Guest Writers & Interviews

Finding Time to Read When You're Mothering Littles

Guest post by Johanna Hanson of My Home Tableau.

Renee here, with just a short intro: I have always been an avid reader, and reading has been so important for my personal development, intellectual and spiritual growth.

But when you are a mom with young children it's hard to find the time. I know many of you are in this same spot so I asked Johanna to share her heart and wisdom with us on this topic.

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As a mom of littles (4, 2, and 1), my days are taken up with changing diapers, passing out snacks, reading stacks of picture books, making huge messes that we call creativity, and cleaning up said messes, or pushing kids on a swing. I also try to cook somewhere in there.

There is very little time for myself. Most of the time I can't even use the bathroom without someone coming in to check where I am!

But self-education, usually in the form of reading, is highly important to me. It's a priority. And as anything in life, if something is a priority you somehow make time for it.

I don't view this as another item on a to-do list. (It's plenty long already, thank you!). I view it as a lifeline. A sanity keeper in the midst of busy days.

It reminds me that my world is bigger than a diaper explosion or another spilled bowl of soup.

Reading keeps my mind fresh and active, learning new things and learning daily about the world around me. Having young children is physically exhausting, but not necessarily intellectually stimulating. Reading provides that outlet.

Reading gives me new things to talk about with my husband and friends. My husband is very gracious, but he really doesn't need to know how many times I cleaned up the same toy in a day.

Reading also models to my children that learning is a lifelong pursuit.

And it is just enjoyable.

Reading and learning are important and even a lifeline for a mom of littles, but making it happen is another matter. I rarely have a moment in a day by myself, let alone time to get into a good book. I've had to find ways to fit it in.

Read multiple books

One thing that has helped me read more is having different books of different genres going at the same time. There are days when I am so physically exhausted by nightfall that I can't wrap my mind around anything too deep, but I can get lost in a great work of fiction or gain encouragement from a memoir.

If I know I am going to have distractions, a resource book is nice. I can learn what I want, but I don't need heavy concentration. I save the deeper reading for those times when I have a small block of time to myself.

15 minutes a day

Most of us, no matter what stage in life, can find at least fifteen minutes. It is actually amazing how much reading we can get through with just 15 minutes. Over a month and a year it adds up.

But you might find like I have, that once you have committed to 15 minutes you will benefit so much, that you'll find other times to squeeze in some reading.

How much time is not important, but committing to giving myself some time to explore my own learning goals reminds me that this is important.

Rest time

Rest time is an invaluable part of our day. My oldest rarely sleeps anymore, but we still have quiet time in the afternoon. I need it, for sure. But they need it too. They need time by themselves (they may not realize it!) to get lost in a picture book or a simple toy without the interruption of a sibling.

It is tempting to tackle my cleaning, or jump on twitter as soon as my kids go down. But I've learned that if reading is a priority, it has to happen first. Having routines in place so I know when my laundry or other cleaning is going to get done is helpful to put my mind at ease. "I'll get to that later."

As soon as my kids go down to rest, I make a cup of tea or coffee and I sit and read. Rest time is the time to get into some of my best reading. It's that respite in the middle of the day that puts out of my mind all the kid squabbles of the morning, and gives me renewed energy for the hours left in our day.

Read in multiple formats

I enjoy borrowing a variety of books from the library both on my kindle and in book format. Each is a little different and better for certain situations. Another format that I have just recently started to enjoy is the audio book.

Audible.com is user friendly because it keeps track of exactly where you are and allows you to take notes while you listen, but you can also borrow audio books from the library.

I like to be completely present when my children are awake, but I find that if they are sleeping and I absolutely need to accomplish household tasks, listening while I work is an enjoyable way to spend the time.

Just read

I am finally figuring out that there is no perfect time for anything. Being a mom of littles has its particular challenges, for sure. But perfect is often the enemy of the good. The perfect book, the perfectly clean house, the perfect time.

Sometimes you just have to grab the book that is closest to you, take whatever moments of silence you can get, forget about that pile of laundry for the moment, and just read.

And oh what food for my heart, soul, and mind comes from those less-than-perfect times.

Reading is not a duty for me, it's a respite. That quiet in the midst of my day of answering endless questions and caring for my family's needs.

~~~

Thank you so much Johanna for sharing this with us. I was nodding my head a lot, especially about having house routines that let you enjoy moments of rest.

How do you make time for reading in your life?

That audible link is an affiliate. We love audible and have a monthly membership.

Season's Eatings

Today I'm pleased to introduce Leah Cherry to FIMBY.

Leah Cherry teaches children and their families how to cook, sew, make and grow – traditional talents that remain essential for living well today.

Her business, Skill It, is founded on the belief that working with your hands nourishes your spirit and connects you to family and community. Her signature online class, Season’s Eatings, is offered four times a year to create joy, fun, and connection around food and family dinner time.

When I heard about the work Leah does I asked her to share with us about her upcoming course, Season's Eatings.

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Family dinner can be a sacred, restorative time in our day. It is a welcome chance to slow down, connect, and nourish both our bodies and our relationships with one another.

How we get our food on the table can be simple and fun. It can make everyone in the house feel useful, valuable, and empowered. Working with our hands nourishes our spirits and connects us to the inherent pleasure of a job well done. And when something is handmade or homemade, we taste, smell, and sense the difference.

At heart, Skill It was inspired by a desire to bring joy to the kitchens and dinner tables of families near and far. We created our online class, Season’s Eatings, to create inspiration and connection around the pleasures of cooking and eating together.

In addition to honoring their skills and abilities, working with your kids in the kitchen instills a deeper appreciation and joy around nourishing themselves. It is also a way to pass on family knowledge and traditions. Whether you’re making a beloved grandmother’s recipe or simply telling stories about your childhood, you are creating memories and forming new traditions of your own.

When give the opportunity, children are focused, competent, and wonderfully independent cooks.

Our journey in the kitchen is focused on how you can nurture that desire to work in your little ones. Whether they are washing salad greens, chopping up vegetables, or setting the table, little hands thrive when they are occupied with a helpful pursuit. {Big hands do, too!}

Together with your children, you can create meals from simple, seasonal foods in a way that honors their naturally delicious flavors. You can create a rhythm and a routine of working gracefully together. As the head chef in your family, you set the tone with your example.

Creating a peaceful, encouraging and patient approach in the kitchen lets your kids feel comfortable trying, experimenting, and exploring.

For four weeks in November, Season’s Eatings offers recipes, activities, and inspiration to make this vision of family dinnertime come to life in your home. More than just a class, it is community that celebrates the beauty of cooking together as a family. From wherever we happen to be, we gather at one big table, laughing, talking, and celebrating over bowls of steaming soup and plates of roasted vegetables. Bringing joy to our families, one dish, and one day, at a time.

Click here to learn more and register for Season’s Eatings.

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Doesn't this sound fabulous? You can see why I asked Leah to join us here today. Leah is also offering FIMBY readers a special discount for the course. Just enter “FIMBY” at checkout. All that course for just $15!

And because what's a food post without a recipe Leah shares her Skill It Beet Soup recipe. Perfect for this time of year.

Ingredients

1 large rib celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 quarts vegetable stock
2 medium red beets, julienned or grated
2 small yellow potatoes, julienned or diced
½ small head green cabbage, shredded
1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 T. herbs de provence
2 bay leaves
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large soup or stock pot and sautee first three ingredients until onions are tender and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Add herbs de provence, pepper, and bay leaves and stir to distribute evenly. Then add potatoes, beets, and tomatoes and enough stock to cover all ingredients. Bring the soup up to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.
Stir in shredded cabbage and continue simmering until all vegetables are tender, about 30-45 minutes.
To serve, ladle hot soup into large bowls and garnish with fresh dill. For a traditional borscht, you can also add a little spoonful of sour cream.

Kids of all ages can help by cutting carrots & celery with scissors – adults cut them into thin strips first. You can also cut potatoes into strips and pass those along to little hands to cut with a small table or paring knife, depending on their age & confidence level.

Older children can help with grating the beets and cabbage with a traditional box grater. If you are making a lot of soup, you can also have them help run these through a food processor. {Kids do love pressing the buttons on this piece of equipment!}

Click here to learn more and register for Season’s Eatings.

How to Start a Homeschool Hiking Group ~ An Interview

Today I'm happy to introduce you to my friend Louise Johnson. Louise lives in Maine, which is where we met. She's an adventurous mom to four boys, ages 8 through 18 months, with another adoptive son still in Haiti.

Louise also homeschools and blogs at Just Us and chronicles their adoption journey here.

Louise started a homeschool hiking group in their community and I asked her to share her experiences in an interview.

I love what she shares in this interview.

Our own family spends one day a week outdoors together, most often on Sunday, but I know this doesn't work for everyone. Some people go to religious services, or have conflicting family and work schedules. Or maybe spouses/partners who don't share the same love for nature hikes. A homeschool hiking group could help families incorporate hiking into their weekly routine. I love it!

Louise has young children and shares some great tips in this interview about hiking with babies and toddlers.

Let's get started.

1. Tell us the story of how your weekly homeschool hiking group started?

I decided to start a weekly hiking group specifically because our family could not get out hiking every weekend like I wanted. I also wanted to provide my children an opportunity to explore with their homeschooling friends...thus the birth of the group.

2. Is it hard to set aside one day from your homeschool routine for this?

Nope. And there are two reasons for that.

First, outdoor education is a priority for us and in conjunction with that, Friday has been put aside as our free day since we started. So, we made it our hiking day. We are flexible though - life happens, bad weather happens - so we postpone when we have to.

3. How did you find other interested families?

I have a pod of families that we hang with for individual play dates, field trips, holiday parties and mini school units (we get together and do a science experiments, etc.)

When I pitched it, I emailed them that I was really wanting to get more hiking done with my kids. I scheduled a bunch of easy to moderate local hikes (that I was familiar with) and told folks this is what I am doing - I will be there at 10 am. Come play if you want to. Folks who were interested just showed up (smile).

4. What is your average group size and age of kids?

This varied at every hike, but usually we had about 10 kids ranging in age from infant (our packers) to our oldest who was 9. Of course we had hikes where everybody showed up and that was close to 20 kids and others where only 5 kids showed up.

5. Do you have any "educational" goals in mind or is it "let's just go hiking"? Ie: Are you hoping the kids or yourself will learn certain things?

I do not plan any educational goals for the hikes BUT the educational opportunities do just fall in your lap. Most of these hikes are familiar to at least one person in the group. This works well as then that person is able to point out special "educational opportunities."

Many times our hiking explorations are inspired by a book. One hike we had just read Around One Log: Chipmunks, Spiders, and Creepy Insiders. So the kids wanted to spend time turning over rotten logs. What they discovered - tons of red backed salamanders, worms, beetles and other tiny creatures - led to many more library trips and several lap books.

We have hiked one of our family's personal favorite locations so many times that they boys know many of the critter "hot spots". Now when we bring friends along the boys lead the expedition often teaching friends where to find cool critters and what they have learned in their studies about the critters.

That being said, I do have physical goals for the younger two. My older two boys have developed their "hiking endurance" over the years. My little two are working on that. So I do have goals in that sense.

My goal for my four year old is for him to walk the hike on his own, in other words, me not carrying him. This means taking several breaks and bringing LOTS of snacks.

I know it sounds crazy but I have goals for the baby too. He is seventeen months old. He is now used to being in the pack and does not mind it. However, this last year (yes I mean this last year as he has been walking since he was 7 months old) I have worked diligently with him on building his endurance and hiking skills.

I usually let him "hike" right when we start off, during the period of his highest energy level. My goals for him include not only building his walking ability but his ability to walk along with a group and to stay on the trails. It is never too young to start is my philosophy. He loves it and gets the "I feel like a big kid" stride going. It is so cute.

Then when he starts to get tired he welcomes the break of getting in the pack and more often than not naps the rest of the hike. This avoids the cranky baby in the backpack scenario.

6. How do you determine where and how long to hike?

We only hike where at least one person in the group has already hiked. We do this so that the person who has hiked there before can give us a detailed description of what to expect in terms of foot wear, time, difficulty level, and trail directions.

The hiking group consists of moms and their many kids, all different ability levels (moms and kids alike). Knowing what’s ahead makes life easier to plan, especially for those of us with infants. We pick local, nobody wants to spend tons of money on gas so we stay within 30-45 minutes of our community.

Keeping the hikes local also makes it easier for families to try the hike again later, maybe with dad too. Several of the hikes are very close to the homes of folks in the group. Often that person opens up their home for an after-hike lunch, bathroom breaks and downtime.

Our hikes vary in length of time. Really it depends on how many "discoveries" we make, how many snack times we need and how many breaks we need for little legs. I tell the moms to expect at least two hours, bring lots of snacks and in some cases we have brought lunches and picnicked on the trail.

As far as mileage goes, we have done trails that are as short as 1/4 mile, all the way up to some two mile loops. Sometimes the shortest trails have taken us the longest time because of all the exploration.

7. What do the kids love best about it? What about the parents?

Here’s what one kid and two moms had to say:

Mud...and seeing my friends.

I like meeting/making new friends, being outdoors, challenging myself to try new things (think salamanders here). And, I'm discovering new places nearby that will be great to know about for family outings and homeschool adventures in the future.

I really like to visit the beautiful trails that we have so close to home. It is nice to get together with other families to learn about nature and to just spend time enjoying each other's company. My boys love to explore with the other children as well.

8. What do you do about winter and rainy days?

Rainy days we re-schedule. Winter is awesome hiking. We only hike if the temperature is at least 20 degrees. Kids dress warmly.

We BRING SLEDS. Little legs get worn out way faster with snow pants and snow to work through. Sleds give much needed breaks for littles and tons of fun for the bigs. They love sliding down hills and taking turns pulling each other. Sleds take the bite out of the difficulty of winter hiking.

9. What is the most challenging part of organizing something like this? What is the most rewarding aspect?

Honestly, last fall and even this winter organizing the hikes was a breeze. We picked a hike. We went. The weather was great. The advent of spring has brought life interruptions galore. So the challenge has been to get back into our hiking rhythm.

10. Anything else you want to share?

Having a homeschool hiking group has been a lot of fun. My kids have benefited and I have loved sharing some of my favorite spots with some great women. I know the thought of going out sans dad in the woods with little kids can be daunting, especially when you have older kids who want to run ahead and little ones who want to run the other way or just want to lay in the trail and cry that they are too tired to go on. Having more hands on deck makes the load lighter.

Some moms stay with the littles, some hike ahead with the bigs. All bases covered. We support each other and encourage one another. Many of the kids in the group have met challenges this year while hiking - hitting the “I’m too tired point” but somehow finding the strength to go on. This is amazing to see in a four year old!

I have seen kids who have never caught a frog or cradled a salamander, who were afraid to climb a tree or walk across a fallen log. I have seen them conquer these challenges with their own cheering squad. I have seen bigs come along side littles who are crying and tired of the hike, take a hand and help them on.

There’s something to this hiking in the woods, the challenge of the trail and the beauty of the fresh air that brings out the best in all of us.

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What a great way to end! And I couldn't agree more. This last part was beautiful and I think really illustrates what being in the outdoors together offers us - beauty, hands-on learning, relationship and character building.

This kind of integrated living gets me really excited.

Thank you so much Louise for taking the time to answer these questions (and for supplying the photos!). I think there's a lot of great inspiration and practical ideas in here for families wanting to start their own homeschool hiking groups.

Any questions for Louise? Or a similar experience to share about group hiking?

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Guest Writers & Interviews