planning 2017-2018, part 2

I started blogging about my planning for this coming year in part 1, linked here.

Shortly after I did so, we went up to the lake for a week. This was the perfect break from the draw of the computer for planning (which can lead to wonderful, positive connection and information, but also, for me, over-researching, self-doubt, questioning 'Do I have enough? Do I need that book too?').  Worry and overwhelm are tendencies I will always have to work hard to manage, so I just have to stop and be quiet sometimes, so as not to over-plan. Follow through can be hard for me, too, so not over-planning is important for many reasons. (I am melancholic-sanguine. Either that or highly sensitive with ADD! Probably all, actually.)

The week was the perfect chance to just be with my own thoughts, to watch and be with my family, to sink into some books, to journal, and to draw.

One of my take-aways from Jean Miller's Plan It Out class was how to make art more doable in our homeschool. Jean talks about the Lively Arts of Waldorf education. They are key to bringing the lessons alive to children, but I had lost some of them (or never had them well established) and I have a child for whom creating is extremely important and who has had very few requests. (Knitting together, learning to draw, and learning Italian.)

So I spent some time drawing. If I don't ever do it, I won't ever get better, right? And if I don't ever model it, it will be hard to encourage us along, right? Earlier in the year, I had said I planned to draw something, anything, daily, but I haven't stuck to that goal, so this felt satisfying.

 

And I spent some time reading. I can now highly recommend Spelling by Hand by Jeremy Hermann and Let's Play Math by Denise Gaskins.

Spelling by Hand is a short, quick read. I thought it 'read' a bit stilted, almost like a translation of Rudolf Steiner, although the author is a young American. It had some very simple, linear, clear ideas of how to teach spelling in short lessons that are active and build upon each other. While he discussed what to cover in each grade, he didn't dwell on grade, in the event children aren't at grade level. We have some special challenges here, so spelling is something that we need to actively work on now. (It was not a priority before, as we were dealing with higher needs.) I am looking forward to putting his ideas into action.

Let's Play Math is a book I am reading as part of an online homeschool group that discusses math. There has been much resistance to math in our home, leaving me frustrated, tentative, and worried. However, I shifted gears this past year, set expectations differently and brought math more playfully, and I notice an increase in skill and willingness to come along on the math trails with me. I am half way through this book and it is excellent. I love the way she discusses math as a series of questions to answer (curiosity!), not a formula to apply. She discusses playing with math, hands-on math, reading math, the history and culture of math. It has been an encouraging and inspiring read so far.

Home again, Lala Bug pulled out the magazines and started collaging. She asked us to join her. Why, yes, please! I used to create a 'Dream Garden' or 'Vision Board' each year or so, inspired completely by an online class I took from Erin Goodman of Exhale. Return to Center. (I don't think she is writing or doing this type of work anymore. She is amazing and works now as a Reverend.) My collage is made, roughly using a 3x3 grid (you can find this by searching 'vision board' on Google or Pinterest) and magazine cut-outs to create a personal visual of what I want for the year ahead.

I am also considering a paid online art course. I have felt that art is something we can learn if we just do it regularly, but perhaps a motivation and some tips would be valuable and the consistency could be good. So I tested out the sample lesson from Waldorfish, and am considering their package of lessons. I am still deciding because of cost, but I enjoyed the lesson and loved the comments the kids gave me about my results. I will have them try it out, too.

More planning to do, but I am on hold now as I wait for more information from our charter school, 4-H, and therapists, and as I consider what is essential for us right now. The kids have camp, so I am heading into a week of tasks from a long list I have made for myself...reading, errands, more decluttering, and some self-care/pampering.

I'll be back again with a post that shares a little more about what I plan to teach this year and resources I plan to use. Until then...

52: 30

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of July 23, 2017

Sierra Nevada Biology

My degree is in biology. Have I ever shared that here? Perhaps not, because (probably much to my parents' dismay on reading this), I don't feel all that confident in my memory of all that I tried to cram into my head during university. Oy. But...now as a homeschooling parent, the interest, fascination, and pleasure in science still resides, because it often sparks an interest and an eagerness in me and therefore the kids. This year up at the lake, there was a shared interest in the many wildflowers that had exploded around us. What we couldn't already identify, my Dad, also a plant loving scientist, could often identify. When we failed, we reached for the guide books.

Mountain Spirea

Mountain aster

Paintbrush 

(Nodding?) Arnica

Sierra Stickseed??

Grandma, Nonno, and John Muir, all love Mountain Pride (Penstemon newberryi)

Mountain Heather

Tiger swallowtail on a lily. I have never seen so many swallowtails as we did this week.

Alpine Lily

Mariposa lily

Phlox

Pretty Face, Golden Brodiaea

Alpine Pyrrocoma? (or Mountain Dandelion?)

Pennyroyal. Mint...smelled like heaven and my childhood

 

Columbine 

 Thimbleberry

 

 Groundsel

 Lodgepole pine cone (Pinus contorta)

 Queen Anne's Lace (Bolander's Yampah)

 Lupine

Cinquefoil (A terrible photo, sorry)

at the lake 2017

Another summer of gratitude at the privilege of visiting this special place on earth. (Last year.) This is where I want my ashes scattered when I die. This is what I visualize in my mind when the real world around me gets stressful and draining. I suppose those words flow out of my fingers right now because I have been fighting against a current of stress and overwhelm for a long time now. I am not sure if some of it is self-induced, but I definitely have my little self-care practices in place and like a high needs individual, when they get rocked, I get a little dizzy and I start to lose my way.

But this place, these places, they are like a balm to the soul. This year's visit brought so many gifts to the senses; wildflowers, wildflowers, lots of extra water (everywhere...we got moisture this winter!), blue skies, snow, worn leg muscles, worn stomach and arm muscles, laughter, zillions of stars, earthy smells, wild mint, pines, did I mention wildflowers?, and so much more.

The water source (a man made pool pool to collect spring run off, then filtered and piped to the cabin) was overflowing.

The kids, big, strong, and not sick this year, were incredible hikers.

There were no meltdowns this year. I don't write about this much. I think I should probably write about this more. Those of you who read my blog these days (and I know there are fewer and fewer of you) either know me and us or probably read between the lines, but we have some high needs in our little family. We have never been up to the lake and not had meltdowns before. I think the lack of them had to do with several things...so much investment put into the souls in our care because of this during the past year, a different sort of prep for this trip together, and spaces to call their own (a challenge with 7-8 people in a back-to-basics 2 room cabin). Can you hear my heart singing? And any mama who knows what it is a like parent a high needs child will understand the joy, surprise, and hint of bittersweet that sort of growth brings. And let me say...I sat and read a bit this year during non-kid-sleep times.

This girl loves Kermit, who has been coming up to the cabin as long as I can remember. He gives weather reports.

These kids became impressive paddlers this year. They were mostly in little borrowed lake kayaks, but they asked for practice in Nonno and Grandma's canoe, too. "Our paddles keen and bright, flashing like silver! Swift as the wild goose flies, dip dip and swing. Dip dip and swing them back, flashing like silver! Swift as the wild goose flies, dip dip and swing."

M, Lala Bug, Little Brown Mouse, and I all swam. We were discussing it when all of a sudden it hit me "jump now or you won't do it!" My entry was less than graceful, but it netted me "first to swim" kudos.

 

All in all, another short week, full of memories made and treasured.

gluten-free granola

Originally posted on my original Which Name? blog on October 21, 2010!

gluten-free granola

I know there are gluten free granola recipes all over the web, but we had our favorite granola recipe and two of us are big granola eaters, so I had to have a go at making a recipe on my own.


Nicola's Gluten-Free Granola
7 cups gluten free oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup ground flax
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 to 1 cup slivered or chopped almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon gluten free vanilla extract
3/4 to 1 cup canola oil
3/4 to 1 cup honey
Optional: Any and all additional nuts or seeds. We like chia seeds and walnuts. Additional spices, such as nutmeg, ginger, and/or ground clove. Dried fruit (add after baking), such as raisins or coconut. You can also add gluten free flours, such as soy, however I found the resulting granola to be too bitter for my taste.

Mix all of the dry ingredients. Stir in the vanilla. Pour in the oil, then use the oiled measuring cup to measure and pour in the honey. Stir well.
Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes on an oiled baking sheet. Stir on the baking pan and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the desired brownness us reached.
Remove from oven and stir several times while cooling, to prevent sticking to the pan. Add any dried fruit at this time.

52: 29

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of July 16, 2017

52: 28

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of July 9, 2017

planning for 2017-2018, part 1

You'll notice a photo theme (repeating view) here. One of my daily anchors is to rise early, journal and do a little work outside on the deck (the birds! the air! the sunlight!) and then get some exercise.

In June, I participated in Jean Miller's Waldorf-Inspired Learning Plan It Out online course (Homeschooling with the Lively Arts) and I am so glad that I did! (The class was like a more in-depth, personalized version of her free webinars, free online articles, and inexpensive planning guide combined, but not overwhelming.)

While I feel as though, several years into this homeschooling gig, I have planning under control, and I am a lifetime member of Waldorf Essentials' Thinking Feeling Willing (TFW) program (which definitely covers planning), I found myself in a different place this past spring, with different needs than other approaches were meeting.

This past year, we all changed quite a bit, each in different ways. I realized I was feeling overwhelmed, tired, and tangled in the mess of parenting, homeschooling, special needs, Waldorf approach, and mainstream life, resulting in anxiety of where we are, what we have missed, what is to come, and how to tackle that all. We had deviated quite a bit from the typical Waldorf scope and I was feeling stuck in how to envision the upcoming year, given I hadn't taught "just so" up to this point. Jean's gentle, calm approach was just the guidance I needed.

My planning is not yet done, but I have a much clearer picture of what I need to do, why, and how to pull it together. My spaces are more organized, I am fretting less, and I feel more inspired. I also know from past experience, I cannot pull together a solid plan until just before school starts, because I don't know what classes and projects will be offered through our charter or 4-H, or when they will take place, so I am reminding myself not to over-think and over-plan with information lacking.

 

So for now, I am deeply appreciating the small group discussions, the personal support, the resource sharing, and my accountability partner! I am reading online article, e-texts, and books, picking and choosing resources, and realizing how much my thoughts keep returning to an essential need to simplify our daily and weekly rhythms. 

How is homeschool planning going for you?