Game Day ON!!

Once a month we get with a group and play games galore... Spoons, Settlers of Catan, Munchkins, Apples to Apples, Pokemon, different ones each time... today Luc learned to play Clue Jr, so much fun.. and Reese bought his first D&D set complete with characters and played Dungeon Master for the group. We usually have 25 or so kids of all ages learning and playing and since we are at a game store.. we shop a bit too. We also play Go (incredible strategy game) at the library every Sunday, both of the boys are playing now, and Reese is also back enjoying Chess club. I definately see games as one of the best natural "learning" venues especially for those who want to play all the time.
The game Reese is very into now is Runescape, an online adventure game, where they hunt, cook, trade, battle, sell and barter, work together and extraordinary. It's facinating to watch his passions soar and to follow and track how resourceful he is and how his mind works. Luc has his own Club Penguin account now and at 5 he is so confident and such a bundle of joy in everything he does.

Japan & the young thespians..

We connected with some homeschool friends in Denver to do a study on Japanese culture. We played some games, made origami wrestler guys and bounced them to see who falls first, ate some rice with chicken & egg soup, talked a bit about customs & currency & history and had an American woman who grew up in Japan tells us stories about her experiences there and lead us in some games and we wrote and shared Haiku poems.
Afterwards the Young Thespians met and we stayed and played lots of improv types of games with them. The best things about these events are always the amazing kids, they are so fun to watch, such imagination, I deeply appreciate this community.

Just to be content..

Living in a new place (still feels new even after a year) we've definately spent more time just the kids and I ... and when its cold outside, so often they just want to stay home and play. Even when we venture out, they are so content to just be together, best friends these boys are, it is so beautiful. This is one of the greatest gifts of homeschooling, being together..
Today we went to the aquarium in Denver, just a 15min drive from our house. Great place to run wild and watch the sharks and turtles and tigers!

Beautiful Santa Fe, NM

In early November I headed to Santa Fe for a week.. on my own.. what a treat, it had been a long time since I've had this kind of alone time. I headed for Santa Fe to attend a 5 day retreat with Neelam a spiritual teacher I'd been working with and prior to the retreat I had 3 days in a beautiful condo right downtown Santa Fe to relax and explore, it was heaven. I called a guy from AA who used to live in Hermosa Beach who has been in Santa Fe for 15 yrs or so and he invited me a meeting and to speak at the meeting, that was a nice way to roll into town. I spent 2 full days walking downtown and leisurely exploring the hundreds of art galleries in Santa Fe, the creativity and beauty were very inspiring. My condo had a great jacuzzi so I soaked under the stars every night and spent time in silence preparing for my retreat with Neelam.
The retreat was amazing, Neelam is incredible how she works with people, healing trauma and allowing all unresolved emotions, fears, hurts, etc.. to surface and resolve. Truly she is a master and it was such a gift to be with her and the 22 other folks at the retreat. We chanted, meditated, did inquiry work together, sat in satsang, did yoga and walked and enjoyed the beautiful scenery around Neelams house. I was overwhelmed with gratitude to be in my first 5 day retreat (i'd done several 2 day retreats with Adyashanti prior) and felt myself drop to a very deep place of resting and trusting in the unfolding.
Truly my time in Boulder and the satsangs i have attending with John Taylor, Sharon Landrith and Neelam have been remarkable and transformative. I think it is why I am in Boulder, for sitting with a life teacher in satsang is really an incredible gift in realizing the truth of your being.
Sitting in partner inquiry was really powerful in the retreat. I felt such inner aliveness, radiance, truly knowing my inner source and feeling deeply that life comes from the inside and radiates outward, it is about expressing what we are, not getting, achieving, acquiring, etc.. I feel deeply that we are here to BE what we are, simply that.

November 2008

We took some very fun field trips this month, one to the pumpkin patch, on a real working farm of course, played with animals, spent well over an hour wandering the corn maze, Luc and I, Reese is too cool to hang out with me this day, all his buddies are there and he is off with the big boys..

We also visited a wild bird refuge where they capture & tag wild birds to study and learn about them, where they migrate to and how many of them show up from year to year, how they are eating, etc.. We got to hold and touch several wild birds and learn about how the insect eaters migrate and the seed eaters stay for the winter.

So far the fall is mild, warm weather and we are enjoying as always lots of sun and outdoor activities. Our tween group is having fun get togethers, we made homemade swords and even had a pool party at our place (not bad for November).
Luc has made a great new pal Aspen and he has been hanging out with us a lot. So nice when the younger kid finally makes a friend on his own. Poor Luc, Reese got all the baby photos, early team sports, classes, nursery school, Luc missed out on all that, but he did get an awesome big brother who teaches him everything and that is a pretty good trade off. Luc now has his own Club Penguin account and he is learning to play D&D and Runescape, amazing..
Reese has had a Runescape acct for 2 mos now and his sophistication on this game is remarkable, it has really enhance his reading and comprehension and I can't believe all the things he has memorized. More and more I am trusting the natural learning concept, let them follow their interests and learning is automatic and really enjoyable. Reese is writing stories everyweek at his Options program as well as doing art, science, history & geography and I am really only working a bit on spelling with him so he is finding writing much easier as his spelling confidence grows. Our homeschooling is still very relaxed and it feels like we are in a great flow. Enjoying being together, playing games, reading together, making fun playdates and enjoying life.