Pow Wow

(check out the belly on Gabe)

We took the kids to experience their first Pow Wow. It quickly became obvious just how underexposed they are to our native culture. There is nothing like seeing a pow wow through a child's eyes. They were so full of questions, loud comments and had no problem with pointing at people. This didn't bother me at all and no one else seemed to mind. I tried to answer all of their questions as best as I could.

Of course I have acquired some books on Ojibway heritage and ceremonies to learn more myself and hopefully pass some culture onto my children. The best book I found is The Mishomis Book The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai.

It really was an amazing thing to experience with the kids, the drum drumming, the men singing, the people dancing, the circle of community surrounding them.

Its a start, the kids and I can learn together.

A Polka dot Dress

Polka dot dress + matching head band = Happy little girl

I sewed Madison's doll "Sasha" a polka dot dress and matching head band, made out of an old pair of my pajama pants and no pattern. The addition of the bias tape as a belt is Madison's doing, she does like to accessorize. She has now put in a request for an apron, bloomers and a knit sweater . . . no problem, Sasha is going to have a better wardrobe than me!

Our Little Ballerina

Pictures from Madison's ballet recital last weekend. 

What can I really say about this, the pictures say it all. 

She is absolutely beautiful. 

It still brings tears to my eyes to think about her up on that stage. 

She takes her ballet very seriously and practices all the time at home. 

Our little ballerina. 

I love you Madi.

In Gratitude

A new spring/summer linen table cloth made from a thrifted piece of linen for $2.99!

Today I am thankful for . . .

:: The lilacs my kids keep picking me from our neighbours' tree

:: A husband who doesn't quite get my craft obsession but is understanding none the less

:: Watching my daughter's ballet recital over the weekend

:: Setting a date for a weekend fabric shopping trip with a dear friend

:: Knitting & watching my children playing using their imaginations

:: Dinner already made this morning in the slow cooker 

:: A 5 year old who loves to hang the diapers on the clothes line

:: Looking forward to the Crafty Mamas coming over tonight

Our Garden is Planted

We planted our vegetable garden last weekend (and I'm just getting around to posting the pictures now). This is the first year we have been in the same house long enough to plant and grow and hopefully eat and store our own vegetables. I have been reading about and planning my vegetable garden for years, so it was amazing to finally get my knees dirty and my hands into the earth.

It's important to me that the kids learn where their food comes from, how to grow it and experience the pleasure that comes from preparing and eating food you have grown yourself. Both of my grandfathers were amazing gardeners, unfortunately I could not learn from them, their knowledge and wisdom died with them, what a missed opportunity. I have to follow instructions from a gardening book. My wish is that gardening becomes second nature to my children and becomes intrinsic to them.

Almost everything was sown directly into the ground which is more cost effective, especially if you want organic plants.

I couldn't resist this garden plaque, it seems that they made it just for me, how perfect!

I have been using this book From Seed to Table A Practical Guide to Eating and Growing Green by Janette Haase. Its a month-by-month guide to growing a significant amount of food in a small home garden.  She provides clear instructions for the gardening year from planning to planting to harvesting, storage and seasonal recipes.

The Earth is mother, 

Of all that is natural,

Of all that is human.

-Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), German abbess, poet, mystic and composer

Pioneer Philosophy

In keeping with the pioneer theme we seem to have going on around here lately I have posted up some new words of wisdom. This pioneer philosophy is well suited as our new mantra.

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.