Amatuer Bird Watcher
C has, since he was quite young, had a special place in his heart for birds. I remember when he first learned to sign it: We would be sitting at the table and he would point out the window and sign “bird.” Adam and I couldn’t see any so we just said, “yes, birds live outside.” After a couple of weeks of him regularly insisting that there were birds out that window I finally decided to take him to that side of the house to see his reaction. It turns out there was a bird nest right above our window. You couldn’t see the nest from inside but C must have seen the birds flying in and out of it when Adam and I weren’t looking.
He was about two when we splurged and bought him a “Birds of Alberta” book. He flipped through it pretty regularly for a while but then it got put in the jumble of books on the shelf.
The birds have recently returned from their soiree in the south. And the bird book has reappeared. My father purchased a set of small binoculars so C can now officially go birdwatching. It is incredible how much he know about specific species and how many he can identify! For a while we would read about a bird (or two, or six) every day. Now he brings the book a couple times a week to learn (or relearn) about one bird at a time.
I believe that this is unschooling at it’s finest. Provide the opportunity, and children will get curious. Learning without pressure or prejudice. All I need to do is encourage him. And learn about birds alongside my son.
Random bird fact: Did you know that a house swallow waits until other birds build a next and then swoops in a takes it from them? (C doesn’t think that is very nice.)
Taking Steps to Live a Better Life
- Make bread weekly (from flour I grow and grind myself)
- Make yogurt weekly
- Make cheese quarterly
- Make butter monthly
- Cook healthy dinners from scratch
- Raise chickens for the eggs
- Tap trees to make maple syrup
- Homemade vanilla coffee creamer
- Homemade pasta
- Make freezer meals monthly
- Well stocked pantry so I can do one-a-month shopping instead of weekly
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Herbs: garlic, basil, thyme, rosemary, ginger, chives, calendula, motherwort, St Johns Wort, chamomille, mint, lavander, plantain, comfy, lemongrass, hyssop
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Broccoli
- Cauliflour
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Apple trees
- Always clean enough to have company over
- Decorated and matching furniture
- Declutter – clothes, toys, books, and kitchen stuff
- Wood burning fireplace
- Organized bookshelves
- Chemical free cleaning and body care (toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo etc)
- Line dry laundry
- Build my dream home for my family
- Attend church every week
- Read the Bible through every year
- Keep a prayer/miracles journal
- Have a Bible study journal
- Study scripture with my family
- Memorize passages regularly
- Have regular a family worship time
- Read daily something to expand my mind in a subject of interest
- Read daily to my children
- Write and publish a book (or two)
- Learn a few languages
- Meet my sling sales goals every month
- Do 1-2 trade shows per year
- Get 1000 followers on my blog by the time I write/publish my book
- Get the farm to the point that Adam can take regular days off
- Two weekends of camping every year
- One family “field trip” per month
- One date with Adam per month
- Institute a weekly family games night
- Crafts with the kids weekly
Java
Curriculum or Not?
The only “curriculum” we are going to make a point to study is the Bible. Seek the Lord and He will lead. And we are not going to worry about how our sons will learn how to live in His world because they will learn all they need by simply living in His world.
Home Management is Not Learned in a Day
The bad news: My home is not perfect and never will be. The good news: I’m getting better. I am slowly building a system that works for me. A system that helps me track what I need to do on a regular basis but gives me enough flexibility for when life hiccups and my schedule is no longer my own. I can’t begin to describe the freedom that I have knowing that I don’t have to clean the bathroom today because it is on the docket for Monday. And isn’t that what having a clean home is really about, freedom? Mental, physical and even spiritual freedom?