Framing

We've made a big step on Strong B.A.C.K. Farms.... I've moved forward with our thoughts on homeschooling and we have officially made it official that I will be a home school mom and our munchkins will be homeschoolers.  Please spare your groans and judgements for a few and hear me out (or don't and simply wait for me to finish documenting my thoughts and check out the next post)....

Telling people you are homeschooling, is much like telling people you are moving across the state.. most people don't believe you, the majority question your sanity, and a select/miniscual/nonexistent percentage have an interesting comment such as: "Oh that's interesting... or Yikes it could be good or it could be  very bad.... or How the heck are you going to do that?"

This has been a conversation that began several years ago, when I started talking to Cam about not wanting to send the kids off for school; it began as a little flicker that kept being fueled by my own research, books/articles I read, people we encountered, and observation of our children.  I remember not knowing quite how Cam would react when I approached him about the subject, but after presenting him with my reasoning, he has been on board ever since.    It is definitely not a choice for everyone, and I can most definitely respect that, but it's one that is consuming my efforts; and igniting a new passion.

Night Time Adventures at Lake Chopaka

Here are some of the criticisms I think homeschooling faces and my own two sense... Like I said feel free to skip over, groan out loud, tell me I'm crazy but stay tuned for future adventures this will bring (and know these are but one person's thoughts). 

Being Weird (AKA Interesting): Generally one of the most common replies I get regarding homeschooling is something about kids turning out weird, not knowing how to interact, social awkwardness, etc.  One of the funniest quotes I've seen regarding home school recently stated "I've seen the village, and I don't want it raising my child." HA!  Does anyone else feel like life has just gotten a bit too much lately?  Like it's spiraling out of control and unable to stop, with television mocking the existence we now face.  Schools are no longer a tried and true safe place, bullying has become the product of national campaigns, teachers are expected to parent but have no power, and our children are falling behind-- then are chastised for not making the marks.  So... does attending school to face peers from broken life circumstances, to conform to a broken country make you more able to interact effectively??  There is of course something to say for exposure to all walks of life, but why not prepare your child's own character prior to expecting them to deal with situations that are beyond their years of understanding.  Why not give them tools and confidence in themselves before asking them to sort out the social network of their peers; keep them safe and grown them strong.  If nothing else... let them be a bit weird, for they will be far more interesting.
          
Time: Hours in the day is one of the biggest issues that has hindered my desire to send my kids to school.  Kindergarten has gone to a full time everyday schedule.  That means up at 7, home by 4.  Unless of course you want to play a sport, practice karate, or participate in Scouts.  Then your 5 year old suddenly has a 12 hour day on their hands and you have less than TWO hours to impact your child's life.  TWO hours to inject your family's love and moral structure.  For a child like Bear, sho still naps by the grace of God, every three days or so, I'm not sure he's physically ready to start punching that time clock, and honestly I want more of their time, more of their attention.
 

Bird House Projects with Dad

Learning to Learn and Wanting to Explore:  I've done some reading on how people learn, and have discovered things I never thought of.  The traditional classroom, is itself so opposite of a benefit to a growing mind.  Walls and the inability to move don't provoke thought quite like living, smelling, touching, and feeling your lesson.  There is of course teaching discipline, and growing the ability to focus.  But since I have began working with Bear on his reading, I've found it grows quite naturally, and without much complaint-- and generally I find he asks for a lesson before I am even ready for the next; he will gladly sit down and study something or work on a project.  Our classroom has changed with the seasons, from the shop, to on top of my bed, to the lake, the meadow, or the mountains.  I'll spare you the details of what I think my personal homeschooling approach will be, but I'm hoping it will create little ones who are able to learn anything well, to memorize, to reason and to enjoy the process... Hopefully they will learn how to use their minds instead of just finish a worksheet.  Did you know you can teach things like logic and character??  What a novel idea. 
  

Framing a Future and A Family Unit: What will this do for their future?  Will they go to college?  Will they fall off the bandwagon and need therapy for the hardships they've endured?  Will they find mates that think they are odd or otherworldly?  I'm really not sure, but I don't think heading down a predictable path prepares you any better for the uncertainties of life, the curve balls, or the hurdles you may or may not encounter.  What my hope is, is that we create a safe foundation, a strong base, and an unshakable family unit that can weather it all.  I hope our children learn to work hard, to problem solve, to enjoy each other, as well as enjoy the power of play and adventure.... because that is what they will see being home more than being away.  I hope they learn to be family members, to care for animals and their neighbors, to survive life in the country, to build, and to explore.  Should they one day read my stories, most of all I would like them to know that we made the choice to give them something different, to give the most of ourselves to invest in their lives.....to frame what we think will be a meaningful life     

Finances, Effort, and Time

Spring is a busy season on the homestead.  The snows of winter not only bring a quiet, beautiful, peace, but also force you to slow down--you don't leave the house for frivolous reasons, your adventures tend to have a shorter radius, and hunkering down is mighty fine.  The melt seems to scream "GAME ON."  I wrote last year on the true meaning of spring cleaning (picking up everything that got forgot before the snow fell), and it holds true for yet another year--and the chore list seems to have done nothing but grow.

My friend Em and the Wall Crew

We enjoyed a gloriously long weekend together.  My schedule this quarter, has allowed for several luxuriously long weekends that have allowed us to focus on tasks at home and get the most out of the lengthening days.  My being home has allowed me time to focus on the kiddos as well as enable Cam to get some work done on the house.  The framing stage of building is so fun, because you see change each day, and finally get a look at what your home is really going to look like.  And I'd say it's looking pretty awesome....  Looking out the windows up there is going to be heaven.  We were lucky to have some friends from Twisp over the last weekend to help us raise two of the four walls, and then Cam and I finished the third this week.  Cam says it's all coming back to him, and I'd say he's doing a fine job!  The front wall will be a bit of a challenge as it's quite tall; one of our neighbors who is a master carpenter has offered some help as well, for which we were very grateful.  Four walls.... The kids have been so excited to see the changes... and are sure enjoying the flat spot to ride their bikes!  It feels good to see my husband up there working on our home, and while we swore up and down we would never build a house EVER again, this one seems a bit more fun.... and so exciting.  On the house docket remains: power/water lines to the house, a septic system, and that big 'ol front wall.  That should keep Cam busy for quite some time!

Me Getting Personal with the Nail Gun

Child of Spring- Wild and Free

Our fruit trees and berry patch are sure loving all this spring sunshine.  Nevertheless, we did take my Uncles advice and throw up a deer fence, following a late night ransacking of my pear tree.  It didn't cause much damage, but I had blossoms and chewed off buds on the ground covering little doe hooves.  NOT OKAY!  I had been hoping our dogs would keep the deer at bay, but not the case.  Following the fires we hadn't seen many deer in our area, but they are back and in FULL force.  I must have seen 200 deer on my way to school this morning (picturesque but makes for an anxious commute).  So, in true TEAM BROWN fashion, we threw up a piece meal fence to suffice until we build something more permanent/fancy.  It seems to have done the trick though, but I'm pretty sure the deer could jump right over it if they wanted to (which could be tasty....).  Along with the deer, many other animals are finally returning along with the regrowth of vegetation.  We have had whole herds of turkeys, our owls are back, the Sandhill Cranes have been flying, and my neighbor that I ride with said she just saw a mama bear with a cub the other night.  It's good to see, because it was really starting to feel like the moon around here with the ashen landscape.    Spring happened so fast this year.  In fact we have a wild plum tree that literally bloomed overnight.  We had been waiting on it, and checking buds, and then all of a sudden it looked like it had been snowed on.



I've come to the conclusion that when you do things yourself or chose to live out in the wilds a bit, life takes three things: financing, effort, and time.  Unfortunately, life rarely gives you all three at once... Luckily though, a lack of one is often compensated for by an excess of another (which usually means effort makes up for anything that gets thrown your way).  Right now, time is a little short, and the days simply not long enough to finish all we'd like to get done.  We have to prioritize and set ourselves up for success in the coming seasons and years, when hopefully our ratio is a bit more inline with our project list.... And a house is probably a bit more of a priority then another garden bed, or fences for that milk cow I've been searching for.. darn it!  It's a good life we're building, it feels just right.

 

Roots

It's been a practically perfect week around here.  The sun has been out in full spring glory, warming to the low 70's.  We are finally starting to smell the pine trees again after several months of snow and a lingering burnt smell.  As I finish up my homework and begin to write, I'm working with tired eyes, and listening to a quiet house full of sun-kissed sleepy heads that have spent 90% of their day out-doors.   


The kids and I spent a beautiful afternoon Wednesday planting fruit trees.  This was on our NEED to do list this year, as, like I once read in a book, "The best time to plant fruit trees.... was LAST year."  There are many wonderful things this activity brought to my mind:

*Direct supply to the canning cupboard-- with the price of food becoming more and more ridiculous, it's hard to justify organics, so why not skip the bumpy trip to town and grow your own?!  An investment of time and sweat is SO worth it when you can line your cans up in fall and enjoy that wonderful food while you're snowed in during the winter.  We are still enjoying fruit from last season, and the kids are hooked on "making their own."  They are convinced that home-canned fruit is good enough to be dessert... Who can deny the yumminess!?   
*Dirt therapy-- there is nothing as satisfying as working around the "farm."  Getting your hands dirty, caring for your family, and getting things done!  We tend to have full plates, a fair amount of stress, and not enough hours in the day; but when we are all home, working outside, there's a buzz in the air; contentment all around.  A garden certainly is time and money... but it's also a product of dedication and love.
*Teachable lesson for the littles-- Where food comes from is most definitely something we strive to teach our children; but with this comes the work that goes along with feeding yourself.  It's never as easy as "lets just buy some plants," or "let's just butcher...," it all takes effort and investment when you don't outsource the work.  I was so impressed that Barrett completed the whole project with me this afternoon; usually attention spans get the best of chores, but lately he has been very focused.  He had shovel, dumptruck, and motivation to get this project done.  I can imagine his pride when he gets his first bite.  Kendyl also enjoyed the project, and was great moral support--enjoying the 70 degree weather in her undies and tennis shoes.  What a character! 

****Check Fruit Trees off the Seasonal To-Do List: Bees and Veggies Remain.. as well as a garden fence, hmmmm a milk cow would be nice, need more fences for that, DARN LIST anyway...

There is something about planting trees that seems fairly permanent.  While I snapped pictures of the kids, I was already planning yearly shots by the growing trees to document both their growth.  Seeing them grow and finding shade, a place to rest, or a snack.  The fires this year taught me a bit about the sacredness of the place you call home and your land-- a feeling that's multiplied by the memories you make and the sweat you put into it.  The more we form, the more memories are made, the deeper the roots go..................

We had quite the finish to my spring break.  A trip home for my Grandparents 60th Anniversary, and a celebration of my 25th (ok ok ok 30th) birthday.  I've actually been really looking forward to 30...no hesitations; I guess that is the feeling that comes from extreme wisdom, and being pretty ok with where your life is at.  Cam planned a surprise dinner with cousins, and friends and while I'm really not at liberty to discuss how much fun we had, I came away feeling incredibly lucky for the people in my life.  My grandma always used to tell us how much she liked to takes us out in public, because she felt so proud; and I felt just like her looking around admiring my husband and his efforts as well as the wonderful people my family members are, and those they have in their lives----so happy for their happiness.  It's really something to watch people you have grown up with navigate life-- I knew we would move on from capture the flag of course, but seeing these new families emerge is really amazing.  Families, houses, careers, we are all very different, yet I still feel the likeness of all the time we spent together growing up, and a common goal of a grounded life.  Having a husband that makes it all happen ain't bad either.

Celebrating my grandparents was very special as well.  Being married for 60 years stands on it's own as an accomplishment.  I can't help but think about the weekend and what they have created.  Two people who didn't have much, didn't know many people...and the wonderful village they have created.  Memories of time spent in their home are some of my best, and so much of where I am now is a product of the roots I was blessed with and stories I inherited.  Good food, laughter, loudness, games (lots of games), a splash of craziness, and lots of hugs-- family is a complex tapestry, but these two have given us a wonderful beginning to all our stories.  Very thankful for that.

Lumber Package Has Arrived

Returning home, we were all a bit wore out, but I couldn't rest for long as I had to start my FINAL quarter of nursing school.  It's still sinking in that I am almost done!  It's a gut twisting combination of excitement and shock/fear that I will soon have real people's lives in my hand (not really something to take lightly)--- it's beginning to feel like the end of school is the beginning of yet another challenge!!  My schedule is looking quite nice though, which is allowing me plenty of that dirt therapy I was mentioning earlier, along with much appreciated family time.  Today we started early again planting strawberries and blueberries.  I'm trying to be better about letting the kids be really involved and not minding so much if my rows are straight (silly I know, but meaningful when you are small and trying to help).  We groomed the horses and took off several layers of their winter coats.  Cam had a table buyer come in from Idaho today, to buy his latest creation, which was exciting!!  Following that we visited the neighbor's puppies and took ourselves to town for lunch.  We skipped naps and went to the lake for "homework" time while Cam worked on his latest order, a huge farmhouse table for a friend of mine.  Barret read several three letter words during reading time today, which was fabulous!!  I so enjoy seeing their light bulbs go off, and a sunny lake setting makes it picture perfect.  We topped off the day by heading to Fish Lake to roast dinner up there.  Both baths and bedtime are well deserved today....................... I'd call that success.