80 Life Skills for Kids to Learn

We've spoken before about how the way we've educated our children over the years (at their request!),  has shifted to incorporate more of the practical. The life skills they'll need in the future, whatever that future might look like. Skills for resilience so they can care for themselves and their community. We're also educating them for the present, so that they can contribute to household life, but also so they have the skills they need to help avert climate change right now.

Over a year ago, we all sat down together and wrote up a list of skills we wanted our kids to have, or that they wanted to have, and some us adults  needed to work on ourselves - because we reckon learning and sharing skills is important for everyone, and there's always more to learn!

Our list has columns for each of us to tick off as we get to doing each task, or mastering each skill. There were 80 skills listed originally, and the kids have added more as they've thought of them. The list is now pinned to the fridge, and we've slowly ticked of skills as we've completed them after the list was hung - so there are some skills us adults have learned in pre-list days, but we're not ticking them off until we've done them again since hanging the list. It's proving motivating for all of us, and interesting to see how many are covered in our day-to-day. And it's been lots of fun learning and sharing skills!

After a few requests on our Instagram last week, we've shared our list, with blank columns for family members, here. You might like to use it for a base list for your own family, adding and removing skills as you like. Let us know how you go!

Educating our kids for the future they'll inherit.

One month ago, we wandered around the corner for a democracy sausage and to choose the government to take us forward into an uncertain future. Voting that day, it felt like choosing the world our kids would inherit. We were full of hope. It felt like so much depended on it, in terms of our response to the climate emergency, and how we care for each other as a community. We were hopeful there would be at least a glimmer of positive change. But for most people I know, the results that day were hugely disappointing. Even my own mum, an eternal optimist, was quite distraught. Friends began looking for ways to create positive change, at a personal and local level. Something we’re all about, because we know the positive impact such changes can make.

For us, it meant taking a moment to think about what more we can do. And explaining to our kids what had been chosen for them. Re-evaluating how we’re living and fighting harder to protect this beautiful planet. But also making sure our kids are prepared for what may come. For us, that also meant examining our home education program and making sure it addresses climate emergency and the consumption crisis. And suddenly the curriculum resources we’d been utilising didn’t seem so necessary any more.

In the same year we began to live waste-free, and after many years unschooling, the owlets asked for a plan. Something mapped out that they could use semi-independently, that would tell them exactly what they “should” be learning. We chose a secular curriculum, and loosely followed it. For the most part they’ve enjoyed it. The history and science learnings reinforcing some things they already knew, and they felt comforted that they were learning the "right things", what their schooled peers were learning. But that shifted for us all last month.

Suddenly, how to write an essay didn’t seem quite as important as how to write a letter to the local MP. Learning things by rote didn’t seem as important as learning from experience. Keeping up academically seemed less important than creative and entrepreneurial thinking and being good humans. Learning about events of the past seemed less important than how to live in the future. We talked about whether university education would be relevant for them and the knowledge and skills they'll need. They're undecided. And although it may seem like a dramatic response, as a family, we decided to let go again and embrace the way of learning we started out with. To trust and keep talking, and working on our passions, and keep learning about nature and how to live as part of an ecosystem, with less harm. But also a long list of practical skills needed now and into the future.

So far, our list is full of skills like baking bread, chopping wood, mending holes in clothes, fixing things, pruning fruit trees, learning how government works, learning about local indigenous plants, animals and people, catching the bus, and finding out about alternative currencies. Each of the owlets has popped their own ideas down and they’ll all be working towards doing each these things independently. Some of them they’ve already mastered. Some of them are in our book! Some are in our Seedlings eCourse, which we're doing again. Some of them we adults are yet to master, so we’ll be working on them too, and adding to this list as we go on. This sits alongside their individual interests and passions, all the books they like to read, the things we like to do and learn about for fun or necessity. We’re making the most of every minute, but also slowing down where we can. Learning what matters, together. Learning from life, and for our lives, now and into the future.

~ Lauren. x

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.

—————————————
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.

Beyond Unschooling

If you've been a reader of this blog for some time, you'll know that our main approach to owlet learning and living has been through unschooling. We've always followed their lead, since they were very small. Aside from that little moment of Steiner kindergarten for Big Owlet, we've just lived life and helped the owlets learn what they needed, when the needed. It's been beautiful and amazing, and a huge learning curve for us in observing and letting go and trusting that they will learn when and what they need. We wouldn't have it any other way.

As we stepped into last year, however, the owlets asked for more. They felt they wanted a plan mapped out for them. They wanted to learn more, explore more. And they wanted to work. Big Owlet was particularly keen to see where she was at and if she was on par with the peers that she knew at that Steiner kindy so many moons ago. But she was also adamant that she didn't want to go to school. She loves the freedom we have at home. Loves the ease and convenience of being where everything she loves and needs is, all day. All the owlets do - who doesn't?

So we set about finding structure and work, but balancing it with freedom. And we arrived at Oak Meadow. We've been using the Oak Meadow curriculum for Big Owlet for almost a year now. Little Owlet has also darted around the grades, then taken some time to focus on gardening, and she's now back on board and into her third week of a new year. Tiny began puddling around with her own "special books" (Oakmeadow Kindergarten) half-way through last year and is now into week three of Grade One.  I spent the first three weeks of this year planning and finding extra resources and mapping out our year. We're all in and we have a daily rhythm and we're working hard on all the things every day. Who even are we? Essentially we're still following the owlets' lead... Unschooling with book guides? Haha! It feels like the same life, but with different hashtags.

So how did the owlets measure up? Well, there were a few new concepts that curriculum based learning introduced. We found that the writing component of the program was challenging - there's so much writing! So we've been working through slowly, picking and choosing. We began at a level that covered much of the history learning Big Owlet was after and she's now at exactly the same place as those Steiner kindy peers. Little Owlet needed a little extra time with hands on work before she felt like settling down to bookwork. Her spelling needed some help, so using a formal program has done wonders for her confidence. Both bigger owlets can read very well, despite very little input from us. It really has just happened with time, patience, lots of reading aloud on our part, and effort on their part. Maths… well there are quite a few concepts which the owlets hadn't encountered yet. But they learn new maths concepts extremely quickly, so with Khan academy and extra time chatting it through with Huz, we've got them covered. Science - well, the Owlets find all those unschooling years and the way we live, observing and exploring, mean they have a great grasp on nature and science.

The beauty of the Oak Meadow program is that from Grade 4 onward, it is written to the student, so the owlets can work somewhat autonomously. The program is rather extensive, so they pick and choose the projects that really appeal to them and we supplement with extra outings, books, films and performances. And some days we put it all aside because it's a perfect beach day and there's so much learning and living to be done there.

I'm so glad for our unschooling years. They mean we learn creatively and resourcefully. They mean that I don't stress over skipped days or push things that the Owlets don't find interesting or essential. They mean that I know we'll get to where we need to be eventually, trusting the process of living and learning, together in partnership. Whichever approach you take, and whatever you decide to call it, that's really what it should all be about, after all. That's where the real learning is.

How's your year going?

I'll be sharing a little more of our learning adventures, past and present, in weeks to come. 

Have a gorgeous week.

Much love, 

~ Lauren. xx

Waste-free living and the anxious kid

Once upon a time, when I was very small, I had trouble sleeping at night. I worried about all sorts of irrational things, like falling THROUGH the bed. Not off, but through it - like a sieve. Then, as I got a little older, around about Little Owlet's age, I became more aware of the world around me and just how very small I was in it. I worried about everyone in my family dying and I worried about my pets… Things you'd expect a 10yo kid to be worried about. Then, one hot January night, I started worrying about the electric fan in my room as it gently whirred in the corner.

I'd cringe every time the cool breeze blew over me. Although it brought relief from the heat, there was a growing awareness of my responsibility in having this one fan blow cool air on me all night. In the next room, my sister slept while a similar fan whirred in the corner. And then I started to think about all the other kids in their bedrooms with fans blowing on them. I heard a neighbour's air conditioner humming and I thought of all the other air conditioners humming in my town. In my part of the world, which was experiencing a heat wave. I thought about the supermarkets with their refrigerators working overtime to keep the ice cream cool. Then I remembered that on the other side of the world it was the depths of winter. My friend had recently sent me a postcard from the snow. There would be heaters working overtime there.

As I lay there, the sound of the fan got louder and louder, ringing in my ears until I almost couldn't breathe. With my heart racing, I crept through the silent, dark house to see if anyone else was similarly alarmed, but Dad's loud snoring indicated this wasn't keeping him up. So I crept back to my bed. Tossed and turned for a bit,  then I snuck out from under the sheet, switched the fan off and crept back to bed. Relief. Able to rest for the fact that at least I wasn't part of the problem quite so much this time. But what still bothered me was that overwhelming feeling of being so small. Not that my family wouldn't listen or care, they would, of course. But I'm not sure they even knew. I couldn't really put into words the overwhelming sense of urgency and helplessness. That my silent act had very little impact. And that our world was slowly dying.

Fast forward 30 years and, if I let my mind wander on those long nights, I can find myself in a similar state. Things are worse now. More people, more air conditioners, more plastic, more pollution. Our government is doing very little about it. I have three owlets of my own now, who are aware of the problems. One is similar to me and is kept up at night thinking about all sorts of things when all is silent, often teary about her family dying and our planet. Our beautiful, doomed earth. I whisper to her that we are all connected, all of us stardust, and the positive energy that flows between us will help. She worries that it's not enough.

Now, when we lie awake at night, we use that time to make plans. Not to think about what we can't do, but what we can. Late night listening and thinking lead us to a family commitment to opt out of waste as much as we can. It lead to reducing our energy consumption and doing the very best we can to reduce our combined footprint. It has lead the owlets to all sorts of discussions with people we meet, about waste and "no straw, please", and "I'll take the cup home to re-use it, thanks", when they're handed plastic out and about. It's lead to our owlets becoming activists. It's lead to an understanding we all share, about consumption, and when enough is enough. About the impact each of us can make by taking responsibility for our part in it all. And it has lead to all of us sleeping just a little bit better at night. Even me.

Knowing at least three owlets from the next generation understand and care enough to take responsibility and to tell others... If that small, anxious kid with the fan had known. If she'd known she wasn't alone. That more were coming who would understand and want to change things... Maybe she'd have slept a little better too. Change is slow, but it's happening. I'm hoping more people step up to be part of it. That more children become aware of the problems and their urgency and what they can actively do about them. And that more of us hear them. Give them that space to know they can make a difference and speak up and do something. That they are doing something. Then rest, knowing that, just maybe, it's going to be okay.

Were you an anxious kid? 
Or maybe you have one? 
Was the environment ever something you worried about? 
What helped you sleep at night?

Our Zero Waste Families e-course starts this week. For all the overwhelmed kids out there wanting to participate in something they can actively do to make a difference. We're here with you. It's going to be okay. xx

~ Lauren.

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

2015 Gratitude

How do you farewell a year that has challenged you more than most? I've noticed this year has been a tough one, teaching many life lessons, for those around me and further afield. And while I'm not sure whether it's because of the stars or the number of people on our tiny planet, I'd say some learning, although challenging, can be good. I won't miss 2015. But I'm sort of glad for what it has taught.

Tonight I'll be standing around the campfire in my garden with those dearest to me and raising a glass of rhubarb champagne to toast the old year and welcome new energy for the new. Oh how we need it! Things to be grateful for in 2015:

1. A comfy nest, cranking garden and health permaculture system that keeps growing before our eyes.
2. The experience of living a zero waste life and the lessons that has brought us all. Awakening the activists in our owlets and a simpler lifestyle we feel happier with.
3. The experience of sharing our Seedlings e-course with loads of families and watching them get it, love it and inspire others around them  - including us!
4. The challenge of being doubted, losing friends and letting go of a community we loved. Oh it's been a ride! We're grateful that we were tested to step outside our bubble, seek other solutions and try new things. Our community has widened and our owlets feel more supported to chase their passions.
5. Music. Being pushed to find a creative way for the owlets to learn and enjoy making music. The confidence and enjoyment it has brought them and a shared passion for all of us.
6. Friendships that have been strengthened through time shared, heartfelt chats, tears and hugs.
7. Our little business that keeps ticking away and growing in a direction we're passionate about. That fits into our lives somehow, rather miraculously, and puts a little bit of food on our table.
8. Our little family. The honesty, love and enjoyable time we've shared this year. Healthy, happy and resilient owlets and the love and life we all share together.
9. My best pal. The love and support he's shown me this year and the fun we have making and working on things together.

In 2016… well my energy has been travelling outward for a while in a massive exhale, and I hit extreme burnout this year. I'm looking forward to a year of observing, catching my breath and inhaling all that is good and creative in the world. It's going to be soooo good.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful new year with all things good in your future.

How's your year been? 
Do you have much to be grateful for?
Any plans for your new year?

Love and hugs,

~ Lauren. xx

Crossroads

Hello! Oh we've had a time of it lately! It feels like an age since my last post. So much has happened in our little world that it's made us think and re-think who we are and where we're travelling on this little journey. If you're feeling like some happy reflections on unschooling life in our beautiful Tasmania, I'll make sure to post some updates on the excellent fun we've been having, later this week, but this is a big one for us and marking it here feels important.

We're at a crossroads. The whole winter has seen the re-development of the street we live on. It's been noisy and muddy and inconvenient. We watched layers gradually peeled back, deep holes dug, paths strengthened and eventually renewed. It's been a bit of a metaphor for recent weeks in our nest.

We've watched friends move on, or make plans to travel, and celebrated their exciting news. On the flip side, we've uncovered some hard truths about people around us. About what they think of us and what that might mean. We've discovered what comes with the territory when you put your hand up to start something. We've had some hard conversations, had walls put up and then quietly put up some of our own so we feel safer (I'm on my first ever proper holiday from Facebook!). Our happy spaces are suddenly difficult and a bit empty. We're all down a bunch of friends and feeling very sad, raw and misunderstood as we've watched it all float away. And we're not sure how this started or why, but we're sure it must be for some reason or other, which we might find out about one day. And now there's a sense of quiet as we attempt to pick ourselves up and carry on as before…

But things are different now. It can be so challenging creating and keeping community. It's one of the more challenging aspects of home education, needing community around you to make it all work. Finding a balance in loving trust, understanding and clear and direct communication, when it takes all types and when you live in a very small place. When it's good, it's very good. And when it's bad, it's horrid. Humans can be so awful to each other. And we get it. We're human too. Hopefully this all leads to greater understanding.

Thinking about what all this might mean for the future is all a bit unknown and hard. So we're focusing on the right now. The good friends we have. The things we like to do. The nest we've created and the garden we're making together. What we're looking forward to. Rebuilding our beloved co-op. We're slowing down, marking days (and making handprints) and being better, gentler friends to each other.

Around about the time home educated children turn 12, friends start dropping off and entering the school system. We expected it. Perhaps not the day after Big Owlet's birthday, but we did expect it and had been making plans for what we might do if… So we're suddenly at a crossroads.

We've been spending lots of time discussing our choices. Travel, moving away from our beloved Tasmania to be with loved ones, SCHOOL, or continuing along as we set out. The Owlets are up for big change. They want a fresh start. So school is on the table. Forms have been filled out (!!). We've all shed tears at the thought of it and breaking up our little gang of 4 most weekdays, for the sake of a new community. Thankfully, one sleepless night led me to this article and gave us some fresh perspective. So we're trying all the things. Moving towards new opportunities, while staying put for now. Hoping all is not yet lost. Wondering where this new road will take us and looking forward to a smoother ride ahead.

Hoping smooth roads are ahead for you too.

Lots of love,

~ Lauren. xx

For the love of bees...

 

It's rather glum in our garden right now. Everything's quiet. It's a little grey and damp. The cabbages, kale and cauliflower are bursting with colour and life and the kookaburras drop in and visit from time to time, but there's a stillness. We're missing the flowers and possibly, most of all, we're missing the bees.

Things are looking up though! We have a corner of our garden picked and a gorgeous new wooden hive on it's way to us within a matter of weeks. In the spring we'll be hoping to welcome a colony of new friends to our garden and the regular visitors will be here too. There will be life and sunshine and the garden will be humming again.




But right now, while we wait, we're revisiting an old favourite project and making some bees of our own, to remind us of the good things to come. They're quite simple to make. We used some hakea cones we found walking along a local track. For wings we found some old packaging foam that had a light, gossamer appearance, but paper, tule, felt or anything lightweight and rigid would do. Then we found some yarn and wrapped it around the cone, tying the wings in place and creating a stripy bee body. Instant bee to decorate the windows or play bee games while we dream of warmer days again.

We're also cheering the place up by making beeswax candles, lip balm, furniture polish and using beeswax wraps and feeling grateful for the warm honey aroma filling our home. Thankful for our buzzy friends and looking forward to their return.

"One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter." - Henry David Thoreau

~ Owletmama. 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 

The Importance of Home Days

We're pretty busy people. Busy by choice and busy because we're chasing up all the things we're so passionate about. Mostly we're busy because we're hunting for fungi this time of year and wandering though the bush any chance we can get. I suppose that makes us not so much busy as at play. But we take our play seriously.

The stereotypical image of the isolated, unsocialised homeschooler is not a reality we've ever witnessed.  Where we live, there's so much on offer in the home educating community, and in the natural world around us, we actually have to put our collective foot down to grab some space amongst it all.

The balance of our adventuring days, and classes and outings and co-op days, is our home days. These are the days where we go very slow. Our in-breath. This is our daydreaming space. This is the space where we get stuff done and each explore what it is we each love to do. These are pyjama days, where the questions flow before breakfast ends. These are the days when the owlets delve into their preferred mediums for relaxation, learning and play.

Usually you'll find Big Owlet making art.

Little Owlet will, at some point, be working with her favourite wooden spoon.

And Tiny Owlet will be stacking blocks, or putting them all in a line up the hallway.

I'll be floating around all of them,  helping keep them in orbit, if they need me. I'll be reading with one or all of them. Or working alongside them on my own projects. Sometimes I'll be cooking vast quantities of food to keep them fed and our evenings easier. Lately I've been looking at the piles of surplus stuff in our lives. Things that have seemed to accumulate mysteriously. Home days are a beautiful opportunity to assess those. They're a wonderful opportunity to get out in the garden too, and observe, explore, work and play. There will be screens watched and played on, arguments resolved, friends chatted with, pets played with, chooks cuddled, berries foraged, spills wiped up, washing done… and by the end of the day, the house will probably be trashed before Owletpapa arrives home. A family effort will set it (almost) right before dinner and we'll catch our breath before setting about doing it all again. These are the days that slip by quietly, full of beauty and challenge; everything and nothing much at all.

Home days are a moment to pause and gather ourselves up for the next adventure. But they're also an opportunity to just be ourselves, in our own little nest, without the distractions of commuting and routine driven by external forces. They're an opportunity to grow and learn as individuals and also to work together, in a collective effort, to do what needs doing. And there is so much that needs learning and growing and doing! To us, home education and even permaculture are about anything but being at home all the time. But gosh we'd be lost without our home days!

Do you manage home days often?
Maybe you're travelling and call them something else?
Or maybe you don't spend much time home at all and you like it that way! 
Are home days important to you? 

~ Owletmama. xx

Finding Balance

Something I've often given thought to, over the years of home educating and running a small business, is balance. Over the years, others have asked me about it too. How do we do it? How do we find balance? Or rather, will we ever find balance? Is it even a thing? How do we manage to cram our lives so full of all the things we want so much to do?

The conclusion I've arrived at is no. Balance, in this particular life we're living, is and will most likely never be a thing. Not in the way we imagine.

In a household of five creative and passionate individuals, following our passions means we completely immerse ourselves in them from time to time. And while we're following those passions, things get left by the wayside. Perhaps it isn't balance we really need to look for, so much as how to be ok with the chaos, or how to work with it.

For us, finding balance has been more about finding support. It's also been about finding space to wander more and work a little less. It's meant waking up and taking a day off to go exploring, rather than work. It's meant cancelling plans to spend the day in the garden. It's meant knuckling down to get the job done sometimes. It's meant making plans and throwing them out the window in an effort to do what feels best and right and fun. Finding balance has been about looking out for each other and making sure we each have time to indulge our passions.




Practically, Huz's shift from his full-time day job, to working four days per week, has meant an extra day for me to work. It's shifted the balance of things in our home in a much more equitable way. It also gives him time with the owlets, usually in nature, allowing him to get out and do what he loves best. On Fridays he always wakes with a grin. It's meant an extra day to play and spend time getting work done in the garden too - one of my favourite things to do. It's a much happier balance, but one that takes some tweaking as we learn to cover the financial gap that one day leaves us. Growing food and working more on our own business helps with that.

Owlets getting older helps a little too. I'm finding stolen snippets of time are getting longer and longer, so now, with a little focus, I can get to more of the stuff that needs doing. So with that, I'm attempting to return to blogging more regularly. In line with this fluid, messy life, where lines are blurred and one thing feeds and flows into the next, this blog will be where we document and perhaps attempt to bring some sort of order from it all. It has always been a space to reflect, document and define our dreams, these past eight years (yes, eight! Can you believe it?), but now it's time for a new Owlet chapter.

So Huz, Owletpapa, will be joining me to document the journey from here, as it becomes our blog. I'm looking forward to the words he'll share and the world of Owlets and the Spiral Garden and all it is and will be, with his insight. And in time, from the owlets' perspective too. We hope you'll join us for the adventure - it's bound to be messy and beautiful and all kinds of fun!

~ Owletmama. xo


PS. These photos were taken at the end of last year, on a day where we decided to take a day off from wrapping orders and ramble around the bush for a bit. We visited Waterworks reserve and Mt Wellington. Two gorgeous spots, just 20 minutes from our home, in Hobart. Much to my astonishment, the world didn't end and all the parcels arrived on time, despite skipping a day.