Category: Educational play

I’m that Mom

Joining in on an awesome, impromptu blog carnival over here.

(I am deliberately not reading everyone else’s until I have finished writing mine, except for the 2 I saw that made me realize that this is a cool thing that I actually want to join in on because I suspect a lot of us overlap and I want to share who I am without worrying about that it may be a “YEAH, ME TOO.”)

I am that mom who, when the kids ask if we can please go visit our friends 5 hours away tomorrow, says yes, starts packing, and goes.
Rachel and Kayla

I am that mom who upon finding out the the oldest’s best friend (who lives 2 days away) might be able to come stay for a week says YES.

I am that mom who on 4th of July goes fireworks chasing with the kids, driving all over tarnation looking at everyone’s awesome displays,  instead of taking them to sit in a huge crowd and watching one display.

Fireworks

I am that mom who would rather take the kids to the pond to swim or sit and watch hours upon hours of anime, Dr. Who, favorite movies, or As Time Goes By with the crazy, wonderful kids than worry about what the neighbors think of her children’s nearly dead flower/veggie garden and too tall grass.
I am that mom who when the kids decide to build a tent/tree house/whatever in the back yard says nothing or helps them find the needed materials, knowing that again the neighbors will wonder about the people next door ruining the view from their perfect yards.

I am that mom who runs outside with the kids in the pouring rain to look for rainbows.
rainbow


I am that mom who, when the kids find their long lost roller blades and ask if they can go somewhere to roller blade, suggests they roller blade in the house on our fake hard wood floors and allow them to continue to wear them for everything for the next week.


I am that mom who lets her kids turn her entire kitchen into a restaurant for days at a time and play with their food.
Larry the Cucumber

I am that mom who, when her son asks to take all the blankets from all over the house and use them to jump on, says yes.

I am that mom who takes a camera wherever her kids go and takes pictures of all the awesome things they do.


Super straw

I am that mom who, when her kids want to mow the grass says yes and then says nothing about the stripes of extra tall grass left behind and the odd, rather like a maze, style of cutting grass her oldest prefers.

I am that mom who, when a kid says “come see this cool thing” stops what she is doing to go see (and it always IS really cool!)

green

I am that mom who realizes that her middle child loves the stage and when she asks signs her up and takes her to a performing arts camp the very next week.

I am that mom who still loses her cool, who still gets frustrated when the kids have totally trashed the place (not a problem) and then don’t clean it up (a problem), who has bad days and does not cope so well when the kids are fighting, again.
Issac room

I am that mom who still has a long way to go but loves where her kids are exactly where they are regardless of the stage they are in, loves being with them, and thinks they are totally awesome and fun.
Alameda Park 2010
Yes, this is an extended version, I got started and kept going (which anyone who knows me in person knows this is VERY typical.)

Rhythm to our days

Our family does not live by a schedule in any way shape or form.  None of us like them– our whole family gets horribly stressed with a schedule.  I know there are people out there who NEED a list or schedule, who thrive if they know what is going to happen today, tomorrow, next week. We are not those people. Knowing I have to do something at a specific time next week stresses me out for the whole time preceding that activity and I find it impossible to focus on the other things I need to get done in that time.

However, we do seek patterns, rhythms that help us discern what comes next depending on the season we are in.  The times change as does the order but there is a general idea in everyone’s head as to what is likely to happen on any given day.

A lot of our rhythm focuses on my husband and where he is in his odd 26 hour day wake/sleep cycle.  When he is sleeping from 4am to 12pm our rhythm as a family is different than when he is sleeping from 4pm to 12am.  It also focuses on how many hours he is working.  When he is working 40 hr weeks (almost never) our family rhythm is different than when he is working 60 or 80 hr weeks (as he has been for the last 12 months.)
rainbow
There are also certain elements that are always included in our family rhythm while others are seasonal.  Always included of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack.  Always included is a daily reading of the Bible as a family.  Those are givens though sometimes breakfast is the big meal while in other seasons snack is and in some seasons we read just 1 chapter of the Bible quickly with little discussion and others we read many and discuss every few seconds of reading.  Of course one other given is sleep.  We all need a lot of sleep (with the RA I need about 10 hrs) so sleep is always a given.  On a weekly basis our rhythm nearly always includes a trip to the library, a trip to my grandmother’s (1/2 hr drive away and takes most of the afternoon evening), a trip to the thrift shop (or three), an hour of everyone cleaning up the house so that we can all move without stumbling on things left behind, and a trip to the grocery store.

Right now we are in a season and look to be shifting to a new one because of changes in weather and hubby’s sleep and changes in which days he has “off” (from his programming job so he can work on his writing which is his other job–he only takes 1 day off completely a week– Saturday which he jealously guards).  It is also changing because I am working about 20+ hours a week on various projects.
rainbow
For the past week our rhythm has included me making all meals (because of re-instituting the Candida diet), driving to the pond to swim twice a day (because the afternoons are way too hot and one hour swimming in the morning and one in the evening have been working well for the kids), a quiet time in the afternoon so I can work and run errands because the kids are worn out after all that swimming, and  an evening reading of the Bible before we head back to the pond.

Right now we are in a state of flux.  Hubby’s sleep has shifted again, I have work to get done, the weather has cooled a bit so that an afternoon swim is probably the best choice, we would like to fit a trip to one of the Pittsburgh museums in on a weekly or at least biweekly basis, Rachel is going to be working on piano with a friends daughter, and Essie wants to go to a performing arts camp next week (I am praying they have an opening–have to call today and find out), and the kids are settling into the Candida diet and getting comfortable so I don’t have to fix their every meal.  It will be interesting to find the next pattern, to see the next rhythm.
rainbow
Already the kids are staying up later and sleeping in longer so they have more time with Daddy while he is awake but I happen to know there is a game on his computer that ONLY works on his computer that we are all aching to play and that some of the time he is asleep is going to be spent playing it.  Already they are asking less to go to the pond for a swim and instead are spending lots and lots of time drawing or playing with Legos (Issac is trying to design a robot that utilizes water in its design– inspired by Falling Waters and a water works plant that has a huge built in waterfall on the side on the way to the Science Center.)  The girls are spending a lot of time playing with friends on Build-a-bear and Skype and reading.

And so we will see where it leads and what God has planned for us next.  Regardless, it won’t be boring which is great because I hate too much repetition and adore change and the good Lord knew that when He gave me this wonderful, ever changing family.

Oddly Exciting Day

Odd as in what an odd day. Exciting as in what an exciting day.

It started with gluten-free crepes, goats cheese, and berries for the kids and a trip to the pond where I read, cleaned out the car, and took a paddle boat ride.  I also tested out the new digital camera I got yesterday which is a whole other blog post but its a cheap one (under $100) but I needed something that didn’t have dust on the lens so I could get decent photos of my work for several upcoming projects.

Splash
When we returned home Issac and I vacuumed out the car. While doing so Issac spotted the UPS man and insisted on bringing in the box himself. (He is such a funny kid.) Shamus’ new hard drive had come but didn’t come with the SATA cable he needed so Issac and I trekked out, yet again, and got it for him.  On the way home I got gas (in order to redeem my extra trip out) and at his request we did one of his favorite things: got the car washed.  (I only get the car washed once or twice a year and apparently the other kids were devastated that they didn’t get to go so next time it will be a family affair.)   You can’t see it in the picture because he kept moving too fast but he is grinning ear to ear and telling me all about how it works.

Isac and the car wash

I spent most of the afternoon reorganizing my blog feeds and setting everything up so I could switch from Opera (which I love but I am having some issues with and more and more sites won’t open in it) to Google Chrome. (Firefox was great until they started adding bells and whistles and it started slowing my computer down.) The kids have reinstated quiet time and were lying down waiting for me to read to them. I was just about to do so when the mail came and I ran out to check it. Inside the mailbox was a huge package, which I assumed was a test set f the card game I am starting work on. It wasn’t. When I pulled it out I found this; which if course you can’t read.  It says: Gift for you on the sticker, and down below it says Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.  And inside was this: but with OUR name on it.  Really! The family I am working with on the game sent us a premium membership for Carnegie Museums. We haven’t had even a regular one since the last time we were on the Candida diet–which I just realized and which is very odd since we just started the Candida diet again, after 5 years, last week.  And this time around we have an awesome, doesn’t break down every time you leave the driveway, vehicle.  Anyway, since tomorrow is supposed to be the first cooler, stormy day in over a week, I just filled the car with gas and cleaned it, I don’t currently have any work I NEED to complete right away, Friday is the day we usually visit my grandmother and she is on the way, we are heading to the Science Center tomorrow.

And I suspect that throughout the summer you are going to be seeing less photos like this:

Pond
and more photos like this:
At the Science Center
And this:
At the Science Center

We are looking forward to being able to beat the crowds, visit other science centers when we go visit friends, go to the art and natural history museums when we take a trip to Trader Joes, and best of all, with the premium membership we get to take 5 friends along.  As the kids keep saying, “we just can’t sop smiling!”

What we are doing

Monica asked What are you doing this week? in her All I want to say that won’t fit on Twitter post and since I have some new photos, am trying to share more often, and since I have to open her site in Google to comment because for some reason I can’t comment on her site in Opera, I thought I would share my answer here and then link to her post so you too can answer her question.

Swimming
This morning we decided to head to the pond early since it is supposed to get up to 90-something (which it did and it is HOT here). Plus I needed borrow my dad’s camera to take some quality photos of a commission for a client. My camera is stupid and slightly broken (dust or some-such on the lens causing all sorts of trouble which is sad because I LOVED that camera) though it still works it doesn’t work for high end photos for digital commissions.

So we went and the kids swam and I took photos of the painting. Then, because I already had it out with my sd card in I took some higher quality photos of the kids than I have been able to take for a while.

Swimming

After an hour of the kids swimming (with me taking pictures) the girls decided it was time for lunch and Issac decided to hang out with Pappap for the rest of the day. Now they are having a Dr. Who marathon– the whole series from the beginning (new Dr. Who) up until they run out on Netflix download play.

Swimming

Meanwhile I am waiting (stupid holiday weekend) for a new camera to come in the mail (need it for upcoming projects) and praying that it will suit (it was only $60 so I am nervous).

Swimming

I edited the painting photos for website use and sent that out, uploaded all the pictures of my crazy big kids, and now am pondering a website design I am supposed to be working on.
Finished Simming and Heading Home

As far as the rest of the week goes?  Who knows.  I like living day to day and hate schedules of any sort.  Hopefully this week will include getting a new camera, getting the prototype of the game I am working on, working on the website that I am supposed to be doing,.  As far as the kids go– probably lots of swimming, hopefully some cleaning up, most likely some camping out , and very likely lots of chatting on Skype with friends.

The Fireworks Chasers

So yesterday the kids heard firecrackers in the neighborhood and went outside to see if they could find them. A few minutes later I joined them.

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

After a few minutes of attempting to watch them through the trees we decided to take a walk and see what we could see.

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

And a few minutes after that, we were on the way to the car to see if we could find even better fireworks.

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

*This is rural Western PA here. Lots of hills, mountains, trees, and LOTS of fireworks, even though they are illegal.

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

Within 5 minutes we had tracked down a huge party with professional fireworks and a farmtrack where we could park to watch them.

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

The kids had a great time and I decided that it isn’t that I don’t like fireworks, its that I hate sitting in a hot parking lot waiting for an hour (so you get a decent spot to watch) to watch an hours worth of fireworks and afterwards sit for an hour and a half in a hot car, in a huge line of cars, with hungry, needing to use the restroom kids in the back trying to LEAVE said parking lot.

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

And so today, on the fourth of July, we went fireworks chasing again.

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

This time a friend gave us a heads up and we headed towards the area she suggested. We found several great spots, especially a huge display of professionally done fireworks that was closer than we have ever seen them (safely so– when you are in a crowd it is hard to get close to the show.)

Fireworks
Fireworks taken by Rachel

I suspect, judging from how much fun the kids had, that THIS will be our new July 4th tradition.

Life as We Know It

Yes, we still unschool.  Yes, it is still working.  Yes, we still both work from home though it has shifted even more from me working to Shamus working while I hang with the kids and keep the household running smooth so he can focus and be productive.  Yes, I still love our life and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Ice Skating

Shamus is working, a lot.  Things are financially stressful but that is another post (and one I have been pondering for a while but which may or may not actually get shared.  All I can say right now is that God is amazing and much more reliable than any paycheck.)  On that point I want to mention mint.com– if you are having a hard time seeing the big picture of your finances, suck at budgeting, or just like seeing everything in one place then it is well worth a look.  It is working great for this financially challenged family and being free helps.  We had recently discussed the possibility of me taking on  a part time job to fill in the current gaps, but various factors nipped that in the bud.  Mostly the fact that me being here facilitating the children’s learning is key (they would learn anyway but Shamus cannot field their constant questions AND write 3 comics a week, 3 articles a week, and do 30 hrs a week programming not to mention keep up on his blog and several side projects.)

Ice Skating

The kids are happily occupied talking to fellow unschooling friends on Skype and text chat, interacting on FamilyRUN, playing Build-a-Bear (their favorite game to play?  School–“except we know most of the answers already, but we get to learn new things too”.)  They are also occupied playing  Plants vs. Zombies, a lot.  Talk about an educational game that  you don’t realize is educational.  Essentially you could think of it as a fun way to learn financial planning and organizing your resources— of course you could say the same thing about Star Craft and other strategy games. At the pondDue to the snow, snow, and more snow they have been avoiding going outside (especially now that there is no ice to skate on).  The kids are also very involved in a new Lego Quest weekly challenge run  by a friend on Twitter.  Lego Quest carRachel is thrilled to have made friends who can talk when she can, Essie is reading her way through multiple series of books (having read all the Gregor the Underlander books in a week and moving on to several other series I can’t remember) , Issac is building all sorts of things and intent on beating Mario Galaxy on his own.  We are spending a lot of time listening to audio books together, playing games together, talking together.

At the pond
Picnic at the pond

Me?  Aside from all the cleaning and rearranging going on (lots of re-purposing and getting rid of which I find a quick way to beat the urge to go buy something new. )  Now that the website issues have been dealt with I have been free to work on painting (trying acrylics still.  It is interesting but maybe I am getting somewhere?)  I am doing less reading and spending time on the computer  (due to eyesight issues) and more listening to audio books which means I am being more productive– I feel like I need to be doing something if I am listening to audio books.  And since the cd player is in the kitchen and we are being VERY frugal in our meals I am spending a lot of time in the kitchen cleaning, rearranging, and baking.  Yesterday it was no-bake cookies (naturally sweetened, carob, peanut butter, coconut, and oatmeal), homemade granola bars (naturally sweetened with oatmeal, cranberries, peanut butter, cocoa nibs, coconut, flax seed), and lots and lots of bread dough.  The day before I chopped all the raw veggies in the house, making a nice salad mix and freezing the rest.  Oh, and I finished a painting–a commission by my sister-in-law for her employers. Watercolor

Issac on Ice Skating

Ice skating


Being nervous and doing it anyway is the hardest part of the battle.

Ice skating


Once you decide to do it, do it with all your heart.
Ice skating
Enjoy the company, take turns doing new things, and of course racing.
Ice skating
Be willing to race, to jump, to turn, and inevitably, to fall.
Ice skating
And when you fall, take some time before you get up to explore the ice– the look, the feel, the texture, and imagine what is down below, remembering what it was like in summer.
Ice skating
And when you get tired, take a break, but don’t take your skates off because you are bound to want to skate some more.

Snow Play

Snow

Snow is pretty.

Iceskating 2010

Snow on ice after ice skating is pretty. I took a ton of photos of it because it reminded me of cubism.

Iceskating 2010

The creepy hole in the ice for pouring water over said ice to make it smooth is not pretty, and is rather nerve wracking.  It actually has a nice layer of ice over top and and huge bump of ice all around– no one is going through (and there is a rope nearby) but still, rather scary.  And that is my dad cleaning the ice so it would be nice the next day– keeping the ice nice when it is snowing is lots of work.

Iceskating 2010

James stole my phone and took a photo of me ice skating.  So that is me.

Iceskating 2010

And that is Rachel.  She fell, and laughed.

Issac sled riding.

Issac spent hours trying to perfect a sled riding track (with my help.) Lots of physics involved (slope, weight, gravity, angle, etc.) as well as lots of physical labor (I had a tiny metal kids shovel that I was using to perfect the ramp so he would go all the way down the hill instead of off to the side.)

More snowy photos (and ice skating photos to come.)

September in Review

September has been crazy busy with a trip to Alexandria and Ocean City, Penn’s Colony, the Art’s Festival, and lots of trips to the pond. At the beginning of the month we headed down to visit our friends in Alexandria, VA and got to go with them for a day trip to the ocean.This was our first big trip in our new minivan and was a happy and sad time. It was fun spending time with friends but due to the loss of both my friend’s father and my mom within a few weeks of each other it was bittersweet.

The trip also meshed several ideas the kids have shown interest in–my friend has both a guitar and a violin and gave the kids an opportunity to test both out. So now we know that Essie definitely wants to play guitar and that RAchel would prefer piano lessons to violin as she once thought.
Issac at the pond
We also spent tons of time at the pond with my brother (who’s school is on strike).

The kids spent the first half of the month swimming and learning to row and fish and the second half learning to build fires and lean-to’s while James and I worked on his forge.rowJames and forge
And did I mention the invention building kick?
invention
And day time trips to Chuck E. Cheese?

The apparently interesting thing that is opening a new bank account?

And the awesomeness that was Penn’s Colony.

Where we got to see real blacksmiths at work.

And got to enjoy lots of Celtic music.


And in between it all was lots of game playing, reading, audio books, movies, playing, building, dreaming, creating, thinking, considering, discussing, programming…