Here are so many wonderful lessons that naturally occur when you grow a vegetable garden. Today, with the help of my husband turning the soil, I was able to plant my spring seeds! Yeah! It felt so good to get down and get my hands really dirty and plant some seeds. I can't wait for fresh produce right out of my own garden again. We planted peas, radishes, onion sets, carrots, spinach and 3 kinds of lettuce!
This summer we are planning on pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini, watermelons, tomatoes, beans, and corn. I know I am squishing a lot into my little raised beds, but I can't help it. I am addicted! Plus, I have learned a trick of training the vining plants to grow up strong supports. So I can squish more in...I call it vertical gardening!
Besides eating great produce, I know that my children will be learning about seasons, how plants grow, nutrition, and the joy of being patient!
Showing posts with label Back To the Basics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Back To the Basics. Show all posts
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Preserving the Art of Preserving
Today our children can go with their parents to Walmart and buy applesauce. They do not get to see the apple tree grow and produce apples. They do not pick the apples, process the apple sauce and then eat it. Todays children are becoming very disconnected with the natural processes of life. We are trying to preserve this at least in our own family.
Today we produced nearly 100 quarts of apple sauce. Richard, Isaac, Jen and Uncle Craig went to the church orchard and picked 7 bushels of apples and 5 bushels of peaches. We hope that Isaac had a hands-on experience in the natural processes of making applesacue.
Thanks to the help of Aunt Jessie, McKinzee and Jen, we were able to be an apple sauce factory at our house. Over all there were only few mishaps...a couple singed off eye lashes and burned fingers...but I think we did all right...11 hours later...
Today we produced nearly 100 quarts of apple sauce. Richard, Isaac, Jen and Uncle Craig went to the church orchard and picked 7 bushels of apples and 5 bushels of peaches. We hope that Isaac had a hands-on experience in the natural processes of making applesacue.
Thanks to the help of Aunt Jessie, McKinzee and Jen, we were able to be an apple sauce factory at our house. Over all there were only few mishaps...a couple singed off eye lashes and burned fingers...but I think we did all right...11 hours later...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Our Family's Education
I wrote a paper for my book group on Thomas Jefferson Education by Dr. Olliver DeMille. I hope you don't mind it if I share it with you.
What do I want for each of my children? I long for each of them to be faithful, compassionate, hardworking, educated individuals; possessing a clear sense of direction towards their personal mission in life. Today, we live in a “conveyor-belt” society that naturally consumes our family’s time, energy, thoughts and values. “People sup together, play together, travel together but they do not think together. Hardly any homes have any intellectual life whatsoever.” (Pg 66) How do Richard and I remove our family off this absorbing conveyor-belt and promote intellectual life into our home?
First, we must set forth a strong foundation of our family’s faith and belief in God. The simplest way for us to do this is by slowing our lives down. When we become too busy and distracted by outside events (even too many play dates) our time is quickly eaten up and the spiritually things tend to go by the wayside first. These distractions may all be “good” things, but the spiritual teachings we can share with our children are “better.” When your life is quiet and simplified, it allows the spirit to return to your home and all are edified within.
Second, we wish for each of our children to have compassionate relationships. Teaching them academics is very important to us, but how to be Christ-like is the most valuable lesson a child could ever learn.
Next, it is a joyful task to lead and guide each child into the “real world” of a productive adult. My curriculum involves: laundry, dishes, cooking, gardening, reading, singing, playing the piano and violin, sewing and caring of our baby. Richard’s includes: mowing the lawn, car maintenance, studying, and household repairs. Naturally children love to “play” at the work you do, so let them come along for the ride. When I do the dishes, the younger ones play with dishes at our feet while the older ones contribute to the chore. Once a work ethic is established through daily responsibilities, it can easily be transferred to academics latter.
Finally, we desire each of our children to become genuinely educated. As parents, we must inspire them to educate themselves. Richard’s strongest impression he felt after reading this book was that he was not fully educated after all. We, as parents are trying to fill in the gaps of our own education by reading the classics ourselves. Although it is challenging, we have found that as Oliver DeMille states, “You as the reader awaken. Your exposure to greatness changes you: your ideas are bigger, your dreams wilder, your plans more challenging, your faith more powerful.” (Pg 71) Already our excitement to study has begun to inspire our children to educate themselves.
Every moment we are with our children they are watching, absorbing and mimicking us. What lessons do we want them to learn? As parents we must consciously exemplify the attributes of faith, compassion, work and education in our home because: “Indeed, coaching occurs one way or another, even if just by bad example or ambivalence.” (Pg 89)
In our home class is never dismissed!
What do I want for each of my children? I long for each of them to be faithful, compassionate, hardworking, educated individuals; possessing a clear sense of direction towards their personal mission in life. Today, we live in a “conveyor-belt” society that naturally consumes our family’s time, energy, thoughts and values. “People sup together, play together, travel together but they do not think together. Hardly any homes have any intellectual life whatsoever.” (Pg 66) How do Richard and I remove our family off this absorbing conveyor-belt and promote intellectual life into our home?
First, we must set forth a strong foundation of our family’s faith and belief in God. The simplest way for us to do this is by slowing our lives down. When we become too busy and distracted by outside events (even too many play dates) our time is quickly eaten up and the spiritually things tend to go by the wayside first. These distractions may all be “good” things, but the spiritual teachings we can share with our children are “better.” When your life is quiet and simplified, it allows the spirit to return to your home and all are edified within.
Second, we wish for each of our children to have compassionate relationships. Teaching them academics is very important to us, but how to be Christ-like is the most valuable lesson a child could ever learn.
Next, it is a joyful task to lead and guide each child into the “real world” of a productive adult. My curriculum involves: laundry, dishes, cooking, gardening, reading, singing, playing the piano and violin, sewing and caring of our baby. Richard’s includes: mowing the lawn, car maintenance, studying, and household repairs. Naturally children love to “play” at the work you do, so let them come along for the ride. When I do the dishes, the younger ones play with dishes at our feet while the older ones contribute to the chore. Once a work ethic is established through daily responsibilities, it can easily be transferred to academics latter.
Finally, we desire each of our children to become genuinely educated. As parents, we must inspire them to educate themselves. Richard’s strongest impression he felt after reading this book was that he was not fully educated after all. We, as parents are trying to fill in the gaps of our own education by reading the classics ourselves. Although it is challenging, we have found that as Oliver DeMille states, “You as the reader awaken. Your exposure to greatness changes you: your ideas are bigger, your dreams wilder, your plans more challenging, your faith more powerful.” (Pg 71) Already our excitement to study has begun to inspire our children to educate themselves.
Every moment we are with our children they are watching, absorbing and mimicking us. What lessons do we want them to learn? As parents we must consciously exemplify the attributes of faith, compassion, work and education in our home because: “Indeed, coaching occurs one way or another, even if just by bad example or ambivalence.” (Pg 89)
In our home class is never dismissed!
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