Ann Leach

Home educating wears so many disguises. Sometimes it looks like books and papers all over the dining table. Other times, it is a week of adventures with very little book work. Most of the time, it is somewhere in between. This week, for us, was filled with adventures, and exhausting, but we loved it. Monday, Kenn and I attended an all day training class and Isabelle spent all day at a home educating friend's house. she packed her lessons in her backpack, and somehow managed to come home with them completed while also enjoying a whole day of play. Tuesday, Isabelle and I left early (for us) for the city to meet up with the home ed group and watch the Pandas documentary at the IMAX theatre which is in the Melbourne Museum. Of course, we stayed on to play and chat with our friends. It was a long and gratifying day, working on friendships. I think we were finally home about 4:45, just in time to start supper. We completed one lesson on the train. Wednesday is Park day. A...

They're everywhere!! Chore charts, responsibility charts, by age, starting at age 3! And most of them include intimidating notes - If your child isn't doing THESE chores by THIS AGE, then she is DOOMED to a life of irresponsibility.  Or worse, you are DOOMED to a life of cleaning up his messes. Chores.. ugh... everyone hates them. They're horrible, boring, no fun. But they have to be done, even if you hate them. Here is a reward (for your child, not you) to make them more palatable. Sorry adults, you'll just have to suck it up and do them. You're an adult now. I have had my own struggles with getting chores done - first in my parents' homes and then in my own. Those feelings of "why me?" and "I don't wanna." were so hard to shake. But does it have to be that way? Could it be different for me and for my daughter? I say yes. Chores are chores because they don't go away and seem to serve no higher purpose. They are menial and I have bet...

Stuffocation by James Wallman The material equivalent of the obesity epidemic. That's how author James Wallman defines Stuffocation. All the time and money we spent buying stuff, we thought we were improving life, making ourselves (our families) happier, improving the economy, thumbing our noses at terrorists. But evidence shows this isn't the case. We're more depressed, anxious, in debt, and lonely than ever. So, now what?    In his book, James takes a look at minimalism, the medium chill (as opposed to the big chill), and simple living; and then casts them all aside for the one thing they all have incommon -- experientialism. Then he spends the second half of the book defining, tearing down and then defending experientialism. I found this book to be well researched, well presented, and an easy, comprehensive read. It has certainly helped me expand and shape my thinking about minimalism and my values and goals after the  Big Declutter which defines minim...

.. and oh how I am struggling! How's that for an opening line? Ha! My struggle is not new. Moving from full-time employment outside the home to all the time stay-at-home mom has been the hardest thing I've ever done. It has been nearly 20 years, and I am still sorting myself out. I get bored. I get lonely. I get a lot done. I lose motivation and get nothing done. I just don't know what to do with myself! So it's been 20 years, why write about it now? I'm writing about it for a few reasons: 1) I'm sure I am not the only one with this struggle - feeling totally overwhelmed, and at loose ends at the same time. 2) I'm not happy living this way! It's not fair to myself, and it's not fair to my family. 3) I've been doing a lot of thinking and writing the last couple of days which has resulted in some self-awareness that is going to make the changes I make stick this time. What I knew about myself before is that I function better with structure...

I've been flirting around the edges of a capsule wardrobe for a few years without ever fully embracing the entire concept of a mixy-matchy collection of clothes. The closest I've even been was last summer when I had 4 outfits I rotated through each week That same collection of 4 outfits makes up the base of my wardrobe here in Australia - 3 pr capri pants, 4 brightly colored t-shirts, and 2 long-sleeve shirts for layering over. And I've added a couple pair of jeans since it's colder here than I expected. But otherwise my collection has stayed the same - a mixture of a lot of different colors without any sense of mixy-matchy. And then.... I go to put away my freshly laundered clothes this evening, and I have a moment of inspiration as I look into my closet. What I see is that a LOT of my long-sleeve shirts are blue and white, and I have one more pair of white capri pants and a bright yellow shirt still hanging with them. Blue (which is and always has been my favorite co...

After much sorting, donating, disposing, and giving away of "stuff", and shipping not a whole lot, Husband and I have decided to be much more intentional and thoughtful about the things we buy as we set up our new home. We are taking the time to define the characteristics and values of our family so we can ask before each potential purchase "Does this fit with our family's values? Does this fit with who we are?" The mattresses and bedsteads were non-negotiable. We have to have a comfortable place to sleep, preferably up off the floor. And so, our for first purchases. we were able to shop together online and find a bedstead we both like. Daughter was able to choose hers too. Husband had them all set up by the time we arrived. That gets us up off the floor for sleeping, and on to the living room. Our house has two dining/living rooms, both off the kitchen, but in different directions. (It may be an Australia thing. We saw a lot of houses with 2 living/dinin...

When moving to a  new community, getting involved, meeting new friends can be a challenge. I know, I lived in a suburb of Lima for 13 years without making friends, which isn't to say I didn't try, because I did try; but it just didn't happen for me, in that community. And then one day, I changed communities. Rather than the bedroom community which had no library branch, local athletic center, or other local gathering places to meetup with other community members, I turned south (8 miles) to the small town of Wapakoneta, where I quickly and easily, met and made friends through activities at the library and YMCA. Often, I would run into the same folks around town at the store, gas station, bank, etc. And these lessons of local community and connection, Husband and I applied to our move to Melbourne, Australia, population 4 million. We investigated, and intentionally looked for suburbs of Melbourne that have the features of a village -- local library, local athletic c...

First impressions of Australia started on the airplanes. On our first leg (Chicago - LA), our seatmate said not one word to  us, and the flight attendants were efficient. No one really seemed to be happy to be there, or in the moment. On the second leg (LA - Melbourne), our seatmate was a chatty, friendly, Australian man, 35 y/o, who woks for FILAS shoes, returning to home in Melbourne from holidays in Canada with friends. He happily showed my daughter how to operate the remote for her viewing screen, and played thumnb wars and rock, paper, scissors with her. The flight attendants were all helpful (down on knees with flashlight searching for a lost sandal) and cheerful. They all seemed happy to be on the flight. Isabelle made fast friends with them all to the point she scored some QANTAS pajamas for her dad, and we were invited to see the flight deck and have a chat with the captain -- a privilege I've never had before and thoroughly enjoyed. there is no doubt in my mind we ...

Yes, it's true! We are moving BACK to Australia, and this time I have my long-term Visa in hand! But what to do with all this stuff? Right? Is it worth shipping it all? Do we donate or sell it all and start over? And when I started researching an overseas move, those were the two options that I found over and over. Ship it all for many thousands of dollars OR take what fits in the suitcases and get rid of the rest. But those options didn't fit for me. I needed, wanted, a middle ground. And that's what I've found. We are taking four suitcases (three large to be checked, and one carry-on) plus one back pack each for daughter and I, and we are shipping a mini-container full of our stuff. How did I decide on what stuff? That is a really good questions, which I agonized over for about a month. For that first month, I kept walking through the house trying to decide on what to get rid of. What had value that I could (hopefully) sell? What could I box up and donate? And it w...

Home Schooling 101: The Essential Handbook by Mark and Christine Field Coming at choosing which methods to use as your children learn Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, History, Art, Music, et al. from a Christian perspective, the authors have written a good and helpful book. Or if you're not looking for that Christian perspective, but just different techniques and curriculum which are available, it is also a helpful book. But I am going to pull 3 paragraphs out to discuss. These paragraphs resonated with me and will have a strong impact on the rest of my years home schooling and parenting. The next aspect of your child's language arts program is that of attentive listening skills. have you ever met someone who appeared to not listen when others spoke? They may have poor social skills, or maybe they never experienced the joy of being listened to as a child. Children learn to listen through conversation. They talk and you respond. You talk and they respond....

.... the transition to a minimalist lifestyle. My husband has recently been reading some books on simplifying and minimalism, and he came to me (big grin) about embracing a minimalist lifestyle. He spoke about less stuff requires less maintenance, less cleaning, less space for storage, and costs less. We would pay less for housing since we need less space, which would reduce our utility bills. I was hesitantly excited. Could this really be happening? This morning, we sat down together for breakfast and I asked him if he was certain he wanted to go down this path of minimalism, and he responded with all the right answers. We talked about what it would mean for us, individually, and as a family. And in the end, we added it to our list of characteristics which define our family. Coincidentally, I am reading, on my kindle, the ebook "Adopting the Minimalist Mindset: How to Live with Less, Downsize, and Get More Fulfillment from life" by Ben Night, which includes an overview...

I got the ok from the library to start a new discussion group, and I've decided to go with Parenting as the topic! I'm sooooo excited!! Meetings will be the last Tuesday of the month, 6:00 pm, at the Wapakoneta Library, downstairs. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, June 28 and will be a meet and greet for everyone to come in, share some of their parenting successes and challenges, and help set the direction for future books. The first book up for discussion is The Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler. I came across this book recently on a random stroll through the parenting books, am so  inspired by it, and am looking forward to discussing it with other parents. "In  The Secrets of Happy Families ,  New York Times  bestselling author Bruce Feiler has drawn up a blueprint for modern families — a new approach to family dynamics, inspired by cutting-edge techniques gathered from experts in the disciplines of science, business, sports...

A month or so ago, I started buying our milk from a local dairy. It comes in half-gallon glass jars with plastic lids, has 5% milk fat (yum!), and costs $3, which is a little pricey, but it's worth it. It's worth that price for so many reasons, including:  We're supporting a small, local dairy. The flavor and creaminess are wonderful. And the only trash generated is the plastic cap. We pay a $2 deposit on each jar which is refunded when we return them. So the other day, I was chatting away and popped off with "Wouldn't it be great if our only trash was the lids from the milk?! Hahaha"  *giant pause* Whoooaa... what if that was our only trash? And how can I make that happen? This week, I am paying special attention to the trash as it goes into the bin, and there is a fair amount of trash coming through the mail. I will call into the post office next week to find out how much of it can be blocked before it comes in the mail box. Meat comes in recyclable containe...

... is the book I am finishing up this morning. And I am compelled to share this paragraph from the epilogue: "I've only recently become aware of my good fortune in having grown up in an environment where everyone knew everyone else. In our community no one was a stranger. If we met an unfamiliar face on the way to the Farmers Store, we offered a greeting because we knew that person had to be a guest in the house of someone we knew. We were privileged to live with the comforting conviction that we had absolutely nothing to fear from people. Of course, we were quite aware that there were dangerous forces and conditions over which we had no control, but we were confident that no person was out to do us injury. This atmosphere created in us a sense of security, a sense of belonging in the world. Is there a more valuable gift than that?" We, here in the US, are constantly on the lookout for the bad to happen. Bad courts us through the media all day long. And it has ...

.... packing (waste-free) lunches. Waste-free lunches is an idea we picked up from the kindy (preschool) our daughter attended over in Australia. The day ran from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm which, obviously, includes lunch time. But contrary to most preschools here in the US, there was no hot lunch served. The children were expected to bring a packed lunch from home. And it was to contain no throw-away waste. No plastic wrap. No paper napkins. No pre-packaged chips. Or cookies. Or string cheese. Or throw-away yogurt containers. Or juice boxes.  A long way from most packed lunches here in the US. And we adapted. I browsed the thrift stores to pick up a few plastic containers with lids; as well as a lunch box and a stainless steel water bottle, which she still has. Once we adopted the mindset, it wasn't hard at all. And our lunches are still packed this way now.  Fresh foods are packed in washable containers. Forks and spoons from the drawer are included (usually). An...

Planning the Garden The Baker Creek Seed catalog came in the mail!!! And yes, I've been page-turning, dreaming about all the seeds I'd like to order and putting out a garden again. Kenn and I went for a walk and talked about where we'd like to put the garden. We've had it behind the barn, which was good for water access, but not so good for weeding. Out of sight, out of mind and all that. This year, we're going to put it out kind of in the space between the house and the chicken coop. It will require a long hose for watering, but unless we're up to installing a new water line (which we're not), almost anywhere will require a water hose. I'm dreaming of tomatoes, green beans, lettuces, and so many other fresh veggies. Maybe we'll even get out some fruit trees. In a perfect world, we'd get a couple of bee hives and plant a special bee garden. Oh! And a butterfly garden. It's so easy and fun to dream. It's so easy to get in...

Maple Fest 2016 Our county parks department puts on a Maple Fest in the even numbered years. And so, out we went. This is a modern tapping system - plastic spilees, plastic tubes, and a plastic collection bag. Not a typical collection bucket, but it let us see the sap dripping out of the tree. Sap can run for as little as 6 days or as much as 6 weeks. It all depends on the temperatures. Trees are typically tapped in late winter or early spring, but it isn't the date they go by, but the temperatures. To make the sap run, temps must be below freezing at night and above freezing during the day. Maple trees (ash, dogwood and one other) grow branches directly opposite each other. That plus the 5-pronged leaf make them easy to identify. Native americans were the first to collect maple sap and cook it down to sugar which was easily stored. They heated the sap by heating rocks by the fire and setting the hot rocks into a container (hollowed log, tightly...

Books The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith -- a book put together by a blogger about decorating - it doesn't have to be perfect. Why We Get Fat  by Gary Taubess -- a book about the science behind why carbohydrates are a larger part of the problem than fats and calories. When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning -- the best book I read this week, and I highly recommend it! "W hen America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned 100 million books. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks for troops to carry in their pockets and rucksacks in every theater of war. These Armed Services Editions were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today. Soldiers read them while waiting to land a...

In another post, I mentioned joining a book discussion group, which has to be one of the best decisions I've made in a while. I am having so much fun meeting the other members and talking about books. It's adding a whole layer to reading that I haven't ever had before. And I'm inspired to kick off another discussion group (or two). One on sustainable living, much like the one I started back in Australia. And another on parenting. Although I'm not sure I really want to take on two at the same time. I have asked the adult program coordinator at the library about these topics and am still waiting to hear back. But both of these topics are passions for me and to meet with like-minded folks, share ideas, and talk about books on the topics would be wonderful! For the sustainable living, of course it would be driven by the members, focusing on topics the group is asking about and suggesting. But that's not to say I don't have ideas and books o...

Aside from the scarf I'll share below, I have been doing no crafts, no sewing for the last couple of months. Oh, I have lots of plans and even a few false starts, but nothing has come through. And it shows. I've been grumpy, distracted, and (dare I say it) bored. Kenn wants to snuggle and watch tv, which sounds like a nice offer, but truly it drives me crazy to sit and do nothing while watching tv. I'm not a watcher. I'm a doer. For the past few weeks, I've been kicking around an idea in my mind of a cross stitch sampler to hang just inside our door, welcoming friends into our home. And with that general idea in mind, I ordered a book off  paperbackswap  and a couple more from the library. I paged through those and set them aside...  until yesterday when it hit me that it was time to create.      This is my first sketch, pulling together the ideas of what I wanted to create -- a landscape oriented cross stitch sampler and welcoming fra...