Archive for the ‘Field Notes’ Category

Today I honor my mother for it’s her birthday and she has spent a lifetime planting seeds of encouragement, faith, joy, wonder, peas, carrots, broccoli and more… so:

Happy Birthday Mom!

It doesn’t surprise me that her birthday is right after the Great Backyard Campout…. she is a top of the line “nature nut”.

Today we removed some of our “old” peas- the ones that have turned yellow and wilted- and we’re ready to plant more beans!

Here’s our garden last week:

The flowers are stunning! 

The lavender is in full bloom and smells wonderful!

 Butterfly weed- a butterfly attractor that has such a wonderful orange color!

Echinacea, a beautiful medicinal herb and delightful flower for any backyard garden!

Gardening with kids is a great way to teach colors, textures, shapes, responsibility, and even some physics.

Here’s our cucumber tipi we’ll see if it’s strong enough for all these cukes!

Gardening isn’t just about results.

It’s about spending time outside, sharing food, getting excited about the colors, shapes, and sizes of the seeds, being careful and caring and remembering to water the seeds so they will grow.

There’s an African proverb:

If you can talk you can sing and if you can walk you can dance.

I believe, if you can eat you can grow food.

Head out today and plant some beans or chard or kale. Then get a bucket or a watering can or an old milk jug and show your child any age, how to water those seeds-  have faith and trust and encouragement- and let that child and those seeds GROW.

Good luck and let me know how your garden’s going! ~ The Backyard Mama

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A few weeks ago I loaded the kids in the car, filled the trunk with seeds, seed potatoes, and seed starts and my trusty rototiller road “shotgun”.

We headed off to my dear friend Nadine’s house. 

A little side family history: Nadine is married to Jori, one of my brother’s best friends growing up. Our families were very close and we spent tons of time together. (Playing outside!)

Well, our families are still friends and when I am in a bind for childcare or my laundry just piles up too high or my son needs a place to stay the night- I call them up and off he goes backpack-in-hand ready to visit his best friends. (Much like my brother and I when we were young.)

When we arrived we had a great lunch and then we went to work on the garden; I had offered to put in veggies, since they are always so helpful to me.

The kids helped digging and making raised beds.

We planted peas, onions sets, lettuce, carrots, beets, spinach, kale and potatos. The day was filled with team work, and laughter and a little heavy lifting.

In the end, we made a beautiful garden. 

To another generation of friendship. Thanks!

***************************

Welcome back the the Backyard Mama Children and Nature Blog Carnival. Shared between the kids, the house, the chickens and creating a business, my time has been in short supply. I look forward to sharing ideas and inspiration with you in whatever form you can today.

And I promise, no matter how enticing it is to play outside, next week I’ll be back to continue creating this community of awesome explorers.

Please link- up, remember to follow the rules and include the line “this is part of the Backyard Mama blog carnival” with a link back to this post.

Thank you for your support and participation! Now unplug and head outside from some Nature Play! ~ The Backyard Mama

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I turn 33 today.

I was born to two phenomenal people who lived in the Renaissance Community, a hippy commune in Western Massachusetts.  I made my grand entry into the world at 5:35 am and when my parents brought me home from the hospital, their friends had filled the room with lilacs. That’s still my favorite smell.

Growing up we moved a lot- to Rhode Island, Chicago, Michigan, and New York, but we always planted a garden and spent our free time playing outside.

My parents tell stories of our our outdoor adventures when I was little, and I remember camping trips, hikes, nature walks, backyard play, gardening, kayaking, canoeing… all sorts of fun.

I went to Waldorf School, spurred by my parents love of nature and keeping us close to the earth and experiencing the changing seasons.

It’s not surprising that I have decided to commit my life to spreading the word about the importance of nature play.

I am so grateful for my life… for my family… for all the life that continues to sustain me.

Here are 11 things I want to do today on my birthday:

1. call my parents and say thank you!
2. run barefoot in the grass.
3. smell the lilacs.
4. practice yoga.
5. laugh with children.
6. drink a latte.
7. snuggle with my son.
8. pray.
9. listen to the wind.
10.  feel the sun.
11.  plant.

Here are 11 things I want to do this year:

1. grow a large garden and give food away.
2. start a business.
3. get my community excited about nature play.
4. encourage more unstructured play.
5. visit New Mexico.
6. go on an overnight backpacking trip.
7. sleep outside under the stars.
8. find treasures in the forest.
9. read books.
10.  teach yoga.
11.  grow.

And 11 things I want to do in this lifetime:

1. go to Australia (again).
2. deliver a baby.
3. hike (part of) the Appalachian trail.
4. live off the grid for an extended time.
5. be self-sufficient.
6. write at least one book.
7. learn to ride a horse.
8. travel.
9. always serve the highest good.
10.  spend time everyday with children.
11.  blossom.

And I’m off to reflect on what I’ve learned this year… and then snuggle on the couch with a book and some hot cocoa.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Taken a few weeks ago as we played in the mud.

We spent the whole weekend outside:  playing in a homemade mud puddle, racking leaves, climbing trees, and digging in the garden.

We left home for groceries (bummer we needed to do that!)

It was so delightful.

At a time in my life, I might have thought I didn’t “do” anything. Now, feel good unplugging from the craze of “doing” for long enough to really feel the joy of this moment.

Note to parents: in order for kids to connect with nature, we need to show them how… we need to get dirty, play joyfully in the mud, kick a ball, dance in the sunshine, and sing with the birds.

Kids learn through imitation.

What did you do this weekend worth imitating?

Come over and play at the Childhood 101 We Play link up

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Rainbows occur when sunlight bounces off water- it’s a dance of water fairies and sun (fire) fairies. (Highly technical here!)

The sun rays (light) split as they enter the water and are refracted creating all the colors of the rainbow.

On Earth Day, we were blessed with perfect weather all day and then an evening rain storm just as the sun was setting.

We snuck out for a pizza dinner at our favorite local dive and on our way home we saw a full arching rainbow.

And this one was REALLY special because it was Jeremiah’s first memorable rainbow and I want to share it with you.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Today we made a trip out to our compost pile and found hundreds of happy little worms turning our “waist” into fertile soil.

I’ve been spending time lately thinking about what I want to grow for myself this year: in the garden, in my life, in my community. I’ve started planting the seeds by 1) heading out to the garden and planting peas, lettuce, spinach, garlic, onions, broccoli, and kale; 2) taking my ideas of how to connect children and nature into the broader Rhode Island community through workshops; and 3) starting a blog carnival each Wednesday here at Backyard Mama.

I am starting to see the fruits of my labor which fills me with satisfaction.

Of course there are disappointments too: some of my lettuce didn’t come up, some peas floated away in the flood, not all workshop participants were enthralled with my ideas and the first carnival was much more successful than the second.

It’s through these expereinces that my soil becomes richly fertilized. The mistakes or failures that I let go of, fall to the grown like leaves from a tree and as they are transformed through my thoughts, they become the compost of next year; ever reminding me that what I let go of today, will feed me tomorrow. 

One reason I love to learn lessons from nature is the simplicity of the life cycle: birth  (springtime), ripeness (summertime),  death, (autumntime), and transformation (wintertime). As I connect inside to these outer processes, letting go becomes as simple as breath.

Many thanks to my worms for reminding me that my thoughts can turn the ”waist” of my mind into rich fertile soil in which to plant the dreams of my lifetime.

This post is part of the 30 minute blog challenge over at Steady Mom. It’s a delight to share my thoughts with all these great ladies!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I love the innocence of children.

Today I watched as my little ones ran through our flower garden, full of blooming daffodils they planted in the Fall.  Jumping and singing and being totally present in their play.

A few weeks ago my son wrapped up blocks and gave them to me as presents. Then built me a “sink” (not sure why he picked a sink maybe it’s where I spend most of my day) but this is what he created:

He loves to craft and create and listens eagerly to us as we discuss modifications to the house or the yard.

Then in his play (like with his sink) he imitates everything he has heard (learned) from us adults.

I’ll admit, when I see him in the garden digging holes and “planting”; or building houses; or planning yard projects like adding compost to one side of the yard and moving rocks from one place to another; or when he gathers his tools to get some dirt from the forest.. I really smiles inside and out- because I know that as he imitates me, he is learning to care for the Earth.

We’re planning to pick up garbage for Earth Day, what’s your plan?

This is part of the Steady Mom Blog Challenge- dare I tell you the truth? Start to finish post time- 12 minutes.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

My Childhood

My fondest memories of childhood are from a time when my family lived in a cabin in the woods, we walked down a path to get to our two room home and we had no running water or electricity.  

All this was so fun for a little 7 year old girl, but the best was that my parents let us wonder the surrounding woods freely.My father made up a system for “tracking” us- he would whistle once and we would respond with one whistle back; if he whistled twice- it meant we better get home fast.  

This worked, no one got hurt or lost or kidnapped, we didn’t sink into the swamp or get attacked by animals.

My style

I am sort of a “free range parent” I previously posted about allowing my son to take risks.

Last week we were playing out in the backyard and my son wanted to go down the street to the big puddle (oh yeah, it was raining out-big surprise!). I explained that there were children asleep in the house and I didn’t want to go that far away…

A few minutes later I looked up and Jeremiah was gone. Hum, I went inside and looked around… well it didn’t take long for me to head out the front door and find him…

He’d gone off by himself to play in the puddle.

I got nervous- what if someone saw? What would they do? I let my three year old play in the street alone.

Now, he’s a smart kid; he’d get out of the road if a car came. He’d run through the woods if a weirdo came… he’s not a big fan of anyone he doesn’t know. 

{Or maybe what’s important is that I believe this about him.}

Dad’s Style 

Charlie’s style is very different. He hovers and worries and limits activities. Jeremiah is much “safer” with him than with me.

Yesterday we went to Jeremiah’s soon-to-be-school and he climbed up a big wooden boat that’s outside. It has a mast with a ladder and my little dare devil went right up and onto the roof of the boat.

His dad was there to remind us this wasn’t all that safe. There were sharp corners on the boat, it was rickety, and a number of other things I don’t remember.

A Winning Combination

I’ve come to like that we have different approaches.

I give him a cup without a lid and he pours his own milk; his dad gives him a full cup of milk with the lid on.

But I like taking risks; they help me learn to have faith.

I still think I am going to instate the whistle rule to keep my ducks in a row!

How bout you, what’s your style? How was it for you growing up? Or what’s it like to co-parent?

This post is part of the 30-minute blog challenge of Steady Mom.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

My 3 year old gave me a run for my mothering today.

He whined. He cried uncontrollably. He manipulated. He tattled. He pushed.

And underneath it all there was a little smile and a little frown.

I went to my trusty Positive Discipline book and looked up a few of these “behaviors” and decided I really had a little boy who felt a little neglected and wanted some special attention.

I went to a place in myself where I felt guilty for not giving him enough attention. For “leaving” him this weekend with friends while I went to my yoga teacher training. But….

I figured that while he’s a little boy and missed his mama, he still couldn’t be rewarded for being naughty.

So I crafted a solution, and I am blown away at how well it worked!

I usually allow him to watch TV while I cook dinner… it’s his “reward” for being good, it’s my reward for getting to dinner time; tonight I told him no, his could not watch TV but he could help me cook dinner.

This would give us some special time together without giving him a “reward” or a “punishment”.

He made the salad almost entirely on his own (what a big boy!).

After dinner we went outside and he watered all our plants with kelp spray, then played in the backyard, and finally went on our special walk to our pond and through the woods. This time was special though, daddy came with us!

Jeremiah was so excited to show his dad all the special places that he plays in the woods.

When we got home he asked again if he could watch his TV, I said no. He didn’t even whine (for the first time all day!) He got on his PJ’s picked out a book and was in bed and asleep by 8 pm.

I think all his acting out came from wanting special time with his family and it added such a wonderful twist to the whole experience that he got to “show off” to his dad (oh what a big boy!).

I have a feeling that we’ll have some great behavior tomorrow… not because he’ll want to get his TV reward, but because he feels so full and so rewarded to begin with, that he just won’t even need to act out. He’s coming from feeling whole and loved and connected to his family, not running on empty, he running full of love.

I never even raised my voice… and it worked like a charm.

What do you do about whining? I go nuts… any tips out there mamas and papas?

This is part of the Steady Mom blog challenge. Post time start to finish 28 minutes (but I haven’t published yet!) 

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Gardening with kids can be messy. They don’t always “follow the row” , although this makes for a very beautiful garden, some of us with mild OCD  might go nuts as the spinach and lettuce get mixed together.

As a very loving and nurturing mama, of course I want my kids to enjoy planting and growing their own food, so what do I do as the seeds get sprinkled together and I just “know” it will be a mess?

I let it go. Peas taste great if they grow next to spinach. (And I always thin it out later).

But kids with big smiles showering seed into fresh turned dirt is so fun, healthy and exciting.

My son has learned to plant in a straight line… can you guess why? (Mama had something to do with it). But he likes to plant 4 varieties of peas in the same row, and he does.

Here are my suggestions for gardening with kids:

1) Start small. Or if you have a big garden, give the kids their own smaller space and allow the children to pick what they want to grow and let them do it!

2) Plant in containers: use pots and window boxes to contain the dirt or create containers using straw bales or tree stumps (get creative!) Give the kids some special area that it theirs.

3) Always honor what the kids want to do in their space; and be clear about the boundaries with where their space begins and ends… make garden signs or build a special “fence” with sticks or stones.

4) A one-year-old can plant a seed. Get kids in the garden as soon as they can walk (actually a sitting baby who doesn’t crawl yet is a great garden companion! And littler ones can come along for the ride on your back or in a stroller.)

5) Plant veggies you know your kids will eat, then plant a few new ones, most kids will eat “their” vegetables.

Happy Spring! May your garden abound with delicious foods!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites