Hello old friend

Wow, I have not been here in a while! Lots of changes going on in my life, but we are still going strong. The girls are getting so big. Goldie is almost through first grade, and Bella will start Kindergarten in the fall. Time flies when you have kids. It is fun to look back through this blog from time to time and reminisce. I have been focused on a different blog lately, it is called Frocks and Frivolities. It is more for me, an outlet away from kids, lol. It centers on our new life in the Pacific NW, thats right we moved, and my love of vintage! The girls do make occasional appearances though.

We are no longer focusing on Montessori because in our new place we just don't have the space to set up even a small Montessori area. Our place is beyond tiny! Nor do I feel motivated to spend as much time making materials or learning all of the new elementary lessons. We do hold to many principals though and we try to keep the girls as involved in hands on learning and independent living as we can. We are now enrolled in a K12 online school, which is OK, but not ideal. It is however pretty flexible so we try to incorporate some Montessori where we can. We did read the great lessons and do the accompanying experiments because it fit so nicely in with the science for K12, and the history for their program did not pick up until early man, so I felt like they needed a bit more of the big picture. We still work a lot with the golden beads. I have to say that our background in Montessori has really helped Goldie excel in math. she is so far ahead of her target in the program. I feel like life has taken me in a new direction and I am ready to find a bit more of myself in life. I have spent so many years now focused completely on the kids, which is great, but I have often neglected my other interests. I am now trying to grow personally. (Not that I won't still be focused on the girls, of course I will, but just not so exclusively.) My presence online will now be more a reflection of where I am now, my life, my family, my art, and my love of all things vintage. Stop by my new blog if you want I would love to see some familiar faces. I will be leaving this space up because I think it is still useful and fun to see what has transpired in the past. I am constantly surprised to see new page views on my counter every day! So maybe some of you are still referencing it at times, too.

Well I guess this is goodbye, so long old friend!

Camp Mac

We have played lots of dress up!

We are off to a great summer. There have been kids in and out of our house each week and we have done so much already. Here are a few images of life at Camp Mac.

We made pretzels.

Our homemade slip n' slide complete with two daddies
to pull kids along.

The fun continues even when daddies tire.

Yummy picnics

More baking

Plenty of story time

Cleaning veggies
Fresh from the garden

Lots of painting

and June is not even over yet...

Moving to Portland!

So I have not been around here much lately because life has been crazy! I really do want to get back into posting regularly but I am afraid it might be a while before that happens... I have had all sorts of things happen from job losses to computers down, but the biggest thing is that we have decided to move to Portland OR! We are starting over fresh in the place we want to be, and though I am sad to leave behind my friends and family here, especially my parents :(, I am so excited to be heading back out west. Portland is the place I want to be and I think that there will be a lot more opportunity for my family out there. There is so much to do here before we go though. We have one last summer in TN with friends and family, and I intend to make the most of it. Summer begins for us tomorrow. So much to do and so little time! I will try to get some pictures up here soon, lol.

The Mushroom log

A few weeks ago my husband bought a mushroom log from a local mushroom shop. It grows a blue oyster mushrooms. While I was out of town last month he created a unit on mushrooms and he and the girls read about and observed the mushroom log. It had its first harvest while I was gone too. The collected and cooked with some of the mushrooms and then dried the rest for later use. Last week we had a second harvest, this one was smaller and I only had enough for the dinner I was cooking, but they were yummy! We are now waiting to see if it will grow any more or not. It can have anywhere from 1-4 harvests before it is spent. Next I think we are going to try to grow shiitake mushrooms in an old oak log in our yard, you can get mushroom plugs for an existing log, mmmm.

Link to fun givaway

http://livingmontessorinow.com/ This link to Living Montessori Now will take you to a wonderful giveaway that she is having to celebrate her blogiversary! She has two grand prizes from Montessori Print Shop and a second prize as well! Go check it out.

Montessori Study

I have spent a good deal of time over the last few years studying Montessori in varying capacities. I began with the birth of my second daughter Bella to study Assistance to Infancy through NAMC which is an online training program to certify teachers. Though I did not necessarily feel qualified to lead a classroom with only that training, I did feel like it was an invaluable resource in understanding my own children better. I felt like it provided me with the tools to meet their needs during their early years. It also peaked my interest in the further study of Montessori. After I completed my online class I began a Montessori based co-op in my home where the girls and I began to use the principals I learned, we invited other families to join us in our discovery, though I was clear that I was not a teacher there to teach them Montessori. It was instead a place for like minded parents to explore how Montessori could fit into our lives in a supportive environment. Many of my early posts are from this time. It was also during this time that I began to research other training in hopes of one day being able to provide my children with a Montessori education. I researched AMI, AMS, and MEI (Which is a local MACTE certified training based on the St. Nicholas training center.) Though there were aspects I liked of each I ultimately decided to go with MEI because it was local, more affordable, and still offered the hands on which I felt was missing from the previous NAMC training. I spent the next two years studying with them. In that training it is a combination of intensive in class sessions over two summers and independent work researching theory topics and submitting essays based on our understanding. There is also a large amount of material making, observations, student teaching, and exams involved in the training. I completed the two summers of hands on lessons, and about half of the essays. During my time with them I enrolled my children at a local AMI school. I later began working at the school as their aftercare teacher and substitute. One day my director came to me with a proposition. She was expecting and was going to need to step down as primary guide. She offered me the position, but it would mean that I would need to complete my AMI training because AMI schools are required to have AMI trained guides. I accepted the offer and with my schools sponsorship I set out to begin my three summer training at MINT in Dallas Texas. I completed the first summer there last summer, and this past week I completed the winter seminar which gave me a certificate of completion for the first portion of the AMI training. During my time with MINT we covered, Practical Life, Sensorial, Art, Music, Culture/Geography, and the first half of Language. I felt like my time with MEI helped me in my training with AMI by providing me with prior understanding and experience about both the theory and the application of the method. Though there were subtle differences particularly in the area of Language presentations I felt like both trainings were very thorough and both followed the writings on Dr. Montessori completely as they understood them. There were things which I liked better about each training program, but I felt that both equally prepared me to be in a classroom. This year has been a time of great discovery but also a time of great change in my life. The sponsorship and my position at my school came to an end about a month ago, bit my journey is not ye over. I am no longer able to complete my AMI training without my sponsorship as the hardship both financially and the physical location of the program are all more than I can do without that level of support and the income of a job. I will leave MINT with a deep love and respect for all of the wonderful people I met on my journey with them. I have a completed certificate for the first portion of training so that if my situation ever changes I will be able to pick back up without having to repeat that section. My time there has enriched my life, my understanding, and my love for the method. I will now, however, continue with my previous MEI training which though not as widely known is still very good and thorough. I have already paid for the majority of it and completed about half of the essays as well as the in class work. I am left with continuing the essays, my observations, material making and student teaching. I still have a long road ahead of me filled with wonderful instructors and peers, and I am excited to see what lies ahead. I will carry with me all of my experiences through NAMC, MEI, AMI, and whatever else I encounter on my journey. They are all a part of my understanding and have helped to build my profound love for the method!

Week 4

Monday the girls and I spent at home doing lessons and cooking together in the kitchen. This weeks zoo class on Tuesday was on eyeballs. I took both girls and they had a blast. One of the animals that was brought out was a barn owl. The girls thought that was so cool. Wednesday we went to the library class which was all about Dr. Seuss since his birthday is Friday. We read Seuss books, sang songs from the musical which we just saw last week and made a Seuss themed art project. Thursday we Went to the local children's science discovery center and bought memberships which will allow us to go to all of the area children's museums and science centers along with over 100 others all over the US, a pretty cool deal if you ask me! We also signed up for their home school classes. The next one is on magnets I bet they will love that! Bella fell a sleep on the way home which gave Goldie an I some great time together for lessons. She worked on the tens board, the Continents, North America, and wild flowers 3 part cards. She knew more of those than I expected. She is really doing very well with this transition into homeschooling for the most part, though there have been a few moments of realization that she is no longer in school with her friends which has been hard. Friday we will spend the morning on lessons then in the afternoon we have a guitar lesson and we will be going out on the town to celebrate first Friday, a local arts event held on the first Friday of every month in our home town. So all in all another great week!