Teaching Our Children Old Skills - Foraging

Chris and I recently started teaching our children an old skill, something that really isn't taught anymore, foraging. We already have been teaching the kids how important healthy food is, organic gardening skills, and why what we put into our body has a life long influence, so foraging seemed like a natural step to take in their education.

It has been a really great experience so far. I myself have learned a lot, we have been able to connect with nature as a family, and made some really interesting things.

We started doing this in spring, our very first foraging experience was learning what all we could eat from a very common spring flower, the dandelion. We tried it raw first, the kids really were not a fan of them at that. Next we gathered as many as we could find and we made dandelion jelly. They were skeptical at first, once they tasted it ( think of jelly that tastes like honey ) however, they were hooked.

Next on our list of things to try was dandelion bread. Word of warning, this bread is very dense. We tried it fresh from the oven, I did not care for it at all. The next morning though, it made the perfect breakfast

After learning about some other yummy things we could make from dandelion, we moved on to other edibles we had growing  in our yard. Violet syrup was the next adventure! Which we added to sparkling water and made our own sodas, so tasty! We also made violet lemonade.






We made two other flower jellies as well. Lilac jelly and red clover jelly.




Next up in our new learning adventure was plantain. Wild plantain is an amazing plant, and it grows all over our yard. We made some into a medicinal salve and the other we ate in a soup ( it was a lot like eating spinach ).




I really enjoyed doing this class with my kids. We didn't get as much done as I wanted this year but I already have plans in the works for new things next year! Be watching for more posts.

Kairi's Story

Yesterday my nine year old daughter was the victim of what I considering bullying. Some may call this rough play, others may consider this kids will be kids, I do not.

This is something we have not personally had a lot of issues with throughout the years, mostly because we home school, but also because most of the people around us do not let their children behave in such a horrible manner.

My nine year old daughter, Kairi, had her arm broken yesterday because a child could not keep his hands to himself. We went to a pumpkin patch with our home school group. We had been having a great time, picking pumpkins, playing on the play equipment, going through the corn maze, and more.




It was a fun filled day, until Kairi was intentionally shoved down by another child. She had been bouncing on a bouncy pad, another child shoved her from behind, and now both bones in her forearm are broken. The moment I saw her arm, limp, bending in a place it should not bend, will forever be scorched into my memory. My sweet girl had to be sedated, have her bones set, has a cast up to her shoulder, all because someone else was a bully.

I reacted in the moment, and I did not stay to find the parents of the child responsible. My focus was on rushing my girl to the ER. She was in immense pain, and we had about a half an hour drive to get her to a good ER. I wish I would have found the child, and parents responsible, make them answer for hurting my girl.





Bullying does not always  happen by people you know. Sometimes it is a random stranger, at a pumpkin patch. Bullying needs to stop, no child should have to suffer the way my child has.

Feel free to share Kairi's story, put a face to bullying, even if your child has not been a victim to it.

Third Grade Reading List - Part Two

Kairi is breezing through the first part of her reading list, at her current pace she will finish the books we had picked for her by the time we start Christmas break! So here is part two of her reading list.


This year we have decided not to do unit studies with each book that the kids read off their required reading list. Instead they will be filling out this paper. 


Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm
Rasco and the Rats of Nihm
RT, Margaret and the Rats of Nihm
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh ( I bought my copy at half price books )
The Wind in the Willows

Third grade Reading List - part one

This year we have decided not to do unit studies with each book that the kids read off their required reading list. Instead they will be filling out this paper. 

Below is the list of books that Kairi  will be reading for her third grade required reading, I am saying this is part one of her reading because I  need to see how she handles the reading. If she speeds through, more books will be added in a part two.


Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury
Adventures of Little Bear ( I have owned this book for years, I think I bought it half price books a long time ago. I would urge you to check there and ebay, amazon has it for a very high price. )
The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter ( I actually bought mine at half price for very little. )
The Giving Tree
The Trumpet of the Swan ( This is the kindle edition, that is all I saw on amazon. I actually bought my copy at half price )

Sixth Grade Reading List

This year we have decided not to do unit studies with each book that the kids read off their required reading list. Instead they will be filling out this paper.

Below is the list of books that Destiny will be reading for her sixth grade required reading.

Pippi Longstocking
Little Women
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
The Wind and the Willows
Anne of Green Gables Series

Seventh Grade Reading List

This year we have decided not to do unit studies with each book that the kids read off their required reading list. Instead they will be filling out this paper.

Below is the list of books that Alexzander will be reading for his seventh grade required reading.
To Build a Fire
The Chronicles of Narnia
Sounder
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 
The Incredible Journey
 Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Bridge to Terabithia
Tuck Everlasting
My Side of the Mountain Trilogy
Watership Down

Struggles

There are days that I feel like I am crushing this whole mom thing, other days I feel like I am being crushed by it. Parenting is not for the faint of heart people. Trying to raise kids to be the best they can be can be brutal. This is a statement that I think most people would agree with, yet there is still far to many people that are belittling others choices.

It seems like everyone you meet has advice on what you should and should not be doing when it comes to raising kids. It will never matter how you are doing it, someone will always think you are doing it wrong. I have been told some pretty hurtful things over the years when it comes to raising kids. I am going to high light the two I seem to hear the most.

1. Home schooling will make your kids socially weird.

- I have heard this countless times, along with many other variations of it. It is simply not true. My kids were doomed to be weird from the start, I am their mother.

All joking aside, being home schooled does not mean my kids never see the light of day. It is not like they never see, or play other kids. My kids have loads of friends, not just limited to those in their age group. One of the great things about home schooling is that my kids get the chance to socialize with people of all age groups. Being able to relate to people of all ages will come in very handy in their adult lives.

2. You lead a different ( strange, weird ) lifestyle.

- First off, this is so rude! Why would you say something like this to someone? Second off, my lifestyle choices are exactly that, my choices. Yes, we may be a little different from the main stream, but so what?

We like GMO free, organic foods, it is our choice. I do not try to force it on anyone else.
We believe in natural living/medicine, again I do not try to force it on anyone else.
We lean mostly towards attachment parenting, but we do not try to force it on anyone else.
We home school, but do not try to force it on anyone else.
We are teaching our kids old school survival skills, including forage....yet again....we do not try to force it on anyone else.

It has been said a million times before and I am going to keep saying it. Stop putting your judgements on parents for things you may not personally agree with. As long as their children are cared for and loved, that is what really matters.

Everyone struggles, we need to help lift each other up. If someone comes to your with a struggle, give them helpful non judgemental advice, if you have it. If not, a listening ear is sometimes the only thing people need from you.

We need to start being kind. Your words matter.