more camp pics

One of the conference Dads was able to spend some time with the kids' groups and took a bunch of photos, some of which were sent on to me with permission to post them on my blog. So here's some more pics for your enjoyment!

A group of the camp kids lined up on the see-saw. J is the 2nd kid from the front.

Tie-dying on the porch of the rec hall.













J painting. (I'll try to remember to post photos of his finished painting -- along with Zoo Boy's and some of mine too! -- another time.)










Zoo Boy flying down the zip line.













The Boy and his new buddy, F.

mirror stories

We're having a heat wave (a tropical heat wave, cue the music....). I thought you all might enjoy a few random shots of the kids cooling off in the sprinkler out on our front lawn today, under the blazing near-100-degree sun, while I talk about a subject I have no actual illustrations for.

One of our tasks during the Enki Education Early Childhood Homeschool Conference (which I blogged about yesterday and the day before) was to write a Mirror Story for one of our kids to reflect a problem they are struggling with, using an image from nature. The idea being that it allows the child to see his/her struggles as being part of the natural process of living and being in this world, and lets the child know that he/she is being seen. The process of writing the story was far more complicated, and enlightening, than I had imagined it would be.

We started several weeks prior to the conference itself by doing a Child Study on the target child, which is a 3-week long observation of the child's physical, speech, and mind characteristics. We brought our observations with us to the conference, and each day we worked on writing our Mirror Story. I chose Zoo Boy as my subject and the challenge that I focused on was how devastated he is when things don't go his way.

The first two days, we merely presented our child's challenge to another conference participant and let them offer us an image from nature. Beth Sutton, the founder of Enki Education and our leader for the conference, encouraged us to use natural phenomenon rather than animals, as it's too easy to fall into the trap of giving an animal human characteristics or emotions, and the idea was to reflect back a natural situation to the child. The images that I was offered were a forest fire and a rock slide/avalanche. I thought both images were a bit too violent and scary for what I was trying to mirror, but I tried to keep an open mind.

On the third day, we shared our child study with another conference participant, and gleaned yet another image. This time i was offered an image of a river cutting away at it's banks, and that sat a little bit better with me than the previous two images. That night, we were told to do a Tonglen Meditation (one of the teacher health practices recommended by the Enki curriculum) on the challenge and see what images arose. We were encouraged to trust the process and follow any image that came up from that meditation, whether it was an image that we had been offered by another participant or something entirely new.

That night before bed I did my meditation. A very strong image arose for me -- a beaver building a beaver dam, and the dam being destroyed. I felt a bit conflicted. Beth had both told us not to use an animal, and to trust the process. So I slept on it.

In the morning, as I stepped into the shower, the water hit my face and it suddenly occurred to me that the image I got wasn't about the beaver, but rather the water that was being controlled by the beaver. That day we shared our image with another participant and roughed out our story, and that night's assignment was to write the story and tell it the following day. My story was about a little raindrop that fell on a mountain top, dripping into a stream and being rushed down the mountain, tossed to and fro, and winding up in a beaver pond, where it waited with all the other little raindrops until there were enough of them to break the dam and continue on their tumultuous journey down the mountain. The story was purposefully left open-ended -- this isn't about trying to solve our kids' problems, just to mirror their challenges and allow them to be "seen".

In the process of telling the little raindrop story the next day to another conference participant (and then to the group), I came to realize that Zoo Boy's challenge wasn't about his response to things not going his way, but rather to the deeper issue of feeling small and powerless.

Last night I told the story to Zoo Boy. He love it! He told me that it was a great story, and that he liked it even better than Charlotte's Web (which we finished at camp last week, and was a huge hit with both boys). He mentioned it several times today as well. I feel like it was a success, and I'm looking forward to writing other mirror stories for him as we continue working with the Enki curriculum.

Enki Early Childhood Homeschool Conference

As I posted about yesterday, the kids and I spent the past week at the Enki Education Early Childhood Homeschool Conference, which was held at a camp in New Hampshire. There's a workshop going on up there for the next several days, then another Homeschool Conference focusing on Grades 2 and above. (That's the week we'll be attending next year!)

In thinking about posting my experience at the conference, I was a bit overwhelmed. The amount of information presented was enormous. I came to a bunch of realizations about myself, my kids, and our homeschooling program. I was nourished by the sense of community. I made new friends, connected with old, and reaffirmed my commitment to this journey of educating my children. Over the next several weeks, I'm bound to bring up some of these themes in my posts. So today I decided just to focus on the actual physical conference structure itself.

We started every morning (after breakfast) with Family Circle (seen in the first photo), which was held outdoors whenever possible, and indoors (at the dining hall) when mother nature made things too wet. I regret not having taken any photos of circle outdoors, but I also didn't anticipate having so much rain (Weathermen lie!!!) and figured I'd have opportunities later in the week that just didn't happen.

After circle, the kids went off with the "counselors" to their program, while we parents moved to our classroom (the building just behind my kids) for the morning session of the conference. On the hill behind the classroom you can see some of the other cabins (the cabin we stayed in was the first one beyond the classroom). Across the driveway (to the right of my kids) is a screen tent for parent socializing after the kids were asleep at night. And just beyond that was the sand pile that the kids all flocked to for playtime after dinner. There was also a small playground, a LONG zip line, a climbing wall, and a rope ladder, in addition to the waterfront, which offered canoes in addition to swimming. Oh, and miles of hiking trails.

The adult morning session was 4 hours of Enki nuts and bolts, lead by primarily by Beth Sutton, the founder of Enki Education. There's nothing like getting foundation philosophy information straight from the horse's mouth! The first 3 days focused on the Kindergartner, while the second 3 days was directed at the First Grader. We got to see a lot of the materials that are described in the teaching guides first hand, and we had illustrated examples of how to go about using the curriculum materials, structuring our day, planning out our blocks, etc. Throughout, Beth kept reminding us that Enki is not about using any particular materials, but rather honoring the educational process that the Guides lay out. (I'll get into further details in the coming days.) With the various personalities and home situations amongst the participants, there were plenty of examples of how to go about following the educational philosophy in a manner that fits your particular family best. I definitely came away with a firmer understanding of what it is that we're setting out to do with our kids, how this method of education differs so vastly from what is generally available to children, and why this is the path we've chosen for our family.

We also had hands-on experiences with the methods during the morning session, led by Jan Powers, a 4 or 5 year Enki veteran parent (and also the woman whose voice is on all the Enki Education music CDs). Jan got us working with wool, painting, crayon drawing, and playing with Math and Language Arts games and manipulatives. My kids got a big kick out of seeing what Mommy made at "grown-up camp" each day! For me, this was the most helpful aspect of the conference, as I learn so much more efficiently by doing something rather than just by reading about it. This is what made the Enki curriculum come alive for me during the week, and empowered me to be able to bring these activities to my own children.

After our early afternoon break for lunch, rest time, and family time, we reconvened in the late afternoon for a 2 hour discussion session, with wine, cheese and crackers, and fruit. This is when we got to discuss the information presented in the morning session and how to apply it to our particular situations. I really liked the format and the opportunity to delve into those areas of particular interest to the group in more depth in the afternoon. It also increased the sense of community (which was hard to avoid -- it's not often that any of us are in contact with so many other families following the Enki Education philosophy!). Of particular interest to me was the discussion on combining the grade levels to meet the needs of all the children in the family, without running the parents ragged.

All in all, it was a very useful (and busy!) week, and I'm feeling very excited about entering this 1st grade year with J, and continuing to support Zoo Boy with another year of Kindergarten level work. And I, like the kids, am already looking forward to next year's conference!

back from "camp"

The kids spent this past week at "camp". Ok, so it wasn't exactly a camp. It was, in fact, a group babysitting program for the children of parents attending the Enki Education Early Childhood Homeschooling Conference. But to the kids, it was camp. The conference was held at an honest-to-goodness camp in New Hampshire, and we stayed in a cabin and were served meals in the dining hall and had activities at the rec hall and swam at the lakefront, and did crafts and outdoor games with a dozen or more other rollicking children. So, heck, why NOT call it camp?! (My boys are the two on the right in this photo of the 4-amigos, all wearing the tie-dyed shirts they made in "camp" -- see, another camp activity!! The best news about my boys hooking up with this pair of brothers is that they live in RI -- totally doable for occasional playdates and get-togethers!)

The kids spent the week gallivanting around the camp, painting, making candles, tie-dying, doing circle, listening to stories, and spending free play time in nourishing indoor playspaces like the one in this photo. Several days they were able to swim in the lake, although the "swim every day" plan was put aside when it decided to rain for three of the days. But that's OK, there was plenty else to keep them occupied!

Not unexpectedly, we had our challenges. Zoo Boy's sensory issues came gushing to the surface on occasion (but the set-up was flexible enough to allow him to join me in the adult session during those times he couldn't handle the camp setting) -- he wasn't able to handle the smell of the disinfectant they used in the playspace, so whenever they cleaned, he needed to be removed. And the combination of having to wear water shoes (which of course allow sand and, heavens forbid, water in) while swimming due to sharp shells in the water and having to wear a lifevest even if he didn't want to swim made it all too much for him to handle being at the lakefront. And neither boy wound up being able to tolerate the sensory assault that was the dining hall, so we ate meals in our cabin instead (here's a photo of one such dinner). But most of the folks were pretty cool about us doing food in our own way, and the kids really didn't miss out on much (although it ran ME a bit ragged busing food and dishes back and forth between our cabin and the kitchen).

The overall tone of the week? Joy! The look on Zoo Boy's decorated face (the 'counselors' did face-painting one day, he has a frog on his right cheek and a sunflower on his left) says it all. The boys are already talking about about camp next year, and how we really MUST bring The Map Man along next time. (We would have this time, but farm help is a bit hard to come by....)




J, on the right in the orange sweatshirt, casually chats with a couple of his friends before morning Family Circle. Those of you that have been on J's journey with us the past 5 or so years know how much a scene like this one makes my heart sing! At one point I asked him about some of the sensory challenges that drove Zoo Boy from the camp groups, and he told me "That stuff bothers me, but it would bother me more to not be with my friends, so I just try to ignore it." The child has come a LONG way....

I'll post about the conference when I get a chance. Right now I just want to get off this computer and enjoy being home!

week #34, spring #10

The kids take a break from bike riding to get a closer look at a toad.

The weather took an amazing turn this week. For the better, for the most part, although the sunny, mild weather caused the trees to celebrate by spreading pollen far and wide. So I spent most of the week gasping for breath and not sleeping much at all. Made for a bit of a sleep-deprived week, and I'm hoping that whatever is in bloom finishes up SOON!

Meanwhile, we went about homeschooling as usual. The kids participated in a museum class about frogs (where they got to examine these preserved life stages of frogs, amongst other things). This was the second week of our Planting Flowers Adventure Circle, and we supplemented the theme this week by actually planting flower seeds, here, there, and everywhere! The kids each picked flowers they wanted to see in our garden, went out and bought the seeds, and sowed them in the prepared earth. J decided to plant Morning Glory , Zoo Boy chose Forget-Me-Not -- interestingly, I did not suggest they choose a flower, I merely said that we were going to go plant some flower seeds, and they both spontaneously came up with the types they wanted.

J looking adorable in a pile of new beach towels. Both kids are chomping at the bit for summer to start -- Zoo Boy has asked me every morning since the first of April "Is it summer yet?"

This week's curriculum story was a repeat of last week's "Cluck Cluck and Little Tuppen", per request of Zoo Boy (who is usually complaining about hearing the same story again by the third time I read it, so when he requests to carry one over into the next week, I'm only more than happy to oblige!).

We happened to visit the museum at an opportune time this week -- their female corn snake had just laid eggs!! Here they are, on their way to the museum office where they are going to try incubating them. We are all excited to see if they hatch!



And last, but certainly not least, The Map Man turned 43 this week. Happy Birthday, babe, we love you!

frog fun

Yesterday afternoon found us at our favorite children's museum, where the boys participated in a class with the fabulous Ms. Nicky called "Frog Fun", where they studied the life cycle and habits of frogs, including this pair of African Water Frogs that entertained the kids by eating fish and splashing a lot.

They also got to study tadpoles (that's Zoo Boy on the right). They saw both tiny tadpoles and little froglets who had recently grown their back legs. The kids tried to count up the tadpoles, but there were too many and they kept swimming around, making counting pretty much impossible.

The class gathers around Ms Nicky's desk, where she plays songs from various frog species for them. I never really thought about it before, but it's amazing how different each species sounds -- you truly don't have to see a frog to identify it, it's totally doable on a pitch black spring night!

After all the learning, the kids colored paper squares and made origami jumping frogs out of them. Here Zoo Boy works diligently alongside his classmates to color in his frog-to-be.





J, satisfied with his coloring, works on folding his frog into it's final form.

Fun class, the kids had a blast (so did I! And so did the Map Man, who was able to join us about half way through).

it boggles the mind

If any of you dear readers and family members out there still wonder why The Map Man and I have chosen to homeschool our kids, go check out this article about little Alex Barton, a 5 year old enrolled in a Kindergarten class in Florida, whose teacher organized a classroom coupe, encouraging her students to each take turns telling poor Alex what they didn't like about him, then arranged a vote in which his classmates "voted him out" of the class. Read the article. It's even worse than I'm making it sound.

WHO treats a child this way? ANY child?!?! The fact that Alex is a child with Special Needs makes this all that much more atrocious. What's so inclusive about that education?!?! And the fact that Alex is apparently a child on the Autism Spectrum makes it personally offensive to me as well.

If you're interested in reading a couple of other bloggers' takes on the topic that I agree wholeheartedly with, go visit MOM-NOS and/or This Mom (look for her post titled "Special Kids Need Ordinary Consideration Too. For some reason I can't seem to figure out how to link directly to that post.). They've said it all, and better than I could have, so I'll let them speak for me on this.

updated to add: As outraged as I am? Go here to sign a petition to try to force officials to make the teacher in this case accountable for her actions. It only takes a second, add your voice!!