Waste-free Sourdough Crackers

I live with a baker now. In January, Oberon set out on a mission to learn to make bread, using our friend Bonnie Ohara's wonderful book, and he did! This has meant lots of yummy warm and fresh bread, and an abundance of sourdough starter in our house again. And the owlets have a renewed interest in baking, and a new activity to enjoy with their Dad.

Also, unrelated to this, but since we started living waste-free, we haven’t bought crackers for almost 4 years. We haven’t really missed them too much, but they’re a nice snack to have on hand. Happily, our abundance of sourdough starter means we have a regular cracker supply once more! And a very quick and delicious savoury treat to snack on. And no waste, while we’re making our food stretch further. Hooray for new skills and new ways to be creative with turning waste into resources.

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Sourdough Starter Crackers
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

Mix all the ingredients together into a ball of dough. Dust your table surface with a little flour and knead the dough until it’s fairly smooth. Roll the dough flat until it’s only a few millimetres thick (thinner = crunchier). I do this on the back of a baking tray, lined with parchment or greased and dusted. Cut the dough into squares with a knife or pizza cutter, then prick each square with a fork. Drizzle with olive oil and spread the oil gently with a pastry brush. Sprinkle whatever flavours you’d like on top - things like sea salt, sesame seeds, seaweed salt, herbs like rosemary are all great. Bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool and eat with your favourite cheese or dip, or just as they are!

Back to life + rose petals

Suffice it to say we've been extraordinarily busy for the past year. The last six months were particularly intense and when the flu arrived at our home in September, followed by a hospital run, our manuscript deadline,  photoshoot, the Spiral Garden end of year rush, and a house full of family visiting for Christmas, we abandoned more structured home educating days and embraced our unschooling ways again. Long days (and nights!) of work sat alongside owlets undertaking their own exploration and projects, meeting with us to discuss and reflect and assist as we were able, and peppered with the odd trip to the beach or play at the playground, while I frantically responded to emails on my phone. It wasn't what any of us felt was ideal. It was a slog. But we got all the jobs done and survived it in relatively good spirits. And now we're slowly creeping back to life as we knew it before. Slowly remembering there's a garden to feed us. Remembering the mending pile, the preserving season, the books to read, the wardrobes to reorganise, the tax to do, pictures we've forgotten to hang in their proper places as we've moved through a year doing only the basics.

This week the owlets requested a return to the more formal elements of their learning-filled days, that they've come to love. Workbooks and reading and discussion, art activities and exploration are where it's at for them. And the focussed time we spend together is dear to all of our hearts. It's still another couple of weeks before the Tasmanian school year begins, but we have the freedom to take holidays and end the year as we please, so we follow the enthusiasm when it arrives. On Monday at about 9.15am, we decided it was time.

We began with the regular milestone photo by the front door and a sprinkling of rose petals and cheers as owlets wandered back inside, filled with excitement and renewed energy. I gave myself a sprinkling of petals and owlets cheered loudly for me too, because we're all in this together. Then we gathered at our little round table, which was set with a jar full of flowers, a candle, and some new writing materials for the year. We've decided to use folders this year, because paper isn't wasted like it  often is in the unused pages of exercise, scrap, or main lesson books. The owlets chose their favourite Lyra pencils to write and draw with, and we took a little tour through the books and subjects they've asked to work with this year. I'm a fairly relaxed planner, but I've been gathering interesting resources and making plans for the owlets for the past few months, checking in on their own plans and wishes.

Big Owlet has asked to spend time delving into science, art history and witchy things. She also wants to improve her understanding of mathematical concepts, learn to write academically, gently explore literature, and poetry. Little Owlet is so inspired by storytelling right now, so Ancient History is where we'll begin with her, alongside the shelf full of books she's likely to devour this year. She's keen for some scientific learnings too, with a Harry Potter inspired slant of potions, astronomy and herbology. Tiny is desperate to read, keen on maths, and into whatever her sisters are doing, with a practical focus, and lots of play.

This far along in our home educating lives, we know with some confidence, what works for us and what doesn't. We also know to be flexible, and that you often can't plan the greatest opportunities to learn, and that the most valuable lessons usually come from life. Tangents are meant to be followed. So we began with the plan of science and craft on Monday. Astronomy for Big Owlet, biology for Little, chemistry for Tiny. Then Little and Tiny set about painting some small cardboard tubes to create families of people, before looking through my grandmother's button collection to find her old earrings. Tiny learnt to crochet, and Big began making prototypes for her small business. Before long, the owlets were catching up with their friends via Skype, while I snuck in a couple of hours work, emailing customers and fulfilling orders, as dinner bubbled away on the stove. Tuesday was much the same, with english, herbology, and the hours of gardening and cooking that seemed to happen as part of that, including spontaneous ANZACs and jam making for Little Owlet, who made what is probably the greatest backyard apricot and vanilla bean jam of all time! 

Life is full, messy, busy and ridiculously lovely right now, and I'm so glad we're finding more time again to notice it. So glad to spend my days with these owlets. So glad they're choosing to spend their days here together. And I'm aware of how soon these precious days will be behind us. A beautiful blur of questions, cups of tea, conversation, love, pikelets, creativity, and rose petals.

A new rhythm: Finding the beat x 3

Over the years, I've talked about rhythm so much, I know. Even in unschooling days, I think there's rhythm. We wake with the sun, eat when we feel hungry, sleep when we're tired… mostly. There are also rhythms to the seasons and by looking back at posts I've made over the years, I can see very clearly how rhythms affect our family and our days.

This year saw us implement a totally different approach to our home education. We're trying something a bit new. A side-step from our unschooling life to something a little bit different. Although, depending on your definition of the term, and are if labels are important to you, unschooling would possibly still define our days in some way. If we're going by school years, we have owlets in Grade 7, Grade 4 and Prep. All school age! One high school age! And, despite knocks and blows of the recent six months,  adamantly and passionately still choosing to be at home. So now to find a way to meet everyone's needs…

At Big Owlet's request, we've experimented and researched a curriculum for her. She adores a steady rhythm and to feel like she's accomplishing things, which is pretty important to her and where she's at. She's ready to knuckle down and work, and also find out where she measures up against her peers, which I hear is a 12yo thing. It's like a little light switched on one day and the desire was there. She wants to be kept busy and loves some external input for prompts to explore. So we're going with that and a curriculum we have. Back to our Waldorf/Steiner-inspired days, which has always been a fallback for her, we're using the Oak Meadow curriculum as a guide, which is written in such a way that she can take responsibility for her work. It's equal parts scary and wonderful. It's challenging and weird and super fun and should give her the mix of structure and freedom she works with best.

Little Owlet? Well… she just wants to work with her hands. But she wants a little bit of the structure that her older sister has. So we started out experimenting with various curriculums for her too, but none seemed a perfect fit for right now. So we're carving a seasonal year for her, using Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series as a starting point. She adores the first book of the series and she's keen to read more and take practical cues as we read on. She loves preserving and baking and all things old-fashioned, so it's a perfect fit. At her request, we'll be sure to compare and contrast to Australian history as we read, and fit a little form drawing and research about animals and the Dreamtime too.

As for Tiny? I'd say she's our radical unschooler. Totally moving to the beat of her own drum in every way, her own body clock determines what she does and when and she's super decisive in everything she does. She's learning in her own time and she's totally got this. She climbs up to the table to join in, or she wanders off on her own to play. Connection is all she needs right now. And patience. And to feel useful. So we keep her busy, get outside, cook, move, read and play and she's happy in her days. She writes letters, draws pictures, loves "Mafsh" (maths), and will only do anything if it was her idea first. Classic Tiny.

Things are settling a little now and I'm excited to see where we end up. Where this new rhythm and these new choices lead us. Perhaps just continuing on and finding the best fit for each of our owlets as we go. There's drama, cello, choir, girl guides and gymnastics in each week's mix too, so busy they are. And so grateful we are for our little shop, which miraculously (although not without effort) provides opportunity for owlets and helps meet their needs, with just the right amount of freedom. Now to add an extra 24hrs per day and all the rest will fit in too! But that's another post entirely….

How's your year going so far?
Is it as you expected?
How do you go about meeting everyone's needs?
Are there enough hours in your day? 

~ Lauren. xx

Weekend Adventurers :: Sisters Beach

Never let it be said that we're not spontaneous… As Little Owlet's 9th birthday approached, in the depths of winter this year, so did a rather dreadful head cold. We'd planned a slumber party with some of Little Owlet's then dearest friends. It was to be her first proper party all of her own. But as the days drew nearer, so did the sniffles so we decided at the last moment to cancel the party, go with her next favourite option, save the birthday, pack up the car and head off to places unknown - North West Tasmania!



The last time Huz and I visited the north west was on our honeymoon. So it had been a while. We found a super lovely, affordable and comfy shack at the beautiful sleepy beach town, Sisters Beach. Leaving at lunchtime, car packed full of owlets and tissues, we arrived just before dark. Within moments we had the fire lit and hunkered in for what appeared to be one of the wettest weekends we've seen in a long time.



The next four days are a blur of long car drives, volcanic soil, impressive coastlines, amazing geology, sneezes, brain sponges, sideways rain, and rainbows. We spent hours pottering around Sisters Beach, looking at rock pools, shells, a cave and Little Owlet's namesake plant. We ventured to Table Cape lighthouse in squally winds and Rocky Cape National Park to see the beautiful colours and textures of the coastal heathland there.



On Little Owlet's birthday, we headed for a very quiet Stanley (Monday morning mid-winter is super quiet there!), to admire The Nut and have devonshire tea. Knowing Little Owlet's preference for all things old fashioned, we wandered through Highfield House, soaking up the incredible views and detailed stories of the house at its peak, while escaping the soaking rain.

Later that evening, we celebrated with cake, lego and hot chocolates. We mixed the cake by hand, with a fork, each taking it in turn to cream the butter and whip the icing. It was a slow and pretty much perfect birthday, all things considered. Lamenting our return home, we extended our stay an extra night allowing some space to flop and relax and take in things a little more slowly. We rested and enjoyed the modern, clutter-free space while the rain pelted down outside. I think it's the wettest holiday away we've spent anywhere. But it was refreshing and so much fun and very much needed. Even if we did all return home with the dreaded lurgy and a car full of tissues. Even if it did feel like everything was working against us. It felt like that was exactly where we needed to be.



Before we left we left Sisters Beach to come home, we ventured out on a small walk at the rocky end of the beach, to a place called Wet Cave, which was actually much drier than the area immediately outside it. But in Tasmania, rain often means rainbows so we were happy to see a beautiful one of those too before we headed home. We've vowed to return in warmer weather to explore some more of this beautiful part of the world. To breath in some of that cleanest air and see some of that amazing geology again, as well as all the treasures we missed! As small as it is, I don't think we'll ever tire of exploring the little corners and hidden nooks on this beautiful island. Each so different and breathtaking. Plenty of weekend adventures for many years to come!

Where have you been adventuring lately? 
Have you ever had perfectly imperfect rainy holiday? 

Happy adventuring!

~ Lauren. xx

Unschool Monday :: Rambling...

Well… after a valiant attempt on both our behalves to, at Big Owlet's request, very loosely follow the Australian grade five Steiner curriculum, Big Owlet proclaimed herself "a little bit bored" with that and has set aside her research books for now and moved on… Time at the table, working together has made way for short bursts of inspiration and chats over mealtimes while we all ramble a bit and find our way through the day.  Finding rhythm within that, to satiate Big Owlet's sometimes-love of structure, and knowing when to let go of the structure in favour of fun and chaos, is what keeps this nest bubbling along happily.



So Big Owlet is currently rising early, often to work on her drawing in a quiet nest, before her siblings awake. She also steals moments at times during the day to keep drawing... always drawing and practicing. She still asks me to work on an art exercise with her from time-to-time, but for the most part she's working at her drawing on her own, taking on suggestions as they arise.



We found some anime and manga drawing books on sale at a bookshop in town and Big Owlet set to work not long after. She's been enjoying graphic novels and we've been analysing the social constructs and sexual stereotypes within some of the anime and comic genre while exploring feminist anime characters. We've also, of course,  been watching lots of Miyazaki films. Then sometimes Big Owlet will just break out and draw something from observation. She's beginning to get over her perfectionism and can see that her work is improving.

Then there's role playing. Huz visited his Mum and picked up all his old Dungeons & Dragons and Middle Earth role-playing books and miniatures geekery - an absolute treasure trove for Big Owlet and where she's at right now. It's also providing hours of fun for Huz who's constructing games for Big Owlet which surprisingly take in lots of geographic, historical and mathematical concepts, while testing her literary thinking and knowledge. Add to that her Minecraft Homeschool Vikings unit, her days with friends at co-op, gymnastics and kung-fu and weekend adventures and she has pretty busy days!



Little Owlet is still absorbed in her cook book. Always adding to it and re-visiting recipes. Taking ideas from books we read and films we watch. Once a week she stays up late on her own to watch a tv show with me and Huz. Her show of choice, without fail, is Iron Chef. She always wants the challenger to win. Dismayed with the lack of baking while I'm undertaking the Whole30 challenge, she's taken to cooking every day for her sisters and still always grabs the spoon from my hand when I'm cooking.

Lately Little Owlet has taken to gardening alongside me and I'm secretly hoping some of that practical interest will cross over and she'll enjoy learning holistically about where the food she's cooking with comes from. Both interests have certainly helped quell her fear of the outdoors and experimenting with new foods. Progress! Yes! She's also working super hard at reading, mastering her first small chapter book and spelling out random words she's learnt, off the top of her head. I'm loving watching her literacy learning path and how it is so different to her sister's.



As for Tiny, well, her days are filled with play and exploration of the sensory kind. Just as life should be when you are three. She's coming down with the squeezels quite regularly these days, so it's a good thing that Dr Cheeseballs is here to help.



So our days are pretty loose and flowing gently right now. A little out breath, perhaps before Winter. They seem to match these golden, last warm days of Autumn and I'm thinking of squirrelling away some nurturing, inspiring resources and activities for wintry days.



I'm also making the most of the garden and it's always lovely to find an owlet or three spending time alongside me, playing, digging, helping or daydreaming. Foraging for berries and eggs, playing with pets or bouncing on the trampoline… Golden, rambling unschooling days indeed.

How are your days rolling along? 
Is your year different to how it started out?
Getting much time in the garden? 

Have a wonderful week. xx

**Photos in this post are by me @owletmama and Huz @berondi

unschool monday :: whole family learning

I'm constantly astonished at how this unschooling life evolves. And yet, I've always had a sense of how things would flow as we settled in and it all became second nature... And it has. So much so that I forgot about noting it here for a time and, as such, I'm not sure that Unschool Monday is a thing anymore... but hey, it's Monday and I'm writing about unschooling, so why not? Anyhow, it flows, this life. And we flow with it. And what we have created in our little nest is a group of people all working towards a common goal - to love each other, make life a little easier, and to help. We help out and take turns and communicate openly and it seems there's always someone to lend a hand if another's hands are busy. These owlets are turning into the most excellent humans, who see a need to help and (most of the time), gladly step up.

Big Owlet has become the most patient of teachers for Little Owlet, who will ask for help with spelling, writing and reading multiple times a day. What's brilliant is that there's always someone to answer Little Owlet and help her on her way. And understands there are loads of people available to help her and she's supported in her learning. When little bursts of development happen for her and she, for example, solves a maths problem in her head upon waking in the morning (this happens lots right now), she knows she's supported by more than just one of us. There's a whole gang of us cheering her on!

But it's not just Little Owlet who's benefiting here... When any of us takes on something new, we all pitch in to help them learn it. Of course, there are always basic needs like "I'm hungry, I'm tired, she hurt me, can you carry me?... Muuuuuuummmm!!!" going on. And we meet those needs. We move through it. And that takes up much of the day. But there's support too. And so we find ourselves going to pick up Huz from a run at 8.30am on a Saturday morning... Or everyone will feign interest and don the gardening gloves to help implement my permaculture design. We're in this together.

We help each other. It's good. It's what gets things done and its how these excellent humans learn to seek and create communities where everyone lives by this code. There is no competition. There are no rules to abide, or tests to pass. Only enthusiasm and help and learning and support. We are creating the kind of world we want to live in by listening and supporting and learning together. Imagine that!

How does learning look for your family right now? 
How was your Monday? 
Have a happy one! xo

Little Owlet :: Chef

Nothing brings Little Owlet more joy than cooking. When she was a baby she'd cry and cry while I cooked dinner until I put her in a rocker on the kitchen bench. She'd sit in the sling on my hip and grab the spoon from my hand. Since she could see over the bench, she's been there alongside me, asking, advising, tasting. Now she just walks up when I'm cooking, grabs the spoon and takes over. Cooking together is our thing. Cooking is her thing.




She adores making up her own recipes and collaborating on ideas. And she's super picky on presentation. Many a time I've seen her rearrange the pikelets on our afternoon tea plate on it's way to the table. When she chooses what tv show to watch together, its always a cooking show... "So I can learn to cook everything, Mama!" She loves woman chefs and cooks best. She looks for role models... Maggie Beer is her favourite - "Grammy Beer", she calls her.




It's such a delight to watch the delighted little spark inside her when she indulges her passion. Aside from all the delicious food she cooks/we eat/we discuss.... She's learning to count, to measure, to multiply, to read. She's learning to cook.

What are your owlets passionate about? 
Is it something you share? Or do they do it on their own? 
Do you like making up recipes? Or do you follow the book?

This is Little Owlet's Apple Upside Down Cake. Aside from flour, sugar and milk, we can't remember the recipe. But it was yum. 

xx

seven...

Right now... 

Little Owlet loves green.
Little Owlet has learnt to read (just a little bit), giggling all the way.
Little Owlet wakes up thinking about maths and science.
Little Owlet has a great sense of humour and silliness.
Little Owlet isn't afraid to laugh at herself.
Little Owlet is afraid of the dark, the toilet and a bunch of movie characters. And big dogs.
Little Owlet isn't afraid of ants anymore.
Little Owlet doesn't like socks.
Little Owlet is easily overwhelmed by sounds and textures.
Little Owlet sometimes needs some quiet space to hide.
Little Owlet love playing with Big Owlet best of all.
Little Owlet likes knitting.
Little Owlet communicates clearly and from the heart.
Little Owlet feels bucket loads of empathy. And lots of big feelings.
Little Owlet likes a good funk bass line.
Little Owlet loves custard and cakes and all things carb.
Little Owlet likes broccoli. Raw.
Little Owlet loves cooking.
Little Owlet doesn't want anyone to ever grow up.
Little Owlet has two wobbly teeth.
Little Owlet loves with a pure, gentle and open heart.
Little Owlet is a daydreamer.
Little Owlet can't wait until her next birthday...

seasonal delight :: rocking our world right now...

Apples... As a treat, or breakfast, or a snack... Anytime... Fresh from the Huon Valley.
Peeled and cored on the "spinny thing"...



Sauteed with butter...



Lots of butter...



Served with farm fresh milk. Delivered to our door, by the farmer himself...



Candlelight. Time spent together. Snuggling by the fire. Sunlight through windows...



And lashings of fresh cream...

Remembering quiet days as winter approaches and finding space for each other, within our nest... That gentle in-breath, settling into a rhythm after a long, wild Summer and early Autumn. Finding abundance and luxury in small things, simple things.

What's rocking your world right now?
How do you find simple abundance in your nest?

xx

The Tooth Faerie :: marketing and magic

There's been a bit of excitement in our house... Wobbly teeth all over and Little Owlet has finally been visited for the first time. The owlets have decided that instead of just one universal tooth faerie, each of them has their own dedicated personal tooth faerie, who happens to be a millionaire (or at least have enough money for a gold coin for each tooth - gosh!). You'll be pleased to know that Little Owlet's tooth faerie is named Marigold and she wears a dress spun from spider's silk. There's much talk of silvery moons, dew drops and faerie magic!

Just as we're watching Little Owlet's teeth with anticipation, we're watching Tiny's with a degree of trepidation and making sure the products we use for her and for her teeth are of the purest and gentlest, most nurturing form. Regular fluoride toothpaste bit the dust long ago. We look for products that support and truly clean her teeth with their antibacterial qualities, and we don't mind that we are ingesting them because they are so pure.

With little changes have come some occasional resistance from the owlets. Switching to homemade toothpaste brought doubts from all of us, but I decided it was all in the magic and the marketing...

So I whipped this up:

2 x heaped tablespoons organic coconut oil
1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
10 drops peppermint oil

Mix it around in a small bowl, then pop in a jar and label appropriately. Use as you would regular toothpaste...

They loved it. At first the saltiness of the bi-carb shone through. You could tweak that if you fancied, adding as much coconut oil and peppermint as suits, and I believe you could add a natural sweetener like stevia, if sweetness was your thing. It doesn't bother us now.

Our teeth are cleaner than they've ever been before. And we're quietly surprised and pleased that we're saving money on expensive fluoride-free toothpastes that owlets eat like lollies.

There's also a buzz about having super shiny teeth ready for the tooth faerie's next visit. Yep. It's all in the marketing and in the magic. xx

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

this moment...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

Merry Goosecheese!

This owlet. At bedtime, she dubbed it the best day ever, despite predicting earlier that it was probably going to be "the second best Christmas ever", beaten only by Tiny's first Christmas when family were here with us. She gave a little, received everything she could possibly want, ate what she liked and did her favourite things all day... This second-hand Jar Jar Binks figurine made her day and made her so happy she cried. She's possibly the only child in the world who's ever loved Jar Jar Binks that much...



This owlet, although she didn't receive everything on her (rather extensive) list of wants and needs, made the most of it and flittered around, making herself busy and getting swept away by the spirit of things...



She cleaned up everything on her plate, which took a very. long. time....




This owlet woke up and whispered "Mama. Goosecheese. Day!" in her cutest of toddlery voices... Then she just thundered along with her usual gusto and thoroughly enjoyed the play dough we made her. As usual, the simplest, least expensive gift was loved the best... and she'd been itching to test out her sisters' playdough equipment ever since the our last batch went in the bin. She ate, drank, slept, stripped off nude, cuddled her new teddy and was merry all day.





There was lots to feel merry about. Pandoro and fruit for breakky - most definitely not grain free, but we make concessions at Christmas time for special indulgences... Honey roast chook stuffed with quinoa, dates, cranberries, apricots and almonds... Roast vegies... Watermelon, fetta and mint salad and lettuce, mango, snowpea and pecan salad... With fresh local berries and home made vanilla bean ice cream for post-nap dessert. Our quiet day at home turned out to be quite lovely and special.



I was thoroughly spoiled with gorgeous gifts from Huz and my family... All very thoughtful and lovely. An insulated cup with a lid - no more cold tea! The diary and wallet I'd hoped for, some organic mascara and some reading should I have a spare moment next year (I hope so!). Then beautiful handmade gifts from Siz and her fam - a necklace, pretty spoons and a screen printed tea towel! And everything's colour co-ordinated! Excellent!

Next year is shaping up to be pretty spesh already for me. I have lots of reflections and plans going on and I'm so glad for this week for that.

How about you? Did you have a good Tuesday? Or a merry Goosecheese?
Do you have big plans for next year?

Hope you're surrounded with love.
Wishing you all good things. xx