Once again,
our only vacation this year has been to see family. Sam and I have been talking about this recently — we realized that ever since having children, the only traveling we've done has been short jaunts around our home base, or longer trips to visit the grandparents.
Before we had kids, we'd shake things up: a visit to our parents here and there, but
interspersed with farther-flung adventures — to Atlanta, to Denver, to Seattle, to New York City, D.C., London, Paris, Berlin.
Contrast that with this year's trip that brought us through the overly familiar states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. I mean, no offense, Midwest, but…yeah.
Now, I totally get it. Having kids has brought with it consequences: Less money to blow with an unfortunately correlated increase in travel costs, distant relatives who want to connect with our offspring, and a whole mess of more inconvenience in traveling. This has made our trips a lot less frequent, and a lot more focused on seeing family to the exclusion of traveling for fun.
But the problem is —
I'm boooored.
I'm so happy to introduce you to my newest book,
What Will We Learn Today? — an ideabook of
more than 550 quick and simple homeschooling activities.
I've
put up a post over at LaurenWayne.com with a
full description and plenty of juicy excerpts, so head over there if you're interested in learning more!
There are days when you want to do something fun — and educational — but you can't quite figure out what it is. I have good intentions of natural-learning activities to do — but then I don't always remember them.
So I wrote this ebook to be a collection of idea-joggers. You can keep it on your computer, phone, or tablet (it's a PDF, so easy-peasy) and then anytime you're having one of those "What should we do now?" moments, just pop that puppy open and choose an activity.
Read the rest at LaurenWayne.com.
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"If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away." — Thoreau |
Last year I took Mikko and Alrik to a German enrichment program. The big kids played board games and did sports activities while the babies and mamas did clapping games and bebopped to German tunes.
I was hesitant about signing us up, and did a lot beforehand of that weird, shelter-y stuff some people hate about parents to elicit promises that Mikko could either stay with the baby and me, or the baby and I could stay with Mikko in his class, at least until he got situated.
Because Mikko is not big on separation. That's putting it hilariously mildly.
Since he'd had
so much trouble with separation anxiety in his German immersion preschool, I knew there might be a double whammy here: separation combined with German immersion. So I needed to make sure he'd be comfortable.
I was assured beforehand that, yes, we could be the odd ducks and I could be the hovering helicopter parent Mikko needed me to be.
I'm pleased to announce that the
Mindful Learning eBundle Sale is now live!
I
collected the resources for this bundle myself, so I got to read and hand-select all the books in advance, and let me tell you:
I'm excited.
These six resources are an
incredible wealth of information about learning methods and practical tools to help you in your educational goals.
These are six amazing resources that will help you practically and philosophically as you guide and nurture your child's learning:
- Everyday Sensory Alphabet Activities — encourage educational sensory exploration
- You Can Read! — teach early reading
- Book Love — nudge a reluctant reader
- Montessori at Home! — implement Montessori ideas into your everyday life
- What Will We Learn Today? — inject educational fun into your homeschooling
- Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning — have your questions about unschooling answered
That's over
over 1,200 pages of learning resources with a
huge assortment of hands-on printables.
Grab your chance to get these
six incredible e-resources at 75% off — that's
only $12.50 for over $50 worth of learning materials!
Reviews of the resources
Since I've had a chance to enjoy all the ebooks in advance, I'll bring you
my honest reviews of each.
Read on!
It's back to school — or back to unschool for us! Which means … um … everything's exactly the same for us, since we learn in the everyday. (Love that!)
But we could all use some
inspiration and rejuvenation in our educational routines, right? Maybe you'd like to know more about:
- how to guide your kids' learning at home,
- how to teach early reading or nudge a reluctant reader,
- how to implement Montessori ideas into your home life,
- how to inject educational fun into your homeschooling,
- or how to have your questions about unschooling answered.
Well, I have great news! I've been busy organizing (and contributing to!) a new e-resource bundle focused on just those topics: the
Mindful Learning eBundle!
It's a collection of six carefully selected resources on learning and education. This is a practical bundle with
over 1,200 pages of learning fun and
numerous printables.
Starting tomorrow, you can grab your chance to get these
six incredible e-resources at 75% off —
only $12.50 for over $50 worth of learning materials!
So what's in this bundle?
Let me tell you:
We continue to be delighted with the inspiration and wisdom our Carnival of Natural Parenting participants share, and we hope you'll join us for the next carnival in September 2013! (Check out
August,
July,
June,
May,
April,
March,
January, and a summary of all our
2012 posts and
2011 posts if you missed any.)
Your co-hosts are
Lauren at Hobo Mama and
Dionna at Code Name: Mama.
Here are the submission details for September 2013:
Theme: Staying Safe: How do you approach some aspect of family safety? We want to hear about car seats, water safety, emergency preparedness, poison control, babyproofing, and more.
Deadline:
Tuesday, September 3. Fill out the
webform (at the link or at the bottom) and email your submission to us by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time: CarNatPar {at} NaturalParentsNetwork.com
Carnival date: Tuesday, September 10. Before you post, we will send you an email with a little blurb in html to paste into your submission that will introduce the carnival. You will publish your post on September 10 and email us the link if you haven't done so already. Once everyone's posts are published on September 10 by noon Eastern time, we will send out a finalized list of all the participants' links to generate lots of link love for your site! We'll include full instructions in the email we send before the posting date.
I have a six-year-old. Six! When did that happen?
My first strong memories of myself as a self are from five years old on. I have memories dating back to two, and could tell you something of what my preschool years were like. But there was something defining about five that catapulted me into
who I was. It was the time I really began to think of myself as me, and my place with my family, and muse about why I was myself instead of someone else. (Existentialism begins in kindergarten, yo.)
It's also a time I remember as golden. Sure, I have sour memories, such as when a substitute teacher yelled at me for talking and then tried to make it up to me by having me demonstrate to the class how to tie a shoelace. (Gosh, why do I remember that?) But I generally remember a period of calm, of being loved, of having friends, of being good in school, of playing on the playground behind our houses. I loved singing our Sunday School songs about Jesus loving little children, and I was cozily satisfied that I myself was one of those children. I loved being a child.
And so I look at my older son, who's now six, and I realize I'm already one year past when Childhood began. That's Childhood with a capital C, as I sort of consider the years from around five to ten years old. That's when it seems most iconic, most idyllic (or should be): the years beyond the little-child memory fog and before the tensions of being a tween and teen set in.
And I worry: Am I doing his Childhood right?
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
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These two handsome and independent young men were my companions yesterday.
They sat by themselves on the bus, but we all played together on the beach and at the toy store. |
Links for you!
Your three-year-old wants to build a rocket that really flies — one that he can sit in.
Your six-year-old wants to build a three-story treehouse with a fireman’s pole.
Your nine-year-old wants to write a novel that will be published by a real publisher — or a screenplay that will be produced by a real movie studio.
How can we help kids tackle their big, ambitious, seemingly unachievable goals?
Even if a relative is offended when a child does not want to kiss or hug them, this is an important time to keep in mind the bottom line—kids need to learn from an early age that touch or play for affection and fun should be the choice of BOTH people, safe, allowed by the adults in charge, and not a secret.
Respectful script here, too, for what to say in situations when relatives demand or expect hugs and kisses.
via Amy Phoenix
Very helpful article on helping kids let go of stuff, the perfect article in response to my own swirling questions about minimalism & kids & the stuff stuff stuff that’s invaded our kids’ lives.
Welcome to the August 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Sibling Revelry
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about siblings — their own, their hopes for their kids, and more. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
Before I gave my firstborn a sibling, I was kind of pessimistic about the nature of sibling relationships. And now that I have two children, I sort of
hope for better things than I'd come to expect — but am trying not to get too attached to the idea.
I guess it's because my relationship with my own siblings is tepid. There's no strain there, but we don't stay in touch very well, and we see each other every couple years, emailing or phoning maybe twice in that timeframe. I have one brother who's four years older and one brother who's nine years younger. (He was a surprise.) My parents had been planning to have my older brother and me five years apart, but the timing sped up when there were rumors that my dad would get an unaccompanied deployment to Korea for a year. That never developed, but I did: a little, girly sister to my macho brother.
He didn't have much use for me, being so much older and having a completely different personality and alternate preferences for spending his free time. I did the usual pining after him,
cursing myself for adoring him when clearly he didn't give two pins about me.
When my younger brother was born — even when still in utero — I fell in love. Here was a real live doll for this nine-year-old to nurture, and so I did. I was his babysitter even when legally my older brother was technically in charge of both of us.
My older brother moved out and joined the Army when I was 14. He later went to West Point and off on his own trajectory, a fiercely independent soul rarely home even for school breaks. My younger brother was 9 when I left for college, so I've
retained an affection for him that often forgets to see past his current age. Yes, ok, he's 28, but he's still a cute tousle-headed 9 to me.
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| Cousins. I know it's out of focus, but: Aw! |
In lieu of our regular Sunday Surf, I thought I'd catch you up a little on Things That Happened While I Was Away. I promise, they're pretty exciting!
For the past two weeks, our family's been tootling around the Midwest from the
BlogHer 2013 conference and on through four states and multiple family gatherings.
We had a great time, but I'll tell you, I am so glad to be back home — and I could really use a vacation from my vacation now! Does someone want to come unpack for me? Thanks.
Interview with Hobo Mama at tooMODmama
First of all, I'm so pleased to have had
tooMODmama interview me all about
how to balance working from home with parenting. If you have ever considered working from home or are interested in learning more about it, here's your FAQ for how it works for our family and how it might work for yours.
I admire Lauren’s candid writing about motherhood while juggling all of the other challenges of life brings. With this interview we dive a little deeper into her day-to-day routine running a business from home as well as her take on natural parenting.
As a mother and successful family business owner – What does a typical day look like for you? Can you share how you balance your desire to spend time with your family while growing your business?
It can definitely be a challenge if you want to work from home and care for your kids, so we’ve had to think hard about our options and how we could make this lifestyle work. My husband, Sam, and I both knew we wanted to raise our kids yet continue working and pursuing our passions. Since having two kids — Mikko’s 6, and Alrik’s 2 — we’ve had to work out more intentionally who’s working when. Sam gets up really early for some pre-kids writing time. Then the rest of us roll out of bed for breakfast and waking up. (We’re not morning people, so that takes awhile!) Previously, we had a routine where I took the kids most afternoons and evenings while Sam worked in the family business (selling DVDs online), and then I did my own writing work late into the night while he put the kids to bed. Lately, we’ve been trying out a different schedule that allows for more socializing during daylight hours with other parents and at kid activities, which tend to be in the mornings. So now we alternate days, so we each have three “working” days a week and three “kids” days, plus one family day to do something fun all together.
{Continue reading my answer there!}
I also get to delve a little into what natural parenting is (or isn't) and
what "hobo parenting" might be.
Do you have any tips for moms-to-be who feel intimidated by “natural parenting”. And what does "natural parenting" mean to you?
I’m sure natural parenting really can sound intimidating to the uninitiated! I know I was intimidated by crunchy types as I first dipped my toes in the water. Certainly there are some gatekeepers in the natural parenting world who think they own and enforce some sort of rulebook, but there are many more natural parents who are welcoming and accepting of wherever you are along your journey. I try to be one of those types and let criticisms from the other type roll off me.
My definition of natural parenting is attachment parenting combined with green living. However, that can be whatever it means for you. I fully encourage people to take the elements of natural parenting that resonate with them and leave the rest, and not feel like they have to live up to some crunchy ideal before they can seek out the community and inspiration of other natural parents. Pretty much none of us are that ideal, anyway, and most choices we’ve made have happened over time and with a lot of encouragement.
{Continue reading my answer there!}
I'd love to
chat with you in the comments over at tooMODmama! Ask your questions about how working from home might work for you, tell me your own definitions of natural parenting, or let me know your own experiences of either.
Chub rub making headlines in the UK
I was standing in line for a roller coaster when I decided to check my email on my phone. An alert came up that my blog had been mentioned in the online UK tabloid
The Daily Mail.
"A cure for 'chub rub'? New product promises to help women who suffer from 'embarrassing' inner-thigh chafing." Excellent! The fact that my chubby thighs are being discussed across the pond was pretty much just as thrilling as the roller coaster ended up being. (P.S. Do
not read the comments.)
When Mikko was nearing two, we noticed
an increase in his frustration levels and a corresponding increase in his dramatic responses to those frustrations. Were they tantrums? Maybe sorta. I didn't feel like labeling them, particularly since I had yet to see the stereotypical movie kind where the kid flings himself on his stomach and kicks his legs about. Mikko used to fling himself on his
back. Much different.
(Just after writing this post, Alrik flung himself face down — onto a mattress, smart kid — for a good scream fest. I was so impressed.)
Mikko has always been what we might delicately call "dramatic." Or intense. Or, as his Grandma so gently puts it,
he has so much personality. Or, as
parenting author Mary Sheedy Kurcinka titled her kindhearted book on the subject
, he's spirited.
Welcome to the World Breastfeeding 2013 Blog Carnival cohosted by NursingFreedom.org and The San Diego Breastfeeding Center!
This post was written for inclusion in the WBW 2013 Blog Carnival. Our participants will be writing and sharing their stories about community support and normalizing breastfeeding all week long. Find more participating sites in the list at the bottom of this post or at the main carnival page.
This year's World Breastfeeding Week theme is Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers. In that spirit, I'm sharing my stories in the hopes of contributing to the dialogue about real-life breastfeeding experiences.
I've been reluctant to talk about Mikko's weaning, even though it's now over a year in the past. Mostly it's because I'm a sentimental fool who tears up every time I even
hear the word weaning, much less speak it — in relation to my own children!
I know it's a totally natural and beneficial step toward growing up. But, dang it, my nurslings and I have had such a special connection, and it's definitely sad to see that specific type of connection end, even if it's gently and honorably, and even though life and other connections continue on.
Here, as best I can remember it, is Mikko's story of going from extended nursling to weanling.
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
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| Super low tides are super! |
Some super links for your enjoyment!
My body will never be the same, but I don’t want it to be.
The body I had before belongs to my past.
The body I had before wasn’t a mother’s body.
The body I have now is.
View high resolution The French court’s midwife was also a midwifery teacher, and this was a dummy training aid.
Welcome to the World Breastfeeding 2013 Blog Carnival cohosted by NursingFreedom.org and The San Diego Breastfeeding Center!
This post was written for inclusion in the WBW 2013 Blog Carnival. Our participants will be writing and sharing their stories about community support and normalizing breastfeeding all week long. Find more participating sites in the list at the bottom of this post or at the main carnival page.
This year's World Breastfeeding Week theme is Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers. In that spirit, I'm sharing my stories in the hopes of contributing to the dialogue about real-life breastfeeding experiences.
This post is my State of the Union address on how nursing my second-born is going. I don't find as much to say about it on a daily or weekly basis, because it just
is. But I will attempt to elucidate and evaluate:
Smooth sailing
The good news is, everything's mostly just great. We haven't encountered any major nursing problems (mastitis, clogged ducts, nursing strikes, tongue tie, low milk supply, etc.), so I'm one lucky ducky. Alrik's got a good latch still, the milk's flowing, I don't have nursing aversion with him (the way I did with his older brother before he weaned), and I'd long established a routine and wardrobe for easy nursing.
How much and how often
As for frequency , he's nursing many times a day and at least a few times a night (more on that later). He nurses more often if I'm around and he's not otherwise distracted; in other words, if he's bored. Sometimes, if I suspect that's why he's asking to nurse, I'll set about distracting him if I'm not in the mood. I feel fine about that. If Sam or I think he's thirsty, we might also offer a drink of something else. His longer nursing sessions are going to bed, going down for a nap, waking up from a nap, and waking up from his nighttime sleep, when he has to have both sides and actual milk flow. The ones during the day otherwise are usually much quicker and can end as soon as something else catches his attention. Of course, if he's distraught about something, nummies are very soothing.
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living. 
