Organizing in 2021: The Refrigerator

 This year I'm going to post about organizing once a month.  Last month I talked about the most essential, for me, item: my planner!  This month: the fridge.

Here's the deal: most normal people probably don't worry about organizing their fridge, or they don't care, or they don't get bothered when it's crammed full or you have to hunt for something.  I readily admit that I may not be normal on this point.  But it does irritate me to open the refrigerator and find that I have no idea where the item I need is!  It's inefficient for me to spend a minute looking for something every time I open our refrigerator.  I mean, really.  Do you know how often I open that thing?  I should keep track.  

A lot.

Anyhow, I had indicated to my family what goes where, but that's hard to keep in one's head, particularly if one is a child. 

So a few years ago, I labeled my refrigerator shelves.  Ahhh!  

The day I took these photos was a day in which I'd done a large shopping trip.  My refrigerator is almost never this full. 

I printed labels and stuck them to shelves.  Game changer. Sometimes the fridge is like it was in these photos: packed, and I have to make allowances for putting something somewhere else. But in general, we know where to place things and where to find them. Since my family cannot read my mind, labels are helpful. 

Top right shelf: nuts/seeds.  I like to store these in glass jars, but I've gotten away from it.  We always have a lot of nuts on hand: pecans, almonds, sliced almonds, pine nuts, cashews, peanuts.  

On the top left-hand side there are salsas, relishes, jams, pickles. 

The middle shelf is for proteins--tofu, meats, yogurt, eggs.  (And, on this crowded day, cauliflower and strawberries. Ha!)

The bottom left hand area is for leftovers.  I don't like it when I completely forget that something exists in my fridge, so I check the leftover area for lunch ideas, little dinner add-ons, snacks, etc., which cuts down on food waste. 

On the bottom right shelf--veggies.  We have too many veggies, usually, and they take over most of the bottom shelf.  But this is where I put boxes of spinach and spring mix (I buy a large box of both every week) and any other veggies that will onto the shelf. In the drawer below I keep other veggies--always carrots, onions, plus cilantro, peppers, zucchini, etc.  

The bottom left drawer is for fruits. 

I have a wide drawer at the bottom which I just LOVE.  That's where I keep the cheeses, extra butters, and any other "overflow" proteins (on this day--pepperoni for homemade pizzas and tofu....). 

Top left bin of the door holds the butters. 

{not sure what's up with the sad little section of real butter there, but this is real life! I didn't scrub the fridge and make it pretty for these photos!}

On the top right part of the door I keep my jars of yeast as well as my little container of essential oils. 

On the next shelf I keep things we consider condiments: sauces, dressings, tahini (technically a seed butter, but it works here!), red curry paste, ketchup, mustards, etc. 

And the bottom shelf holds the milks!

The old adage "a place for everything and everything in its place" really works well for me with the refrigerator.  I value efficiency in the kitchen, because I make pretty much every meal we eat from scratch. Cooking is quite time-consuming for me, and I don't want to spend extra time hunting down things in the refrigerator.  My family knows where things go, and they are good about putting stuff back into place (generally). If I open the fridge and see something out of place, I just shuffle it back to its rightful spot, but because we've used these labels for years, that doesn't happen too often.  I'm not a taskmaster about it.  The whole point of organization is to make life easier--not to drive my family crazy. ;) 

So that's it!  An organized refrigerator is a joy to the family chef.  Truly!

A Path to Plutarch, Part Three: Teaching Plutarch

 This is the second in a short series of posts I plan to write about teaching Plutarch.  

My first post was about why we even bother teaching Plutarch.  

The second post was about how to begin, including which retellings or beginner stories I like, and how to prepare less experienced students for Plutarch.

Today I will discuss the way I teach Plutarch once my child is old enough to read the North translation.

{a few farm scenes to break up the post: I loved the Christmas lights and snow combo!}

First, a few words of encouragement!

I think that most books teach themselves, if we let them.  You don't need a doctorate in ancient history in order to explore Plutarch with your students.  There are some preparations to make, yes, but going back to college isn't one of them!  In some subjects, it truly is okay to learn alongside your student. 

Also: don't overthink it, don't overcomplicate it, and keep it sustainable.  Anything we do must be sustainable, whether we're homeschooling, exercising, setting up a schedule, or whatever.  If it's not sustainable, it won't last.

The first thing I like to do when preparing to teach one of Plutarch's biographies is to dive into a retelling of that life.  I mentioned last time that I really like Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls by W.H. Weston.  This book contains selected lives, but if you're reading a life that is included in this book, I think it's a great way for you, as the teacher, to become familiar with the overall narrative and the character of subject.  But if you're ready to dive right in, simply read the biography you are planning to teach--in the North translation! 

I like to use the Anne White study guides.  You may find them for free here (find the life you wish to read, then click on "study guide with text" next to it), but they're also available for purchase in book form here. One thing I like about these guides is that Anne White has broken each biography down into a dozen or so lessons.  She includes a bit of vocabulary, helpful notes, and some useful questions. She has also already made the "suitable omissions" Charlotte Mason mentions, so you don't need to worry about running into something that is beyond the pale for your 12-year-old to read.  

{Finn's birthday last year}

As you read, take note of important characters mentioned and places described.  I like to find a few maps with these places, and keep them in a page protector in my binder for easy reference during class.  It really helps everyone to be able to see where things were happening!

You may also need to look up and make notes on the pronunciation of difficult names. I stumbled my way through about a year of teaching before it dawned on me that I should prepare my pronunciation ahead of time.  And I took four years of Latin in high school!  Even so, it's great to brush up on how to pronounce tricky names.

If you have more than one student, I think it's imperative that they each have their own copy of Plutarch.  

When beginning a lesson, set the stage by briefly recapping anything you've read before, or--if this is the first time you've read the biography--somehow set the stage by discussing the setting, the era in which the tale takes place, etc.  When I taught Coriolanus, it was quite interesting for us to record his lifetime on a timeline and compare it with Julius Caesar's lifetime.  So often we think "ancient history" is all clumped together into one crumbling era, but Coriolanus lived several hundred years before Julius Caesar.  In order to emphasize this, we compared life in the 21st Century with life in the 17th Century.  Granted, the Industrial Revolution seems to have sped things along, but still.  The changes in fashion, in the world, in politics, in country borders...a lot can happen in a few hundred years. 

I believe it is imperative that you (the adult) read the text, and your students follow along in their own books.  Plutarch is tough.  It's going to be tough for a student to read the text in an engaging way, pronouncing everything correctly, and still understand enough of the story to narrate it.  You read; they read along.  It just works better this way. Read with as much expression as you can, and if that means you need to practice reading ahead of time--do it! It's worth it to inject interest into the story.  (As you grow accustomed to reading Plutarch, this pre-reading will be unnecessary because you'll become more "fluent.") And I do think the students need their own copies!  I began Plutarch by reading aloud while the students in my class listened, but it didn't take me long to figure out that they probably needed the visual assistance a text can provide. My own son has an auditory processing delay, so I am sensitive about this issue.  Once I provided all the students with their own copies of the texts, the narrations took off!  

{we get lots of rainbows around here}

A few tips on narrations: do not expect too much from your students at first. Read short chunks and have them narrate bit-by-bit.  Also, listen attentively! It goes without saying that narration time isn't the time to zone out or check your watch.  The student is working hard when he or she is narrating, and they deserve your full attention. :) 

I know that opinions vary on this point, but if I'm getting absolutely nothing out of a student, I'll switch gears and ask leading questions, or employ the Socratic method. I suppose this is part of my legal training!  I find that once I can draw a little bit out, some discussion can begin--and yes, I count thoughtful discussion as *good* quality narration.  I believe discussion implies some assimilation and ownership. 

You may also employ alternative methods of narration: try a drawing narration, or an acting narration (the latter is especially popular with middle school boys and battle scenes...ask me how I know). 

I keep a running character quality list in my notebook or in the back of the book we are reading.  During each class, I write some of these qualities on the board, and as we read, I welcome students to add to it.  Some of our best discussions spring from looking at these lists.  You can also have students add important dates (such as crossing the Rubicon) to their Book of Centuries, if they keep one. (The Book of Centuries is essentially a timeline of history--on steroids. This is the one we use! I have a copy and Finn has a copy.  Annie will receive one either this fall or next fall.) 

Next time I'll write a little bit about teaching Plutarch in group settings. 

*               *             * 

And in other news: today I finished the first draft of my first book. (Well, the first book I've written since I was 12 years old.)  I printed it and it's sitting in a respectable pile of papers at my side, 94,000 words and ready to be edited.  

I can't believe it!

I finished my book!

On Cultivating Beauty

 "Though I love pretty things and special touches (small as the honey scent of a beeswax candle, large as the curvy porcelain legs of a porcelain sink), like the rest of the world, I have tended to view such things as unnecessary extras.  They are indulgences.  They are not strictly necessary and should be doled out with caution, like special treats.  Surely only an incurable romantic would choose old wooden windows over modern vinyl.  But what if beauty is one of the greatest gifts I give my neighbors and my guests? What if my own choices give others the permission they need to forgo the plastic jug, to light the special candle, to sit quietly in the afternoon with milky tea in a bone china cup? I believe beauty reflects the truth about who God is and what this world is all about.  What could be more important than cultivating beauty in little ways and large, however I am able?"

-Christie Purifoy, Placemaker

On the Intersection of Money + Contentment

 Don't ever let anyone make you feel badly about living within your means.

As I was painting window trim last fall--oh! so many hours of trimwork--this thought bubbled up into my mind.  

I'm not sure where the thought came from; I spend a lot of time deep in thought when I'm doing a task like painting. As I've spent time picking colors, I've looked at a lot of home decorating websites and blogs to see what I like, what other people use, etc.  And let me tell you: there's so much beautiful stuff out there.

Some blogs are just so polished!  The photographs are polished!  And the homes themselves are magazine-worthy.  The funniest thing about these homes, I think, is that there's usually the "sign of life" element thrown into the otherwise-perfect photo.  (Does this crack anyone else up?)

But then there may be sponsored ads and links to products that the homeowner uses and some sort of, let's face it, sales pitch to make you, the reader, feel that if you just purchased that tablecloth or that cutting board or that mug, suddenly your rather average, ordinary home life would be transformed into something polished and perfect as well. 

And often the owner of the lovely polished photos is somehow making money off of making you feel that your rather ordinary life just isn't quite *enough.* Sometimes the person is simply encouraging or inspiring, but sometimes they're just--well--selling their encouragement or inspiration.

There's nothing wrong with inspiring websites and photos. (Does anyone want to see a messy room with dishes everywhere and clutter and unfolded laundry?  I don't!)  But I do feel like there's something amiss when the "inspiration" makes the reader feel somehow lacking, and like purchasing something will fill that lack. When I see sites like that, I begin to smell a rat, so to speak.

{I also think that some people do truly need to make the extra money they can get from online work, and it can be helpful to their families, so I'm not making a blanket statement against monetized sites and "influencers."  But I do think that any website that constantly encourages people to spend money under the guise of "inspiration" feels a little disingenuous and that we must proceed with caution when we choose to consume them.}

The Bible says that "godliness with contentment is great gain." This passage in 1 Timothy is perfectly applicable and instructive.  

I have already made my case in defense of the ordinary life. I do not get onboard at all with "FOMO", "YOLO," or "bucket lists."  These things all imply that the lives we are given are somehow not enough.  Generally spending money is seen as the cure to this ill, but it's not. 

Money definitely matters and is vital to provide a certain level of comfort and stability, but beyond that, it's pretty much just a matter of degrees of luxuries. 

The curious thing about money also seems to be that the people who appear to have the most, often have the highest incomes and greatest debt.  Which makes their net worth lower, if we want to get technical.  (This book has lots of good information, if you're interested in it. But check it out of the library!) And consumer debt is an albatross and can cause huge conflicts in marriages. As in 1 Timothy, it can cause people to be "pierced with many griefs."

Maybe that's one of my motivations for writing here. I do occasionally ask myself why do I even have a blog? Back in the old days I used my old blog as a way to keep family and friends updated on the adventures of Finn and Annie, but that has shifted significantly.  Yet I still do want to keep a blog.  And I think this is why: to just encourage other people, with no strings attached.

So if you are struggling with envy, or feeling inferior, or not being Enough, based on what you see online, turn off the computer/phone, open the Bible if you are a Christian, put a pen to paper to work through your thoughts, and really analyze what is encouraging you and what is just making you feel badly about your own circumstances. 

I suspect that a lot of what we are "fed" via social media (it's called a feed!!) consists of people living outside their means.  

And if you're a person who is trying to live within yours, then don't ever let anyone make you feel badly about that.  You're doing the right thing. And your life may look messier and a lot less decorated and significantly less exciting or luxurious than the polished pages online would have you believe it should look. And you may have to say "no, I cannot afford to buy that" or "no, that's outside my budget." That is perfectly fine; there is no shame in living within your budget!  

So if you're being fed things that make you feel inferior, remember that we only digest what we allow ourselves to consume in the first place. Seek out the things that will make you feel more contented with your own life and more inspired to make your own life happy and lovely, and make you feel less like you're missing out on some nebulous, glossy, "ideal life." 

(Maybe next time I'll talk about "little luxuries," which are a nice antidote, in my mind, to this feeling of not being (or having, or doing) "enough!" Little luxuries can help cultivate a feeling of contentment!)

The Gift of Time

 All the snow has melted on the farm, but more is expected later this week.  I am so happy we are getting snow this year! Last year was a very light year for snow (we had maybe one snow that was sled-able).  We live in the mountains; winter isn't winter here without a couple of bigger snows that keep us marooned at home for a few days!  Fortunately we've gotten several of those so far, and we've been sledding, had snowball fights, built a snow fort, and quit school early to play outside and then drink hot cocoa. For me, winter equals snowy days, so I'm really glad that we're getting some. 

(I'm also glad I don't live in a place where the snow never melts and shoveling it is a daily chore. Balance!)

I'm spending a lot of time these days thinking through school next year for Finn. I cannot believe my little boy will be a high schooler.  It is mind-boggling. Time, please, please, please slow down! He shadowed a kid at a hybrid academy this week (he was supposed to do it last week, but we got snowed in and all schools were cancelled!), and it was so fascinating to hear about that they did.  It was also a little vindicating to me, as his rather-laid-back homeschool teacher.  It made me realize that all these days when it seems like "education" is spotty or a little uneven are still all adding up to Something Good.  The funniest thing was that logic class was his last class of the day. He has never been taught formal logic.  When he was presented with a sentence and its two "supporting" statements, he immediately found the flaw in them and although, in his words, "I didn't know all the fancy logic words they used," he knew precisely why the statement didn't make any sense. 

"The class reminded me of you," he said later. "That's just stuff we talk about all the time!"

I guess that's what happens when your mother studied philosophy and the law.  You understand a fallacy because you smell a rat. ;) 

Also interesting: they read from Twelfth Night.  That was the second play I ever taught, and Finn now has 10 Shakespeare plays under his belt.  They were doing the scene that we LOVE when Malvolio comes out in his yellow stockings.  But Finn said that they were reading a modern "translation" instead of reading the original language.  I was actually shocked. And disappointed: although the language can be tough, you definitely get used to it, and there's so much wonderful wordplay and poetry that would be, well, lost in translation!

But reflecting on his experience and what he told me made me realize that what we've done for these past 8 years is enough. It's more than enough. 

And I think we can do high school. (Gulp.)

And all those days when I semi-regretfully let Finn practice piano, do some math, and then spend playing with his sister for hours?  Or those days when we just read a few books and called it a day?  And all those days when we answered the siren's call of just playing outside?  Or when we followed a rabbit trail interest by seeking out library books and watching YouTube videos? Or that weird year of my kids learning more about cancer treatments and pharmaceutical names and doctors than they did about, well, anything else? 

I don't regret a minute of it.   

This is a huge relief because I constantly wonder if the day-to-day choices I make will lead to regret later.  I would see other homeschoolers doing things that seemed a lot more rigorous with kids a lot younger than mine, and I'd get nervous about having children unprepared for higher-level learning. But my bigger fear was actually burning them out on education before they even hit adolescence!

So, here's what I'd say: if you've got little kids and you're trying to educate them, don't worry.  

Read a ton

Talk a lot

Do math every day

Play!! Go outside....

Practice music every day (if you do music lessons)

That's it.  

Then as they get older more structure naturally occurs, things take shape out of interests (that's why Finn is learning 2 languages, something I never, ever would have chosen for him), and expectations can increase a bit.....

A few years ago I said that time was the best gift I ever gave to Finn, and now I really do stand by that statement.  Those free days of childhood and natural learning and books....they are good things. I am so glad he has had them. 

Now I'm off to (joyfully!) plot out the roadmap for 9th grade. Whew!