Guerrilla art show

Tonight I tried to engage the youth at the playground with some painting time. There was one color and paint brushes, chopsticks and plastic caps (and dirt) to create a full fledged art show on the playground. All the kids participated and posed next to their art. Even if it is torn down by morning, it will be something they can remember.

Building community

SO the complex we live in is looking like it's seen better days. But what has me disappointed and ticked off is that the playground where the younger kids play is under siege. The PVC pipe that surrounds the area is kept in place by rebar and the pipe can be easily removed from said rebar. It is a hazard as teens have chosen to move the pipes around with no thought that a small person might get hurt.

Today the someone that gpt hurt was my 6 year old. Needless to say, I was angry and went down to that playground with my husband and we put the pipes back where they belong. Then I noticed how trash was mixed in with the leaves and upon closer inspection saw glass was mixed in as well. So my 4 boys and 3 neighbor children started cleaning up. Between us, we collected 7 bags of trash (including nails, odd bits of metal, glass of all colors). The kids took ownership and I hope that sense of community becomes instilled with them and it's something that they will practice. I also hope I don't catch anyone messing up all that hard work. It was a joy to know that the kids had a safer space to play in this afternoon!

Enjoying the day...

What a beautiful day in Houston! Took the boys swimming for a good 3 hours and had a blast while dear husband got a chance to work on some music. After arriving back home, I finished the mashup shirt for my 4 year old. He had a 2T shirt that he refused to give up, so I cut around the zebras, found a piece of contrasting fabric and sewed it to a tshirt like it was a patch. Good times...

Summer Education

As a youth, summer was my favorite time of year when my days were my own. Being a parent now, summer is such a different animal especially as an unschooling homeschooler. We moved into a large apartment complex (new experience) in May before public school let out and were used to being the only family of school aged children roaming the neighborhood. Since the school year ended, it has been a non-stop onslaught of having every conversation I didn't think I was going to have to have with my boys until they were at least a few years older.

There is such a negative culture being instilled in our youth and it is a bit frightening to witness. I have heard some very uniformed conversations by teens and tweens and it is unfortunate that they do not have adults that they can talk with about serious issues. The younger children are enamoured by the teens and are taking what they say as gospel. So there have been lots of questions from my crew and I have had to tell the truth...a lot. And I have had conversations with neighboring youth about certain words they use and their origin. It hasn't stopped the words, but hopefully it will sink in. One day.

I do not look forward to sending bright eyed youth back to their public school fate, but I do look forward to the quiet the Fall brings.

Busy with life...

Life has been throwing curveballs at an excellerated rate since my last post a little over a month ago. It is always easier to be negative and see all the things going wrong and never the things going right BUT I am working on keeping my mind focused on the positive. It is the best way to show the boys how to deal with adversity. Burying your head in the sand and/or playing the blame game only delays problem solving. Precisely why we unschool...to teach the skills of creatively solving problems and making the best of life!

Important lessons

Today I got to do something hilariously fun with my kids and husband. We got up extra early to stand in line at Ikea at their grand re-opening!!!! The first 100 kids got a free heart pillow and the boys couldn't wait to get in line. Not face painting, mimes or a clown on stilts would sway them from getting out of line. We had free breakfast and won some prizes in addition to just having quality time. The boys got their heart pillows and were sooo happy! The important lesson this morning was to take some time to do something out of the ordinary. Those are the moments they remember.

Tonight while eating dinner, 7yo said he wanted to be president so he could make sure that everyone in the world had food and water. He said the police would carry around food and look for people who were hungry. I told him that it is greater to help people in your own community and the only title he needs is Human. He then went on to say that when he gets his license, he is going to have a van that he can carry food bags and water to hand out to hungry people. 8yo suggested that he should also think about giving away money too.

I looked at my husband and said that it is times like these where I know we are on the right path with exposing the boys to real life. They will be better prepared to be leaders in their communities.

Peace & Blessings to all & good night!

New day, new name & new intentions

Today the boys decided that they wanted to head to the library after dropping me off at work. They are excited about the summer reading programs and S7 says he is determined to read 100 books this summer! They got to watch the stage being built for this weekend's Free Press Summer Fest. I was told by my husband that it is a sweet setup. Later they did an art project suggested by dear dad to describe the Ancillary sphere downtown. They all turned out some nice pieces of artwork.

As non-public schoolers, the subject of school names comes up when you are filling out different forms, newsletters, etc. We have kicked around a lot of things with the boys and I have my personal favorite, "the wildcrafting school of overstanding". Even if everyone decides on a different name, I think I'll stick with this one for the blog.

Every day we should get up, thank the creator, greet the sun and walk with positive intentions. This can be easier said than done, but must be a necessary step in our personal development. We have been talking to the boys about speaking with intention as the spoken word is powerful. You can't take back words once they have left your lips no matter how much you may wish you could. Rastafarians speak Ital and it is a perfect example of trying to leave negative words behind with an "overstanding" of a situation as opposed to an understanding. So I must think before I speak and help teach the boys to do the same.