The Great Emerson....

I love this and hadn't seen this in a while. I ran onto it on a great homeschooling blog. http://learningumbrella.homeschooljournal.net/. Thank you Sarah for this great reminder .

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some mistakes are made, for sure.
Forget them as soon as you can,
tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely,
with too high a spirit
to be burdened with your old nonsense.
This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, adapted

Celebrate Your Kitchen

Take some time today and give your kitchen a photo shoot. This is a room that a lot of Mama's spend most of thier day in. What do you love most about your kitchen? your Grandmothers old tea kettle? the spice rack? fine china? prize collection of cook books? your cow bells? (ok, maybe that's just in my kitchen;)
So shine your sink. Give your cabinets a soapy massage. Give the stove a big fat kiss for all it does(God knows it deserves it).

Love your kitchen and it will love you back!

One or the Other

Well it has proven too much for me to actually DO a meaningful daily lesson on non-violence AND blog about it:)
I'll just say that it has been a wonderful journey and I hope you all are enjoying it as much as we are. I am going to post as I always have and if a particular lesson has an element that I want to share then I will post about it.
Today's word is inspiration and I want to tell all of you that I have gotten a heavy dose of that this past year from all of you! This has been such a rich year of homeschooling both in education and in spirit. Thank you all so much.

Back On-line!!!

Hello again everyone! Our computer caught an incurable virus and crashed and burned Jan 31. Note to self** Do NOT leave computer connected to the Internet for two days trying to download an entire discography of Dream Theater**
The good news is that we are now the proud owners of an awesome new Dell and it is smooth sailin from here.
Well, even though I have not been able to blog about our journey through the first 13 days of this peaceful holiday, we have really been enjoying the last couple of weeks. Here is a quick run down to get you caught up:

• Day two: Smiling- No problem with this one! We talked about what makes us smile and how a smile can heal yourself and others.
• Day three: Appreciation- Taking time after grace at the dinner table to go around and tell each other what we liked about them was such a hit that our dinner got cold.
• Day four: Caring- We talked about the importance of self-care and hygiene and how we care for others. We gave Daddy a massage after a hard day at work.
• Day Five: Believing- We discussed our Unitarian Universalist beliefs, our belief in our abilities to love, be peaceful, heal and learn.
• Day Six: Simplicity- We used the suggestion in the children's booklet and cleaned up clutter. We tackled the basement and hauled two truckloads of un-used items to Goodwill.
• Day Seven: Education-I asked all the girls what they wanted to be when they grew up and we talked about the areas of study that they would have to be proficient in. They all read out of their favorite books.
• Day eight: Healing- We explored different types of wounds, emotional, physical etc. I shared the importance of forgiveness and we also touched on herbal healing and are gathering materials to make an herbal salve.
• Day nine: Dreaming- I had them illustrate a dream of peace. They all recalled recent dreams and analyzed each other...fun!
• Day ten: Faith- This fell on a Sunday and so it was a good opportunity to discuss what faith is and why it is so different among other religions and what the common thread is that ties us all together as a universe.
• Day eleven: Contemplation- We did a couple of meditation activities including silent focus on plant life and yoga.
• Day twelve: Groundedness- This one worried my 10 year old a bit as she was certain it meant she could have NO TV or time outside:) I set her straight on the meaning and the activity turned into a game of I Spy among sisters while I cleaned the basement.
• Day thirteen: Creativity- WHEW, that bring us up to date. This one was a cinch and I'm glad because I have been trying to set up the new computer. I just sent them off to the basement to make up a dance routine to their favorite song on the School House Rock CD....DONE! They are rockin out as I type.......

Soooooo glad to be back. I am so glad so many of you are sharing in this journey. What a wonderful community. Thank you all for being so supportive.