School Reading

I've been doing a bit of my own unschooling, which stemmed from Vintage Chica's "Summer Un-school", that I signed up for a couple of months ago. The controversy that followed absolutely astonished me and I had to read up on the topic some more myself.

I still don't get why the "radical unschoolers" have a problem with calling it "Summer Un-school", to me its like someone stated in the comments, why would a vegetarian/vegan discourage someone from trying vegetarianism/veganism? The opposite should be true, if you really are that passionate about your philosophy/lifestyle then you should be encouraging others to try it and not feel threatened by that. You certainly cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.

Enough said, well except: thank you to Erin for hosting Summer Un-school on her blog and for so gracefully and articulately taking all the "heat" for it, what an amazing opportunity you have given our children and our families to learn and to grow. And thank you to all the other unschooling mamas who are sharing their experiences.

My oldest attends our local public french immersion primary school and loves it. The challenge we have is that Canada is a bilingual country (english & french) and since we live in Ottawa (Canada's capital city) bilingualism is a necessity. Both myself and Scott were never given the opportunity as children to attend french immersion school and are now only english speaking. If we were to homeschool our children we would not be able to teach them french, they would have to take french classes and would not have the benefit of immersion. Thus, if they at a later time wanted to or needed to enter the school system they would have to take the english stream. This is a major consideration and obstacle.

This summer I will take the kids lead, help them to learn, to explore, to grow, at their leisure, on their own will. I will follow their own natural curiosity, I will be their social convenior, their chief researcher, their chauffer, their exploration companion, their documentarian, the carrier of the library book bag. I do have activities, crafts, field trips, adventures planned to fill in some gaps but we will have our summer un-school.

Cuddle Blankets

This is our basket of "Cuddle Blankets" that the kids (and I) use everyday. I am always folding them and putting them in the basket which has become one of my everyday rituals and part of the rhythm of my day. As I was folding them today I stopped to look at each one and admire it and really think about what these lap quilts have come to mean to our family. They provide more than just a practical use, they warm the heart and soul, they provide comfort & nurturing and are even used for imaginative play.

They have many uses indeed:

• to cuddle with during our "snuggle buggling" which involves making a "love cocoon" under the cuddle blanket (very popular)
• cuddle blankets are also excellent for fort building
• they make a great picnic blanket for both indoor & outdoor use
• are a must for tea parties
• cuddle blankets also make excellent beach blankets
• they also double as a stroller blanket to keep little ones warm on a cold winter's day

This one I actually machine sewed myself before we had kids, my first and only attempt at quilting, without help, without a book, totally free form. I loved it and can't wait to take up quilting again. But, this time I think I might actually take a class and learn how to do it properly. (Focus, focus on one craft at a time!)
This red one was a gift and is completely hand quilted, its beautiful.
This cuddle blanket was made by a very dear childhood friend of mine, I think of her every time we use it. Its machine quilted and beautiful, this one is Carter's favourite. 
This is Madison's choice as favourite cuddle blanket because of the rainbow.  Its thrifted and I would love to know who made it and the story behind it.

Loving Baby Wearing

I have got to spread the word about the ERGO Baby Carrier. I didn't discover it until my third baby was 6 months old and I wish I knew about it 5 years ago. So worth the investment (it retails for about $115). I've tried pocket slings, ring slings, mei tai and others but the Ergo is by the far the best over all. Included in the many benefits of baby wearing, and there are many, is the elimination of the need for a stroller. Gabriel did not sit is a stroller until about age 1! The best is the back carry which means you are hands free but it also works well for the front carry too. Even Carter at 3 years old loves to be carried in mommy's back pack. Its very comfortable and easy to use for multiple wearers. 

(Oh, and did I mention that its available at 3 Little Monkeys!)

In Lieu of Gifts

Oh a mother's pride, I am so proud of Madison. For her 5th Birthday, which was back in August, she agreed to have a Charitable Birthday Party for her and 5 of her friends. Guests were asked to make a donation to the Ottawa Food Bank in lieu of birthday presents.  Information about the charity and the form for a tax receipt were sent with the party invitations. We gave Madi the choice of 3 different charities to choose from and she still received presents to open from her family.
This is the thank you card she just received from the Food Bank, she collected 10 pounds of food and $120 which for every dollar generates five dollars worth of food into the community. She is really proud of herself and she should be. 

We will continue to have charitable birthday parties for our kids once they reach age 5 and are old enough to understand and participate.  We encourage more families to do the same, just think of the possibilities . . .

Mother-ease = Happy Mother

I finally got around to selling my Happy Heinys one size pocket diapers on a local used website. It was surprisingly easy to do and there were many people wanting to buy them. I plan on selling more of our baby "stuff" that we don't use. And the one bumGenius one size pocket diaper I had well I gave it away for free. Good riddens I say. I would never recommend either of them, quite the opposite, they leaked, they stank, the velcro was disgusting and it was a pain to stuff the inserts.  

Now I am now a proud cloth diapering mother using Mother-ease one size organic diapers with snaps and the cutest covers I ever did see. Gabe seems more comfortable and they launder much better. And the best part its a Canadian company and of course I bought them at my favourite natural parenting store 3 Little Monkeys. I still love my prefolds and would recommend using them for newborns as its more cost effective. Its amazing how happy new cloth diapers can make me!