Blog?

I'm having a strong aversion to extended amounts of time on the computer these days. And blogging tends to take said "extended amounts of time". Hence, the lapse. Caleb said this is how it starts. The giving up on the blog thing. You just don't feel like doing it for a long time, and eventually you are done. So, maybe I am done. Apparently not tonight, since here I am typing away. And I plan to post a few pictures too. But as I sit here Jonas is pulling at my arm and wanting my help. (Halfway through that sentence I got up to help him for a few moments. Sometimes it's a few hours - and this is my point - blogging is not very practical for me right now.) But Caleb - the blog abandoner- is back to it. He has a rad new site where he is doing book reviews. And Charis wants to keep hers up, so I think I'll be content with those 2 Hagen blogs for now. 

But I can't NOT blog about my incredible visit with one of my favorite people, Kari Roller. The week was perfect. A much needed time of adventure, good talks and nature loving. We also got to hang out with some old and loved friends from Valencia. 

And how do I not show you the picture of the grapefruit we picked that was the size of my head?

Also, Charis turned 7 (she'll be posting pictures soon), and we made homemade chocolate

and celebrated earth day. What else?...Caleb shaved his beard, homeschooling is NOT illegal, Charis and I are enjoying a mother daughter book club, and we are loving our new unschooling friends the Canhams, and still doing gymnastics. 

We've spent a lot of time painting recently (in pajamas, of course). And it's been SO beautiful outside, that I just can't make the time to sit in front of a screen for hours. Im attempting my first vegetable garden. Oh, and big news - we got a new couch. Only a big deal because I have loved my lime green couch, and it feels like abandoning a member of the family. So, we put it in the play room, and put the new couch in the living room. 

Fallbrook is beautiful and allergy invoking (for Caleb).  Im glad we'll be here until November, and after that...who knows? Well, I suppose God knows, and that is where I put my trust.

picture update

I haven't been in the mood to blog. Not sure why. But I have so many cute pictures I want to share. So...



Charis' first horse riding experience was a huge success. She went with a special friend, and the little ones got to join in the petting "zoo" fun afterwards.



Jonas is seriously strong.




We had another unschooling international night. Mexican food was on the menu this month. It was a really fun night for the kids and parents. I'll end with my favorite picture from the night...


After being tied together in feather boas, K and I were told we were "now more beautiful!" I'd have to agree with Ella.

How do you know they're learning?

A friend was asking me about unschooling yesterday. She wondered how I knew if my kids were learning enough and if they were "on track". I think this is a great question, and one that all us unschoolers get asked all the time. Basically, I know what they're learning because Im with them all the time, and I see and hear what they know. Amazingly they are learning a ton without any required workbooks or "learning time". I don't know if they are exactly on track with their school-going peers. And honestly, I don't care. I know they are ahead in some areas, and possibly "behind" in others. But it is obvious they are growing and learning. The really cool thing is they remember what they learn because they are discovering things they are interested in, on their timing. Isn't that how we all ultimately learn?



Last night we had a perfect example. Most of the day was spent playing with friends and watching a movie. Which could be seen as non-educational (although I believe they learn a lot from both of those activites). But that night we went on a family walk around downtown Encinitas. After a successful trip at a funky thrift shop, we went into a store with kid's toys. Outside they had a chalkboard and chalk. After playing inside for a long time the kids headed outside, and colored with the chalk for about 30 minutes. Charis started by writing 1-20 on the ground and hopping on the numbers. Which helped Paxton learn some of those higher numbers. Then she wrote out "10 plus 10 is 20". Why she wrote that I don't know. I didn't even realize she knew that. And since I haven't taught her formal math, she didn't know the short cuts. So I asked her if she wanted to see the shortcuts for "plus" and "is". So she learned how to write simple equations on the ground of downtown Encinitas at 6:00pm. Paxton kinda copied the equations and Jonas doodled. Caleb and I stood back and marveled.



Once home we ended up having a discussion about different country's governments. For some reason she wondered which countries have Kings and Queens. That lead to a talk about our government and the president and democracy. I explained how our country is run. So, now she knows about that. And that is how I know they are learning. And why I'm not concerned about them being on track.

BBQ @ Kirsten's

Who needs "Swiss Family Robinson" when you can have pillow fights, princesses, sword fights, races, kid-directed performances, screaming, and yummy food? And all this right here in Encinitas!



There was a lot running and loud talking. And the adults had a great time hanging out while the kids entertained themselves. I enjoyed meeting an unschooling mom who has 3 older girls (who she's unschooled all the way).



The sword fights eventually ended with a real injury. Pax claims he cut Asher with his sword.



The girls gave all the adults special jewelry and food they concocted.



And the evening ended with a lengthy and confusing, although impressive, performance by the kids. The red box was the stage, and everyone took a turn doing their thing on it. Don't think organized talent show. Think guitar, bongo drum, yelling, sword fighting, bossiness and lots of fun.

Paxton Going to Work

We have this cute coupon book with things like, "Pick any movie at the video store tonight" coupons in it. Well, we recently gave Pax one that said "Go to work with Daddy or Mommy". Since he's been to my work a lot, we thought it'd be fun for him to go with Caleb. The plan was to meet Caleb in the park, and after a little picninc, Pax was off to work. He was so cute the morning of, as he picked out his "work clothes". He said "no" to the first 3 shirts I offered, and changed his shorts twice. Then he wanted to pack his bag. We put in a few movies, some little cars, books, and lots of snacks (he kept adding more).

Caleb said he did great. He mostly watched movies, and ate almost all his snacks (there were a LOT). He got to see the snack room and the game room, and played pool with daddy at the end of the day. I was so excited to see him when he got home, but he was chill. He said it was good, but that daddy's work was kinda boring. And he liked the snack room.

6 little munchkins

I have dear friend, Rochelle, whom I was pregnant with all three times. Our kids have been friends since the womb, and it is such a special relationship for them to have. Well, being the crazy, spontaneous, unschooling mama that she is, she drove down from Pasadena to be with us for the day.



We were already at the park with another unschooling friend when she arrived. And as soon as the kids saw each other they immediately connected, and played together non-stop. We spent over three hours at the park.



Elijah lost his first tooth at the park! He says it was because he ate some sand.



Then we came home and played some more. The girls wanted to be alone with their Polly Pockets, so the boys wrestled and played pirates while Rochelle and I talked.



We ate a delicious shmorgas- board for dinner, and then headed to the beach when Caleb got home. After playing in the waves, building sand castles and climbing the rocks, it was time for our friends to leave. It really was a wonderful day.

Clay Scluptures and Calculators

I had a day of feeling like nothing productive or "educational" was happening. I felt we needed more. More what I don't know, but it seemed like a wasted day. We usually go out in the morning and do something cool and then hang out at home for Jonas' afternoon nap. Well today we stayed home. And I felt like I was being a bad mom. So I did something that helped. I wrote down everything we had done so far that day. Seeing it on paper, and being mindful of it, made me realize what a lovely day it had been. Exactly the kind of day I like.



Besides making amazing sculptures and playing with calculators, we painting little figurines. Made a pillow castle. Charis made her own book all by herself. We colored. Looked at the cover of video games and discussed the pictures. Snuggled. Listened to music. Danced. Took a shower together. Did laudry and cleaning "together". Ate and drank together. cuddled. made balloon bombs. and talked a lot.



And did a ribbon dance. of course.

an unschooling moment

I felt frustrated with my little girl today. She was a bit grumpy and we were just struggling to enjoy each other. She announced at 7:00pm that she wanted to make a cake. My first reaction was annoyance at her insistence. So I told her she could make one by herself if she wanted to. So she listed the ingredients she was going to use (2 eggs, flour, salt and honey). From then I was sucked in. And gladly so. We had a really fun time of measuring, taste testing, shooing away the boys, and eventually eating our healthy chocolate cake.

an international night

This photo doesn't do justice to the delicous spread of Thai food we had. The menu ranged from Pad See Ew to Chicken Curry to Thai iced tea, ending with a dessert of sticky rice with mango and coconut ice cream. We had such a fun night of eating, talking, playing and more eating.



This photo also does not do justice to the situation happening. All 8 kids decided to see who could scream the loudest - at the same time. Notice one of the girls has her ears covered! It was really loud.



It was an unschooling family event, and true to form, everone was up for a late-night spontanious walk to the beach. It was a perfect ending to our party.