Down to business

So we are about a month in to the new city/new house. There is still a lot to be unpacked and put away, but most importantly, there is a feeling of peace of mind. Our house...in the middle of our street...our house. Feels great to know that we can paint a wall, put a nail in the wall and that no one is going to say anything!!! As far as other homeschoolers/unschoolers, we have found that Victoria has hundreds (!) of families in the area who live outside the public school system. Amazing and they are very friendly. DH has been asked about possible music lessons for some of the kiddos and there are co-ops and classes available for the older guys. We are looking forward to getting to know more people and create some meaningful experiences for the boys. I think we are going to try something a bit different for W10 and D9, where they use the morning to work on a particular subject and then have time to field trip or socialize in the afternoon. We went to the library yesterday and signed up for cards, so I can only imagine that the librarians will get to know my family quickly! D9 has been less critical of his reading skills, so I am hoping he will take advantage of library resources. Croquet has been the sport of choice over the past couple of evenings and the boys have learned that it is a game of skill and chance. Too funny to watch them as they have donned British accents when they play! "Pip, Pip, old chap" and "Oy!" I have no idea where they got the impression that you must be British to play croquet!!! Our science experiment of growing crystals has been successful. I'll try and add photos this evening. Enjoy the week!!!

New year...new adventures

The Year of the Dragon will mean big change for our family. I have been offered a new job in my hometown about 120 miles from Houston.

One of the advantages of homeschooling is that we can move around freely without the hassle of changing schools. School happens where you are. There is a nice size homeschooling community complete with coop classes and activities, so the hardest part will be making the effort to meet new people.

We will be nearer to my side of the family, but leaving behind a lot of loved ones here in Houston. Social media communication aside, I hope that they will visit in person sometime.

We should be able to see our Austin friends more frequently and lots of trips to the beach will be in order. Lots to do to get packed and moved.  May the ancestors continue to guide us.

Peace & blessings.

Happy New Year 2012

Our family rang in the new year ay my parents' home.  It was a blessing to be able to toast to the future while considering past blessings. May your journey be bountiful and the path less trod.

Walking in a lego wonderland

Lego bricks are amazing tools for learning. Here are lego people exchanging secret Santa gifts next to their houses. Enjoy!

Holiday fun

It's always a blessing to spend time with my family and with a new baby, it adds another layer of joy.  We have been learning about cultural traditions around the world that make America a unique place to be. I am looking forward to making some tamales and dumplings with the boys.

We were also working on being on sustainable regarding decorating that we created a tree from branches of a pruned tree. The boys made ornaments from recycled paper and we put a string of lights. Added a handmade wreath fashioned by W9 to make things complete.

Tomorrow is the solstice - shortest day / longest night of the year. Our plan is to light a candle for each of our family members while giving thanks to the Creator and the ancestors that have gone before us.

No matter what your traditions are we wish glad tidings of peace to all. Have a safe and prosperous New Year.

Catching up...

2011 has been an incredible year. Our family was homeless for the first couple of months and stayed with relatives, then found a great old house with a huge backyard and nice landlords! We had a new baby (boy 5) in June who is doing well and growing like a sunflower! My father had a medical issue that had him in the hospital for nearly 2 months and it strenghtened my parents love and marriage going into year 45 together!!! And as we enter the month of September, I am reminded of how much the Fall does me good. Those first northern breezes that cool your skin and promise that summer is almost over. The boys have continued their life-schooling path and are pretty darn amazing! W9 is a wonderful self taught reader who loves math, the science of cooking and design. D8 is into math, science, current events and a bit of psychology. E6 has fallen in love with the 3 Stooges and Pink Panther cartoons and is the comedian of the family. J5 is the philosopher and never ceases to catch me off guard with the deepest of thoughts..."if God made the Earth with people on it, wouldn't he have made other planets with people on them, too?" Then there is A, 3 month old amazing baby, who has captured all of our hearts and smiles with his smile and charm. DH is still the main caretaker during the day while I work outside the home, but we plan and dream of the day when we can combine our talents to work together for ourselves. The chance make come sooner than we think as the university I work for is going through layoffs and we will find out next week who will still have a job. I am looking for the open window as I have made peace with the fact that there is a good chance that my job will be gone. But if that happens, I will spread my wings and jump out of the safety of the nest for the next adventure. The possibilities of life are limitless and the road leads in many directions. I trust in the Tao to allow me to choose the right path for this leg of the journey. We continue to teach and learn everyday from each other and our friends/family. My beatiful friend Kiawitl always inspires me with her life's journey - "so, as you may drudge through earth dramatics today -take the time to look at BEAUTY and then, reassess the situation- is it REALLY worth wasting energy on??? livelovelaughcry- LIFE is Going by us as we breathe....." thanks for the beautiful intentional inspiration, sistar! I intend on keeping up with this blog as a log of life and hopefully all of you will find something useful in these words! Peace & Blessings.

The cost of unschooling

Those of us that unschool our children do so because we love them. It is not to cloister them or keep them from the real world, but to have them LIVE in the world. We for the most part, do not have a lot of money and seek out those opportunities for our children that are free or at a low cost. Some folks are lucky enough to have a support system where you can barter and trade for services with other like-minded folk.

My husband and I live in an urban apartment setting with our sons (even though we dream of a house w/yard) contrary to the idea most people have of homeschooling families. As if only rural settings are conducive to allowing one the freedom to school your children yourself. I work during the day while my husband and the boys seek adventure and then in the evening, my husband ventures out to play his music. It is difficult for him sometimes as the artist in him wants to roam about freely and our sons are still at ages that require attention.

We have suffered some personal setbacks this year, but as a family we try to be honest about each situation and work together without pointing fingers at one another. Our boys are amazing people and have adjusted through all these situations. They have learned a great deal about money during these financially difficult times and have come up with hilarious and surprisingly well thought out ways to make money themselves.

One thing that we have all learned from these experiences is that it is not the amount of money that you have or that you spend, but the amount of love and effort that you put forth that shapes our children into the people they need to become. They are each unique and intelligent. It is our responsibility to give them the keys to the world, teach them respect for themselves and for their fellow beings, and let them know they are loved!

They will find their path...

We joined the Carnival!!!

I am very excited to announce that our humble family blog was selected for the current Carnival of Unschooled Life - October blog!!! Yeah!!!! There were some amazing posts from other families making personal educational strides, so make sure to check them all out. I was especially moved by the Tenament Museum in NYC...incredible way to see how history lives.

Have a blessed day!

http://sgaissert.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/carnival-of-unschooled-life-october-2010-edition/

Right where you are...

The past couple of weeks question of "what grade are you in" has popped up. My 7 year old has a cousin who is his age and she is in 2nd grade, so he likes to consider himself as a 2nd grader. The 6 year old thinks that Kindergarten sounds cool and that's what he says when people ask. I have told them that they can say they are homeschoolers, but it seems that they have learned that adults feel the need to "quiz" them. They make it clear with their expressions that they are not trained seals and usually the adult gives up the silly questions.

My 7yr old has been working on reading and we had a really good time with sentence structure and the use of periods as sentence stoppers. Math and science have been his biggest loves lately and he and the 6yr old take great pride in paying for their purchases at the gas station themselves. Which leads me to a tiny rant...we (myself and our 4 boys - DH stayed in the car) went inside a convenience store on Friday night and the decision regarding what non-sticky/chewy candy each of them should buy usually takes FOREVER, but makes them very happy when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that there was someone watching us. I looked over and noticed the cashier was standing there watching us and I was ticked off to say the least. I mentioned to the boys that we were being watched and that it was time to make our way to the counter. Once we reached the counter, the cashier was very rude and ordered us to place all our items on the counter. I explained to him that the 2 oldest boys would be paying for their items themselves and it was important to them to do so. Typically that gets a big thumbs up from the person working and they are glad to help out with the math lesson. Not so much with this guy. The 6yr old made his purchase with exact change, but when the 7yr old handed over the $1.20 for $1.18 purchase, he received no change. I questioned the cashier and he replied, "Does he need it?" to which I replied, "Yes, sir. It is his money." Not exactly what I was thinking in my head, but much nicer said outloud.

Then I had to have a conversation about being on point with the boys. It's already a crazy world, but as homeschoolers we are a pretty laid back family. My sons are fairly easy going and think the best of people. They are always surprised when people are rude. I had to explain to them that people have prejudices that we aren't always prepared for, but need to be. Because we were a family of young children at the candy isle, this person assumed we would be more likely to steal. If my husband would have been in there, it is possible that he would have had an issue with him because of race. Anyway, it is really hard to balance being a nice person with being prepared for other people's baggage...

Ok, enough of that and back to some cool stuff.

We examined a grasshopper yesterday and found (and picked up) a cool caterpillar that I need to research and find out more about it. Cool website for those with nature loving families is www.acornnaturalists.com

Enjoy these beautiful fall days and hug your family!

Peace & Blessings.