Introducing Elizabeth and Sarah

Wow! it's been a year and a half since my visit with Elizabeth and Sarah. As my good luck would have it, Elizabeth approached me recently with a gentle nudge to reactivate this blog and with an offer to help in any way. Over dinner in Montclair, we chatted about the blog's future and about what parts we can play in it as well as in the larger homeschool community. With the yummy food in our bellies and full conversations in our souls we parted ways after a quick summary of our plans, she scrawling into her notebook and I swyping into my Evernote. Here begins a new chapter. I'm not sure I can express how immensely grateful I am to now have a partner in this project! From now on, this blog will benefit from Elizabeth's smarts, writing skills, activist roots, and much more!

Let's get to meeting the lovely Elizabeth and her daughter Sarah. When you see the pics of the two lovelies cuddled beneath blankets please try to imagine the crisp cold of late winter and not the hot, heavy air of today's late summer!

You'll notice when you enter their home the lists, drawings, artwork, and quotes posted on the walls. Amongst them, is this poster, their "daily rhythm." They use it as a loose guideline, following it about 50% of the time.

I arrived during breakfast. With Joe at home for the beginning of a week's vacation, I could feel Elizabeth's excitement and anticipation. We chatted for a bit before he left to take his mother grocery shopping. Elizabeth and Sarah then settled down for their daily rhythm, beginning with song. One of the things that struck me throughout the day was the obvious love and the deep respect they have for each other. I adored how their hands sought each other's throughout the singing, reading, and cuddling.

Reading. They each chose a book to read. Sarah picked Magic School Bus while Elizabeth chose Howard Zinn's History. Elizabeth reads both aloud (Magic School Bus in full and a chapter from the Zinn book):

So much fun learning the differences between parts of speech with Mad Libs:

Card making together. Sarah creates a thank you note with glue, paper hearts, stamps and pencils while Elizabeth works on her own card:

Snack prep:

Cuddles:

Expansive Play. While Sarah plays quietly, Elizabeth practices bass:

I headed home just after Joe returned. Sarah was looking forward to an afternoon playing math games with her dad. Many thanks to Sarah, Joe, and Elizabeth for welcoming me into their home. You inspired me so much with your daily rhythm and with the overall peacefulness of your homeschoooling life. 

An album devoted to their inspirational wall posts and art:

Wall Posts and Art