Apr 7, 2020

Freeschoolin' April 2020

Slowing Down

This time last year I was focused on event planning. Hope's birthday, field trips, a big waterpark meetup, LARP events and more. I was enthusiastic and full of energy. Then, suddenly a month later, my adult son Skylar passed away and I was stuck running all the events I had planned. So while it's sad we can't see our friends now and we can't go out places to explore the world further than where we can walk, I am very grateful for this down time. I was too busy to fully grieve last year and now it's time to deal with what was left behind. We're taking full advantage of the spring weather BEFORE the bugs wake up by getting our garden ready for planting using our no till, flipped raised garden beds. We planted indoor seeds (thank you Earth Valley Organics!) in the organic soil we grabbed before our area declared a state of emergency. Hope has been drawing and colouring, playing Minecraft and pretending both independently and with us. Now that all the snow is gone, the garbage folks leave on our street is easy to spot so we've been picking up the sides of the road for our community and the earth. Hope is riding her bike often even though she outgrew it last fall. The plan is to buy one early for her birthday that is in May.

River, our rescue horse, is loving getting out of the paddock for walks even though there's not much to graze just yet. He's very content when we work out by his barn and often will lay down for a nap while we are there. We've been climbing the dead trees that have been cut down and Hope decided to do some dog training with Sonic. They were incredible together! Jaze and I have been regularly playing D&D with our besties online which has been a blast and Hope is always invited to join. For now, it's a little slow for her in comparison to her daily roleplay.

When we go shopping, we all go but Hope and I stay in the car and draw, play games, talk and I like to make lists. Hope was finding the rules too much ( as was I ) even before they recommended only one family member go into stores to get what they needed, so we've been doing this for weeks now. Because we've been at Earth Valley Organics all winter long and they are an essential service as Organic farmers, as long as we follow a strict physical distancing protocol we can continue to help out, something we are very happy about.

Helping out at the Earth Valley Organics Barn

What Are We Learning? Drama Science Gardening Math Social Skills Animal Care Energy Management Responsibility Emotional Regulation Nutrition Physical Education Technology Sustainability Self Reliance Tracking Healthy Living Compassion Innovation Adventure Eco Awareness Art Reading Emergency Preparedness

So Much More...

For many people all over the world the days of the week are beginning to blur. The sun wakes us and empty tummies beckon families to meals. Projects and making memories lead the days. Late nights are full of laughter. There is a rhythm overtaking the schedule. This is how we always live. Our family is well below the Canadian Poverty Line financially but we make it work because living any other way literally feels like it crushes our very soul. Follow our journey through the blog, and other social media linked on our website to find out how we afford and manage our whole life learning/ Freeschoolin' adventure here in Ontario, Canada.