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

Rhythm, Surprises and Tiny.

It takes extra special effort to keep active, see friends and be present in the real world in the depths of winter. It's so easy to be swept along by the cocooning, short and fire-filled days. The desire to draw inward and snuggle by the fire and read a book can see days roll into weeks. The need to see friends can in some ways be met through social media, while owlets can choose spend hours with their friends on Minecraft, on days where venturing out seems all too hard. It's like having little portals to view the outside world, from the comfort of our couch. Regular jobs drag us along in a rhythm of bare essentials before we retreat. Before long, 4.30pm rolls around and the sun sinks as we stoke the fire and proclaim the day done. By midwinter, it takes extra motivation to break out of that cosy rut. Something special to get us rolling along again. Our three motivations each day are rhythm, surprises, and Tiny.



By 6am most mornings, Tiny is usually nudging me out of bed. "I'm hungry", she whispers, and we slip down the hallway to switch on the lights, feed the meowing cats and turn the heater on. Then we fold the clothes on the rack and chat about things while we decide what to have for breakfast. Tiny is like a tiger and when she's hungry or not engaged in an activity, she roars. Breakfast and lots of things to do are a priority. She's at that magical age where the world is opening up to her and she's full of awe and wonder. But on these winter days, it's so easy for me to get swept along with what needs doing, so the balance can shift and we forget to pause and play.



Owlets love surprises, so we like to mix things up with last minute day trips and thoughtful things. This week, I made Tiny a seasonal table, in a space we created a couple of weeks ago during a furniture re-shuffle. It's been such a long time since I paused to create something to draw her attention and she adored it. The magic of soft candle light, gentle colours and delicate things to admire and play with. It was like pressing the reset button on our winter, while giving her my full attention for a moment. Sometimes that connection with one owlet is enough to have all of us working together more harmoniously again.




Tiny and I have been sparkly snowflake making, reading Snowflake Bentley, face painting, having scones for lunch, building with clay, playing sleeping queens and chess, watching the sun rise on the beach… The two bigger owlets have been inspired to join in too, so our days have had a revived hum to them. I've been more present, which has been fun and tiring and so wonderful, as we all restore a little bit of balance and unfurl a bit. Sorry shop, sorry blog, sorry house, sorry knitting, sorry garden! There's fun to be had!

How are you coping with winter? Is it super cold where you are right now? 
Do you have a way to reset and get your week back on track? 
Do you have a seasonal table set up? 
What works for you? 

~ Lauren xx

Wild Tiny

We had a rough day with Tiny Owlet yesterday. She can be so strong and uncompromising at times and yesterday she pushed all of us to our limits. She can be physically demanding, intimidating, and her four year old self struggles with respecting boundaries, or prefers not to. Tiny Owlet is fierce and wild. She tells us tigers are her spirit animal and we believe her. Her exuberance, humour and joy are balanced in equal parts by sudden anger and aggression, testing us more than any owlet has before. Combined with dynamics with other owlets, there is often fighting and frustration. It's tough being smallest. There have been parenting moments we're not proud of and others where we've been thankful we could smooth things over. Those evenings where we're relieved everyone is tucked in bed asleep and there is finally peace.

There's another side to Tiny. It reveals itself a little less right now she is very clearly four, but we're looking forward to seeing it more as she grows. It's the soft, gentle side she shows beetles and small animals - almost anything smaller than her. There's a tenderness when she realises her strength is unchallenged. We're hoping that as she grows in size, her tender side will shine through a little more clearly. That beautiful gentleness that we see as she's drifting off to sleep. As the tiger becomes a small kitten again.

In the middle of the night last night, Little Owlet woke Big Owlet, and then me, every ten minutes for a number of hours, swapping between the two of us. Company as she visited the toilet, a nightmare, wondering what time it was, how many hours until morning… these are the things that race through Little Owlet's mind in the middle of the night. Tiny had climbed down from the top bunk earlier in the night, to nab the spot in the bed next to me, so Little Owlet felt alone and frightened. Big Owlet, who likes her space right now, had run out of patience. There was exhaustion, exasperation and confusion in those wee hours of the morning and no-one quite knew what to do. 

Eventually, Tiny got up to see what all the fuss was about. She saw a sister feeling fragile and small and saw in that moment her own strength and assuredness. Tiny took my hand and looked up at me with the same, gentle, understanding eyes in the photograph above, and said "I can do this, Mama. You sleep." So I did. Tiny climbed into bed with Little Owlet and soothed her back to sleep, waiting until she was peaceful again. Then she slipped out and snuggled silently into her usual spot, beside me. When we woke two hours later, we were glad for the rest and so glad that Tiny had saved the day (or night, rather). We were grateful she felt she could step up and help and that the balance in those wee hours, where everyone is their true, honest selves, shifted to allow her that space. We saw the Tiny we look forward to spending more time with in years to come. The Tiny we've always known was there.  Fiercely loving Tiny. 

Are there many sides to your owlets? 
Are you nurturing a fierce owlet right now?
What's your spirit animal? 

~ 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

Tiny's Bedtime Basket

Here's the thing about Tiny Owlet. Tiny is fierce and loving and so very funny. And she is busy! Always doing something and she loves to be in on whatever anyone else is doing. She's active and playful and she doesn't miss a trick. But she doesn't know how to switch off without a fight.  She'll tell you she's tired, but she'll resist any attempts to help that transition to bed happen. She wants to run to bed covered in paint or tomato sauce, in the nude, and breastfeed until she falls asleep, however long that may take. Which is perfectly fine, except it's MY bed she's sleeping in and it's ME that gets covered in tomato sauce. And I'm not too keen on that. She wants a book too, but not the one I've chosen. Or the one she's chosen. And she will not ever, never brush her teeth. And we neeeeed her to brush her teeth. Tiny is very three. 

In thinking a little about three year olds and remembering what they like, I've returned to rhythm and ritual to help smooth gentle transitions. I'm remembering the time we spent reading story after story each night with Big Owlet and how Little Owlet still won't go to sleep unless I say "sweet dreams". Like her sisters,  there is a time each day when bed suits Tiny best, she just needs a little help and a few cues to remember how to do it. I'm also watching her energy levels and how to keep her balanced so our evenings are calm and peaceful... 

On evenings where she's still not tired (perhaps we've had a quiet day at home), we go for a walk before bed. 

On evenings where she's a bit rough and ragged and shouty and overtired, we have a long, quiet bath together. Some one-on-one time to stop and slow right down and talk and sing and whisper and cuddle… With soothing oils and epsom salts and rose petals and all the fixings for a peaceful night.

Here's the thing about three year olds. They like to be involved in the job. In charge. And they like gear. Kits go a long way when you are three. So, to help smooth Tiny's transition to bed, we have her bedtime basket. She started it. One evening, she shouted at me that it was bedtime and headed down the hallway with a basket full of books. The next night, I grabbed the basket and suggested we fill it together. She chose some books and the water/oil hourglass thing that she's taken to staring at. The next night, I presented her the basket with pyjamas in it. Right now it looks like the basket you see above. In the basket are: 

• Pyjamas
• Tiny's hourglass toy
• A little friend to keep her company while she brushes her teeth
• Books - sometimes I choose them, sometimes she helps

So we go to the basket, put on pyjamas, take the little friend to the bathroom and brush her teeth, hop into bed, look at the hourglass thing, read a book and zonk out. And there's not a scream or a shout or anger or frustration. Just calm. And quiet. And a sense of getting the job done and an all-over sense of peaceful relief (from both of us), when she snuggles down finally, happily to snooze. 

Sweet dreams, Tiny. xx

Do you have any bedtime routines in your home?

Does no routine at all suit you better?

What does bedtime look like in your nest? xx

Co-op Camp

This year we finally got ourselves organised at our homeschool co-op and organised a summer camp.  It really was such a highlight. All weekend with some of our favourite people, creating a village for Tiny Owlet to explore and make her own. Long days for owlets to talk, laugh, swim and play with friends - the biggest ever sleep-over! And friendships forged and strengthened for me and Huz too.

We shared skills, learnt new ones, shared food and looked out for the smallest in our tribe. We got comfy with each other and relaxed. An observation Huz made on the way home was the caring, gentle nature of communicating between families, together and with each other. Not a voice was raised in anger or threat to a child. Which made for peaceful and relaxing days. Gentle parenting rocks!

Camp seemed like a turning point for our little (now not so little) group. One that has cemented a core of us together and will see this thing we started grow and flourish. Hopefully even on the rainiest wintry-est days. It seems like, just maybe, we have built our village. Found our tribe.

I've had a few readers ask, so I'll pass on how we started our co-op soon. But for now, we're remembering fondly and planning the next camp. Tiny is asking most days when it's time to go on co-op camp. For her, village living felt right. And I can't wait to make that happen again.

Independence

Fiercely independent and self-sufficient, Tiny proves daily that she's quite capable of looking after herself, thank you very much. Of course, sometimes this leads to events such as the Blue Paint or Blender episodes... She's quite capable of sorting breakfast and an outfit and Peppa Pig sideways on the (now slightly broken) iPad. Our fearless third child believes she might be at least seven years old, like her bigger sister, and possibly even thirty-seven.

In fact, she is almost three and so content and assured of her place in the world, we haven't a clue what to give her for her birthday. She doesn't value "things" so much and I expect that might have something to do with sharing all her sisters' toys and hand-me-downs. She wants for nothing and when asked what she might like, she replies "nothing" or "candles". Although I suspect if there isn't a present to open on the day she'd be quite devastated.

Thing is, she's the kind of owlet who just makes-do. A practical sort who'll find a way to organise what she needs on her own if you're not able to provide it.  Sharp as a tack and the freest of spirits, we're blessed to provide her with the kind of life where freedom is valued and she'll be able to continue moving through the world so sure of her place in it. Her own sovereign person. A wonderful and frightening thought all at once, as anyone who's ever parented a three-year old can attest.

So what do you give the owlet who has everything she needs?

I'm looking forward to finding out! Ha!

Happy Tuesday. xx

snow day...

It was all Tiny's idea...





So full of delight and inquisitiveness, her exuberance often leads the way, especially when it comes to sensory play. It would be so easy to step in and say no. But then you don't always want to quash that sense of fun and enquiry. Or endure the wrath when you ask them to stop... Toddlers. Sometimes it's easiest to just breathe and turn a blind eye...





Of course older sisters can be led astray. Exuberance is contagious. As are giggles...





And what begins as an impending sense of doom becomes a feeling of joy as they are led to play and it snowballs into the "best afternoon ever". One that we'll be cleaning up remembering for a very, very long time to come.

How does play look at your house? 
Do you breathe and turn a blind eye? 
Have any run-ins with polystyrene boxes lately?

xo

Colouring...

It's one of our favourite things to do and something Tiny's taken to rather fondly... and it gives me some  quiet while I observe that gorgeous concentration going on.

I've been blogging about colouring, knitting and other things we love over at the Spiral Garden blog recently. Do visit, won't you? xx

Tiny's Chickens...

About six moths ago, Tiny figured out the whole chicken and egg thing... Not which came first, but that eggs come from chickens and chickens come from eggs. We watched chickens hatching from eggs on youtube, over and over and over and over...



At around the same time, the opportunity came to adopt some beautiful Brahma hens. Company for our lonely remaining chook, Private, and a chance for eggs of our own. Tiny was excited.




Three hens for three Owlets. Big Owlet named her chicken Fawn. Little Owlet's chook is the biggest. She named her Alexandra, while Tiny named her chicken "my Lily".



Lily likes to sit on Tiny's windowsill, staring in at us.





And Tiny loves to climb into the chook pen to look for eggs, pat chickens and just hang out, an hour at a time. They're among her best friends. She never ceases to amaze me with her love for life and all living things. She never runs out of things to do and is never stuck for conversation.

I'm looking forward to the spring with Tiny. Permaculture plans, a new space for the chickens and room for Tiny to stretch her legs with them while I garden nearby. It's going to be wonderful.

Do you have any plans afoot?
Any chickens in your garden to love?

Happy weekend, peeps. xx