happy birthday to me!

I finally decided on what to spend my birthday money on, a new pair of shoes!

I know, I know, anyone who has been to my home and seen my closet will be wondering “What on earth do you need with another pair of shoes?!!!”

But I really didn’t have any comfortable sport types of shoes. Sure I have sandals and clogs, hiking boots and dress shoes. Most all are very comfortable but not quite the type of shoe one needs when they want to go play tennis at the park or chase kids around the playground or run an agility course with a dog. So after much searching and debating I finally ordered these:

Thanks Mom and Dad & Bonnie and George!

talking underwear

The other day Teagan and I were folding laundry and i started thinking about a new idea that I had been introduced to recently- talking pictorially.

Talking pictorially to a child is something like seeing two shoes kicked off across the room from one another and instead of telling the child “Go pick up your shoes” one could say “Oh no! Your shoes have gotten seperated, let’s put them together and set them on the shoe rack so they can keep each other company”

The more I thought about it the more sense it made. I mean I remember as a kid thinking of things as living things with feelings. Maybe I watched the movie The Brave Little Toaster one too many times but it just seems natural to a child that every thing has a life.

Of course this way of thinking and speaking doesn’t come very naturally to an adult so I started to think of our task at hand and how I could relate it to Teagan to help her have more interest in the process. She was starting to look bored and I could see her mind searching for an excuse to get out of the job.

As I picked up a new item to fold I said in a hushed voice “Do you hear that? that clothes are so happy to be neatly folded and put away. They were getting so cramped in the basket. I bet it was really dark down towards the bottom but now that we are folding them they can breath again” I went on for a little while longer, describing the scene as if I were the clothes and Teagan’s eyes got really big and she looked around at our pile then she turned to me and said “Ya know what mom, my underwear said they are really happy too!”

springing time

Trampoline from craftymama on Vimeo.” alt=”trampoline fun” />

starting over

I once read about a woman who when midday meltdowns ensued (both mom’s and the children’s) she would serve up breakfast for dinner as a symbolic gesture of starting the day over.

It can be so challenging to break the funk that builds up through the day and let go and start fresh.

Not always but often, getting two children and myself up and ready to go in the morning to attend our church service can be frustrating and tiresome. This past Sunday was particularly difficult and before we even left the house I completely lost my patience. I yelled, I stormed out and even banned my kids from the much anticipated post service doughnuts.

As we drove in silence to church I kept thinking about how much I hate starting any day like that but I especially don’t want that to become a Sunday morning ritual. But as much as I tried I just couldn’t let go of my anger.

We entered with me whispering commands like Follow me!, Shhh, Sit here, Be quiet!!! They did well through most of the service and were really on some of their best behavior but I still couldn’t drop the tension. It wasn’t until over half way through the service when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We went up and I received both the Body and the Blood. When we got back to our pew and sat down I said my usual prayer and rather suddenly noticed that the heaviness I had been walking around with all morning was gone. I was finally able to smile at my children, my tank was refilled and the rest of the day went well (even though they never did get  any doughnuts, ).

It’s not magic or anything, but it is a mystery and I am so thankful for the opportunity to receive the gift each week. To be truthful, communion has always been my favorite part the service and this is the first church I have attended that offers the opportunity every week. I just can’t imagine going back to every other week or once a month communion. I imagine it would be kind of like switching from a diet of 80% nourishing foods, 20% sweets and junk food to 80% sweets and junk food and 20% nourishing foods. It just wouldn’t be satisfying.

I just wanted to share that. That is all

la la la la…i’m not listening anymore

I’m done, I’ve had it! I’m so sick and tired of campaign fliers, emails, phone calls and commercials. Today is the Indiana Primary and I really hope that after this the hourly onslaught of propaganda will die down a little at least.

I think this is really the first time I have been this sick of politicians and their games ever. Maybe it’s because I’m so unhappy with the available choices.

At this point I guess my only option is to vote for the person that I feel will do the least amount of damage over the next term and thank God the founding fathers of this nation saw to it to add proper check and balances to limit any one person’s power.

So happy voting everyone. sigh.

simon’s morning drive

simon’s morning drive from craftymama on Vimeo.

Don’t mind the bed heads

spring has sprung!

Little Johnny Jump Up said

Now it must be spring

I just saw a ladybug

And heard a robin sing

waldorf inspired learning

I get a lot of puzzled looks when I talk about our homeschooling approach so I thought I would try to share a bit more information about it here on our blog.

While Waldorf itself has some purist following, those of us who chose a Waldorf inspired education may or may not follow every “rule in the book”. So to clarify what I find useful and appropriate for our family I would like to share the key features that have drawn in and made me explore this avenue deeper.

Simple and Natural Toys- It helps ignite the imagination and creativity for a child in play because the toys have multiple uses and unlike many modern toys, it’s the child who decides the game to be played not the toy. The fact that they are made with natural materials and fibers lends a warmer feel to them and outlast the plastic counterparts. We have also tried to make it a regular habit to have a mending day for broken toys. This is much easier with materials like wood and cotton. Plastic does not stay mended for very long and replacement parts can be impossible to find. This practice also teaches a vauluble lessing in being a good steward and caring for our belongings and inhibits the throw away mentality that can be common in a consumer culture. The initial cost of quality toys can be quite a shock to many but the long term reality is toys that stand the test of time.

Finding a Daily Rhythm- Everything has a rhythm really. The earth revolves around the sun, the tide comes in and goes out, seasons change (more noticeably in some areas then in others) and the list goes on and on.

It’s taken us a bit of time to discover our family’s daily rhythm but now that we are aware of it we can try have a little more structure to our days but we can also be more flexible. Before I understood our habits we had no routine and many of our days felt chaotic. Now we can all relax knowing what to expect next. For instance our current flow looks something like this:

• Wake and have breakfast
• Clean up and get dressed for the day
• We complete a few morning chores
• Depending on the day we may have a circle time or free playtime for the kids while mom tends to her work
• Lunch and clean up
• Story
• Quiet time
• Snack
• More play
• Dinner prep
• Dinner and clean up
• Family Time (game or walk around the neighborhood)
• Bedtime routine & off to bed for the kids
• Adult quiet time Drinks anyone, lol!

Of course this is a goal, not set in stone. As an example, today we skipped the morning chores, packed a picnic and met up with our local homeschool group for a day at the park. After our picnic we ran an errand then headed home for a quick story and quiet time, then the rest of our day went as scheduled. Aside from the rush to get organized and out the door early then we are used to it was a pretty smooth day. Of course this is our first successful week of sticking to our daily rhythm but I think much of that was still trying to figure out what suites us best. After all it doesn’t really work if you try to fit the family to the rhythm instead of the rhythm to the family.

Slow Down- One aspect to this that I am growing to appreciate much more then I thought I would is slowing down and being in the moment. Out society has put so much stress on early “socialization”. I know in our own area there are numerous classes for kids as little as 3 & 4 yrs old in dance, martial arts, gymnastics, art and music. These can be a very good thing but they can also be a hazard. I know so many families that run from event to event. They rush through meals and are on the road again. I did a lot of this running about when Teagan was real little. We didn’t have any classes to attend but we hit every social outing we could. It was easy to do with one child in tow and after working retail for so long it was difficult to turn of the go-go-go mentality. With Simon it became much more challenging to get out and keep everyone happy while we were our. Over time we have become much more content to stay home. I keep thinking I’m going to sign Teagan up for some sort of class or something but then I look at our current schedule and realize we have enough on our plate with Girl Scouts, a weekly play group, a bimonthly homeschool meet up and a weekly catechism class. We need days to bake, paint, and play in the yard. Down time is way too important and not everything needs to be done at once. There will be time and opportunity to do dance, karate, and horseback riding and whatever else catches her fancy, someday.

Limit TV and Computer- You may have noticed that none of the above included tv time or computer time. Waldorf purists have all sorts of reason why Steiner (the founder of Waldorf education) insisted on keeping children away from electronics but for us it boils down to a couple of reasons.

1. It was becoming a big issue for both the kids. Teagan was becoming more and more addicted to it. When the time came to turn it off and do something else, despite our efforts to smooth the transition, she was having major fits. Simon also was acting out the violence he picked up and we already have enough trouble wrangling in his aggressive ways
2. American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children should watch no more than an hour or two a day, and that children under 2 should watch no television at all.
3. The never ending commercialism both during the show and in between segment breaks.
4. Even with the best programs and eliminating the commercials, television viewing still contributes to the growing problem of attention deficit disorders.
5. Images change every 5 to 6 seconds either due to a change in camera angle or new scene.. The onslaught of flashing images can’t be good for any body’s brain let alone a developing child.
6. The more time they spend in front of the tube the less time they read or play.

Some kids don’t have the same attachment to tv as mine do and can take a little then leave it. I’m not saying that we are completely getting rid of our tv or that others should. In our family we have come to the conclusion that more boundaries need to be placed on the amount of screen time we get (including computer) and that goes for the adults in this family as well as the children.

Letting Children be Children- I really like that waldorf practices delaying academics. This is probably the hardest aspect for some people to understand. After all why wouldn’t you want your child to learn to read and write as early as possible. Why wouldn’t you want to seize any and every opportunity to cram their little noggins with as much information as possible as soon as possible.

*************************************

This table of Waldorf grades (waldorf_curriculum_table1.pdf) closely resembles the plan that we will be following.

Waldorf starts off slow in the academics, but gain momentum as they grow. The fact that many students do not begin to read until well into the 2nd grade alarms many who are used to the early academics that are so popular in our modern culture. The fact is far more preparation to cultivate avid readers is going on almost unnoticed. The following article does an excellent job explaining the theories behind this method and why it works. http://awsna.org/renmoretoread.html

There is definitely a lot more to Waldorf then just the points I posted above and I hope to cover more as I have the time and as we grow and learn more.

he’s not a baby anymore

Well in a way at least. I think Simon is at the end of his nursing career. It’s been coming on slowly for a long time. Of course the discomfort of nursing while pregnant  certainly did motivate my role in the process.

It’s kind strange really. I ended up leaving town to finally cut her off. She was down to about once every other day at the time and starting to experiment with biting. As a first time mom I had a stronger urgency to run and get her whenever she cried and Smiley had a low resistance to wailing so I took advantage of an invite to go  camping with some friends. I left thinking, that would be the last time I nursed her and it was.

With Simon I have just sort of been trying to get through the day so I don’t have that “this is the last memory”. The past couple of nights Smiley has been laying down to sleep with him. Last night I did put him to bed but he was willing to accept a cuddle in place of a nurse, and tonight he didn’t even ask :)/

I must be feeling hormonal or nostalgic or both because for all his adventures and misadventures, his mayhem and exuberance I’m so proud of him. He can be just as sweet and loving as he can be arnory and aggressive.

Baby,

not a baby,

a disclaimer ;)

I write occasionally about our lifestyle and choices we have made. I realize that often times I may sound very dogmatic. I assure you I am anything but

I think often I am so passionate about my ideals but they are only that, ideal. And ideals often do not accurately reflect reality.

So while I wish my home where modestly filled with natural, open ended games and toys that spark imagination and support creative & cooperative play, the reality is not so rosy.

The same is true for our diet and health, faith, parenting, and every other aspect of living life.

Let’s face it we are flaws humans how make mistakes and struggle to do the best we can. We may aspire to eat fresh organic foods, prepare much from scratch but we have our fair share of pizza, McDonalds candy and doughnuts. We may aspire to seek natural remedies and follow natropathic medicine but sometimes we just need an RX. We hope to be faithful to our religious beliefs, study God’s Word and do His Will but we sin, often. We try to be gentle, patient and understanding parents but we often yell and threaten ad loose our patience.

So please PLEASE, take whatever I post here with a MEGA grai of salt and understand that I am a dreamer

Thank you!