Yesterday...

M & I took the kids, and our dog Pippi, out to the coast for the late afternoon-early evening. What a perfect way to end the weekend! We go to this little, quiet beach, that has a giant rock with a natural blow-hole/vent in it - really cool to see the waves hitting it, and watching the spray rise through the vent. Yesterday it was more populated than I've ever seen it before, but it's still quiet. The kids dug in the sand, buried their feet to make caves, and played in the waves. C.J. has always shied away from the water, but this time she started running up, holding my hand, to dip her toes in the cold, cold water, and then we'd run away again. Now she loves the water!
I got a few minutes too, to climb up on a rock a tiny ways out in the water, so I could just have some peace, watching the waves surge around the rock. I needed that - the ocean always been very grounding to me... I have a sense of oneness and peace/calm there that I never feel anywhere else.
On the way home, with the kids drowsy from the heat and playing, we talked about homeschooling some more, and decided to maybe start with a unit (I like the idea of unit studies) on Native Americans, finishing it off with a "feast" on the Autumn Equinox. Some ideas - go to the library to get books about Native American life (pre-Columbian), read some Native American stories/legends, build a model of a tipi, grind some corn for bread/corn cakes, do some artwork, maybe watch a movie if I can find a good one, go visit the Miwok Village out at Point Reyes. I have decided that the only actual curriculum I plan on buying will be Singapore Math. Other than that, there are so many resources out there! I may join the local homeschool association, so I have access to even more resources. It feels right for us, and I think we'll really enjoy the homeschooling journey.
We're also going to check out Spiral Scouts for the kids. There's a local meeting in a couple of weeks, and we'll see how we like it, what we think of the other people involved, and how the kids feel about it after that. I'm not sure what it will be like - I have mixed feelings on getting the kids involved in too much right now, so I'll just have to see.
I made the most awesome bluberry-banana muffins last night for the kids' breakfasts this week. I was out of applesauce, so I used mashed mango, substituted sour cream for yogurt (which I was also out of) and used blueberries instead of chopped dates, because none of us like dates. I also added a little ground flaxseed and wheatgerm. They came out really good though! I used all whole wheat flour last week, and the muffins I made were just too heavy, so I used half unbleached all-purpose this week, and they are much fluffier and softer. I figure with the fruit and all my add-ins, they're still pretty darn healthy!