Homeschooling or Peace, Love and Tea

Well, here we are. The changes here in Soquel are many. I hardly know where to begin, it has been a while since the last update. The long and the short: school wasn't working out for Coleman. So we decided to give homeschooling a shot. The first weeks were basically detox and general healing. We continue to heal and establish routines and try to come up with what works for us to get some edumacatin' done around here. Above you can see some of the activities we have found ourselves doing. Lots and Lots of hikes with the dog. Photographing amazing sites on said hikes. We search for treasures on beaches, under logs and rocks, in the trees. We play games meant to help us learn skills. Many books have been read and discussed. Art, bouncing. Karate. Yard work. Generally, things are much better around our home. There is more peace. More love between the brothers - not that it wasn't there before. It was just below that surface of pain and suffering. And, of course, a new-found love of tea for Coleman. Complete with a favorite tea cup. Just like at my own Nana's house. I would take down my favorite cup and sit down to tea with my Nana and mum. I love those little rituals that make up the crazy quilt of my memory.

My Nana's House by Coleman

Coleman's writing assignment this week is to write about something he knows well and can describe in detail. He chose Nana's house:

My Nana's House by Coleman


My Nana's house is the best place ever in the whole world. It's in Massachusetts. Her house is tall and skinny on the outside. The outside is not the most attractive site, but the inside is beautiful. The colors inside are warm and soft. There is a fuzzy grey rug to walk on in most of the house.


When we first get there Nana usually has a big, warm apple pie waiting for us. The air smells like apple pie made with skill and experience. There is nothing better than sitting by a crackling fire and eating Nana's apple pie. The sound of a cowboy movie comes from the basement, where Papa is watching it.


I like to lay on Nana's big, soft bed any time of day. It's always relaxing. I feel good when I am there. Nana's house is a joyful place filled with wonder. My Nana's house is the best place ever in the whole world.

Enter: The Ma!

We've got a Broody Hen on our hands, she's known as The Ma around these parts. A name given to her by the boys. "The Ma" is what Nana is called by herself and occasionally by her children and Papa. Which made it the perfect name for a mama hen. The Ma has seven adorable chicks following her around everywhere. OMG are they cute! She and her brood sleep in Kitty's dog crate in the garage where it is dry and not as drafty as the outdoors. Soon her babies will be old enough to rough it with the big chickens in the run/coop area.

You're wondering how this could be, as we've got no roosters around here? Well, lucky for The Ma I'm clever. I took a ride to Watsonville and bought a dozen fertile chicken eggs from a farmer who's got roosters. (They were $12/doz! Sheesh!) Anyhow, I placed them into the nesting box, she sat - for 21 days! And, Presto! Seven baby chicks peeping out from underneath her. How darn cool is that? So far the only one with a name is the brown one in the front - Brownie. (We've already got a Hershey and a Fudge Face). I'm just hoping that at least one will be female. I won't be keeping the roos.

Davenport Beach

Davenport is a little "town" north of Santa Cruz. There is not a lot there. Beaches. Two restaurants. Two art galleries. A few houses. A lumber mill. Cows, strawberries, pumpkins. It is on Route 1, which is the coastal route and as you drive along this road the ocean is usually sparkling with sunlight. So far we've visited two beaches there. As far as I know they are the only publicly accessible beaches in Davenport. We've now been to both. I chose this beach because I read surfers bring their dogs their and leave them on the beach to play with each other while the surfers, well, surf. I only saw one surfer. He didn't have a dog. There were dogs there and some were off leash, and Kitty spent the better part of her day off leash too. Kitty also sprang a leak. A remarkable leak I wish I had gotten on film. At some point she drank the water; apparently not a good idea. Her little butt was just spraying a thin stream of "water". Have you ever filled a water balloon up only to realize there was a pin-sized hole in it that squirt you in the eye? Well picture that squirt from Kitty's little bottom. Poor Kitty. Eventually it stopped. But she put on quite a show for a while.

Holiday Cheer East Coast Style!

We were fortunate enough spend the Christmas holiday back east, thanks Dad! The plan was to be there for nine days. The weather changed our plans. By the time we were heading west, the boys had missed a week of school and we racked up 16 days on the east coast. I'm still trying to figure out why we couldn't get a flight out until seven full days after our original return date. Well, I don't spend much energy thinking about it, actually. I got an extra week with my mom and dad and sister and brother - and New England. Ah, New England. Need I say more? I mean, paradise is nice, but New England is still home in my heart, so intricately woven into my DNA.

We arrived on Tuesday, December 21. There was snow on the ground and we set straight to building things with it. When things got too cold or we'd had enough, we would build a fire in Nana and Papa's fireplace to warm ourselves. We drank lots of hot beverages, cocoa, coffee, tea. We ate Nana's "Don't *@!# With My Apple Pie" Apple pie. (that was an inside joke. when Chris was first getting to know Mum he was discussing her apple pie recipe and mistakenly made some suggestions to adjust it. To which Mum responded "Don't *@!# with my apple pie". Anyone who has eaten Nana's apple pie knows there is no improving on it. It's perfect.) We even had apple pie for breakfast one morning. Cookies were piled high about the house. There was even a special secret box of frosted date balls for Chris and I - which I devoured virtually on my own. We spent several delightful days with Auntie Mary and Eva Rose at Nana's and at Eva's house. We went swimming, if you can imagine. Chris and I spent time with Chuck shopping and just hanging. I must say I do love Chuck's new career. He's so Chucky-like these days. Loving my brother. Wow! we visited Angella at The Science Museum, I met up with Jean, Graham, and their girls in their new home, we saw The Dewsnap Clan, The White Clan, I got to see my favorite neighbors EVER, Natasha, Tony and Helen. We also had a chance to visit my favorite museum, the MFA. And it was a even new experience for me, because they have added on and changed the entrance and rearranged their collection. It was an old and new experience.

January 6th was our return flight. And it was nice to arrive home. We are so grateful for the time we were able to spend there, the snow that fell while we were there and for all the people who took time to spend with us over their busy holiday break.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Super Power Ring

It's that time of year again. School for Tese. The most recent assignment I completed was a ring that isn't round. It's second life (after I get graded on it) is going to be a pendant. It is also a compelling wee sculpture. The assignment was to also consider what we would like for a super power and what that "super power ring" might look like. My list of super powers was learning tolerance, compassion, patience and mindfulness. These are not easy things to illustrate. And, to be honest I gave up on that aspect of the assignment after I wrote the list. However, once I completed it I realized it has a quiet, contemplative nature. And that embodies the super powers I desire. Now, if I could only get it to work.

Chris' Birthday!

This past Sunday Chris had a birthday. We celebrated with a walk in the rain/sun/rain/sun on the beach in Capitola. Uncle Mike Goldberg then joined us for a few Laser Tag sessions at the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. Out to eat, then home for cupcakes! It was a wonderful day of Daddy Love.

Coleman's First Trimester; Progress

I went to Coleman's parent-teacher conference November 18th. I have to say, that though school has been an emotional roller coaster this year, his grades were pretty impressive. He's reading at grade 6.4 (fourth month of sixth grade). He scored better than 96% of the nations 3rd graders on reading! He's doing well in math, science, history and social studies. His writing skills need work, but he's at grade level there. The one frustration is that he's inconsistent in his efforts. I'm proud of the effort he does put in and think he is too.

Field Trips This Week

This week Coleman's class traveled to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Max's class went to the Elkhorn Slough (pronounced Slew). I went on both trips and lived to tell the tale...

The Aquarium - I was unable to find my camera the morning we went on this trip. So, unfortunately I only got a couple pics with my phone. Above: In orange, Lucas and Coleman in "mini-me" mode. Note the sweatshirts over their knees. Also: Coleman and Cosgrove looking at an exhibit about conservation, the woman in the picture (which is a woman in the fridge) is talking about shopping locally and for food in season, etc.

On Wednesday Max's class went to Elkhorn Slough. (Slough: Widely used term for wetland environment in a channel or series of shallow lakes. Water is stagnant or may flow slowly on a seasonal basis. Where fresh water meets sea water.) We dissected owl pellets, and went for a 2.5 mile hike. I was able to take lots of pictures on this trip. The sun wasn't out the whole time, I would like to go back when it's sunny out and get more shots. I thought it was a beautiful place. The most exciting event was finding a rabbit head and entrails. Wow. The kids were intrigued.

Scenes From Soquel: September and October

Coleman on his ninth birthday at the county fair.

Coleman in a log. Vienna Woods trail, Nisene Marks State Forest. This is "Our Hike".

Creek on Our Hike...

Same hike, Coleman, Max and Kitty.

Max and his friend Fiona on a school hike/picnic.

Max and Kylie. She's a sweet little bird.

Rainy day reading.

More rainy day reading.

Hawk Eye. She's a keeper.

Kitty in the window (with Papa's old slipper). Who could resist that face?

Max had a day off of school. We built some stuff. Had fun. You know.

A glimpse of the inside of the house.