MAMATOTO - Over the Moon!!

Mamatoto - Mother and Child are One

Last week I found out I was pregnant with baby number 5!  You might think that being my 5th pregnancy I wouldn't be so surprised or ridiculously happy but each time fills my heart with incredible joy.

As I sit and meditate on this glorious new divinity growing inside of me, I see a little Buddha resting peacefully, radiating love and healing light out to my extremities.

I feel so very blessed.. again.  

Being an attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding mama, I relish the way my body evolves and prepares for the demands of reproduction and childbearing again.

  

Technically, baby is 4 weeks along... Moonfully, baby has been dividing and exponentially growing at warp speed for 2 weeks.  The Lunar Eclipse last month was a sacred moment indeed.

I am feeling.... a little tired, a little strange in the tummy, very thirsty, a lot like fasting, a lot like meditating and a lot like smiling!! :)

I love being pregnant!

SPACE to SOW and GROW - "Dragon Language"

My little man is not so little any more..  In fact, he turned 11 last month.  Today I want to share his handwriting journey as it was such a fascinating time in our unschooling life.

Wade was slow to speak by conventional standards.  At age 3 he used hardly any words at all to communicate to me.  People found it very hard to understand him when he did talk, which frustrated him to no end.  I always knew what he was saying however, but in all honesty we very rarely spoke with our voices.  Most of our communication was telepathic.  It came so natural to the both of us and at some point I wondered if perhaps that was why he wasn't choosing to verbalise his thoughts. It was working for us :)

As he grew and became more and more a part of society he realised that he needed to "speak" if others were to know what he was feeling, thinking, needing...  This was challenging for Wade for a couple of reasons.  

The main reason being that it annoyed him that other people couldn't just "hear with their minds" as he put it :)

He was never all that interested in books as a little fella.  Way more into pulling real life things apart to discover how they worked and what made them tick.  Old clocks, radios etc. were his preferred toys.  

Our eldest child was really into books and reading.  Around about age 3, she showed interest in learning how to read and by the time she was in preschool she was already reading.  Reading is still something she enjoys to do.  When Wade was a similar age, maybe 4/5, I thought it was only right to offer him the same opportunity to read.. and write.  He quickly showed me he was not interested and became frustrated when I encouraged him to do so.  This was my sign to back off and try again in a couple of years... Which I never did as he was too busy doing the things he loved most, like drawing diagrams, labeling inventions with x and y's and mc squares.. well that's what it looked like to me. :)

What we did notice with Wade was that he had a photographic memory with numbers at a very early age.  In his third year he would memorise really long numbers after reading them once.  For a kid who hardly spoke this was a complete spin out to us as he would look at a bank card number or a phone number on TV etc. then recite the numbers back to us!!  Where did that ability come from??  It's still a bit of a mystery :)

Before numbers, Wade would fill notebooks with symbols.  Think hieroglyphics but more like Rune style.  I would say "What you doing there Wade?", in which he would reply, "Oh, that's Dragon Language."  Okaaay... "Cool!".  I thought it was the most awesomest thing I had ever seen!! and I was intrigued to learn more.  Dragons have always fascinated me.  His "work" inspired many great conversations between the two of us and as he spoke I clearly envisioned him cloaked up all Hermit like, in his Dragon type lair, concocting spells and wizardry and mastering the arts of alchemy!  Fantastico!!

Had Wade seen Rune symbols before??  Not in this life time :)  His scripting was coming from a very intelligent and ancient source.. Well that's my take on it anyway.  Love a bit of Past Life Wisdom!!! and possibly Future Wisdom for that matter!

He's also been totally into making "potions" since as long as I can remember, and anything to do with chemistry, electricity and physics.  Is it any wonder he wasn't interested in bedtime stories :)  I remember his favourite book around the age of 5/6 was a thick Science encyclopaedia and the page he religiously wanted to look at over and over again was the pages showing the Periodic Table!!  

You really can learn so much about a person, their past, present and future, by respectfully allowing them to pursue whatever sparks their interest at any given point in time and to notice what information naturally flows through them.

Wade played out all his past chemical and mathematical experiences as a little boy.  He's moved on to scripting online games now, which is totally over my head, but still interesting to me as I love to support my children with whatever it is they are in to.  They are after all, the Masters of their own Creation xx

SPACE to SOW and GROW - Learning to Write

I am inspired today to blog about "Learning to Write" as I am amazed at my 5 year old daughter and her progress in handwriting.  

My lovely Seraphina girl has been really enjoying grabbing a pencil and paper lately (or anything that could substitute) and is beginning to write letters.  She holds the pencil "correctly", holds her tongue just right and goes about crafting a story, a menu, a love note or whatever inspires her to write.  At the moment she is writing the letters "A B H i S o P e E T" - to make up words and sentences.

What I find so intriguing is that she has never once had a lesson on how to write a single letter of the alphabet and only 3 weeks ago her writing was of the zigzag variety.  Lines and lines of up down up down, repetitively down the page.  This appears, to the untrained eye, as scribbles.  However, being classically trained in 5 year old manuscript I knew precisely the message that was being delivered. ;)

We knew Seraphina was beginning to recognise letters as she would shout out if she saw an "S" and say "That's in my name!!".

She knows the alphabet song, we've read some alphabet books (not many) and apart from the letter "S" she hasn't really been into wanting to know what the names of the letters are.  Now when she writes a letter she asks, "What did I write Mum?".  I let her know what the letter is and she is over the moon to know she is writing REAL letters!!  Such a joy to watch her learn this way.

So from observing letters in their natural habitat.. in books, on signs, on tv/games.. everywhere!.. Seraphina is remembering the structure of the letter and copying it down.  Just as she did in the past with basic shapes like the circle, square and triangle.

People comment that unschooling is an organic way of learning and it truly is.  It's wonderful how different skills and experiences unfold by simply traveling through life. Each popping up at the precise moment it is needed.  

josephinewall.co.uk

The more I think about rote learning and other conventional early learning methods, the more I feel blessed to be able to allow my children the freedom to learn at their own pace, in their own way.  

Forcing a child to learn how to read and write, when they have no interest to do so, is like force feeding them to eat.  It might go in the right hole and down the right tube but will most likely never be absorbed optimally and quite possibly will be rejected altogether.

Trusting our children to intuitively know when they are ready (if at all) to grasp a new skill, is one of the best gifts a parent can give.  

Just as we sat back and waited for them to take their first step and speak their first word, it is equally important to wait for their own internal desire to read and write, ignite.  Reading and writing will then only ever come from a place of purpose and pleasure.  After all, that was it's intention in the beginning.

mesopotamia.co.uk

I'd like to share Wade's writing journey with you as it had a very interesting and somewhat bizarre beginning. At this minute I have a very sleepy, little one needing my attention, so this will have to wait until next time..

Thanks for reading friends.

Much Love

Angel x

FAMILY ADVENTURES - A Land of Giants and Lost in the Wind

Day 3..

A drive South through towering forests led us to the gorgeous town of Walpole.  We purchased tickets for the Valley of the Giants - Tree Top Walk and made our way towards Nornalup.

I know there are a handful of these tree top walks scattered throughout the country, but I had never been to one.  The views were amazing and the feeling of being so high up in the canopy of the forest was exhilarating!

As much as I loved this experience, I think I felt more at peace and in harmony with nature down below on the Ancient Empire walk.

Being an absolute tree hugger, I savoured every moment of this walk.  The breath of life, the wisdom, the heart expansion...  In my mind, I had transformed into a tiny wood nymph and there were many little secret hollows calling me to take up residence :)

I could have wandered on blissfully all day...

Me and The Petals of My Heart

From here we traveled East along the coast to Albany.  A spirited city with a rich seafaring history.

We checked into our motel as the sun was setting.  There was still one place, however, that I was keen to see before retiring for the night. 

Albany Wind Farm

The Albany Wind Farm sits 80m above sea level along the Torndirrup Peninsula, just 12km's out of the city centre.  The paths throughout the turbines offer some of the best views of the Southern Ocean in the area. 

It was an incredible feeling to walk amongst these eco-friendly giants.  They are 60m in height.  The sound of the wind powering the 35m long blades to turn is reminiscent of something you would find in an extra terrestrial movie.  Quite eerie actually.

You would expect a wind farm to be.. well.. windy, but seriously this place was windy.  The top speed of these awesome towers of metal is 22 RPM.  Which works out to be about one revolution per three seconds.  Not all that fast yet still impressive considering their size. The twelve turbines lower Western Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 77 000 tonnes per year.  Fantastic!! 

Lulu doing her airplane thing

I found the sheer size and design of the turbines fascinating.  So much so, I spent a great deal of time looking up through the lens and not a great deal anywhere else. (I had already been mesmerised by the beauty of the ocean and the surrounding hills) Before I knew it the sun was down and I was separated from the rest of the family.  Lucy was still with me as she was content to skip around the paths following me as I snapped away. 

I didn't panic initially as I was pretty confident I would find my way back to the car park.  Unfortunately, all of the paths looked identical, especially in the dark.  There were no street lights out here :)  

I began to fret when I couldn't hear the whir of the turbines anymore...  I had walked for ages!!!  It wasn't until I realised I was heading towards Albany on the main road out of the park that I scooped Lucy up, switched directions and began sprinting frantically back in the opposite direction.  At this point I didn't know which way was up :)  I felt completely lost... and I'm usually good with directions, especially when I turn the map upside down and back to front hehe :D

Somehow, I managed to find everyone ?? We were safe and sound.. Phew!  It did get me thinking though how having my head securely glued to the back of my camera had caused me to lose all sense of direction. 

And now I'm wondering...  Is getting lost like this a keen (amateur) photographer thing or is it genetic??  

1.  Because I love my SLR and was obviously caught up in the moment and 

2.  Because my mother got lost in the Nevada desert somewhere blissfully taking photos until she too did not know where she had come from..

Whatever it is, I will be a lot more observant of my bearings next time.  That was a little bit too "Woman vs Wild" for my liking.  ;)

FAMILY ADVENTURES - Chocolate, Caves, Oceans and Trams

Chocolate

Day 2 of our road trip found us at The Margaret River Chocolate Co.  There was a huge selection and I left with a small box of Chocolate Covered Ginger.  A relatively new favourite of mine.

Seraphina was in Heaven and Lucy, well I don't think she knew what to think.

Everywhere she looked there was chocolate!!

As soon as we arrived she was greeted with an Easter egg and was sporting a chocolatey grin quicker than  I could say "Lucy where did you get tha...".  

A brief stop for morning tea and then off we sojourned to the delightful town of Margaret River.

Feeling rather peckish now for some real food, I hunted down a little cafe whose name eludes me at this moment...  don't you hate that!  I remember what I ate though :)  It was a delectable rice and veg curry ball with the most appetising satay sauce.  Yum!  I was happy and satisfied.

We didn't spend too long here, although we could easily have done so.  The street was alive with people and the vibe was contagious.

  

Next stop.. Jewel Cave.  Stalagmite and Stalactite bliss.  This cave is expansive and simply stunning.  I loved the glistening flecks of crystal in the walls, the coolness and humidity in the depths of darkness, the faces and animal spirits in the rock formations and the sacredness of an absolute marvel in nature.

 

There were about 40 people on the tour with us and yet the atmosphere was so still and serenely peaceful.  It wasn't hard to imagine what cave dwelling might be like...

Crystal Baby

From Jewel Cave we traveled through Augusta to the southern most, south western tip of Australia, at Cape Leeuwin.  Here lies the point at which the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet and the tallest lighthouse on mainland Australia stands.

Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Our little Lulu had had just about as much sightseeing for one day as she could possibly handle and wasn't at  all impressed that she was not able to join the tour to traverse the 200 odd steps up the lighthouse to the top.  (You needed to be over 4 to enter the lighthouse).  So to settle and defragment we decided to hang out in the gift shop.  

There was a collection of stuffed animals for sale and Lucy's favourite way to refresh her spirits is to role play with anything and everything.  She is a huge animal lover and so whenever she sees stuffed animals or other toy animals she immediately enters her happy place and recreates a fantastical world of joyful characters amidst an ever changing plot of happiness.  I love watching her play like this and we sat on the floor of the gift shop for over half an hour!!

The rest of the family survived the forcible winds atop the lighthouse and enjoyed the scenic views out across the oceans.  

Our final destination for the day was Manjimup, a good 1 1/2 - 2 hrs drive away from Augusta.  Having already had a big, eventful day, we decided to get moving before the sun began to set upon us.

We had one last stop before arriving in Manjimup.  A cozy little village in the forest called Pemberton.

Here we played amongst the old steam trains and trams.  It always amazes me to see these incredible machines.  A work of art in their construction and design.

So that was day 2 of our holiday.  Another restful sleep before our adventure continues...

Goodnight x

FAMILY ADVENTURES - Busso, Bread and Dunsborough

What day is it?  Oh yeah, it's Thursday.  I love it when you travel and you lose track of the days.  

Steve took some time off work over the Easter break so we decided to take a road trip down south to visit the places we missed on our journey over to the West Coast.

Our first port of call was the buzzing town of Busselton.  We had booked and paid for a tour to experience its refurbished Jetty and Underwater Observatory, which included a novel train ride along the jetty and back.  Unfortunaely, we miscalculated our departure from home and arrived 10 minutes too late.  The train was tooting its horn and just leaving...

Not to worry, we could still collect our tickets and make the journey by foot out to the Observatory and catch up with the rest of the tour upon arrival.  The only thing... we were traveling with two small children and the jetty is 1.8 km long!!!  The staff informed us that a quick paced walk out to the Jetty was around 20 mins.  We figured we'd add an extra 10 mins per little one :)  Despite feeling rushed, it was still a very, pretty walk.

The Observatory was great.  Lots of fish to see.  I loved the feeling of descending under water, with each level showing a different perspective.

The train ride back to the mainland was a highlight.  The views out across Geographe Bay were sublime.

From Busso we headed southish to the funky little town of Dunsborough.  I was keen to relish in the delights of Samudra (a biodynamic cafe), however the rest of the gang voted for a quick bite at the bakery.  An apperitif to the "main meal" which was to be found at the well known and loved Simmo's Icecreamery and Fun Park.

Here we were spoilt for choice and flavour.  I chose a single flavour cone of Mascapone and Fig which was delicious.  The "Apple Pie" and "Pecan Crunch" flavours were also calling me, however I can never finish one flavour let alone a double or triple cone!!  I would have preferred a teaspoon and access to all the flavours so I could just have a little taste of each.  That's not too much to ask is it?

The Fun Park consisted of an open playground with spots to sit and watch the kids play.  There was a resident ice-cream eating emu.. ??? and a variety of outdoor games to play, including put put golf.

Our trip home included a short detour to the Yalingup Woodfired Bakery..  Stoneground, Organic and hand crafted.  I love these breads.  If you do find this place, don't expect a tourist attraction.  The bread is all laid out on a table with a bowl that you put your money in.  I could hear the bakers talking amongst themselves as they worked their magic but there was no one to be seen.  Bread selected, money in the bowl.. couldn't be simpler.  Reminded me of how much I love to bake bread for my family.

That was officially the first day of our road trip.  However, being peak season and being so close to home, we opted to spend the night in our own beds.  A good nights sleep in preparation for a jam packed day to come.

To be continued...

METAPHYSICAL MOMENTS - Looking In The Right Direction

On Sunday I woke with a very sore and sorry problem.  My left ear was almost touching my shoulder and my chin was pointing to my toes.  It was not pretty and felt extremely Quazimodo like.  I could not move or lift my head to look forward, let alone turn it to the right.  I was impressed initially that I could very comfortably rotate to the left and see the back of my right leg... Almost felt like I was going to do a full 180 degree owl spin.. The novelty soon wore off though as the slightest movement caused the most intense pain.

I have had neck stiffness before but today was very different and a lot more troublesome.  There was no explaining the physical cause of the issue.  I know that I am usually falling asleep twisted between two little treasures, with an arm around each, but I have never experienced quite a misalignment as this.

Sunday was spent on my back resting with some deep breathing and light restorative yoga poses.  By the end of the day I could look forward, however the pain was still present which prevented me from lifting, or bending to pick up things.  I could also only turn my body to the left, which family members found thoroughly amusing.  I'm sure at times I looked like a  fanatical dog chasing my tail :D  I managed to sleep that night and woke Monday to a similar situation, albeit not so extreme.

Physically, the muscles of my back mid section, particularly my right side, were contracting and therefore pulling at my spine.  The muscles of my upper left section were trying to counteract this by also pulling at the spine and hence tightening and shortening the muscles of my neck, forcing my head to point down.  This in turn created the right side of my neck to stretch beyond it's natural capacity and therefore create the pain I was experiencing.

 

The body never ceases to amaze me.. always trying to maintain equilibrium.

 

 

So that was what was going on for me physically.  What I really wanted to know was, metaphysically, what is my body trying to tell me?  What is the hidden message in all of this??

Having studied Metaphysics I understood that there was a direct link to why my body was "stuck" in this pose.  I knew that the only way I would find the answer to my question was to completely tune in to my body and "see" what was happening on a subtle level.

 Metaphysically, the neck allows you to look in all directions.  It gives you the opportunity to see the truth in a situation.  If we choose to be inflexible about a particular issue in our lives, we can pretty much guarantee we will be blessed with neck stiffness. 

With deep relaxation and meditation I delved a little deeper....

I found myself thinking about a handful of resolutions I made at the beginning of the year.

*  I will play more and work less.

*  I will live in the present moment more and leave the future details of my life to evolve naturally.

*  I will allow myself to be more available to the children and their needs.

*  I will whinge less about what I don't have and embrace more of what I do have.

*  I will spend more time doing things that make me happy...

There seems to be a lot of the word "more" in these statements...  I try not to be too hard on myself and understand that being Human has it's weaknesses.  It's natural to slip up occasionally xx

However, it is true that my life in Queensland was slightly unbalanced, so the main objective for these goals was to tip the scales in favour of all that is wholesome and nurturing to me.

I recognise now that my eyes were not being directed to my toes, but to my heart.  I was being reminded to bring my focus back to my loving self.

To stop looking back to rest in past sufferings and to stop looking outward and beyond in order to reconnect with my goals.

The answers lie within.. always <3

So as I type this today, I can turn my head in all directions.  There is still a little pain as my body works hard to return to it's natural position.  I will continue to rest and enjoy some restorative yoga but the rest of today will be spent dancing with fairies and crafting gifts for friends.

I shall bless you with insight and inspiration and a full turning circle of awareness :D

Much Love

Angel xx

SPACE to SOW and GROW - Low Limit Learning

Ok, so here's my first official post on our unschooling days and I am actually finding it a lot more challenging to write than I thought.

Partly because I imagined I would sit here, bursting with memories as I sat and reflected on our weekly activities, effortlessly articulating the wonderful things we got up to.. and the other part due to staying up to the wee hours of this morning, YouTubing with my big kids and crocheting a gift for a friend.

 One made, One to go :)

It was raining this morning, so with 4 1/2 hrs sleep under my belt, I drove Steve up the road to meet the bus and returned back home for a cuddle with the little one.  I'm a tad tired..  Can't blame the baby for this one!  It was all me and my desire to stay in the moment, enjoying my children and my handiwork <3  That's Unschooling right there!!

Children and adults alike are often shorthanded for time and space. With school, work or household commitments, it isn't always possible to sit uninterrupted for any extended period of time, completely engrossed in a subject or hobby to the absolute point of saturation.  I am grateful that this life of ours is supportive in that aspect.  There are no set curriculum and no time frames.  Sure, we still have "work" that we need to do to ensure a happy, relaxing atmosphere at home, but for the most part we are free to come and go as we please with our various pursuits and interests.

There aren't many, but two limitations for us at the moment are...  1.  Wade and I share a computer (which I am cool with, not so much Wade) and 2.  At times I need to drag the kids away from what they are doing to come and run errands with me.. Usually everybody is ok with this though sometimes, understandably, they are annoyed that they have to stop right in the middle of whatever it is they are doing.  I try not to interfere with their "business" to maintain the integrity of their creative flow, so mostly I time our outings when there is a natural break in the day.

So what have the big kids been up to this week?  Here's a snippet...

Lani's scarf she's working on

 

Wade's amazing Smurf Movies

Ipods, Hair and "the host".. What else is there :D

MATHOMAT Artwork

A Common View

Wade's Lego Spacecraft

 













It has never been my intention to record every little thing my children "learn" or do.  That would be way too exhausting and quite frankly, would take the fun out of actually LIVING.

Some words to ponder on...

Do I assess my children to see if they are up to speed with every other child their age?
Absolutely not.  Why would I encourage them to be like every other child their age?  We are all different and that's what makes the World so interesting. 

Why do I let my kids choose how they spend their time?

Because it is THEIR time :) 

 

How do I know my children are learning? 

Because they are ALIVE!!

Thankyou for your lovely comments people.  I appreciate them all so much.

Love and Sprinkles

Angel xx