First Grade!

Homeschooling is getting serious now ... as we are officially in First Grade mode!

Happy Schooling All!

Love,

Jodi & Isaac

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Goody Bags for the Ronald McDonald House of Bangor.

Every year at Christmas, our little family of 3 looks for ways in which to specifically help our community. We certainly do what we can all year through --- but in an effort to show Isaac that Christmas is truly about giving to others --- we look for ways to give in a meaningful and personal way.

This year, we decided to create craft "goody" bags for the children who stay at the Ronald McDonald House of Bangor. This was partly Isaac's idea --- as he suggested we do something to help children. I told him what the Ronald McDonald House was all about --- and he was all for it. (He also wanted to continue our tradition of visiting the Maine Veterans Home on Christmas Day --- which we plan to do as well).

So --- after speaking with the Director of Volunteers at the House --- we decided to create goody bags full of fun crafting kits and craft supplies to be distributed to the children staying at the home. For the most part, these bags will be distributed to siblings of children who are receiving medical attention at the nearby Eastern Maine Medical Center. Last year, 300+ families were served by the Home. Though we are not currently able to create as many bags as could be distributed within a given year, we pledged to the home that we would not only make as many as we could at this time, but that we would do our best to replenish them as needed (a wonderful way to give Isaac a charitable focus throughout the year).

My Mom and I shopped for goodies to include in the bags --- mostly at JoAnn's and Mardens --- and as we did, we tried to imagine how these siblings must feel --- perhaps scared for their brother/sister, a bit lonely because Mom & Dad are so focused on the child in need, etc. It made the shopping meaningful --- and we would get giddy when we found goodies that we imagined would delight the children involved --- and help to keep their minds occupied with positive thoughts.

After all the shopping was done, I asked a few friends to help put the bags together --- and sweet, sweet Katrina and her Mom, BJ, came by the studio to help organize the bags. They did a perfect job. Katrina put herself in the mind frame of a child going through a difficult time, and put the bags together with much love.

My lovely friend Katie also joined us (with her baby Max in utero!) --- wrapping presents for the Maine Veterans Home (I will post about this later). She was a huge help --- wrapping all manner of 2010 calendars for the men and women of the Veterans Home (a special request by the staff).

Isaac and his fave girl, Sydney, were also involved --- entertaining each other with crafts and silliness while the rest of us worked on wrapping and organizing. They had a great time --- which allowed Mom to get much done :)

Now, we look forward to bringing the finished bags to the Ronald McDonald House. Though we won't witness any children using the goodies in these bags --- I imagine that the gifts will be received with smiles by both the children and their parents. And hopefully --- in some small way --- these bags will help these families in their healing.

Thank you to the Ronald McDonald house for everything they do! And thanks to my Mom and friends for all their assistance and good Karma :)

Love,

Jodi

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Love for Our Troops : Isaac & I Troop Greet in Bangor.

(terrible iphone pic - sorry)

Isaac and I spent our afternoon yesterday at the Bangor International Airport saying farewell to a large group of brand new soldiers heading over seas. It was both lovely and sobering.

First, I had to explain to my son why we are thanking these men and women. I - who am firmly opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - am still fully respectful of the jobs that these soldiers are doing for our country. I needed to find a way to articulate my love and respect for these men and women in uniform to my son without glorifying war or using political talk. So - I did the only thing I could think of at the time - I drew a map. I explained that this little piece of land here on the map is called "America" ... and it is where we live ... and there are all sorts of other countries all around the world too. And each country has men and women who volunteer (or are ordered) to protect that country and all the people in it. Sometimes one country wants to hurt another country --- so these men and women sometimes have to leave their homes and go fly over to other countries to stop them from trying to invade our own. I further explained that just as Daddy protects us from anyone who might want to hurt us --- these soldiers have the job of protecting our entire country. That is why we say THANKS.

Now, I know that this is very oversimplified ... and war is way more political and nasty than I would dare explain to my 4 -year old. And frankly, not all men and women in uniform are honorable. BUT, they are all human ... they are all our brothers and sisters ... and in the best situations ... they are off to do what they believe is right in order to protect the freedoms we hold dear. This is what I want my son to understand and to respect.

So, Isaac and I waved flags, clapped vigorously and shook many hands as these men and women arrived into our airport. We welcomed them to Bangor, thanked them for their service and told them to be sure to come home safe. All our well wishes were happily received. And it felt so good just to share a smile with these folks before they headed into the unknown (these were mostly young recruits headed off for the first time) ... but it also was heartbreaking. Some of these boys looked like babes to me. And some of the women were very likely somebody's mama or little girl. I don't want them to have to leave. But if they must ... then Isaac and I wish them a safe return.

In fact, we are now official "Troop Greeters" (we read the rules and signed on the dotted line and will now be called at all hours of the day to let us know when troops are coming home or leaving). Our name tags will be here shortly.

Isaac - of course - made best buds with a little blond troop greeter (almost 5 years old) who told him she has been Troop Greeting since she was born. She taught him how to "greet" and then took him around to pass out goodies to the soldiers once they were mingling. It was so very sweet (and a little rambunctious) :

And now I believe he is in love. I am sure it will not be hard to get him to come with me for future Troop Greetings - as this little sweetie told him that she is there as often as she can be :)

I am proud of my little man --- proud that he is learning love and respect for those who serve --- and praying that these wars will end asap.

Love,

Jodi

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Reading to Tame the "Grumpies" : A Giveaway!

What do you do to satisfy a grumpy little fireman?

I'll tell you ... You read him so many fun books at your local bookstore, that it gets him reading them too --- even to the point where he ignores all the toys around him and goes for the books!


And what sort of reading changed his mood? The Grouchy Ladybug, SkippyJon Jones, and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat. From whining to laughing in no time.

And here is what we picked up for YOU!


A classic. Want it? Just leave a message on this post and I may be sending it to you and your favorite little ones. That's it. Just say "hi".

Thanks. Happy Reading.

Love,
Jodi

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A Walk in the Woods on an Autumn Afternoon.

Can't you just smell it? The autumn scents that are conveyed in these pics? So yummy.

Or do you feel the cool, musty breeze?

What does fall look, feel and smell like in your neck of the woods?

Love,

Jodi

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A Typical Unschooled Day.

Yesterday was lovely in so many ways. The weather was wonderful. And how we made our way through the day felt so right. Here is how it went (more or less):

* We woke up when we felt like it.

* We ate fresh, hot brownies for breakfast.

* We put together a few puzzles on the floor.

* We went for a walk outside to "check things out" (as Isaac says).

Fall foliage, a plane jetting across the sky, various bees on a fall bloom.

* We visited with Bobo and Poppy on their back porch - and were showered with even more chocolaty goodness.

* We counted the chickens and chased our dogs.

* We played a long game of soccer and a quick game of baseball.

* We came in - I did laundry and other chores while Isaac watched "Max and Ruby".

* We worked on our counting skills and color recognition with visual aides.

* We made supper for Daddy ... and chatted with him about our day over the dinner table. (Baked Beans for Isaac and Beefy Cheesy Pasta Casserole for Mommy and Daddy).

* Lastly, we read lots and lots of books --- long into the night.

This is how I like to spend our days ... to ebb and flow in whichever ways feel good ... to have Isaac learn from life itself (I taught him how to pat Bees in the fall ... as they are so tired and cold that they just sun themselves on the flowers ... and you can pat them without getting stung. He thought it was amazing!) ... and to find the time to fully appreciate every action that we take (from soccer to reading). Sometimes we share our days with friends. Sometimes we spend much of it in the car. But a day like yesterday is my favorite - spent at home - learning, loving, playing and sharing. Good stuff!

I hope you are enjoying your favorite kind of day :)

Love,

Jodi

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The Indoor Pond.

When I began this "unschooling" adventure with my son ... which essentially began the moment he came home to me ... (see You Are Your Child's First Teacher) ... I thought of all sorts of ways that we could keep wonder, creativity and opportunities for self-learning within our home. We keep lots of musical instruments, books, blocks, puzzles, rocks, seashells, crayons, and oh so much more ... scattered in baskets throughout our home. But something was missing ... we needed a habitat ... something where we could house living things ... and watch them for a little while before setting them free and replacing them with another local pond find. So, we searched yard sales and found this $1 aquarium. Auntie found some aquarium goodies at another yard sale for $1. Voila! ... throw in some pond water and plants, a few pond snails and we created an instant indoor pond for viewing the occassional frog, turtle, or fish that we capture from our "outdoor" pond.

You might wonder how my three-year-old is able to part with these creatures after we watch them for a while ... Well, at this age it is fairly simple ... you just tell them that the frog/fish/mermaid really misses their Mommy and Daddy and so we have to put them back where their parents can find them. Isaac totally gets that, and would never want to keep a creature from its Mommy.

Anyway, friends of ours have started their own "unschooling observatory river tanks" as well. Their tanks were also yard sale finds ... and are currently housing several river fish.

This is such an inexpensive and fun learning experience. No filters or other tank gadgets. Just a tank, some river/pond water and fauna & a bubbling do-dad thingy (for circulating the water). You can feed your fish with commercial fish flakes (as my friends do) or you can just keep replenishing the water and animals so that feeding isn't necessary (what we do).

Let us know if you give this a try.

Enjoy your day.

Love,

Jodi

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Day 1: Jodi Day Camp: STRAWBERRIES

I am happy to say that the first day of "Jodi Day Camp" was a success. We collectively made some excellent "Banana-Strawberry-Blueberry-Chocolate Chip Cake":

We used a Banana Nut Bread recipe (doubled) ... excluded the nuts ... and simply added chopped up fresh strawberries, frozen blueberries, and chocolate chips. Then we mixed some brown sugar with some melted butter and sprinkled that over the top. YUM! It was heavenly.

With our leftover strawberries, we made some very satisfying strawberry lemonade and scrumptious strawberry milkshakes (though I forgot to take photos - they were too delicious to wait for). Then, as planned, we made some all-natural strawberry paint in order to create some rich and delicious artwork (just mash up some strawberries, grab some paper and paintbrushes and start creating).

Throw in some dress-up play and a few board games ... and it all made for a very good day.
Thanks kids :)

Love,
Jodi

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Making "Nice" With Chickens.

Yesterday, I taught Isaac the fine art of digging for worms... truly one of my favorite outdoor activities. Hands digging through damp, sweet smelling dirt is always a treat for the senses. And he - being a boy and all - thought it was great too. We found lots of wriggling worms ... which Isaac thought were pretty neat ... then I showed him how we can make some very tight friendships with the chickens if we offer these worms up to them as treats. Well, then he thought this endeavor was down-right amazing!

Hand feeding chickens ... who are generally skiddish by nature ... can be so much fun. And the chicken you see here is among our friendliest. She is my favorite bird in all the world ... Chicken Jane. I hand fed her as a baby chick. So, whenever she sees me digging through the dirt, she comes a-running and joins in the feast. Now Isaac is learning to form his own relationship with her - and it is wonderful to watch.

It is so important for our childrens' souls that we parents model kind and respectful behavior toward animals. We nurture such tender hearts that way. And my Isaac has such a great respect for life because of it. I am so proud of him. And let's face it ... to make friends with a chicken is just so cool! Especially when they follow you around the yard ... cooing ... and cuddle up in your lap when you take a rest on the lawn. One of the greatest treats of the spring/summer seasons.

Oh.. But then Jack often comes around to ruin it all ...

(Notice the fleeing chickens ...) Still ... we also love Jack too :)

Enjoy the day,

Love,

Jodi

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An Open Letter to Family & Friends:

Dear Family & Friends,

As some of you know, Halis and I have decided to unschool (similar to homeschooling but not quite) our son and any subsequent children. We are very secure in this decision and are quite excited about it. However, we recognize that many of our loved ones are going to have questions about whether or not this is "right" for our child. We know that concern comes from Love ... but we don't feel the need to defend our decision just as we don't expect others to defend their choice to send their kids to public or private schools. Yet, we fully understand that some of our family members may simply not have any knowledge about the subject, and we are certainly willing to share information and dispel any myths.

I recently came across a couple of things that I thought I would share with you all - in case anyone has a desire to learn more about our choice. Here is an excellent resource on the subject: http://www.unschoolingamerica.com/. Click anywhere and you will find the info you need to any questions you may have (and that way you won't feel awkward asking us:) And better yet, you can check out some real life familes as they unschool their children by visiting the various blogs found here: http://www.nearcircle.com/viewCircle?name=unschooling.

Here are some great YouTube videos on the subject as well: http://www.youtube.com/user/DaynaLeighMartin.

Dayna Martin's Family Blog is also a great insight into the unschooling life: http://thesparklingmartins.blogspot.com/ (Their family is sure to surprise you in how they just don't fit into anyone's stereotype of an unschooling family. I love it!) As well as Soule Mama's blog: http://soulemama.typepad.com/ (MY PERSONAL FAVORITE).

Also, I recently came across this FUNNY article that I thought I would share as well. Please remember that it is meant to be funny and eye-opening ... not to be offensive. And in all truth, I would like to carry it around in my pocket, and hand it to anyone that has a negative comment about homeschooling or unschooling: http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/001/bitter_homeschooler.html.

Well, we hope these resources help. And if you do have any questions, we are happy to answer them - so long as they are asked with respect for our decision. And if you are thinking, "Ummm... I really don't care what you do with your kid...." Well, we welcome that too :)

Lots of Love,

Jodi, Halis & Isaac

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