Homeschool Gathering

I did something that felt a little brave this fall, I stepped out and set up a new little homeschool co-op with friends.  All along, I have piggybacked on a co-op that was already set up, a really great co-op with really great people.  So many positive things about previous co-op, but I still wondered 'what if'. 'What if there was a regular seasonal co-op that was a 100% outside gathering?" "What if we studied nature as it was happening in the location it happens?" "What if it included some elements that could be a performance as a service component?"  "Would anyone want to come?"  Went on a limb to give it a whirl and I'm so glad we did.

I am thrilled to say that we had a wonderful group and we really looked forward to our mornings together.  We ended last week with doing a little program at the nursing home with our music, poetry and art that ended with resounding applause. We may someday be back to our old co-op, but I foresee these homeschool nature gatherings to be a steady part of our homeschooling journey. I'm already dreaming of the springtime session, plus planning some workshops for winter.

Most of these pics are mine, but I did pilfer some from friends (thank you!).  

 

Upcycling craft

Audra did a presentation about the Animal Welfare Society (the local animal shelter) at 4-H. She made a sharp looking poster and presented confidently.  We had a blanket that was very well loved over the last couple of decades and ready to retire into something else, so we made a couple dozen braided dog toys to donate with our 4-H friends. 

Keeping her busy

 One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is keeping her busy while I work with the big kids. Multi-age schooling isn't always easy, but it is worth it.

Fall Weekends

I am flying high after a really great weekend.  Know those things that never seem to get checked off the list? Well, this weekend we tackled so many and even had some friends come help with the big one...removing the screens from the porch and putting up the walls and windows (thank you!)!!

Mornings are all frosty, we're cuddled up by the woodstove regularly. I keep making a huge mess trying to use up all this garden fresh produce that was saved from the frost. We still have lots of peppers, tomatoes, apples, squash, pumpkins that are not used or tucked away yet. 

I'm still not done planting yet.  Time is ticking. Got the garlic in today and also planted some parsnips and cilantro.  I don't know where all my cilantro went, I used to have an abundance. Hoping to bring it back. I have found that this is the best time of year to plant parsnips. They start growing as the ground is thawing!  100% of this garlic I planted, I grew last year.  I have plenty in the pantry to hopefully last us the year.  The parsnip and cilantro seeds are also saved from previous years.  My library card catalog is filled with seeds. I still have piles on the counter to sort and file away too.

I dug the rest of my annual bulbs (dahilas, glads, canna).  I need to do this earlier because I am wheeling them in the garage overnight and back out to fresh air to dry out for winter storage. Not working smarter, definitely harder. I did plant the 200 bulbs I got for spring. 

I have a few more perennials I was hoping to move. I have barely put my perennials to bed, I still have cranberries to plant and a few more strawberries I hope to pop in. They may or may not take, it's an experiment.  I am trying to get some of the rhizomes of the quackgrass weeds, those are so invasive. I also have two loads of woodchips I'd like to get spread. So much to do.

I am thrilled to be calling my clan w/ the dinner bell that is back up and working (Thank you Justin!). 

Tonight I served homegrown applecrisp, cooked in the woodstove for dinner. Yes, dinner.  No one complained. 

All in all, it was a great weekend to be a homesteader! 

Chip Drop

 Maybe 5 years ago, when I first decided I wanted a Back to Eden garden, I signed up for 'Chip Drop', which is a free service that connects arborists with places to dump wood and woodchips. Haven't gotten a thing all this time. 

Until yesterday.  We got quite the drop off.  For free. Of course our pal who drops woodchips off locally was just here, now we have a heck of a lot of wood chips.  I'm thrilled. Kids are thrilled. I have a heck of a lot of work to do now and I don't mind a bit.

Classroom for a Mainer

 We were pretty lucky last week. Our classroom moved to a seafood company and we enjoyed a great program from a lobsterman and marine biologist. 

Anna-Kate made the speaker a lobster with eggs.

For some really well done commercials from the presenters, there are three videos at the bottom of Red Lobster's page worth checking out. https://www.redlobster.com/  Thankful we are coastal Mainers, so we can enjoy the perks! 

Home-iversary

 This Halloween marks the 9th year we closed on this farm house. These are old pictures, and a stroll down memory lane.

9 years ago was one of the craziest times in my life. Two kids under the age of two, I had just returned to work from maternity leave. My husband and I worked opposite shifts, having two days off together a month.  My kids did not nap at the same time, so I tried to get one sleeping in the car, pack the car, move as much as I could before they woke up. The house had been vacant for a while so I was trying to clean it too.

I remember when my dad came for Thanksgiving and moved us all over here from our other house, only a half mile away.  I just cried and cried, I was so thankful.  But then everything kept breaking and I'd be cloth diapering without a washing machine. Then no dishwasher. Then the water pump broke. And the furnace. Somehow we moved in and didn't shut all the storm windows and were freezing.  And then of course we still needed to sell our other house. It was a year of surviving, I barely remember it.  Would I do it all over again? Absolutely.  I absolutely love our home and would be deeply crushed if we ever had to move.  This is really my dream home and I'm so thankful we get to raise our littles here.