Art Moves Redmond

Art Moves

Here in small-town Redmond people are prone to expressing themselves in all sorts of ways.  Most of the adult flag-waving and social media posting creates conflict, while teens feel free to passively flaunt their creativity through clothes and hair. There are plenty of bumper stickers and signs that point the way to political opinion or social change.  It's a confusing time.  The City of Redmond has managed to take on the mammoth challenge of self-expression with an Art Council that actually inspires art.  

The Dry Canyon is a four mile stretch of mixed use areas including ball fields, playgrounds and bike trails.  Where the paved trail runs under Highland Avenue (Highway 126) there is a very special art installation.

Moth and Octopus

This pedestrian tunnel used to boast some of the worst graffiti in town.  After years of beautiful mural paintings being desecrated, then painted over, then tagged again, the Art Council finally decided to let the public have their way with it.  They painted the entire tunnel gray and put this message in a small space near one of the entrances: 

Authorized area for original street art

All are welcome to paint.

Only paint on interior tunnel walls/ceiling.

Please dispose of trash.

No profanity, tags, advertisements or political artwork.

Keep it clean - this area to be enjoyed by all.

Elephant Tusk

At first there was a lot of gang tagging, inappropriate language and sloppy spray painting, but slowly over time the most thoughtful creations are left alone and seem to multiply.  Some are anonymous and some are signed.  Professional artistry mixes with young effort and creative explosion. Of course there is still occasional graffiti or inappropriate art, but anything that goes against the guidelines is quickly covered with gray paint by city employee fairies with paintbrushes who seemingly come in the night and create space for new art in its stead.  We've seen some beautiful work, of which these are only a few.  The beauty of the art installation lies in it's fragility.  You never know day to day what will appear.  Someday, I'm hoping (or planning?) someone will paint the ceiling black and starry or maybe with a Michaelangelo-type mural. Have I painted in the tunnel, you ask?  Have you?  

Raven

America is at home.  Our streets and monuments and downtown shops are empty.  Our schools and universities and libraries are deserted.  Sure it's all happening online- and behind those cameras (always focused on the prettiest wall in the house) people are getting a little crazy.  I saw one lady this week do a fashion show with her cat.  I saw a sportscaster do a play by play of his dogs sharing a beloved toy.  Jimmy Fallon is letting his kids write his jokes. How long can we go on like this?

Our backyard is like Lord of the Flies.  I pushed the kids out and shut the door the other day, letting them run wild with tarps and hoses and recyclables and whatever else they could find.  I went out there to check on them hours later and they had set up a post-apocalyptic trading post where one kid with a suspicious eye patch was trading cups full of dirt for empty cereal boxes with the other kid who was sitting, with the dog, in a wading pool full of water.  Peering into the "trading tent" I found a tray of my poor plant starts and was able to rescue them from certain death. There was a lot of mud.  Did I mention these girls are 13 and 9?  Seriously.  Unfortunately they've now figured out if they stay off screens and play nice I won't ask them to do any chores or extra schoolwork.

The flurry of well-meaning home-based activities is dying down.  The storm of cute chalk pictures and window paintings has waned.  I think the next phase will be much less outwardly demonstrative.  I suppose the children will figure out, like mine, that it's kind of ok to be bored in the backyard and parents will learn that it's ok to not talk to another adult for a whole day and that somehow we're all going to make it.  Yes, I'm checking on my extroverted friends to make sure they're ok.  Yes we're getting out for walks and sunshine.  Yes we're going to be ok.  As long as that pirate in the yard doesn't try to sell any more of my plants.  We might need to eat those in a few months.

Winter Words

Saturday!
Breakfast burritos
and hot coffee.
Sleepy-eyed princesses
poured into tights and turtlenecks
gripping smoothies
blearily eyeing the rising sun.

Arrival moment-
circus-fest of bags
boots
coats
claim a table
beckoning snow
pros waiting for skis
remember when
they were small girls
gripping my knees?
wait, wait, wait

Up, up, up and away
the chairlift circles
Girls' wide-eyes
see snowy trees
blue skies
fierce and full
of TRY.

Wonder Woman- Good for Girls?

As a feminist I have a love-hate relationship with Wonder Woman.  She is fraught with problems but so amazing, too.  With the new release of Wonder Woman (2017) the world is talking about her more than ever.  As much as I want to love Wonder Woman, here are a few unhelpful things she teaches women:

1. Outlaw Men.  Wonder Woman's world has outlawed men.  This perpetuates the problem of him vs. her without offering solutions on how to live together as equals.  The sister-power thing has some value for me, but the movie downplays the sisterhood stuff a lot (see the great article in Quartz, The New Wonder Woman Movie is Strangely Uninterested in Sisterhood).  
2. Women Can't Carry Real Weapons.  Wonder Woman may have always been a closet pacifist, but one who carries a whip a la Cat Woman (ok, just a sexy rope).  Her other weapon is the shackles of patriarchy WRIST GUARDS.  That's right.  Her main weapon is her defensive jewelry.  Thankfully, Gal Gadot gets to carry a sword and shield.  It's about time.  To be fair, Wonder Woman has used a lot of different weapons over the years, but her main thing is definitely the rope and bracelets.
3. Girls Fight Sexy.  My number one beef with Wonder Woman is the same I have with most female action figures or heroes.  They are all sexy and beautiful beyond belief to the standards of Hollywood.  They don't bleed, they give lots of panty and boob shots and they hardly ever sweat.  When will real women be recognized as super heroes?  And when will they show the sweat?  Check out this great article from the NY Times, Women Who Have the Chops (and the Punches and the Kicks. NYT interviews some great women of action films and shares why they do the films they do. Michelle Rodriguez tells us it's hard to find good roles for women because male writers usually kill them off if they're not attached to somebody. Michelle Yeoh shares that she finds value in playing more complex roles showing women who are smart as well as strong. Charlize Theron reminds us to show our bruises. Good stuff. And can I just say- let's see more Ronda Rousey on screen!

So how do we talk to our girls (and your boys) about this? I haven't seen Wonder Women with my super-girls, yet, but I'll let you know how the conversation goes. At our house girls can do anything. They dance, do flips, build space ships, wield swords, wrestle, climb mountains and so much more. I always remind my girls: be strong, be brave, be beautiful you. Girls growing up everywhere, you are my real superheroes.

What do you think about Wonder Woman? Is she empowering women or perpetuating patriarchal problems?

My Little Wonder Women

News from the Mud Kitchen Cafe

A few years ago I was dying to ditch the old plastic kitchen set that lived in our back yard.  I knew my girls would love a place to cook (we are foodies, after all) so I built them a mud kitchen (thank you, Pinterest).  We used the existing fence to hang a few crates and shelves and put a pallet down for a floor.  From there it has evolved.

Mud Kitchen Cafe- 2015

I am really surprised how long this little place has survived.  The neighbor's tree provides shade and the girls do the rest.  Grace especially gets a lot of joy out of puttering around out here.  I hope someday she lets her sister cook.

Girls sharing their cafe- 2015

Grace is the chef and Rain is her hostess/server/dishwasher.  They share creative influence in the project.  The menu rotates seasonally and current offerings include fresh raspberry leaf tea, chive and rock stew, marinated mushrooms (rocks) and an amazing mud pie.  The girls have learned a lot about collaboration, kitchen management (time and materials, mostly) and customer service.  All while playing outside!

Mud Kitchen Cafe 2017

This is the kitchen, today, heading into its third summer.  Daddy and I like to sit out here in the evenings with the girls sipping on beer and ordering amazing food from their little kitchen.  I wish they made real food- I bet it would be awesome.  Soon they'll start harvesting from the garden and we'll have some edible meals out of this place.

Summer is on it's way- how do your kids get outside and enjoy it?

5 Tips for Getting Kids Outside

It's a hot topic and one I'm passionate about: getting kids outside.  During the school year our kids are highly structured, pressured and scheduled beyond belief (mine, too) and somehow when summer hits they have forgotten how to be...kids.  Here are some tips for getting your kids outside.

1. Space to play. You don't have to have the perfect yard or a swingset or twenty acres of forested rolling hills for your kids to have fun.  But you do need to create spaces to play.  Our backyard has several areas: dirt pile, mud kitchen, patio with small pool, trampoline, shady tree and climbing tree with swing.  Then you have to let them play there.  Don't worry about keeping it perfect- let your kids have fun in their space.  And do let them play with the hose.  Yes, they'll get muddy.

2. Free time. Seems silly to say it, but don't over structure your kids' time.  It's ok to have a few special activities that you do like swimming lessons or a special camp for a week, but more than one or two activities at a time can make kids feel a little stressed, or at least cause them to forget how to have free time and be bored.  The point is to decompress during the summer months.

3. Special outdoor activities.  Unstructured time is very important, but so is a little structured time.  Plan special trips to nearby outdoor spaces like a favorite park, a creek or river, or a hike.  Plan to stay for awhile.  Give your kid a journal or camera to record some of what they find, take your time and have lunch.  Plan some "quiet time" where kids can be alone and reflect on what they observe.  Maybe bring a special book to read together or do some birdwatching.

4. Invite friends.  When kids start to get bored of the usual thing, invite some friends over.  Have your kids help make homemade popsicles for their friends or build a fort in the back yard.  Bringing friends on a hike can help everyone have more fun and forget the work of hiking while increasing the fun.  Give one of your friends a break from their kids or invite them all along.

5. Lead by example.  That's right.  You need to get outside, too.  Work in the yard while your kids are playing or show them how you climb the tree.  Turn off your device (yes, I know this is a blog) and play with your kids. Plan activities that interest you.  If the big park isn't fun for you, plan a hike or a day at the river with your friends.  Your kids will have fun if you are having fun.

 

                                          

Super Girls Who Fly!

There's no doubt in my mind:  these girls are Super!

Baby Rain (above) and Grace-Girl (below) have conquered the changes of the past year with courage and fearlessness.  

These girls have moved from homeschooling to public school and have faced the very real loss of Mommy-as-they-knew-her with incredible courage.  As we head into fourth grade and kindergarten in a few short weeks, I have to brag a little about how proud I am of their courage and fearlessness.  So here's to all the SuperGirlz in the world who are facing challenges of their own- don't forget that you can fly! 

The Big "T": From Home to School

I'm a blogaholic.  Especially when there's a change in the air.  I want to know how everyone ELSE dealt with it. I want to know their tricks and trades.  I need the info, people!  So, this year I'm headed back to work and the girls are going to school.  For the first time.  Ever.  We are all very excited about this big change, though there is some anxiety in it for us all.  Grace-girl will be going into 3rd Grade, Baby Rain to Preschool.  The grieving is real for this mom who has spent the better part of a decade defining myself as a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom.  I'm not worried about the girls being out there, I'm just worried about missing them.  If you want to slog through the grief process with me, check out my other blog.  In the meantime I'm here to share some practical things I've learned and want to try.  A plus: we finally get to share all our school stories with the kids and the first-day-at-school fun and anticipation will be real, not manufactured by mom.

There's not a lot out there about transitioning a kid into public school from homeschool at this age.  There's a fair amount for the high school set, and lots for Kindergartners headed out into the world.  So here's some wisdom decent ideas for helping kids through this transition.  I know my kids really need a healthy dose of transition help right now.

• This is scary for them.  It's new.  So Daddy and I are making the decisions.  We won't slog them through our decision-making about schools and childcare and all that jazz.  They just don't need that burden.  However, we will give them space to voice concerns as these decisions come up.
• We allow space for the anxiety, but we spend more time on the excitement.  Let's focus on the adventure of this new thing and all the fun we'll have!  Grace-Girl is drawing pictures of the things that make her anxious about this transition (missing mommy, not having friends at school, a new routine and structure) and I'm helping her put words to those worries.  We're also developing a plans to ease those burdens.   Here are some:

1. Preparation- I've assured Grace-Girl that we'll meet her teacher and see her classroom before school starts.  Promise.  We will also ask to see what the schedule will look like each day and how transitions in the classroom will look.  Baby Rain will get the same treatment which will help her, too.  Grace-girl is also writing and drawing her anxieties so we can talk about them and get them out in the open.  School supply shopping will help build some anticipation and excitement and also give the girls some ownership over the experience.
2. Parental Involvement- Mom and Dad will be involved at both girls' schools (even preschool).  Fundraisers, events, parent teacher nights- we will be there.  It's important to us to support our neighborhood schools and to care about what our kids are learning.  Just because we work doesn't mean we don't want to be involved with our kids.
3. Something to Look Forward To- For easing the separation, we'll focus on planning mommy-daughter dates and daddy-daughter dates once a month during the fall with each of the girls.  This will be hard for all of us to uphold, but I want them to have something to count the days towards and a reminder that we like to be with them!
4. School Tools- They will each be allowed to carry a "silent buddy" to school.  A small stuffed animal that lives in their bag and doesn't get to come out.  He's just a reminder of home.  Also- I'm making special bracelets for the girls to wear to remind them that Mommy and Daddy love them and that Jesus is always with them.  I haven't worked all that out, yet, but it's rolling around up there in my head.

This is all for now- I'll post up soon as we continue our adventure to the next great thing our family gets to do together!

Some days are like that...

Somehow it's been five months since I updated this blog.  Since then we've had three black eyes, the Seahawks WON the Superbowl, Grace-girl has grown 3 inches and Baby Rain probably more than that.   We survived the holidays, we survived Snowpocalypse.  We even snowboarded a few times.  It's been a busy season in life.  Spring always brings me back to fresh beginnings.
But I'm feeling a little hung up.  Like this little one.

I'm not interested in blogging about my perfect kids and my perfect life and my perfect husband because there is no such thing.  We all know it.  The reality is that some days piano practice looks like this:

I'm very excited about homeschooling next year, but I'm not sure how we can afford it.  I love teaching my kids everything, but then some days I don't.  Some days I feel as eloquent as Madeline L'Engle or Anne Lamott.  And other days I can't form a proper sentence.  It's just how life rolls.  

What I can do, with no shame, is laugh.  Laugh at myself.  Laugh with my kids at their stupid (that's right, I said stupid) knock-knock jokes.  Like this one:  

"Knock Knock"

"Who's There?"

"Interrupting cow."

"Interrupting cow wh..."

"OINK!!!"

It makes no sense.  But it makes me laugh every time.  And that's good.

This makes me laugh, too.  My warrior-princess-ninja...  She's just too awesome.

So here's my reminder to myself- and to any other wretched soul who's trying to glean wisdom from this blog:  Quit taking yourself so seriously.  Life is hard sometimes.  It really is.  But it's the moments when we laugh, sometimes even at each other, that we will cherish forever.  No one wants to hear about the poop accident your 3 year old had at the play area in the grocery store.  They really don't.  Focus on the laughs.  

Summer Learning- the real scoop

Summer learning always begins with lots of great books.

We didn't advance three grades over the summer as I had hoped.  In fact, I think we may have lost some academic ground.  Now that we're in full swing in the new school year I find myself reminiscing about our past summer.  I had big plans, but instead this summer came to be termed "The Summer of Her Boyhood."  Someday I'll write more about that- the idea that there's a special, fleeting time in a girl's life where she is free to just be herself, to be wild and untamed and romp and play to her heart's content.  Grace Girl turned 7 and Baby Rain turned 3 this summer. It was a fantastic, wild romp of a good time.

So, here are a few things the girls learned from our big wild summer:

• Grace Girl and Baby Rain invested in long-term projects and enjoyed the outcome of hard work.

Playing in the Sunflower House

•  Sure, she can't spell worth a darn, but check out those waterfall-fairy charming skills!

Hiking at Horsetail Falls in the Columbia Gorge

•  Maybe Grace Girl's measuring skills are rusty, but she understands "scale" in a whole new way!

Making friends with the Sea Lions at the Oregon Zoo

• Baby Rain explored the language of math through music and rhythm.

Exploring music, costume and art

 We missed some reading lessons, but Grace Girl's learning to communicate in new ways.

Found a snake at a wilderness lake on her first backpacking trip

 We backed out of gymnastics and didn't do sport camps this summer, but we stayed in shape the old-fashioned way- hiking, running, climbing...what a view!

Wilderness wildflower meadow romping near 3 Fingered Jack

 Grace Girl learned about physics, gravity and force!

Oregon Coast wave jumping

Baby Rain deepened relationships with the people that matter most.

Beach walking with Daddy

•  They may be a little wild and untamed- ok, maybe more than a little- and I'm so glad.  May they never forget the wildness of their own souls.

Wild summer days- camping on the Little Santiam River 

My prayer for our new year is that each adventure would bring learning, and each cause to learn would be a glorious, swashbuckling, fabulous adventure.  Yes.  I said swashbuckling.  Because it's a great word.  Go ahead.  Say it out loud.  I dare you.

May the road always rise to meet you...

Summer learning begins... with Spelling!

There will be lots of tree-climbing, too!

Now that our Grace-girl has officially completed first grade and we've taken a few weeks off, I'm busy planning for our summer work (don't tell her it's work) and even thinking ahead to fall.  Our main shortfall this year was that we didn't focus much on spelling, though we did make major strides in reading and grammar, which will ultimately help with spelling.  This summer instead of working on "writing" we are going to have some spelling fun!  She'll also get some printing practice in there without realizing it, just to keep us going before cursive starts in the fall.

During the school year we run a fairly classical school, but in the summer I prefer a more organic, Charlotte Mason approach.  We do a lot of gardening, bike riding, hiking and natural observances of the world around us.  We do still accomplish some formal education in the midst of that as I absolutely hate the idea of having to re-teach something we've already learned!  If you add it all up it looks like a lot of school time, but most of this is organic learning time for our whole family.  I imagine we will actually sit down for "school" less than 2 hours a week.

• Bible Study- The girls and I read a Bible story every morning, discuss, and pray together.  We also work on a new memory work passage every month or so (45 minutes/week).  When Matt is home he joins us or leads us.  Prayer and worship time are also regular moments in our day.
• Grammar- One lesson per week from our First Language Lessons book, plus review of the first grade memory work (20 minutes/week) so we don't forget!
• Spelling- One or two lessons per week which will mostly be a review of first grade (20 minutes/week).  See below.  I might just find a cheap summer supplement book to work through to have an end point in sight.  I think this will be a good school activity to take camping.
• Reading- Our wonderful library's summer reading program will serve as an inspiration and motivation for summer reading (90 minutes/week).   We will also be attending a few of the summer reading program activities (there are many) and regular weekly (or bi-montly) Storytime for Baby Rain.  Our library reading fuels our decisions for other subjects of study and can sometimes lead us to a unit study tangent.
• Math- we'll be starting Singapore Math in the fall, so we are mostly reviewing and solidifying skills over the summer with a focus on problem solving, critical thinking, measurement and integrating science.  We'll do some flash card work but we also like to include lots of fun games as part of our math time (90 minutes/week).  Some of our favorite math-oriented games are Monopoly, Rummikub and Catan games (Catan Kids, Settlers of Catan and Starship Catan).
• Science- One weekly nature study using our Anna Comstock (Handbook of Nature Study) and library books (45 minutes). Includes writing practice, drawing and observation in her nature journal.
• Classical Conversations- It's important to not completely forget everything we learned last year, so we will review cycle 1 memory work during the summer (about 60 minutes/week of mostly auditory practice in the car) but we'll wait to start cycle 2 until we get to September.
• Art/Music- These occur naturally at our house as we lead worship at church and work with several instruments.  June is a motivated student of drawing and will no doubt fill her time easily with art projects and fun craft projects as the motivation and occasion arrives.  

In my quest for more spelling practice, I looked for some free online resources and I've listed some interesting-looking ones below.  Do you have others you like to use and want to share?

Zaner-Bloser- nice printable worksheets to practice writing words.

TLS- lots of different worksheets on many topics, among which are spelling.  Fun!

Grade Spelling- this is a fun interactive site for spelling practice.  Not a pressure-cooker, just fun activities and age appropriate spelling word lists.


Enjoy your summer!  Enjoy learning!  And don't forget to do both at the same time!

Mommy Don't Go! How to Say Goodbye...

It's always hard to say goodbye to Mommy.  When I began going to the gym in the evenings last fall we ran into some separation anxiety with our little Baby Rain.  I recently began to work outside the home (just a few nights a week) which meant my absence was felt not just during bedtime, but also during dinner and the hour beyond.

While Grace-girl, almost 7, is now old enough to understand reason (she still misses her Mama, sometimes, and has always been a fairly sensitive child), Baby Rain is not quite 3 and still has strong feelings about the subject!  So this mama did what any good mama would do.  I requested a bunch of books from the local library.  Your library has them too!  Search under "separation anxiety" or ask your children's librarian for suggestions.  Most books in this category are geared towards the first day of school, but I've found that these are equally helpful for little ones as they don't really know the difference between "school" and "playing at someone's house."  Books about loss are also good for this category (Think: Knuffle Bunny and Have You Seen Duck?, a current favorite at our house).

Some Favorite Books at Our House:

The first two are not specifically related to "school" but rather are simply how little ones cope with missing Mommy.  For the record, there are GREAT books about kiddos missing Daddy or other caregivers.  These just really hit home for my kids and me since I'm their primary caregiver.  

• Owl Babies has been in my arsenal for awhile.  This book was a favorite with both girls at the toddler stage.  It really helps them grasp the idea that Mommy always comes back.  We do have to learn to wait and be patient and maybe even worry a little, but every kid who's read this book can repeat Bill's special line, "I want my Mommy!"  Some of the illustrations are dark (owls are nocturnal, afterall), but never scary.  My favorite picture is the one at the end when the baby owls dance around on their branch.  Pure elation!  Mama has returned!

• Piglet and Mama was/is another fave for both my girls.  In this case, Mama appears to be lost, but in the end she was looking for piglet the whole time.  In this sweet story, Piglet meets several other animals around the farm who offer her an activity to share with their own little ones, but each time it simply says, "But Piglet wanted her Mama."  For some reason I always inextricably insert a "No thank you" before piglet asserts her desire for Mommy.  No need to be rude, after all!  The playful illustrations add a lightness to the story rather than a scary element for the sensitive crowd.  The simplicity is winsome and not tiring at all.

• Llama Llama Misses Mama is a sweet story I found in my recent search for books about this topic.  I do love that sweet, passionate little llama.  Who doesn't?  The illustrations in this book are so exquisite that you can almost taste the tears running down little Llama's face when, finally, "it was all too much for little Llama" and he breaks down crying at the snack table at his new preschool.  All is well in the end, of course, when his new friends gather round him and the teacher reminds him that his mama will come back at the end of the day.  The scene of their reunion is a mess of tossed crayons and joyful exuberance.  Love it.  And in the end Llama Llama decides he loves Mama AND school.  

These last two I like because they give you an action point- they remind you that you can DO something about missing Mommy.  These are better for kids who are a bit older (stories are longer), perhaps more school-age, but still apply to little ones as well.

• The Kissing Hand is a classic book about little raccoon who is heading off to his first day of school.  Of course, Raccoon school is at night!  Again, the illustrations are beautiful and the story poignant.  Mama gives little Raccoon a special kiss that will remind him of her throughout his night at school.  This is a sweet story that also allows reciprocation for little Raccoon to give Mama a special kiss of her own so she won't miss him too much, either.  And off he scampers to school.

• The Kiss Box is about a mother who has to go away for awhile and how she soothes the concerns of her little bear.  Finally the little bear decides to make a box to store the kisses in that she will send when she is away.  This is a strategy that has worked in my family, too.  Only I like to cut out tiny paper hearts and fill the kiss boxes with both real kisses and the paper reminders.

Now that you know how to help your little one cope with separation- how do you deal with it?  Come visit me at my other blog for help with that one!

Gems, Jammies and Gingerbread: Science at home

For Christmas my Grace-Girl received a Gem dig kit.  You know the one. She was SO excited that I had to hide it until the appropriate time to do the project (aka NOT at my sister's house).  As soon as we got home she was aching to try out her little hammer and chisel.  Safety goggles on, pajamas still in place, we ventured into the world of gems and rocks.  We read about the types of rock, identified the gems (to the best of our amateur ability) and discussed methodology of extraction.

She surprised even me with her fastidiousness.  This project took a long time and she worked carefully; uncovering each small gem or rock from its dusty home.  When it was all done I sent her outside to dispose of the mess.  Then, in a whirlwind of genius, I sent the gingerbread house out with her.  Somehow I knew the only thing that would justify not eating the thing would be smashing it to bits.  And I was right.

That careful scientist went a little wild when she was able to become fully destructive.  This is a great way to get energy out of your homebound kids (see the snow?  see the snow on the trampoline?).  Unfortunately, and I wouldn't recommend this, she smashed it right on the back patio next to the back door.  I think I'll be finding red hots and fondant next spring when all the snow melts.  In the meantime the birds are having a sugar-induced heyday (yes, yes, we cleaned it up as best as we could, people.  The birds were not actually harmed).

There you go.  Fun with science.  And gingerbread.  And pajamas.  It's homeschooling in a nutshell.

On the Road

Grace-girl- she always wanted those eye thingies.  And no, she didn't actually sleep.

Our adventurous little family recently embarked on a 3000 mile road trip from Oregon to New Mexico and back again.  I could start a new blog for this topic, but I'll restrain myself. As you can imagine, we spent a lot of time in the car.  Here are a few things I learned, in a nutshell!

1.  Make a plan, but don't be afraid to change it.  I spent hours planning, organizing, and preparing for this trip.  Games, toys, educational activities, homeschool curriculum, daily snacks, music, and even some videos all took up space in our front seat area.  I planned for everything.  Every good place to stop and run around, every meal, every little detail.  Then I set it down and let it go.  Whew.  It's nice to be prepared (just in case) but not something I have to be controlling about.  It's always good to expect the unexpected; like a delicious burger joint in Central California (Eddie's Famous Cafe- Eddie even gave us free cinnamon rolls), or a truly interesting rest stop in New Mexico.  You just never know what you might find!

The first of 3 KOA cabins, all exactly the same!  Talk about easy...

2. Try to maintain your normal routine, at least to a certain extent, for the happiness of the whole crew.  We happen to use a curriculum that is heavy on memorization and auditory learning.  So you can now imagine us rocking out to such hits as, "The Timeline Song," "The US Presidents" and don't forget that amazing ditty, "The Preposition Song." Every morning we started our morning with breakfast at the campsite (we stayed at KOA campgrounds the whole way down for consistency and ease of travel- the cabins are the way to go when stopping for a quick overnight- we stayed with family and varied places on the way home), then mom or dad packed the car while the other ran the kids around at the playground (almost all KOAs have playgrounds).  After hopping in the car we did our Bible reading and prayer time then jumped into memory work.  By the time we finished all that the first hour was well behind us.  Grace-Girl also filled out a daily journal page each morning.  We spent time each evening to sit down and have dinner together, do our normal bed-time routine (as much as possible) and re-pack for the next day (snacks, car reorganization, etc.).  It was worth it.

The girls at Arches National Park

3. Enjoy the Road!  We were definitely on a schedule that didn't allow long stops, as we wanted lots of time with family at our destination, but we made a few exceptions: one morning at Arches National Park and one morning at The New Mexico Natural History Museum in Albuquerque.  We powered through the first two days (though we did make short stops to run around) and slowed down on the last two days.  Daddy and I also found time in the evenings to have fun- we played games, watched movies (all KOAs have free wi-fi) and took some time for "us" all while the girls were sleeping peacefully in the cabin.  

Many happy travels to you and yours this holiday season!  Don't forget to visit Pinterest for every idea of a car game you could possibly imagine.