The Mindful Homeschool

C-chan is really into mythology again.  She loves this book called D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths that we have borrowed from the library over and over again.  She has read it numerous times and now knows much more than I do regarding mythology.  She has taught her younger brother much more than I know about Greek myths.  I don’t think I even had a class in mythology until I went to college.  That was the first I had heard of Icarus and other mythological characters.  Maybe it was because I went to a private Christian school???  The only character I know that C had not heard of was Bacchus, the god of wine.  (I think this is because there was a group at college with this name but my recollections are quite fuzzy.)

Anyway, this interest in mythology has been fueled even more by another series of books that deal with mythological characters.  The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and the other books in the series have been keeping her happy and busy reading this summer.  She told one of her good homeschooling friends about this book and this friend also liked it.  Seeing as C-chan reads much faster than I can, I am glad that she has another buddy with whom she can converse re: her latest book finds.

W is enjoying reading Hardy Boys books.  I just picked up one for him at Barnes and Noble that we were unable to borrow from the library.  He was so excited that I had gotten it for him.  We are still reading to him at night and I am so glad that he has truly developed a love of books.  Yay!  For me right now, seeing my kids reading and loving books makes me really happy and very proud.

We had Vacation Bible School this week which the older kids thought was a blast.  H-man wasn’t so sure.  I stayed with him and the other preschoolers in his group.   I think that is partly to blame for my miserable cold.  C came down with something on Thursday night and because of that we ended up not going to VBS on Friday.  Then on Friday afternoon I started feeling all achey in the head and am still not feeling like I am back to normal.  I think I was exposed to an awful lot of germs when I was with the 3 and 4 year olds.  I will spare you the details but let’s just say my immune system was not strong enough to fight off the attack.  Of course, I feel bad that we missed not only Friday’s VBS but we also missed the celebration on Saturday night.  Oh well, C is getting back to her old self and soon my summer cold will be a distant memory as well. 

(I wonder if my lack of time spent on the mat was what made me so vulnerable.  I remember my former yoga teacher, Karen, saying that balancing poses helped to strengthen the immune system.  Next year if H-man wants to do VBS, I will have to remember to do a lot of tree poses that week!  Last month, according to my health fitness club’s records, I went to the club (i.e. yoga class) only 9 times.  This month I plan to go a lot more.)

The kids enjoyed VBS so much I was thinking it would be good to incorporate some of the ideas into our “school year”.  They enjoyed the different crafts, snacks and drama presentations that were scheduled into each day.  And it seemed as if they really enjoyed singing and dancing to all the VBS songs.  The downside of all this was having to adhere to a fairly inflexible schedule.  When the time was up for crafts, we had to stop even if we were in the “flow” of doing something and not yet done with our craft.  Same with snack time.  We were given a certain amount of time to finish our snacks (sometimes as little as 3 minutes due to a scheduling mistake) and the children were instructed to throw their food in the trash bag even if they weren’t done with it.  Although I can understand the reasoning behind all of this, it seemed wasteful and just plain wrong.

But overall, we had a really good week.  C and W laughed a ton while relaying VBS stories to me.  I heard my kids singing VBS songs in the shower and under the kitchen table.  And they also did a great job learning their dance moves and participating in the huge gymnasium “Sing and Play” time at the beginning and ending of each day.

“You, just as you are, and your life here, right now, are all there is and all you need to know. You don’t have to do anything special. Mostly, you have to be open to meeting face to face, and even dancing with, the truth that pertains to your life right now. You have to find a way to collect your fractured pieces, examine them, and then accept them as part of who you are. Spiritual practice is about transformation, but it’s also, and more importantly, about working with what is. –Angel Kyodo Williams

I came to the practice of asana with a curvature in my spine. Thousands of hours of my life have been devoted to struggling with the effects of this. On the mat, my lower back became a battleground. I fought and lost, fought and lost. My efforts to heal myself often ended in debilitating back spasms. Over time, though, I began to respect my back. I marveled at its ability to bend backward and forward, to recover from tremendously painful injuries. Eventually I started to befriend my back, and even to see it as something to be admired. I began focusing on what it could do. As this attitude developed, the need to change my back, to fight my reality, lessened and gradually disappeared. The curvature in my back is gone, and I can’t remember exactly when it went away, because when it did, I no longer cared.”

(from Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates)

I heard recently that setting goals can help make dreams a reality. 

In about 3 months or so summer will be but a distant memory.  That’s why we Northerners especially need to make the most of every moment.  So in the interest of doing that, I am going to make a list of things I still want to do before the summer is over.

• Lemonade stands and more fundraising for MoMF, a foundation that helps kids who have cancer and their families.
• Swim, bike, walk and run (?) more.  Possibly train with the kids for the triathlon and participate in a 5K this fall with dh.
• Feng shui some more in the home.  Donate and sell goods we are no longer using.  Clear out guest bedroom.
• Plan out the coming school year and establish some sort of a routine.  Do more reading about Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online.  Set up a loose daily schedule complete with time for music, Tuesday tea time, movie afternoons on Wednesdays, art on Fridays, special outings, nature walks and lots of outdoor exercise, and time for me.
• Camp at least one more time in a State Park.
• Try at least one new recipe.  Try at least one new recipe in a crock pot.
• Buy at least one new outfit.
• Hang out at the poolside and beach - lots.
• Buy some new sunglasses, sunscreen and possibly a new hat. 
• Make at least one more mosaic stepping stone with the children.
• Go on a picnic.
• Check out the deals at some more local garage sales.
• Bike to the local grocery store at least 9 more times.
• Wash the windows in my upper level.
• Make pizza on the grill with fresh basil from our deck.
• Practice yoga on my deck at least once, maybe in the morning when the sun is rising?
• Practice yoga everyday for at least 15 minutes.
• Celebrate the gift of summer and enjoy being in the moment with my family.

It has been hard to keep count of all the things I am grateful for.  I guess that in itself is something for which to be grateful! (29)

I haven’t posted for a while and thought I could quickly give an update by stating what I have been grateful for these past few days.

The glorious summer sun and summer heat! (30)  I do not want to hear complaints about the heat.  Get thee to a pool if need be.  I love being able to send the kids outside in just shorts, a t-shirt and crocs.  This is the perfect time to go to the beach, the pool, anywhere you can find comfort when the heat index gets high.

Air conditioning (31) for when the heat and humidity are too much to bear.

My new clothes dryer (32), my temporary clothesline and clothespins (33), my new window fan (34), and the new hard drive in this computer which allows me to stay connected to the world through cyber space!!! (34) 

And lastly, for our health (35).  We have been very healthy this summer and (knock on wood) hope to do a lot more activities before the summer comes to a close.

Well, I finally did it.  After weeks of thinking, and talking to the kids, and researching this charity’s website, I signed up both of my two older children for a kids triathlon, a fundraiser to help children who are struggling with cancer.  I have heard lots of good things about this organization and the kids are excited to help raise funds.  They, along with a couple of other neighbor kids, held a lemonade stand yesterday and raised $30.50!  They decided to do this all on their own.  It was a lot of fun and we helped quench a lot of thirst in the neighborhood!  My neighbor, R, made the lemonade and the kids made signs, posted them, and sold the drinks.  We had the stand open for about 3 hours and ate lunch outside on the front lawn while tending to the fundraising.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and we even had repeat customers. 

Our neighbors to our west knew the boy who is the inspiration for the triathlon.  He shared the same birthday as these neighbors who are twins.  Mitch, the inspiration for MOMF, died at the age of 9 years old and according to all accounts, was a great kid with a big heart.  He saw that other children who had cancer did not have the same kind of resources that he had and made his father pinky swear that after his death, he would do something to help other kids with cancer and their families.

The triathlon will be celebrating its 5th anniversary this month and the organizers are hoping to make it the biggest kid’s triathlon in the world.  The theme of the triathlon:  Kids Racing For Kids Who Can’t.    

“Cleaning the house while the kids are still young is like shoveling before it stops snowing.”  –Phyllis Diller

Last week we participated in a garage sale held at my brother’s house.  It was relatively successful and I was able to go through, organize and sell a lot of stuff.  The funny thing is my house does not reflect this.  We still have a lot of stuff that we need to organize, store or sell.  My oldest child will turn 10 yo soon so I have been collecting all this kid stuff for a while.  And it is not all kid stuff, of course, that I need to organize.   A lot of it is my stuff.  But with 3 kids ages 3 to 9, I have not been able to accomplish a lot of housework, or anything else for that matter.

However, I am inspired.  I have cleared out some areas in my home.  I have made some money selling it.  And I have found some things that I had been looking for.  It feels good.  There is good energy slowly moving through the house.  I just need to keep at it until the clutter beast has been tamed.

And I am truly grateful to be able to live in this house and neighborhood.  With so many people being forced out of their homes, I am truly grateful for what I do have. 

The trip to SD was an experience our kids will remember for a long time.  Well, maybe not our youngest, our 3 1/2 yo, but our other children will remember touring a cave for the first time, the Beautiful Rushmore Cave; and seeing the beautiful Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, among other things.

I am very proud of our children adapting to all the new situations and trying new things, esp. in the area of food.  C did have her moments where she was unwilling to do things that the rest of us wanted to do, things like watching the 20 minute video at Crazy Horse but these were balanced out somewhat with the times she was willing to try new things and go with the flow.  As a matter of fact, it seemed to be a “go with the flow” kind of vacation.   And hopefully the lesson she and the rest of us learned about going with the flow will be remembered for a long time.

Our camping at the Sylvan Lake campgrounds in Custer State Park was one of the highlights of the trip for me.  We hadn’t planned on camping in this particular spot but when a park employee told us that the campsites were “rustic”, our curiosity was piqued.  The campground was everything you would want, full of gorgeous ponderosa pine trees and plenty of privacy.  There was an open area behind our campground where we were able to gather wood for the campfire and do some exploring. 

The park employee that we met on our first night there, Tara, was a wonderful addition to the place.  She was the one who recommended our camp site and we started to rely on her for other recommendations for restaurants in the area and other activities.  And it turned out she knew her food too.  She recommended a place in Custer called the Sage Creek and esp. recommended their carrot cake.  We got it “to go” and it was one of the best carrot cakes I have ever eaten.  I am truly grateful for her presence there.  She helped make the stay so much better. 

The weather was sunny and warm but not too warm during the daylight hours.  At night it did get cold, really cold and that became one of the downsides.  The campground was up in the mountains so it was chilly at night and hence, mommy had no sleep that first night.  This was partly due to needing to share sleeping space with my very active 3 yo and partly due to the fact that our tent was on a sloping hill.  The next day, we were forced to leave this particular campsite because someone had reserved it online.  (The reservation process left something to be desired).  The kids were bummed that we had to leave this wonderful site until … we discovered perhaps an even more beautiful campsite higher up in the campgrounds.  It was gorgeous with lots of ponderosas and even more space and “hills” to explore.  Thus, the beginning of C’s “go with the flow” attitude. 

All the kids were awesome in their fearless touring of the old cave near Mt. Rushmore.  I think they did better than I.  The tour guides gave all of us the experience of total and absolute darkness for a few minutes during the tour.  My kids did really well and it seems touring the cave may have been the highlight of their trip. 

C and the other children became quite good at adapting to new places and food.  One particular incident stands out:  Eating Mexican food at a restaurant in Hill City.  They ate food that they never would have tried in our hometown.  Of course, maybe the fact that we ate our meal at 8:00 had something to do with it.  They were hungry!!!

We took some 500 photos and I will try to post some of them later.  We are already thinking about our next camping trip, somewhere much closer to home.  The summer may be particularly short this year so we gotta make the most of it.  I am going to be doing a lot of list making over the weekend.  Making a list and checking it twice… gonna make this summer especially nice…. 

Well, we are back from our trip to South Dakota where we camped, hiked and even toured a cave for the first time!  We saw Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Custer State Park (absolutely beautiful!), ate bison burgers and too much restaurant food, and met many wonderful South Dakotans.  I especially enjoyed camping at the Sylvan Lake campgrounds in Custer State Park.  The campsites that we stayed at were gorgeous with plenty of room for us and the kids to explore. 

The drive to SD was long, made even longer on the way home by a very sick and uncomfortable 7 year old.  Poor W … he was so miserable and the drive home was much too long for him.  But now he is fully recovered, albeit a bit tired yet and we are slowly moving back into our routines.  It was a wonderful family vacation but it is really nice to be home again.  I hope to be able to blog more about it later.  South Dakota’s advertising slogan is Great Faces. Great Places.  I like that and it certainly lived up to it.  More later…

We have been shooting hoops (H-man got a new basketball); practicing our golf swing (just a little on the front lawn); filling up the compost bin with scraps collected over the winter months; and spending lots of time outdoors, picnicking and playing with the neighbors.

We have been reading Harry Potter, the Borrowers, and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.  We are also reading a d’Aulaire book about Abraham Lincoln and a Holling book, Minn of the Mississippi.  The latter two were recommended on the Ambleside Online website.  C and W also finished a Hardy Boys book at W’s request.

We saw the second Harry Potter film on DVD last week.  It was enjoyed by all except H who is too young to watch the scarier scenes.  We just picked up the CD to the Broadway musical Wicked.  It sounds really good and I hope to be listening to it a lot over the next few days.

We are playing outside on the swings and trees, taking nature walks in search of painted turtles and birds and just enjoying the great out of doors.  This is the one of the best seasons in my neck of the woods and I don’t want to miss it. 

“A hundred times a day I remind myself that my life depends on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give, in measure as I have received, and am still receiving.”

-Albert Einstein (from Meditations from the Mat)