Pressing in...

The last few weeks have been excruciating. Like heart-stopping, can't breathe, drowning in the ocean, horrible. 

We had known my dad was sick. We just had no clue how sick. He went from bad to worse over night. So many days and evenings have been spent in an ICU waiting room, praying, hoping, believing, that things are going get better. 

I don't even know how I've survived but not for grace. I went from angry to confused, from confused to frustrated, and from frustrated to just being. As the shock has worn off I've been able to cling to the Father and rest in knowing that "all things work together for good."

It's hard to feel so helpless. I know the prayers of many are all that is keeping me afloat. Cancer is horrible. It's no respecter of persons and it devastates families. 

But in the midst of all of this I still have little ones to raise, and educate. I've been all the more thankful for our basic philosophy of education during this time. It allows us freedom and flexibility. Even more it allows us to be together.  

I'm thankful for my family and all the help that they've given me; and for friends who have watched my children in a hospital waiting room and cafeteria when I know there were better things they could be doing. 

It's been hard, but we're blessed. At times I want to run away, but instead I know I must press in. I know this fight is really only just beginning and everyday must be viewed as a victory. 

Today we ventured out to one of our favorite spots. We got stuck with cactus spines, and witnessed the majesty of our creator. Which pretty much sums up the last few weeks. 

Life's not all flowers and sunshine. Some times it hurts. But through it all the Almighty still reigns. 

Living Wild and Free in the City

It’s easy to get discouraged when you see all the pretty #wildandfreechildren pictures on instagram of beautiful children playing in picturesque settings.  

But what about those of us who don’t live in places traditionally deemed beautiful? How can we cultivate a wild and free spirit in our children, when we may not live in a place that feels as inviting?

For sure cities have so much to offer. Museums, aquariums, parks, culture. But what if you want your children to explore nature and be connected with the world around them?

This is the problem I faced homeschooling my 4 children. We live in a rather large city and don’t have the flexibility of just going on an adventure whenever the mood strikes. Also while our city may be large it’s certainly not as exciting as cities like New York or Los Angeles.

But I want to cultivate this deep desire in my children to explore and to learn. I don’t want them hindered by our physical location.

Instead of lamenting about it, we decided to do something. I scoured the internet for every place that sounded even remotely adventurous in our state. We made a decision that we would work hard to expose our children to these places as often as possible. Which for our family sometimes means just on the weekends.

This has allowed us to discover waterfalls, bat caves, abandoned mines, secret gardens, swimming holes, local farms, and so much more.

But in addition to this we decided to take the time to really see what’s around us. Investigating what exactly is growing in our backyard. One of our neighbors grows sunflowers which has prompted great discussions and art work.

We’ve attempted to grow different plants indoors but the lighting in our home is just not suited for doing so. This year we plan to give container gardening a go. As the weather warms up the plan is to learn all we can and then get at least one potted plant going so that we can observe it at all stages.

In addition to these things we also do a lot of fun things in the kitchen. Like fermenting and baking. My older girls love to help with our ferments and this has provided many lessons on bacteria and food preservation.

Of course it would be nice to just let my kids roam around freely in our backyard as they explore, but at this season in our lives that’s just not possible. So we make intentional decisions to get out and experience the world. We nature journal about different animals, and things we've found while out on our adventures. 

I focus on trying to cultivate a spirit of adventure in my children and build the excitement for all that is around them. Being wild and free isn’t solely about where you are. It’s about who you are! So get out and go on an adventure! I bet there are more places than you realized waiting for you!

Our Mushroom Study

After we went on a hike and discovered mushrooms growing I decided to take advantage of my kiddos current interest and take a day to learn about mushrooms. At 2, 5, and 7 their interests are constantly changing so sometimes I need to move quickly to keep momentum. 

We learned about the parts of a mushroom and about how they grow. Which I think was the part that interested them the most. They were very concerned about spores in the air! I had to reassure them it was safe to breath. lol

We also decided it was the perfect time to make mushroom pizzas! 

Two of my littles are allergic to gluten so I also made a gluten free and nightshade free pizza. Which also turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. 

Do you create studies based around your kids current interest? or are you more likely to stick with a consistent plan? 

Think Spring

It's almost spring time here and we are seriously enjoying some much needed warmer weather. It's been awhile since we've been able to get out and really go exploring.  I've been researching different locations near us so that we could find some new hiking spots and found this beauty! It's a pretty long trail, 3.5 miles. We didn't hike the whole thing because we got there later than we had planned and didn't want to get stuck out there in the dark!

This particular trail is a nature preserve and houses an old mine and steel yard. Which will give us lot's to cover in the coming weeks! 

Early into our hike we discovered these mushrooms. I think they are false turkey tail mushrooms, but if anyone knows for sure could you let me know? These prompted a yummy lesson on mushrooms this week which was a lot of fun. 

The trail was gorgeous and I don't even think my photos can do it justice. It was just so peaceful. At one point we stopped and it was just completely silent! I've got four kids, I didn't even remembered silence existed! I made everyone stop to just listen. 

It was nice to see peeks of spring popping up all around. I am beyond ready for warm weather! The better the weather the more adventures we can go on!

Although we were quickly reminded that winter isn't over yet when we got to this frozen lake. It seemed to be frozen solid, the kids were throwing sticks and acorns on to it an they just bounced off! 

Once we began heading back to the car we realized that we almost missed the mining and steel mill part of the preserve because it was off the long trail. But it was pretty cool once we found it. 

All in all we had a great time and we'd go back again. The hiking trail wasn't too difficult and it was beautiful!

Welcome!

Hi!!! I'm Chana!

I'm a home schooling, home birthing, momma of four.

We're city dwellers that love a good adventure. So we can often be found roaming the woods, hiking, or setting out on some other type of journey that leads us to new discoveries.

Our life philosophy is that everything is an opportunity for learning. As for "actual schooling" we're a mix between unschooling and Charlotte Mason style learning. Which so far has been great for us.

My life is noisy, messy,crazy, lively, exhilarating, and blessed! And I wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world!