OK, this part of the book project is also so much fun, and should be equally pleasurable for parents and kids. (At least it was when I did it with my girls and the Kimball girls last year for our Redwood poetry book--oh, to be out in Creation, breathing deeply all the fragrances of the outdoors, purposefully slowing down and really looking, listening, noticing, enjoying. I can't wait to do it again with the girls in a new setting for this project!)
--Pick your spot
So, talk with your kids and get their ideas on where it would be fun to use all their senses to explore one moment in one spot in the world.
In theory, this can be ANYWHERE. There are lots of different spaces easily available to us here on the Bay that would be fantastic for sensory immersion: at the beach, in the redwoods, at a park, in a garden, in a field, at a farm. But don't think you have to drive somewhere specific to participate in the project--just go to your own backyard! The beauty of this project is that it only needs to be as much of an adventure as you want it to be--and even if every single kid writes about his or her backyard, the book will still end up with a big variety of poems, since the look and feel of every yard will be different, and will be interpreted differently by the young poets.
That said, of course it will be fun if you do some exploring too, so if you feel like being even a little adventuresome, go for it!
Some people could even opt for an urban setting! So if a child wants to go downtown Santa Cruz and soak in the colors and textures and sounds and smells (ew) of our own local cityscape, that can make a fantastic experience and resulting poem. (Although personally, from an art perspective, I don't think watercolor would be the right medium for the urban experience--a collage of newspaper and wrappers and something more along the lines of Ezra Jack Keats seems better suited for capturing the feel of the urban setting. That's just my opinion though--get creative and if you want to try this experience in the cityscape, go for it! I'm perfectly fine with a watercolor and newspaper collage, or any combinations that use other materials in conjunction with watercolor paper.)
--Document your moment
It is VERY important that you remember to take paper and pencil with you when your kids head out to immerse their senses in their chosen spot(s) in nature. You may also take the poem template and just do the poem while you are there! But at the very least, be sure to record the following while you are there:
1. The date, the time, the place
2. The sounds, smells, colors, textures, emotional and literal "feel" of the place, and tastes, if there are any (get those kids to use their imaginations!)
3. How your child verbalizes he or she feels about that moment, in that place.
If you write down just these things, you will have enough to work with writing the poems when you get home. BUT I strongly urge you to sit down and write the poems as soon as you can after the sensory immersion, while the feelings and observances and ideas are all still fresh. This one thing can make a huge difference in the quality of the final poem, and the ease of the whole project.
Here is your poem template:
____________________________________________________________________
Five Senses Poem
Title
___(your subject/place)___ is ___(descriptive)___ ___(color)___,
The color of ___ (descriptive)___ ___(thing)___.
It (they, whatever fits) feels _________.
It sounds like _________.
It smells like __________.
___ (your subject/place)___ tastes like __(descriptive)__ __(thing)___.
___(reword subject)___ makes me feel __________.
Hmm, looks like MadLibs poetry, doesn't it?! So, just in case that looks confusing, let me give examples--you will immediately understand not only the specific parameters of each line, but also how much you can deviate to meet your child's own writing and topic without losing the construction of the poem:
Five Senses Poems
#1: Woods
by Katie
These woods are cloudy green,
The color of bumpy lichens.
They feel cool.
They sound like Spring.
They smell like rich soil.
These woods taste like cloves.
They are beautiful and make me feel so warm.
#2: Sunlight in the Woods
by Claire
Sunlight in the woods is pale green,
The color of morning.
It feels cool and dancing.
It sounds like twittering birds.
It smells fresh and damp.
Sunlight in the woods tastes like moist herbs.
This spot of bright light makes me feel joyful.
#3: Clearing in the Woods
by Meredith
The clearing in the woods is new green,
The color of Spring.
It feels cool.
It sounds like birds singing tweet, tweet, tweet.
It smells like fresh air.
The clearing tastes like watery cucumber.
This calm clearing in the woods makes me feel
Happy deep inside.
#4: Afternoon in the Redwoods
by Gwynneth
This afternoon is green,
The color of Spring,
Fresh and majestic garden green.
It feels still, slightly stff, and prickly.
It sounds like twittering birds and trickling water.
It smells like life, like rich dark soil,
Pepper-spice cool.
The afternoon tastes like sour grass, garden herbs,
Cloves and fresh water.
This quiet afternoon makes me feel so small,
Yet calm.
Those poems were all written at the same moment, in the same place--but look at how each girl interpreted it differently!
Some more helps:
Title ---This is your poem's subject. Can be the name of the place where you are (i.e. "Seacliff Beach"), or a description of the place (i.e. "A Clearing in the Woods"), and can include mention of when you are there ("The Beach at Low Tide," or "A Moment in My Backyard," or "Afternoon in the Redwoods"). Or, since our overall focus is Spring, the title can even be something like "This Moment in Spring." **Make sure your child has the title/subject very firmly in mind as he does the sensory immersion, so he knows how to focus his senses for each line of the poem.**
Even if your child is old enough to record her own ideas, you might consider taking notes for her, so she can close her eyes and really immerse her senses in that moment, in that place, and really pin-point everything she is experiencing.
And no matter the age or ability of your child, it works well to guide the poetry by asking the child line by line what it feels like, sounds like, etc.
If you are not planning on doing the actual poem while in your spot, be sure to take good notes. You could even consider taking a few photos to help your child remember what it was like later while writing.
When you are done with these two steps, you should have something that already sounds like a great poem!!! It needs only a little more crafting to be finished, and with your kids involved, it is a great way to practice all kinds of good school things, like punctuation, spelling, proofreading, etc. But more on that in the next installment of this series. : )
Friday, April 13, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Book project 2012, STEP ONE: Make watercolor paper!
*This does not have to be the first step in the project! You are more than welcome to do the sensory immersion and then make the papers with those experiences in mind--whatever! I just recommended this way in case you want to do this project all at home and in a few days, because the papers can be drying overnight while you and your kids do the outside stuff and write the poems.*
The first step of the book project is SO MUCH FUN. Seriously, you parents are going to want to do it too--it is hypnotic, calming, beautiful.
Basically, you and your kids just paint a whole bunch of pages of paper with lots of watercolor.
Choose whatever colors you want! Enjoy the sensation of brush and the saturation of colors.
The only rule is that there should be no white left on the paper when you are done.
Get creative and sprinkle salt onto wet papers, blot with crumpled paper towel, scratch with the ends of the paint brushes--have fun and see what happens! And you don't have to use special watercolor paper--use whatever white paper you have on hand! (In fact, we learned from experience that "real" watercolor paper is harder to cut later on because it is thicker--so esp. those of you with younger artists might want to use a lighter weight paper.)
The only other thing I would recommend is to think about WHERE out in nature you plan on having your kids experience their sensory immersion, so that you have made painted pages that you anticipate being helpful to your project. For example, if you know you are going to take your kids to the beach, think about what colors they might find there, and encourage them to make watercolor pages that are sky and water and sand colors, etc. If you plan on taking your kids to the redwoods, then have them make plenty of reddish brown papers and lots of different green papers, so they have plenty for their specific needs.
Don't you or your kids think it won't be fun to stick to just a few colors, if that is what your chosen nature setting requires--it is actually a fantastic experience just to play with how many interesting ways and tones you can paint one color! And this is where they can have fun with textures too. How might they get a sand texture? How might they get a texture that looks like bark? Etc.
I made the above paper a few years ago when my girls and I did this--and this image (which reminded me of roots, when viewed the other way) is what inspired the "What's Above, What's Beneath?" book project we did last year! It's just watercolor paint dripped onto an already damp paper, and allowed to run wherever gravity takes it. SO FUN.
Your kids are going to have so much fun with this part.
And if they want to paint colors you know you won't need for your art--let 'em! The papers can always be used for a later art project! (Remember the watercolor hearts I put in your kids' Valentine's Day mailboxes? Leftover paper from this project years ago. : )
As always, if you have questions, please leave them in the comments below!
The first step of the book project is SO MUCH FUN. Seriously, you parents are going to want to do it too--it is hypnotic, calming, beautiful.
Basically, you and your kids just paint a whole bunch of pages of paper with lots of watercolor.
Choose whatever colors you want! Enjoy the sensation of brush and the saturation of colors.
The only rule is that there should be no white left on the paper when you are done.
Get creative and sprinkle salt onto wet papers, blot with crumpled paper towel, scratch with the ends of the paint brushes--have fun and see what happens! And you don't have to use special watercolor paper--use whatever white paper you have on hand! (In fact, we learned from experience that "real" watercolor paper is harder to cut later on because it is thicker--so esp. those of you with younger artists might want to use a lighter weight paper.)
The only other thing I would recommend is to think about WHERE out in nature you plan on having your kids experience their sensory immersion, so that you have made painted pages that you anticipate being helpful to your project. For example, if you know you are going to take your kids to the beach, think about what colors they might find there, and encourage them to make watercolor pages that are sky and water and sand colors, etc. If you plan on taking your kids to the redwoods, then have them make plenty of reddish brown papers and lots of different green papers, so they have plenty for their specific needs.
Don't you or your kids think it won't be fun to stick to just a few colors, if that is what your chosen nature setting requires--it is actually a fantastic experience just to play with how many interesting ways and tones you can paint one color! And this is where they can have fun with textures too. How might they get a sand texture? How might they get a texture that looks like bark? Etc.
I made the above paper a few years ago when my girls and I did this--and this image (which reminded me of roots, when viewed the other way) is what inspired the "What's Above, What's Beneath?" book project we did last year! It's just watercolor paint dripped onto an already damp paper, and allowed to run wherever gravity takes it. SO FUN.
Your kids are going to have so much fun with this part.
And if they want to paint colors you know you won't need for your art--let 'em! The papers can always be used for a later art project! (Remember the watercolor hearts I put in your kids' Valentine's Day mailboxes? Leftover paper from this project years ago. : )
As always, if you have questions, please leave them in the comments below!
Our book project for the Author's Fair 2012
OK, Families, here is the post (some of) you have been eagerly anticipating.
Those of you who came to the math party got to hear my spiel in person, but this information will still be useful to you, as I will give you the step-by-step instructions here. Anyone who was not at the math party, NO PROBLEM. This is a project that you can do entirely at home, and can even complete in just a couple of days, if you want to.
The Author's Fair this year is Saturday, May 5. As usual, we will plan on meeting at the Capitola Mall on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. so the kids can present their book at the Author's Chair. : ) (Bring your cameras and impress the grandparents.)
But before that, we will have our book-making party there in the usual classrooms at Vintage Faith Church on Friday, April 27 at the usual time from noon-2:30.
Our book this year is going to be an illustrated poetry book called "This Moment in Spring." Each child who wants to participate will compose a poem about Spring, using all the five senses. Of course families can work together and share page credits, but please trust me that if your kid is old enough to know about the five senses, he/she is old enough to compose a beautiful poem! I can say this with assurance because we will be using a poetry template--your child just has to insert his or her own words into the formula, and the end result will amaze you. : ) It is easy for you, easy for your child! Trust me, Mamas, and please jump on into this project with us!
There are five steps to this book project:
1) make watercolor painted paper.
2) go to the outdoors so your kids can immerse their senses in Springtime nature.
3) record their descriptions of that moment in nature using all the five senses, plugging their words into the poem formula.
4) edit--talk through and finalize their word choices with them (encourage descriptive words), type their poem up and print it out.
5) use the watercolor painted paper to cut out and make a collage that illustrates the poem.*
*At our book-making party on the 27th, we will be making the collages together! This way each family can bring the watercolor papers they have made and all the kids can share. Of course if you cannot come to the party, you are more than welcome to do the entire page at home, and then add it to our group book when we meet at the Author's Fair on Saturday.
To keep this information nice and neat, I will make a separate post for each of the steps. So, look forward to the posts coming this week!
Questions? Please leave a comment here, so everyone can benefit!
Those of you who came to the math party got to hear my spiel in person, but this information will still be useful to you, as I will give you the step-by-step instructions here. Anyone who was not at the math party, NO PROBLEM. This is a project that you can do entirely at home, and can even complete in just a couple of days, if you want to.
The Author's Fair this year is Saturday, May 5. As usual, we will plan on meeting at the Capitola Mall on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. so the kids can present their book at the Author's Chair. : ) (Bring your cameras and impress the grandparents.)
But before that, we will have our book-making party there in the usual classrooms at Vintage Faith Church on Friday, April 27 at the usual time from noon-2:30.
Our book this year is going to be an illustrated poetry book called "This Moment in Spring." Each child who wants to participate will compose a poem about Spring, using all the five senses. Of course families can work together and share page credits, but please trust me that if your kid is old enough to know about the five senses, he/she is old enough to compose a beautiful poem! I can say this with assurance because we will be using a poetry template--your child just has to insert his or her own words into the formula, and the end result will amaze you. : ) It is easy for you, easy for your child! Trust me, Mamas, and please jump on into this project with us!
There are five steps to this book project:
1) make watercolor painted paper.
2) go to the outdoors so your kids can immerse their senses in Springtime nature.
3) record their descriptions of that moment in nature using all the five senses, plugging their words into the poem formula.
4) edit--talk through and finalize their word choices with them (encourage descriptive words), type their poem up and print it out.
5) use the watercolor painted paper to cut out and make a collage that illustrates the poem.*
*At our book-making party on the 27th, we will be making the collages together! This way each family can bring the watercolor papers they have made and all the kids can share. Of course if you cannot come to the party, you are more than welcome to do the entire page at home, and then add it to our group book when we meet at the Author's Fair on Saturday.
To keep this information nice and neat, I will make a separate post for each of the steps. So, look forward to the posts coming this week!
Questions? Please leave a comment here, so everyone can benefit!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Fun and pretty craft project for girls
(or for boys who want to make a mother's day present!)
A "flower" jewelry stand made from Mountain Dew bottles!
See Epbot for the instructions.
A "flower" jewelry stand made from Mountain Dew bottles!
See Epbot for the instructions.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Rainbow Math Party reminder and info
Hello Moms!
Just a reminder that the Rainbow themed math party is this Friday at noon--see the post I made below for the details.
ONE MORE THING, though, that was not part of the original announcement:
As most of you know, we normally do a book project for the Author's Fair, which is the first Sat. in April. This year we are doing sensory poetry, and will be making our own watercolored papers that we will then use for the artwork. I'll explain more in a separate post, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that I am planning to have the kids start their painting on Friday at the Math party! We will have the school-age kids in the adjoining classroom, and start at noon. If you are not able to make it to the party by noon, don't worry--this is something you can do at home with your kids too. (And if you can't come to the party at all, you can still be part of the book project--we are just getting a jump start on Friday.) The big kids will paint until about 12:30-45, when we will start the fun math/rainbow activities in earnest.
The moms and tots can hang out in the regular room. And if any of you don't want your kids painting, no worries--just come and hang out and play. : )
If you do want your kids to paint, then I recommend you bring the following:
--play clothes on your kids, or smocks
--any watercolor paints, if you have them
--any brushes, if you have them.
--and any watercolor paper you might have on hand. (but thick paper is not necessarily good for the project, so don't pull out your really good stuff)
I think the book project is going to be really fun, and painting with a rainbow of colors seemed an appropriate activity for our fun rainbow math party!
Post comments here if you have any questions. : )
Just a reminder that the Rainbow themed math party is this Friday at noon--see the post I made below for the details.
ONE MORE THING, though, that was not part of the original announcement:
As most of you know, we normally do a book project for the Author's Fair, which is the first Sat. in April. This year we are doing sensory poetry, and will be making our own watercolored papers that we will then use for the artwork. I'll explain more in a separate post, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that I am planning to have the kids start their painting on Friday at the Math party! We will have the school-age kids in the adjoining classroom, and start at noon. If you are not able to make it to the party by noon, don't worry--this is something you can do at home with your kids too. (And if you can't come to the party at all, you can still be part of the book project--we are just getting a jump start on Friday.) The big kids will paint until about 12:30-45, when we will start the fun math/rainbow activities in earnest.
The moms and tots can hang out in the regular room. And if any of you don't want your kids painting, no worries--just come and hang out and play. : )
If you do want your kids to paint, then I recommend you bring the following:
--play clothes on your kids, or smocks
--any watercolor paints, if you have them
--any brushes, if you have them.
--and any watercolor paper you might have on hand. (but thick paper is not necessarily good for the project, so don't pull out your really good stuff)
I think the book project is going to be really fun, and painting with a rainbow of colors seemed an appropriate activity for our fun rainbow math party!
Post comments here if you have any questions. : )
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Parties! Mark your calendars
Hello families!
We have TWO fun parties now on the calendar for the upcoming months.
Valentine's Day Party
Tuesday, Feb. 14th
12:00-2:00
In the usual downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
This is purely "socialization" time, with no specific educational goals, so please invite your homeschool friends, come and have fun! I'll try to bring a good Love story to read to the group, and will lead a little Valentine's Day craft for the older elementary kids while moms with little 'uns can hang out and chat. : )
Please Bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--A snack to share (and while this is the perfect time to break out the sweets, let's see if we can get a few healthy things in there too).
--Valentines! If your kids want to participate in this part of the fun, please have them bring a valentine for every child (and always wise to have a few extra).**
--Your own special Valentine's Day mailbox! This can be a decorated shoebox, a folder, a big envelope, a basket, whatever you want--as long as it can hold cards and probably a little candy. You can bring one for each child, or one for your family--you decide. It just needs to be labeled somehow, so each "delivery person" knows where to deliver his or her valentines.
(Moms, in my opinion, this is the time to let our healthy urges take the back seat, and get whatever little candy treats you remember most fondly from childhood. This is an Old School party, after all! ; )
*As always, every family should please bring their own plates, water bottles, napkins, etc. Let's strive to make all our gatherings as waste-free as possible.
**If we all RSVP in the comments below, it will help us all know about how many cards to prepare.
The Rainbow Math Party
Friday, March 16th
12:00-2:00
In the same downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
Years ago, our family started a tradition--when each child finishes a math book, we have a math party to celebrate! We make the color of the math book cover the theme of the party. Well, last year we finished several math books, but every time we were so busy we never stopped to have the parties! So now we are going to have one big rainbow themed party, to make up for it! And we would love to have our friends join us.
We will have some rainbow-themed activities (Becky has agreed to talk about light and the color spectrum!) and some math games. So, this party will be more structured and "educational," but we will leave time for socializing too!
To bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--If you choose, please bring a snack that is ONE color. Be creative! Our family will be bringing a rainbow veggie tray, and a rainbow-themed dessert--but the more snacks the better!
--If your child has a math project or math accomplishment to share, please bring it, and we will make a special "Show & Tell" time during the party so all the kids can share all their fun math learning. : )
We would love to have you join us!
Questions on either of these events? Please leave them in the comments, and I'll answer as best I can.
lisa c.
We have TWO fun parties now on the calendar for the upcoming months.
Valentine's Day Party
Tuesday, Feb. 14th
12:00-2:00
In the usual downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
This is purely "socialization" time, with no specific educational goals, so please invite your homeschool friends, come and have fun! I'll try to bring a good Love story to read to the group, and will lead a little Valentine's Day craft for the older elementary kids while moms with little 'uns can hang out and chat. : )
Please Bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--A snack to share (and while this is the perfect time to break out the sweets, let's see if we can get a few healthy things in there too).
--Valentines! If your kids want to participate in this part of the fun, please have them bring a valentine for every child (and always wise to have a few extra).**
--Your own special Valentine's Day mailbox! This can be a decorated shoebox, a folder, a big envelope, a basket, whatever you want--as long as it can hold cards and probably a little candy. You can bring one for each child, or one for your family--you decide. It just needs to be labeled somehow, so each "delivery person" knows where to deliver his or her valentines.
(Moms, in my opinion, this is the time to let our healthy urges take the back seat, and get whatever little candy treats you remember most fondly from childhood. This is an Old School party, after all! ; )
*As always, every family should please bring their own plates, water bottles, napkins, etc. Let's strive to make all our gatherings as waste-free as possible.
**If we all RSVP in the comments below, it will help us all know about how many cards to prepare.
The Rainbow Math Party
Friday, March 16th
12:00-2:00
In the same downstairs classrooms there in the Children's Ministry building on the Vintage Faith church campus.
Years ago, our family started a tradition--when each child finishes a math book, we have a math party to celebrate! We make the color of the math book cover the theme of the party. Well, last year we finished several math books, but every time we were so busy we never stopped to have the parties! So now we are going to have one big rainbow themed party, to make up for it! And we would love to have our friends join us.
We will have some rainbow-themed activities (Becky has agreed to talk about light and the color spectrum!) and some math games. So, this party will be more structured and "educational," but we will leave time for socializing too!
To bring:
--Lunch for your family, if you wish.*
--If you choose, please bring a snack that is ONE color. Be creative! Our family will be bringing a rainbow veggie tray, and a rainbow-themed dessert--but the more snacks the better!
--If your child has a math project or math accomplishment to share, please bring it, and we will make a special "Show & Tell" time during the party so all the kids can share all their fun math learning. : )
We would love to have you join us!
Questions on either of these events? Please leave them in the comments, and I'll answer as best I can.
lisa c.
a little humor for your day
From the new little humor blog Homeshool Ryan Gosling
No, really, go look. A couple of those almost made me spit out my tea.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Workshop on how to do a science fair project--TOMORROW
From local homeschool mom Suki:
Hi everyone,
A while back I was chatting with a mom about the science fair, which my family loves, and she suggested that it would be helpful to have a workshop that introduces parents to how to do a science fair project. My only credentials are that I'm the daughter of two scientists and my kids have taken part in the science fair for years, but it's a great topic and I'll do my best to answer your questions or help you find the answer. We'll go through the basics: what is the scientific method, what are some common pitfalls, what do judges want to see. We'll also look at the rules for our local science fair.
Science Fair Workshop
At the Discovery Learning Center - http://dlcsantacruz.org
Tuesday, 1/10 at noon
Free for supporting members, $3-5 donation requested from others
The DLC will be open for lending library hours at that time. You can bring your children to play, but we can't have them out on the structure unless there is a parent willing to watch them out there. The workshop is designed for parents, but perhaps at the end if we have time we could have a question/answer period with the kids.
Please feel free to pass this message on to other mailing lists!
Suki
Susana (Suki) Wessling
blog.SukiWessling.com
facebook.com/SukiWesslingWriter
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This sounds fabulous--I don't know if I can make it, what with little kiddos in tow, but I would if I could!
Hi everyone,
A while back I was chatting with a mom about the science fair, which my family loves, and she suggested that it would be helpful to have a workshop that introduces parents to how to do a science fair project. My only credentials are that I'm the daughter of two scientists and my kids have taken part in the science fair for years, but it's a great topic and I'll do my best to answer your questions or help you find the answer. We'll go through the basics: what is the scientific method, what are some common pitfalls, what do judges want to see. We'll also look at the rules for our local science fair.
Science Fair Workshop
At the Discovery Learning Center - http://dlcsantacruz.org
Tuesday, 1/10 at noon
Free for supporting members, $3-5 donation requested from others
The DLC will be open for lending library hours at that time. You can bring your children to play, but we can't have them out on the structure unless there is a parent willing to watch them out there. The workshop is designed for parents, but perhaps at the end if we have time we could have a question/answer period with the kids.
Please feel free to pass this message on to other mailing lists!
Suki
Susana (Suki) Wessling
blog.SukiWessling.com
facebook.com/SukiWesslingWriter
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This sounds fabulous--I don't know if I can make it, what with little kiddos in tow, but I would if I could!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
On our Christmas party and sharing the fun with the greater SC community
Hello Moms!
So, I have had a very interesting exchange today via emails with the local Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group (my main source of info for all things homeschool in this area--which I why I occassionally quote good stuff from the group here, for the benefit of you all). As most of you know, when we have a special "Vintage Homeschool Group" event and I tell you all to invite friends, I also send an invite to all the families on the Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group. This is usually for the "Back to School," "End of School," "Valentine's Day," and "Christmas" parties. Do you remember Hilary who came a couple of times with her son, or Zan who came a couple of times with her son and daughter, or Susan who came once with her young son and daughter? These are just some of the people who have visited our parties from the greater SC homeschool community to be friendly and join in the fun. I am so glad they did, and I hope they felt welcome.
Well, today I posted a group-wide invitation to our Christmas party. What follows are the emails that came as a response this afternoon. I'll explain at the end why I am sharing this dialogue with you all, but I think you will be able to figure it out:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all!
Our Vintage Homeschool Moms group is having our annual Christmas party next Monday, Dec. 19 from noon until 2:30 there at Vintage Faith Church in S.C.
All familes are welcome!
Please check out this link for more details: http://vintagemoms.blogspot.com/2011/12/old-school-monday-christmas-party-is-on.html
Hope the rest of your week is a merry one! : )
lisa c-------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was wanting to find out more about the Vintage Faith Church a
while back when some friends were talking about the Abbey
coffeehouse the church runs, and was very disappointed to find out --
from the web site and from reviews of a book by the pastor -- that
they are anti-gay. Would "All families are welcome" really apply to
all the local two-mom homeschooling families and LGBT homeschooling
teens I know?
In general Santa Cruz has a lot of LGBT-inclusive and welcoming
churches and other houses of worship -- just for one small example,
it is my experience as a person who has danced in both the Downtown
Santa Cruz Holiday Parade and the Santa Cruz Pride Parade that the
latter has a lot more churches in it -- so yes, it was an unpleasant
surprise that a church that seems to want to make a big deal of
having a hip coffeehouse would not be included in that number.
I hope we will all remember that homeschooling families are a
diverse group.
T--- T------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi T---,
Thanks for your honest and sincere email response to my invite. The Vintage Homeschool Moms group is just that--a bunch of moms who enjoy getting together to have fun and encourage one another in our homeschooling and parenting. The Christmas party is not a church-sponsored event, but we routinely use the Vintage Faith Church classrooms for our gatherings, since they have such great facilities (like a bathroom in the classroom, the gym for the kids to run around in, etc.). We call ourselves "Vintage Homeschool Moms" just because most of us happen to be, but we have families from other churches join us, and have welcomed Jewish, agnostic, and atheist parents as well. I am the organizer for most of the gatherings we have, and I love to invite new people--you never know who might really want to get their kids out of the house for a fun, casual event with other homeschool kids, or what mom might be struggling and need a few kind words. : )
So, we do not claim to represent the overall Vintage Faith Church, and I am sure all of us moms in the group have different opinions about all aspects of life, just like all of us here on the homeschool group forum do. I can't speak for any of the other moms (or dads, who are welcome and sometimes come too!), but I personally welcome any homeschool family who feels comfortable with us. What I can speak for the other moms about is that yes, most of us are trying to live as followers of Jesus Christ, and believe each and every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect.
You are right that this will not be an all-inclusive gathering, in the sense that we will be celebrating "Christmas" and not "the Holidays" and God might very well come up in the conversation as moms chat. ; ) I posted the invite with the assumption that anyone who wants to avoid such things would simply disregard it. But it will not be a religious gathering in nature (i.e. other than the fact that Christmas is what it is, we are not out to convert you), and so I invite anyone who is comfortable with such a dynamic to please feel free to join us.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, thanks for doing the research T---. I'll look into this too. I've been to The Abbey twice to knit with a friend, just assuming they were friendly. As another lesbian mom, I won't be spending my money there anymore.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Lisa,
I was confused by some parts of your reply (below), so I was hoping you could clarify a few things:
- Is T--- correct that this church has an anti-gay theology? I understand that your group is not church-sponsored, but some might consider this information relevant in deciding whether to attend an event at their facility.
- You said that most of the members of the group are in fact members of the church. Does the group have an explicit understanding that gay families are welcome and will not be subjected to anti-gay attitudes? If not, a reasonable person might assume that the stance of the church is the (unspoken) stance of the group.
- Statements like "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" are often code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." Is this in fact what you meant to convey?
We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us. I do think, however, that accurate information about the nature of a group would be helpful.
Thanks in advance for clarifying,
M--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking as an all inclusive mom, I feel that you both are being very unfair with your expectations and judgements. I also feel the tones of your reply/comments are very negative and unaccepting themselves. Let us keep our personal feelings aside and ask objective questions with the expectation of a reasonable answer.
Sent from my LG phone
[no name given]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are referring to my comment, I don't see how declaring that I won't spend money in a cafe that funds an anti-gay church is being unfair to anyone, least of all Lisa, who wasn't representing The Abbey. I want all homeschoolers to feel welcome posting here, but I also want to be reasonably informed about the politics/religious leanings of any group or event I choose to attend, so I welcome the discussion that has followed Lisa's posting.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi M--,
Your questions are reasonable. I was trying to avoid speaking for the overall church, for several reasons. Mainly I don't feel qualified to speak for the church, so hope all of you who are really interested in knowing the church's stance on such issues will go directly to the source, and call and set up a meeting with one of the pastors. D-- K------ is the pastor who I think T--- was referencing in her email, and he is a very sensitive man who is always available for such discussions. If you would prefer to speak with a woman, K------ J----- is not a pastor, but is one of the members at the heart of the church. I understand why some of you want to know the church's stance on gender identity, GLBT families, etc., esp. in regards to the Abbey coffeelounge, since we all want to support business (or in this case, non-profits) that align with our personal values.
I tried to be clear that I was not speaking for the other moms/families in the Vintage homeschool moms group, but you are raising an excellent question about whether or not the other moms would welcome gay/lesbian families. To be candid, I don't know. What I do know is that they have welcomed every other family who has come, and I will never invite the greater homeschool community to an event that is specifically religious in nature or at which they might not be welcome.
I do want to address your question about whether my statement "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" was code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." While every single word I chose is loaded with meaning, and intentionally so, please take them together in their most beautiful, person-affirming way. I personally respect people of all faiths, cultural backgrounds, etc, and hope those of you who know me even a little in person would agree that I live out these beliefs. (I feel like I am supposed to whip out my "diversity portfolio" at this point, or show you my gay and lesbian parent personal references. ; )
I am not offended that you are asking, esp. since I am sure others are wondering at this point, although it is certainly uncomfortable. I enjoy being a part of this homeschool group because it represents the whole broad spectrum of our greater Santa Cruz area, and in fact do not choose to participate in groups that purposefully exclude a variety of world views. But within this group, I hope there is enough room on the spectrum of ideas for mine too. It is healthy and wise for such a group to avoid entangements that come with seeming to promote certain views above others. I have been sharing only those events and ideas that seemed to be relevant to the greater homeschool community.
So, everyone, do my clarifications and assurances here suffice? Do we all agree with M--'s statement that "We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us"?
Ironically, I have to run to church now. ; ) But please feel free to email again if we need to further the dialogue.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was all the emailing that happened today. If more views come forth, I will add them to this post, because I think this is an important dialogue that you all should be aware of, since it concerns you specifically.
Tonight when I was at the kid's choir practice, I had a chance to share some of this with a few of you, and was so glad to get the response I expected from you, which was that you were unhesitatingly willing and even glad to open our special events to all homeschool families, and only hoped that any who came would be as willing to tolerate our views as we would be willing to tolerate their views.
I think it was actually really cool that such a conversation happened in that public forum--that people were talking about churches being welcoming or not, Christians being loving to others or not, esp. those with whom they might disagree. I am sure not only the parents who participated in this dialogue thought about the implications, but surely so did all the parents who just read the responses and did not chime in.
I want you all to have the same chance, to think about these things, and what response we as a body of believers in Jesus Christ should have to our surrounding community. I do hope that us Christian homeschool moms (wherever we are!) would genuinely welcome any family who we encounter--that we can love them without fear, from the fullness of Christ's love for them.
Since the SC Homeschooling group has been given this blog link for the information about the party, I have written this with the expectation that some of the readers might be more curious about us after the email exchange and might stop by this blog. I hope whatever we say here will reflect who we really are, and we will be seen for the friendly bunch we are. So, please feel free to comment, and "let your gentleness be evident to all--the Lord is near." : )
much love to you all,
lisa
So, I have had a very interesting exchange today via emails with the local Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group (my main source of info for all things homeschool in this area--which I why I occassionally quote good stuff from the group here, for the benefit of you all). As most of you know, when we have a special "Vintage Homeschool Group" event and I tell you all to invite friends, I also send an invite to all the families on the Santa Cruz Homeschool Yahoo group. This is usually for the "Back to School," "End of School," "Valentine's Day," and "Christmas" parties. Do you remember Hilary who came a couple of times with her son, or Zan who came a couple of times with her son and daughter, or Susan who came once with her young son and daughter? These are just some of the people who have visited our parties from the greater SC homeschool community to be friendly and join in the fun. I am so glad they did, and I hope they felt welcome.
Well, today I posted a group-wide invitation to our Christmas party. What follows are the emails that came as a response this afternoon. I'll explain at the end why I am sharing this dialogue with you all, but I think you will be able to figure it out:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello all!
Our Vintage Homeschool Moms group is having our annual Christmas party next Monday, Dec. 19 from noon until 2:30 there at Vintage Faith Church in S.C.
All familes are welcome!
Please check out this link for more details: http://vintagemoms.blogspot.com/2011/12/old-school-monday-christmas-party-is-on.html
Hope the rest of your week is a merry one! : )
lisa c-------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was wanting to find out more about the Vintage Faith Church a
while back when some friends were talking about the Abbey
coffeehouse the church runs, and was very disappointed to find out --
from the web site and from reviews of a book by the pastor -- that
they are anti-gay. Would "All families are welcome" really apply to
all the local two-mom homeschooling families and LGBT homeschooling
teens I know?
In general Santa Cruz has a lot of LGBT-inclusive and welcoming
churches and other houses of worship -- just for one small example,
it is my experience as a person who has danced in both the Downtown
Santa Cruz Holiday Parade and the Santa Cruz Pride Parade that the
latter has a lot more churches in it -- so yes, it was an unpleasant
surprise that a church that seems to want to make a big deal of
having a hip coffeehouse would not be included in that number.
I hope we will all remember that homeschooling families are a
diverse group.
T--- T------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi T---,
Thanks for your honest and sincere email response to my invite. The Vintage Homeschool Moms group is just that--a bunch of moms who enjoy getting together to have fun and encourage one another in our homeschooling and parenting. The Christmas party is not a church-sponsored event, but we routinely use the Vintage Faith Church classrooms for our gatherings, since they have such great facilities (like a bathroom in the classroom, the gym for the kids to run around in, etc.). We call ourselves "Vintage Homeschool Moms" just because most of us happen to be, but we have families from other churches join us, and have welcomed Jewish, agnostic, and atheist parents as well. I am the organizer for most of the gatherings we have, and I love to invite new people--you never know who might really want to get their kids out of the house for a fun, casual event with other homeschool kids, or what mom might be struggling and need a few kind words. : )
So, we do not claim to represent the overall Vintage Faith Church, and I am sure all of us moms in the group have different opinions about all aspects of life, just like all of us here on the homeschool group forum do. I can't speak for any of the other moms (or dads, who are welcome and sometimes come too!), but I personally welcome any homeschool family who feels comfortable with us. What I can speak for the other moms about is that yes, most of us are trying to live as followers of Jesus Christ, and believe each and every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect.
You are right that this will not be an all-inclusive gathering, in the sense that we will be celebrating "Christmas" and not "the Holidays" and God might very well come up in the conversation as moms chat. ; ) I posted the invite with the assumption that anyone who wants to avoid such things would simply disregard it. But it will not be a religious gathering in nature (i.e. other than the fact that Christmas is what it is, we are not out to convert you), and so I invite anyone who is comfortable with such a dynamic to please feel free to join us.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, thanks for doing the research T---. I'll look into this too. I've been to The Abbey twice to knit with a friend, just assuming they were friendly. As another lesbian mom, I won't be spending my money there anymore.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Lisa,
I was confused by some parts of your reply (below), so I was hoping you could clarify a few things:
- Is T--- correct that this church has an anti-gay theology? I understand that your group is not church-sponsored, but some might consider this information relevant in deciding whether to attend an event at their facility.
- You said that most of the members of the group are in fact members of the church. Does the group have an explicit understanding that gay families are welcome and will not be subjected to anti-gay attitudes? If not, a reasonable person might assume that the stance of the church is the (unspoken) stance of the group.
- Statements like "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" are often code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." Is this in fact what you meant to convey?
We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us. I do think, however, that accurate information about the nature of a group would be helpful.
Thanks in advance for clarifying,
M--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking as an all inclusive mom, I feel that you both are being very unfair with your expectations and judgements. I also feel the tones of your reply/comments are very negative and unaccepting themselves. Let us keep our personal feelings aside and ask objective questions with the expectation of a reasonable answer.
Sent from my LG phone
[no name given]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are referring to my comment, I don't see how declaring that I won't spend money in a cafe that funds an anti-gay church is being unfair to anyone, least of all Lisa, who wasn't representing The Abbey. I want all homeschoolers to feel welcome posting here, but I also want to be reasonably informed about the politics/religious leanings of any group or event I choose to attend, so I welcome the discussion that has followed Lisa's posting.
A--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi M--,
Your questions are reasonable. I was trying to avoid speaking for the overall church, for several reasons. Mainly I don't feel qualified to speak for the church, so hope all of you who are really interested in knowing the church's stance on such issues will go directly to the source, and call and set up a meeting with one of the pastors. D-- K------ is the pastor who I think T--- was referencing in her email, and he is a very sensitive man who is always available for such discussions. If you would prefer to speak with a woman, K------ J----- is not a pastor, but is one of the members at the heart of the church. I understand why some of you want to know the church's stance on gender identity, GLBT families, etc., esp. in regards to the Abbey coffeelounge, since we all want to support business (or in this case, non-profits) that align with our personal values.
I tried to be clear that I was not speaking for the other moms/families in the Vintage homeschool moms group, but you are raising an excellent question about whether or not the other moms would welcome gay/lesbian families. To be candid, I don't know. What I do know is that they have welcomed every other family who has come, and I will never invite the greater homeschool community to an event that is specifically religious in nature or at which they might not be welcome.
I do want to address your question about whether my statement "every person is a unique, valuable creation worthy of love and respect" was code for "hate the sin, love the sinner." While every single word I chose is loaded with meaning, and intentionally so, please take them together in their most beautiful, person-affirming way. I personally respect people of all faiths, cultural backgrounds, etc, and hope those of you who know me even a little in person would agree that I live out these beliefs. (I feel like I am supposed to whip out my "diversity portfolio" at this point, or show you my gay and lesbian parent personal references. ; )
I am not offended that you are asking, esp. since I am sure others are wondering at this point, although it is certainly uncomfortable. I enjoy being a part of this homeschool group because it represents the whole broad spectrum of our greater Santa Cruz area, and in fact do not choose to participate in groups that purposefully exclude a variety of world views. But within this group, I hope there is enough room on the spectrum of ideas for mine too. It is healthy and wise for such a group to avoid entangements that come with seeming to promote certain views above others. I have been sharing only those events and ideas that seemed to be relevant to the greater homeschool community.
So, everyone, do my clarifications and assurances here suffice? Do we all agree with M--'s statement that "We are indeed a diverse group, and should be free to announce gatherings etc. that would not suit all of us"?
Ironically, I have to run to church now. ; ) But please feel free to email again if we need to further the dialogue.
lisa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was all the emailing that happened today. If more views come forth, I will add them to this post, because I think this is an important dialogue that you all should be aware of, since it concerns you specifically.
Tonight when I was at the kid's choir practice, I had a chance to share some of this with a few of you, and was so glad to get the response I expected from you, which was that you were unhesitatingly willing and even glad to open our special events to all homeschool families, and only hoped that any who came would be as willing to tolerate our views as we would be willing to tolerate their views.
I think it was actually really cool that such a conversation happened in that public forum--that people were talking about churches being welcoming or not, Christians being loving to others or not, esp. those with whom they might disagree. I am sure not only the parents who participated in this dialogue thought about the implications, but surely so did all the parents who just read the responses and did not chime in.
I want you all to have the same chance, to think about these things, and what response we as a body of believers in Jesus Christ should have to our surrounding community. I do hope that us Christian homeschool moms (wherever we are!) would genuinely welcome any family who we encounter--that we can love them without fear, from the fullness of Christ's love for them.
Since the SC Homeschooling group has been given this blog link for the information about the party, I have written this with the expectation that some of the readers might be more curious about us after the email exchange and might stop by this blog. I hope whatever we say here will reflect who we really are, and we will be seen for the friendly bunch we are. So, please feel free to comment, and "let your gentleness be evident to all--the Lord is near." : )
much love to you all,
lisa
The Old School Monday Christmas Party is ON!
Hello all you Vintage Moms!
Ok, so I got permission from the church to use our usual classrooms next Monday, December 19. So please come join in the holiday fun! We will meet the usual time, from noon until about 2:30. We will chat and play and do a few ornament crafts.
We will also have a Christmas cookie exchange! Here's how it works:
--each child who wants to participate should bring one dozen cookies on a plate.
--we will place all the plates of cookies out when everyone is there
--each child who brought a plate of cookies gets to go through the cookie buffet with an empty paper plate, choosing a dozen cookies, whatever strikes his or her fancy.
--so this means every child leaves with the same number of cookies he or she brought, but gets the fun of trying other family's favorite holiday treats. : )
--and of course our children will share with their siblings and daddies and mommies, right? ; )
I'll bring the empty paper plates, so here is what you may want to bring:
--one dozen cookies per child (IF you want to participate in the cookie exchange)
--lunch for your family (IF you want to), including drinks*
--one non-sweet snack to share with the group
Please feel free to invite friends!
*Remember, we would like to make our gatherings as waste-free as possible, so if you could bring your own reusable cups, little plates, etc. that would be so helpful!
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