I Can Do It All, I Just Don't Want To

This last spring, I decided it was time to work outside the home. I thought my girls were at an age (teenagers) where they would be better off with me gone more often.  I thought I could go to work, still be a present wife and mother, still homeschool, and still enjoy my hobbies. But guess what? I was totally wrong. Personally, I can't do it all. Well, no, I take that back. I can do it all, but I decided I didn't want to.

And it wasn't just me, but it was my family too! They missed having me around. They missed the spur of the moment conversations that we used to have, dinners prepared where we all sat down together as a family to eat, just my presence in the house was missing even when everybody was independently doing their own thing. Every time I left for work, my heart would break, and I was reminded how these last few years of having my girls living at home were too priceless to not soak up every last bit.

It was a hard decision to make, believe me, because once I got to work, I had a whole new wonderful crew of friends who quickly became my second family. It was fun to be challenged to learn a new skill and to feel like I was part of a team.  But my priorities were clear, family first.

As of this week, I am now officially working from home again, happily sewing hats and knitting bonnets. So thankful that I have this option. So thankful for the time I get to spend with my girls. So thankful that creating is in my soul!

A Wildflower Nature Study

There's a spot just inland of us that boasts the most beautiful meadows of wildflowers.  We look forward to visiting it every year, and after such a wet winter we knew it would be amazing. This year the creek was flowing and full of tadpoles,  the fields were carpeted with yellow, purple, white, and blue flowers, and we were basically in wildflower heaven.

Bouquet of Tidy Tips, Lupine, Owl Clover, and Blue Eyes. A Wildflower Nature Study!

A Love of Nature and Learning

Visiting and interacting with beautiful places is the best way I know how to instill a love of learning in my girls.  I don't put any expectations on what they will take away from the experience, but rather provide what I can to make the most of it.  I do my part by equally being involved with the wonder around us.  

One of my daughters really enjoys capturing the beauty of the day with her camera.  My other daughter can sit and watch the flowers blow in the breeze for hours, listening to the bugs and observing things others may pass by.  I really love learning the names of the plants and flowers and birds, etc.  I feel like I've made a new friend when I learn the name of a flower.  And then I can introduce my new friend to my girls so they can now be friends too.  

We also all enjoy drawing and painting in our nature journals and enjoying the moment with each other and our nature loving friends, who always make our adventures that much richer.

A patch of Goldenfields and Tidy Tips.  Sunbonnet by Blue Corduroy.

To get the most our of our outdoor adventure, I like to follow up where I see more information would really round out our experience.  Since this particular adventure was mostly about admiring the wildflowers, we took some time the next day to study the parts of a flower.  We  might find poems about springtime, or be inspired to write a poem ourselves. Or we may find out a handy medicinal use for our flower, or that it is even edible.  

The books we used this particular day were a handful of local wildflower guides and a few nature book staples:

Chumash Ethnobotany by Jan Timbrook.

 How the Chumash People of Southern California used the local plants for medicine, food, etc.  I didn't know that Chia Seeds came from a Sage plant, and that they grow here and that the Native Indians used them as a quick and lasting energy source of protein.

California Spring Wildflowers by Philip A. Munz.

A large variety of plants, organized by color which I find very helpful.  Includes photographs and simple line drawings.

Central Coast Wildflowers by Mary Coffeen.

Mary has an intimate knowledge with the Central Coast and her love for it shows in her beautiful descriptions.  I would use this book for her memories alone!  Organized by habitat which I found very helpful.

Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman.

My go to nature book!  This book covers basically everything and is so simple, in a good way.  We always gain a concrete base of knowledge we can then build upon where interest leads.  The simple drawings are also always inspiring for our nature art journaling.

Drawing and Painting Plants by Christina Brode.  

Not only is this book filled with amazing tips on how to draw what we find.  It is also an incredible botany study book.  It teaches us how to identify plants by learning parts of a flower,  leaf and fruit identification, vein patterns and more.

Botanicum by Katie Scott and Kathy Willis.

 Talk about flower art inspiration!  This book is stunning!

I've added plant and flower names to my knowledge base, one or two at a time.  And as the years add up, I'm so happy to discover how many my girls and I have learned!  I also am finding that the more time we spend observing nature, the more we crave it.  And how wonderful it is that this is something my daughters and I can do and enjoy together!

Interest Led Learning in Homeschool

I was recently asked how I find the balance between "interest led" education vs. "requirement focused" as a homeschool mom.  I know that every home educator will answer this question differently, that is the beauty of the personalized approach to educating at home.

If you follow me on Instagram, you will notice that we spend a lot of our time outside on adventures, or at home you'll see the girls being super crafty and creative making up their own "interest led" projects.  From Ruby running her own business to Ginger making paper dolls, I feel like this is where the real learning happens.  Not in finishing workbooks or following the same topics the local public schools are teaching.

"The world is the true classroom.  The most rewarding and important type of learning is through experience, seeing something with our own eyes." -Jack Hanna

How do we find the time to spend so much time outdoors in nature, when there's other necessary school work to be done?  I feel like being out in nature IS necessary schoolwork!  But if you mean, learning to read and write, etc. vs. playing outside,  I find a way to make "playing outside"  a learning experience.  If, for example, we discovered a cute little caterpillar in the backyard, the girls (at whatever level they are in) can retell the story of the metamorphosis in their journals (language arts).  We can also research his name and learn his characteristics (science).  We can read books about butterflies (literature).

"All children respond to an abundance of free time with ideas, plans, imagination, playing.  They solve problems, think, grow. Children respond to life by living.  They need this time to grow.  Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life" -Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

We do still have a structured morning of math, history, science and language arts.  But I definitely don't feel the pressure that my girls need to be in a certain grade level in math, for example, or need to finish their book by the end of the year.  What I'm more concerned about is if they are understanding the concepts being taught, and if they have a good attitude when things get tough.  I believe this will serve them far better than being able to tell people they finished Algebra by ninth grade.

Once an atmosphere of education takes root in your lifestyle, I really believe that fundamentals are getting taught, but more so wrapped up in a package custom fit for each child.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment" -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finding the delicate balance between interest led learning, and educational fundamentals can take time and patience, with plenty of mistakes.  But as long as we continue to try to find the right combination for each child, I feel they can only prosper.