The Sparkling Martins

Unerzogen

2009-07-11T20:26:00.005-05:00

A few months ago I wrote an article for a German homeschooling magazine.

Today we got a copy of the magazine with my featured article, "Radical Unschooling". The kids thought is was SO cool! to see their picture in a magazine over the ocean!

Uncshooling is Illegal in Germany, which adds to the whole intrigue of writing for them.

I have accepted an invitation to have my book, "Radical Unschooling: A Revolution Has Begun", translated into German.

The excitement of living this life builds everyday, as does the voice that I speak in many different languages..

I have been contacted my publishers in Australia, France and Asia... and a few more countries.. The philosophy is growing and I am honored to be leading the movement...

Unschooling will change the World... How cool that our family can be such an example!!

Tandem Nursing Life

2009-07-11T19:21:00.004-05:00

This is my second round of tandem nursing. Ivy is 4 and a half and still nursing as much as Orion does at 18 months. Devin nursed until he was four and a half.. That was SO long for me to nurse being a new Mom.... Never would I have guessed that I would be nursing a child well into their 5th year!

It feels so normal and natural though... when you are doing it. Ivy loves her "Nummies". Night time is challenging.. I haven't "slept through the night" in over 10 years! Yes... you read right... ten years since I slept without waking to nurse a child..

As a culture we are so conditioned to think that we "need" to sleep through the night to function that it becomes goal, even though it wasn't one that we set ourselves.. Our goals are set by others standards without living their *Truth* ourselves..

We are designed as women to wake frequently when we have kids.

We are so much stronger than we are given credit for as women! Our bodies, minds and spirits are designed to do this!! Once you step into this *knowing* and stop thinking that night waking is an inconvenience and accept how normal it is everything shifts, you stop suffering, and life becomes more joyful. I love my time when they wake at night.

Let's raise the bar of what is possible!

Natural Motherhood Rocks!!

Orion the Toy-Maker!

2009-07-11T19:09:00.005-05:00

Orion is such an adorned part of all five of our lives.... When he looks at us and smiles, nothing else matters. He has a magic way about him. Such pure Joy in his little heart. Orion just adores his Daddy.

Joe works at home and most of the day he is next door creating awesome wooden toys... Orion loves to be with him watching what is going on in the shop. Devin was never really into this as a young boy... Orion is different. He loves playing with the tools and the wood, being part over every little thing that Daddy is doing all day.

His favorite place to be is on the bench where Joe sands and waxes the toys.. If you bought a toy from us in the last 3 months, you can be guaranteed that Orion had a hand in it's creation!

Orion is a big part of Willow Toys!

We love you Orion!! You rock our lives and we are so grateful for you little man!!

Mancala

2009-07-11T18:50:00.004-05:00

Right now our favorite family game is called, "Mancala". It is an ancient Egyptian game that Devin fell in love with a few years ago when he was learning about Egypt.

Rules of the Game:

Each player "owns" the Mancala on his right and the six small bowls closest to him.

Player 1 starts by scooping up all the stones from one of his small bowls (players may never start from a Mancala or from the opponent's six bowls). Player 1 drops one stone into the next bowl on the right, one stone into the second bowl on the right, continuing around the board (counterclockwise) until he has no more stones in his hand. If Player 1 reaches his own Mancala, he drops a stone into it. Players do not drop stones into their opponents' Mancalas, they skip them and continue dropping stones, one at a time, from their hand until they run out of stones. Players take turns moving. At the end of the game, players count the stones in their Mancalas - the player with the most stones wins.

There are SO many games for our families to enjoy from all over the World! Why just settle for American games when there are thousands more to choose from?!

Look for us at the next Unschooling Conference near you! We may just challenge you to a game of Mancala!

Be a Good Consumer!

2009-07-11T09:35:00.005-05:00

It was yearly evaluation/testing time in New Hampshire for homeschoolers. In the past we went the testing route for Devin. We worked through the test with him, but I knew this sent a subtle message that he wasn't capable, or that somehow we weren't being honest. It caused me a lot of stress to think about another year coming up with two kids now who are school age. I knew that I needed to do something different this year, that was more in alignment with who we are as a family.

We decided to hire an evaluator. I learned a lot during the process of finding one that was right for our family. Just like shopping for anything, it's important to be a good consumer. I called 2 evaluators and asked them each how they felt about Unschooling. Neither of them were very familiar with the philosophy and evaluated from a traditional homeschooling standpoint, meaning they wanted to see workbook pages, and completed "schoolwork" as part of their evaluation process.

I finally found one that was willing and excited to work with an Unschooling family. She seemed very open to learning about the concept. I could tell right away that I had found a match for us. I gave her my blog address for her to learn more and to see how we live our lives. This alone was our portfolio.

I was very upfront on the phone in how I believe children learn and that we do not keep traditional portfolios in the way that most homeschoolers do. I did however share that we would love to have her over to share how our kids do learn. I truly believed in my heart that if she came over and spent some time with us that she would "get it". She would see them reading, writing, communicating, using math, sharing about history, science geography. She would have no doubt that Unschooling is a valid and wonderful, way of life, without me having to translate things into "school-ese", or somehow have to twist what our kids learn into a box of "acceptable" catagories on a schools terms.

I believe in this life from the bottom of my heart. I believe in the way my kids learn as being the most natural, pure, loving and authentic path for them. I was sick of jumping through hoops on someone else's terms and definitions of "education".

In the same way I encourage couples to be good consumers in a hospital setting when striving for a natural birth, I now encourage others to be good consumers when shopping for an evaluator for their Unschooled kids. You do not have to ever lie, or be nervous about what you are doing and how your kids learn. As this way of life grows and spreads, which it is, like wildfire, the more options there will be for us when looking for evaluators. The market will get competitive and our options will open and we will be able to model honesty, clarity and the validity of this life to our children and others.

In the end, the evaluator was very impressed with how our kids learn. She became the student and my children were the teacher, as she spent time with us and walked around our home in awe of how hands-on and full of resources our home really way. She was a pioneer in her own right being willing to open her mind to see the learning in all that our kids do, in non-traditional ways.

I encourage others to shop around! Find the evaluator that is right for you and never settle for anything less than being strong, confident advocates for your children and rock on with the confidence and intensity of pioneers on the forefront of change.

Unschooling is valid. Unschooling is real learning, Unschooling is Freedom...

Unschooling is Here to Stay! Let's Pave the Way!

Swingin' In the Rain

2009-07-05T18:00:00.005-05:00

It has been raining for weeks here in New Hampshire!

You reach a point when the weather is bad that playing outside is no longer conditional..

Devin and Tiff decided to make an swing from a tree right by our house despite the rain.

We had some friends over the other day and while they were here Devin said, "Isn't it amazing that the funnest things in life are so simple? We made that swing from some rope, and a piece of wood and it is just so fun!" Our friends looked at us and smiled and said, "Did you just hear what he said?" I smiled back and nodded.

The kids have spent hours using their new swing... I am so happy that Joe is always willing to assist the kids in their visions. He will stop whatever he is doing to help them at any time. Throwing the rope up over the tree and tying the knots, Joe was the man-power behind the kids idea. I love this about him so much!

It is so important to trust our kids when they have an idea, even if you can't tell how it's all going to play out. Just being there as their life-assistant is such a Joyful, important role.

Just one more thing I love about my role as a Mom to Unschooled kids!

Rock Band Camp!

2009-07-01T20:49:00.002-05:00

Devin is very excited today because he just signed up for a week long Rock Band Camp!

It is a day camp, for 5 hours a day. The faculty members will work with the students to prepare a culminating concert and short recording. The students will get a taste of music theory, learn skills for improvising, and experience a private lesson on their instruments during the course of the camp.

He will be one of the youngest kids at this camp, but he doesn't care. He is just thrilled to be able to learn more about playing in a rock band, which is one of his dreams in life.. I am so happy that we can help facilitate this passion of his in another way.

Nature Rubbings

2009-07-01T19:37:00.003-05:00

Today we explored a new outdoor project.

We created nature rubbings!

We used white paper and crayons to rub the texture of things like bark, leaves and rocks. The kids really enjoyed this activity and we used their finished rubbings to create unique works of art.

Certainty

2009-06-27T19:06:00.006-05:00

Tonight I told Joe I was going for a walk. The kids were all playing happily with Daddy, so I ventured off down the street to the path that led to the forest.

It was over 2 years ago since I was there last.. It was then that I hiked to the river and sat on the bank with the sun shining on my face.. I sat alone enjoying the sound of the water raging over the rocks. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to have another baby. It was a strange experience. It was like something *asked* me to be my child. It is really hard to explain, but I said *yes* and then got up and walked home to tell Joe that we needed to have another baby. Orion asked to be my son before he was even conceived. I know it sounds totally "out there" and I have no idea how to explain the experience. All that I know is that I have never been through anything like it before. It was then I knew that I would have another son...

Today was much like that experience. I slowly walked down the path that led to the same river. I picked flowers as I walked, smiling as I smelled them, checking out the details of the petals and leaves. I listened as the sound of the river got louder and louder. As I entered the forest, something had changed.. It was completely logged. No trees were left standing in the place that I once wandered with my children picking berries, exploring ant hills and footprints of deer and bears.. The forest was no more, but the river was still in the distance.

I walked in awe of the changed surroundings until I stepped upon a familiar area. The area where Orion asked to be my son.

I sat on the bank of the river, hoping to tap into that same energy or feeling that I once did not so long ago. I closed my eyes and raised my arms at the slowly setting sun.

I said out loud, "Should we move to Texas?"

I was overwhelmed with a knowing within me that our time here in New Hampshire was coming to an end. I knew as I walked out of the forest that it was the last time that I would walk through that sacred place. I looked at the cleared land, trees laying on the Earth all around me and it was very symbolic to this time in our lives.

Change... Growth.... Rebirth.....

I left the forest with a certainty about our move that I have been waiting for..

We have outgrown the collective consciousness of the area, of the resources, friends and choices that are offered here...

My walk to the river represented change and seeing how the land was changing, but still thriving and adapting gave me a new confidence for what lay ahead of us.

I thanked the trees, the flowers and animals from the forest as tears streamed down my face. I listened, smelled and tasted the air as I took in everything around me in utter gratitude for this place as it housed the creation and birth of our family.

I also honored the fact that it was time for change and growth and my heart swelled with a new kind of *knowing* for our future together as a family.

This was no ordinary walk through the woods. It was a profound life experience that I will never forget.. It was an answer to my question to the Universe.. It came from the trees, the river, the insects and flowers. I trusted all of the living things around me and knew that we were on the right path with our lives once more...

Young Euntreprenuers

2009-06-24T20:25:00.004-05:00

The weather is warm here in New Hampshire and the kids wanted to make some money on their own. We decided to have another lemonade stand after last years success. This year we added fresh popcorn to their "menu".

One way in which my children never cease to keep me in awe is their ability to handle money. None of the kids ever had any kind of math lessons or workbooks, quizzes or instruction, but yet they have learned how to make change!

Last year I helped Tiff make change for people. This year she asked me not to help. No matter how much money someone would give her, she would know what to give them back. I thought this was so cool! Ivy and Devin helped her out, even though it was kind of her gig this year and the three of them were the cutest sight ever waving and smiling as cars drove by...

I am sure this was one of many lemonade and/or popcorn stands that they will have this year, but this one was special. It was a glimpse into their personal growth and ability in such a unique way.

Fire Play

2009-06-24T20:05:00.003-05:00

Devin has been focused on fire lately. He wants to build fires everyday... sometimes three times a day! Luckily we have a lot of extra scrap wood that he can use.

Cultural voices scream at us from every direction that a child shouldn't be "playing with fire".

Devin has a primitive, natural, passionate curiosity toward fire and I we really want to nurture that.

I trust my son. I have seen the respect he has with fire and I know that even if I am inside he will be responsible. I am no more worried with him building fires than I am with anything else he chooses to do. Sometimes he will invite me outside to check out the fire he built. Today was one of those days...

I love the smell of smoke on his clothes after a day of fire building. I hold him close and hug his strong man-child body against mine and breathe in the scent of his passion.

My fear of him playing with fire is gone and the trust of his abilty with "dangerous" things such as fire is ever-growing. I look forward to soon hearing, "Mom! Come check out the fire I built!"

Book Success

2009-06-19T18:34:00.004-05:00

Our book, "Radical Unschooling: A Revolution Has Begun" has been more successful than we had ever dreamed after only a week..

The response has been so overwhelmingly positive and I am so grateful to be able to bring this message to the World about the rights and respect of children.

I have had some great reviews on Amazon that I would like to share:

A monumental contribution to the evolution of parenting intelligence, June 19, 2009
By Barbara A. Lundgren "always rethinking" (colleyville, tx usa) - I loved this straightforward, wisdom-laden book of loving, respectful, intelligent parenting advice. Taken to heart, the information in this book will indeed revolutionize the way our culture views and treats children, and peace, empowerment and self-ownership will become the happy result.

Jennifer A. Croce "jencroce" (Billerica, MA) - I am new to unschooling and found this book to be exactly what I needed to help me know I am on the right path. Dayna is straightforward, honest and genuine. She helps you see the joys of unschooling and makes it seem completely natural. She also explains some of the obstacles and how to work through them. I highly recommend this book even if you don't live a radical unschooling lifestyle, anyone who reads it will benefit from it.

jilli - I just finished reading this and would definitely recommend it to anyone. I've read most unschooling books that have been written and i really think this book does a great job of explaining radical unschooling. It would be a good read for a seasoned unschooler or perfect for someone just learning about unschooling.

Excellent book about a free life, June 17, 2009

As an experienced Radical Unschooler I enjoyed this book VERY much. It rekindled the spark and passion in me that I have for living this life. An excellent peak into the real life of a Radical Unschooling family demonstrating that it is possible to live a joyful life with our children respecting them as human beings with idividual desires and dreams that they have a right to not only pursue but experience NOW. I recommend this book to everyone!! It totally opens the mind to the possibility that we can all be free and all of our citizens have the right to pursuing of their desires, not just those 16 and older. The ripple effects of having the opportunity to live this life are tremendous. Thank you Dayna for writing this book! You lay it out in an easy to read format that will inspire veterans and new comers alike!

I am so grateful for the wonderful reviews!

~Dayna

Discovering Great Artists

2009-06-19T18:24:00.003-05:00

Today we all explored the many different Art Styles throughout history.

We learned about the Renaissance and Post Renaissance time period and created some lovely pieces that are now hanging in our home..

Tiff loved Picasso. Devin loved Da Vinci.. Ivy enjoyed learning about Van Gogh..

We have been very creative lately with all of the rain in New Hampshire and our home is brimming with beautiful art inspired by many artists throughout history.

I highly recommend the book, " Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art For Children in the Styles of the Great Masters" by MaryAnn Kohl and Kim Solga.

This is a fabulous book which shares the techniques of so many artists throughout history.

Replanting Herbs

2009-06-19T18:18:00.003-05:00

Today my friend Lynette came over and brought us a bountiful assortment of herbs.. We had a great afternoon replanting them in big pots. Sage, Lemon-Thyme, Dill and Oregeno... Ivy was very excited to have fresh herbs for her cooking ventures and really enjoyed repottting these! We spent time researching what reciepes we could use them all in.. The kids are all excited to use them tomorrow for our meals..

Ivy's Passion

2009-06-19T17:32:00.005-05:00

Out of all of our kids, Ivy loves to cook. She watches cooking shows with me, and asks me everyday, what we are making for meals.. Lately she has taken to role of the Martin Family Chef.. Even though she is only 4, she creates the most amazing meals!

Last night just topped them all! Sweet and Sour Pork, Corn on the Cob with garlic, chive butter, zucchini and summer squash with tomatoes and rice...

I am so in awe of her cooking abilities and passion at such a young age!

Here is a picture of the meal that she made entirely by herself.

She looks so very serious in all of her cooking glory.. She's focused on all that she is doing... I have embraced this part of her in every way.. Everyday we look through cookbooks and visit websites about cooking.. I plan on buying her her own child-sized utensils soon..

After she tried her pork she said, "This meat is so good... I would marry it!". She cracks us up!

Natural Math

2009-06-16T20:49:00.002-05:00

Math and Numbers aren't something we every have to "teach" our kids. Numbers are part of our life and very useful tools to help us get what we want. They aren't separate from it.

Workbook pages and quizzes are never necessary, because I know that my kids learn about Math through living life rich with numbers..

Today Tiff wanted to know how many days until her birthday in October..

Joe sat down and created a graph of numbers so that she could figure out how many days, weeks and months it was until her birthday. They spent a long time talking and working through the numbers and because it had meaning for Tiff, she was doing addition, subtraction and multiplication very easily.

Internal Motivation is the Key to Learning.... This activity proves how easily a child can learn "math" because it isn't taken out of context. It has true meaning to my daughter.. and in turn, she learned so much...

Math isn't separate from life.... Math is part of Life!

Joyful Work

2009-06-14T17:50:00.009-05:00

We had over 200 pre-orders for our book,

"Radical Unschooling: A Revolution Has Begun"

Since the books came in, we have been busy as a family signing, packaging and mailing them all.. It has been a really fun new chapter in our lives!

The kids have learned so much through the process of me writing a book. Through working with agents, editors and publishes, the kids have been by my side asking questions with interest. They have learned about perseverance and hard work. They have learned about the perfection or details necessary during the final process. They also helped to choose the cover photo...

The entire project was embraced and worked through with my whole family part of it. Completing the book was like giving birth to my 5th child... I am so grateful for the entire experience.

Slingin' Dreams

2009-06-10T20:12:00.003-05:00

I can't belive that Orion is almost 18 months old! The time flies by and we are all growing and evolving as a family. I really want to capture this time in our lives as a family, where Orion is my last baby.

Today Orion was sleeping in the sling. Tiff took a picture of us. I will miss the last 10 years of slanging' babes.. I am rarely seen without a baby on me.. I can't imagine life without a babe-in-arms.. I do know however, that life will only get better and better....

Motherhood Rocks! This last decade has been the greatest, most empowering time of my life.

Nurturing Brother

2009-06-10T20:03:00.004-05:00

Since Devin became a big brother for the first time, he has always been very nurturing to his sisters.. Devin loves caring for them and brushing their hair. Ivy told me that she likes Devin brushing her hair more than me, because he is much gentler..

Brotherly love is so sweet to witness. He interacts with his siblings with such care and love. I love to see them just *being* together.. Tiff waits for her turn when Devin is in a brushing mood.. He picks them out cute clothes and the girls embrace his choices. Devin is so adored by his 3 siblings!

Toe Jam!

2009-06-10T19:51:00.003-05:00

Orion usually hangs out on the kitchen table when we are eating meals. This morning his little foot got smushed in my toast. It was so funny when Joe called it, "Toe Jam" We all started laughing.. I know that most parents wouldn't "allow" their kids to sit on the table, but for us, we know that Orion feels empowered at eye level with us. He wants to sit where all the action is, and we embrace this about him.

Like Father, Like Son

2009-06-08T05:13:00.002-05:00

Devin stays up late with us after the other kids fall asleep. We love our one on one time with him watching movies and eating late night snacks.

We all get really punchy late at night and I can't tell you how many funny memories we have in the wee hours of the morning.

The other night I was cleaning the kitchen and Joe and Devin came in looking like this. I just about died laughing... I had to post a picture of them.

I love my hairy men!

Soul Sisters

2009-06-08T04:41:00.005-05:00

Have you ever met someone that you just fell in love with? I don't mean in a romantic way. I mean in a friendship, adoring way. From the first conversation with my friend Barb, I knew we would become close friends. Barb is 20 years older than me, but I have never had so much in common with anyone before.

Last week Barb flew from Texas to New Hampshire to spend 3 days with me and our family. We had such a nice time! Barb brought the kids awesome gifts, which included a cool memory game, farting salt and pepper shakers, stickers and many other unique little fun things. She made Joe and I very cool, personalized coffee mugs with inspirational sayings and images. I use mine everyday.

It isn't often that someone comes into your life and really enriches it like Barb has mine. She is genuine, and kind and thoughtful. I admire her very much. She is a mentor to me. She founded the Rethinking Education Conference and has 3 grown children who were Radically Unschooled.

During her visit, we went out for Indian food, which was so delicious! We also visited a nice Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed chips and salsa and a few margaritas and beers. I wish we could do it all over again! It was rainy for most of her time here, but I liked the feel of being able to lounge around the house, cook, talk, enjoy a nice cup of coffee and just relax together.

At night, after the little ones were asleep, I would go over to the guest room in my jammies and climb into bed with Barb and we would talk and laugh. It was very special and a time I will never forget. I feel like I have known her for much longer than I have.

I am so grateful for my sweet friend. I cried when she left and felt an emptiness in my heart. I haven't felt that kind of pain for a very long time. I look forward to moving to Texas to be able to see Barb regularly. With our combined energies there is no telling what we can do or accomplish together!

Texas Freedom

2009-06-04T09:07:00.008-05:00

Our family has made a big life-changing decision this week!

We are moving to Texas! The Dallas area to be exact.
There are many reasons for our move and some of which are:

The homeschooling laws are much more *Free* in Texas.
Our children have outgrown this area and their needs are changing and growing. We want to give them a bigger, richer world of options, resources and community.
We have many friends in Texas who we can't wait to spend time with every week. There is a large Radical Unschooling community there, which is very important to us.
The weather in Texas rocks!
The home prices are sweet! We have outgrown our home in NH and we really want a 5 bedroom home.

The list continues to grow and so does our excitement!
This move will bring our family to another level or freedom and happiness.
We are following the light and the road that is being created before us.
The evolution of our life continues to amaze me.

"Everything is bigger in Texas" and I can't wait to give my kids a bigger, richer world there with others who embrace *Who We Are* Look out Texas!! The lone-star state is about to get *Sparklier*!

Bold TV Interview

2009-06-04T09:03:00.001-05:00

Here is my latest interview on BoldTV. I was actually asked to host my own show during the program, which is very exciting!
Details to come!

Join The Revolution!

2009-05-24T08:06:00.005-05:00

I am happy to announce that we are taking pre-orders of my book, Radical Unschooling: A Revolution Has Begun.

The book will be carried on Amazon.com and in various book stores worldwide both online and brick and mortar, in a few months.

In the meantime, we are taking orders and will ship a small batch of books by June 8th, for the first 100 people that pre-order.

Are you ready? Order yours today!

In Joy & Gratitude, Dayna