The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.141: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Life // June 2018 Edition

A monthly project featuring ten photos throughout the day that show a peek into our extraordinarily ordinary life.

Highlights from Friday, June 15, 2018:
  • When the kids woke up, I got to share the exciting news that our newest baby cousin was born last night!  We oohed and ahhed over his picture and cannot wait to cuddle him.    
  • The weather was beautiful: 83° and partly sunny.  We’re trying to keep our electric bill down, so the air conditioning was off and the windows were open.  Having both a front and back porch seems to keep the house pretty cool for most of the day.  I just love when the breeze sweeps through and the house smells fresh.
  • The baby is soooo whiny.  I don’t know if it’s teething or weaning or just the age, but it makes for a long day.  Thankfully, he fell asleep in the Ergo in the morning and then took a cat nap in the stroller in the afternoon.  
  • I ran a 5K on the treadmill to check my progress and was pleasantly surprised at the results!  Runkeeper says it was my second fastest 5K time ever.  
  • I made sourdough focaccia “pesto pizza” for dinner and I thought it was delicious.  We also made a regular cheese and pepperoni for the kids who weren’t so impressed.
  • Favorite summertime experience to date: watching fireflies at dusk.

No.140: What They’re Reading in June

There is no friend as loyal as a book. ― Ernest Hemingway

M (age 11)

D (age 9)

J (age 7)

S (age 5)

TJ (age 3)

P (age 18mo) 

No.139: Read With Me // How To Raise a Wild Child (Part 2)

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Quick recap: I assigned myself a summer reading book, How To Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature, to help me have a better relationship with nature and encourage that relationship in my children.  I’m jotting down some notes and thoughts as I read through it this month and sharing them here.  Maybe it will inspire you in a new way too!

The book is divided into four sections.  (Find my notes on Part One here.)  Part Two contains Chapters 3, 4 and 5 and is called “Essential Elements.”

Chapter 3: The Way of Coyote

…nature mentors value the natural world and demonstrate it as much through actions as words.  They regularly marvel at nature’s wonders, seek to deepen their own awareness and connection, and probe mysteries that catch their interest. (p.76)

 Notes and takeaways from this chapter:

  • I have the privilege of being a mentor to my children.  Nature mentors have three roles, with an emphasis on the last two:
    • Teacher: “a person who conveys information”
    • Questioner: “the one always seeking to ask that next query to pique curiosity and engagement”
    • Trickster: “the clever Coyote who hides in plain sight, able to leverage a child’s longings into stretch edges”
  • Regular time outside is the best way to experience nature.  Unstructured play is perfect for little ones, but bigger kids might benefit from other activities like a walkabout or a sit spot.  Our property is perfect for both!
  • A new question to add to the dinner table: “What’s the coolest thing you discovered outside today?”
  • Food for thought from Jon Young: “The antidote to Nature Deficit Disorder may be this simple: get people to spend time in nature, and when they return, be there to ask good questions and catch their stories.”

Chapter 4: Hitched to Everything

Let’s step back for a moment and imagine some of the qualities we might want to see in a reinvented, truly student-centered learning environment.  Such a setting would celebrate students’ autonomy and individuality, building on strengths and interests to drive curiosity.  It would foster (rather than choke) inspiration and engagement through plenty of active, real-world experiences, many of them beyond the classroom walls.  Emphasis would be on character development grounded in fundamental values, like beauty, truth, and goodness.  And, if truly successful, this system would engender a deep-seated, resilient sense of wonder that, in turn, would translate into a lifelong love of learning. (p.104)

Notes and takeaways from this chapter:
  • Having had experience in both the homeschool and public school realms, I found this chapter sad but also inspiring.  Sampson argues for dramatically changing our education system from one that is careerism-based to “place-based.”  While I can’t imagine such a change in our current public schools – a group of parents and teachers fought the school board for over a year just to increase recess time by 15 minutes – it does make you stop and wonder.  
  • We need to grow a garden!  “Gardens are almost magical in their capacity to lift the curtain on our alienation from nature.”
  • To try with the kids: ask the children to find as many examples of nature’s interrelationships as they can (ie. trees get their energy from the sun, the bird eats the worm)
    • Roles: solar energy grabber, plant eater, animal eater, decomposer
    • Relationships: competitive, collaborative

Chapter 5: Mothers All the Way Down

In our digital world deluged with isolated bits of information, it’s easily forgotten that as a species, we were raised on stories.  For all but the past few thousand years, an eyeblink of humanity’s tenure, oral storytelling was the primary means of sharing not only information, but meaning, values, and a sense of place in the cosmos.  For our oral ancestors, stories were lyrical encyclopedias, repositories of practical knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries, even millennia.  Passed from generation to generation, myths and tales offered instructions on how to live in a given place: when, where, what, and how much to hunt; how to express gratitude for a successful hunt; which plants to seek and which to avoid; where to find water in times of persistent drought. (p.127)

Notes and takeaways from this chapter:

  • Food for thought: “…whereas cyberspace is placeless, seemingly everywhere and nowhere, oral culture is inherently local.”
  • Where to find nature stories?
    • My own experience
    • Traditional nature-based myths and tales
    • Adult-aimed nature writings from authors like Thoreau, Abbey, Mowat, etc.
    • Interesting tidbits in books, documentaries or the news
  • While we disagree in some areas of evolutionary theory, I appreciated Sampson’s view that without the story of where we come from, there’s a significant disconnect in our life.  
    • This article was helpful and clear about the Catholic Church’s stance on these things.  “Methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things the of the faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are.” (CCC 159)

    No.138: Workout Wednesday – A New Summertime Routine

    The last time I shared a “Workout Wednesday” was last December, so I thought it was time for a summer update!  I’ve been back to regular running since mid-April and have been easing in with two to four miles at a time.  I’ve also been playing around with speeds and generally trying to just get back into a routine.  Next week, with the extra time available in my schedule (thank you, summer break!), I’m beginning to work on my 10K time and will be adding more focused workouts to the mix.

    Below is the plan for this week and next.  I always aim for five days a week, but life happens and I’ll settle for four good ones too.

    ____________________________________________

    THIS WEEK

    Monday // OFF DAY

    Tuesday // Cross Training – We have a stationary bike that I never use, so I’m trying to get in the habit of cycling for 30 minutes.
    Wednesday // 3 easy miles
    Thursday // Full Body Workout – My abdominal separation is pretty small, but I’d like to see if I can close what’s left of the gap.  This workout doesn’t require exercises that may exacerbate the problem and still claims to get you sweating!

    DIASTASIS RECTI-FRIENDLY FULL BODY WORKOUT
    3 rounds of 12 repetitions each, as good form allows
    wall sits, focusing on breathing and 3-5 second exhales
    backward lunge bicep curls
    squats
    surrenders
    side plank hip lifts (12 reps each side)
    weighted dead bugs
    weighted glute bridge
      
    Friday // 5K – Time to “race” and see where I’m at! 
    Saturday // OFF DAY
    Sunday // 4 easy miles – If the weather cooperates, I plan to run this in my hilly neighborhood.  I’m nervous!
    NEXT WEEK
    Monday // OFF DAY
    Tuesday // 4×400 Intervals – 0.5 mile warm up, then 400 meters at race pace followed with 400 meters recovery (repeated four times)    
    Wednesday // 3 easy miles, with an add-on arm workout afterwards – This always leaves my arms feeling like jelly!

    POST-RUN ARM WORKOUT
    10 times each for three rounds
    overhead press
    lateral raise
    bicep curl
    hammer curl
    overhead tricep press
    tricep extensions
    Thursday // 30 Minute Tempo Run – 5 minutes easy warm-up, 20 minutes at a “comfortably hard” pace, then 5 minutes easy cool-down 
    Friday // OFF DAY
    Saturday // 4 mile long run
    Sunday // Cross Training – 30 minutes on the stationary bike

    Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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