Archive for January, 2010

In the “blizzard of ’09″ a few weeks ago… I looked out the front window to see this little cardinal playing in our climbing tree.

Only a few months ago, we spent many hours every day catching leaves as they fell from this lovely tree.

I love the contrast in these two pictures- the radiance of the red and green, the softness of the snow covered tree- with the bright red bird.

I am excited to see what Spring brings to the colors of our climbing tree!

Have a great weekend friends! Spend some time playing outside!

Is there a special place in your yard that you notice as it changes through the seasons?

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I want to write a book.

Be a children’s yoga teacher.

Teach children about nature.

Be an awesome gardener and grow most of my own food.

I want to be a great friend, the best mother, and the most nurturing wife.

I want it ALL. NOW.

The past fall Lisa Tener had a contest on her blog called It’s An Authors Dream Contest. This is what I wrote:

“The meat of my book is to share my excitement and love of nature and children with my readers. I want to inspire the least outdoorsy mama to take her little ones to the park and turn over rocks to look for bugs and the most A-type mama to take a break between power meetings to wade in a creek and look for minnows and empower a school teacher to plant a garden or lead a mini outdoor yoga class at the beginning of the school day- barefoot on the school lawn. I want to share games and songs and riddles to beaming children with ear to ear smiles as they catch butterflies or dance with the ocean surf.

“In five years, I will wake up to the chirping of the morning birds to meditate and practice yoga before anyone in the house has moved. I will eat fresh fruits granola and yogurt with my children as they ready themselves for school. We will ride our bikes to school. I will teach yoga in the afternoon and workshops on children and nature on the weekend. I will be the director of a nature based preschool or will serve on the board and volunteer in the classrooms. My youngest will attend the preschool and those days I will have some time for writing. I will be working on my second book about children and spirituality (or perhaps it will be published?) This would leave time for a third- a story about my ancestors. Oh this is fun!”

Well, I won the contest and I got to attend The Dream Party. And it really helped solidify for me what it is I really want. At this party I asked the Dream Team a question, “How do you balance between what is going on in your life and your dreams?”

Circumstances in my life have changed since September. I have a new little girl to care for, and many important things in my life that are happening right now. My actual writing of a book is on the back burner, but here I am blogging and I believe that these are the baby steps towards my dream.

What I Really Want:

I want the house to be cleaned everyday. I want clean dishes, floors, laundry, and children. I want my son to be kind, generous and confident. I want a happy relationship with my handsome husband; I want my husband to be totally content with his life and our life together. I want time to myself everyday. And I want my son to go to sleep at 7 pm every night by himself after eating a hearty, healthy meal. I want beautiful weather and lots of outside playtime. I want a spectacular garden and a heated greenhouse in which to grow winter vegetable. I want 12 hours of daylight year round and rain… but not too much and only at night. I want big juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce and crunchy cucumbers. I want an endless supply of compost and straw. I want healthy chickens that lay big brown or blue eggs and docile goats with delicious milk. I want my son to never talk back to me and my husband to always agree with all my plans.

I want a lot… so I am working on myself and looking to accept and be grateful for what I have and set realistic goals.

I am taking a Children’s Yoga Teacher Training right now. I get one weekend a month to go to Boston, hang out, learn new stuff and enjoy myself. My family and friends take time to support me and take care of the kids, the house etc.

I am asking for one night out a week. And my husband reluctantly agrees. But come on can I blame him? He works outside in 20 degree weather and does his best to bring home the bacon. He wants nights off too! (And I do encourage him to take his time) but when I tell him that I am tired from being with the kids all day. He smirks. He’s REALLY tired.

My son is learning, testing boundaries, growing, changing, having growth spurts, and scary dreams. His life is fluctuating and changing with little input from him. We shuffle him around from here to there (not that much but sometimes) and gosh golly, he wants his mom to put him to bed at night. So I do.

This is my life. It’s the life I dreamed before I had this life. Now that I have this, I want MORE, MORE, MORE.

I am living my dream life. I have little children to love and cherish. I have a wonderful husband who is skilled and gentle. I have a cute home with a great yard. I have a wonderful blog and blogging community where I get a lot of my social needs met and I get to practice writing, so that someday I will write that book I am dreaming. I have a daycare in my home, thus the nature based preschool.

There are many people who have helped me get to where I am… and although most will probably never read this post, I want to take a minute of my time to just say THANK YOU…….. (with a long silent pause).

Just like a seed planted in the ground, my dreams are being watered by the love and care of those around me and me, with time, the dream seed with cast away its protective coat and the little seedling will emerge growing towards the light. The seedling will continue to grow, transforming in to a plant that looks nothing like the original seedling. That plant is the dream realized.

For now, I am adding fertilizer to the soil, watering, and waiting. Patience grasshopper. Patience.  

This is part of the link up of Strocel.com. Amber is one of my favorite bloggers, she is full of inspiration, insight, humor, and wisdom. I am excited to participate in  Crafting My Life.

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Rhode Island

Once again, the Coastal Growers Market is this Saturday and all Saturdays till March 13th in North Kingstown. And although I can’t find it right now, I know that sometime in March there will be an end of the winter celebration.

Betsy and Sarah are having a contest for the local Sweet Cakes Bakery.  I will be so sad to see them go. This is a delightful place to have tasty treats with big or little friends. They will be missed, but who knows who will win the contest!

I am really excited to try these delicious cookies from Hannah’s Harvest yum chocolate chips! (BTW they are really healthy!)

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Before you go to Lands End or LL Bean for your spring duds, try a thrift store. Here are some tips from Robin at a little greener everyday.

Many of these thrift stores are locally owned and “putting our money where our mouth is” is probably the best way to save the world one day at a time. Alison has inspired me once again to take a closer look at my own habits; learn more about the 3/50 project.

Anyone interested in learning more about the benefits of nature for children, I encourage you to investigate these resources.  I am especially interested in the Magical Child by Pearce.

The January Thaw will end soon, looks like temps in the 20′s and snow is on the way this weekend. I am excited to try family snowshoeing in our backyard!

Wanting to “cut back” this New Year? Think about altering some habits and becoming more eco-conscious. Even making a point to do a couple of these suggestions this year will make a huge impact on the planet!

In my pre-motherhood graduate school years in New Mexico, I spent a lot of time alone in the mountains being cautious ’cause I didn’t have a cell phone or a pal with me. So, when I came across this post from Natural Papa (of New Mexico) I had a little chuckle, some nostalgia and a great reminder of why I tend to be a lot more cautious as a mother.

I am looking forward to reading about asking for what you want and going for it at this link up over on strocel.com.

Back Home in My Backyard

We had a great day of PLAY today. Loaded up the kids in the wagon and headed to the waterfall. We got a little muddy, and really tired.

I am planning an extension on our garden. Why? My son is eating like a horse. Today he ate PB&J, a grilled cheese sandwich, a bunch of hummus with crackers, a banana, a couple bowls of cereal… still complained of being hungry. He’s 3 how long does this last?

I am busy creating workshops about children and nature to share in upcoming spring conferences here in Rhode Island. But I am really a geologist, so busting into the education community is nerve racking.

My backyard looks like a tornado hit it.  Toys and buckets, gloves, cars, blocks are everywhere. I wish the snow would come and hid the chaos. I just don’t want to spend the little sunny time I get cleaning up outside.

I’d rather be outside playing!

And that’s a wrap. I am always excited for links and fun articles to post here on Wednesday! Until next week…

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I was tickled to death today when I found in the archives of Twitter a message that I had been tagged for an Honest Scrap Award by @AlisonKerr of Loving Nature’s Garden.

To accept this award (which I do!) I must reveal 10 honest things about myself that you wouldn’t know by reading this site… hum…  And then I must tag 7 blogger buddies.

To those I tag, I apologize in advance if this kind of thing is terribly inconvenient. I have enjoyed reading the lists of others and am excited to share about myself.

1) I spend most of my time with children; I am very uncomfortable in a room full of adults. I do love to socialize, but do so carefully.

2) Half a margarita and I am wasted.

3) I have lived in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, Michigan, New York, New Mexico, Arkansas, Texas, Guatemala and Australia.

4) I am a Grey’s Anatomy addict. I record every show and watch them endlessly.

5) I support local businesses and think large chains are damaging to a healthy society… that said, I LOVE Starbucks coffee.

6) I am ignorant to pop culture; I grew up without TV and often feel like a total social outcast cause of this. Thus #4 is particularly interesting to me.

7) I have a problem with books… I buy too many, own too many, and need to build an addition onto my house to accommodate them.

I don’t know how to turn off smiley faces in word press, so since this is #8, it has a smiley face. (If you had paid attention to my other lists to might know this, but I find it amusing). Can anyone help me?

9) I am in love with Matt Damon and have watched Dogma too many times.

10) I have a weakness for chocolate (I like if it’s organic, milk, dark or white  … if it’s chocolate I’ll eat it) and Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Oreo.

Drum role….

Tag… you’re it!

1) Erin of exhale. return.to.center is a neighbor and wonderful blogger. She is full of helpful tips, thoughtful reflections and exciting adventures shared with her family on their small homestead on the rural edge of suburbia.

2) Debi of Go Explore Nature is a woman after my own heart. She writes of her nature adventures with her boys in southern California. She is full of energy, great ideas, is a prolific blogger and I bet if we lived closer we’d likely go on a few adventures together.

3) Amber of strocel.com I am in awe of her. I seem to “run into” posts of hers all over the Internet. I can’t believe it. Plus, she comments everywhere. I know from reading her blog that she occasionally forgets things, and has two small children, but I am amazed at her writing, her insight, her vast energy and am intrigued to find out more!

4) MJ of TurnItUpMom I love the byline of her blog. “May you be happy, May you be free…” The next part’s my favorite, but you’ll have to stop by and check her out to see what it is! We are kindred spirits of sorts as we love to dance with our children.

5) Suz of Slow Family Online, her pictures are amazingly beautiful and her blog is full of inspiration and surprises; with a wealth of experience raising children in a slow family kind of way.

6) Jaime of Steady Mom is a recently publish author, with three kids and such grace in parenting that I often wish I could be a fly on the wall in her house to observe with out intruding… and see how she does it all so beautifully. I can’t wait to read her book or find out some “other” things about her.

7) Suna of Lobster Monkey is an “old” friend from college. I was ecstatic to find her blog and be able to follow her through her days… but the reality is I barely know her despite this connection, she has become this inspiring, crafty, mindful, dedicated mother and I’d love to know a more about her.

That’s a wrap. I realize that I have only tagged mothers, women like me working to get through the day with children, be true to ourselves and our families. So please take it as a compliment that I am so interested in finding out more about you… and sharing a little bit about myself too!

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The sun is shining , the air is warm and I can feel a hint of spring. I let the chickens out early today and they are wandering the yard looking for tasty morsels.

Dare I say, “Spring is in the air?”

It is, yet this is the JANUARY thaw, nothing more. I know it, it happens every year and I get so excited I head out the back door to work in the garden, I want to put seedlings in the ground TODAY, and plan for baby chicks.

I am like a little girl in a candy store about the January thaw. But this year I am taming this excitement (a little) and have made a list of backyard projects and I want your input!

Project #1- Build a chicken house. I love my chicken tractor, but it’s hard for one person to move and it only accommodates 5 chickens. I want more. Here’s our chicken tractor under the snow of the blizzard of ’09.

Project #2- Expand my garden. It’s probably a little hard to see under the snow; but out there, is our garden. There are 4- 30 foot rows. It’s a nice size, but we need to expand for a good corn and potato crop and I’d like to plant some asparagus.

Project #3- Build a nature path. The pine trees in these two pictures mark the edge of our property line (although we have such great neighbors that it’s no problem to go a little outside the “boundary”). This is a project I have been dreaming for 3 years and now my son is old enough to help.

Project #4- Plant a milkweed garden. (An extension of #3) The last part of the nature path will go through our small back field. I want to plant lots of milkweed and butterfly bush* weed in hopes that our backyard will become a safe spot for migrating monarchs.

There are so many more projects that I have cooking up. These are the ones that are at the top of my to do list. This week we’ll be ordering seeds in my attempt to realize #2. I’d like to head out today with some strips of material to mark our nature path. And we’ve saved lots of butterfly bush and milkweed seeds.

Bring it on 2010. I can’t wait to get my hands dirty, brow sweaty and see what magic nature will bring.

I am excited to open my backyard project list up to my readers too. Those with tips and tricks to help me, please send links and I will post ‘em here!

Have a great day and enjoy the sunshine!

This is part of the Steady Mom 30 minute blog challenge. I must confess, my writing was interupted multiple times, it took under to write with these “breaks”.  Next week I’ll write at night rather then first thing in the morning. I thought I’d get away with it today.

*Many thanks to Alison of Loving Natures Garden for correcting me… on butterfly weed vs. butterfly bush. Read her comment below for why.

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This post is written in response to this article; I recommend reading it too then forming your own thoughts about play and children. I’d love to hear your stories and read your posts. So please send me links that I can compile to post here again.

Let’s work together to preserve play for our future generations!

Thank you!

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I walk into the classroom. A teacher is sitting in a rocking chair and it appears she is knitting. There are a few children playing in a small kitchen area and some others on the floor building with blocks. 

I have not disturbed the children; the teachers looks up, smiles, nods and directs me towards an empty chair.

I am here to observe.

After some time, two of the children want to play with the same object, a wooden tea cup; the teacher gracefully gets up from her chair, putting down the knitting, and sits closer to the children on the floor.  She also places another cup on the table.

The classroom is by no means “quiet” there is a great deal of chatter. What is noticeably absent is the sound of adult voices.

Then, the teacher begins to sing a song, very softly and all at once, the children begin to clean up.  The teacher is participating without directing the clean up.  At last most toys are picked up, some blocks remain on the ground, and the teacher sits down and sings with the children, creating a “handing line” where together the children put the last few blocks into a big box.

****

A week later, I attend another classroom.

The environment is different.  There are lots of loud colors.  A few children are playing together while a teacher stands over them.  When the toy doesn’t work correctly, the teacher shows the children how to use it.

There is a small radio playing beautiful music very softly. I recognize “twinkle, twinkle, little star”.

It much tidier here then the other classroom, toys are strategically placed in similar groupings. There is another teacher in the room working with a small group of children using flash cards.  They are learning their shapes.

****

I notice that in both situations the teachers are very loving towards the children.  The kids are well taken care of and the classrooms are safe and sound.

I’ll admit though, I am drawn to the first classroom. Why?

There are children playing. There is some messiness, but it is kid created. I like that the adults are guiding not leading the play.  I like that there are muted natural colors.  I like that there isn’t any background music. I like to hear children’s voices, not mechanical noises.

From my observations, I draw the conclusion that there is creative play happening in the first classroom.

But what do I mean by play?

Children Imitating: I see kids pretending to do what they see adults around them doing: washing dishes, cleaning floors, staking wood; helping each other; cleaning up; and singing.

Children Telling Stories: I see children being creative, making up their own games, working out rules, strategizing. Some might call this self-regulating.  I see that the teacher isn’t the only one telling the story or regulating the activities.

Children Learning: The children playing with the blocks are learning about shapes because some blocks fit with others, some can be piled on top of each other; some can be corners or some roll and need to be pillars.  What I like is that the children are learning this through their experience.

****

There are many ways that children can play. It is my belief that children learn best when left to their own devices.

BUT I read a great post about Free Range Kids… and one parent’s concerns that children need some regulation.

They do. They need to have great role models of self-control; and my concern is that our children are being raised by young adults who never had the experience of playing without adult regulation; they never learned SELF-control.  So our children are being raised by folks who don’t have as much self-regulation.

What kinds of problems will follow us if we continue down this path?

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Rhode Island (and bordering communities)

Just over the CT line the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center is holding a ton of wonderful winter events including night hikes (ongoing), and a bee keeping event (1/28) (for adults only).  The best part of DPNC? It has the only nature-based preschool in CT-RI area and they are having an open house January 23rd 10-12am. Check ‘em out!

The winter is full of excitement! There are some wonderful opportunities to relax, refresh, renew and be in community.

Next month KidoInfo will be a hot spot to keep an eye on… wonder what these fine folks will share? Get some tips on using social media!

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For the New Year my family is going to take heed to this resolution  for family walks. I remember as a child walks were so fun… we take lots, but not always as a family.  How about you?

Most of our snow has melted, but it probably gets cold enough (or will again soon) to set out containers to build an ice castle. Doesn’t this sound so fun?

I am all for outside play and here is extra inspiration for how and why.

We’re one month into winter, the days are noticeably longer, and although spring is just around the corner, the corner is there… so here are great outdoor traditions.

Next time you’re heading out the door on a parent-child date, think about heading to a place for nature play! (All kids need special time… this is the best way to give it to ‘em!)

It’s never to early to start planning a spring garden. Everyone can garden and here are three great spring veggies for newbie’s! Need seed? Head to the local garden supply store or order online…

Back Home in My Backyard

Just as soon as the weather gets a wee bit nicer, I plan to start my nature path through our back woods.

I want to make the nature path a wonderful natural habitat for lots of animals so we are thinking about what types of homes different animals live in.

We saw a deer in our backyard this morning. Although we have seen signs of their visits, this is the first spotting of the year!

My son came bounding down the stairs this morning saying, “Mommy is it spring yet?” It was 45 degrees today; pretty perceptive.

We went puddle stomping today and got muddy and wet. Oh the joys of the January thaw.

What’s happening in your backyard?

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I love outdoor play. I find that my children are happier, calmer, more content and helpful after a good session of outside play. These past few weeks of winter have been tough for even me to get outside.

It takes at least 20 minutes to get two 3 year olds, one 18 month old, a 7 month old and a mother ready to get outside with snow pants, jackets, boots, hats, and gloves; then after 10 minutes outside one 3 year old inevitably declares, “Shannon I need to go potty.”

So I, baby on back, big bulky coat, snowy shoes, trek inside to attend to the bathroom issues. Nine times out of ten, the wonderful play that was happening outside is so disrupted that we end up back inside… undressed and running wild.

So today I decided to think of things I could do with kids inside that don’t involve the TV or video games and that encourage creativity and play within the confines of my home. Here’s what I’ve came up with:

1) Build a fort. Today every toy in the house ended up under the dining room table. It became a store, a doctor’s office, a restaurant through the creative, genious, imagination of three year olds.

2) Family yoga. I love the CD’s Happy and Cozy by Shakta Kaur Khalsa with some lovely songs that lead children (and families) through yoga poses. Yesterday, we let off a lot of “steam” dancing and practicing yoga in our living room.

3) Tell stories. (With emphasis on the telling) I enjoy making up stories, sometimes they are silly, sometimes they have a deep meaning, other times, they are just simple ramblings that I make up as I go. I love to allow the children to add their own ideas to the story.

4) Play games. Active games like hide and seek, red light green light, Simon says help burn energy with some structure. Other games such as memory, puzzles, board games use more mental energy, and focus.

Kids need to feel important and valued.  Being with mom or dad or a special caregiver who is engaged with the creative play of children is part of experiencing a healthy childhood.

I feel a little less overwhelmed by the weather now. We will always go outside as much as possible, but knowing that I have a few great tricks in my back pocket leads to peace of mind.

Sometimes though, I really do wish I was a seed and could sleep through the winter.

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Before I became a mother, I was a perfect parent; even in my early mothering days with a little infant, I still felt I had a lot of the answers and few problems.

I made a lot of great decisions for my son and our family:

Although he was born in a hospital, I labored at home till I was in transition (imagine driving to the hospital in transition- I so wish I had a home birth!)

We had a “natural” birth. The first time my son suckled at my breast, his umbilical cord was fully attached.

His grandmother (not a nurse) gave him his first bath.

We nursed… and the advice my midwife gave me was, “if you put a baby and your nipples in the same room, that baby’s gonna figure out how to nurse. Don’t listen to the lactation consultants, they are looking for what’s wrong, not what’s right.”

We took a mommy-baby yoga class and started forming lasting friendships with dear friends who are still in our life.

I wore him around the house in a sling, then a wrap, then a back carrier.

I think I followed the “attachment-parenting” model almost to a T without knowing what it was. (I refused to read books or go to classes- I wanted to parent intuitively).

My son met all the bench marks perfectly or early. Infancy passed (he was walking by 10 months old) and with toddler hood upon us, life got a lot more difficult. 

My very confident baby, was now a very confident little person with a mind of his own and the physical ability to accomplish his wishes.

Since that time, I have made so many mistakes: I have yelled, thrown things, slammed doors, let him watch TV- all sorts of things my pre-motherhood perfection would totally snark at.

And sometimes I become hyper-critical of my mistakes. But really, I am great with kids.

Bring me a behavoral problem with a little background, I’ve got some viable ideas for how to attend to it…

I am temporarily a foster mother to a little girl and she is thriving in my care. But I do still need moments of reflection for better ways to attend to my own son.

Then last week, my son and his friend were playing with our little baby girl.

My son said: “I’ll be the daddy and you be the mommy. That means we hug her and kiss her and feed her and love her a whole bunch. And she’ll be okay.”

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Rhode Island

I have lost track of the great stuff happening in my home state.. cause there’s just so much great stuff on the web.

Remember to check out a farmers market for fresh local produce.

Take a hike in the woods and look for deer tracks in the snow. Or maybe there’s another critter who interests you.

All the usual stuff is happening. Or go to kidoinfo to see what’s happening on their calender.

This weeks favorites from ’round the web

Talking about nature;  haiku style. What is a haiku anyway? Really… show me how you write a haiku.

When do you have those moments when you look in the eyes of your child and fall in love all over again? Here’s the love story of a nature mom.

Looking for great parks in southern California? Look no further, this mommy blogger is reviewing parks in 2010!

Sometimes I forget how lucky my kids are to have meadows, forests, ponds and swamps to stomp through in our backyard.  Here’s how one childcare program created a natural habitat for children.

Planning a summer get-away? There are many types of camping spots… what’s your style? {I’m a primitive/ dispersed kinda gal.}

It’s really the truth… taking a walk in nature is so important for our health especially the brain.

Nature-Deficit Disorder is a big deal. Some say it’s one of the biggest deals of the 21st Century. Taking time outside is a way to change this story.  What did you do today to change this story?

Just out of curiosity, how did you spend the latest snow days? Do kids in your town play outside on snow days?  Or have we truly experienced the Last Child in the Snow?

Back Home in My Backyard

We are so happy to have snow. We’ve started igloos and made fairy houses.

The chickens are happy in their little home (although cold).

We’re cooking lots of stews and soups from scratch to keep warm inside.

Jeremiah has grown 4 inches taller in the past 6 months!

We’re happy that it’s staying dark later cause we get a few more minutes to play outside.

How are you spending those “extra” daylight minute?

Please send me links to your favorite posts about nature- backyard kind of things by next Tuesday so they can be included in What’s Happening Wednesday. Send links to shannon [at] backyardmama [dot] com.

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