Moss Garden & Vision Boards

Today I watched my neighbors children, who are 9 and 11 years old. I wanted to do something fun with all the kids. We made brownies and the kids made vision boards. We also made a moss garden that Molly & Jack brought home with them.
I wanted to take pictures the vision boards (only 2 out of 4 of them) and the moss garden to share with everyone. It was such a fun day with a full, bustling house! It felt good to help out my neighbor, and her children were such a pleasure to spend time with.

The Pedicure

Today Devin painted Dakota's toe nails. He used 5 different colors. He then dried her nails with a blow dryer. She is so proud of her painted nails! It was great to see them connecting in that way. I had to snap a photo!

Joe's New Creation

Joe recently had a request from a customer for a large dollhouse with four floors. Joe is so accommodating. He had the vision that he could make one and just use one of the kitchen boxes to ship it. It took him all day, but he made one! I was so proud of him! He is adding the new huge dollhouse to our Willow Toys Website. It's so cool to watch the business grow slowly and steadily with new items being added here and there. Now we just need a name for the new Dollhouse.

Devin the Surgeon

I thought this was so sweet!

Here Devin is fixing Dakota's doll which had a ripped arm. (It used to be favorite my doll when I was a little girl. I gave her to Dakota a few years ago.) Devin enjoys sewing, especially fixing things for others. He told Dakota to go and get any of her dolls that needed to be fixed. She came downstairs with an armful of "wounded" dolls. Devin took care of his sisters babies and she was very grateful. * Tonight, All is Well *

Flower Dissection

Today the kids got out the magnifying glasses, tweezers and scissors to dissected several types of flowers. It was so cute listening to Devin explain things to Dakota about pollination and seeds. I was surprised with how much he knew! As an Unschooling parent I have ideas of what the kids learn and understand, but to hear him explain things to her always blows my mind. He is so patient and she is always so interested in what he has to say. My heart spills over with love watching them learning and exploring together.

Mandarin Orange Scones!

Today on our way to the store, we drove past a bakery that we like to stop at to buy these yummy scones. Devin suggested stopping to pick up a few. Unfortunately they only take cash. I only had my debit card on me. I told the kids that since we were going to the grocery store, maybe we could get the ingredients and try to make the scones ourselves at home.

They all thought it was a great idea and Devin couldn't wait to make the glaze for the top. We jumped online and found a recipe that sounded similar to the scones at the bakery.

Well, they came out awesome! Around 3pm I called Joe in from the shop to take a break and have some scones and milk with me and the kids. He thought they were yummy! It took a while to make them, but it was worth it. Devin's glaze was perfect!

Devin's New Hobby

Devin came to me today and said that after learning about one of the characters on his Sly 3 Playstation game, he wanted to make spices like the character in the game was. In his exact words, "It really inspired me Mom!" It amazes me that most folks think games like Sly 3 are garbage or non-educational.

Devin and I talked about that today, and how we learn from everything we watch and play! To limit TV or games would be limiting learning.

He and I picked herbs from the garden and Devin thread a rope across two nails. He hung the herbs to dry by some clothespins. He can't wait for the herbs to dry to grind them into spices.

His passions are like flames to me! He gets so intensely interested in something that all his energy becomes completely focused on it for whatever lifespan it has. I am so thankful we are Unschooling and living this life so his passions are not interrupted by someone elses agenda and ideas of what he should be doing with his time. Every day I am so thankful for our awesome life. I can't wait to use Devin's dried herbs in my cooking soon!

Treats For Mom & Dad

Today the kids made Joe and I banana splits! We ate them right before dinner. They were so yummy! The kids had a few bites and passed them on to us. Ivy just ate Cool Whip. ;)

100 Subscribers!

I am so amazed! I had my 100th subscriber to my YouTube Channel last night! YouTube has been such an amazing resource for me to reach out and share with others about Unschooling and Peaceful Parenting. The response I have received has been astounding! People email me from all over the world about my videos everyday! Folks share that after they saw the videos they decided to pull their kids out of school and Unschool them!

I cringe when I watch my first couple videos. It takes a while to get good at something and relax into speaking to a camera in your face. I was going to redo my first few vids, but a while back my friend Scott Noelle shared that they are an important part of my process. He shared that it is ok to leave them as they are. I think it is good to share my personal evolution.

Happy Father's Day!

I suprised Joe this morning with a ticket to go see one of his favorite bands, Tool in Portland, Maine! I also got a ticket for my father-in-law Chris. Joe was really suprised! He has wanted to see Tool live for years! Tool puts on an amazing show with lazers, costumes, strange images and bizarre sound effects. I wish I was going, but the kids need Mama home with them. I was fortunate enough to attend two shows last year. I saw Slayer, and Primus with some friends last year while Joe stayed home with the kids.

It's Daddy's turn to Mosh!

Paper Airplanes!

Yesterday was a very windy day! We took advantage of this by pulling out our paper airplane book and creating amazing flying creations!

With several different types of paper, we experimented with various airplane designs.

I love this amazing life of flexibility and spur of the moment opportunities! We become partners with mother nature as we wait to see what the day is like to make plans.


Rainy day- Great! Movies and Baking!
Hot, Sunny day- Awesome! Let's hit the lake or choose from the 3 rivers around us!
Cool, Windy day- Fabulous!! Kites and Paper Airplanes!!

We go with the flow and amazing things come from it!

Fairy Hideaway

Dakota loves building fairy houses and fairy hideaways! Yesterday she created this cute little hideaway for her fairy friends. When she woke up in the morning she noticed that the fairies had left her some tiny little stones and gems!

She has a little bag full of the treasures left by fairies over the years.

I am so grateful for her imagination and beautiful spirit!

Rockin out a New Website!

Willow Toys new website is LIVE! It took us weeks of working with Laura from http://www.sleepingbean.com/ to crank this new site out! She is just amazingly patient and creative! We couldn't have done it without her!I am so proud of Joe for all his hard work with our business. He is an amazing man and I am proud say he is all mine! ;)

I can't wait for him to see what I have planned for Father's Day! Woo Hoo!

A Day To Feed Our Passions!

Today we went out and bought Dakota some Easy Bake mixes. Here she is with her Easy Bake cookie that she shared with all of us.

I also got some cucumber, tomato and watermelon plants. Ivy got a new baby doll and my Mom ordered Devin a new set of Bionicles! Everyone got something new to feed their passions!

At the checkout we bought a new lollipop called Indulgence. It is half chocolate, half cherry candy. We all enjoyed trying it.

Whenever we go shopping, I always make sure to buy a little something new that no one has tried before. This is part of our philosophy of life! Bring as much of the world to our children's lives as possible to explore, taste, feel, experience and enjoy.

Paint With Water Fun

Ivy has recently discovered the joys of "paint with water" books. I remember having these as a kid myself, but I forgot all about them until I saw them in a local toy store! What a fun activity! Ivy has just about painted every page in her book! I am going out today to get more and also to buy Dakota some new Easy Bake Oven mixes. She is feeling like baking the family a few treats today!

Butterfly Safari

Here the kids are chasing butterflies. They catch them and put them on our screened in porch to get a closer look at them. They let them go after they have investigated the different qualities of each butterfly. They have learned so much about butterflies this year! Our porch is like a butterfly house! We could charge admission!

Our Sparkling Gardens!

Whew! We are almost done planting all three of the gardens on our property this year. It took longer than we thought to get the earth ready for planting because there were so many rocks to remove. We planted carrots, spinach, 3 different lettuces, chili peppers, sweet cherry peppers, 3 different tomatoes, summer squash, Delicato squash, buttercup squash, zucchini, pumpkins, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, onions, and more....
Here are pictures of our gardens. Devin and Dakota were such a big help this year helping me put the plants in the ground. Joe and I did most of the seeds ourselves over this last week.
Boy does it feel satisfying to have everything in the ground!!

Moon Sand

Have you ever seen this stuff? It's Moon Sand!

It is such a unique medium for the kids to play with. It is kind of like sand and clay combined. It is perfect for sandcastles! It doesn't get wet in water either. Ivy is a little wigged out by the consistency. She usually just watches Devin & Dakota play with it Joyfully. I love bringing new and interesting playthings into the house often. There is always something cool to check out and play with here!

Rockin Out On A Rainy Day

Devin and Dakota wrote a song today. Here they are jammin' together. They sounded really amazing! Some of the lyrics I heard were:

"She's got shiny brown hair..... Ya Ya.

She's got Shiny brown eyes.....Oh ya she does"

They wrote the song about their best friend Abbie. It was so sweet!

Unschooling Chat

I hosted a Live Unschooling Chat last night! It was really fun. I met some awesome women! As we talked we realized that 3 of us were also LLL Leaders! How cool! Living around here it is hard to find real life support for how we live, so the connections I have made online have been so important to me! I met a really cool Mom named Laura. Visit her blog here. She is going to be holding the first Unschooling Conference in Florida. She and I really hit it off and I look forward getting to know her better! I will be meeting her at the Live and Learn Conference in September. I also talked with a Mom I met at last years Peabody, Mass. Conference. She is from Camden, Maine, which is right up near Owl's Head where my Grandparents spent the last few years of their lives. It was a fabulous chat connecting with amazing women! I am so grateful to have that resource for other Unschooling families!

Kitchen Science

Devin loves anything to do with Science and experiments. Here Devin is testing how different types of sand react to vinegar and salt. The beach sand seemed lighter and floated to the top of the glass, where the darker sand did not. Once a month or so I stock up on experiement items at the grocery store. We buy vinegar, baking soda and salt in bulk!

Rainy Day Fun

It has been raining for 3 days here in NH! Joe recently bought Ivy a little pool and Ivy has been waiting patiently to try it out. Waking up to rain again this morning, I decided to blow it up and fill it for her anyway. She is having a blast with her "indoor pool"!