Cedar Shells

Much of our side of the island burned at the beginning of the last century, and we are left with quite a large number of enormous blackened shells of the old-growth cedar that once stood all over this area. (Much of it was logged.) These black, spiky towers stand like ghosts among the trees, sometimes inhabited by animals, and temporarily by children. They make great forts, as long as they're safe.

We stopped by one of the largest groups of cedar shells on the way home from the community school, today, and the kids had a bit of a play. As he ran up to them, Tal shouted: "This is a monument, you know!!"

Learning Nature-ally

I may have mentioned before that part of the benefit of (f)Unschool becoming a Nature Club program is that we will have opportunities to have local experts join us on our outings. Bob Turner, an inspired geologist and also our local mayor, is one of those experts. Last month Bob joined us and some of Island Discovery's kids and parents to explore a clay-bank full of sea-shells. Discovering fossils first hand and learning about the history and geology of the earth is amazing anytime, but when one has the opportunity to learn about one's own home in such a manner then we internalize that learning much more deeply. It creates a spark of wonder and personal inspiration for further learning, in the future.

It is with great thanks to Bob for his gift of time, spirit, and knowledge that I publish this video of our clay-bank exploration:




A couple of weeks ago, during (f)Unschool, we were talking about the history of the forest we were hiking through: springboard notches in old-growth cedar stumps, burnt-out cedar shells from the long-ago forest fire, various edible plants and the benefit of the spring flooding to the ecosystem. I try not to talk too much, especially to the kids, but let them wonder and explore ideas, adding bits of information when it seems appropriate. And usually the kids share their own diverse knowledge with each other, deepening their relationships and their desire to understand the world. In all of this, Andra, who attends our local mainstream school, looked at me intensely and waved her arms around. "I didn't know all this, before!"

I laughed, and said that she knows lots about the island; we all have something to share.

She did not smile. "No. Seriously. They don't teach us this. If I brought my friends out here, they wouldn't know anything about this place! There's so much to know, here!"

I like to imagine her out in the woods sharing her newfound forest with her friends.

***

This week we're looking forward to getting back out to Nature Club (f)Unschool, after 2 weeks' break. It will likely be raining, and I'm beginning to think we might head right out into the water and really relish it. Maybe the mossy rainforest on the other side of the island. Hmmmm... Or up the bluffs if it's sunny.

***

When I talked to the Nature Club directors about making (f)Unschool a Nature Club activity, Will Husby (a very knowledgeable and friendly entomologist, educator, flautist and father who also happens to be my neighbour) suggested I look into David Sobel and Richard Louv, whom I'd never heard of...

Well, needless to say, I did look into them, and can now sharehere some really very excellent reads:

Article from Yes! Magazine: Beyond Ecophobia, by David Sobel
Article from the Boston Globe: Nature Nurtures Learning, by Peter Dizikes
Richard Louv's Blog: Fieldnotes from the Future

Passionately Reasonable

Auntie Bree (in black) practicing her excellent auntie techniques...

My lovely sister Breelana has started a blog!

Passionately Reasonable

And of course, because she's the manager of BC Playthings, and also in the process of getting her Early Childhood Development certification, as well as being both a beloved caregiver and a passionate supporter of child-led and life-learning, this thoughtful blog is going to have some interesting posts. :-)

Welcome to blogland, Bree!!

Peregrine Falcon Visit with the Homelearners

Lori took the full time homelearners to meet this lovely peregrine falcon near the Cowan house, today. We heard about falconry duck-hunting methods, all the little baubles, rings, and leash, etc. that she wears, and how to hold her. I believe she weighed about 3lbs.

She has to wear a little hood too keep her calm while being handled.

She's interesting, definitely, but not affectionate.

Tali's Mining Shovel

Tal has a mine. This seems to be his most usual outdoor haunt for the past couple of years, and all of his friends (and some of Annie's) make a habit of not only helping dig, there, but also often of checking out its progress before even coming to our front door! They were all rather upset when the mine was filled in by an overzealous Opa with a new tractor, last January... but then Opa made amends by putting up a steel fence and a "Slow Men Working" sign. The digging began again, and now the mine is better than ever. The mine is becoming so famous that Uncle Ralph gave Tali his own brand new shovel, this year. After repeated reminders, Tal has become a little more reliable about putting our shovels away, but now he has his own to look after. And it even has his name carved into it, so that passing adults will leave it alone.

Bird Feeders

One day I came to the table to find the kids making bird feeders. I love that they have these notions and just begin them, all of their own inspiration. We did encourage them to continue their rather messy activity out in the sunshine, and Markus ended up helping choose drill-bits. Tal actually carved out a roof for his, but then decided not to use it, when he realized that his base (a little clay planter-pot he made 2 years ago) had drain-holes in it, anyway. These feeders were completely designed and created by the kids, hung, and filled by the kids, and now we adults get to benefit, too, as they are frequently visited by a pair of Juncos.

Crab-Trap Saga

It began at Christmas. My brother Adrian bought a crab-trap for Markus. Finally in February, Markus appeared home from a friend's house, grabbed the trap and some life-jackets, and dropped it - with the friend's trap - on a line off of the friend's boat, in Deep Bay. All very lovely, but when the diligent friend went to check the traps, he discovered that ours had become hopelessly entangled with the buoy line, and had to be cut free, to save the rope. Various plans were hatched, and during the next couple of weeks we went out twice to try to retrieve the trap by fishing for it with various improvised tools... until one day the friend handed us a new trap.

The new trap sat around for a few weeks, until the kids and I took the notion to just simply drop it off the Mt. Gardner dock and see what would happen. We got a fishing license, and headed down. Oops. No bait. So we decided to just put a very mussel-laden rock in, which we first smashed the mussel-shells on. Here is what ensued:

Rhiannon and her friends untangled the rope.

We guessed that 20 knots might suffice, so they calculated 5 each, and tied with all their might!

Dropping time!

...and off we went.
When we came back to check the trap two days later, we found it neatly tied up on the dock. The rope was cut. Wait - no - not cut... lacerated! our rope had obviously wound around somebody's propeller, and we'd caused a moderately large pain in the ass for some poor soul who then carefully unwound it, rolled it up, and set it on the dock for us!! So sorry, whoever you are, and SO grateful!!

Well, we had arrived with real (junkfood) bait, this time, and tried to do a better job of setting the trap. Cheap catfood tied on a string, to keep it from falling or drifting out of the trap. Markus hunted the beach until he found a plastic bottle, which we filled with rocks and tied 2/3 the way up the rope. The idea was that this would keep the slack rope from drifting around at low tide. We also went through considerable effort to tie the rope around the actual decking of the float, in order to keep it out of the way of future potential prop-accidents.

Which would they like best? Cheap canned food or cheap bagged food? Are crabs picky?

Back two days later again... the kids made the exciting haul...

Tally: 2 giant sunflower stars, one small sunflower stars, and one giant pink spiny seastar.

Well, like everything else in life, it was a learning experience.

...learning about giant pink spiny seastars...

We went back with Ethan and Andra a couple of days later: More Sunflower Stars!!  This photo shows the quickly-retreating stomach of the giant sunflower star who had completely encased the can of catfood and was busy digesting its contents to nothingness. It was not sharing. Upon contemplation, we realized that where sunflower stars (voracious, giant, and relatively fast-moving predators of the seafloor) are plentiful, crabs may not wish to hang around...  At low tide we could see at least 20 sunflower stars just around the dock.

...nevertheless, for experience's sake...

...the kids added a new piece of bait and threw the trap back in, anyway.

A couple of days later again we went back and finally took our trap home. We now have plans to take it out with its own buoy, and see if we can find something edible. Someday.

Is Unschooling Bad for Us?

After all this time, we still quite regularly encounter people who worry about the children's welfare. Some of these people are passersby; some are long-time friends and family. The well-meant comments my kids have mentioned to me range from "Don't you ever get tired of being with your Mum?" to "You're homeschooled. You don't know anything!" to long explanations of common-knowledge things that they assume my kids must not know. To me, people usually quietly mention deep concerns about my children's "socialization" or "keeping up with their peers" or their ability to "make it as adults" or "in the real world". Or they assume my kids are geniuses, or have learning disabilities. Or they just roll their eyes.

The fact is, my kids are just kids. I am not sure exactly what grade level they function at, and I'm happy about that. I ensure that they have some regular activity that helps them develop basic life-skills, and this includes a bit of workbook practise (but I allow them to skip whichever pages seem silly or boring). Generally, I allow them to choose their own activities. Sometimes they read all day; sometimes they draw, craft, play lego, or do dramatic play all day long. When they get involved with something they generally keep at it for many hours. I'm not sure if the extra-long attention span is a result of not having a TV or of being allowed to take as long as they want, but I do think it's a good thing. It can indeed be difficult to schedule social time, because so many of their friends are in school so often, but therefore most afternoons are spent visiting with friends, and it's certainly not an issue.

I can't see the future. I don't know if my kids will "make it in the real world", but, just as I have confidence that they will succeed when allowed to follow their hearts, I have confidence that if the "real world" doesn't turn out to be what they want, they'll shape it to fit their dreams.

Anyway, I came across this video, which is a nicely thought-out adult unschooler's response to some of the criticism we face:





...and this one...

LIFE is Good Unschooling Conference

We just registered! 
And we're so looking forward to it! Perhaps some of our BC compatriots will be joining us...?

LIFE is Good Unschooling Conference
Red Lion Hotel, Vancouver Washington (next to Portland, Oregon)
May 26-29, 2011

http://lifeisgoodconference.com/

Note: This trip is actually sponsored for the MAMA Project, and I will be interviewing mothers in Portland and Vancouver, while we're there, as well as presenting SuperMAMA there and facilitating a MAMA Conversation at the Conference.

The MAMA Project is making a trip down the coast to California, to interview and gather data for the next set of portraits (the US West Coast set!) which will effectively double the MAMA Project's size and scope.

Surprise Picnic

Rhiannon's gift to Tal for his birthday was the promise of a picnic. One day when we had some time in the afternoon, she secretly made him a special birthday note, while instructing me on what to put in the picnic basket. She marched outside with a baby-carrier, retrieved Tal from the yard, and tied the carried around his face as a blindfold. Thankfully, he was a willing participant, as she led him to the car, down a somewhat dangerous blind-walk to the beach and over the rough rocks to the little island, where she left him to sit while she spread out her surprise lunch in front of him. It was a wonderful afternoon!

 

Watoto from the Nile

These girls not only have the right attitude and an awesome message, but they also had the support they needed to make their difference in the world. Congratulations and a big huge thank you to Nia, Nya, and Kamaria!!

Hey out there in Roslindale, Massachusetts!

...or somewhere thereabouts.
I've been noticing somebody from your area repeatedly on this site, and have read news articles about unschooling in Ma. Check in (comment, below!) and tell us how things are, out there!

THANK YOU!!!

One day while downloading photos from the camera, I happened to see a contest promotion on the Urban Mommies newsletter... I sent in a photo of Tal and Annie at circus school... and WE WON!!
To our enormous surprise, we received an email and phone call, announcing that we'd won 4 tickets to see Cirque du Soleil's Quidam, on March 13th.

Well, that being just after Tal's birthday, and one of the things he'd requested and been denied, it was possibly the best gift he could have received. Of course, the show was today. We went. We LOVED it! Cirque du Soleil is so completely wholly enthralling, and this time the story was also heart-wrenchingly poignant. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and we have Urban Mommies to thank. Very very much. :-)

Of course we couldn't take photos in the arena, so we snapped a shot of the excited kids with the tickets, beforehand!

Parents are Life-Learners, Too!

Just in case you had forgotten, unschooling - or life-learning as we like to call it, too - means learning for life. Really it's what all of us do all of the time. What we do is just recognize and run with that, trusting that with a bit of guidance, we can learn what and how we feel is best for us. So of course that includes parents, too!! Here is Markus' non-time-keeping lego clock, from earlier this year. He finally photographed it just before taking it apart to reuse the pieces.

Links and Thanks

Time to put up a few links of those who have linked to Rickshaw Unschooling, or have in some way contributed to the site or promoted it.

With thanks for compliments and for linking to this blog.
All of these are good reads, as well:
Green Mangoes by Amy Milstein
Scraps of Starlight by Suzy in the UK
Online College: Best Blogs of the Unschooling Movement
Life Learning Magazine's Blog List

With thanks for their support of (f)Unschool:
BC Playthings
Bowen Nature Club

Our Homelearning Support Community:
Island Discovery Learning Community

(f)Unschool Four

Some of the (f)Unschool regulars, here...

Discovering some strange pink moss growing on a submerged log in the lake.

Fort found: a nurse-stump along the trail by the lake. Much of our Island was logged about a century ago, and therefore we find hundreds of these old-growth stumps, about. This one has a few springboard notches visible on it. Sad, to be sure, but they make wonderful castles and thrones.

Part of the fort they built with sticks, 2 weeks ago.

We are Parents of a Nine-Year-Old

In preparation for his birthday dinner, Tali and I went food shopping. The result? His choice of delicious baked sockeye, roasted potatoes, and a greek salad.

Tal requested a fruit-vlaai with raspberries and peaches. No candles allowed!

Tal's birthday was leisurely spread out over a few days, this year, requiring 3 cakes and various visits... and it's not over yet!! There will be a circus on Sunday, and sometime in April he plans to hike up Mt. Gardner to eat cookies at the top! Here are some photos from the past few days.

Friends came for cake, too!

Ryan made for Tali a very special card and a launchable paper airplane... and then accompanied the opening thereof with music!

Opa and Nana gave Tal a chemistry kit, and he and Ethan tried it out with great enthusiasm and care.

We have a little tradition of recording heights on birthdays... It's always a proud moment.

Westcoast Girl in Dance

Rhiannon dances to track 18 from our friend Adam (Vudu)'s CD:
Front & Center Vol. 1: Westcoast Women in Rhyme
(This is an extra track not on the actual CD; just on our copy, apparently! It's called "Love is my Middle Name and we think it's performed by Lady Precise; one half of the group Stinkmitt. Maybe.)

“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.” 

~Rachel Carson 1965

Beautiful Community

Just linking to Lois' most beautiful post about Gerald's art class. Sometimes we get additions to our community who just dive in with open-hearted enthusiasm... in this case one of the newcomers is celebrating one of the not-so-newcomers -- both the author and the subject being, in their adventurousness and authenticity, bright lights of inspiration on our little island.

Have a read:
http://countrymice.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/touch-of-magic/

Routinized Learning in Unschooling; Music and Math

Taliesin and his cousin Aiden

To those who know how we happily avoid repetitive worksheets, scheduled music (or anything else) practice, and most teaching of routinized nature in general, it may seem strange to couple routinized learning with unschooling. But it's not.

Routine is natural. We need routine to feel secure, and to develop skills that require repetition. We need repetition to learn. The times repetition can become detrimental to learning is when it is enforced without inspiration or a personal drive to do it. Then it can turn a perfectly interesting lesson into something very boring. When repetition is a part of the process of discovery, it's fun, and this is where it becomes part of unschooling.

I am writing this post wholly as a response to my son's piano adventures, at the moment. He doesn't take piano lessons. I've tried to teach him a few things, and he wasn't very receptive, so I just let it go. Right now he is playing scales.
CEG-CEG-FEDC, DFA-DFA-GFED, EGB-EGB-AGFE, etc. (135-135-4321)

This began with violin. Tal first asked us for a violin, with deep earnestness, when he was two. And so, for his 3rd birthday, he was given one by my mother. He played for a few months like it was his voice. The passion and music that came out of that 1/4-size violin in the hands (and feet) of a boy who really needed a 1/32-size at the time, was amazing. Then my dear mother tried to teach him about his instrument. She began by showing him how to play Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, which went very well, until she made the mistake of putting tape on the violin, to show him where to put his fingers, and he became so enraged that from that moment on, for years, he would no longer play. None of us had quite realized the seriousness of his aversion to instruction, at that point.

Playing guitar-style in Brian's yurt.

Finally this year I organized music mentoring for him and his violin (tape-free), with Brian Hoover - a really virtuoso mentor, here on the island. The idea is not to create a performer, but to allow Tal to rediscover the joy that he once had in his instrument. When I arranged the mentoring I was careful to choose someone who I knew could work openly, and could join Taliesin in discovering his violin. Brian pulls up a pillow on the floor with Tal, mimics Tal's bass-clutched-in-feet-style of playing when necessary, waits quietly while Tal imagines, adventures, and processes, and, with his gentle, accepting nature, has led my headstrong but wary son through story-adventures, rhythm exercises and musical instruction, while merging these activities seamlessly in a beautiful journey, every week. Brian leads the way into exploration and discovery as he allows Taliesin to connect with his instrument and learn of his own desire. He has nurtured the seeds of joy in what Tali now again calls "his own" instrument, and now those seeds are growing.

Brian knows that Tal resists direction. A couple of months ago they played something that Tal instantly recognized. He looked up suddenly, and almost accusingly. "I know that."

Brian calmly said, "Oh. You do?"

"It's Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star."

Brian handled the situation expertly: "Oh, well I guess it could be. But it doesn't have to be."

"Oh." And they progressed onto something else. I had the definite feeling that that had been a very close call, and wondered wordlessly if Brian knew.

One of Tal's creative playing methods...

For a few weeks nothing came of this. Then eventually at one of our Kids' Junkets, he noticed that a friend of ours, only slightly older, who plays violin with the Vancouver Symphony Youth Orchestra, also has tape on his violin. Soon after this, without mentioning anything to anybody, Tal very very slowly picked out the melody to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on his violin. After some frustration, he came and asked me for some tape. Scotch? "No -- the type I need for... for putting back on my violin."

A few days later he proudly played Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star for his beloved Nana, on his taped violin.

Eventually he begun picking the song out on the piano, and then, because it was December, he figured out Jingle Bells. Then Silent Night. Then he tried some of the same on our Melodica, then on the recorder, then on his violin. He continued playing the piano and violin expressively, without intent, as well, but his scientific experimenting with the various instruments grew to the point where now, about two months later, he figures out about one new song (though often only the first part) every few days. Some of his favourites are Greensleeves, To Drive the Cold Winter Away, Bingham Bailey (Wild Boar), and the Swan's Theme (Swan Lake).

Why scales? Well, because yesterday he was experimenting with different intervals on the piano, and I explained about intervals on the piano, telling also about 3rds and 5ths, since that's mostly what he was doing... And guess what Brian happened to show him, today? How to play two notes at once on the violin! What happenstance! So when we got home after violin, ballet, a good long adventure in the meadow and wetland, some games, and dinner, Tal ended up back at the piano, experimenting with intervals. Nobody said anything about it; nobody really paid him much attention, quite frankly. Not even when I realized he was playing scales, one note higher at a time, up to the very very highest note he could.

Why is routinized learning important? Because we need it to cement the things we're learning. Even when the things we learn are of our own device and inspiration, we repeat them again and again, allowing us to settle them into those nooks and crannies of our brains where later, perhaps in unexpected ways, they'll come in handy. This choice to routinize their own learning, within self-directed explorative activities, is just one of the many ways our free-range children have of processing and growing within their world.

I sometimes feel worried that my relatively free-range children will stagnate in their learning as they often seem to reach everywhere, but nowhere in particular; as they never have to drill something into their brains because somebody said so. To see Taliesin choosing to implant, methodically, every combination of 1-3-5-4321 into his brain is to see him embrace the math and science of music, which is one of the great passions of his life.

Meadow Math

Taliesin setting up his telescope.

Tal has often been put off by me urging him to practice some equations. So he doesn't do it, and we almost never talk about it. He declares that he loves science but hates math. Today, long after violin mentoring, on our way to the meadow, Tal carried his telescope. He said: "Imagine if you had a hundred lenses inside. Then you could see a hundred times as far!"

"Well, actually, if they're all the same, each one magnifies the last by the same amount, right? So if you had one that doubled the size something appeared to be, then if you put another one that also doubled, you'd see something twice as big again. Right?"

"Right. Four times."

"Yes. So what if you had three of those same lenses in a row?"

"Six times?"

"Nope. Think again. The third lens doubles what it sees."

"Eight times."

"Right. So what about four lenses?"

"Mama! I don't know eight times two!" (He counted.) "Sixteen."

"Right. That's actually an exponential equation. You show it by putting a little tiny number up to the right of the number it's talking about. So this one with four lenses would be a 2 with a little four up beside it. So two-times-two-times-two-times-two. Can you figure out what the equation would be for the three lenses magnification?"

He thought about it. "A two with a three?"

"Yep."

"Mama, you know this is math." Pause. "But it's also a kind of science."

We continued our walk. I'm not going to get into exactly how this conversation had anything to do with Taliesin's piano scales, a few hours later, but I know it did.



Interesting reading:
How We Learn, by Alison Gopnik (NY Times, January 2005)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/education/edlife/EDSCIENCE.html

Good Night!

I will probably never stop touting the importance of a good preschool -- and my Mum is the reason why. She has demonstrated for more years than I've been alive how to nurture and help children to thrive, not only as a preschool teacher, but also as a daycare provider, music therapist and infant development consultant. She has helped thousands of parents to understand their children and to be deeply involved in their children's lives and futures. This year she will retire, and many people are already expressing deep sorrow that their children and grandchildren won't have the opportunity to attend her classes... but if we keep on listening, we can learn from her wisdom and extensive knowledge, and carry her wonderful gift into the future.
Here's the article my mother, Lyn van Lidth de Jeude, wrote for her preschool's newsletter, this month (download the newsletter, here).

Good Night!
Preschool children typically sleep 11 to 13 hours in every 24 hour period. After 5 years of age most children have given up napping, but the amount of sleep they require remains the same. The preschool years are a peak period for Night Terrors, Nightmares and Sleep Walking. Sleep is vital to your child’s good health, yet many children resist going to bed.

Children who get adequate sleep are:

• more alert
• better able to learn
• less prone to obesity
• less accident prone
• more cheerful
• wake spontaneously feeling refreshed

Children who get inadequate sleep may:

• be more susceptible to infection
• have rapid mood swings
• have impulsive behaviour
• appear “wired”
• be hard to wake up
• be too sleepy to eat breakfast

Normal sleep patterns alternate between two states:

Deep (or delta-wave) sleep: is characterized by a drop in body temperature and physical stillness. Children in deep sleep are usually difficult to arouse. During deep sleep blood supply to the muscles is increased, energy is restored, tissue growth and repair occur and important hormones are released for growth and development.

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep: is the period in which we dream. These periods occur three to six times a night and range from five to twenty minutes in length. Children in REM sleep may have irregular breathing and heart rates. They often move around, twitching their arms and legs, smiling, sucking and generally appear restless. Virtually all dreaming occurs during REM sleep.

Why do Children Resist Going to Sleep?

In Canadian Living magazine, Christine Langlois, suggests one reason may be that when children are alone in the dark they confront their fears. To prevent this confrontation, a child may choose bedtime to pick a battle with a sibling or stall by requesting a glass of water. They may ask you to check the closet for monsters when it’s their inner fears that they really want you to keep in check.

A child may mention an important issue that is troubling her at bedtime just because that is when she remembers it. Although bedtime may seem like the right time to sit by your child and discuss her concerns, she is probably too tired to participate in a productive conversation. Be sure to make time with her during the day when she is better able to fully share the experience and discuss what may be troubling her.

Bedtime Routines

Routines serve an important purpose in slowing down the pace and allowing the child to mentally prepare for sleep. For a preschool child, limiting the routine to a bath, a story and a good night snuggle is perfect. The whole routine should last no longer than half an hour.

Children may have difficulty falling asleep for a number of reasons, but the most common cause is being overtired. You might expect that a child who has missed a nap may sleep like a log, but an exhausted child is more likely to have difficulty falling asleep and, if prone to it, may experience night terrors or walk in his sleep. You can usually anticipate sleep problems at times of change (e.g. Just before a family trip, after the birth of a new sibling or when a parent is ill).

Night Terrors

Night terrors are a common symptom of too little sleep. They usually occur one to four hours after the child has fallen asleep, when the child partially awakens from a period of deep sleep. She may scream, sit up, grind her teeth, open her eyes and look through you rather than at you.

After a few minutes, she’ll lay back down and go back to sleep. Usually you can’t wake the child and, that’s a good thing, as it will only aggravate her further. If you can gently guide your child back under the covers, she’ll go back to sleep and, in the morning, she won’t remember a thing.

Nightmares

Nightmares are very different fromnight terrors. They are usually an indication of emotional conflict and occur during REM sleep. A child who is crying and calling out after a bad dream is awake. She will need your full assurance and support because she is genuinely frightened. You can help her best by showing that you are in control and that she is safe.

Sleep Walking

Like night terrors, sleep walking usually occurs during deep sleep, one to four hours after falling asleep. If you try to talk to your child, he usually won’t answer or if he does his speech may be garbled. When children sleep walk they may try to do familiar tasks such as eating, brushing teeth or urinating, but because they are confused, they may not do these things in an appropriate place. The most important thing you can do for a sleepwalking child is to keep him safe. Keep outside doors and windows closed and locked and consider a gate across a stairway. The Canadian Sleep Society recommends attaching a bell to the child’s door to alert you to any nocturnal wandering.

Nighttime Routines

Children respond best to regular routines.

Keeping your child’s bedtime consistent is the best assurance of a good nights sleep.

If your child has difficulty waking up in the morning or is too sleepy to eat breakfast consider moving bedtime earlier in 15 minute increments until you accommodate her needs.

The May 2010 issue of National Geographic published a very interesting article by D.T. Max titled The Secrets of Sleep. One shocking statistic stated that only 1 in 5 teenagers get the optimal hours of sleep on school nights. A good night’s sleep results in better grades, better attitude and better overall health. We can support these goals by cultivating good sleep habits in the early years.

(f)Unschool Evolving

Today we had 18 children with us, ranging from 3 months to 12 years! We just hung around in the forest, and let the kids play. It was so idyllic. Not much else to say, but WE ARE BLESSED!!! Thank goodness for good people, good spirit, and good earth.

climbing along the dinosaur spine

a smattering of children across the forest

branch-clinging -- an essential forest skill!

we also happened upon our equine neighbour, Shadow, and had a brief visit

Local Language

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to learn Sḵwx̱wú7mesh snichim. Probably since my parents took me to my first pow wow on the Capilano Reserve. I made up "native songs" to sing while I hoped nobody was listening. They probably consisted of a lot of "hey-ah-ho", repeated.

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language and culture is not something we've been privileged enough to learn, in our culture. We just live beside them, feeling our surroundings and growing to know and love the lands in this Salish Sea, without the adequate words to describe them. In the current global economy, languages like French, Mandarin, and Spanish are probably more useful, but although we may be global citizens needing to navigate this shrinking world, we are also citizens of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh territory, harvesters of stink currant and sugar kelp, watchers of the snow-line on the mountain we call Sleeping Bear, and humans with feet rooted in the many unique earth-types we walk upon. We need a language that expresses our home. I would like to find methods and opportunities for us to learn this language that speaks to our hearts.

Practically speaking, there is a 12-week language course that I'd LOVE to take with our whole family, but something is holding me back. I feel a bit like I would walking down Main St. in a saree. Beautiful, and totally out of place! I suffer from that same white guilt/shame that most of us seem to, and I'm so afraid of stepping out of line, being too present, etc. Being unwelcome. Once, at a closing ceremony for a family member of our friend, we stood around the fire outside the sweat on the Capilano reserve, and we were asked if we wanted to go into the sweat. I was surprised to be asked, and was cautioned by someone else that although it was his duty to ask me, it was also my duty to decline. OK. No problem. But what will I do without my friends around to give me that advice!? Hence my hesitation. Well... I have enough hesitation that I haven't even called to ask if we're allowed. Maybe it's only for Squamish people. Hm. I guess they can always say no. I hope so.

Here are some of my favourite links:

http://squamishlanguage.com/ 

http://www.coopradio.org/content/snewaylh

http://www.knowledge.ca/program/our-first-voices

http://www.inlandjourney.ca/files/pdf/word-search.pdf