Urban Organica

this spring :: learning for free

Until recently we've been a part of a private Waldorf-inspired school that supports families in their home learning.  We joined when there was all this hubbub about homeschooling being illegal in California, & we wanted to be "compliant."  Now there's really nothing to be compliant about, & so we're trying something new.  We didn't really use the curriculum anyways, although it's been inspiring & I think we'll continue to purchase their stuff for reference.  

So maybe we're just being ourselves, & just doing it for free.  We aren't worried about record keeping at all at this point, given the demand for homeschoolers in Ivy League colleges & corporations.  If we were to design our kid's lives from beginning to end, they wouldn't be a part of either, but they'd be social entrepreneurs & citizens of the world.  Their lives aren't ours, though.  

So we're doing what we can to keep all their options open.  It's quite a lot to think about, actually.  And an ongoing process of looking at them, looking at the world, looking at ourselves, then looking again.  Next year, we'll probably join a State Charter school that is willing to offer us $1800 per child for whatever we want.  We've been spending much more than that, but I'm seeing how much good learning is free.  I'm curious about having our oldest really use that budget to create his own curriculum.

The STAR testing, which I'm opposed to, isn't required, & there will be an educational support person who comes to us every 20 days with "the goods" that we've ordered.  Sounds good to me.  

They really have their own ideas about learning, & I never know if my ideas will hit or miss with them.  The best stuff happens when I sit down to do their "assignments" myself, which leads to them asking to "play, too."  I think having another person involved will inspire them to carry out their ideas further than having me be "the one."  We do learn as part of a huge community, but I'm talking about the day-to-day.  We'll see.

A day in the life of Spring learning...

Field guides: gluing in our panoramic shots & adding explanations.

Reading educational magazines + vocabulary lists.

Making bread + assembling Tofu Pups for lunch with the neighbor's lettuce.

Mom's attempt at having them illustrate a "cute vocabulary list" become half-hearted drawings before they run off.

Can't compete with Sean & his tools.

Asking him a million questions within 5 inches of his work.

Or helping.

Or wearing a diaper on one's head.  All more interesting than a forced assignment.

So then... Helping Dad lay mulch.

And sod.

And wearing gardening gloves.  This is learning.  Free will + authentic interest + adults doing real work = Life Learning.  I'll take it.

this is it :: street picnic

they teach me something new everyday.  there's no need for a dock.  pool water.  tunes or fancy drinks.  much of anything, actually.  just a little pavement, snacks from the neighbors.  towels + cups of water.  this is it.

birding :: freshwater pelicans

*Photos by Kita*

we drove & looked: swans?

no, but there: a great blue heron! 

a red winged black bird

coots, ducks

some kind of piper

overhead, the pelicans played,

their wingspan: 9 feet!

but would we find the wild swans?

louie, serena? kindred trumpeters?

maybe ours? 

we got out

it was hot * hot

dad & brother sat it out

he complained for the walk

"too dusty," "do we have to?" "carry my banana peel,"

no, i'm carrying the baby

"let me compost it here, then,"

we debated, he won.

then: "there they are!"

he grabbed my camera

stalked them

ran 1/4 mile, then another, 

they flew off, 

then he ran another!!

i didn't try not to cry

as i watched him suddenly alive

running after wild things

a real live chase

i finally caught up to him,

now composed

one foot behind the other, quietly

(just like sam beaver)

he shot them

like any committed vegetarian would,

then examined his work in the viewfinder

"look mom.  they're not swans."

my heart sunk for him

"they're the pelicans. awesome."

we walked back to the car

me with a swollen sleepy head boy

him with a skip in his step

ps-

*Swan love inspired by Trumpet of the Swan. 

Links to book, curriculums, swam adoption above.

*We are loving the Magnifying Glass

breakfast lunch & dinner

I'm busy right now...

Making a mess.  Playing with my food. 

 

With my best friends. Feeling grateful.  

Missing my many cousins.  I saw a huge group of Filipinos outside Fuji Sushi last night.  They had balloons & were beautiful & laughing & loud with happyness.  It will probably be like that for years.  

Yes.  I miss you all.  Tony & Michael & Kari & Mark & Elena & Willem & Sherelle & Tangee & Vivi & Jeric & Nikki & Franz & Elrik & Malorie & Jasyn & Trevor & all those littles, who I wish I knew.  I Love You Guys Completely.  You are my kapatid.

  

So here's a little vegetarian "bisteak" flavour.

saute onion moons until sweet

add sliced mushrooms

squeeze 1 lemon + add an equal amount of soy sauce

on white rice + some protein (veggie pepper steak above).

yes.  i love you guys.

this is it! gluten-free pot pies! baguettes!

A couple of years ago our friend Rose Anne began a gluten-free Subscription Meals Program that works similarly to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture * Farm Box Subscription).  We proudly worked with her on it in a customer feedback/fellow entrepreneurs sort of way, & I'm very happy to say that our family is basically made out of Rose Anne's food.  Because the genius of her work is that she's allowed us to have gourmet, fresh, bio-regional, gluten & casein-free meals for about what it would take for me to make it myself.

We place a certain amount on a Farmer's Kitchen Cafe "credit card" at the beginning of every month, & each week we pick from a menu that she sends via email.  Then we just pick up our food at 6 o'clock!  

The food itself keeps getting better & better, as she's on a mission, & I realized I just had to show you all what she's doing.  These pot pies & her baguettes are a freakin' breakthrough.  I am NOT a gluten-free eater by any medical requirements, & you'll be seeing my own gluten breakthroughs here this week, actually.  But I am a foodie, & I DO LOVE her bread.  I don't miss the gluten or the casein with her food.  I mean, just look at it.

You can order some of her stuff on Rose Anne's website, & her blog is crazy-full of information on food allergies, food + autism / spectrum disorders, nutrition, farming issues & translating gourmet recipes to gluten-free.

baby conch-shell gardens

Recently we were in the Bay, heading up to a certain Foothill Home to visit some beloved friends & chickens.  I was trying to think of what I could bring as an offering, kinda chicken-related, that was even possible given our a 3-hour drive & so many little bodies to account for.  

I am not a think-ahead crafter.  Not yet.  I am a mad-dash, do it while I get there with their help crafter.  It's very fun for me to make things with friends, although I think I'd rather be somewhere in the middle.  

I imagine Molly crocheting on the couch, in one of her relaxed sweaters while Aidan scales the back fence.  

While I go, "Welcome! (kiss, hug) What shall we make now?"  Avery once suggested chocolate, so it was "homemade Nutella:" organic cream + chocolate chips + Hazelnut oil.

On this particular day I had no idea.

In my mom's shower hangs the sweetest little succulent in a large snail shell.  It's been there for a few years, & doesn't seem to need any watering outside of the shower steam.  A thin piece of wire hooks from the inside of the shell over her shower wall.

I asked her if this is pretty easy ~ since I've not a green thumb of my own.  She assured me it was, & donated some shells from her trip to Baja.  We drove me up to the Peaceful Valley Nursery for some Hens + Chicks Succulents, & assembled it all at Molly's.  The kids all made their own, with Aidan making 2 in about 2 minutes.

Since then it's become our favorite little gift project.

I like them near my kitchen sink.

baby conch shell gardens

materials:

1 pot succulents

several large sea shells

a spoon

to do:

Gently separate the succulents & insert the spoon several inches below the plant.  Ease a few flowers out with the roots.  Spoon some soil into the shell, then place plants into shell, roots first.  Water, then drain out the side.  Name.  I like naming things.  And these just beg for little names.  Like Harriet, Hendrick & Penny.  Perfect names for Hens + Chicks.

***

I like this post on going from bogged to grateful.

it's all about the block

Of COURSE I want the farm.  I also spend lots of time with my Hawaiian country music on full blast (dreaming of Maui drives with a cobalt sky & cute couples walking along the road with long boards, "locals" flip flops & sexy knotted hair).  And I have the East Coast Dream, too.  I so love that green, that endless, endless green.  But then, I wouldn't live in the neighborhood.  On the block.  This block, with it's 29 kids.

I wouldn't be a mom with these moms.

My kids would certainly never taste Fritos.  And I wouldn't get to have any either.

There would be no Starburst swapping over driveway pool.

And really, what is life without sunshine, friends & a bagel?  

cheesy potato boats

Once we got quite tired of potatoes in soup this Winter, we discovered a small "potato farm" growing in the root storage.  Would it be very sad to admit that root storage was actually a neglected bowl on my counter?  Anyways, I think we managed to sprout a good 30 potatoes in 3 varieties, all green googly-eyes & white sprouts right there by the family portraits.  

With absolutely no effort, & I am feeling like just the world's best science teacher right now.  Especially since we off & planted them all, in a small container garden made for True's 5th birthday party.  They've come along beautifully for such an accident, & almost overnight we've got our own small harvest.  As Asians, we're pretty mucha rice-with-everything crew, so what to do with potatoes that's not soup?

Cheesy Potato Boats 

Boil 'till fork tenders.  Mash with a bunch of grated cheese.  Refill.  Add sauce action (paint the boat.) Bake at 350' for 10 minutes.  "Detail your boat."  Talk about what's gonna happen when your ship comes in.

tea party

We've been meaning to put together a batch of Sop * Sop Tea for a while now.  Long enough that some favorite pregnant mamas have become mothers to toddlers.  Luckily, this tea works for them still.  Do you know this tea?  Sop * Sop means "To Nurse" in Tagalog.  And I happen to think that if anything can save the world, it's nursing babies + healthy mamas.  So this is a bit of a missionary gift, I suppose.

Actually this tea is a "partus preparator," for preparing for birth.  It's full of milk-producing vitamins & trace minerals, plus tons of iron & calcium.  It's actually a food, more than a supplement.  After my first 2 pregnancies with hyperemesis gravidarum, I needed all the nutrition I could get during #3, so I drank a full quart-size Mason jar a day (!) from 7 months along until 6 weeks post-partum.  

Let me just say that Real was almost 3 lbs. more than his brothers at birth.  At 13 weeks, he weighed as much as they did at 4 months!  I had tons of energy + an unfamiliarly sweet post-partum disposition.  I think it was the tea!

They had so much fun putting this batch together that they've asked if this could be their "family business."  (Although they were barefoot from beginning to end, please know that I did subject them to my usual obsessive hygiene for young chefs.)  

We've been discussing what kind of business they could create for a few years, now.  There was always going to be something, but I wanted to make sure it was something that they could really own, without us parents taking over as head chefs, managers & accountants.  They wanted to do embroidered pillows for a bit, but it took so long to finish each one, & they wanted to charge $5-13 for pillows that cost me $15 in supplies.  So I think they're on to something here.  

Luckily we live in a "green community," where everyone rides bikes as their main form of transportation, half the folks are "academics" & there's a large number of natural families who use the natural-foods co-op.  The farmer's market is also insanely special, while our beloved midwives have been serving this area for over 30 years.  So there's a nice market for these guys.  

But first we'll send these on their way...

Sop * Sop Tea

Do try to find 100% Organic Herbs

2 1/2 C nettle

2 C red raspberry leaves

1 1/2 C oatstraw

3/4 C alfalfa

3/4 C rose hips

1/2 C red clover

1/2 C spearmint leaves

Place a handful into a strainer that fits into a quart jar.  Pour boiling water over the top & let seep a couple of hours.  

Our friend & doula Sarah Rees would just add a cup to a large stock pot & boil it together, then let steep.  She would then put the empty strainer over a jar & ladle the tea in.  This let her make a week's worth at a time, then just bring them over stock the fridge.  It was VERY convenient for me.  Which is what we want post-partum, right? Happy mamas = happy babies.

wool nests + homeschool groups

Our local homeschooling group, Homespun (isn't that the best name?) just began a Holistic Kids + Spanish Language Exploration Cooperative.  Every family hosts a date at their home, & we hosted one last week.

We couldn't resist having a little birding day, what with all the new nests, hovering paired hawks & carpenter bees buzzing at every blossom.  It's Spring!

Everyone I know is nesting on some level right now.  From just getting organized to reevaluating life structures to pushing the furniture around.  The sun has brought a fresh sweep of hope & warmth.

I set up three stations & we labeled them in Spanish:

Wool Nest: felting needles, wool, foam blocks

Magic Bird Finders: pretty paper + colored masking tape to make kid-focusing binoculars

Nest String Supply: produce baskets, colored string, fabric scraps & scissors 

I let the older kids needle felt themselves, as long as there are adults nearby to keep track of the needles & they've been given clear instructions on how the felting works & how to keep their fingers away.

This activity can hold most kids' attention for a long time.

One unexpected but lovely surprise was that a vegan family came & wouldn't touch the wool.  I used cotton batting & glue to make a nest for their son.  He began covering it in fabric scraps & it looks very nice.

We made a few eggs by gathering a fist of wool & tightly wrapping it in a long strand.  Then we needled it in place & lightly wound some decorative colored wool on the outside.

I'd seen a few versions of these online, at the Crafty Crow & Blue Yonder, but they involved produce nets.  I don't have any produce nets, but the boys are forever stealing people's strawberry baskets.  Nice to move some along.

And the nest up top?  It fell out of a giant Italian Cypress 2 years ago as I was taking a walk.  Lake & I looked up to see the hole, 30 feet up!  We left it there, in case the birds would maybe put it back, like umm, Cinderella, when we weren't looking.  But it was still there 2 days later, so home it came.  It's on it's 3rd Spring as our Nature Corner, & it gets more precious with every daisy, clover, branch, pebble, acorn & pod.  

I can't bear to toss a bit, but amazingly, over the course of a year in storage, they all shrink down to nothing to make room for new handfuls of what-not.  It's kind of like our hearts, collecting up random bits of rick rack & experience, which somehow pack in there, taking up just the perfect amount of space.  The memories change & grow more interesting & complex as time passes, and somehow, there's always room for more.

Right now, I'm collecting the new.  Never before have I been a part of a homeschooling group.  What a resource!  I didn't realize that field trips that cost $20 could cost $2.  Everyday there are so many new tours, classes & cultural events offered, not to mention daily park dates, small group playdates & like-minded friends.  

It's also interesting to see all the different types of homeschoolers.  Everyone does it for their own reasons.  As a teenager I always thought that other unschoolers must be just like me, if only they weren't so far away.  Back then we were few & far between, a secret to each other & the world.  Thank goodness for Grace Llewelyn, liberating me in the first place.  There's been enough time since The Teenage Liberation Handbook that now there's thousands of self-taught teenagers. I'm grateful the world has caught up so my boys aren't watching the clock, waiting for the next door neighbors to get home from school.

***oh yeah, who is Open Jane? Please email me...