camping in northern michigan

two weeks ago (our first week of school) after math, writing, and music lessons the kids and i drove up to northern michigan to camp and explore (while josh enjoyed a quiet writer's retreat here on the farm). we're doing some roadschooling this semester for nature and history, and our first trip was a complete joy and success! we stayed at a lovely park near sleeping bear dunes, indigo bluffs, perfect for our first-ever camping trip together. we splashed in the platte river where it runs into lake michigan, watched the sunset at empire beach then roasted marshmallows over a late-night fire, spent a morning in leland/fishtown, searched for petoskeys at peterson park beach, fished off the pier in northport at dusk. it was a memorable adventure with the kids and we're so excited for more camping & roadschooling this fall!

we started planning this first trip with zero gear, and little camping experience beyond some backpacking trips i enjoyed as a single twenty-something. so grateful for my friend sarah schafer and all her gear counsel & practical camping and roadschooling tips as we prepped for this trip!

autumn harvest

seed-saving

we harvested all the lingering amaranth, celosia, and bells of ireland for drying and seed-saving. i used to use the margins of my time for these things, but more and more the kids are joining me. farm life encourages (and sometimes forces) us to live seasonally, and that lifestyle is beginning to take root—a seasonal rhythm of work and learning. for our first year here at little phlox farm, there was a real disconnect between our academic calendar and the rhythm of the seasons. a year in, and a natural integration is happening. what it looks like right now is a big splash of academics for one month, a deeper dive into folk and farm work and knowledge for the next month, etc, which i’ve charted out for the coming year. it’s a bit experimental, more influenced by grundtvig’s danish folk school ideas than charlotte mason right now, but i’ll let you know how it goes…so far, so fun! (photos from 10/7 and 10/14

sewing school

i taught the kids to sew a few weeks ago, so costume prep was technically school! heron and per made their capes, poppy helped sew her gown. josh made the helmets and while he was making them he seriously exclaimed, "mitchy, this is so fun; i'm having the time of my life!" and "maybe i missed my calling--should i move into costume design?!"

perry as gimli, gigi as frodo, poppy as galadriel, shepherd as theoden, heron as eowyn, and josh as…an elven professor?

river cottage outdoor cooking

the kids and i are taking some river cottage cooking classes via learning with experts. the first class is outdoor cooking, so we packed up the wagon and vermont cart, headed out to the back eight, and set up a little outdoor kitchen in the clearing for a grilled lunch. toasted cheese bread, roasted tomatoes, and fried apples. also, hot dogs! (thanks to josh who brought them out to us on the riding lawnmower(!!)). next up : foraging and feasting from hedgerows, another class from the folks at river cottage. (always choose the peer option—it’s so affordable!) // btw, another favorite online learning source for us has been the townsends YouTube channel, great for learning traditional skills, using axes & hatchets, starting fires with flint & steel, etc. we ♡ homeschooling!

a theology of making

“simply put, when we make, God ‘shows up.’”

— Makoto Fujimura

*from “A Theology of Making” via Christian Union Magazine.

(photos from 10/15/19)

you are not a homeschooler

last year as we waited for our “schoolroom”/garage remodel to be completed, the Lord, sweetly, quietly, fatherly, whispered, “you’re not a homeschooler.” i panicked. we were already halfway through the project. why would we build a schoolroom if we weren’t going to homeschool? but there was no turning back on the project. for months i leaned hard into that thought in prayer. the Lord had been so serious with me about homeschooling all those years ago. was He changing my course? but when i leaned in i found something precious there—the Lord was speaking of my identity. I’M NOT A HOMESCHOOLER.

it took some time, but then the liberation came. i could be a “homeschooler”, i could homeschool my kids, but it didn’t need to define any of us. & it didn’t need to take all of my (or our) time & creative energy. as the months have progressed i’ve found homeschooling to be more and more an incidental part of who we all are. it’s allowed me to free up more of our time for creative pursuits as well as homesteading. we’ve all been able to see ourselves as learners, creatives, homemakers. we do the major part of our formal academic work in the mornings, but our learning happens all day long. education has truly become more of an atmosphere. it is a discipline, too, but it’s a discipline we delight in because we see it happening all around us, all day long, whether we are doing our language arts lessons, or grinding wheat, or painting, or designing a softie or dress. we homeschool because it’s the best path i’ve found towards spiritual formation, vocational & social training for my kids.

we are believers. we are creatives. we are entrepreneurs. we are homemakers. & we are homeschoolers. but with a small h—only a tiny part of the whole.