March has had that strange weather – hot temperatures, freezing cold (even when we were in Florida it got down to 30 degrees one night!), rain, sunshine. March has a little bit of sunshine and a little bit of wild, much like all of us. Maybe March is the ultimate human experience personified in weather!

The daffodils and tulips are blooming where I live, and things are greening up. In farm life, we are busy seeding pastures, getting garden beds ready, thinking about other house projects (it’s such a long journey there! So much of what we have done no one can see – things like plumbing, roofing, heat, hot water heater, A/C, so the cosmetics are still not quite there! Getting new insulation in our attic soon which is going to be wonderful.)

Most of all though, spring is a time of renewal. I find myself drawn to the spring greens to eat, the ideas of new beginnings and fresh starts, and craving the sunshine. My mood is one of checking in with my word of the year (#abundant) and seeing where my intentions lie. I have tried hard to make some intentional strides in the areas that I think will lead to abundance. Have you checked in with your word of the year? How are things coming?

This month, we are celebrating:

Lent (Try this back post Observing Lent | The Parenting Passageway that has many links in it to even more back posts!)

March 1- Feast of St. David (here is a wet on wet painting idea: First Grade Wet On Wet Painting For Saint David’s Day | The Parenting Passageway)

March 20- Spring Equinox (Try this back post: Celebrations of Spring in the Waldorf Home | The Parenting Passageway)

March 25- Feast of The Annunciation

Are you hunting ideas for Easter baskets? Palm Sunday and Easter are late this year, but you might already be preparing: Ideas for Easter Baskets | The Parenting Passageway –

The Ever Shifting Homeschool Round Up-

Child #1 – is a sophomore at an out of state university. No more homeschooling, but intentionally forging close bonds with our adult child – new facets and new discoveries to our relationship. All the connection and understanding your child’s temperament and personality really pays off when they are in their 20s!

Child #2 – is technically and legally a homeschool student but is enrolled at a four day a week hybrid program for this 11th grade year. We are now in the land of looking at colleges, and every child is such a different process in regards to that journey.

Child #3 – homeschooled sixth grader! We are finishing up Rome and moving into the Middle Ages. This has been a year of physics, of math, and starting the beginning process of writing. We also moving into geography and cultures of the world, which is a subject Rudolf Steiner suggested and usually is seen in seventh grade. I figure it will take us that long to move through it! We will be homeschooling through the summer, probably the first time I have ever done that in my 18 years of homeschooling. This is mainly because of my work schedule, and the need to keep moving forward in math and spelling, and because our guy does much better with a schedule that doesn’t change too much.

One thing I often think about is that original idea of Waldorf Education – goodness, beauty, truth (and yes, I put it that way because it corresponds to ages 0-7, 7-14, and 14-21) or to think about hands, heart, and head (yes, put in that order on purpose). Ralph Waldo Emerson is probably the best American representative for this model with his ideas of imagination, inspiration, and intellect. These simple, aligned ideas can help guide so much of the way we educate and parent our children. There are times and seasons for all things.

Planning ahead for homeschooling: In the fall, we will have 12th grader and a 7th grader. I love 7th-9th grade; these grades are my favorites so I am super excited!

Fun Around the Home

Spring is the time of letting go of the material objects in our home that don’t serve us any longer, and for spring cleaner and eating in accordance with that impulse of spring with lighter and brighter foods. I am hopeful we may be in the middle of a kitchen remodel by fall and am using spring to pick out some of the things for our new space!

Springtime Renewal –

Some ideas for Renewal! I hope you enjoy reading back through these as much as I did!

Renewal: Staying Home | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Mission Statements | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Personal Development | The Parenting Passageway (as a parent)

Renewal: Relationship With Your Spouse | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Computer Time | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Commit Yourself to Gentle Discipline | The Parenting Passageway

Renewal: Rhythm | The Parenting Passageway

It’s so fun to look back and see that snapshot of where life was, and to commit myself to renewal in these areas again.

How is March going for you?

Blessings,
Carrie