Kids need a rest and a time to process what they are learning --- great article to think about…

Some Thoughts on The Sabbath of Learning by Carroll Smith

http://childlightusa.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/some-thoughts-on-the-sabbath-of-learning-by-carroll-smith-7/

Quote from the above article":

“The idea of completion is key to the point that I wish to make.  God completed his creation on the Sabbath (Genesis 2:2).  As God completed his creation on the Sabbath, so children need “time” as Heschel refers to the Sabbath to complete their learning.  In this sense, new learning (not packed-in atomized information), is a new creation for children.  After learning something new children need a Sabbath, a time to process, internalize, to find pleasure in the new learning, and to make connections to previous learning.  The new creation (new learning) is not complete without this Sabbath.  Frequently children do this when they are playing or having “time” that their minds can work on the new learning.  An example is the seven year old who said that he remembered what he learned in the morning during recess.”

Loved this article that summarizes a skill set that helps us succeed in all areas of our life

 

12 Universal Skills You Need to Succeed at Anything -- http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/04/30/12-universal-skills-you-need-to-succeed/

What gets believed in gets talked about but what gets valued gets done. - Dezi Baker

What are your daily habits?

I like this list of 24 daily habits to cultivate – http://www.thechangeblog.com/24-daily-habits/.

Interesting…. the word of God?

Stop Calling The Bible The Word Of God

  http://jonjourney.blogspot.ca/2012/04/stop-calling-bible-word-of-god.html

life tribe… i like that

We cannot choose the original family we are born into but we can choose the life tribe we create.

Oh Canada!

Time decides who you meet in life, your heart decides who you want in your life, and your decisions decide who you become in life...and the best part is, you can change anytime!
Your life is your playground, how are you going to play?

ALONE TOGETHER

Sherry Turkle talks about why we expect more from technology and less from each other.

A math teacher explains why we shouldn't require math in middle and high school!

I really need to relearn this…

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa

Learning in Freedom

Who knew way back in 2005 when I started our home education journey that I would be fully immersed in what is typically known as “unschooling”.  I used to think unschoolers were crazy!  But I think if look under the surface of the reason I wanted to home school from the very beginning, it was for the freedom to choose when, where, how and why we would learn.  I prefer the term “learning from life”, or self directed learning because the word unschooling has a negative image attached to it for many (just like it did for me once upon a time).   And now as my oldest is finished his “formal” academic years and is moving on to the next stage of his life, I am proud of how he has turned out.  He is a true homeschooler.  He won’t learn something because someone tells him to, he always comes back with… “I will learn it when I need to learn it.”  And he does.  He is a great autodidactic.  He knows how to learn (which was the major goal for our schooling) and is learning all the time (not just during “school hours”).

Anyway, enough babbling.  I have a number of tabs open that are about unschooling and I want to note them here on my blog so I can go back and reference them when I need to.

 

1.  What is an Unschooling Curriculum?

An Unschooler's Informal Course of Study

Read more at Suite101: What is an Unschooling Curriculum?: An Unschooler's Informal Course of Study | Suite101.com http://saramcgrath.suite101.com/what-is-an-unschooling-curriculum-a160601#ixzz1syf9SHUS

2.  Free to Learn Introduction - http://livingjoyfully.ca/books/FTL_intro.htm

3.  Christian Unschooling - http://www.christianunschooling.com/christian-unschooling-part-one/

4.  The Unschooling Revolution: Taking Education Into Our Own Hands

Read more: http://www.simplemindfulness.com/2012/04/20/the-unschooling-revolution/#ixzz1syfYWPo8

5.  Giving in to My Kids (or, Why I Unschool)  --  http://www.christianunschooling.com/why-i-unschool/

Flax Wrap

Robin Sampson posted on facebook:

Starting the Wheat Belly food plan soon. This bread will be my new staple.

Flax Wrap
Ingredients:
1 Egg
2 Tbs Water (more water will make it thinner)
3 Tbs Ground Flaxseed
pinch salt
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1Tbs melted Coconut Oil
Mix together flax and baking powder. Stir in melted coconut oil. Beat in egg and water until blended. Pour into greased microwave safe pie plate. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes until cooked. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Gently lift an edge with a spatula, loosen from the pan. Flip the wrap over and top with desired toppings.
Or make it in a skillet like a crepe.

Don’t Waste Your Time Being a Christian

http://frankviola.org/2012/04/23/wasteyourtime/

"Healthified" Protein Spread (EASY MAYO!)

Maria Mind Body Health

‎"Healthified" Protein Spread (EASY MAYO!)
6 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup organic chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1/2 tsp dried chives
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp Celtic salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
In a blender or a food processor, puree the eggs, broth, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving (it will thicken up as it rests). Makes 12 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per 32 gram serving)
Mayo = 100 calories, 10g fat, 0.2g protein, 2g carbs, trace fiber
"Healthified" Spread = 34 calories, 2.2g fat, 3g protein, 0.3g carbs, trace fiber

one wish for my children…

"If I had one wish for my children, it would be that each of them would reach for goals that have meaning for them as individuals."
-Lillian Carter, mother of President Jimmy Carter

Julie Bogart: Bonhoeffer's Letters from Prison

Julie Bogart: Bonhoeffer's Letters from Prison from Virgil Vaduva on Vimeo.

LOVED this talk! –> Julie Bogart speaks on Bonhoeffer's "religiousless Christianity" and his Letters from Prison.  

Patricia Paterson Fine Art

My aunt Trish is a nature photographer and is just launching her photos online for sale.  You can check out her work at this link http://patricia-paterson.artistwebsites.com/?page=1.  You can also see more of her work and chat with her at her Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/tricialpaterson.

I wish her all the best of luck in her new endeavour.

    

    

I love community!

 

“Our family recently experienced this while visiting new friends on their very secluded working farm where they live in community. For some time now our hearts have been desiring to live in community but not knowing how it really looks or works. On average, most western communities have homes close together that range in price, size and amenities. For the most part those living within them don’t even know their neighbors much less have intimate relationships. How many actually live in communities with like minded believers, sharing, encouraging, working, learning and living life together as describes in the book of Acts? ”

From a blog post written by Stephanie at  http://www.ourwholeheartedfamily.com/blog/

Check out the pictures of community in action at this blog post as well. 

 

This blog post wrote about community as well:

“Last August I went to Pennsic—it’s like a massive Renaissance faire, only instead of going home at the end of the day, you camp out with 10,000+ people for two weeks straight. I stayed in a tent with a waterproof bin full of clothes, a camping cot and sleeping bag, a cooler for food, and my ipod. And I was happier there than I had been all summer. I struggle with an anxiety disorder, and I realized afterward that I had not had a single panic attack since I unglued myself from the debt-ceiling negotiation news coverage, drove to Pennsic, and spent two weeks without news media fearmongering.

I loved that people there ate meals together around the campfire or at picnic tables set up in common areas. Most people had their own tents for sleeping in, and aside from that everything else in the campsite was shared space for socializing. In the real world everyone is so obsessed with having “their own” of everything and not having to share, from appliances and bathrooms to outdoor space and swimming pools, and I think that can isolate people. When I came back from Pennsic I gave my TV to my sister, and when something came up that I absolutely had to watch (i.e. my favorite football team in the playoffs!) I had so much fun going to a packed sports bar with friends and watching games with tons of other cheering fans.”

Written by Lydia at http://www.missminimalist.com/2012/04/real-life-minimalists-lydia/

Worship Services at Our House

http://eric-carpenter.blogspot.ca/2012/04/worship-services-at-our-house.html

Church

 

Another perspective…

Why I Quit the Church - http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/why_i_quit_the_church/

followed up with…

How a guy who went to strip clubs helped me go back to church - http://ethoshift.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/how-a-guy-who-went-to-strip-clubs-helped-me-go-back-to-church/

 

quotes from the above two posts:

-  Not all who wander are lost.  Indeed.  But I would add this...Not all who wander are lost...but all who wander are searching.

-  Church isn't a weird, secret club, it's a feast and there's room for everyone at the table. (And I do mean EVERYONE).

-  I believe wandering must be a part of following Jesus, because the more we wander, the more we meet people to invite to the feast.

-  Along the way I bumped into people who time and time again served as blockades of grace that helped me slow down until I finally realized this: What Christ laid out in the gospels doesn’t need any improvement.

-  And when my children look at me I want them to see hope instead of cynicism. I want them to see a dad who gets it wrong a lot, but knows where to turn when I fall.  Because we don’t need more people trying to fix the church, we just need people to be the church.

 

What is the 70/20/10 model?

“The work of McCall, Eichinger and Lombard in identifying the so-called 70/20/10 model has been critical in spreading awareness of the importance of informal learning. In a nutshell, their work asserts that 70% of learning and development takes place from real-life and on-the-job experiences, tasks, and problem solving; 20% of the time development comes from relationships with other people through informal or formal feedback, mentoring, or coaching; while 10% of learning and development comes from formal training or education.”

picture and quote found here: http://www.line.co.uk/viewpoints/life-in-a-702010-world/

What a great morning… (posted two days later)

It has been a lovely Sunday morning.  No rushed pace.  A coffee or two.  And the BEST part were our discussions this morning.  We discussed politics (Left wing, Right wing, NDP, Conservative, Liberal, etc).  We discussed the pros and cons of each party.  We discussed how we cannot quite see past what is being promised into what it will look like it the long run, what the long term affects will be.  And then this discussion evolved into a discussion about community and relationships.  We have noticed how so many in our world are craving relationship community.  Wes said our Creator has written this need in our hearts.  We talked about certain organization give the feel of community but they fall short over the long term.  That there is only One bond, His bond that gives full and true community.  I shared how relationships in our lives will be for a reason, a season or a lifetime, and how all three have merit to pursue.  It was just such a good morning of sharing and learning.

After we had all parted ways to go and do our daily tasks, I was thinking to myself that when the student is ready, the lesson will appear.  But then I saw how quite often the lesson is being presented to us over and over in our lives BUT when we are ready, the lesson will appear and we will LEARN the lesson.  I think that is more accurate.  And the reason I think this is because it was Jordan who started the conversation with asking about left wing versus right wing.  So he is learning in context of what is happening in his world (the provincial election) and thus asked the question.  He was ready to move up to the next level (if we want to talk in a video gaming learning scope).

“Be compassionate ... and take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be a better place.” ~ Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

Financial Records?

Spring Cleaning has begun…
Today I am going through boxes and boxes of paper!  Old bills, bank statements, receipts and such.  Paper accumulates way too easily in my home.  But today the paper shredder is my best friend, BUT I wasn’t sure how long I should keep financial records in Canada.  So off I go to my handy dandy Google search to find the answer, which I found here – http://www.mrsjanuary.com/personal-finance/how-long-to-hold-on-to-financial-records-in-canada/.  So now that I am armed with this knowledge, time to head back to those boxes and get shredding!   Yay!

Creating an Heirloom

Marriage Moats-Tiny Stitches @ http://archive.aweber.com/marriagemoats/DSkVg/h/Marriage_Moats_Tiny_Stitches.htm

I encourage you to click on the link and read the whole post but I love what is written here about comparing the creation of an heirloom quilt with a long lasting marriage:

 

“An heirloom marriage is made of small pieces too: a wink across the table, an appreciative text message, a salad brought to your honey at lunch, a sharp comment swallowed. These little gestures are what coax the three of you... husband, wife, and your commitment inside... to cling together over a lifetime. Hundreds of toe sized pieces, and thousands of stitches holding a relationship together over the decades are more resilient than a few flashy big ones. 

If you want to create an heirloom marriage there are no short cuts. You will need to clock in thirty thousand hours over half a century. It is impossible to crank one out without an investment of time.”

Great video

A eye-opening reflection on how we view children and how we teach children in our current education system.

Ditto

mnmlist: as happy as possible @ http://mnmlist.com/happy/ wrote a post about happiness and this is partly what he said:

“Here’s what I do have that contribute to my happiness:

1. Time
2. Loving relationships
3. Meaningful work
4. Health
5. Books
6. Enough

The first six are seen as the goals of society by many people. The second six make me very happy, and I believe I have them because I decided to forgo the first six. I recommend this path.”

And I totally agree with his list of things that contribute to his happiness. 

Great lessons about relationships at this website:

“Family isn’t always blood.  They’re the people in your life who appreciate having you in theirs – the ones who encourage you to improve in healthy and exciting ways, and who not only embrace who you are now, but also embrace and embody who you want to be.  These people – your real family – are the ones who truly matter.

Here are twenty tips to help you find and foster these special relationships.”

http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/01/29/20-things-to-start-doing-in-your-relationships/

Series: The 3 P’s by Jessica

Jessica writes:

From my observation, there are three kinds of people in this world:

• Those who know what they like to do, of course: but don’t know anything they would really like to settle on, or study intensely
• Those who are super, crazily passionate about 10,000 different things and don’t know if they could ever settle on one
• Those who know the exact one thing they want and are ready to go and do it.

Chances are, you are one of the first two. If you fall under the latter one instead, congratulations!  (I am seething with jealousy.)

read the whole post at http://www.collegerebellion.com/series-the-3-ps/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-2

And on her blog she will be doing a series on this topic, about finding and following the three P’s – purpose, passion and perseverance.  I am looking forward to seeing what she has to say in this series.  I know I was lost at the end of high school on the BIG question of what I was going to do with my life!  And now my kids are fast approaching that magical age where they are supposed to choose as well.  It is going to be an interesting journey to see what they decide to do. 

compassion

"Compassion means to become close to the one who suffers. But we can come close to another person only when we are willing to become vulnerable ourselves. A compassionate person says: 'I am your brother; I am your sister; I am human, fragile, and mortal, just like you. I am not scandalized by your tears, nor afraid of your pain...'" Henri Nouwen

Autodidactism and “unschooling”

http://www.themuse.ca/articles/52316

Please read the whole post at the link above but here is portion of it:

“Unschooling is only part of the equation though. A trip to the grocery store is an obvious venture to teach a child to count money. But what experiences will teach differential equations, quantum chemistry, palaeopathology, or combinatorial optimization? Eventually, experiences won’t be enough and you’ll need to find other supplemental means of learning. This is where autodidactism comes in.

Autodidacts are people who teach themselves whatever grabs their interest.”

 

I find that our family falls into this area of learning… unschooling with the encouragement to be autodidactic.

Good advice

great life lesson at this blog post

Why Guatemalans are tough, life gets hard and what to do about it -- http://www.discovershareinspire.com/2012/04/why-guatemalans-are-tough-life-gets-hard-and-what-to-do-about-it-panajachel-guatemala/

An online friend wrote this other day and it really struck a chord with me…

 

“if we are truly "followers of Christ" We will, like him, be too worldly for the church folk, and too Godly for the worldly folks. ”

 

I have found myself in this position… too worldly for certain Christians and too “religious” for my unbelieving friends.  Such an interesting position to be in.

Quote

“There is no graduation from education.”

~Greg Denning

my “one-anothering hopper.”

LOVED THIS!!

as seen on Facebook:

Relationship Homeschooling

another one from the archives:
"After parenting for 36 years, I have come to realize that all paradigms are basically a list of do’s and don’ts that someone has created. Instead of embracing a list, I have discovered that it is best for me to run all ideas, philosophies, and paradigms through my “one-anothering hopper.” I ask myself if the suggestions or ideas I am hearing will serve to build my relationships or will serve to tear them down; will they reflect the one-anothering commands of Scripture? I ask if they are a picture of Christ and His relationship with me as His needy daughter. If not, I am not interested, no matter how much appeal they might have for any number of reasons.” ~ thatmom