an awesome illustration of changing education paradigms

Absolutely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  This is a combo hand/computer animation made from a compilation of the main points made by Sir Ken Robinson in another recent talk about Changing Education Paradigms.  This video really does a great job of illustrating the history and crux of the issue.  I could watch this over and over (and in fact have already seen it about 7 or 8 times and see something new each time).  It's incredible that this 11-minute video accompanies the audio of spliced-together main ideas from a 55-minute talk, and it's pretty darn seamless.  You would never guess that this wasn't one from one continuous delivery, other than the fact that it does end rather abruptly.  Definitely leaves me wanting for more.  Enjoy!



What do you think?

inspiring creativity in learning and life

Several months ago, we went to this awesome place out in Winchester, VA, called the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum.  Even though we've only been there once, it's officially one of our favorite places in the world.  We plan to visit there again soon, so I'll do a full post later, with pictures, about why the place is so awesome and all the things there are to do there.  On the wall, they have this statement, nice and big, entitled 'Creativity Killers', and I requested a copy to bring home because I loved it so much, and it is a good reminder for me from time to time, especially when I feel like I'm being too controlling about what, how, and when my kids learn and do things.  I'm not sure who wrote it, or I'd give that specific person credit. 

If you want to inspire creativity in learning and life, here are some great reminders of things not to do:

CREATIVITY KILLERS

Surveillance:  hovering over kids, making them feel that they’re constantly being watched while they’re working.  When a child is under constant observation, the risk-taking, creative urge goes underground and hides.

Evaluation:  making kids worry about how others judge what they’re doing.  Kids should be concerned primarily with how satisfied they are with their accomplishments, rather than focusing on how they are being evaluated or graded, or what their peers will think. 

Rewards:  excessive use of prizes, such as gold stars, money, or toys.  If overused, rewards deprive a child of the intrinsic pleasure of creative activity.

Competition:  putting kids in a desperate win-lose situation, where only one person can come out on top.  A child should be allowed to progress at his own rate.  (There can, however, be healthy competition that fosters team or group spirit.)

Over-control:  telling kids exactly how to do things--their schoolwork, their chores, even their play.  Parents and teachers often confuse this micromanagement with their duty to instruct.  This leaves children feeling that any originality is a mistake and any exploration a waste of time.

Restricting choice:  telling children which activities they should engage in instead of letting them follow where their curiosity and passion lead.  Better to let a child choose what is of interest, and support that inclination.

Pressure:  establishing grandiose expectations for a child’s performance.  For example, those “hot-house” training regimes that force toddlers to learn the alphabet or math before they have any real interest can easily backfire and end up instilling an aversion for the subject being taught.

Time pressure:  restricting time for a child to explore a particular activity is a sure killer of intrinsic motivation.  Children enter the ultimate state of creativity called flow more naturally than adults.  This is a period in which total absorption can engender peak pleasure and creativity.  In flow, time does not matter; there is only the timeless moment at hand.  It is a state that is more comfortable for children than adults, who are more conscious of the passage of time.

Marcellita exploring watercolors.

Adobe laying out her composition.

Skyler exploring colors and strokes.

Which of these do you find especially challenging at times, or in what specific situations?  Have you had any specific experiences that illustrate for you the points listed above?

what does this thing called 'education reform' really need?

Apparently, education reform is a hot topic right now.   More and more people are waking up to the idea that something is just not quite right.  Unfortunately, I feel that alot of folks are missing the mark.  As stated by Sir Ken Robinson in the TED talk that I shared in a recent post, at this point, what we really need is not simply reform, but a revolution in education.  Like so many facets of our culture, the current model for the education system is based on institutionalization that began roughly one hundred years ago, and it is outdated - and not necessarily an improvement over how things were done before.  I think if more people were aware of how institutionalized education came about, and what its true main purposes were - largely, to serve the purposes of the Industrial Revolution - then they'd think twice about the system that has come to be accepted as the norm.

There is this "Waiting for 'Superman'" movie that has just come out - see trailer and Q&As here.  I know it's currently playing at the Loews in Shirlington.

I'll reserve full conclusions until having seen the film, but having watched the promotional videos and Q&As, I'm not sure if they're really asking the right questions.  In so many cases, it's not the teachers that are the problem - there are plenty of well-meaning teachers with lots of great and innovative ideas.  It's that the system at large does not allow for innovation.  There is so much pressure on everyone to 'succeed', including the teachers, that they are forced to 'teach to the test' because that is the main method by which everyone's success is being measured.  Creativity and individuality, in teachers and students alike, are sacrificed to protocol.  The problem is not going to be solved by more rigorous testing, by more drilling of facts that lead to high test scores, by firing teachers in schools that fail to 'perform', by making teachers feel the pressure of losing their jobs if their students don't test well.  In my opinion, if a school does not have the highest test scores around, it could be a sign that they are doing something right, that maybe there really is a more holistic learning process going on.

What is 'success' for our children?!  It looks like the film Race to Nowhere, which had its first screenings yesterday, may be taking a better look at the real problem.  I can't wait to check out the whole thing.

Have a listen...  Does this scenario seem at all familiar to you, either from your own schooling, or watching your own children now?  It brings tears to my eyes...



(In the DC/NOVA/MD area, the film will be screening at the Alexandria Film Festival: AMC Hoffman Movie Theaters in Alexandria, VA on November 6 at 1 pm; the Flint Hill School in Oakton, VA on November 11, all day;  and the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda, MD on December 2 at 7:30 pm, among other places.  Visit their site for more info and other locations.) 


What we really need to ask is,
What makes for a successful learning experience?  What cultivates a successful - and fulfilled, and happy - human being?  Shouldn't that be the point of educating our loved ones?

Recently, I came across this article I'd like to share.  It is written by William A. Reinsmith, Professor of English at Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.  Here he offers some great reminders for all of us, whether you are teaching your own children, teaching professionally, or looking for some fundamental criteria by which to determine whether your children are being taught in an effective way.  Of course, if your children are in school, you can only glean so much information by talking to them about their school day - your best hope at getting a real look at these determinants is to sit in on the classroom, more than once (especially since these days, children are being shuffled around to quite a number of teachers throughout the day, often even at the elementary level) - which of course for many parents means taking time off from work.  In some cases, that is just not really possible.  As your kids get older, you can ask them, how do they feel about the education they are getting?  What else could you do?  Ask them to watch these movies (Waiting for Superman and Race to Nowhere) or even screen them school-wide.  Go to PTA meetings, write inquiries to the principle and teachers, and present all or some of these points.  (I'll lay out the 10 points Professor Reinsmith makes, and you can go here for expansion upon each point, which I recommend you do.)  Let them know you care.  Ask them, flat-out, how they feel about these points, and how much they are really able to address the children's learning in this way:

"Ten Fundamental Truths About Learning

1. Learning first takes place through osmosis....
2. Authentic learning comes through trial and error....
3. Students will learn only what they have some proclivity for or interest in....
4. No one will formally learn something unless she believes she can learn it....
5. Learning cannot take place outside an appropriate context....
6. Real learning connotes use....
7. No one knows how a learner moves from imitation to intrinsic ownership, from external modeling to internalization and competence....
8. The more learning is like play, the more absorbing it will be-- unless the student has been so corrupted by institutional education that only dull serious work is equated with learning....
9. For authentic learning to happen, time should occasionally be wasted, tangents pursued, side-shoots followed up....
10. Tests are a very poor indicator of whether an individual has really learned something...."

In conclusion, Professor Reinsmith states: "All of these interconnected truths are general enough to apply to learning of any kind. They are so basic and obvious that one may wonder why they need to be stated at all. Our greatest educators have espoused them in some manner during the course of Western history. Yet it is the simple and obvious that we tend to overlook when discussing or recommending educational change. We often engage in educational activity as if these truths didn't exist--and then wonder why we fail to engender learning in our students. In any profession ignorance of its elemental laws will lead to shoddy, even disastrous, results. Perhaps a large part of the reason we educate so poorly is that we fail to observe and work within the fundamental principles of our craft, so we don't create environments in which they can be applied. Successful teaching can ensue only where the fundamental truths of learning are both observed and respected. Periodically, teachers on all levels need to return to those basic truths--however mysterious they may be--and reflect on them at length." (emphasis mine)

Many, if not all, of these points are at the heart of the unschooling philosophy (read a previous post that attempts to address what that is if you haven't heard of it), and why many of the life-schoolers that I know do what they do - because it is a whole lifestyle that lends itself naturally to nurturing learning in this way.  And I don't think it's impossible for schools to move towards this model, especially with the boom and boon of the internet and technology.

At the beginning of the last school year, I had the pleasure of covering President Obama's Education Address delivered at Wakefield High School here in Arlington.  (As some of you know, I'm a photographer who freelances sometimes with alexandrianews.org.)  I have to admit, I was inspired by some of what he had to say, and reminded that school - as broken as the system may be - does serve many many children with a way out of poverty, with hope for a brighter future than their parents and grandparents had, with an environment where perhaps someone takes the time to show they care, when it seems that no one else does.  And I know that there are also plenty of children, coming from supportive, well-meaning, involved families, who are self-motivated, strong, confident, and are able to weather the storm and get a pretty decent education out of the whole deal, with their sanity intact.  But overall, at what cost?  For so many of our children, even the ones dealing with it, the schedule, responsibility, and pressure is overwhelming, to the point that some just want it to end.
 
The sentiment coming from the top and trickling on down through the ranks is based on an old paradigm.  I think there is more than one road to success to be considered, more than one way to 'get an education', in or out of school.  As with so many issues concerning Obama, I believe his intentions are genuine and good, but that the actions needed to even begin to fix this issue may be insurmountable at this time, as the population has exploded and we are faced with a Herculean task of educating the masses; especially since society and the economy have been structured in such a way that both parents (if the child still 'has' both parents) must work, just to make ends meet, so children, from a very young age, must be placed somewhere, preferably for free, and occupied, all day long, 5 days a week.  In many households across the country, any family time, much less 'quality' family time where there is real connection and bonding taking place - without the time pressure of rushing to extracurricular activities, dinner, homework, cleaning up, getting ready for bed - is rare.  And we, as a culture, are experiencing the repercussions of that.  But that's the subject for another post...

As long as teachers are being forced by protocol (and fear of losing their underpaid jobs) to adhere to the SOLs and teach to the test, how much are they really being given the freedom and creativity to draw on these fundamental truths about learning as espoused by Professor Reinsmith?  How much are they being allowed to draw upon their own knowledge and ideas which inspired them to become teachers in the first place?

Here is a brief compiled excerpt of some of what the President had to say.  The last 5 sentences here are the most significant to me.  You can read the entire prepared speech here. 

Pres. Obama:

© artis moon amarche 2009

"...[W]hat I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide....

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it....

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork....

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. 

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future....That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America."

The problem is that at the end of the day, ultimately, what does matter for every single one of us, is happiness.  And if you're being bullied day in and day out because of how you look, where you come from, where your parents come from, what your sexual orientation is, or so on, how can someone tell you that's no excuse for having a bad attitude?  Where's the love?  So many kids are really hurting because they are growing up in this disjointed, disconnected society where oftentimes they are left to feel emotionally isolated, like no one understands them, no one really knows them, and no one really cares.  (Common sense says that the bullies are hurting too in some way, as suggested by some recent articles I've read on the matter in the recent flurry of teen suicides.)  If they have the personal fortitude to tune it all out, or stuff it all down, and focus on their studies, get the grade, ace the test, what is awaiting them?  The promised land of college, where they very well may find more cruelty and harassment, and where they will get a 'higher' education with a much higher price tag, emerging from said institution saddled with debt that will be facing them for, in many cases, the majority of (if not the entirety of) their adult lives, so that they can go work in a job that they may not even like.  How many of you work in jobs that you can't stand?  How many people do you know who actually like and feel passionate about what they do? 

I don't pretend to have all the answers, because I don't, not even close.  At this point, what I can do is teach my own (because fortunately I am in a position to be able to do so), share & glean some  knowledge and creativity with other families & community around me, and keep asking questions - how can I do it better?  How can 'they' do it better?  Is the competitive, end-goal-driven, one-size-fits-all way of educating our youth contributing to the increasing epidemic of general apathy and disturbing cruelty some students display toward each other?  What type of education do our children, the adults of tomorrow, need to truly prepare them for life in the 21st century?  Somehow I feel, for one, education has to move beyond simply educating the mind, beyond the end-goal of diploma-college-$$JOB$$, and address emotional and spiritual development as well.  Is that possible to achieve on a mass scale?  The Mind & Life Institute is one organization I've come across that seems to have some interesting ideas on the matter.  I personally feel that integrating the arts and creativity are key to bringing in the emotional and spiritual components, which is why I'm a fan of Sir Ken Robinson.

What are your thoughts on the matter?  How do you deal with these issues in your own family?  Do you have any ideas for a revolution in education?  I'd love to hear from you....

"Homeschooling Joins the Mainstream"

A little after the fact, but thanks to the internet and podcasts, none-the-matter - you can still check it out, and it's still relevant. 

Kojo Nnamdi, one of my favorite radio hosts, featured this topic last week - "Homeschooling Joins the Mainstream."  Here is a link to the podcast.  For those of you who wonder why we do it, and how it works, this is a great segment which may answer some questions.  It amazes me still how many misconceptions there are about 'homeschooling', one of them being the big question of 'socialization'.  As the guest speaker reveals, one of the 'dirty little secrets' about homeschooling is that we're rarely home.  Although we don't necessarily deal with the daily scramble to rush out the door at some ungodly hour, we have our morning routine, which looks different in different houses, and then, most days, we are out in the real world, with or without friends, interacting with people of all ages, and usually having a dang good time.

Phoenix at Cox Farms, psyched after coming down the huge slide.

Adobe pulls a surfer move as she speeds down the slide.

"Home education works.  Children who are homeschooled score, on average, 20 to 30 points higher on measures of academic achievement - these are standardized tests...."

a rescue capsule named phoenix

Unexpectedly, shortly after 5 this morning, as I'm doing my daily reading of news, emails and such, I find myself with tears pouring down my face as I come across the story of the first 7 of 33 Chilean miners who were rescued after 69 days of being trapped when 700,000 tons of rock collapsed on August 5, trapping them in the lower reaches of the mine.  That is simply incredible - that's over 2 months that they have been trapped down there!  I can't even begin to imagine what those men have been going through.  What on earth have they been doing with themselves, day in and day out, with no outward indication of course of the passing of days, and just waiting, waiting, waiting?!  Unfathomable.

AP photo: Chile's President Sebastian Pinera embraces Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva, the first miner to be rescued.

 How much food and liquids were they able to get down to these men after discovering on August 22 that they indeed were still alive?  Did they have room to move around down there?  Were their head lamps working still or were they in pitch blackness?

[As a follow-up, post-post, here's a link to an article that addresses these questions...]

I think part of the reason this struck me so hard is because mining is in my blood - my grandfather was the youngest of a family of Irish coal miners, the first to be freed from that hell, and the first to attend school beyond the age of 12.  His father and brothers all worked in the mines, 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, coming home completely black, covered in coal dust - the only thing you could see was their eyes and their teeth - only to return again bright and early the next morning and do it all over again.  I wonder how many miners were buried alive back in the day.  They certainly did not have the technology then that afforded these guys a safe return.  Of course, part of the culprit in the increased frequency of mining accidents is that many mountains, like this one, have been overexploited.  In this case, part of what made the rescue operation difficult and risky is finding sufficient virgin rock through which to drill the escape shaft.

I know these guys were mining copper and gold, not coal, and that work conditions have probably improved a little, but I'm sure it's still extremely hard work, and before this happened, these guys were "nobodys", just busting their tails to support their families.  Now, after enduring hell for over 3 months, they emerge to find themselves thrust into the world spotlight, being welcomed to the surface by their country's President and Vice President!  That's another potential tangent that I won't veer onto, but what a surreal experience it must be.  I also won't veer onto the conundrum that is our industrial/consumerist society, of which I, admittedly, am a part, that drives such mining operations. 

The other thing, silly enough, that sent another wave of tears down my face, is that the 13-foot rescue capsule, used to travel the 2,041 feet down the carefully crafted escape shaft and bring each of these 33 men to safety, one by one, is named Phoenix.  Just perfect.  And I was 33 when I brought this beautiful boy named Phoenix into the world.  (And 13 when I met his papa.  Yes, I have a bit of a thing with numbers...)

Miner Osman Araya arrives as the sixth miner to be hoisted to the surface in Copiapo October 13, 2010. Chile's 33 trapped miners are set to travel nearly half a mile through solid rock in a shaft just wider than a man's shoulders on Tuesday night, as their two month ordeal after a cave-in draws to an end.

REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado (CHILE - Tags: DISASTER BUSINESS)

It's nice to see a story of hope and solidarity, and miracle even, amongst the barrage of hateful happenings of late.  I hope that through last night the rescue operations have proceeded smoothly, and I send love and healing to the men who survived this amazing ordeal.  I'm sure their lives will never be the same.

Here's a link to the full article that I read this morning on Yahoo news.

what we need is a revolution in education

This is another fabulous TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson, an advocate for creativity, recognition of multiple intelligences, and education reform.  (Thanks, Mana, for turning me on to this one.)  This certainly touches on one of many reasons I live the way I do, and do my best to inspire others, in one way or another, to follow their passion.  Some of you are lucky enough to teach, or have your children enrolled in, schools that are at least attempting to participate in the revolution.  It is great that there are those gems out there who are able to step outside the status quo and truly inspire unique individuals to discover and love who they are, and encourage them to find their path, to follow their hearts' desire.  If, however, you are feeling skeptical about how the system is functioning, about the education your children are receiving, make some waves.  Share your thoughts and concerns, with their teachers, administrators, and county officials.  Offer some ideas, research, point to some alternative sources (such as this video), ask questions.  Or, if your lifestyle permits, opt out, forge your own path, do things your own way, jump into freedom, discover your tribe in your area and build a collective; find a way for you and your child(ren) to pursue your passions together. 

We all have a path, and sometimes we start down the road without even knowing where we're going.  Many happy discoveries and adventures can be found along the way.  Follow your instincts.  Below are some highlights from this talk.... I hope you watch and enjoy.

"Education, in a way, dislocates many people from their natural talents.... Reform is of no use anymore, because that's simply improving a broken model.... What we need...is not evolution, but a revolution in education.....This has to be transformed into something else.... Many of our ideas have been formed, not to meet the circumstances of this century, but to cope with the circumstances of previous centuries.  But our minds are still hypnotized by them, and we have to disenthrall ourselves, of some of them.  Now, doing this is easier said than done.  It's very hard to know, by the way, what you take for granted.  And the reason is, that you take it for granted.... Life is not linear, it's organic.  We create our lives, symbiotically, as we explore our talents, in relation to the circumstances they helped to create for us.  But you know, we have become obsessed with this linear narrative.  And, probably the pinnacle for education is getting you to college.... Human communities depend upon our diversity of talent, not a singular conception of ability.  At the heart of our challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability, and of intelligence.... When I arrived in LA about 9 years ago, I came across a policy statement, very well-intended, that said 'College begins in kindergarten.'  No it doesn't - it doesn't.... Kindergarten begins in kindergarten.... There's such competition now to get into kindergarten, to get into the right kindergarten, that people are being interviewed for it, at 3 - kids sitting in front of unimpressed panels with their resumes, flicking through saying, 'What, this is it?!  You've been around for 36 months, and this is it?!  You've achieved nothing!'....
     The other big issue is conformity.  We have built our education system on the model of fast food.... We have sold ourselves into a fast-food model of education, and it's impoverishing our spirits and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies.... It's about passion.  Often people are good at things they don't really care for.  It's about passion, and what excites our spirit and our energy, and if you're doing the thing that you love to do, that you're good at, time takes a different course entirely.... You know this.  If you're doing something you love, an hour feels like 5 minutes.  If you are doing something that doesn't resonate with your spirit, 5 minutes feels like an hour.  And the reason so many people are opting out of education is because it doesn't feed their spirit, it doesn't feed their energy or their passion.... We have to change from an industrial model to an agricultural model.  We have to recognize that human flourishing is not a mechanical process, it's an organic process.  And you cannot predict the outcome of human development.  All you can do is, like a farmer, create the conditions under which they will flourish.... It's not about scaling a new solution; it's about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions, but with external support based on a personalized curriculum...."
     (Closing with a quote from W.B. Yeats:) "'Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, and wrought with gold and silver light, of blue and the dim and the dark cloths, of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet.  But I, being poor, have only my dreams.  I have spread my dreams under your feet.  Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams.'  And every day, every where, our children spread their dreams  beneath our feet, and we should tread softly."

And we should dream too.  I'm a big fan of what I call 'active daydreaming' - something along the lines of the Law of Attraction.  Dream big, and dream well, rather than not allowing yourself to dream for fear your dreams won't come true.


I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences....

ahh, the joys...

Aaahhh, the joys of mothering...

I'm out front of the house, dead-heading the rose bushes, marveling at mother nature, not even minding getting a little poke from a thorn. I head inside for a quick minute, and ask Adobe, "Where's Phoenix?" She has 'no idea'; she's totally absorbed in creating her comic strip "The Adventures of the Retarded Hamster" - which I believe is in response to her friend's short film she saw this morning. I find Phoenix out back, with his shorts and underwear on the ground near him, spitting on a pile of his own poop, which is already totally covered in flies. Ewww.  "And mommy, I'm cryin' 'bout it."  (That's his new thing when he has an accident.  But he's not crying.  He just likes to say that for some reason - thinks it makes it better.  I guess it's an expression of remorse. :)  Picked the poop up with some t.p. and flushed it.

Luckily, it's warm enough out that I just got the hose and sprayed the residue off the ground, hosed down the undies and shorts, and then hosed him down like the little animal that he is. :)

And luckily, most of the time he's really adorable. Like this. All in a day's work....

collaborative effort - he asked me for 'batman'

the child-driven education: Sugata Mitra on TED.com

This is a phenomenal experiment.  The results are not at all surprising really, and speak volumes to the potential in children, and the potential of the internet to (further) revolutionize the globe.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

making baby

Wow.  Talk about 'where does the time go?'... and two, almost three more months have flown right on by...

Where have I been?  The garden pic from my last post looks so cute and demure compared to the jungle that is out there right now.  Mother Nature truly is amazing.  Yes, there's been lots of growth going on, outside and in.  And that's where I've been.  Making baby.  I'm preggo with number three!  I'm still in a bit of shock hearing myself say this.  I always knew I would have two, and I guess occasionally I entertained the idea that I might have one more than that, if things were going really well.  After Phoenix was born, I was pretty adamant that there would be no more.  But Atom and Adobe both worked on me for awhile, and eventually, especially as Phoenix works his way out of babyhood, the idea of doing it just one more time started to sound appealing.  And here we are.  I have to admit, I'm a little overwhelmed at the prospect of being a mother of three - already, two is quite a job.  But, I figure that a woman who can manage three children has a different command of the world.

This was the roughest first trimester yet.  I have been exhausted.  And puky feeling.  And generally feeling like a zombie.  Luckily, I have not actually thrown up once.  Now I am starting to see the light of day, although I must admit I'm still pretty worthless if I don't have coffee in my system by about 2 in the afternoon.  I've been totally off my routine.  But I feel so fortunate to be able to just be, go with the flow, and allow myself all the extra rest my body has needed, and really experience what my body is going through.

Making a baby is alot of work!  It is truly amazing if you think about what is taking place in a woman's body during this time.  We all begin, every single one of us (our current physical selves, anyway), from a single cell!  Yes, we all learn about this at some point in biology, but how many times in your life have you really stopped to consider this fact and marvel at how miraculous that is? 

And then, the being grows, and grows, and grows.  As a mother, this is a truly surreal experience.  First there are the symptoms and first signs of change happening with your body.  Then, you start to feel little flutters of undeniable evidence that there is indeed another being coming alive inside of you.  The bump begins to grow, and grow, and grow.  Next thing you know, you have this 'alien life form' completely taking over your body.   I am especially fascinated by imagining (having experienced it twice now) what the displacement of all my organs looks like.  Because, believe me, they move.  Muscle memory is amazing.  I can feel all my womb's fellow internals preparing already, which is much earlier than with the other two.  The body remembers; it has been through this before and recognizes the current state of affairs, and it knows full well what is to come.  I can feel things shifting already. 

From Lennart Nilsson's A Child Is Born

Now, I'm at about 17 weeks.  This is probably a good estimate of what my baby looks like right about now.  I've been able to feel it move a few times.  It's quite exciting.  Last night, the kids and I were playing with the stethoscope to see if we could hear anything.  We heard some sounds, but weren't sure if they were the baby or my own body.

I feel so thankful to be able to take time to connect, with my own body, and with the little spirit who is taking form in me now.  And indeed, I feel thankful to do it one more time.  It is a truly miraculous experience, all of it, the pregnancy, the labor, the birth, and birthing of oneself as a mother, even when it's not the first time. 

When I was pregnant with Adobe, there was so much going on, I was so busy, that I don't feel like I really was able to take much time to connect with myself and the little baby inside of me.  I was finishing my Fine Arts degree at the Corcoran, teaching tap 6 days a week and running my performance company, dcArtistry:tap&drum - basically running non-stop like a chicken with my head cut off.  Plus, there was a lot of turmoil in my personal life.  With Phoenix, things were much more stable, and a bit calmer, but I still don't feel like I really took the time to connect with my self and my baby the way I could have.

Fortunately, with both of them, the labor and birth, despite being quite long, were awesome.  Home birth with both, over two weeks 'past due date' with both, over 24 hours labor with both after a month of practice contractions, and Phoenix was born in water.  All quite hard work, and exhausting, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.  I'm planning another water birth at home and drawing on some new inner resources this time.  It would be nice if things move along a little quicker this time.  You know what they say, "third time's a charm."

Another thing that will bring me a special connection this time around:  I've decided, with enthusiastic encouragement from local midwife Tammi McKinley, to offer childbirth classes specifically geared toward women/couples who plan to birth either at home or a birth center.  The classes will incorporate body-mind connection, visualization, art, spirituality, and ceremony/ritual, with influences from various resources, as well as my own research and experiences.  I'm developing my curriculum now, and plan to launch this fall.  (See boundlessbirth.com ).  I will continue to offer my photography services, as well as Reiki for women & babies, and individualized art sessions.  More on all that to come. 

where does the time go?

Where does the time go? Two months have flown by, full of lovin and adventure, and travels. More on that to come.

I managed to get everything planted before we left for Mexico, and returned to find everything sprouting.  
Here are the beginnings of the spinach and lettuce.  
They've grown much more since then - we had our first salads 
from the garden this week.  Yay!

     I'm lovin the springtime, the garden is blooming, more beds to be dug, more plants to be planted, and always, lots more fun to be had. The world is our playground. Life is my meditation. My challenge, for myself and to you, is to live each moment in the now, while reflecting on what we have done, and planning what is to be done - remain ever present in the eternal now.

8 years ago today...

As of 4:56 a.m., 8 years ago today, I birthed my baby Adobe.  Ah, what a wild ride it's been!  If only I knew then what I know now :)  How life has changed, in so many ways...

Well, for one, I was still under the impression that my father gave me, and had been professing to people while I was pregnant - "Oh, everyone thinks that your whole life has to stop when you have kids, that everything has to change.  That's not true!  You go on with life, you have a child with you now, but you just clothe it, feed it, give it love, & it's all good!"  Hah!

I guess that approach worked for him - he was a single father, and that's how he did it, pretty much.  And I turned out fine.  I think overall he did a really great job of being both papa and mama, and he raised me to be very independent.  But, we often don't do things the way our parents did them, do we?  The idea is to continually improve upon the situation.  All any of us can do as parents is strive to find balance in our lives with our children.  As we reflect upon what was 'done' to us by our parents or whoever raised us - discover what was great & not-so-great, or in some cases, plain terrible - the best thing we can do is to release the wrongs and repeat the rights, and forge ahead with new ways of our own.  As I look around and see how people are raising their children, I am continually struck by how each generation is reacting to the one before.  I'll write a whole 'nother post at some point about this - the days of the house wife, the role of Women's Lib, the nuclear family, the explosion of single parenthood, and so on...

The main thing to say here, is that I wanted that baby so badly - the maternal urge was so strong - and I'm so glad that she was born.  Those of you who were in my life at the time, which was mostly my Corcoran crew, saw what a crazy ride I was on, with school full-time, Adobe born in my thesis semester (art school - Corcoran College of Art + Design), working almost every day of the week (teaching tap & running a performing company), and strappin' that sweet baby on me everywhere I went.  I wish that I'd gotten the partner part right from the get-go, but alas, I'm one of those people who has had to learn some lessons the hard way.  I really wanted to believe it was right, that it was going to work out, but I knew somewhere deep down that it was not meant to be. And I stuck it out as long as I could.  I'm sure I was not the easiest partner at that time either.  Life is real, and we all gotta do what we gotta do.

So, on this 8th anniversary of my sweet girl's birth, I give thanks, and I reflect upon all the changes over the past several years.  Now I can just say that I am so glad to have a real, beautiful, awesome family.  Here they are, acting silly on the Photo Booth.  For awhile I thought it would just be Adobe & I for the rest of the ride, but often, just when you're about to give up, the unexpected happens.  I reconnected with my old friend Atom, aka Adam, aka Slahmed, and together, we will continue to make history...

Thank you Adobe, for being born, for being my grounding, for being such a fireball, such a great big sister, and such a sweetheart.  Thank you Atom, for all you do, for being such a great father and partner, for supporting us in so many ways, and for enabling me to learn what a real family is like, since I didn't exactly learn that as a child.
I love you guys.

My girl got to have ice cream for breakfast - Blueberry Cheesecake Custard - from the Dairy Godmother.  Yum!  Happiness is an important component of health.  Happy Birth Day Darling!

geocaching, a bed of nails, the sun, and land art

Last week was another fun one - the title about sums up the variety...
I'm not going to recap the whole week in detail, just some highlights.

This post will be more pictorial - excuse all the scrolling but ... enjoy. :)

As some of you may or may not know, we've started a small collective where we gather with a few other families every Tuesday & Thursday, and often other days as well.  We mulled over what to call it, and I suppose we'll be calling it the Boundless Kids Tribe.  I also have affectionately referred to it in passing as the Free to Be Me Collective, but I think the vote is for the former.  And I guess it makes sense to go with the whole Boundless thing...

Some highlights from last week:
Last Tuesday, the older kids started the new session of the Homeschool Drama Club.  Melanie, Kazha, Phoenix and I picked up some goodies from the fabulous Lebanese Taverna & had a picnic outside on the grass where the older kids joined us when class was over.  Then we all went over to Hayes Park & the kids played for a couple hours.  My little daredevil Phoenix climbed up a chain link fence til his feet were almost as high as my head.  One of the older boys was spotting him.  Then he climbed back down.  All by himself.  Pretty impressive for a 2-year-old.

On Wednesday we went to the Maryland Science Center at Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  If you're in this area and haven't taken your kids there, go!  Super awesome!  We met our friends Kristen, Lucca, Marcella, & Kozhin there to check out their exhibit on geocaching & had fun checking out other stuff as well.

 As you can see, there are no strings on this harp - it has light beams!  And you could change the sounds that it made.  Fun.

Phoenix & Marcella were having a little face-off.  :)  They love each other, but as they are both used to being the youngest alot of the time, neither of them likes the other to tell them what to do.

If you don't know what geocaching is, go to geocaching.com for info - but in short, you use your handheld GPS device to discover hidden treasures near or far, whatever you wish!  Sounds really fun for family adventure.  The exhibit - eh.  That's how Kristen & I both felt about it.  It was very informative, but a bit dry for kids, too much reading, not enough hands-on.  I guess the idea is that you check out the exhibit about what it is & how you do it, then you could go on a geocaching adventure in the harbor area, but we didn't know that & didn't plan for it, so.... The kids had fun anyway.

 This is when we still had their attention, at the beginning, before they all went running off thru the maze to break the codes and find caches and figure this all out.

Phoenix got mad at me at one point & ran off.  He was laying on the floor pouting, until Marcella found him and broke that hard shell.

I'm looking at them through a fabric mesh, that's why these two images look strange.  Don't expect professional photo work here from me people.  The lighting conditions in this place were difficult to work with.

From there, on to some other parts of the Center:

Okay, this was definitely one of our favorite parts of the whole place!  There was a sheet of plexi that you first laid down on, with all the holes drilled in it for the nails to pass through.  Then, once you've laid down, the woman pressed a button and the plexi receded, leaving you on the bed of nails.  I tried it out too.  Totally comfortable!  Here is Lucca.

And Adobe...

 Kozhin...

Little Phoe...

  The next thing was pretty cool too.  Did you know that to your brain, cold + warm = hot?  There were metal bars, cold from one side, warm from the other.  When you put your hand in the middle, where you could feel both simultaneously, it felt hot!  Ooooh, trippy!

Optical illusion.... hypnotized!  One down...

And another one bites the dust...

Here are our cuties!

And next - ah yes, payphones!  Remember those?  Also known as Dial-a-Germ.

Phoenix's cave man side shows itself a little...

And this thing simulated your digestive tract.  If you could move that ball through the mesh tube, it made the gurgling sounds that your guts make!  Yeah!  (Sorry for the excessive use of exclamation points throughout the post; I'm just a bit excited...)

Next, of course Phoenix had to get on the Dial-a-Germ.  I had daddy in mind here; I knew he would 'love' this as he's pretty grossed out by germs in public places.

Not sure what he was listening to here, but he looks so darn cute!

Oh lordy, okay, I know it's alot of pictures, but wait, there's more!  I just wish blogger would let me format this differently so I could do a gallery with captions or something.  Wordpress can do that, but alas, I didn't like the interface!  So.... in the future, I'll try to whip up quick slideshows instead.

That's it for Wednesday's adventures.  We left, and the kids came with me to Oxon Hill where I teach tap on Wednesday nights.  Long day.

On Thursday, our little tribe met up at Alcova Heights Park.  The kids played, meandered in the creek, snacked; the moms talked, about all manner of things.

Alcova Heights, aka 'the Creek playground' is one of my favorite spots.  I've been taking Adobe there since before she could walk.

I suggested that today might be a good day to discuss Daylight Saving Time and the Spring Equinox, since one just happened, and one was about to happen.  (Yay Spring!)  What is Daylight Saving?  Why does it happen?  Who 'invented' it?  What exactly is the Spring Equinox?  What are some cultures whose New Year corresponds? etc... We discussed all this over a picnic lunch, and then we made some 'land art' together, inspired by the fabulous Andy Goldsworthy, who Melanie & I both love.  We collected sticks, branches, and leaves to make a sun, in honor of the longer daylight hours bestowed upon us by the Equinox, & Daylight Saving (sort of - well at least it's light later in the day...)

Yes, that's Phoenix sitting in the middle of the sun - Adobe put his hair in piggy tails, and everyone was calling him a 'she' all day.

Skyler is approving the work.

 Beautiful momma Melanie...

Sweet Amman at this point then asks if he can sing a song, which turns out to be, "You Are My Sunshine..." Awesome!  And everyone joins in as they continue working. 

Kazha says 'hmmmm, what else does it need?'....

Placing the final touches... momma Stephanie, and the girls.

At this point, I video'd everyone holding hands and singing the song again - so cute!  Don't have a way to share that here, and haven't uploaded it anywhere...

Here is Melanie in fetal position inside our sun.

That was fun!

Friday, we handled some business at home and then met the tribe and other folks at the park.  Phoenix was so beat that he fell asleep around 6:30ish and slept straight through til the next morning.  Saturday, first day of spring! - it was nice & warm.  We busted out the kiddie pool, the kids played, we did yard work, picked up mulch, I trimmed the rose bushes, and stuff like that.  Sunday, more work outside, making the front and side of the house look all nice.  I rescued our violet tree (or whatever it is) that was being suffocated by ivy - pulled it all off, which was quite a job, and Atom took out two thorny bushes on the side of the house (huge job), and we did a bunch more stuff.  Hard labor.  Fun.  No, seriously, I like it.  I know it's not as fun for Atom since he does hard labor at work all week.  But it's different when it's your home.  Therapeutic.  More pictures to come.

And if you've stuck around til the end, guess I'm not doing too bad, cuz I know this was a long one.  Thanks! 

last week: learning & playing

     Life feels so full right now, not in a rushed, frenetic, stressful way, but in a fulfilling, energizing, refreshing, and inspiring way.... I'm totally loving it.  Last was a good week, and last Monday seems like such a long time ago.  I thought I'd share a recap (which I'll do here from time to time, partly for myself, because sometimes I wonder, where did the time go?)
     Most days we begin with our morning routine of waking (well, waking for the kids - I'm up from the ripe hour of 4:45 AM with Atom!), teeth, face, make bed, get dressed, have breakfast, & do some work (not Phoenix of course).  All this happens in a fairly stress-less leisurely manner unless we have some place to be first thing in the morning (meaning by 9:30, 10, or even 10:30).  Then I usually have to find myself saying to Adobe a whole bunch of times, "Come on, we gotta get into hustle mode!  Move along or we won't make it to x, y or z."  And I try to stay calm, and not yell :)  (That's where the meditation comes in handy remember?  Being present and aware of how I say something.  The same exact thing said with a genuine smile sounds so different.)  Typically, morning routine goes from around 8:15-10:30/11, but there's a flex & flow to it, just the way I like.  And my girl is definitely a night-owl and late riser by nature, just like her momma.
     So then, after all or most parts of the morning routine, last week went like this:

Monday - Morning play outside in backyard clubhouse.  It was totally gorgeous out, so Adobe took a bunch of stuff out into the grape arbor and made a really cute club house, and she and Phoenix played outside for awhile.  Then, I called Jeneen to see what they were up to, and we decided to go join her, Stash, Haiku, Rilke, & Amelie at River Farm Garden Park in Alexandria.  

What an absolutely beautiful spot.  The kids had a real blast, making house, picking flowers, exploring, and frolicking barefoot.  Amelie's mom Danielle joined us, and we had great talks.  We stayed for about four hours.   

Tuesday - We went to the homeschool drama club performance of The Crazy Zoo.  This class is led by the fabulous Joshua Rich who creates a new play each session for the group based on the characters they want to play.   Joshua also happens to be a fabulous pianist (sounds a bit like George Winston) so if you're looking for some new good, soothing music, check him out.  Afterwards we went to Hayes Park where the kids all played for about 3 hours.  Phoenix absolutely loves chasing after all the big kids, trying to keep up, alternating between boys and girls.  The whole time at the park, he was off doing his own thing, alone, or with the other kids, and only asked for me once, to help him get on the swing.  Then, on the way home we had a fabulous curb find of two playskool cars and a trike to add to our collection of kiddie vehicles. 

Wednesday - In the morning, we went to a class at Hidden Pond Nature Center.  The kids got to drag the borders of the pond with nets and see what living creatures they could find.  

My first find was a dead turtle :(  But, I got to bring him home so I can dry him out (aka let him rot) and do something cool with the shells.)  We also found freshwater shrimp, a backswimmer, and a damselfly larvae.  Here I learned something new. The damselfly is very similar to a dragonfly, but their bodies are much thinner, and usually when they're at rest, their wings are folded back whereas dragonflys' are out to the sides.) 

     Others found a live turtle, a couple small fish, and other cool stuff.  The guide had containers at pond side to hold the critters, and then, we went back inside the main building where he identified each species, put stuff under the microscope and had a cool setup with a camera looking into the microscope that showed the image on a screen we could all see.  It was very high quality & crystal-clear image.  Super cool.  Then, we played at the playground there for a while, snacked on our lunch, came home to defuse for a few, and then Adobe went to her voice lesson with our friend Kisha, wife of Groovy Nate.  Kisha is helping Adobe prepare a song for her upcoming Talent Show party.

Thursday - We met up at Melanie's house with the families we are doing our collaborative vibe with.  The mommas talked, the kids played.  A good time was had by all. We solidified a little more what our collective will be looking like as we get it going to the point of rotation so that 2 or 3 of us are 'off' during that time.  For the next couple more weeks, we will all be together.  It is so awesome to see the kids of differing ages all playing together, not segregating themselves.  Phoenix, who is the youngest, was going between hanging with the 'big boys' (a 4-yo & two 9-yos), and being babied by the girls (who are turning 6 and 8, on the same day, two Fridays from now!)

Friday - We took a workshop on the Chinese Lunar New Year, offered by Stacy Clark.  That was fun.  She read a story about the Chinese Lunar Year, meanings & symbols, the kids got to make a few different crafts and sample traditional Chinese New Year foods - dumplings and tangerines.  Then, we ran a few errands, and went to Chuck E. Cheese for an hour.  We were supposed to meet up with a couple of friends, but that fell through, so we came home and chilled out for the rest of the day.

Saturday - Adobe had the last class of a drama class she's been taking through Encore Stage.  They did a portion of the Wizard of Oz, and Adobe was the wicked witch.  They had a performance for parents at the end of class.  (I'll have to get pics from our friend - I was shooting video & will share when I get it uploaded.) Afterwards, her friend Katy came over and they hung out, Phoenix slept, Atom was running errands, & I had some alone time for a bit... (That's when I began working on this post, but didn't get to finish... Domestic duties were calling me.)  In the evening, we went to our friends' house in Mt. Rainier - Sara & Domingo.  Great conversation, lovely raw food dinner, yerba maté, fun, & laughter.  And some healing energy. 

Sunday - I spent the day doing a Reiki I, II, & III Master/Teacher workshop.  Very exciting to tap into something I have felt instinctively and begin down this path.  More on that in another post sometime... Adobe had a double-birthday party to go to, and Phoenix and Daddy got some bonding time. 

      I look forward to the day when we can figure out a way for Daddy to have more freedom in his life too.  He has a grueling job as a union welder, working 6 am to 2:30, or 4:30 when they're pulling tens.  Sometimes even longer.  Playing with fire and moving and lifting lots of really heavy stuff, while being really cold about half the year.  I know it's hard to go bust his tail all day every day when we're having fun.  Hopefully as I get my business going more over the next couple years, we'll have more stability and find a different way for him to make a living, hopefully being his own boss.  In the meantime, I think a new job will come his way this year that is not going to be as hard on him.  I'm willing it to happen.

     Atom, I love you, and we really appreciate all the hard work you do, even if we're not always good at showing it; we know that as it stands right now, we owe a large part of our freedom to your hard work & self discipline!  Thank you!!!