a swim) dyeing silks with natural dyes (some worked but most of them didn't, however I attribute that to not properly mordanting them. Honestly, I never had any hope for the carrot or grass dyes, though), memorized a verse and made use of our leftover corners from making the chalkboard by turning them into mountains (to cement the verse in our brains), oh and we had special guests in the schoolroom - two of our chickens. This. This is how I envisioned homeschooling. Not the way I had been doing it in the past - stressed out and done in. This is the way it was meant to be.

Our First Week of Homeschool 2018