My friend Madeline

After we left Williamsburg, we headed down south to Georgia where my unschooling friend Madeline lives with her amazing organic-farmer husband, Nicolas, and her two fantastically adorable and impressive sons. We drove 9 hours just to get there, and I woke up at 5:15 am to get us out of the hotel and to her place at a decent hour. And every bit of it was worth the effort!

We had so much fun and felt so welcome in their wonderful home that we really didn't want to leave when the time came to drive up to the Lovejoy's for a house concert with Amy Steinberg. I think that's why we dilly-dallied so long, lingering over these amazingly moist pancakes that Gillen made for everyone. Gillen was an amazing cook, totally comfortable in the kitchen, and he and Julia bonded over chocolate and baking for Madeline's birthday (though I hear he does that with all the girls).

That afternoon we enjoyed a lovely visit to their farm where we took a nice hike out to a beautiful meadow and field of quartz crystals. The kids had a blast playing "predator," a combination of tag and hide-and-seek through the tall grass. We lucked out that there were no hunters on the property that day, considering it's deer season. Along the hike we got to see a beaver dam and the habitat they're creating in the woods. Crystal hunting was such fun, kind of like being on a geology dig, especially after our recent trip to the Smithsonian rocks and gems collection and Luray caverns (more on those trips later). I kept finding these amazingly perfect small crystals that looked bizarrely like teeth from a crystal monster. I kept envisioning this giant mouth full of crystal teeth along the lines of the abominable snow man or something.

We had a perfectly relaxing, beautiful day with everyone, and luckily we were all smart enough to go to sleep far earlier than we had the night before. The worst part about the whole visit was having to bully them into letting me help, though Nicolas was pretty much a push-over in that arena. I would have stayed and helped him at the farm all day if I could have—hopefully without botching the job too badly along the way. Next time maybe I'll have Jim along with me for a trip to my mom's place, and I'll get to do just that. Though if he'd have seen their hunting set up, he would've been itching to be out doing that! (For the record, I do believe Gillen is at present the only hunter in their family—see another great evil way to get Gillen to push for a trip up here in the spring!

Stepping Back In Time

This past week, the kids and I have been on one of our whirlwind trips, gallivanting across the South. We began at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA, and had a raucous good time! While there, the kids and I enjoyed a 2-day pass to Colonial Williamsburg where we had loads of fun stepping back in time and imagining ourselves living in 18th Century Virginia. The highlight of the trip for me was exploring the Great Hopes Plantation site, which is growing slowly and beginning to take shape.

They've been building this plantation for the last several years using all period tools and techniques, and it's been amazing to watch the progress. This trip I learned from one of the interpreters that this plantation would have had about 150 acres of tobacco and 50 acres of corn production, relying on only about 7-10 slaves to do that work, a number which I find absolutely dumbfounding when I consider the amount of work these people were required to do, knowing as I do now what it takes to farm just one acre.

Sam's favorite part, not surprisingly, was learning all about the weaponry and what it meant to join the army. We spent quite a bit of time at the magazine listening intently to all the descriptions of the guns, bayonets, militia, and military innovations. While the girls had their own costumes from our last trip about 3 years ago, Sam decided to rent a costume this year, which meant he was given a letter with several different assignments, one of which was learning to drill, which he was able to do both days much to his great pleasure. The girls were thrilled just to dress up and enjoy all the attention it garnered them throughout the streets. Em, particularly, was in her element as she role-played the entire two days we were there.

We spent our third day at the Jamestown Settlement where we spent a cold afternoon learning all about the voyage over to the New World on the Susan Constant, what it might have been like to live in Powhatan village, and the significant differences between life in a native village and a colonial fort. Of course, once again, the highlight of the day was learning all about the weapons and armor and getting to watch them fire a musket. Sam was thrilled to hold the shield for his musketeer, a very important job as the musketeer needed all his hands to load and fire. Although, just as interesting was the time was our time spent talking with a female blacksmith about the trade now and then. She had a wonderful way of talking with us, interacting with the kids on the same intellectual level as an adult, and I kept wanting to ask if she weren't homeschooled but never quite managed to work it into the conversation.

Washington, D. C.

This Sunday we went into the city to meet my mother-in-law, nephew and sister-in-law, who was in town for a business meeting on Monday. We started at the National Air and Space Museum, which is always fun for the kids. We spent quite a bit of time in the hands-on "How Things Fly" section of the museum before moving onto the National Museum of the American Indian, which is conveniently right next door. We took time out to eat lunch in the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe, which features different native foods that are representative of different cultures and regions.

After lunch we felt quite refreshed and headed to the top floor of the museum where, unfortunately, the introductory film "Who We Are," was not playing. But we still enjoyed walking around the different galleries and exhibits, listening to stories like the one about Devil's Tower, and visiting the hands-on portion of the museum. Afterwards, we enjoyed the weather and the gorgeous waterfalls that we'd viewed during lunch. (Sam's not angry in that picture—he's just feeling especially earnest about the turtle totem necklace he bought.)

The day was so beautiful and the kids still had quite a bit of energy, so we headed over to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights on display in the rotunda. The kids were totally psyched to see the original documents, and the adults thought it was pretty cool, too.
We were all surprised and a bit dismayed by how faded the documents are—John Hancock's signature is barely visible. Still, just seeing the original documents is such a powerful experience. Of course, we watched National Treasure when we got home that night! (Well, except for Jim who watched the Giants v. Eagles game.) Sam asked one of the guards whether there were really temperature sensors in the cases, but the guard said that part was only in the movie.

On our way home, we stopped for some ice cream and wandered through the National Gallery Sculpture Garden, which is always lovely and relaxing. The kids enjoyed some time by the central fountain, cooling tired feet. The day was absolutely glorious! Spring and Fall are beautiful times to visit D.C., and the best part about all these wonderful places is that they are free to visit—free of course because American tax dollars fund them, but hey, it's still pretty great!

Post Conference Triste, or Where's my Tribe?!

This year after the conference, we were lucky enough to have two wonderful families from Albuquerque visit us at our farm and then again at our in-law's beach house on the Jersey Shore. I have no pictures of them at the farm, though Jenny assures me that she got some good shots and Beth has some really cute ones, but I have some really wonderful photos from the beach. The weather was a bit breezy and chilly, but overall it was gorgeous and sunny and perfect. We spent our days basking in the sun and splashing in the water while our nights were spent drinking too much good wine and eating too much good food (yeah, there goes those 5 lbs I lost at the conference!). Though come to think of it, Jenny and I were really the only gluttons there—and Beth left without revealing a single vice. No fair! I mean, she doesn't even drink tea in the morning to wake up, making my two cups of ultra-strong Peet's coffee feel like speed or something. Sheesh.

Hosting such lovely ladies was a pleasure, and I'm so grateful to my in-law's for letting us have the house for the week! The kids had a blast, I think, and overall, they did a fabulous job playing, getting along, and finding solutions, considering that several of them had been on the road for 3 weeks, all of them had just been to a huge conference, most of us were dealing with varying stages of cold/ fever ick, and space was at a premium with nine people in the house!

Of course, the space on the beach goes on forever, and thank goodness for the wind and waves that allow little
girls to squeal and screech with sheer delight while protecting adult ears! Watching kids on the beach in September is one of my favorite things ever because, for me, there's little else that symbolizes such perfect freedom and joy. They have the whole beach to themselves while other kids are in school, and between the sand and the water, it's just kid heaven. When we arrived at the beach, one of the first things I did was begin digging a hole, and Beth naively asked what in the world I was doing. "If you dig it, they will come, Beth," as Emma and Eli demonstrate. Kids and sand and holes and waves—yup, heaven!

Live and Learn Conference 2007

We just got back from the Live and Learn Conference down in Black Mountain, NC, and it was a total whirlwind blast from the very first day of tie-dying t-shirts with the Smith family to the last night of the dance fever party! So many people put forth so much energy and enthusiasm to make this year one of the best years yet. The funshop offerings are just phenomenal and get better every year, I think.

I love hosting the letterboxing funshop, and the best part of the whole thing is taking the letterbox when we leave and seeing all the wonderful stamps that people have made. Liz's egg drop funshop was a huge hit with my kiddos, and it was the only funshop Sam really wanted to attend. I'm so glad we caught it before leaving town, and it really wrapped up the week for us on a positive note.

One of our favorites was the belly dancing funshop and performance, and I love the photo of my Maryland crew! There were so many other terrific funshops that it's impossible to list them all. Seeing all the kids' faces light up when they accomplish something new and even consoling them as they stretch their abilities and come up disappointed is a priceless part of the living and learning that happens all week long at the conference.

The best part of the conference though are the connections we get to make with such amazing people from all over the world! Getting to meet folks that we've gotten to know over the year online is so cool, and there's never enough time to spend talking and connecting with each and every person. The glow that comes from hanging out with other unschoolers just can't be beat!

Natural History Museum

After dropping Jim at work, the kids and I went into the city to visit the Natural History Museum, arguably our favorite Smithsonian museum. We spent the day wandering through the evolution exhibits, primarily, as the museum was really crowded. We got into the gems exhibit enough to see a few of the large geodes and the Hope Diamond, but turned around because of the crowds. Unfortunately, the Insect Zoo was closed, one of our favorite parts of the museum. All in all, not a terribly successful museum day, but it was fun nonetheless. That's the great part about going so often—short forays are just as fun as longer ones, and there's never any pressure to see or do it all. Combined with the visit to daddy's work, it was a hugely successful day. Well, that's not to mention the three times I got lost while driving in and out of the city. Gawd I hate the GW parkway! I'm so good with everything else and once I get into the city, but we must've seen the Pentagon about 4 times that day! Rather interesting, actually, that we were able to get so close post 9/11—I mean literally in the parking lot right next to the building.

Visiting Daddy at Work

The other day we dropped Jim off at work before heading into the city. His car had died, so he'd taken the truck into work the next day and had an extra vehicle to bring home, so we decided to make a day of it. He is a scientist, so visiting lab is always a whole lot of fun. Emily spent a lot of time in his lab at grad school while I was teaching or doing research, but since leaving campus, we've become very disconnected from his workplace. Adding to that the fact that he's a government researcher adds another layer of security and difficulty to visits, so the kids are always pretty excited when they get to go see daddy's lab.

Philadelphia Adventure

We had a blast on our trip to Philly! While there, we saw the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute, though of course no photos were allowed. The exhibit was wonderful—at least twice as big as the recent Pompeii exhibit we visited in Mobile. A solid gold sarcophagus of either Tut's mother or grandmother was on display, and it was truly phenomenal, as was the small canopic coffinette of Tut himself, a glimpse of which you can catch for yourself at this brief National Geographic gallery of the exhibit. The kids were fascinated by many of the objects we saw, especially what was likely the young Tut's royal chair. One of the neatest things is being able to look back at some of the original Carter photographs and recognize items we saw on display like this dummy folding stool. Of course, the rest of the museum was loads of fun as well, and we explored electricity, air and flight, the body and, of course, the heart, and we also enjoyed the IMAX film Mysteries of Egypt.


Our plan was to stay overnight at the Hotel Windsor, just three blocks away, and finish the museum the following day, and we'd planned especially to come on a Wednesday because the museum has extended hours. Unfortunately, best laid plans often do go awry, and the museum was closed for a private event on Thursday! Gathering ourselves and the four free IMAX tickets that were our consolation prize, we headed over to the Academy of Natural Sciences to spend our morning. We had considered but ruled out a visit to this museum in favor of spending more time at the Franklin Institute, but apparently the universe was sending us a message. Although much of the museum was a replay of the taxidermy displays we saw on our trip to Cabela's, the butterfly room was loads of fun and in many ways the highlight of our trip. Sam thrilled when he showed the curator one of the butterflies ready for release. The staff in the butterfly room was absolutely delightful, and we really enjoyed our visit overall. Not a wasted day in the least.

Whirlwind trip

I realized that I haven't blogged yet about our big adventure. Time being at a premium this time of year on the farm and all. We had a wonderful time down south, which began with a great visit with Ren Allen and her family. Unfortunately, I didn't get a single photo, but Ren did, so I'll post when she has a chance to send them.

Once we arrived at my mom's place on the Gulf Coast, we we joined up with some good friends from Albuquerque who met us there. We had glorious weather and loads of fun on the beach and at home. One evening, we sat up much too late and drank too much beer on the screened in porch. The kids were having so much fun, and we were all quite content. Sam was out picking jasmine flowers for the girls to make into leis. They must've been at it for about 2 hours! The adults, of course, were laughing about our sweat shop conditions, but the kids were really focused and intent upon their project.

During the week, we visited the Mobile Children's Museum The Exploreum where there was an exhibit called A Day in Pompeii with several of the body casts and artifacts. The kids were fascinated by the exhibit, though I thought it was a bit small. Em's favorite part was learning about religious worship in Pompeii and the variety of gods and goddesses from different cultures; Sam liked the cast of the dog. We'd watched the Discovery Channel dvd Pompeii: The Last Day before we went, so the kids and I had a sense of what we were going to see. The kids had the most fun in the permanent exhibits, however, which included a lab set-up by Ciba with several experiments the kids could choose. Jules is doing the tornado experiment while Em and Sam are playing with architecture and earthquakes.

On our way home, we stopped at the Lovejoy's to enjoy a fabulous house concert with Amy Steinberg. She puts on an amazing show, so if you ever have a chance to see her in concert, do! The kids had a blast hanging out with other unschoolers, and they were really looking forward to hearing one of their favorite artists. As Sam says, she sings "from her heart." Sam got to hear his absolute favorite song, "Exactly," before he fell asleep in between sets. I couldn't believe he actually went to sleep on the Lovejoy's living room couch! What a gift because I was able to enjoy both sets before needing to head back to the hotel with the kiddos. Of course, I managed to leave my camera on the emotional way out the door with tired kids and sad goodbyes, wishing we could be surrounded by such wonderful folk all the time. But, that meant I got to enjoy the Lovejoy's company one more brief time, as they kindly stopped by the farm to hand deliver my camera on their way home from Hershey. Man, what service!

Chinatown

We went into New York City this year for our Chinese New Year celebration—the day after the big parade. We had lunch at a small restaurant called Singapore Cafe. The food was great; the service was great; and the kids really enjoyed the lazy susan table and the tea cups. Sam ate his requisite order of fried dumplings and was happy as a clam. Of course, we chose one of the coldest days of the year to go into the city, and I was concerned that the wind-tunnel effect on the city streets would make the trip unbearable. We layered and bundled, and overall, the cold wasn't too bad. The wind wasn't up, which really made all the difference.

After lunch we walked around Chinatown for a while and ended up at this awesome store in SoHo called Pearl River where we found our own tea cups, spoons and fabulous outfits for the kids. Of course, the kids had almost as much fun on the subway and commuter train as they did in the city, making the rush back meet the train mercifully easy. Here's a photo of the girls in their Mandarin outfits on the way back home in Cabela's, an outdoor/ hunting store that is an experience, to say the least. A 250,000 sf showroom with a 40' waterfall, bass pond and several diorama displays of stuffed animals—like real stuffed, not plush. Seeing the size of these animals was amazing! From black bears to grizzly bears to polar bears, from Icelandic fox to African elephant, Cabela's displays are truly worth seeing if there's a showroom near you. They make a great stop on a long trip—with clean bathrooms, plenty to see and a buffet restaurant. I'd highly recommend checking for locations if you're traveling.

2006 Live & Learn Unschooling Conference

Wow! What an amazing experience, and I have so many things to talk about with no time to sit down and write them all out.

Briefly, my experience this year was overwhelming and wonderful and full of connections and joy, dampened only by the absence of my family and the reality of goodbyes at the weekend's end.

Until I have time to write and reflect a bit more on my experience, I wanted to share an exchange between dh and I over the L&L. Several folks may remember that he came last year and had a really difficult time--not wanting to join in and being totally overwhelmed by the energy and chaos of the kids' room.

This year, the venue was so amazing! There was so much more space in general, and the set-up of the toddler areas in the rooms themselves worked out really well, I thought. Kelly did such a fantastic job, and I kept saying to Jim on the phone, "I wish you guys had come this year instead of last."

When I left home to come to Albuquerque by myself, dh and I had a talk about my need to know he was going to be a gentle parent while I was gone and to really make an effort. He assured me he would and had the kids confirm it when I returned home. ;) These open conversations among all of us have been really transforming because he's talked to them about how he wants to be more gentle and solution oriented but that the knee-jerk/ obey me know mode is so much easier in the moment. Em's been able to talk about how that makes her feel, and Jules has been able to share how hard it is for her when he raises his voice.

So, yesterday while he was at work, I sent him an email thanking him again for caring for the kids and making my trip possible. This was what he sent back:

"I had a great time with the kids. It was good for the four of us to be on our own for a while. I feel like I connected better with the kids than I have for some time."

His words brought tears to my eyes, as I realized that yes, as Ren says, we were all exactly where we needed to be.

Live & Learn really is changing all of our lives; our journey just looks a bit different than the overnight conversions. ;) The outward bound type venue of next year's conference together with the closer location and my observations from this year's conference have very nearly convinced Jim to give the conference another try. (breathing deeply and fighting back the tears) I am just so overwhelmed and grateful for this, and we've already talked about a funshop he might be able to offer.

Thank you Kelly and Ben and everyone who puts their time and energy into this amazing weekend! You are all fairy godmothers, truly!

The Ag Fair

Thursday, we visited the Ag Fair to check out the poultry show and the dairy goat showing, though it was so hot and the fair so small that we ended up coming home before the dairy goat time--just not enough to keep occupied for the 4 hours between the two. The poultry show was really disappointing, as there were very few birds entered--only one layer, for heaven's sake! I'm wondering if it had something to do with the recent mandatory poultry registration required in Maryland as a prelude to the NAIS.

Although the fair was small, it had some great kids' activities like the corn maze and the milking stations. The corn maze had four different animals cutouts to find, making it somewhat of a scavenger hunt. The kids really enjoyed making several crafts from origami horses and pigs to wooden sheep ornaments to which they glued real wool. They transplanted tomatoes, which the kittens made quick work of as soon as we got home, and they made soil profiles representing the different soil layers from bedrock to topsoil. Of course, the baby animals were a huge hit, particularly the swiss cow who had an incredibly deep moo and a very rough tongue!

Springfield Farm

Last week, we took a small fieldtrip to Springfield Farm north of Baltimore to purchase some Narragansett hens. Although it was more than an hour drive, the kids had fun once we were there, checking out all the animals, choosing the hens and devouring a pint of cookies and cream ice cream from a local dairy.


While we were there, the girls fell in love with the Peacocks, and only the incredibly loud noise they make was enough to deter them from wanting to bring one home! Their call sounded a lot like a large woman shrieking for help, which would be enough to send the neighbors into a tizzy. For the moment, they were content with bringing home beautiful feathers, which have been everything from magic wands to royal crowns.

While there, we were able to see the breed of pig we're considering for our farm, Tamworths. Known for their flavor, lean meat and ability to do well on pasture. Sam and his dad are really looking forward to raising some feeder pigs for meat, but Jules is set on raising one to keep. Our big research project this year is to learn as much as we can about the Tamworths, so we'll be able to integrate them into our farm. Designing and locating the pen will depend in large part on where we can locate water and where we'd like to locate our fields. Our trip to Springfield gave us some good ideas and some visuals that will help our planning.

Zoar Valley

While on a recent vacation, we went on the most amazing hike into New York State's Zoar Valley. Wow! Well worth the trip for anyone living in the area. The hike was a good one down into the valley--maybe a mile and a half or two miles? The kids spent hours at this confluence point of two creeks, the Cattaraugus Creek and the South Branch Cattaraugus, wading, moving rocks, playing in all the small pools and falls spread out like a natural waterpark with the low water the day we were there.The kids, of course, had to try their hands at climbing the cascade, which was loads of fun and captured the attention of some Asian tourists in the valley. Em was the subject of several photos. We had a lovely day, and all the kids on the hike (there were 8 of whom Em was the oldest) were amazing in their energy and companionship. All but the two littlest walked the entire way with enthusiasm and thoroughly enjoyed all the exploring to be done.