Freecycle Your Stuff!

I've been doing some spring cleaning, and it's such a delight to send good stuff out the door to people who really want it! That's what Freecycling is all about.

If you've never heard of it, Freecycling is often conducted via an internet group, which are formed (often on Yahoo or MSN) by locality. My particular Freecycle is centered in my county, and there are other groups for other metro areas in the region.

Someone who has something they want to give away posts it to the message board, and people who would like to have it e-mail the person offering, and arrange pick-up. It's super-convenient, and it's totally free.

So far, I've given away a home gym that had to be dismantled before it would fit into a pick up, a shabby recliner, a bag of partially used perfumes and lotions, a pair of shoes, a terrarium, extra liriope, and other stuff. Just think of all the stuff that's being kept out of the landfill!

Look for a Freecycle group in your area, and bless someone with things you no longer need! And now, excuse me while I find more good things to give away;-).

Get out!

Despite yesterday's snow, I'm still thinking about spring, and the need to seize the day, and do the thing that is appropriate for the moment.

Spring means outdoors, breathing great gulps of crispy-fresh air, moving winter-weary bodies and bones in unfamiliar ways, clearing mental cobwebs along with the physical. It's simply not human to be confined, institutionalized, imprisoned, when life is waiting.

Even in the heart of the largest cities, there are pockets of green in which to rejoice in the new season (I know, because I grew up in the heart of a very large city, and green was nourished and cherished). For your children's sake, clear the calendar of obligations, and go outside. Work in the yard, take a picnic to the park, ride bikes, play basketball, walk, walk, walk!

Finally, here is a quote from John Taylor Gatto's The Underground History of American Education, page 129. Call it a thought for the day!

"What should make you suspicious about school is its relentless compulsion. Why should this rich brawling, utterly successful nation ever have needed to resort to compulsion to order people into school classes-- unless advocates for force-schooling were driven by peculiar philosophical beliefs not commonly shared?"

If you'd like to read more of Gatto's thoughts on education, I recommend "Dumbing Us Down." It's interesting, to say the least!

Spring Fever!

Clear, sunny days, warm enough to get out-- spring fever has arrived! It's time to close the textbooks and rack up a few hours toward the boys' elective classes in "Landscape Maintenance" and "Forest Management." So far this week, we've worked on pruning ornamental shrubs and fig trees; building a split rail-style fence from 15' sections of fallen trees; leaf-raking, and selective daffodil harvesting;-). Lunch on the deck is mandatory, though the brisk breeze tends to whisk away napkins before we've even begun.

This is one of the beauties of home education-- it can be tailored to fit the person, situation, and context. We can concentrate on math and language arts through harsh winters and blazing summers, then focus on outdoor joys when beautiful weather arrives. One of the cruelest facts of institutional schooling is that it robs children of the freedom to experience seasonal changes in any memorable way. (And really, how did it ever get to be normal to institutionalize children for a dozen or more of the most significant developmental years of their lives?)

The skills my boys are learning in their practical electives will be useful throughout life. They won't be forced to hire expensive help to do simple, satisfying home, property, and car maintenance tasks, and by the time they are so busy that the task no longer seems satisfying, they may be able to train their children to take over.

It has been one of my goals to equip the boys with the ability to earn a living with either minds or hands, whichever they choose. I don't want them to be lopsided-- all filling and no donut. Physical activity can refresh a tired mind, just as a comfortable reading break can refresh a tired body. Remember, mens sana in corpore sano!

I believe that developing competence in multiple arenas is a way to achieve emotional balance and economic security. It's also a way to encourage the kind of synergistic thinking that made Leonardo da Vinci one of the greatest Renaissance achievers in art, science, and math. And finally, being able to work with either head or hands as necessary provides adaptability to meet changing family and economic needs. It also reduces the likelihood that personal identity becomes tied up in a job title.

In the final analysis, multiple competencies make it easier to focus on family relationships and the things that matter most in life, and to maintain personal equilibrium in the face of life's challenges. So-- it's a beautiful day-- wouldn't you rather be outside doing a bit of nature study?

City of Books

I was reading Charlotte Mason's 'A Philosophy of Education' this morning and came across this quote:

"The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher, and friend; and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding."

True!

You can read more about Charlotte Mason's wise educational ideas at Ambleside Online. This wonderful site also offers CM-style lesson plans, and excellent book lists. Enjoy!

Too Much Trouble

So when is something more trouble than it's worth? I find chaos and disorder terribly stressful, yet as we prepare to have lightning-scorched carpet replaced, moving everything from the two affected rooms into the rest of the house, I am surrounded by what appears to be chaos. Of course, I've tried to label boxes, but you know how it is-- here's an empty space in the 'office cabinet top shelf' box-- let's toss in this little stack of stuff from the bedroom closet. And there goes the perfect organization! The new carpet will be nice, but I don't know that it's worth all this stress.

I wonder about other things I put off because they are more trouble than I want to face at the moment. I so often want to go somewhere or do something with my boys or as a family, but it's just too much trouble to find someone to stay with my mother/grandmother. She's bright and perky for a 93-year-old, but she won't stay alone, and she hates it when I go anywhere without her. She also hates to pay for a companion service to sit with her, and we can't afford to do so. I hate to impose on my sweet in-laws too often, so we end up letting weeks, months, and years pass without doing anything special as a family.

I know that caring for her is the right thing to do, but I would love to have fun with my family sometimes without having to stress over alternative care arrangements and feel as if we have to do everything quickly in order to get back. The boys are growing up so fast-- one will be married this summer, and the youngest is 14. We don't have much more time together, and just as I've had to do with clearing out rooms for new carpet, I probably need to just face the stress and do the thing that matters most. Stress is momentary, but memories are priceless.

Gaining Perspective

Whenever you feel your focus shifting from things that really matter, something happens that sharpens perspective once again. Perspective shifted for a lot of people this week with the news that Missey Gray of HeartSchooling died March 1 following the birth of her baby, Melissa Kate. In addition to her new daughter, Missey, 31, leaves her husband Tom, and her children Nathaniel, Samantha, Susan, and Natalie. They are all in my prayers.

Like many others, I didn't know Missey in person, but through her warm presence online. She chose to share her homeschooling path with others through her blog and e-groups, lighting lamps so that those coming behind might see more clearly. The tone of her blog, last updated the morning of March 1, is so warm and friendly that it's almost impossible not to smile while reading it. She has resource links posted at her Geocities page, justahappygrl, and it seemed as if she was 'just a happy girl.'

On Missey's blog, the header reads: "HeartSchooling is my personal blog dedicated to promoting the educational philosophies and methods of Ruth Beechick and Charlotte Mason, and in that vein, to sharing various aspects of my family's daily life because, after all, 'education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life' and 'The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom.'"

Missey, in life and in death, reminds us that it is the moments that matter. For mothers especially, the days spent with our children are precious and all too fleeting. It's important to keep perspective, know who and what is important, and to live life with eternity in view, because we are not promised there will be a tomorrow. Someday, we will be able to say "thank you, Missey, for sharpening our perspective."

You can read more memorial comments about Missey at The Old Schoolhouse blog.

The Right Thing & The Bears

There's more in the news about the Maymont bears, and the parent of the child who was bitten has shared her story, hoping to reduce the outrage. The truth helps, and finding out that the parent did not escort the child to feed the bears was a huge plus in her favor. She's brave to come forward, because community anger is strong, but it's the right thing to do. Let's hope the community responds with understanding.

More articles related to the Maymont bears:
After Bear Bite, Boy Said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

Mother Hopes Her Talking Aids Mourning for Bears

Turning Around the Violence Will Take a Monumental Effort