Fresh living

Thursday I picked up baby rainbow chard, collards, butter lettuce and the best avocados ever- grown with love by my friend in her Little Beach Homestead. Saturday my family and I lovingly prepared rosemary skewers and I delivered them to the Garden Angels Cooperative, where a team of volunteers sorted out the produce 9 others had brought and we came back a few hours later to a bag with a couple grapefruit, a tangerine, a baggie of sage, some muffins (notice the empty bag), a bunch of kale, lots of green onions (ideas on what to do with those, anyone- I use them in scrambled eggs and on rice and that's about the extent of my experience...) and a generous bag of kumquats. I don't even know how to eat those.

For the past week we have had bone broth in the crock-pot constantly going - I added a sprig of rosemary to one batch. Yum.

Now I have 9 jars, 3 trays of frozen cubes- plus I made

• egg drop soup one morning, 
• sauteed chard & avocado in bone broth another, 
• tortilla soup for lunch one day, 
• just a mug of broth with apple/avocado/almond salad, 
• and then... classic vegetable soup last night (so easy- few handfuls out of the huge bag of frozen, organic mixed veggies from Costco, a jar of tomato sauce, 2 cloves garlic and a can of potatoes that someone gave me for some reason- just 'cause I wanted to use it up; threw it all in the last of the strained bone broth and let it simmer in the crockpot for an hour, sooooo good!) 

And all this from the bones of the 2 Rotisserie Chickens we served at May's 1st birthday last week (oh and of course, some Apple Cider Vinegar, carrots, celery and onion).

My middles are excited and involved and practicing cutting and G is learning about proper food storage and safety as Shawn and I discuss it, she has chimed in with questions and gone and looked stuff up, even!!

We also made 4 batches of orange oil cleaner from the peels the kids have carefully saved each time they eat a cutie- and that is frequent. And we have been saving other scraps for the worm bin and compost pile.

It feels so good to be connected to the foods we eat, to be using as much as possible from each source to be sharing with others, and supporting small local growers.

However- lest you think I am some sort of paleo, hippie, homeschool mama- I will quickly end this post as I share that my husband is pulling in the driveway with Carl's Jr...

Bringing it back home...

The most incredible and exciting thing has happened. We will be moving the HOMEschool enrichment center into our own backyard. Literally. Through the generous support of an anonymous donor we will be able to build out the classroom and put in a front fence for the play area and make the modifications necessary to welcome our families into the next stage of Learning Barefoot.                                                                                   

My most strongly held reason for wanting to homeschool came from reading "Dumbing Us Down" by John Taylor Gatto. Institutional schooling is not something I believe in. It is my opinion that children learn best by modeling the behavior they see. This is totally being underscored as I watch my 2 littles observe and absorb everything their two older sibs (and we parents) do.

After watching The War On Kids and Waiting For Superman (both available to watch instantly on Netflix), it helped me define what I do stand for. What Learning Barefoot was created for. While I am not in favor of compulsory institutional education, I strongly support a consciously committed community educational environment- a place where kids can feel like they "belong". Don't we all want to be a part of something larger than our immediate family? A place where our traditions and cultural ideals are shared- or at the very minimum, fully accepted.

com·mu·ni·ty  

/kəˈmyo͞onitē/

A group of people living together in one place, esp. one practicing common ownership: "a community of nuns". All the people living in a particular area or place: "local communities". Community is still largely defined as being a geographic term, although in many societies, and with the increasingly easy ability to come together from within larger areas, some have started to segregate themselves into "like-minded" groups. As an eclectic homeschooler, I share opinions with many of them- even the ones who strongly oppose each other. It seems that without a unifying purpose (not merely a belief system), the "ties that bind" are rarely tight enough to keep a tribe together and when someone acts out of alignment with the group, they aren't exactly ex-communicated (usually) but they are less frequently included or invited to shared events. The whole inclusive/ exclusive battle has lots of grey areas depending on how connected you are.  One mama told me "there aren't any cliques, we are just closer friends" -it felt okay to communicate/ vent/ manipulate the group from within that inner circle to "protect their kids from outer influences". Fine for them, perhaps a little harder for the families who have kids that have connected to the kids of those mamas, who don't care about minor differences in parenting style as long as all parties are willing to love through any conflicts. Learning Barefoot is a place that supports ALL family style learning and education methods. Our primary purpose is to provide a safe, welcoming, resource filled environment where adults and kids are actively engaged in interesting pursuits- alleviating the need for the constant discussion of "how" and providing a planned "what". As facilitators we do things alongside the kids, with their interests, ideas and insight always encouraged. If they aren't feeling like being in the "group", there is a quiet reading/ writing/ meditation corner where they are welcome to wander if they feel the need. We do not require participation- our program is designed to facilitate friendships and connection. We recognize that sometimes when kids share an exciting discovery they will want to find out what else they might also share an interest in- so if in the middle of science two kids start talking about comic books, it's OK with us. However for the sake of the other kids who may still want to continue exploring the scientific principles being displayed, we will invite them to move to another area (or if possible include everyone in the new "rabbit trail" and skillfully bring it back around to at least a bit of closure on the original topic - modeling a very valuable leadership skill- keeping a meeting on task).  We are now able to be sure that our program will be in a place where we can truly embrace our family's style of learning. And from what the kids currently in our program tell us, they would really like some of the "trappings" of "school"- just because they are curious and it sounds cool. We are not trying to recreate a "school at home" experience, merely listen to the things kids really want- like lockers, lunch tables and lots of games to play. The community we hope to build will be a mix of cultures, traditions, methods and means- just like any good melting pot. We will ask only that families respect each other, communicate quickly and openly and accept that there will be times when we all act out of alignment.  Grace. Joy. Chance. May.  Our kids names and the foundation our "philosophy"... Everyone needs grace All are entitled to seek joy,  We encourage taking a chance All may do what they like to do (as long as it doesn't interfere or distract others from doing their thing- and should it, our first question will always be "Can I help sort this out?"). Shawn and I love creating, gardening and musical movement- his artistic abilities and passion for science combined with my love of language and fascination with social studies, weave together into a tapestry that is colorful, eclectic and a bit eccentric! We invite you to experience Learning Barefoot. April 1st. No fooling. A brand new (much bigger) meeting room. A back yard for science, herbal studies, composting and gardening and a front yard for playing, running, jumping- a nice long concrete area for trikes, chalk, hopscotch. A mini "stage" for performing al fresco and lots and lots of love. We will be able to add back into our schedule: Toddler "Paint, Paste & Pour" Baby & Toddler Signing Classes  Family Style Backyard Science Three additional facilitators will bring  Music Lego Engineering  a foreign language (French or Spanish- maybe both!) Our two beloved new friends will continue with us Julie's Herbal Studies will now be held in a more conducive environment  Jenn's Holistic Kids Classes include Nutrition, Laughing Yoga, Self Expression - Writing or Arts & Crafts And of course we will continue offering our core programs-  Science Drawing Video Production Readers Theater Magic Treehouse Bookclub and our cornerstone Enrichment Program (which includes Science & Geography)  Last but certainly not least we will happily keep our Social Activities running... Glee Group Lapbooking Lounge Passion for Fasion Newspaper Staff    Finally our members will be happy to hear that their membership now includes even more and we will be sharing those changes at our parent meetings in Mid March.

Crockpot Cooking

Well after being inspired by +Mama and Baby Love  to get those crockpot meals prepped and frozen, I now have 9 meals ready to go... During the first day of prep, I made the Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken and Chicken Curry, while cooking taco filling in the crockpot. 

The next morning I quickly knocked out the Goulash and with the rest of the chicken I purchased, I made up a Chicken Fajita freezer meal pack- and started a roast, which I modified from this recipe- I used Sweet Potatoes instead of regular and omitted the celery and onion soup mix- replacing it with my own zesty herb seasoning mix. I loved it.

My almost 11 year old wanted to make the gravy so I taught her how and I thought it came out great too- we gathered around the table (after a short scuffle about who would sit where- nobody puts G-pie in a corner, apparently!) she took one bite and said, "Well it smells way better than it tastes" and I burst into tears (we are both hormonal right now, methinks!) ... although once I was able to compose myself and discuss it, it turns out she and Sugar Daddy were surprised by the sweetness of the meat & gravy. They were expecting something more savory- I guess the sweet potato infused it all too well!!

Having used my crockpot twice this week, I noticed it seemed to be cooking hot, so after a little searching I found these answers:

http://busycooks.about.com/od/slowcookerrecipes/a/crockpot101.htm

http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/2011/08/faq-crockpot-cooking-too-hot.html

So now I have a bit of trouble shooting to do. Especially since I have a freezer full of food ready to dump in a crockpot!!

Love

My husband is amazing. He is such a patient father and willing partner. He puts so much into everything he does, and gives his heart openly in shared wonder to his students and I am so happy that he is living this Learning Barefoot life with me.

As he was regaling me with the tale of his Science & Drawing classes today, baby M-cube awoke and he calmly assured me that it was OK and left me to a little much needed alone time. Time to reflect on the beauty of my life, the blessings that I have- the fulfillment of dreams and promise of a lovely future.

The pictures of my day are gathered in a digital trail from my morning post here, scattered on Tumblr, Facebook and Instagram- as is the fashion of our time. A beautiful summary of a day well lived.

Look to this day,
For it is life,
The very life of life.
In it’s brief course lie all
The realities and verities if existence,
The bliss of growth,
The splendor of action,
The glory of power-
For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision,
But today, lived well,
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.

And here are some pictures of the time my partner-in-life shared, with children we both love at Learning Barefoot... being about the business we are building together. He makes things fun. It is after all why I married him.

Carnivore, Herbivore or Omnivore?

Eco-system discussion notes...

Group built food web.

Hungry "seed" (bead) eating "birds"...

The pollination race begins... "birds" eat "seeds".

...Kai is bringing "seeds" to the "soil"... while Grace drops "pollen" at the flowers...

Composters slowly creating "soil".

Frenzied action shot!!

Pollinated (paper clip) flowers and their attracting "bee". (last class was on magnets- love how he reinforces that concept)

 Science was so much fun that the kids who came for drawing wanted to play this game that he made up too...

We both had a great day doing things we loved, and loving the people who did them with us. 

It's a Wonderful Life.

Fresh Frozen Crockpot Family Food

It took me all weekend to clean and rearrange the cupboards in my kitchen. Monday I shopped.

Today is Taco Tuesday. I will have all the 3 littles home with me all day, while Sugar Daddy teaches make-up Science & Drawing classes at Learning Barefoot.

So I searched for a crockpot taco recipe- let's see how it goes, simmering all day while I chop and sort and store for the coming busy weeks. Found these great fresh to freezer to crockpot to table recipes on Pinterest... where it looks like this mama got a lotta love for this brilliant idea and has recently written a cookbook.

It is now 11:07 am. The middles are playing Dr with their stuffed lovies. The littlest is sleeping- here we go on the tacos... and then it is time to start chopping!!

Posting to Tumblr throughout the day... http://barefootocmama.tumblr.com/

Spending Sunday in the Kitchen

This was such a lovely day.

We decided that Sundays should be spent in the kitchen and we will make pancakes for breakfast, snack plates for lunch and something sweet for the week- today we have been trying to get to these... meringues.

J-cakes learned to finger crochet today. She picked it up so very quickly.

G-pie cleaned the tea kettle.

C-dough made his lunch.

As did J-cakes.

C-dough took out the trash!

We played with egg yolks.

We mixed egg whites.

And added sugar & food coloring.

And tasted it.

And squirted it.

And exploded it. (Science experiment in the microwave gone awry. Tense moments with egg everywhere!)

After hours of wiping down (and behind & underneath) appliances, scrubbing cupboard fronts (love how C-dough calls them "covereds" just like G-pie used to!), unloading, re-loading, un-loading and re-loading the dishwasher, clearing the clutter from the counters, cleaning the teapot and the coffeepot- with a couple breaks for dance parties, hanging our "prayer rags"...

He put on the Scooby footies and fell fast asleep!

Mason Jar Midnight Snacks

Thanksgiving leftovers layered in a mini-mason jar. Microwave for 45 seconds- yum. Pack a few as you are clearing the table on Thanksgiving Day... midnight munchies satisfied!!!