New Waldorf Channel Show July 29.2008
At: www.TheWaldorfChannel.com
Click on: "Storytelling" and it will be at the top of the page
Waldorf Storytelling
7-minute clip from "Home and Hearth Conference" in El Paso, TX 2008
This 7-minute clip gives insight into different types of storytellers and how to start storytelling with your own family or class. Advanced storytellers can find inspiration here too!
You can also purchase the full 75-minute workshop for only 12.50 on DVD at:
The Herb'n Home Store
Or purchase the download (Ipod or video download) for only 7.50 at:
Storytelling Download
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
New Waldorf Channel Show! Waldorf Storytelling
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Enough Philosophy - Let's EAT!
All that driving just makes me so reflective and philosophical. Can you tell from my last four posts? LOL! So now something to "earth" me...baking. When you find your head in the clouds...baking is a wonderful way to balance yourself. My daughter did think I was a bit "nutty" for taking pictures of our bread but...it just looked so YUMMY I wanted to share it with everyone...
Tonight I noticed we had some Zataar sitting on the counter. You can find it at any Middle Eastern or African store or you can make your own with the following recipe:
Zaatar
1/2 cup excellent-quality Mediterranean thyme
1/4 cup sumaq
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup sumaq
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
DirectionsGrind the savory, sumac, salt and sesame seed in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder until you obtain a fine powder. Keep in a sealed jar in a cool, dark and dry place.
This is one of my favorite spice mixtures in the world for the following reasons:
1. It tastes amazing!
2. It is one of the few healthy things that Sofi LOVES
3. The thyme in it helps clean parasites out of the system and kids love it so it is an easy way to cleanse the kids :)
4. The sesame seeds in it are high in vitamin E, which helps the skin stay young-looking and clear of blemishes. Vitamin E is also a wonderful anti-oxidant.
I could go on forever...but the short version of this is that "Zaatar Bread" is amazingly healthy (ww flour, olive oil and spices) and YUMMY!!!
Whenever I make Zataar bread I start with a pita bread recipe and I make half the recipe Zaatar bread and the other half regular pita bread. The instructions are below...
Pita Bread
3 cups ww flour
1 tsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 TBS. olive oil
Warm the flour. Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of water. Add salt, sugar and remaining water. Stir yeast mix and 1 cup of the flour until it is a bit thick. Cover with a cloth and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining flour, knead until smooth and turn into an oiled bowl. Let sit 1.5 hours until doubled (we went grocery shopping and left it on the counter).
To Make Zaatar Bread:
Punch down the dough and divide the portions into the size of a child's palm. Roll each portion into a "pancake". Let sit for 10 minutes.
Brush olive oil onto bread dough. Cover with Zaatar mix and squash the mix into the olive oil so it is mixed in with it.
Put into a 450 degree oven and bake on an oiled cookie sheet for 5-7 minutes.
Enjoy warm!
To Make Regular Pita Bread (with hollow inside!):
Punch down the dough and divide it into portions about the size of a child's palm. Roll each portion into a ball and let sit for 15 minutes (or up to one hour if you have somewhere to go). Cover with a damp cloth.
See how much they rise under the cloth?
After some time take the cloth off and roll each circle into a flat round "pancake". Let each of these sit for 20 minutes under a warm cloth.
Pop into the pre-heated 450 degree oven and let bake for 5 minutes on an oiled cookie sheet or baking stone.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Natural Living: How to Use/and or Print Online Materials
Dear Parents,
Are you still on a learning curve with all the online resources out there?
Did you know you can save hundreds and perhaps thousands of trees a year by using online books and materials? It takes some time to get used to and it is a gradual process but the end result is worth it for the environment, for your organization at home, for your budget, and for the future of our earth.
One reason I avoided online materials for so long was because I wanted the "feel" of the book in my hands and I wanted the book on my shelf. I felt that a book was more "natural" than using electronic books - even if it was the same book (most classic books are available for free online now). It is a bit like my struggle when I converted to digital cameras. I was a professional photographer and had been using those big sturdy manual cameras for years but the amount of waste created by the film tubes, film, and paper packaging was upsetting for me. Having worked in a photography lab in college I also knew how toxic the chemicals were for the environment. I would have to say that the person who invented digital photography has done one of the best things for the environment of anyone on earth. Although we try to keep our home as non-electric as possible I finally realized that my purchase of so many paper items (books, newspapers, magazines) was harming the environment and that by switching many of these items to a digital source I could really make a difference.
When I lived overseas for years without a public library or affordable bookstore I was even more motivated to try out the digital world. The cost of printed homeschool materials and books was also a motivating factor. Keep in mind, also, that although we in America have bookstores and/or libraries on every corner, than much of the world does not have these resources so readily available to them location-wise or budget-wise. This is an issue of the environment for some, but an issue of necessity for others.
There were a number of online resources back in 1996 when I started using them for homeschooling but using them was a challenge. Here are some of the "tricks and tips" I used to get me through those book-less years and some new ideas too:
Did you know you can save hundreds and perhaps thousands of trees a year by using online books and materials? It takes some time to get used to and it is a gradual process but the end result is worth it for the environment, for your organization at home, for your budget, and for the future of our earth.
One reason I avoided online materials for so long was because I wanted the "feel" of the book in my hands and I wanted the book on my shelf. I felt that a book was more "natural" than using electronic books - even if it was the same book (most classic books are available for free online now). It is a bit like my struggle when I converted to digital cameras. I was a professional photographer and had been using those big sturdy manual cameras for years but the amount of waste created by the film tubes, film, and paper packaging was upsetting for me. Having worked in a photography lab in college I also knew how toxic the chemicals were for the environment. I would have to say that the person who invented digital photography has done one of the best things for the environment of anyone on earth. Although we try to keep our home as non-electric as possible I finally realized that my purchase of so many paper items (books, newspapers, magazines) was harming the environment and that by switching many of these items to a digital source I could really make a difference.
When I lived overseas for years without a public library or affordable bookstore I was even more motivated to try out the digital world. The cost of printed homeschool materials and books was also a motivating factor. Keep in mind, also, that although we in America have bookstores and/or libraries on every corner, than much of the world does not have these resources so readily available to them location-wise or budget-wise. This is an issue of the environment for some, but an issue of necessity for others.
There were a number of online resources back in 1996 when I started using them for homeschooling but using them was a challenge. Here are some of the "tricks and tips" I used to get me through those book-less years and some new ideas too:
A. Read the news online - you have access to more news that way anyway. I read from a variety of different news sources online.
B. Shop online instead of getting magazines. This can save many trees each year. Write to the companies that send you magazines and request that they stop.
C. Make sure ALL of your bills, credit cards and bank accounts bill you electronically. Most all have this as an option now, and this alone has eliminated FOUR BOXES of paper a year from my house.
For books that must be printed out (like children's books with pictures or music that you will need over and over) I use a few different methods depending on where they will be used...
For books that must be printed out (like children's books with pictures or music that you will need over and over) I use a few different methods depending on where they will be used...
1. For children's books I usually print them out on stiff water-color/recycled paper, punch holes in them and then bind them with natural yarn. This creates a charming and affordable children's book. There are some lovely children's books available for free (vintage) online with gorgeous pictures as well as some modern ones that can be downloaded for about 1/4-1/3 of the cost of the printed book. Printing at home is more energy efficient than the large printing machines used to create "real" books and uses less ink as well. You can choose to print on recycled papers, using environmentally safer products. On average you will also save 8 sheets of paper per book plus the cardboard used to make the cover. This may not seem like a big deal but over time and multiplied by hundreds of people this can make a big difference. You can also be assured that the materials you are using are disposed of properly and in an environmentally safe way. I have started offering my children's books for sale in this format at: The Dream Angels Publishing
2. You can also use photo paper if you want the pictures to pop out at your more or you want a sturdier "book", although this has less of a "natural" feel about it and is less environmentally sound.
3. When a book is going to be used often, like our verse books, I print out the pages, tuck them into plastic page savers and put them in a little folder/binder.
4. When I am printing out something like lesson plans (from http://www.earthschooling.com/) I print out only what I need and I put it in an organized binder. Some of the plans can be read and other items need to be printed out (like verses). I usually read the recipes or craft instructions off the computer screen by setting the computer near the area we will be working and then covering it with a pretty silk scarf when not in use. With stories, since I will be TELLING them rather than reading them, I usually read them the night before on the computer and then practice telling them that evening. Since the telling of the story is very personal I don't need to memorize it anyway, I just need to remember some of the details, any repeating lines and the general story line.
5. novels and longer books that you might be reading, and especially online courses I recommend reading online or using a hand-held device like the Amazon.com KINDLE. This is a reading device that allows you to read online books as if you were holding a book. It also has its own built in book-light. As a parent dedicated to Waldorf education and natural living I always consider any electronic purchases very carefully and this one has passed my "test". It is a bit like struggle when I converted to digital cameras that I mentioned above. Like I said before... the person who invented digital photography has done one of the best things for the environment of anyone on earth. I am hoping the same for the Amazon Kindle. We are a society of information and long distance communication. Even the rising gas prices are pushing more and more people to online studies (http://www.theavicennainstitute.com/) . And, as homeschoolers, we use many online resources. Using an electronic reading device can save hundreds of trees in just one year. Eventually the book industry would adapt in the same way the music industry has and we will be able to save more and more.
However, not all books can be read electronically. I am not looking to eliminate books! Just to eliminate the waste of paper on books or documents that we don't need to read over and over and have printed out ( see above). Every little bit counts. There are 650 people on this mailing list. If everyone printed out one book today instead of purchasing it we would have saved 650 book covers and over 5,000 sheets of paper! If we all read Tuesday's paper online instead of getting it on our porch we would have saved thousands and thousands of sheets of paper.
Once again, I am not advocating that everyone switch to electronics, only that we make more informed and thoughtful decisions about what books we purchase, what we print out and what we don't print. A balance, rather than going to one extreme or the other...
I hope this has helped inspire you to use some more of the online resources that are available out there today (http://www.earthschooling.com/ and http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/ ) and has given you some ideas on how you can do that most efficiently. If you have any ideas to share please post them in the comments section.
And keep in mind that a lot of the effort here will be in getting used to thinking about what you read in a different way. Many students and parents I have worked with (in printing out hundreds of pages of online lesson plans and lessons) have initially felt the need to print out everything and organize it so they could "work better" or "see everything", but many of these same students and parents have found that this need has lessened over time.
And another helpful tip I learned from a student - if you absolutely cannot stand to have your materials online and you need to print out hundreds of pages consider logging into http://www.kinkos.com/ - you can send them PDFs (all the files at http://www.earthschooling.com/ and http://www.theavicennainstitute.com/ are in PDF) and they will print and bind it for you so you can pick it up at any of their locations around the United States. This can STILL save you money as well as paper. Printing and binding still saves at least those 8 sheets of paper and the cover.
Blessings & Health,
Kristie
Blessings & Health,
Kristie
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Pony Express
We made an interesting stop today on our way to Boulder, CO. We stopped at an old pony express station in Nebraska. It was just a little shack but they had an old saddle, a map and some more relics from the ole pony express days. And I leared something new! I didn't realize that the pony express only lasted for 19 months and 7 days. Aparently, there were three men that started this mail service and created stations over hundreds of miles long. Men would ride the horses a certain amount of time and then pick up a new horse to ride some more. They advertised that they were "searching for brave men to take a job with risk involved: orphans prefered". However, sadly for me (who thinks mail by pony would be "cool") and, luckily for the "orphans and brave men", the telegraph put them out of business and then the trains came soon after that to deliver the mail. History is so interesting!
The MasterCard Ad for Our Trip
Gas to get from Des Moines, Iowa to Boulder, Co - An unmentionable amount of money.
Sandwich at a roadside snack shop - $5.00.
Postcard of Nebraska to send to a friend - .25
Buying slingshots at the Pony Express museum to bring to grandma's house...PRICELESS.
(LOL...but she was so good about it...instead of banning them she said they could play outside with them :)
Blessings & Health,
Kristie
www.TheWaldorfChannel.com
Friday, July 11, 2008
New Book by Kristie Available as a Download OR Hardcover
This can now be found at www.BEarthBLOG.com
Sunday, July 6, 2008
New Show on The Waldorf Channel : A Waldorf 4th of July
This can now be found at:
http://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/?page_id=2303
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Nature Walk Adventures
Our newest series on The Waldorf Channel is a series of nature walk adventures and you are welcome to share your own! Have you seen a deer, fox or other animal while walking? Did you make something beautiful in the woods? Videos in this series will be focused on the unusual, inspirational and/or educational. I will not be including videos of people walking in the woods and doing nothing. Although these kinds of videos may be beautiful I am aiming to create a series that is more educational and unusual. If you have anything to contribute please contact Kristie at: herbnhome@yahoo.com
I do have many clips to share, but I decided to start small. This one is a very short clip of a chipmunk chirping. Did you know that chipmunks chirp? I never knew...I always thought it was the birds...until one day the sound was driving me crazy so I went outside to see what the ruckus was and I found something like this little guy...tune in and see. Your kids will be watching those chipmonks very closely after seeing THIS 30-second clip!
Chipmunk Chirp at The Waldorf Channel
Blessings & Health,
Kristie
http://www.earthschooling.com/
A Waldorf Independence Celebrations - Global and 4th of July
This can now be found at www.BEarthBLOG.com
Friday, July 4, 2008
The 4th of July Fairy
Waldorf Member Question #22: CarSchooling
Dear Waldorf Parents,
The following is a little schedule I made up for one of the members of the Waldorf Enrichment Program Online to help her with some ideas for a carschooling schedule. I hope it is inspiring to you too during your summer of travel - even if that travel is just to the local park or pool!
Dear S,
I have made a sample schedule for the week to give you some ideas. I have used most my curriculum as you requested. However, I did want to also take into consideration what your children are working on right now and what they are doing outside of the Waldorf Enrichment. I have used the April lesson plans as an example since that is what you have. If you would like more details on something please tell me. I hope this is closer to what you were looking for.
General Outline
Monday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work - Take from circle time verses
Three hour wait
Circle Time - Can include yoga, verses, chatting, prayer, meditation, stretches, anything regular that you need to do each day when you get out of the car and need to center yourselves again.
Lunch
Story/Math (Set the theme for the week) - All three ages
Rest - This can be a walk, sitting, reading, whatever each person finds restful. You will need a rest a bit after the intense morning of working and driving.
1 hour car ride
Math Practice - All three ages
Tuesday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Story/Language (set the theme for rest of the week) - All three ages
Rest
1 hour car ride
Language Practice - All three ages
Wednesday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Story/Knitting/Handiwork
Rest
1 hour car ride
Math & Language Practice
Thursday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Story/Drawing & Art
Rest
1 hour car ride
Math & Language Practice
Friday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Science Story
Field Trip/Nature Walk - You can have more of these if opportunity presents itself. And you can combine these with other lessons. For example, on the knitting or handiwork o drawing day you could have a short lesson and then take a field trip OR you could do a longer lesson IN an interesting location, like drawing in the art museum, knitting in a fancy cafe or the library or a rose garden or on a boat...
Rest
1 hour car ride
Math & Language Practice
Notes: I included math practice daily in the car ride home because a lot of the math is verbal, memorization, practice and a state of mind, rather than the lesson itself. You said that they needed more math practice so doing it daily at the same time will help as math is inherently rhythmic so it will help to have it at the same time each day. Also, many studies have shown that movement helps to learn math and CAR movement is a good substitute for body movement. I find that movement of any kind increases learning abilities even if it is just a train or a car.
I used the April lesson plans to add the details...however, you can "plug in" other lessons you are doing or request me to send you additional literature for those lessons. For example, when I mention language work...this is a good time to bring in the study of history as you will be studying it through language.
Circle time can be anything you create - it is a time for centering and coming together as a family. Choose some verses and/or music from the lessons. Bring a Kinder-harp and/or recorder along with you and create your own circle time. It will take some time...but it will become something wonderful. If the kids don't like the singing at first you can do Yoga or prayer or just chat. You can make it 10 minutes long or an hour long...whatever suits you.
Note - I have started the week "easier" - peaked in the middle with more intense work and then ended with Friday being a more restful day. You may want to re-arrange this if you family has a different rhythm.
Now here are some details filled in from April for one week...
Monday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work - Take from circle time verses - Give each child a verse to work on - one verse and don't change the verse this week until they have "mastered" it in their own way. Then go on to the next verse. Start with the smaller verses or parts of verses. There are a lot of nice poets introduced in the monthly verses. This work will help them with their reading and writing skills.
4 year old - recite a verse to him and have him create a play to go with this verse. You can supply some clay or dough for him to make the figures that go with this verse. He can perform the "play" in the car or when you arrive. You can also allow him to draw it or color it if he prefers but the clay work is the best - you can use play dough if you are concerned about the effects of clay or homemade play dough on the car.
3rd grader - Write a verse in the main lesson book. Have him copy the verse from what you wrote and label the parts of speech - you choose - one day he can label the nouns, one day the verbs, etc...
7th grader - Write a verse or passage in her main lesson book - or have her copy one from her history or other book she is working on. Have her choose ten vocabulary words that she wants to work on that week. Have her read some of the lesson (choose ahead of time how much is suitable) and then write a summary of that in her own words or (this is fun) create a "historical fiction" account of what she read using herself, you and siblings as characters OR write a "modern" account of what she read - transposing all the events into what they would be in the modern day.
Three hour wait
Circle Time - Can include yoga, verses, chatting, prayer, meditation, stretches, anything regular that you need to do each day when you get out of the car and need to center yourselves again.
Lunch
Story/Math (Set the theme for the week) - All three ages
All: Nassrudin - which is more important...the sun or the moon? (circles)
4-year-old - Form drawing circles by tracing - block crayons to fill them in.
3rd Grade - Drawing circles and measurement of diameter/radius/circumference. Bring a tape measure and have him find things around you and draw a little sketch and write down the DIAMETER ONLY. of each of these things.
7th Grade - Geometry creation of Eastern Designs with circles.
Rest - This can be a walk, sitting, reading, whatever each person finds restful. You will need a rest a bit after the intense morning of working and driving.
1 hour car ride
Math Practice - All three ages
4-year-old - draw things WITH circles. Ask him to see how many pictures he can make from a circle. Sort of like the game "How many words can you make from this one word?"
3rd Grader - As you are driving have him tell you the diameter of each of the things he has sketched and have him figure out the radius and circumference from this information.
7th Grader - Have her finish her circular art and write a short evaluation of it or TELL you an evaluation of it. What has she learned about geometry from these patterns (there will be a lot and some surprises).
Tuesday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Story/Language (set the theme for rest of the week) - All three ages
4 Year Old - V, W, X - Have him act out the verses for these letters and find these letters in nature or around him. (See Sixth Sense Language)
3rd Grader - The Story of Creation (or other unit story you are working on this week...you can also choose from another story in the 3rd grade lesson plans if you want a more secular unit) - take the time to copy this story (or part of it) over in the main lesson book with the verbs in one color, nouns in one color and adjectives in another color. Choose some vocabulary words from the reading for him to write about OR tell you a story about. OR create a crossword puzzle with (I used to love doing that with words)
7th Grader - You said she is losing interest in reading. Perhaps a way to get her interested again would be to have her read a bit in her history lesson (or you can do what I did and READ the lesson yourself and TELL her the story (not read it to her) in storytelling style. You don't have to prepare this ahead of time. You could read the lesson while the kids are working and then TELL it after that. While you are reading it she could be reading a historical fiction novel of the same era. I have found this is a very good way to get children interested in history and reading again.
Rest
1 hour car ride
Language Practice - All three ages
Wednesday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Story/Knitting/Handiwork
4 - Finger-knitted Flowers (or other items...I have a list I can share with you)
3rd: Knitted rabbit (easy version)
7th: Knitted rabbit - start with easy version or hard version and move on...
Rest
1 hour car ride
Math & Language Practice
Thursday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Stories:4 years: The Golden Goose (Egg is almost a circle :) OR
The Pot that Died
3rd: The Dandelion
7th: Do You Know Why I Came Here Today? This story is actually intended for adults to learn from but it spans many many ages of people. Point out that in the story the people run a full circle of what they want to say, and end up where they started. What lesson can you learn from this? Can you incorporate this lesson into the mandala?
Story/Drawing & Art - Mandala (Art/Geometry)
4th - Take the circles from earlier in the week - create mandalas (see lesson plans)
3rd - Same
7th - Same
This is an activity that they all can do. Follow the lesson plans and you will find that each child can create their own mandala and it will be on their level of skill.
Rest
1 hour car ride
Math & Language Practice
Friday
1 hour car ride
Verses/Writing Work
Three hour wait
Circle Time
Lunch
Science Story:
The Butterfly Brothers (9-11)
A Drop of Water from Fairyland of Science or A Drop of Water from PRE/KG lessons.
How The Apple Blossom Came Back
Field Trip/Nature Walk - You can have more of these if opportunity presents itself. And you can combine these with other lessons. For example, on the knitting or handiwork o drawing day you could have a short lesson and then take a field trip OR you could do a longer lesson IN an interesting location, like drawing in the art museum, knitting in a fancy cafe or the library or a rose garden or on a boat. Another idea - take a craft or handiwork from the lesson plans that is difficult to do away from home (like henna or cooking) and find somewhere you can do something similar in town. Is there a cooking school in town? Can you bring some cooking supplies with you? The herb tahini balls can be made without a kitchen! Is there an Indian shop that does henna? Etc...
Rest
1 hour car ride
Math & Language Practice
More on Rhythm
Kristie,
I appreciated your broad answers to the consulting question about developing rhythm. I wonder if you could be a bit more specific about how you balance your family's rhythm with each child's flow. How often do you revisit your rhythm and readjust? Also, do you have your children get involved in designing the daily/weekly rhythm in your home or do you do that on your own? In other words, is there a "buy-in" in advance?
Thank you, M
Dear M,
Did the Organization and the Temperaments Lecture/E-book help on this question? I think you have that now - right? If I had answered this a couple weeks ago I would have said some things to that effect. However, I didn't have the charts available at that time when you asked the question and now I do...so I think that is more helpful.
Other than the charts/lecture that you downloaded from http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/ I would say....
I revisit rhythms about once every three weeks. But that is because I am one of those Sanguine "go with the flow" and always fixing and adjusting things. Some other types seem to be able to find a rhythm and stick with it all year. But we are always tweaking things and the kids DO get involved. I create an initial schedule based on my OBSERVATIONS of them and I also let them create their own schedules for things too. So this is our recipe:
Recipe of Our Schedule
1 cup of mom writes the schedule out based on her observations
1 cup of mom writes a schedule based on their type
1/4 cup of child writes their own schedule for something like spelling words or other activities
1/8 cup of child suggests alterations to the schedule I created
Stir all together and make a chart. Post it in a public place. Allow children to comment on it and suggest changes. Let each change simmer for a week before any changes can be made because sometimes things need time to settle and it is not that the change is not working ... It is just that you may need some time to get used to it. After the chart simmers for a week you can enjoy it. After 3 weeks check on it and see how it is working out. If things need to be changed you can either add some spices to it, add more ingredients or completely start from scratch!
One example is we have a visiting schedule because otherwise our household gets overwhelmed with neighbor kids and I get overwhelmed with the question "Can so and so come over today??" Yikes! I started out allowing them to trade off every other week with a sleep over and then have kids over once a week on a certain day for each of them. As summer nears and we relax on school work I allow them to have people over more often. I also realized that a sleepover every weekend was too much for ME so I changed it to rotate with all THREE of us...so now, every three weeks I get a Friday that is MINE! No friends allowed. Sometimes we go out as a family. Sometimes I just laze around the house.
Does this help? If I left out anything you can certainly write back. You might also post some of the questions to the Members list. The question you had about a "buy in" is a good one. My kids don't really get a buy-in initially. But they know they can tweak things and that I will listen if they decide to create their own charts. A few months ago my son created his own chart on how to get his spelling done every week. I was totally shocked. But with no help from me he now has a plan and it is the same plan every week and he does it like clockwork every week! (He is a melancholic of course!). It might be fun to see what sort of buy-in other parents give their kids with the schedule.
That said, some days I just ditch the schedule altogether and we "Unschool"!
Blessings & Health,
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND
Mother to Mosi, 13, Sunii, 11, Sofi, 9
Living in Des Moines, IOWA after travelling the world :)
http://www.earthschooling.com/
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http://www.buyaunicorn.com/
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