In Pursuit of Quiet

Nature study and dinosaurs

In a world when where it is normal to always be doing something, we can allow our lives to become a verb. This may not necessarily be a bad thing due to the fact that being productive often times comes from DOING.

However, as ‘homeschoolers’, parents, students or intelligent beings, it important to intentionally carve out some quiet time. For me these are mornings before the kids are awake and Dad has left to “bring home the Bacon”. You know, I discovered that sometimes I may have to make do on other days by gaining contentment even when there is the loud noise …as long as it’s Good noise. With non sleeping kids who have not become fluent readers or are not involved in a quiet time activity, this noise seem omnipresent.

In this picture we had just completed our nature based lesson and then they opted with permission to remained outside for another 1.5 hrs. It’s summer, pretty out and I thought this would afford me the opportunity to experience some much needed quiet time. Did I mention Courage-beam was the first to awake this morning?  Needless to say, I began my day without my daily scripture text and solo time.

Result: For the Entire 1.5 hrs the yard was full of loud noise, the usual excited directions to each other, dinosaurs roars & my garden bed being used as a reptile habitat (they took care not to ruin my plants) and …absolutely no quiet time for Mom.

I changed my perspective.  I began to appreciate what has become for me, and many other parents, homeschooling guardians or embattled grown ups what has become a new sense of ‘quiet’. We have decided to become content with having time to ourselves while simultaneously having our auditory senses tend to others or stimulated by other noise. It becomes a pretty sound when these are happy sounds of the ones we love such as in this image!

I went outside and captured the experience momentarily by snapping a picture.

Cyn

The Minimalist Family Life – A Lifestyle Change

Living Room w Fireplace

We love living in our huge historic house. This is where the kids were born.Right here in one of our bedrooms. We are keeping it as a rental and we will be downsizing in a huge way and living in the country about 15 minutes away.

We are excited to continue with our goal of living in a small (tiny) home. This will allow us to not only save, but allow us to live freely, realizing our purpose of having the kids gain exposure to other cultures through travel. It will not only be educational, but help them to appreciate a huge part of their culture since I am Jamaican… They have so many wonderful relatives from their father’s hometown in Idaho and amazing grandparents who make it a point to visit for 1-2 months each year from The Republic of Georgia where they are serving as missionaries. Not only that, they also make it a habit for Grandpa to read a story to them weekly, via their Skype visits. What a treasured legacy which is helping me to nurture their love of literature and the Classical Approach to home school which incorporates Bible lessons that build virtues.

That being said, it is important for them to travel and see how others experience joy not merely by having an abundance in space, but by having a happy family life and good times. This is where the ability to live for part of the year overseas comes in.

We are pursuing this minimal approach to moving from a 3,000 sq ft house to living ‘tiny in a 45ft fifth wheel on our own acre property which has a rental house on it which will help support our expeditions.

Look at it here. Our newly acquired 5th wheel which I will be painting this week in prep for our move! It is an ample size for our family of 4.

I will share pics over the course of a month or two as we do the conversion to a pint sized cabin with white interior and blue trim.

More to come on home school storage, adjustments, and family and most of our familiy’s transition to (an almost!) capsule wardrobe.

Cultivating an Environment for Learning

Kindranger & Couragebeam are barely at the elementary level and I am concerned that we ruined their first few years of what ‘should have been’ be blissful living for the first few years.

We often wonder, will they get their spark back, is it gone?

When we (meaning I and then my husband agreed) that homeschooling was the best learning approach for our children, I quickly realized that in order for the formal (or unschooling for many others) education to begin, the primary component of the education will be what they see and experience in the home environment. We knew that when done properly it can and does influence our child’s academic success, but more importantly, it will influence their emotional and moral fortitude. True success stems from their ability when grown to shoulder their responsibilities efficiently and react when provoked (or not!) in a peaceful way.

Now you see my predicament. I say this because I am painfully aware that my reaction when I am being provoked to some family members is ‘ a bit’ argumentative. I asked myself:

how would they learn if as parents, they are taught to argue, including even when it’s about nonsense?

Thus began our painstaking process or weeding out our bad habits in order to become peacemakers, and purposefully create a peaceful home. It became my priority. This must be in place for our child to reach their full potential; academically  and emotionally, within our home school environment.

A teacher needs to create the right conditions for training.

Just as a gardener needs to cultivate, or loosen, the soil before sowing seeds, so a teacher needs to prepare,

or encourage, the heart of a learner before teaching him new skills.

– wt4/15 jw.org

This is one way of nurturing a soft soil for a good heart so that they will became good men.

One way to do this is to actively work toward displaying peace as their parent(s). Teaching by example the appropriate way to resolve conflict, being willing teachers and true friends. This is all wrapped up in having the simple focus of parenting with a long term view in sight and raising emotionally intelligent children who are able to positively inter-act on a micro level as well as navigate the working world in a capable manner.

This is all apart of blowing the flames, re-igniting and maintaining the spark in Couragebeam & Kindranger that I was fearful we had snuffed out. Thank God, our children responds to nurturing and not just nature as embark on this quest to educate them wholeheartedly while living a simplified life. As they grow and learn through classical & living books, peace, resilience and other virtues, these traits will help them to be productive, a joy top be around, and help them find happiness and fulfillment throughout life.

Isn’t this the end goal of all parents?

On Simplifying & Finding Answers

A peaceful homeschool day with with C-Beam & K-Ranger

Two of the things that defines me (this season) are outlook on marriage, and my focus on creating a wholehearted

environment for my students/ kids Couragebeam and Kindranger.

The past 2 years have been tumultuous with some elements of stability, hopeless with a hopeful ending and then starting a new journey towards living simply with a minimalist approach while pulling my kids from public & private schools and discovering the wonders of home schooling with a purpose.

Hence this blog.

It is necessary for us to pay more than the usual attention to the things heard by us,

that we may never drift away.

—Heb. 2:1.

A boat that drifts away from the riverbank may do so imperceptibly at first. Gradually, the gap increases.

This journey is new, with many unanswered questions. Jotting down our purpose of living intentionally after disappointments as well as finding a measure of peace is essential for me as well as other families that are journeying against the tide. It’s a thoughtful resource to ensure that we as a family will not drift away from our nuclear unit and meaningful living…a second time.

We have not just ourselves to think about and reach toward self actualization, but the wee ones, our living legacy as well, who deserve our investment of life adjustment and love.

This is our simplified (need I say minimal?) focus.

---

---