A post has been building in me for some time. I awoke in the middle of the night as I do sometimes inspired. For most of my life I have lived very slowly. Growing up we had 100 blessed acres, and three families working together to nurture each other, grow food and live slower. As I grew folks passed on and families moved away from each other, making it harder to rely and lean on each other for assistance. Since leaving home after high school I have grown. I have traveled. I have opened my heart to healing and staying teachable. For me I am not fixed in time and space. I am changeable. I leave myself room to change my mind as I learn new things. But something that has not changed much is my desire to live slowly. Intentionally. Honestly. And I desire this for my family. Nature shows me this teaching in her seasons. We do live in a part of the country where there are four seasons, although this winter seems mild so far. I believe Creator placed us side by side with nature to learn cycles and the process and journey of living. To everything there is a season the bible says. And many other cultures feel the same way. We have had the fortunate blessings to learn from Elders who have also told us stories to help us to understand these ways as well. It is my intention to give you a glimpse of our family culture that works for us, but that has a lasting impact on posterity. We care about our children’s future. We care about our grandchildren. When my stories are told and I have passed into the earth I would like my legacy to be a lasting one.
Slow educating.
We homeschool and are known to ourselves as Eagle Tree Homeschool. I am a firm, loving, boundary keeping, sensory protecting mother of three boys. In my heart, the eagle holds the vision, and the eagle is also a symbol of the heroes journey, a symbol of youth. The eagle also flies close to the heavens to bring prayers and messages from The People to Creator, and back again. We also hold the name Eagle Tree Scouts for all of our Scouting adventures, although my middle son recently joined Cub Scouts to be a part of a group with some of his friends at church. Homeschooling is not easy, I never thought it would be, but Creator led me to it.
We are Waldorf-inspired, where academics do not fully begin until around 7 years of age, when the milk teeth fall out. During the first seven years of the child’s life we spend working with them in balancing the brain and the body. Gross and fine motor. Sensory issues. And in general play-based learning. From a neurological standpoint this works for us. Here’s a list of articles supporting our view.
http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/07_community/articles.asp
To me homeschooling is a great privelege and honor our country and state allows, and I have great counsel with Melisa Neilsen of Waldorf Essentials and many other women. Our inner work is the vital Center of success with the children. Please go to this website to learn about how you can find more help in that way, with parenting, inner work, marriage and home educating.
I am not here to convince you of anything, but if you want more information on Waldorf, then please watch this video to help you understand further. Home educating and Waldorf is not for everyone.
In early childhood we as parents work with the children in observing the seasons, seasonal festivals, spirituality, as well as normal daily life and skills. Slow living. Rhythm. To us it is about the whole child. The whole family. The whole woman. The whole man. The whole marriage. All of this takes work, compromise, and we make plenty of mistakes or “learnings” as indigenous folks call it. Not to be forgiven, but understood that this is a Part of the life process. Our children ((appear)) behind other mainstream children at first in things like reading, but quickly these practices take root and they are growing into strong sturdy trees reaching towards the sun. It is difficult to explain and I don’t care to unless someone is genuine about listening to our chosen path. Here is another article supporting the views of lifelong relevance.
To speak to our way of educating is to relate why we also eat slowly, or slowly dine. While teaching Third Grade this year we have spent time learning the Old Testament and Jewish Festivals. In this time I have learned about Shabbat. A time to rest. We do have Sabbath in Christian tradition as well, but this article really hit home and I have posted it on my Facebook page several times.
https://groundedmag.com/article/finding-rest/
Life is not easy, and we don’t always have what we think we need. Life is uncomfortable at times, but suffering has made me stronger and I have also learned the things I think I wanted, were not even necessary for healthy, whole living. There is so much luxury today for all of us, even compared to my childhood and my parents and grand-parents childhood. So much has changed since the turn of the last century, 115 years before. Cars, grocery stores, the internet, public schooling. The opportunities are vast. The economy relies on folks to work and stimulate consuming. I however prefer to live simply and honestly, even if I must suffer at times. I do not need an overly large house. I do not need all that is trendy. I am not entitled to have these things. Only if I work for them and desire them should I have them. And I hope to teach our children this as well. We have suffered recently at the end of 2014 to make a change to our family for the greater good of us as a whole. My husband is a man who works with his hands, who loves to build and create things and we support him. Not only do we support him so he can support us, but it is vital for him to create as soul expression, even if it is a commission for someone else. In the end, it is vital I stay home, as we have decided to provide slow living for our family. It has made me stronger and more humble in the ways of the world. I am a teacher and healer, true at heart and I enjoy what I do day to day, the spiritual mundane. I walk in prayer and lean on Creator to help me. I am not alone, and never have been even through my suffering days. Our family has been a great support as well in trying times. As hard as it was to accept help from them, I know their parents helped them tremendously and I intend on doing the same for our children. I do help them and I will help them. And so in the meantime it is important for us to keep or hold Space. I hold the Center energy for the family or space. In doing so I have to meditate on the foods we provide, among other essential for healthy intentional living. Long term it is important to win out over obesity, disease and destruction of the environment.
Slow eating.
For some time we have shopped locally, whether at Farmer’s Market or our local grocery. Even though I have shopped at Whole Foods before I never took the amount of time to really delve deep enough to see if I could shop there on a budget the same as our local store. However two friends of mine swore to me it could be done. The point was to avoid Genetically Modified Foods or GMO’s, which tear up the gut, as well as foods sprayed with Round Up. You have other choices as well like Trader Joe’s, Earth Fare and locally there are cooperatives. So, I set off to do my research on Pinterest (not a total time suck when you engage your will power). I have pinned several blogs and articles on how to shop Whole Foods, grocery lists, receipes and coupons, which can be found on Whole Foods website. Here is a link to my Pinterest board where I have almost 20,000 pins and almost 2,000 followers, not that I tried. Go ahead and take a keek, it’s up to you to do the work for your own family, tailoring style, taste, and menus.
Slowing down is not new. Slowing down is old and our ancestors understood this concept. Over time however we as a society have somehow found value in being busy. Being busy means production is taking place, and that is necessary to some degree, I won’t argue that. But, I will argue for balance. Long term and with the long vision that I hold for our family Slowing Down is important, because babies do not keep, and neither will Mother Earth if we do not do our part. Here is an article supporting dinner time as a family. We are not perfect and our house is quite loud at times. Our boys do burp and fart in front of us and their immediate grandparents at times, but it is because they feel loved and comfortable and well they are boys/kids. It’s funny and contrary and they show us that life is really not all that serious as we adults intend to make it 24/7. Now, in front of their peers and others they tend to curb themselves and have better manners. In fact, quite often I get compliments at the grocery, at church and elsewhere. Still, we are not perfect and do not claim to be. But I do claim to love them and I do claim to love Mother Earth and Creator.
http://parentandthepro.com/slowing-dinner/
Let’s reconnect here again. Feel free to subscribe to my blog if you wish, or just check back upon occasion. I don’t promise to write regularly, but I do promise to be honest, truthful and transparent.
Have a blessed day, the sun is shining outside and in our hearts.
Nurturing Spirit 