It's all new again

So obviously its been a while and everything is different. But does anyone expect less from our family? We are in Maine, and loving it. Getting ready to move to our new, much larger, place in a few weeks. The boys are beyond excited, as are Mike and I. 186 acres! I am hoping for lots of walks, snow shoeing, cross country skiing etc. All I know is I can see the mountains from my kitchen when i look out over the hay fields. What more could you ask for. Oh yeah, a giant wood cook stove. Now I won't have "wood pile" envy any more.
Homeschooling is going great. Its funny to read past blogs about strict curriculums and schedules since we are doing the total opposite now. i think its natural homeschool progression. We are still doing Math, Saxon but everything else is more chill. For History we are watching the HBO mini-series "John Adams" which is excellent! I highly recommend it. The boys spend most of their time reading. Forrest is really into Stephen King right now which is ironic since we live in Maine. Gaynor is working on a few different short stories. He has soo many ideas he keeps starting new projects, thats ok, he is really enjoying the process. Forrest has been writing quite a bit as well. He just got a short story published on the TeenINK raw site. He is so proud! So are his parents. He has written some amazing poems lately too. i'll try to get him to put some on this site. He is a natural writer and Gaynor is right there with him. For science they boys spent some time with mushroom books in the woods searching for and identifying different species. it was a stellar mushroom year here in Maine. I guess the rain has to be good for something! Forrest is also working at a local Organic farm. Marble Family Farms. He helps the young farmers harvest crops in exchange for work and life experience as well as good company, conversation and some times even free produce. They grow the most amazing tomatoes and salad greens, you'll never eat store bought lettuce again! What better way to learn plant biology, economics and of course the value of small farms and sustainable agriculture. Plus the 7miles he rides his bike each way is Phys-Ed right? life is after all the best education! Other than that, the boys write letters to pen pals, use different mediums for art projects, cook and bake, and use the internet to research any and every whim. Today we are learning how to make baskets from cattails which are everywhere here! They are loving it and so am I.