One of the strangest assumptions about homeschooling is that learning becomes legitimate only after it has been turned into a lesson. Bake bread, and you're simply baking bread. Measure the ingredients on a worksheet, and suddenly it becomes mathematics. Build a fence and it is a chore. Complete a workbook page about perimeter and now we are safely back in school. I understand why we think this way. Curriculum is easy to recognize. There are pages, objectives, chapters. P

"I'm bored." There are few sentences more capable of making a parent suddenly begin listing household jobs. You can clean your room. You can unload the dishwasher. You can fold laundry. It is remarkable how quickly boredom sometimes disappears. But I have come to think boredom deserves a little more patience than we usually give it. Not because boredom itself is particularly noble. It isn't. There is nothing magical about lying upside down on the sofa announcing dramaticall

There is something about a short homeschool lesson that can make a parent suspicious. Fifteen minutes of mathematics? Twenty minutes of grammar? Surely that cannot be enough. We have been conditioned to associate time spent with seriousness. If children spend an hour doing something, it feels substantial. If they finish in fifteen minutes, we begin wondering whether we ought to find another worksheet. I have fallen into that trap too. But over the years I have become far mor

One of the questions I am asked most often about homeschooling is some version of this: But what do you actually do all day? I understand the curiosity. When you remove the school bell, the classroom, the timetable taped to the wall, and six neatly divided subjects before lunch, it can be difficult to imagine what is left. At Hazel Creek, quite a lot. Just not necessarily in the order people expect. Our days have never looked particularly impressive on paper. There are no col

There is something about the changing of seasons that makes me reflective. (And yes, I know we're still in the midst of summer but the days are getting shorter and I live for fall so I'm getting excited.) Perhaps it’s the way the light shifts across the kitchen table, or the first cool morning that calls for a warm sweater and a mug clasped between tired hands. As the garden begins to surrender what it faithfully produced all summer (which for me was a ton of weeds and the o

This morning, before Luke opened a workbook, there was already learning happening. There were boots by the door, dishes at the sink, animals waiting to be fed, a garden needing water, and a son noticing the Raven came to steal the duck eggs. It did not look like school. But it was education. Somewhere along the way, we began to believe that learning only counts when it is written down, measured, scheduled, or checked off. But children are always learning. They are learning fr

Rethinking what readiness really means There is a quiet pressure that finds its way into most homes at some point. It doesn't arrive loudly. It comes through passing comments, curriculum pages, well-meaning questions. Are they reading yet? What level are they at? And slowly, almost without noticing, we begin to look at our children differently. We start to measure. When Learning Becomes Something to Chase It's easy to believe that reading is something we need to start early.

Homeschooling in a Season That Refuses to Be Contained There is a moment each spring when the rhythm begins to shift. It doesn't happen all at once. There's no announcement. Just a subtle loosening. The snow softens. The air changes. The boys start drifting toward the door before breakfast is finished. Boots appear by the step. Jackets are forgotten. Whatever carefully held rhythm we carried through winter begins to feel… too tight, and just no longer right. Spring Doesn'

There are things grief takes from you... certainty, illusion, the sense that life can be managed if you just work hard enough. And then there are things grief gives. It strips away everything that is not essential. When leukemia entered our home, education was no longer theoretical. It was no longer about curriculum choices or pedagogy. It became about steadiness, about about what truly forms a child when the ground feels unsteady. Hospitals replaced days in the forest. Sc

There’s something about the first crisp mornings of autumn that makes me want to slow down. The air carries a new sharpness, the trees...

This is a very basic beef stew. It’s easy, delicious and cheap! INGREDIENTS pkg organic stewing beef 3 Tbsp butter 1 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt 2 yellow onions (chopped) 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 c spelt flour 3 cloves of garlic (minced) 2 stalks of celery (minced) 4 c water 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 drop of doTerra's Rosemary + EO) 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 drop of doTerra's Thyme EO) 4 carrots (peeled and chopped) 3 large potatoes (peeled and chopped) DIRECTIONS Preheat stockpot o

“Momma's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup” has become a staple at the Martin Residence. It’s quick, easy, and always tastes delicious. The perfect comfort food. THE INGREDIENTS 4 c chicken broth (left over juices from roasting a whole chicken) 2 c chopped cooked chicken pieces 4 tsp Himalayan sea salt 2 TBSP butter or coconut oil 5 medium carrots 1/2 bag of frozen organic peas 4 cloves of garlic 3 stalks organic celery 1 large yellow onion Pinch of cayenne pepper powder 1/8 tsp c

Why do we use Waldorf Education for our homeschool curriculum.

Farm to table: growing our own food to nourish our family.

Growing breakfast… it’s something that we have come to see as normal at our house. Quickly mixing up some eggs, throwing in some cheese, peppers and whatever veggies and herbs we feel like that day, is something we do daily. But we never forget the work that goes into growing our breakfast. From incubating the eggs and hatching out the chicks, and hearing weeks of little chirps in our living room. To feeding and watering and moving the chickens to new pasture daily all summer

Children need to spend time in nature, and sadly, most are not getting near enough of what their little bodies need to thrive

Most of you know I’ve been on a journey of bettering my health as naturally as possible for the better part of the last decade. It's been...

Learning to read - earlier is not always better

Navigating this inbetween time of not-a-little-boy and not-a-teenager (the tween years) is interesting, to say the least. It is as if my...

When people come to our house they often ask, where are all the toys? It has become common practice to see big toy boxes, or plastic...

Why independent play is beneficial for your child and you.

This picture was taken 5 years ago. Luke was 5 and Lochlan was 3. If you look closely you’ll see they both are holding tomahawks and...

Let’s talk about simple summers…. For homestead families like ours, we cannot just up and leave for a family vacation. We have animals...

Raising my boys on a farm, surrounded by nature, up close and personal with life and death was not the life I had pictured when I first...

Responsibility. It’s a big word with big meaning, and here at our homestead responsibility means life or death. Both of the boys have...

Back to school…. the world seems to be a buzz with the excitement of a new school year approaching (and for many in the US it’s already...

This is a family favourite that is quick to throw together and pairs really well with a nutrient dense smoothie.

We all enjoy making our homes cosy and warm with the soft glow of candles. Learn why beeswax candles are the best option for your home.

To say I have developed my own love for knitting is an understatement. It's therapeutic. It's healing. It's inspiring. It connects me to my

Food security is on everyone’s minds these days, and high quality, organic meat is something that’s really important to us.

Roots are then hidden part of a plant... the part that sustains and supports it. But they're rarely seen. The same is true for us.

Spending time in the warmth of the greenhouse when it’s cold outside give so much hope for a new season and all that will grow in it.

“Is this not a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonize.” – George Eliot I had a...

Raising animals for food is a lot of work. Raising animals in a way that is restorative and regenerative for the land is even more work.

This is why we Waldorf. This beautiful mess is real and raw and filled with so much heart and memory.

Waldorf education meets children where they are at. It aligns with the unfolding of children's natural developmental stages.

“There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

Processing the sheep's fleece takes knowledge, experience, and skill.

Homeschooling is not easy for me. I can say that it is worth the personal self-development that is required, to homeschool the kids.

Did you know that the average baby’s cord blood contains over 287 known toxins? 180 cause cancer in humans or animals? 217 toxic to brain.

Life is enough, as long as you truly live it.

In Waldorf, it is thought that adults are responsible for setting the mood of the children’s play each day.

Before I became a mom, I was a teacher. And here is why I chose to leave the public school system.

"Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives."

Spring has arrived and the trees are in full bloom here in my neck of the woods. Even the evergreens are showing their new growth with their bright green tips. Always one to take advantage of free stuff from nature, I couldn't pass up on the gift of soft and savoury Spruce Tips. So, while I was away teaching piano lessons on Saturday, Mitch and the boys foraged a big bowl full of spruce tips for me. I am going to dry a third of what they picked to use for teas to help us wh

Yesterday morning I was struggling to come up with something different for breakfast. I know I can't be the only mom who gets stuck in a slump of making the same few things for breakfast day after day, week after week. So yesterday, I thought I'd try something different, and came up with this YUMMY Breakfast Cookies. Packed with veggies and sweetened with maple syrup from our trees these were cookies that I felt great about giving to my boys to get their day started. INGRED

Rainy days are for crafts, and baking.... today I threw this together to make a delicious pumpkin cake. 2 cups spelt flour, 2 eggs, 2...

I encourage you to ask yourself what are you longing for? What are your dreams for you and your family?

Tomorrow he turns six years old. My Luke, the incredible little boy who made me a Mommy. Somehow I feel like I will always owe him for...

Happy New Year!!! Oh how I love the first of January. There is something so refreshing about the start of a brand new year. I always feel...