Kinder has been home with a viral thing the last two days, normally, days in which I have the morning to myself while both boys are in school. Between that and the arrival of my friend, Flo, it has been a discombobulated couple of days.
So...what am I hungry for...
• the momos and chocolate cake (el diablo) which Cap will bring home for my dinner after he's done shooting hoops
• a sense of stillness
• time
• a really long and uninterrupted night of sleep
• relief from the tightness in my shoulders which feel like they are at shoulder pad height
• time
I heard myself singing a familiar refrain to Cap this morning, that something has to give. I simply don't have the time to "do" everything. I am not willing to give up weekend activities like the eurythmy performance of The Crane Wife we're planning on taking the kids to tomorrow morning, or breakfast at Tower Café with Erika, Jerry and M on Sunday morning, in order to turn it up to eleven, so to speak, with my "To Do" list.
Probably because of the move and the pressure I'm feeling, the kids are more needy and attuned to when my attention on them wanes, because lately, they've been on me like butter on pancakes.
I've added T. Berry Brazelton's Touchpoints 3 to 6 and Mary Griffith's Homeschooling Handbook to my wish list. Have been perusing both and have seen enough to feel like they'll be good resources to have on hand.
Cap is considering working through August 1 so that we'll have health insurance coverage for August without paying COBRA. This means some reshuffling of ideas in terms of how our stuff, car, and he, will get across the country and when. He's got a conference he may be presenting at in Boston August 3. And the kids and I will have been in NYC since Juy 15. A new kink, hence the hoops.
And a big shoutout to Julia who gave me some much needed perspective on Cap, contextualizing it completely in her own experiences.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Storytelling with children
Kinder asked for a "story from inside your head" tonight, so I obliged. I tried something I read about in Nancy Mellon's book, "Storytelling with Children". I renamed Pre and Kinder and called the two brothers/main characters August and Diego, their middle names. Basically, I told them the story of their day today.
Kinder was very resistant to "Diego". He's used to stories about Pre and Kinder the brave knights and Pre and Kinder the kids with the rocket ship parked in their garage which takes their invited guests out into space. New and different things are hard for him to adjust quickly to. He does not easily "go with it". I gently stood my ground and simply told him I wouldn't change the name, but would stop telling the story, if he wanted me to. He didn't.
It was just as rewarding as the book suggested. They were engrossed and filled in some details here and made a couple of corrections there. But, for the most part, they were quietly alert---not a state that I often get to experience with them these days. It really had a different quality compared to reading them a book. I felt very much like I was giving something of myself and they were receiving it without interference.
I'm looking forward to more to come.
Kinder was very resistant to "Diego". He's used to stories about Pre and Kinder the brave knights and Pre and Kinder the kids with the rocket ship parked in their garage which takes their invited guests out into space. New and different things are hard for him to adjust quickly to. He does not easily "go with it". I gently stood my ground and simply told him I wouldn't change the name, but would stop telling the story, if he wanted me to. He didn't.
It was just as rewarding as the book suggested. They were engrossed and filled in some details here and made a couple of corrections there. But, for the most part, they were quietly alert---not a state that I often get to experience with them these days. It really had a different quality compared to reading them a book. I felt very much like I was giving something of myself and they were receiving it without interference.
I'm looking forward to more to come.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Struggle, struggle, toil and trouble
The good news is that I was treated to a 2 hour lunch at a Chinese Mom and Pop joint by Judy. This amazingly self-aware and insightful woman is my one of three friends I've made here in Sacramento. She tells great stories woven from her past, convent school, complex family, and from the present, the latest books and magazine articles she's read, etc.
Today, conversation went from literature we read in college, literature we read in high school, what the nuns taught her about sex, Hinduism, the effects of language/literacy on culture, the effects of culture on language/literacy, and King Rat, and before I knew it, I had clarity on both Kinder's recent bear-like persona and my problems with Cap the past couple of days.
This is why it is so important for me to do things like go out to lunch with a friend. A change of scenery, a breath of fresh air, a lifting of clouds. I was having doubts about going---between spending money I was worried about spending and spending time "selfishly". Yesterday I worked for about six-seven hours on course stuff and Cap was on duty with the kids for the bulk of the day. Plus, Cap doesn't make time for himself---and simply because he is my mirror as the other adult in the house, sometimes I inevitably compare myself to him.
I think these next months are going to be hard---am I just stating the obvious here?
Today, conversation went from literature we read in college, literature we read in high school, what the nuns taught her about sex, Hinduism, the effects of language/literacy on culture, the effects of culture on language/literacy, and King Rat, and before I knew it, I had clarity on both Kinder's recent bear-like persona and my problems with Cap the past couple of days.
This is why it is so important for me to do things like go out to lunch with a friend. A change of scenery, a breath of fresh air, a lifting of clouds. I was having doubts about going---between spending money I was worried about spending and spending time "selfishly". Yesterday I worked for about six-seven hours on course stuff and Cap was on duty with the kids for the bulk of the day. Plus, Cap doesn't make time for himself---and simply because he is my mirror as the other adult in the house, sometimes I inevitably compare myself to him.
I think these next months are going to be hard---am I just stating the obvious here?
Friday, May 05, 2006
Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore
I drove out to the bookstore yesterday morning while the kids were in school. This is a nice bookstore---very peaceful and full of Waldorf resources. Most of my visits there can be characterized as bouts of "intoxicated hording". But, today, I exceeded my homeschooling resources budget by only $1, which felt good---centered and with intention (is that a northern CA phrase, or what?)
My time was limited and I was able to flip through some first grade language arts books. I decided not to get the Margaret Peckham books. They were slim volumes of fairy tales and nature stories. I did pick up an Eugene Schwartz book about pedagogical stories. I have Nancy Mellon's Storytelling for Children on my Amazon list. The Mellon book reminds me a bit of Katrina Kennison's Mitten Strings for God. It is nourishing and lilting. The Schwartz book, though, spoke to my intellectual side. It will hopefully give me a meatier version of the "why".
I looked at and picked up Dorothy Harrer's Math for the Elementary grades. The section for first grade is less than 20 pages, but it looks like it will be useful in giving me an understanding of the "why" and to a certain degree, the "how", of Waldorf math. Introducing all four math processes and conceptualizing the processes via gnome stories is what I am expecting to understand through this book. I am planning on creating lessons based on this book, the Miquon Math materials, and the book, Family Math---eclectic homeschooling.
I looked at Hollyhocks and Honeybees and put that on my Amazon list, too, though it had gotten a very low rating from an Amazon user. It's been a week since the kids planted their seeds and so far, we have no activity above the soil. I still need to pick up some containers to plant my seeds. I've been wondering what our "garden" will look like in NJ. Things have been slow moving on finding a new place and I am trying to keep an open mind about what kind of space we'll be living in. I take some comfort in the words of these gardening book writers, that one can grow something, anywhere.
I started the book Making Peace with Autism last night. It's written by a woman, about her son and family, who lives in Brookline. Teresa used to work with the family and Sam S.'s family used to be friendly with them. It's already brought tears to my eyes once. I finished Veronica Mars last night, so I think I will plow through this book. Then, maybe, pick up Raising Cain again.
One of the days this weekend will be devoted to grading some papers and some tedious accounting of student participation in the discussion forums. I feel like my Autism hat has been put on a back burner and it's a little singed from neglect.
My time was limited and I was able to flip through some first grade language arts books. I decided not to get the Margaret Peckham books. They were slim volumes of fairy tales and nature stories. I did pick up an Eugene Schwartz book about pedagogical stories. I have Nancy Mellon's Storytelling for Children on my Amazon list. The Mellon book reminds me a bit of Katrina Kennison's Mitten Strings for God. It is nourishing and lilting. The Schwartz book, though, spoke to my intellectual side. It will hopefully give me a meatier version of the "why".
I looked at and picked up Dorothy Harrer's Math for the Elementary grades. The section for first grade is less than 20 pages, but it looks like it will be useful in giving me an understanding of the "why" and to a certain degree, the "how", of Waldorf math. Introducing all four math processes and conceptualizing the processes via gnome stories is what I am expecting to understand through this book. I am planning on creating lessons based on this book, the Miquon Math materials, and the book, Family Math---eclectic homeschooling.
I looked at Hollyhocks and Honeybees and put that on my Amazon list, too, though it had gotten a very low rating from an Amazon user. It's been a week since the kids planted their seeds and so far, we have no activity above the soil. I still need to pick up some containers to plant my seeds. I've been wondering what our "garden" will look like in NJ. Things have been slow moving on finding a new place and I am trying to keep an open mind about what kind of space we'll be living in. I take some comfort in the words of these gardening book writers, that one can grow something, anywhere.
I started the book Making Peace with Autism last night. It's written by a woman, about her son and family, who lives in Brookline. Teresa used to work with the family and Sam S.'s family used to be friendly with them. It's already brought tears to my eyes once. I finished Veronica Mars last night, so I think I will plow through this book. Then, maybe, pick up Raising Cain again.
One of the days this weekend will be devoted to grading some papers and some tedious accounting of student participation in the discussion forums. I feel like my Autism hat has been put on a back burner and it's a little singed from neglect.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Inside, outside, upside down
Kinder read this book, a Berenstain Bears classic (I remember reading it as a child), to Pre and me while we snuggled with books this afternoon. It was the first time he volunteered to read us a book. Made me all warm and fuzzy.
Totally made up for the very challenging moments which felt like they were piling up earlier in the afternoon. Julia and her kids came over, our reunion visit post-their-month-long-Spanish-sojourn, and Kinder's first words to his friend, B? "I didn't want to invite you to my birthday party (unspoken: but my mom is making me invite you)".
I need to do something to increase my feelings of empowerment around the recent changes in Kinder. Raising Cain has been by my bedside neglected, since starting it about a week ago. In my heart I know that everything he is expressing and going through is normal, but some days, it's hard to assimilate his emotional "weather" into my day without feeling like I've overlooked a really obvious forecast somewhere.
Guilty pleasure alert: Amazing Race at 7:00, Alias at 8:00, Lost at 9:00.
Totally made up for the very challenging moments which felt like they were piling up earlier in the afternoon. Julia and her kids came over, our reunion visit post-their-month-long-Spanish-sojourn, and Kinder's first words to his friend, B? "I didn't want to invite you to my birthday party (unspoken: but my mom is making me invite you)".
I need to do something to increase my feelings of empowerment around the recent changes in Kinder. Raising Cain has been by my bedside neglected, since starting it about a week ago. In my heart I know that everything he is expressing and going through is normal, but some days, it's hard to assimilate his emotional "weather" into my day without feeling like I've overlooked a really obvious forecast somewhere.
Guilty pleasure alert: Amazing Race at 7:00, Alias at 8:00, Lost at 9:00.
Bird of poop
The kids and I were just returning from picking Kinder up. Dar Williams was in the CD player and had just sung a line that included the words "burden of proof". Pre said, "she said, 'bird of poop'." We all proceeded to giggle, then laugh. Kinder asked me if I was crying because I was laughing for so long (it was a hiccuping, choked, chuckle---it probably did sound like crying).
Briefly spoke to the mom of one of Kinder's classmates. She works with classes on gardening and Kinder had mentioned her to me yesterday. He loves to garden and had enjoyed some time in the garden with her and three other kids who "really like to garden" (his words). She advocated for homeschooling until age 8, if possible, in our situation. She talked about how her son is going through the 9 year change and how eerie it has been for her to see firsthand Steiner's/the Waldorf take on this developmental milestone. It was, for sure, food for thought.
Earlier today, I e-mailed Ellen some suggested reading about discipline and most were books I've heard great things about, but have yet to read myself. I am a believer in intuition and the support of other parents and depend on these a lot in my parenting, but it also made me think about how little time there is for book learning and reflection, which I definitely think have their own value and reward.
Briefly spoke to the mom of one of Kinder's classmates. She works with classes on gardening and Kinder had mentioned her to me yesterday. He loves to garden and had enjoyed some time in the garden with her and three other kids who "really like to garden" (his words). She advocated for homeschooling until age 8, if possible, in our situation. She talked about how her son is going through the 9 year change and how eerie it has been for her to see firsthand Steiner's/the Waldorf take on this developmental milestone. It was, for sure, food for thought.
Earlier today, I e-mailed Ellen some suggested reading about discipline and most were books I've heard great things about, but have yet to read myself. I am a believer in intuition and the support of other parents and depend on these a lot in my parenting, but it also made me think about how little time there is for book learning and reflection, which I definitely think have their own value and reward.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Weekend away
We went away for the weekend, the first time since New Year's? Is that possible? It was great. To be away from the phone, computer and what had been mounting pressure, was rejuvenating.
Friday I spent much of the day cooking since my dad was coming for a visit. Spinach with tofu and miso, hijiki with kidney beans, carrots and onion, flank steak (marinated and frozen by Takai a couple of moons ago), fresh strawberries, roasted asparagus, cucumber and seaweed salad, and latkes. Mmmm.
Dad arrived in the afternoon bearing Japanese Thomas trains for the kids and a treasure trove of Japanese books for me---books of traditional games and activities, a Frances book and The Three Billy Goats Gruff, both translated into Japanese. Although the time spent with him was relatively short (we saw him again for about an hour Sunday night in Walnut Creek), the energy, love and joy that passes between Kinder, Pre and Jiji, is just amazing to watch. Makes every second worth it a hundredfold.
Saturday, we drove down to Oakland after lunch to spend the night at Barbra and Audrey's. I was a bundle of nervous energy as I spilled out my torrent in response to Audrey's "how are you doing?", but a lovely dinner, a very intense movie (The Squid and the Whale), a nearly uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, a so-completely-real-repeated-wave-of-the-trunk greeting by an elephant and a dreamy carousel ride with Pre and rollicking roller coaster ride with Kinder later, I was a new woman.
Sunday we lingered in a bookstore (Backyardigans books for the kids, a Kumon maze book for me...to check out before using with the kids, and for Cap, some time spent checking out adolescent literature---he recently found out he'll be teaching about it in the fall) and then relaxed at Jiji's place waiting for him to return from his day. The kids and I played Gulo Gulo and Roads, Rivers, and Railways while Cap snoozed on the couch. Cap and I were treated to Indian take-out for dinner which was yummy---a stroke of luck since we picked the place out of the Yellow Pages.
Today, I woke with some of the calm still with me. Instead of feeling burdened, I just got going, doing what seemed to be needing attention. Got the kids' sheepskins washed, stripped the beds, and got caught up with balancing the finances.
The finances took a long time, what with breaks for lunch, snacks, and reading to the kids. I am still finetuning my system of record keeping. We ended up in the red by about fifty dollars after the first half of the month (for now, the months are divided according to the twice a month paychecks that Cap brings home). In the space of a week, we went from having what I thought would be a surplus of a few hundred dollars to going into negative-land. I ain't licked, though. I am very motivated to keep at this, to begin to feel a rhythm of chipping away at our debt.
Friday I spent much of the day cooking since my dad was coming for a visit. Spinach with tofu and miso, hijiki with kidney beans, carrots and onion, flank steak (marinated and frozen by Takai a couple of moons ago), fresh strawberries, roasted asparagus, cucumber and seaweed salad, and latkes. Mmmm.
Dad arrived in the afternoon bearing Japanese Thomas trains for the kids and a treasure trove of Japanese books for me---books of traditional games and activities, a Frances book and The Three Billy Goats Gruff, both translated into Japanese. Although the time spent with him was relatively short (we saw him again for about an hour Sunday night in Walnut Creek), the energy, love and joy that passes between Kinder, Pre and Jiji, is just amazing to watch. Makes every second worth it a hundredfold.
Saturday, we drove down to Oakland after lunch to spend the night at Barbra and Audrey's. I was a bundle of nervous energy as I spilled out my torrent in response to Audrey's "how are you doing?", but a lovely dinner, a very intense movie (The Squid and the Whale), a nearly uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, a so-completely-real-repeated-wave-of-the-trunk greeting by an elephant and a dreamy carousel ride with Pre and rollicking roller coaster ride with Kinder later, I was a new woman.
Sunday we lingered in a bookstore (Backyardigans books for the kids, a Kumon maze book for me...to check out before using with the kids, and for Cap, some time spent checking out adolescent literature---he recently found out he'll be teaching about it in the fall) and then relaxed at Jiji's place waiting for him to return from his day. The kids and I played Gulo Gulo and Roads, Rivers, and Railways while Cap snoozed on the couch. Cap and I were treated to Indian take-out for dinner which was yummy---a stroke of luck since we picked the place out of the Yellow Pages.
Today, I woke with some of the calm still with me. Instead of feeling burdened, I just got going, doing what seemed to be needing attention. Got the kids' sheepskins washed, stripped the beds, and got caught up with balancing the finances.
The finances took a long time, what with breaks for lunch, snacks, and reading to the kids. I am still finetuning my system of record keeping. We ended up in the red by about fifty dollars after the first half of the month (for now, the months are divided according to the twice a month paychecks that Cap brings home). In the space of a week, we went from having what I thought would be a surplus of a few hundred dollars to going into negative-land. I ain't licked, though. I am very motivated to keep at this, to begin to feel a rhythm of chipping away at our debt.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Time alone
Twice a week, on Thursday and Friday mornings, both kids are in school and I am alone for about three hours a pop. This morning was the first time in weeks that I had some of this time (school vacations). At first, I felt a little anxious, there was so much that I wanted to do, and so much that I needed to do. I decided to go with what I wanted to do.
I ended up coming home first and prepping what ended up being dinner (I thought it could have been lunch or dinner), chicken in a simple teriyaki marinade and white rice in the rice cooker, set for lunch time. I should give Jamie the teriyaki recipe, she likes chicken teriyaki.
Then I hopped on the computer to see if I could find a store that sells Miquon Math materials so that I could preview them before buying. I found a homeschooling supply store in Citrus Heights (A Brighter Child). They didn't open until 10:00 and I decided not to wait to call, but to just go check the store out.
I stopped at the food co-op first for some fruit and veggies. Kinder (it occurred to me to change First to Kinder since that's his school age right now) has been going crazy for bananas lately, eating at least one a day and sometimes two. Both boys are eating more and we're running out of staples mid-week. Of course, I didn't have a list in hand and forgot the one thing that got me to thinking about going to the co-op in the first place---more potatoes for the latkes I have planned for tomorrow night's dinner. My dad is driving up from the Bay area for a visit and if he's staying for dinner, I know we'll need more potatoes---it would be sad to run out of latkes.
A Brighter Child was a trip. The store was chock full of resources, very organized, and very peruser-friendly. They did have the Miquon Math stuff and I ended up getting the first two "lab" books (collections of worksheets printed in different colors, a touch that I liked), the lab manual, the source book, and the first grade diary---a day-to-day journal which gives a picture of what the teaching/learning could look like. All for $40 including tax, not a bad deal. The first two lab books should take us through first grade. Between this and the book, Family Math (which I found used, in good condition at Beers Books), I think I'm all set for Math curriculum planning resources. We'll need to get some materials like Cuisinaire rods and base ten blocks. My ideal is to find some old, wooden ones from the 70's, but those are probably few and far between.
I ate a snack in the car (mmm, hummus and grape leaves wrap) and realized that I didn't have enough time to stop at the Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore. I was bummed, especially with the rising cost of gas (I am rarely in this part of town), but let it go easily.
After I picked the kids up, we stopped at Capital Nursery on Freeport for gardening stuff. Kinder, in particular, was very excited and happy. Pre (as in Preschool) was very intent on riding the funky cart with extra wide and open compartments. I had done a bit of reading online and in a book I bought myself for Mother's Day last year, but it all pretty much went out the window. As did my idea to build a wooden garden box. The weather has changed this week and suddenly it is 80º and dry and visions of 100º are dancing around the edges of my brain. We picked up two plastic green pots for the kids, the largest size they had, garden gloves for me, potting soil, a big, plastic, lime green watering can, and some seeds. Echinacea and chamomile for Kinder, yellow sunflower and yellow corn for Pre (I had to gently break it to him that I didn't think a watermelon or pumpkin would fit in his pot once it started growing), and Mikado poppy and lavender for me. Honestly, who knows what will have grown by the time we move in mid-July. But, doing things with the kids has a powerful way of getting me active, in a time-waits-for-no-one sort of way.
After lunch we went to the library where Starhawk's Circle Round was waiting for me. I also pulled Mary Griffith's Homeschooling Handbook off the shelf. A memoir about raising a son with autism and disc 4 of Veronica Mars were also in for me.
It's 8:30 pm and the kids are both awake, playing at my feet. Today is night three of falling asleep in separate rooms for them. It may have lost its allure. Or it may be the heat. Before the time change, they were usually asleep around 7:00 pm. Lately, they are usually asleep by 8:00. Time to nudge them up to bed.
I ended up coming home first and prepping what ended up being dinner (I thought it could have been lunch or dinner), chicken in a simple teriyaki marinade and white rice in the rice cooker, set for lunch time. I should give Jamie the teriyaki recipe, she likes chicken teriyaki.
Then I hopped on the computer to see if I could find a store that sells Miquon Math materials so that I could preview them before buying. I found a homeschooling supply store in Citrus Heights (A Brighter Child). They didn't open until 10:00 and I decided not to wait to call, but to just go check the store out.
I stopped at the food co-op first for some fruit and veggies. Kinder (it occurred to me to change First to Kinder since that's his school age right now) has been going crazy for bananas lately, eating at least one a day and sometimes two. Both boys are eating more and we're running out of staples mid-week. Of course, I didn't have a list in hand and forgot the one thing that got me to thinking about going to the co-op in the first place---more potatoes for the latkes I have planned for tomorrow night's dinner. My dad is driving up from the Bay area for a visit and if he's staying for dinner, I know we'll need more potatoes---it would be sad to run out of latkes.
A Brighter Child was a trip. The store was chock full of resources, very organized, and very peruser-friendly. They did have the Miquon Math stuff and I ended up getting the first two "lab" books (collections of worksheets printed in different colors, a touch that I liked), the lab manual, the source book, and the first grade diary---a day-to-day journal which gives a picture of what the teaching/learning could look like. All for $40 including tax, not a bad deal. The first two lab books should take us through first grade. Between this and the book, Family Math (which I found used, in good condition at Beers Books), I think I'm all set for Math curriculum planning resources. We'll need to get some materials like Cuisinaire rods and base ten blocks. My ideal is to find some old, wooden ones from the 70's, but those are probably few and far between.
I ate a snack in the car (mmm, hummus and grape leaves wrap) and realized that I didn't have enough time to stop at the Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore. I was bummed, especially with the rising cost of gas (I am rarely in this part of town), but let it go easily.
After I picked the kids up, we stopped at Capital Nursery on Freeport for gardening stuff. Kinder, in particular, was very excited and happy. Pre (as in Preschool) was very intent on riding the funky cart with extra wide and open compartments. I had done a bit of reading online and in a book I bought myself for Mother's Day last year, but it all pretty much went out the window. As did my idea to build a wooden garden box. The weather has changed this week and suddenly it is 80º and dry and visions of 100º are dancing around the edges of my brain. We picked up two plastic green pots for the kids, the largest size they had, garden gloves for me, potting soil, a big, plastic, lime green watering can, and some seeds. Echinacea and chamomile for Kinder, yellow sunflower and yellow corn for Pre (I had to gently break it to him that I didn't think a watermelon or pumpkin would fit in his pot once it started growing), and Mikado poppy and lavender for me. Honestly, who knows what will have grown by the time we move in mid-July. But, doing things with the kids has a powerful way of getting me active, in a time-waits-for-no-one sort of way.
After lunch we went to the library where Starhawk's Circle Round was waiting for me. I also pulled Mary Griffith's Homeschooling Handbook off the shelf. A memoir about raising a son with autism and disc 4 of Veronica Mars were also in for me.
It's 8:30 pm and the kids are both awake, playing at my feet. Today is night three of falling asleep in separate rooms for them. It may have lost its allure. Or it may be the heat. Before the time change, they were usually asleep around 7:00 pm. Lately, they are usually asleep by 8:00. Time to nudge them up to bed.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Dull head ache
I have a way of becoming single minded and single acting.
For about a week or so, I have been plowing through books I've gotten into my hands for free (public library, lending library, friends) and taking crazy notes or photocopying (our printer is a copier). At first it was kind of exhilarating because it was FREE! But, soon, I realized that printer ink is not cheap (the paper is being reused, much of it hard copies of student work that I printed out in order to read and grade), and, that there was a freneticism that didn't feel so good after awhile.
Tonight, I am going out with Judy to see Friends with Money and have a bite to eat.
Tomorrow, I am swearing off the computer/printer while my kids are awake.
This morning, they woke up and decided they wanted their own rooms. There has been a lot of cooperation and they have started bringing in toys and books to their respective new rooms---setting up camp. I've alerted Cap via phone, but am not sure exactly how things will pan out tonight.
Checked off today:
The Children's Year
Spindrift
Gateways
The Book of Waldorf Table Graces
For about a week or so, I have been plowing through books I've gotten into my hands for free (public library, lending library, friends) and taking crazy notes or photocopying (our printer is a copier). At first it was kind of exhilarating because it was FREE! But, soon, I realized that printer ink is not cheap (the paper is being reused, much of it hard copies of student work that I printed out in order to read and grade), and, that there was a freneticism that didn't feel so good after awhile.
Tonight, I am going out with Judy to see Friends with Money and have a bite to eat.
Tomorrow, I am swearing off the computer/printer while my kids are awake.
This morning, they woke up and decided they wanted their own rooms. There has been a lot of cooperation and they have started bringing in toys and books to their respective new rooms---setting up camp. I've alerted Cap via phone, but am not sure exactly how things will pan out tonight.
Checked off today:
The Children's Year
Spindrift
Gateways
The Book of Waldorf Table Graces
Monday, April 24, 2006
More homeschooling resources
Checked off:
One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four 165 Chants for Children
Kinder Dolls
Anna Banana 101 Jump Rope Rhymes
Earth, Water, Fire and Air Playful Explorations in the Four Elements
On Deck:
Raising Cain Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
Storytelling with Children
Miss Mary Mack and Other Children's Street Rhymes
The Complete Hans Christian Anderson
First's teacher is loaning me the storytelling book and may have other Waldorf titles she can lend out. I need to make a list to e-mail to her.
One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four 165 Chants for Children
Kinder Dolls
Anna Banana 101 Jump Rope Rhymes
Earth, Water, Fire and Air Playful Explorations in the Four Elements
On Deck:
Raising Cain Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
Storytelling with Children
Miss Mary Mack and Other Children's Street Rhymes
The Complete Hans Christian Anderson
First's teacher is loaning me the storytelling book and may have other Waldorf titles she can lend out. I need to make a list to e-mail to her.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Convergence
Yesterday, I tried to post an entry, but to no avail. It was about pop culture and mass media and me and the kids and being a parent and I kept getting interrupted by First whining in ever a new register about when he could watch the Backyardigans dvd he spent his own money on to rent. The issue I was trying to write about was completely the issue at hand. I may post that one eventually, but today is a new day with a different vibe.
Things that are converging:
• I had a massage yesterday and didn't drink enough water afterwards, not enough flushing out of toxins was the result and I'm still feeling a little sluggish. (I started getting regular massages while First was in utero. I've been the devoted client to two body workers in the last six years, both wonderful women from whom I have learned a lot. I have not been able to give up what I am sure most people I know would consider a crazy luxury: a 90 minute massage every 4-5 weeks.)
• Cap and I decided last weekend that he's "in charge" of the move. We are moving from northern California to northern NJ this summer. It's a big deal for me and I was finding it stressful to co-manage organizing our stuff and beginning to pack. He cleared out the kids' reading "nook" in the big bedroom last night. He needed the bookshelves to store stuff in the garage which is pretty officially now move "central". The books have been redistributed to available shelf space in the living room and home office. I felt pangs of sadness that the cozy reading space was gone. First was shocked when he saw the space this morning, but the kids enjoyed sorting the books to reorganize them.
• Cap and I enjoy eating out/getting take out. I often want a break from preparing food/eating the same food, we also like to mark little celebrations. Friday night we celebrated the re-opening of a local Nepalese restaurant. They had been closed for months due to a fire. In fact, we called for take-out the night they had the fire. This morning, I had the urge to go out to breakfast, so First made himself a fruit salad (he's GFCF so his options at restaurants tend to be limited, plus, he's discriminating---he knew he could make his own fruit salad more to his liking), I tossed some brown rice from the cooker into a thermos, and off we went. I enjoyed watching Kinder put away a side of 2 scrambled eggs and 3 big pieces of bacon. First enjoyed his fruit salad and downed his large oj (didn't touch the brown rice).
• Cap and I switched over household finance management a couple of weeks ago. He's done it for the whole of our time together (16 years) and now it's my turn. I've been feeling empowered, getting my hands dirty with online banking, budgeting, figuring things out and dreaming dreams. He's been feeling the opposite, guilty about the state of our fiscal health and like there isn't much he can do about it. I'm convinced that this isn't inherently heavy stuff. But, I have been reminded of the sensitive triggers that abound when there's money worries around.
• I've started watching Season 1 of Veronica Mars. Picture the angel and devil perched on either of my shoulders. I love watching tv: Oz, Homicide, Buffy, X-Files, Alias, Lost, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos.... But watching these shows on dvd (mostly free from the library, sometimes from Netflix), I sometimes watch too many episodes in one sitting. Four episodes on Friday night, four on Saturday night. Not good for the brain or the back.
• I feel like things between Cap and I are shifting. We were kind of in "pause" mode for years with the arrivals of First and Kinder, Cap's finishing graduate school, sharply curtailing my professional career, moving in with relatives, learning to live with First's allergies and Celiac diagnosis, and then, two years ago, moving to CA for Cap's first post-doctorate job after 10 plus years in MA. Well, the tides are turning. I turned 40 in January, my hormones are reverting back to "normal" (Kinder and I nursed until he was 3 and stopped in December of 2004), and the kids are needing me and a certain intense, bonded energy, less and less (ie. they "graduated" from the family bed in the last year---though they snuggle back in most mornings at dawn). With a new clarity humming in my web of systems, I am more aware of how different Cap and I are in our ways. We came together quickly, a jumble of attraction, humor, and familiar goals and values. Almost 20 years later, we're navigating a new set of scenarios as Cap starts his career as an academic and we/I start homeschooling. We are having challenging discussions about homeschooling, money, and moving, but instead of hitting "pause" to end a fight (or those ineffectual though impressively loud bangs on the side of the set in an attempt to forcibly dislodge the problem), we've been able to realign the tracking and move along past the interference of those zig zaggy lines that come across the screen sometimes---I have to say it, you get the picture! Yikes, unintentional and severe tying back to the theme of tv, but this is getting so long, and I, giddy,that I'm just going to leave it.
• Last week I gave my students a break (I teach a course online about Autism Spectrum Disorders). Today I went online and set up the discussion board for the coming week. I'm done with the lectures for the semester, we're workshopping final projects this week. I will be deluged with fifteen final projects to read and grade in about two weeks.
• A bunch of homeschooling resources came into the library and I picked them up on Friday (our library day). I've flipped through A Child's Garden of Verses, Peace Tales, and Sharing Nature with Children, xeroxing poems, stories and activities that I may end up using next year. I also listened to José Luis Orozco's cd, De Colores. In Waldorf First Grade, two foreign languages are introduced orally through songs, games, etc. I was considering Spanish as our second (Japanese will be the first), but Cap is thinking two may be too much. Purely from a planning angle, doing one is easier. I think I'm going to put Spanish on a back burner for now. It would make sense to do Finnish as the second in terms of personal family meaning. I wonder if Cap would be up for providing the Finnish language piece.
So, this was my weekend. A convergence of much.
Things that are converging:
• I had a massage yesterday and didn't drink enough water afterwards, not enough flushing out of toxins was the result and I'm still feeling a little sluggish. (I started getting regular massages while First was in utero. I've been the devoted client to two body workers in the last six years, both wonderful women from whom I have learned a lot. I have not been able to give up what I am sure most people I know would consider a crazy luxury: a 90 minute massage every 4-5 weeks.)
• Cap and I decided last weekend that he's "in charge" of the move. We are moving from northern California to northern NJ this summer. It's a big deal for me and I was finding it stressful to co-manage organizing our stuff and beginning to pack. He cleared out the kids' reading "nook" in the big bedroom last night. He needed the bookshelves to store stuff in the garage which is pretty officially now move "central". The books have been redistributed to available shelf space in the living room and home office. I felt pangs of sadness that the cozy reading space was gone. First was shocked when he saw the space this morning, but the kids enjoyed sorting the books to reorganize them.
• Cap and I enjoy eating out/getting take out. I often want a break from preparing food/eating the same food, we also like to mark little celebrations. Friday night we celebrated the re-opening of a local Nepalese restaurant. They had been closed for months due to a fire. In fact, we called for take-out the night they had the fire. This morning, I had the urge to go out to breakfast, so First made himself a fruit salad (he's GFCF so his options at restaurants tend to be limited, plus, he's discriminating---he knew he could make his own fruit salad more to his liking), I tossed some brown rice from the cooker into a thermos, and off we went. I enjoyed watching Kinder put away a side of 2 scrambled eggs and 3 big pieces of bacon. First enjoyed his fruit salad and downed his large oj (didn't touch the brown rice).
• Cap and I switched over household finance management a couple of weeks ago. He's done it for the whole of our time together (16 years) and now it's my turn. I've been feeling empowered, getting my hands dirty with online banking, budgeting, figuring things out and dreaming dreams. He's been feeling the opposite, guilty about the state of our fiscal health and like there isn't much he can do about it. I'm convinced that this isn't inherently heavy stuff. But, I have been reminded of the sensitive triggers that abound when there's money worries around.
• I've started watching Season 1 of Veronica Mars. Picture the angel and devil perched on either of my shoulders. I love watching tv: Oz, Homicide, Buffy, X-Files, Alias, Lost, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos.... But watching these shows on dvd (mostly free from the library, sometimes from Netflix), I sometimes watch too many episodes in one sitting. Four episodes on Friday night, four on Saturday night. Not good for the brain or the back.
• I feel like things between Cap and I are shifting. We were kind of in "pause" mode for years with the arrivals of First and Kinder, Cap's finishing graduate school, sharply curtailing my professional career, moving in with relatives, learning to live with First's allergies and Celiac diagnosis, and then, two years ago, moving to CA for Cap's first post-doctorate job after 10 plus years in MA. Well, the tides are turning. I turned 40 in January, my hormones are reverting back to "normal" (Kinder and I nursed until he was 3 and stopped in December of 2004), and the kids are needing me and a certain intense, bonded energy, less and less (ie. they "graduated" from the family bed in the last year---though they snuggle back in most mornings at dawn). With a new clarity humming in my web of systems, I am more aware of how different Cap and I are in our ways. We came together quickly, a jumble of attraction, humor, and familiar goals and values. Almost 20 years later, we're navigating a new set of scenarios as Cap starts his career as an academic and we/I start homeschooling. We are having challenging discussions about homeschooling, money, and moving, but instead of hitting "pause" to end a fight (or those ineffectual though impressively loud bangs on the side of the set in an attempt to forcibly dislodge the problem), we've been able to realign the tracking and move along past the interference of those zig zaggy lines that come across the screen sometimes---I have to say it, you get the picture! Yikes, unintentional and severe tying back to the theme of tv, but this is getting so long, and I, giddy,that I'm just going to leave it.
• Last week I gave my students a break (I teach a course online about Autism Spectrum Disorders). Today I went online and set up the discussion board for the coming week. I'm done with the lectures for the semester, we're workshopping final projects this week. I will be deluged with fifteen final projects to read and grade in about two weeks.
• A bunch of homeschooling resources came into the library and I picked them up on Friday (our library day). I've flipped through A Child's Garden of Verses, Peace Tales, and Sharing Nature with Children, xeroxing poems, stories and activities that I may end up using next year. I also listened to José Luis Orozco's cd, De Colores. In Waldorf First Grade, two foreign languages are introduced orally through songs, games, etc. I was considering Spanish as our second (Japanese will be the first), but Cap is thinking two may be too much. Purely from a planning angle, doing one is easier. I think I'm going to put Spanish on a back burner for now. It would make sense to do Finnish as the second in terms of personal family meaning. I wonder if Cap would be up for providing the Finnish language piece.
So, this was my weekend. A convergence of much.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Seasonal stuff addendum
The books I referred to in my last post were:
Earthways by Carol Petrash
Rumpus of Rhymes by Bobbi Katz (thank you Wendy)
The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry selected by Michael Rosen (thank you Eleanor)
This Same Sky selected by Naomi Shihab Nye (thank you Eleanor)
A Family of Poems selected by Caroline Kennedy
Festivals Together by Sue Fitzjohn, Minda Weston, Judy Large
All Year Round by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, Marije Rowling
Festivals, Family and Food by Diana Carey and Judy Large
Although I didn't necessarily find something specific to use in each book, I was tickled by the possibilities that I started to see in the learning that will be happening down the road---will I be homeschooling when they are 13 and 14?
Earthways by Carol Petrash
Rumpus of Rhymes by Bobbi Katz (thank you Wendy)
The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry selected by Michael Rosen (thank you Eleanor)
This Same Sky selected by Naomi Shihab Nye (thank you Eleanor)
A Family of Poems selected by Caroline Kennedy
Festivals Together by Sue Fitzjohn, Minda Weston, Judy Large
All Year Round by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, Marije Rowling
Festivals, Family and Food by Diana Carey and Judy Large
Although I didn't necessarily find something specific to use in each book, I was tickled by the possibilities that I started to see in the learning that will be happening down the road---will I be homeschooling when they are 13 and 14?
Seasonal stuff
Äiti means "mother" in Finnish and it is what my children call me. I've been trying to log in as "aiti" for a few days now unsuccessfully. After a little digging today, I discovered that it's not my login name. I guess there are other "aitis" in the world. (Of course.) As it turns out, only Lauri would recognize my blogger handle.
Two nights ago, I pored over the Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore catalogue (and discovered when I was done, on one of the last pages, that they have a catalogue just for homeschoolers) and made big blue outlines around the books that looked interesting or useful. I wasn't really sure where I was going to go with it since I knew we don't have the funds for me to go spend a few hundred dollars on books. Then, someone on one of my Yahoo groups mentioned one of the books I had circled, and that she had gotten it from her local library's inter-library loan system. Perfect. It's been almost a year since I used our library's sytem to look for homeschooling resources---I had nearly forgotten.
Yesterday, I spent chunks of the day and evening flipping through some books of poetry and seasonal activities. I made space in my notebook (a nice spiral bound one with sturdy purple covers back from the days when I would treat myself to wonderful stationery store items)---two facing pages each for "fall", "winter", "spring", and "summer". It was fun. I collected verses/poems, songs, dances, recipes, art projects, nature projects, etc. At a time when expenses need to be kept at a minimum, it felt good to see what a wealth of material I already have at my fingertips.
The emphasis on the seasons, to truly see them, sense them, and celebrate them, is one of the things I love about Waldorf education. I have an appreciation for seasons in nature from watching my mother with flowers, my grandfather with birds, and being dragged on hours-long mountain hikes by my father. I have good memories of time spent by the seaside, as well as, atop mountains in winter. But, as an adult, my contact with nature has become fleeting and very much from the outside. I would really like to give First and Kinder opportunities to be one with nature, the seasons, the earth, to embed in them an unmistakable rhythm which will sustain and nuture them throughout their lives.
The most significant inspiration I had yesterday was that I will try with all my might to construct a garden with them. No small feat for someone who refers to herself as a "black thumb".
Two nights ago, I pored over the Rudolf Steiner College Bookstore catalogue (and discovered when I was done, on one of the last pages, that they have a catalogue just for homeschoolers) and made big blue outlines around the books that looked interesting or useful. I wasn't really sure where I was going to go with it since I knew we don't have the funds for me to go spend a few hundred dollars on books. Then, someone on one of my Yahoo groups mentioned one of the books I had circled, and that she had gotten it from her local library's inter-library loan system. Perfect. It's been almost a year since I used our library's sytem to look for homeschooling resources---I had nearly forgotten.
Yesterday, I spent chunks of the day and evening flipping through some books of poetry and seasonal activities. I made space in my notebook (a nice spiral bound one with sturdy purple covers back from the days when I would treat myself to wonderful stationery store items)---two facing pages each for "fall", "winter", "spring", and "summer". It was fun. I collected verses/poems, songs, dances, recipes, art projects, nature projects, etc. At a time when expenses need to be kept at a minimum, it felt good to see what a wealth of material I already have at my fingertips.
The emphasis on the seasons, to truly see them, sense them, and celebrate them, is one of the things I love about Waldorf education. I have an appreciation for seasons in nature from watching my mother with flowers, my grandfather with birds, and being dragged on hours-long mountain hikes by my father. I have good memories of time spent by the seaside, as well as, atop mountains in winter. But, as an adult, my contact with nature has become fleeting and very much from the outside. I would really like to give First and Kinder opportunities to be one with nature, the seasons, the earth, to embed in them an unmistakable rhythm which will sustain and nuture them throughout their lives.
The most significant inspiration I had yesterday was that I will try with all my might to construct a garden with them. No small feat for someone who refers to herself as a "black thumb".
Friday, April 14, 2006
Where I am
I've been thinking about homeschooling for about a year now, maybe a bit longer. Sacramento is a hotbed of things Waldorf and I have been learning about Waldorf education, as well. Soon-to-be First is in a Kindergarten at a magnet school that uses Waldorf methods, Kinder is in a private Waldorf preschool program.
I've been a member of two Waldorf homeschooling Yahoo groups and have had some contact with WISH, a Sacramento area Waldorf inspired homeschooling group. I've also attended the Waldorf in the Home conferences held in Fair Oaks, CA, three times in the last two years.
And, I've been buying books. Lots of books.
So, now that I've entered the official, "we're doing this!" period, I've run into my first road block, no, fork in the road. (It did feel like a road block, believe me, but it has since made itself apparent to be more fork in the road...) Capricorn (partner-in-life, father-of-my-children, I'll call him, Cap, for short) balked at the Waldorfian-heavy nature of my initial plans.
A problem with Waldorf, for Cap, is that they wait to introduce "academics" until a child has turned seven. So, a typical Waldorf first grader is already seven when they start their school year.
Since First will be six and a quarter when we start, I was thinking we'd ease into things and basically do a Waldorf Kinder schedule of activities until the end of 2006 and then begin a Waldorf First Grade schedule in January, 2007, when First is six and a half. Cap was very resistant.
A challenging, but very rewarding aspect of this process already has been learning to face potential or actual conflict---to be with it and empathize, sympathize and communicate my way through it. Recognizing where standing up for what I think and believe ends and being defensive starts, and vice versa. To listen without interrupting. To not transform a fearful or hurt feeling into an argument about semantics, or one of those spirals where after 15 minutes you can't remember where it all started or what it's all about.
So, the last few weeks I have been filling my binders and brains with NJ curriculum standards, and catalogues and websites looking for other, not Waldorf-specific materials. We haven't abandoned Waldorf completely, but are going for more of an eclectic approach. The homeschooling is my baby, but I am completely committed to it working for both Cap and myself. When it comes to the kids, we are, truly, as one.
I've been a member of two Waldorf homeschooling Yahoo groups and have had some contact with WISH, a Sacramento area Waldorf inspired homeschooling group. I've also attended the Waldorf in the Home conferences held in Fair Oaks, CA, three times in the last two years.
And, I've been buying books. Lots of books.
So, now that I've entered the official, "we're doing this!" period, I've run into my first road block, no, fork in the road. (It did feel like a road block, believe me, but it has since made itself apparent to be more fork in the road...) Capricorn (partner-in-life, father-of-my-children, I'll call him, Cap, for short) balked at the Waldorfian-heavy nature of my initial plans.
A problem with Waldorf, for Cap, is that they wait to introduce "academics" until a child has turned seven. So, a typical Waldorf first grader is already seven when they start their school year.
Since First will be six and a quarter when we start, I was thinking we'd ease into things and basically do a Waldorf Kinder schedule of activities until the end of 2006 and then begin a Waldorf First Grade schedule in January, 2007, when First is six and a half. Cap was very resistant.
A challenging, but very rewarding aspect of this process already has been learning to face potential or actual conflict---to be with it and empathize, sympathize and communicate my way through it. Recognizing where standing up for what I think and believe ends and being defensive starts, and vice versa. To listen without interrupting. To not transform a fearful or hurt feeling into an argument about semantics, or one of those spirals where after 15 minutes you can't remember where it all started or what it's all about.
So, the last few weeks I have been filling my binders and brains with NJ curriculum standards, and catalogues and websites looking for other, not Waldorf-specific materials. We haven't abandoned Waldorf completely, but are going for more of an eclectic approach. The homeschooling is my baby, but I am completely committed to it working for both Cap and myself. When it comes to the kids, we are, truly, as one.
Begin the begin
I am starting this blog in an attempt to document the comings and goings of life, primarily, the planned homeschooling of soon-to-be First and Kinder (cyber shoutout to Lucie from whom I am lifting this naming technique to maintain the privacy of my children---the names refer to their schooling grade levels).
We're moving, mi familia and I, from currently rain-sodden Sacramento, to the wildly unknown New Jersey, sometime this summer. We'll be setting up a new homestead and starting up a new life. But, there's so much to do here and now.
The bread machine beckons, the aroma of a lovely GF loaf entices. First is GFCF (Gluten-free, Casein-free)---the kids hate this loaf, I love it, I think they will come around eventually. I have seen the wonders of offering a food 20 plus times (the Satter way) and the eventual capitulation of my children's palettes.
We're moving, mi familia and I, from currently rain-sodden Sacramento, to the wildly unknown New Jersey, sometime this summer. We'll be setting up a new homestead and starting up a new life. But, there's so much to do here and now.
The bread machine beckons, the aroma of a lovely GF loaf entices. First is GFCF (Gluten-free, Casein-free)---the kids hate this loaf, I love it, I think they will come around eventually. I have seen the wonders of offering a food 20 plus times (the Satter way) and the eventual capitulation of my children's palettes.
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