Saying No

I am usually one of those mom's who touts the benefits of saying yes more. Who has stories about the wonderful things that happen when I consider the requests from my kids to go to the beach or visit a friend or relative. Who can see all the learning that takes place when I say yes, I will help you build a catapult, sew a quilt, or get out the messy paints.

But, every once in a while, some pretty great stuff happens when I say no too. No, Mommy really doesn't feel like reading a story right now. No, I'm not cooking eggs for breakfast this morning. No, Mommy's not going to help you tie your shoes right now. No, I'm not in the mood for a big craft project today.

When I say no to my kids, even when it feels a  bit cruel, (really who says no to a story!?) sometimes, it's just the encouragement they need to figure it out for themselves or work together without mom. And boy does it feel good to see them grow a little while doing it. Maybe I can look at it, not so much as saying no, but as, yes, you can do that all by yourself now.

Inspiration

We finally made a trip to "our lake" last weekend. Camping under the stars, brrr the nights were chilly, at one of the many beautiful state parks along the coast of Lake Michigan. The water was cold, but that didn't stop our brave bunch from a quick swim and lots of running and splashing on the waters edge.

While there, we attended a festival and had front row spots for one of our favorite bands, Scythian. We even got to meet them after the show.

The kids showed up to their first music classes on Monday excited and inspired and, since bringing their instruments home, the music making has not ceased :)

A Few Homeschooling Links

This time of year, whether we're homeschooling or not, always seems to take me away from this place. My mind is distracted I suppose, but I'm working on a few things and hope my absences will not be long or frequent. For now though, I'll give you a few of the homeschooling blogs I'm really enjoying.

• Balancing Everything, Jessica usually has back to homeschool posts, but this year she's outdone herself.  Lots of good stuff there.
• Homespun Life is new to me. They unschool and I'm loving catching bits and pieces of how they school while browsing her archives.
• Simple Homeschool is a great resource for a wide range of homeschool styles and the comments section is a the place to find lots of other homeschooling bloggers.
• The archives at Yarns of the Heart have lots of great, useful links and ideas and Jena is so sweet, if you want some advice, especially on the late reader front, she's the homeschooling mom to ask.

OK, now back to the craziness that is September around here. I'll be back soon.

Not Back to School Bonfire

As the cousins head off to school and the local playgrounds empty, even the happiest homeschoolers can feel like they're missing out on some of the fun. So while so many around us celebrate the excitement of heading off to school, we celebrate the freedoms of homeschooling.

Staying up late one more night for a not back to school bonfire, complete with shooting stars, because, we don't have to wake up early tomorrow. . . unless we really want to :-)