Pass It On

I have been thinking a lot here lately about education and passing on knowledge. I submitted the forms necessary for our area to be "official" homeschoolers this year, as my daughter is of the mandatory reporting age. Our reasons for keeping our children home are numerous and varied. From personal experience, there is so much learning that should happen at home, anyway, that it made a lot of sense for us. Much of that knowledge is of the homemaking variety. My daughter and son can be whatever they choose when they are older, but I expect them to be able to make dinner for themselves, sew clothes if needed, plant a garden and various other homesteading tasks that get easily left behind in modern schooling.

Recently I was given the opportunity to teach some classes at a local farm/store, and I have loved it. I love that the classes exist, period, really, though, as the fact that people will pay to learn something like making jams, making soaps, sewing aprons and cooking from scratch, tells us that priorities are changing, and for the better. There are so many crafts and skills that are getting lost-lost in a fast paced society and also due to changes in priorities. There was a time when schools (and grandmothers) taught girls how to do simple homemaking tasks-basics at the very least-so they could maintain a home when they were older. It didn't matter what path they were going to take-working full-time, having children or not-they needed basic skills. Young men were required to learn how to change the oil in a car and simple woodworking. Currently many of these programs are being cut from schools due to lack of funding. I think the priorities of our society have shifted. What is even more troubling is that the older generations have even been removed from these skills in many cases. I know many families where the matriarchs or patriarchs are just as clueless about how to perform tasks many of us in the simple/frugal/green movement do everyday as their younger counterparts are.

Luckily, those of us who have learned, either from the internet, friends, grandparents who have been there, books or other classes are seeing the need to pass on that knowledge. I love showing others how to do things-whether it is mending a garment, recycling a sheet into something new and fun, baking bread or canning the season's bounty. I love to do it whether I am getting paid (which is just a nice bonus for a one income household) or not. I think education is vital for the survival of communities. Many people hear me talk about something and their response is "I didn't know you could do that!". It is important to keep up with our public display of the things we do to open up opportunities to teach others. It isn't that there isn't something for us to learn from folks who live faster, more modern "normal" lives, but much of what we do is getting lost and the only way to preserve these skills, which may be necessary someday-we cannot know-is to teach them, both to the next generation and to current ones.

I end in saying how very tickled I was about the attendance of the sewing class I co-taught over the weekend. A very close friend and I taught an intro to sewing class, and helped the ladies there to sew simple aprons. They were giddy that there was an easily accessible outlet to learn something of the sort, and we were happy to pass the knowledge on. The thing that got me was the ages of the people there; from a teenager (who turned red every time we mentioned tagging her in a picture of her in her apron on facebook for all her friends to see-which we had no intention of doing, but she was so darn cute) to ladies in their thirties and forties. The bread baking class last month had ladies in their fifties. It is awesome to see people willing to learn, no matter their age, and being able to make that happen. If those who have the knowledge do not pass it on, whether to their children or others, it will be lost. Knowledge is one of our most valuable resources, and one that is both easily wasted and easily given. I hope more people take opportunities to give it. It is so terribly fulfilling to see someone use their new skills, and in knowing that they now have the chance to pass it along.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day class at Prairieland Herbs

Fry Bread Tacos
Cinnamon Rolls
This class was fun, and I am definitely glad I took the opportunity to do it! I would love to be able to make it (and others) a regular thing, both at Prairieland and at our place. The ladies were great to work with, and eager learners. I think everyone went home with full tummies and well as lots of ideas to help them work with this great bread dough!

Children and Church

Recently we have tried to attend church again, with some sort of frequency. That being, so, though I have been more stressed than usual. My thoughts on children and church are terribly, terribly different than those of most families who attend churches, apparently.
My parenting philiosphy is that I should teach and raise my children, and goes so far as to me keeping them home for their education. This extends to religious education, as well. Most families who attend church send their kids off to Sunday School, a nursery or children's church when the adult service starts. I don't believe in doing this. It is on the same level, in my eyes, as sending them to all day kindergarten. I don't want someone else teaching them about the love of Christ in a fashion not conducive to their learning style. I want to be there to answer their questions, and also to witness their growth as believers.
When Ponygal was will very little I read a book entitled Parenting in the Pew. I can't remember now who wrote it, but it spoke to me and my convictions. Those convictions started with the fact that Pony Gal was so premature. I kept her away from things because her safety and health depended on it. But, it also felt natural. My instincts were to protect and keep my baby with me. Not to send her to nursery during a church service, but to continue my nurturing there. As she grew, this conviction didn't change, and after reading that book, I found another mother who understood. One of the most striking things she said was that children are herded in Sunday school/children's church settings like they are in public school. They are maintained. They do not see what the adults are doing-how the pray and worship. We as parents do not see what or how they are being taught. Some think that the kids sitting through a service is somehow rude to others because a little noise is inevitable. I see it as signs that there is youth in the church-a necessity for growth. My children get to see how mom and dad act in that setting and can learn from that. Learn to sit and listen and be meditative on what is being taught or said. Learn hymns or worship songs that sit in their hearts and see adults be contemplative on them. Mimicking adults is one of the main ways most children start to learn to be adults themselves. It leads to questions that lead to discussions. Church should be a time for families to be together, not separated so that it is easier on certain individuals to concentrate. Yes, that does mean that sometimes I don't hear a sermon, because Superboy just can't sit still that Sunday. That really doesn't bother me. I download podcasts from several different churches. I listen to one that sounds like I need to hear it that week, and am fine. I surround myself with other believers. I get my fill. Right now, my primary role, other than being a follower and lover of Christ, is to be a mother. My children are young. As they grow, then I can spend more time focusing on me. They need me right now. Sending them off for someone else to care for them is counterintuitive. I have devotional time in the morning before they wake up. I surround myself with opportunities to commune with my Father, so I can parent them when they need parenting, and that includes during church. I think it has been one of my main reasons for not wanting to attend somewhere. I get tired of being told every Sunday that there is a nursery, or children's church. My reasons are not just that of trust-though that is one. No one can care for my child like I do. Not every one who goes to church is going to answer questions about faith the way I will. It is my responsibility as a parent to raise my child to believe. I take that very, very seriously. I do my best to impart those beliefs to my children, so they know from early on that Jesus loves them, and wants a relationship with them. I do not intend to use what I see more as, and I know this will anger some people, kid-watching programs to educate them, just like I do not intend to send them to school to be educated in situations where 2/3's of the time is spent on crowd control. We'll keep searching and trying, but we have yet to find somewhere that fully understands those convictions, and that both Dad and I like, though that is a whole other discussion. His idea and my idea of what church should be like are night and day.
Anyway, that's why I do what I do.