Idle and Blessed

Fall 2008

2008-11-21T10:02:00.000-08:00

These are some of the highlights and everyday moments that have made up our lives over the past month or so. We went on a camping trip with our homeschool group to Cunningham falls in Maryland. We've also enjoyed going to Cox farm, Great Falls & lots of parks and playgrounds. There has also been lots of playing with Lego, Barbie, painting & creating.

Food for thought

2008-10-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

"When we adults think of children there is a simple truth that we ignore: childhood is not preparation for life; childhood is life. A child isn't getting ready to live; a child is living. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied by adults who have convinced themselves that childhood is a period of preparation.How much heartache we would save ourselves if we would recognizechildren as partners with adults in the process of living, rather thanalways viewing them as apprentices. How much we could teach eachother; we have the experience and they have the freshness. How full both our lives could be." John A. Taylor

Fall field trips

2008-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

This is the perfect time of year to get out and about with friends and explore the community. We had lots of fun at Meadowlark Gardens where we fed turtles and ran around with giant deer. One of the reasons we homeschool is to discover our talents and we discovered one of George's. He beat us all at bowling. Whether he was using the ramp, or the between the legs technique he seemed to always hit lots of pins. Could there be a future there? One of our favorite fall destinations is Cox Farm. We had a blast going through the corn maze, sliding on giant slides, looking at the baby pigs and running around with the goats!

2008-09-18T12:30:00.001-07:00

"It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for what this delicate little plant needs more than anything, besides stimulation, is freedom. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty."
~Albert Einstein

New Beginnings

2008-09-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

This past week Millie had her first ballet class and her first day of preschool. She did great! She was excited for both and barely had time to say goodbye she was so busy having fun. George started the big kids yoga class this week. One hour and fifteen minutes of real yoga and he loved it! We also had a great field trip apple picking with our friends. We had the whole place to ourselves and the highlight was definitely rolling down the grass covered hill.

We finished listening to "The Indian in the Cupboard" and have been excitedly counting to one hundred. In a bit of government studies, we volunteered with the Virginia Democrats for the morning. We're talking about letters and sounds and patterns. George and I started reading "The Number Devil." The concepts in it are a bit advanced, but the story keeps the intrest up as we wade through all the numbers.

Just so you don't think this homeschooling thing is all fun and games, we also went to park day and played with our friends in the rain. OK, so it is all fun and games. Just don't tell anyone.

Not Back to School

2008-09-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

The big yellow bus rolled up and we didn't get on it. I guess we're officially homeschoolers now. Not 'planning to homeschool,' or 'probably going to homeschool,' but really doing it. Other than how I answer questions about school for George, however, not much has changed. We're still leading full, fun, sparkly lives together and learning all the time from everything we do. Some of the places we learned this week were the Lake Anne Coffee house, on play dates with our friends, in the creek behind our house, at the Air and Space Museum and at park day.

Summer Highlights

2008-09-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've really slacked on the blog. To catch up, here is a random array of photo's to re-cap our summer. A kind of "what I did on my summer vacation." I already can't remember it all, though I do know it went by fast!

Here comes the flower girl

2008-07-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Millie's trying on dresses for my cousin Marisa's wedding. She was an excellent model and seemed to really embrace the role.

Elemental Kids

2008-06-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Kids are so great at enjoying the elements. Sand, sun, fresh air, and of course water. It's as if they're born knowing how to interact joyfully with their environment. George seems to come alive in the water. Last year I was struck at the end of the preschool picnic by a comment from another mother. George was swimming blissfully in the creek and she said she had never seen him so happy, so alive. She had only seen him at school. Millie seems to thrive on the earthy elements. She is usually covered in dirt, paint or some other goo. She comes clean, but seems less herself when she is. She has a fair amount of fire to her too. Too much sun or overheating and she's thrown off balance. Summer is such a great time to enjoy all the earth has to offer us and the kids are the best at showing how it's done.

Cluster picnic

2008-06-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Did I mention it's hot. That didn't stop the kids from jumping for hours in the moonbounce at the cluster picnic. Look at those red faces!

Mount Vernon

2008-06-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

It's hot, but we had a great time hanging out at George & Martha's. At the new complex we saw George's dentures, dressed in period costumes and had some Pizza Hut pizza. Some highlights were seeing the replica of George Washington's 16 sided barn used for threshing wheat (George) and looking at Martha's jewelry (Millie). I just loved being there and imagining life at the conception of America . Despite a fairly cheesy introducion by Pat Saijack (?sp) the film at the begining was really informative even if I couldn't help but root for the Native Americans in their battle against Washington and the British.

Less idle, but still blessed

2008-06-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

With George's end of school picnic, book club, visit to Chicama farm and visit from Aunt Judy this week has been a busy one. We've still found lots of time to play, read and enjoy, though.

Today was totally devoted to hanging out. We watched "The Prisoner of Azkaban," drew with chalk, listened to music, made train tracks around the living room, baked cupcakes and lots else.

Tattoo

2008-05-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

Our farmers market is so cool. In addition to fresh local fruit, vegetables, honey, meat and baked goods, you can now get your own henna tattoo! Check out Mouse's. We had a great time eating kettle corn listening to music and wading in the fountain too.

Gs Graduation

2008-05-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. G is a preschool graduate. Of course we're very proud and sure he's ready to take on the world. I think, and he agrees that he's had enough school now. So until circumstances change he's free. He is already a master at being "idle and blessed" so I'm hoping to take some lessons from him. I can't wait to see what he does with his "one wild and precious life."