Open Windows

It’s summertime! Sunshine, fresh fruit, and lots of bugs all serve as daily reminders of the season. The heat and humidity are perhaps the most noticeable effects, though. Our family has chosen to use the AC as little as possible – meaning we’ve used it for less than ten days this whole year. I didn’t think we’d do this well, but we have and I’m very pleased.
I’m originally from the South, so AC has always been a big part of my life. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized what I was missing by choosing AC over open windows. Last night I noticed that the sounds of Nature were missing. Singing birds, the wind in the trees, barking dogs, talking people (and noisy cars) had become my background noise over the past few months. When those sounds are gone I feel so disconnected from what’s happening outside. I’m looking forward to the time when it cools down enough to open the windows again.

Natural IS Better, Even When Dealing with Illness

The more I read, the less I think vaccines and modern “Western” approaches to medicine are all that great. Our bodies are amazing! When we give them the right tools (nutrition, environment, etc.) and the power, they will usually heal themselves. A good doctor or herbalist knows this and will help you empower your body’s own healing abilities.
Here’s my latest reading on the matter that I’d like to pass on:

Dirtier Lives May Be Just the Medicine We Need

Are Fever Reducers Fueling the Cancer Epidemic?

Childhood Infections May Prevent Heart Disease

Study Finds Breastfeeding, CoSleeping Mothers Get More Sleep

Not at all surprised.

Mumanu: the new way to sleep

Source: Dr Momma, By Danelle Frisbie
Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Researchers at the College of Nursing at East Tennessee State University found that breastfeeding mothers get more sleep when sharing sleep with their baby (i.e. sleeping within an arm’s reach of baby, or ‘cosleeping’). 

Previous studies have found that breastfed babies have protective stages of healthy sleep/wake cycles – reducing the risk of SIDS and other breathing, hormonal, and bio-regulatory irregularities. It was previously thought that because breastfed babies spend more of their day and night in an alert state, that their mothers may have less sleep than formula fed babies’ mothers.

Drs. Stephanie Quillin and Lee Glenn, who led the study at East Tennessee State, sought to address the unsolved question of whether there is an interaction between the type of feeding (breastfed or formula fed) and sleep arrangements (sharing sleep vs. solo sleeping) that impacts mothers’ postpartum…

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Radical Homeschooling: Sounds Cool!

Kartwheels

Am I going to let my kid burst with the enthusiasm of her own ideas, choose what she wants to learn for the most part, and also present her with constant sources of new ideas, experiences, opportunities and materials, oh yes!

Am I going to let her decide to play video games or watch television for a week straight, not brush her teeth, not have simple chores to help on the land and eat whatever she wants at any moment?  Hell no!

In my quest discover the best way to homeschool my kid, I came across such terms as “project based homeschooling” and “unschooling” very early.  I really liked what unschooling was about and realized it was, by definition, what we had already been doing since Captain was tiny.  It was really a way of life from the get-go; most of what she learns is by life and by choosing…

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Thoughts on Homeschooling vs Public School

As a follow-up to my previous post on education, read this article and then the comments. The comments were wonderful! Rarely have I seen so many people engage in meaningful conversation like this, without descending into throwing mud and being nasty. I think the readers really did a great job responding to the author’s thoughts and questions.

Homeschooling

Homeschooling

This article sparked some questions in my mind.
1. Why is the government tasked with educating our children in the first place?

2. How can rules, laws, whatever be put into place about the style of homeschooling, given the diverse styles of learning? For people who unschool, would their children be considered truant?

I think everyone should have education available to them. It seems the only way to make that possible is through the government. I realize many children might not receive an education if there weren’t truancy rules and such… but I’m still not convinced the way things are set up now is good. People who talk online seem prone to over-generalizing the pros or cons of any one method of education. Groups like IFB, Quiverfull, or other super conservatives tend to demonize anything that isn’t homeschooling. Extremely liberal people turn around and slam anything that isn’t public school (or maybe private school). Crunchy folks seem to be largely pro-homeschool or unschooling… but perhaps more flexible instead of judgmental. Regardless, I think the lesson to walk away from all this with is this: one size doesn’t fit all.

What do you think?

I Don’t Speak Human