The Music of Childhood.

What does childhood sound like in your home?

well besides the giggles, screams, screeches, whines or crying.... because we've all experienced those sounds as well.

Does the rhythm of your day have a soundtrack?

In our home we are striving to be as screen free as possible in regards to Reagan. We're not perfect but it's a goal. It helps that we do not own a television set which frequently comes as a shock to people. Yep, we gave it away. Now we do have computers and a Nook tablet and she has discovered the joys of Wild Kratts and Dragon Tales and like every other small girl on the planet she is walking around singing the Frozen sound track on repeat but we try to keep that at a minimum. Ideally we would have it at once a week (or not at all) but some weeks are better than others.

Not having a television set does not mean our house is silent...or even quiet. Our household residents include a 3 year old and a rather vocal parrot. If you team that up with our abundance of musical instruments the sound in our house can range from fun and whimsical to down right chaotic.

What I have found that helps our daily rhythm is music. I thought on how in an adult music can have a powerful impact on our emotions and I figured the same would hold true for the wee ones as well.

Using Spotify (a free streaming radio thing on the internet) I complied a playlist for our day that I titled Reagan Radio. I included our favorite artists such as Kira Willey, Elizabeth Mitchell, Bob and Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson and Jerry Garcia. All of those artist have folksy kids albums that are a lot of fun. Now before you think I'm some sort of super mom who only exposes her daughter to quality, age appropriate music keep in mind she also knows Rhianna's entire hook on Eminem's Monster track.  Thanks teenagers at church :) Got to get variety in there somewhere. Also her favorite song is currently Avecii's Hey Brother...which she sings to Sami our parrot.

We play music most of the day but especially in the morning while she (is supposed to) engages in "free play". Typically she spends this time making art but occasionally she will build blocks or take care of her babies. I think that the right music promotes a peaceful and enriching experience for this sort of activity.

In the afternoon our soundtrack typically switches to spiritual songs and Broadway soundtracks which help focus her mind on the Lord AND train her to be a theater geek!

And of course there is no shortage of self made music around here between made up songs we sing to many impromptu jam sessions where daddy and Reggie typically debate over who gets to play the ukulele. Good times for sure. This is what our music set up looks like. It's always out and ready to go. Most was either gifts or acquired relatively inexpensively.

We also have a small purple guitar not picture because it needs repairs and a piano.

What are the ways you use music in the rhythm of your day? What are some of you and your childrens' favorite songs? Let's discuss!

Exploring the yard.

The best thing about exploring the yard is that thanks to God doing such an amazing job creating Nature it is always changing. There is always something new to discover, investigate and explore. For example, the Hobbits love to visit the duck pond and throw rocks in the water. When we went down there on this day they discovered some green weedy stuff floating in the water. Not sure if it was moss, algae, weeds although it certainly appeared slimy. That didn't bother the hobbits, they had fun trying to throw their rocks in the green slime. 45 minutes later and they were still having fun although it was getting harder to find the coveted "big" rocks.



Yes, this is certainly one of their favorite outside destinations. I try to bring them down at least once a week to see what's going on. I would bring them down daily but I suspect all the rock throwing is a bit disturbing for the birds, fish and creatures that make this pond their home.




As we walked down to the swing set the girls ran on ahead but Va decided to walk with me. I love it when he's being sweet and affectionate...as opposed to a naughty troll who likes to make the girlies squeal. We talked about Leo the calf and the clouds and the trees. We actually had such a lovely little chat about tree bark. We talked about how it is like the tree's skin and how it feels rough. Then we found a stick. Oh my goodness, something magical happens when a little boy finds a stick! Granted, sometimes it's not that good kind of magical such as when the little boy thinks "Golly gee, I just found a weapon that I can terrorize the girls with!" but sometimes it is a very special kind of wonderful. A stick can be so many fun things...a magic wand, a tool for whacking (not human/animal things) a pony, a fishing pole or.......



A Lion Tamer!!!

Seriously Lucky the kitty was willing to chase this stick all over the yard for Va. I was so blessed and thrilled to hear his delighted giggles as they made their way through the grass.

And then the girls came back and stole the cat....magical moments can't last forever.

And 2year old girls can be jerks sometimes :)

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

 

Inspired by the amazing SouleMama

 

 

It Can Wait.

I began today with an overwhelming list of tasked I had to complete. Oh the dreaded To Do list. I needed to beat my house back into submission, tackle the alarming pile of laundry, clean out the fridge, work on next week's menu, cook some over ripe bananas, scrub a couple of bathrooms oh and major VBS prep work since it starts Monday and I'm the director. I devised a plan where I would consume massive amounts of extra strong coffee, amp myself up with bootie shaking music and divide each hour into 50 minutes work/10 minutes break segments. Let the mental psych up begin.                                      Ready........... Set........



Oh wait, a certain someone had other ideas of how today should play out. "Mama, let's take a walk. Baby Moses wants to see Mr. Sun"


And then the internal debate begins. Do I find another way to occupy her? Perhaps foolishly attempt to engage her in some cleaning as well? Ask her to please read a book or find something else to do because Mama has so much to do right now?

Or shall I agree to said walk but make it a quick one, perhaps just to the post office and back?

I realized my list of chores is long because I now keep the other hobbits during the week which makes it so I need to accomplish a lot on the days I have off. But I mostly only agreed to keep the hobbits because I felt it was what was best for Reggie. Besides the extra money which allows us to do fun things we couldn't before there is the big bonus of having playmates to enjoy. So I'm pondering the fact that my list is long because I now work but I made that choice because I felt it was in the best interest of my child so now I don't really have time to go on a walk, but is that in her best interest? Oh the crazy thoughts that boil around in my head. In the end I decided to take a *quick* walk.

You know the kind where you sort of try to speed walk to the destination so you can quickly get back to what you 'need' to be doing.

Oh wait, a certain someone STILL had other ideas of how today should play out.

You see, apparently every flower blossom needed to be sniffed, every puddle investigated, neighbors visited. But Mama, we haven't seen the fish pond yet! Oh dear, I quickly realized this was not going to be the speedy walk I had consented to take. It seemed like the more I tried to hurry things along the slower they went. The child who runs through the yard like a wild puppy was shuffling through the gravel at a snails pace. Inside I was feeling irritated, pressured, stressed.....overwhelmed.



As I saw her truly experiencing the moment something inside me just popped like a bubble when it hits the grass. I realized that this moment in her life is so fleeting, so brief and so precious. I never wanted to look back in later years and regret not being intentional, not being available, not being present in that moment. I don't want to regret not taking that walk.

And walk we did friends, all over town. We visited neighbors, dogs and fish. We splashed in puddles, ditches and mud. Sniffed flowers and spied on birds. Slowly, intentionally, with fresh young eyes just taking in all the wonder that surrounds her in her own tiny community. We talked about how God had done such a good job making today. And the child who now usually runs ahead with the gaggle of other hobbits instead walked beside me, her tiny hand in mine. Slowly.



On that walk I found peace. No my list won't get finish, not today at least. But I realized that my chores and obligations aren't her concerns and it would be unfair to burden her with them. Being little only lasts so long. There is plenty of time later for stress, lists, chores and obligations when one is grown.




It inspired me to see how patient and gentle she was with Baby Moses and how excited the little mama was to show her baby the fish, the flowers, the trees.



And on the way home we found half of a tiny bird's egg. We thought that was pretty special too.

After our walk I put her in our bed for her nap and when I went back to check on her she was laying on the edge of my pillow reaching over with her small hand to my side of the bed as if she was reaching for me. Today I realized that I never want her to reach for me and find me not there. I want to wholly and completely mother this child. Mother her by being present, gentle, nurturing. It is with that thought that I climbed in next to her and took a nap myself.

I probably should get some house elves or something around here :)

A Different Path Indeed

After much pondering and deliberation I have finally gotten around to starting this blog. My hope and goal is to have a place to share my thoughts, ideas, musings, creations and the adventures I share with my little hobbits. But in truth I ramble a lot....and I'm often extremely random. Hey, at least I was honest and warned you!

In this space I hope to share our family's journey towards becoming a simpler people who live closer to the Earth and have a deeper connection with Nature. On my mind currently is our need to have a healthy and engaging daily rhythm and ways I can stimulate the imaginations and creativity in the children I care for and nurture.

My beliefs lean towards being very inspired by the Waldorf education model and lifestyle but with a twist as we are a Christ centered family. So my job is to create a natural and earthy home that first and foremost glorifies Jesus as our Savior.

In all honesty this is so drastically different than what I  hadexpected to become as a woman and a mother. Frankly in my former life I was very high maintenance and extravagant (although I pretend I was also very glamorous) however as I have progressed in who I am becoming and especially since becoming a mother I am finding myself shifting my focus and desires, those things that occupy my mind and spirit.  A lot has changed in my life and who I've become and I thought I would chronicle the things I encounter along my path.....My unexpected journey indeed!