Earthwise Ways Homeschool

Nature-centred and ever-learning at Pixie Hollow

Bittersweet Success

Filed under: My Pixie, Unschooling — Stephanie at 9:18 pm on Thursday, June 28, 2007

Pixie had her assessment today and has surpassed the requirements for first grade, her evaluator was very impressed with what she has studied and learned over the last school year.  I am basking in the validation that I’ve done a good job my first official year homeschooling. Sadly due to our new circumstances I will have to enroll her in public school for a year or two, it breaks my heart but I suppose this will give her the chance to see how the other half live.

So for now entries here will be sporadic, I will continue homeschooling in addition to public schooling but not to the extent I’d like to be.

what a difference a year can make..

Filed under: Links, Reading, Writing, 'rithmetic — Stephanie at 9:14 pm on Monday, May 28, 2007

It seemed that not too long ago I was worried that Pixie was not reading at the level she should. Silly me. I look over the last year and fast-forward to today where, ten hours later after our first visit to the local library to get our library cards and a stack each of books, she has gone to bed having read four books cover to cover. Samantha and the Missing Pearls, Kirsten on the Trail, Meet Kirsten, and Good Night Fairies-this last of which is a sweet story with amazing artwork. To glance over and see my sweet girlie curled up in a chair, on the couch or standing under the crabapple tree in bloom, her nose in a book, is the happiest moments for me as a voracious reader myself. As usual I worried over nothing and had several of you telling me just that.

You may now commence with the ‘I told you so’s…lol

Filed under: This and that — Stephanie at 11:43 am on Sunday, May 13, 2007

On this Mother’s Day..

fed up

Filed under: This and that — Stephanie at 9:11 am on Thursday, May 10, 2007

It seems this site is having the same template issues as the Wordpress site which is highly frustrating!  I have decided to move My Green Dream off of Wordpress.com and instead morph my regular site over to my generously-hosted-by-my-friend-Eliz domain.  I’m thinking I’ll move Earthwise Ways Homeschool over to it’s own category.  I tried this before and had fits but I have something like 6 blogs so something’s got to give…lol

Bealltainn and why I’m no PTA MOM

Filed under: My Pixie, This and that, Turn of the Wheel — Stephanie at 2:05 pm on Saturday, May 5, 2007

Today we celebrate Bealltainn with a faery tea party. Supposedly my sister, niece and nephew are coming but a time was never set so who knows. Either way we have some yummy stuff to eat, berry trifle, tea sandwiches and a gorgonzola and shallot quiche with chives. Not sure what my sister is bringing, she mentioned faery cakes…

Last night I attended a meeting for something I am doing for Pixie’s dance school. I spent an hour completely out of my element with a room full of women who are mothers to students there. I observed the interactions and between many of these women and I realised I could never do the PTA mom shuffle. What is this “shuffle”? Well, it’s my lame term for women with children who, besides talking ad nauseum about their children and husbands are all sweet and cutesy friendly with one another but give them five minutes with a smaller group and they rip the others to shreds. I don’t get that! I am an all or nothing kind of gal, there is no grey area for me where adult interactions are concerned. I either like a person or I don’t, I will not subject myself to bitchy women who seemingly delight in trashing their so called friends with mutual friends. It is in my opinion pointless to work on sustaining a relationship with someone you do not like or respect. Why waste precious time and energy. Ah..one more example of how I stand apart from the mainstream, low tolerance for BS. lol

we’re home.

Filed under: My Pixie — Stephanie at 8:08 pm on Saturday, April 21, 2007

Today was the last trip out to our former home, Pixie remain here with her grandmother and I went, armed with family, to retrieve the last of our belongings and my garden plants. It was terrible and I am so glad that it’s now over. How her father could have morphed into someone so hateful and nasty, who puts his married girlfriend over his own child is beyond me.

I say it frequently and I’ll say it again, we are so much better off without him, I hope for Pixie’s wellbeing, as so far he cannot be bothered to make any contact with her, that we never hear from him again, I want to spare her the pain of a selfish, inconsistent father. She is blossoming and thriving here, I have never seen her so happy and content. Tomorrow we shall enjoy the day by planting seeds, finding homes for the plants I brought home today and celebrating a birthday party with our family.

Allowing Our Children To Be

Filed under: This and that — Stephanie at 8:22 am on Friday, April 20, 2007

This is interesting, I’ve practised attachment parenting her entire life…lol

(From DailyOM)
Practicing Nonattachment

Parenting asks us to rise to some of the most difficult challenges this world has to offer, and one of its greatest paradoxes arises around the issue of attachment. On the one hand, successful parenting requires that we love our children, and most of us love in a very attached way. On the other hand, it also requires that we let go of our children at the appropriate times, which means we must practice some level of nonattachment. Many parents find this difficult because we love our children fiercely, more than we will ever love anyone, and this can cause us to overstep our bounds with them as their independence grows. Yet truly loving them requires that we set them free. Attachment to outcome is perhaps the greatest obstacle on the parenting path, and the one that teaches us the most about the importance of practicing nonattachment. We commonly perceive our children to be extensions of ourselves, imagining that we know what’s best for them, but our children are people in their own right with their own paths to follow in this world. They may be called to move in directions we fear, don’t respect, or don’t understand, yet we must let them go. This letting go happens gradually throughout our lives with our children until we finally honor them as fully grown adults who no longer require our guidance. At this point, it is important that we treat them as peers who may or may not seek our input into their lives. This allows them, and us, to fully realize the greatest gift parents can offer their offspring -independence.Letting go in any area of life requires a deep trust in the universe, in the overall meaning and purpose of existence. Remembering that there is more to us and our children than meets the eye can help us practice nonattachment, even when we feel overwhelmed by concern and the desire to interfere. We are all souls making our way in the world and making our way, ultimately, back to the same source. This can be our mantra as we let our children go in peace and confidence.

real mothers

Filed under: Links — Stephanie at 7:54 am on Tuesday, April 17, 2007

I’ve been tagged by Emily. The idea of this is to fill in the blanks:
“Real Mothers blank blank blank.” And add a photo (or not as the case may be). Then tag other mothers. 

So here’s mine:

Real mothers do the work that hazardous waste removers wear special gear for

(no photo, thought I’d spare the reader…lol)

reading…

Filed under: Dragonflies & Faery wings, Reading, Writing, 'rithmetic — Stephanie at 5:45 pm on Monday, April 16, 2007

Yesterday we braved the messy beginnings of the Northeaster to travel halfway across town to the bookstore.  The day before I found the lost $50 of Pixie’s that disappeared on our vacation in January (it was stuffed into my pants pocket..oops!) so she was armed with cashola and spent the lot at the bookstore on a collection of faery themed books.  We found a few others that she liked that we’ll get later on.  So I had my first Pagan meet and greet with someone I met via Covenspace and we sat and chatted while Pixie poured through several books.  She came home with Fairyopolis, a bargain book of fairy jigsaw puzzles and # 3 and 4 in the Fairy Realm series.

I realised last week, as I stare out a a cold and gloomy mid-April, that Pixie never did her annual waking of the trees.  I need to get a new wand made for her (as the other one is packed somewhere) and send her out to wake the trees, maybe then Spring will begin!!

my child is brilliant!

Filed under: This and that — Stephanie at 1:57 pm on Saturday, April 14, 2007

and other proud mum moments…

While we have not had a more regular schedule Pixie has been learning, beauty of unschooling. Interests of late include old western movies, courtesy of my mother, which spurred an interest in watching a biography on Davy Crockett this morning. We’ve discovered that she’s key in getting my niece to do her homework when she’s here. Niece found that Pixie could answer her homework (Pixie is “grade one” and niece is in grade 3 in public school). Niece did not like that one bit and quickly stopped her crying tantrum and got to work.

I am hoping to get our computer from our former residence for her use, so she can use various programs, some of which she got for Yule. We shall see what her father says, I could just go and take it but why stoop to his level. In the meantime I’ll focus on utilising local sources. I also have to send in a new intent to HS to the local school district and contact our former district that we have left the area, I got the letter a week or so ago that I have to think about making arrangements for her review and assessment. ACK!! Her portfolio is nowhere near complete and is scattered throughout several different boxes.

I need a nap. ;)

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