make bookmarks out of my fashion girls—tons of them!
visit New Jersey for Luca’s birthday and New York
attempt to make macarons
My notes on Kendall’s past 3 months:
This girl loves getting into character—especially with face paint and makeup. We’ve been scoring various things, like shoes, at thrift stories that she can use for dress up. It was about this age when my friends and I stopped playing pretend and dress up. It wasn’t cool anymore. From my observations, she’s not anywhere near close to being done with imaginative play… and I love it! I love that her childhood is lasting longer.
Kendall’s also found her love for the forest! Since moving to SC, she’s always said things like, “Why did you make us move here, mom?” and said that she’s moving back to Michigan when she’s grown up. I believe she’s starting to look at SC as HOME these days—something I think her friendship with Michy and our forest school Wednesdays have cultivated.
Levi’s Summary:
I’ve improved on:
using grown up toothpaste
chainsawing by myself
axing — I’m better at splitting a piece of wood with one swing
making fires
I’ve learned about:
always wearing chaps when I chainsaw.
making wedges on trees when I cut them down.
how Autistic people are sometimes sensitive to noise
fishing with corn
I’ve had fun:
cleaning up our property—getting sticks
axing
going on our trip to the Ripley’s Aquarium—seeing the sharks and piranhas—and then stopping by the Oconaluftee Indian Village and seeing the wood shed.
riding my first, scary roller coaster at Dollywood
making fires in mom and dad’s room and sleeping in the cabin
I want to:
split even harder wood
use dad’s first chainsaw
take apart palates as a family
make a fire at Papa’s house
meet my new cousin
get tomatoes to grow
grow cucumbers, raspberries, and blueberries
go on bike trail rides
set up the pool
My notes on Levi’s past 3 months:
This kid was made for movement. Honestly, I can’t imagine him sitting at a desk for hours on end. Everyday is the same: wake up, go outside to “work,” take a break (usually this means a little iPad time and/or food), then go “work” some more, and repeat until his dad wakes up—to which he acts much like a foreman directing Dave on various “work” projects.
Getting him to read and write is still a thorn in my side, but it’s only an issue because of my own conditioning that he “should” be further along at this point. Then I remember all the things Levi is doing that other kids aren’t. We’re no longer needing to hover right over him as he cuts felled trees up with his chainsaw, for example. We’re communicating just fine—in fact, he’s excellent at stating exactly how he feels and making sure he makes his feelings heard. When he does something to cause pain or frustration, even if it’s not in the moment, he’s pretty quick to come back around to apologize. Finally, since he has his own iPad, he’s communicating through audio messages. He’s able to figure out how to communicate without the traditional reading and writing skills.
All this to say, I imagine him as this entrepreneur and sending warm, energetic video messages to his customers. At that point, he’ll probably WANT to learn to read and write, which will make learning a breeze.
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Things I’ve noticed Kendall and/or Levi have done / learned in the past 3 months:
First, this does not include photos with friends. I don’t want to get signed permission to share photos on here and all that. I’m telling you so that you don’t think that my kids have become the stigma of weird, unsocialized homeschool kids. They’ve had lots of interaction with people of all ages—even in the pandemic!
Kendall went on a shopping and dinner date (to Chili’s) with Dave
We all continued to work on (and finish) the 1,000 piece Christmas puzzle
There’s one structured activity I require the kids to do each month: write their favorite memory of the month.
I bought a special book for this. I hope this helps them to innately notice and acknowledge the stories they’re living! They’ve completed this for all 3 months.
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WHAT MOM’S WORKING ON / READING / LOVING RIGHT NOW:
I’ve read:
Grandma Gateway
Unlikely Hiker
Die Empty
The Power of Moments
2000 Miles Together
I’m loving driving around the property in the UTV to clean up the land, and also driving around the mountain roads in it.
I’m madly in love with our Little Free Library and being a steward. We started this project in August and finally got it up and open in January.
In January I hosted our first unschool entrepreneur gathering.
I’ve been writing my first, real book and learning about traditional publishing.
I’ve been planning our Appalachian Trail hike.
I CAN’T WAIT TO BE AN AUNTIE to my little sister’s little girl. At the time of writing, it’s April 3rd and she should be here *any* day now!
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WHAT DAD’S BEEN UP TO:
He’s been doing lots of house projects! “Lots” is really an understatement, but the one I’m most excited about is the addition of the windows on the cabin. These are drop down windows, so we can enjoy the screens when we want, and keep the cabin a bit more insulated when they’re closed.
Being the gem of husband, that he IS, he took the kids to Dollywood for an entire weekend.
He’s learning to ride a motorcycle and just got an old lawn mower, so we can cut our own grass on the hill this year.
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More pictures of our unschooling life just for fun:
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