We haven’t been too crafty around here-well Ginger and I haven’t been. Molly on the other hand decided to make a hat on Sunday so she sat down with a measuring tape and paper and pencil and started measuring her head in all different ways and then doubling some numbers and dividing some and even quadrupling some. Asking me what I thought and honestly I had no idea. It really didn’t make too much sense to me but she is touched in that creative, “I can see things in 3D”, sort of way so I knew she didn’t really need help, just needed to say it all out loud. She was making the hat with several panels, hence all the math. She used tissue paper to make sort of a pattern and then a quick trip to the fabric store with her money and coupon in hand. She remembered Lina had a hat shaped like the one she wanted to make and thought it might be a good idea to look at hers. That hat was made a little differently than she had patterned. About 30 minutes later she came upstairs wearing this!!! Complete with her first time using the zig zag stitch for the eyes. Well done!
As someone that barely sews-Can you tell how impressed I am????
And it fits perfectly! All that real math. She did not use a typical equation or traditional route to get her answers but obviously by the fit, her answers were correct. It’s moments like this that re-enforce my unschooling choices!
I have been spending lots of time reading unschoolers blogs and really wanting to learn more about unschooling. Although we have been unschoolers for a while I am feeling the need to learn more and the need for more support lately. Not because I doubt it but more because I want to embrace unschooling more fully. I feel as though I may have been just talking the talk so to speak. Like giving my kids freedom to make choices with their time, money etc… and then inserting my opinion or worse taking back the control. I am feeling the need for an unschooling boost. So I have been reading Swiss Army Wife, An Unschooling Life, Kelly Hogaboom, The Expanding Life, The Organic Sister, Childs Play, Radical Unschooling, Joyfully Rejoicing, Organic Learning. Whew! That is a lot of reading!!
But I am so interested in learning all I can about unschooling. I have even been listening to a few podcasts. So between reading, writing, listening to and discussing unschooling, I have really immersed my self in learning all I can about it. I seem to do that often. For awhile I will eat, sleep and breath recipes and cooking or raw food or photography or running. I seem to devote all my time to my current passions and then when I feel I have mastered the subject or exhausted all there is to know about soup, or I lose interest and find something else to investigate, I move on. Often times I come back to the things that interest me although sometimes not. Sometimes I have learned all I need to on say, how to make my own laundry soap but not really interested in the chemical make up of it. Leave that to the scientists, the people that are interested.
I see my kids acting quite the same way. They fill their time getting their questions answered or their activity, level, or project mastered whether that takes an hour or several days. Once their needs are met they feel satisfied to move on. They are setting internal goals and following their own timetable. How appropriate! And how real. As Molly demonstrated it often involves math and reading or science and history and all those school subjects that seem to continually creep back into our lives as a measure of competency. Can’t it just be what it is. Can’t it just be Wow-Molly made a great hat without all the educational baggage that comes with it.( For Molly it was this way-she didn’t know she was “doing math” she was just figuring out how to make the hat fit her head.)
I say educational for lack of a better term, school curriculum? I am constantly learning and educating myself as is everyone else in the world every second of every day-yet it often goes unnoticed when it occurs outside of formal school. The term “self taught” usually comes with a wow factor or a a sense of “can you believe he/she learned that on their own?” Really??? We are all self taught when it comes down to it. Even those who went to school for umpteen years-you didn’t learn everything in school. Some stuff we learned on our own, by following directions, looking on the internet, watching other people and by doing it ourselves. It is those that earn that self taught label that followed their passions far enough to be accomplished publicly or are making a living at something they loved enough to practice and perfect.
The way that I am pursuing my interests isn’t any different from the way my kids are living their lives-yet no one is looking at me funny. Giving my kids the freedom to learn all the time in their own way, whether it be all crazy, and mixed up front to back or back to front or for two weeks or two minutes is huge. Imagine the possibilities. Imagine if you could spend your time learning what ever you wanted. In the way that best suits you-reading up on the subject, joining a group, watching movies about it, talking to others that have knowledge on the subject. Really immersing yourself in that topic. Well our kids are doing that every day. And not just in one area because as so often times it happens that one thing leads to another. So many things are related to another and learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens in life. And in real life math is not separated from english from science from history. Only in school.
May this be the year we soar to new heights
Dance with reckless abandon
Stretch ourselves
Take risks
Toast our friends
May this be the year…………
Photos taken at First Night Columbus 2009
Kristina Isabelle/High Jinks Dance Co
KidCo
The Unplugged Theme of OCEAN this week comes at a perfect time. In about a month we will be spending some time at the ocean. We have been reading ocean books and learning all we can about the sea. I love the art work in so many children’s books. Two artists I really like are Leo Lionni and Eric Carle. THE ART OF ERIC CARLE and the book ARTIST TO ARTIST 23 major illustrators talk to children about their art, are excellent books that talk about and/or show the artists at work.
Another book we read was SWIMMY by Leo Lionni. We looked closely at the pictures and tried to figure out how Lionni made them. Then tried out some of our ideas in our own ocean pictures.
Looks like doilies!
Molly also used bubble wrap and “paintbrush hair” to add some texture to her work. She also made a fish stencil so that all of her fish would look alike.
Inevitably the painting turned into to finger paint and 5 year olds have their own ideas. Ginger started her painting by cutting out a red fish shape, gluing it down and calling it “swimmy.” The next time I looked their were sunshines and and words and hearts in her ocean. Taking a deep breath I had to remember it’s the process not the product that’s important!!
This was the first time we used acrylic paints. Molly really liked the coverage and control she felt with these as well as the clean finish.
Picture books are a great jumping off point for so many activities. I have a few other ideas to share soon.
I have been wanting to get a tattoo for a long time. I researched it,( cause I’m like that), I looked at books, on-line, and polled friends with tattoos. I looked up every tattoo shop in the area and looked through many tattoo artists portfolios. I finally found both an idea for my tattoo and an artist whose style I really liked. Her work reminded me of Sunny Buick, whose work I love!
I brought my rough idea into Thrill Vulture Tattoo and Naomi worked on a drawing and finally came up with the perfect tattoo for me! So yesterday was finally the big day. I was a little sick to my stomach but had no second thoughts. I was more worried about the pain.Mostly because I didn’t know what to expect.
But once Naomi got started it really didn’t hurt much at all.
Especially once the outline was finished! There were a few tender spots near my wrist, but for the most part it was just sort of an annoying feeling. Then it was on to the color.
It took about 2 hours to finish.
Isn’t she pretty??!!!
She is my offering, my ode to death. She is part of my mid life crisis. And she needs a name! Molly thinks it should be Loco, Moco Madness or Mary Lou. Hmmm. I’ll have to think about that!
I am still sorting and cleaning and not feeling very creative so that’s why no blog posts as of late. But all of that may soon change-I have found a great new (to me) blog that has certainly stirred some creative thoughts. No actions yet-but my mind keeps going back to the work this family creates. I am in awe of their talent and am so intrigued by there lifestyle choices. I didn’t see it mentioned anywhere that their kids homeschool-but I have a feeling they are living the unschooling dream of a rich life. I have told so many people about the Beerhorst family that I thought I would post the link here. Enjoy!!
Where have I been? Nowhere special, just sucked into the wonderful world of Spring cleaning! I don’t much like to clean so I do a massive clean up, top to bottom a couple of times a year and then just clean the middle of the room the rest of the time.
Last weekend I ran my first 5K. I have NEVER been a runner, even when I was young and in sports I hated running. So it is amazing to me that I was able to run that far. I did a couch to 5K training schedule and it worked. So, what I am saying is that, if I can run anyone can run! Just do it!
And the week before, I, along with my other Mother Artist friends put on the kids art show, KidzArtz. It was a huge success!
These are a couple of photos of the art making area where kids wrapped and weaved and decorated teepee structures with various materials. It was loads of fun to unwrap rolls of TP and balls of yarn. I would love to make one of these in the back yard this summer!
And this week is also Birthday week/Mother’s Day week. Both Jake and Ginger have Birthdays this week.
So I have been a little busy and blog neglectful. Sorry -when my house is clean and my garden planted I’ll be back!
Oh, and I have no new recipe to post. But if you do-leave a link in the comments to your raw recipe post!
If you are a local reader be sure to make some time on Saturday to come to KidzArtz. Kids will be showing their art, performing, selling their wares and crafts and creating a cool group project.
This is one of the pieces Molly has in the show.
This is an awsome opportunity for kids-so come out and support them!!
