Author Archives: Carrie

The Hidden Curriculum of Life

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I promised I would write a post about “the hidden curriculum” of life that we talked about at the recent course regarding sensory processing and modulation that I attended.  Those of you who have beautiful children struggling with issues along the autistic spectrum know how very literal these children can be, and that sometimes presents problems in social situations.  Idioms can be problematic, and so can things like reading social cues that are not direct.

There were some interesting books and products mentioned at my course for the mentoring of the older child (mainly upper middle school and up aged), and I wanted to pass them along to you. I got a chance to look at some of these products, and I thought they were really interesting for EVERYONE, not just children along the spectrum. Continue reading →

Guest Post: A Gentle Santa Lucia Story by Tiziana Boccaletti

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There was a gentle Santa Lucia story by Tiziana Boccaletti on the Our Little Nature Nest blog.  Since that blog has been taken private, I asked Tiziana if she would be willing to share this sweet Santa Lucia story here so families could find and share it with their own loved ones.  Tiziana generously agreed, and here is her story: Continue reading →

A Lovely Holiday Giveaway!

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I am so indebted to all of my wonderful readers.  You all really touch my heart, I carry so many of you into my prayers and my life.  I appreciate all of your patience as I answer every email personally and sometimes run a bit behind.  Thank you so much for reading this blog and sharing your lives with me.

For all of you in this wonderful season of quiet anticipation, I have a very special giveaway from Sparkle Stories.  Some of my readers are familiar with Sparkle Stories.  They are gentle  audio adventures written by a wonderful husband and wife team who are a Waldorf teacher and storyteller and a playwright, respectively.

Many families do not provide visual or audio stories to their children, and I applaud that, especially for very small children.   However, some families are transitioning from visual screen time to audio stories only, and some families are searching for gentle stories for their children to enjoy at  very special times.  In this vein, Sparkle Stories could be a welcome fit for this purpose.

Sparkle Stories writes:  Continue reading →

Clothes For Children Who Have Challenges With Sensory Processing

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I just went to a course this past week (yes, another one! ‘Tis the time of year!) regarding autism and sensory processing disorders.

For those of you who missed the posts I have done in the past regarding children with challenges in sensory modulation, indicators of sensory modulation typically include extreme inflexibility, resistance to activities, difficulty in transitioning in activities, poor behavior, over or under reaction to the environment, perseverating behaviors, a lack of inner drive or motivation, avoidance behaviors and difficulty focusing attention.

One thing that many children who have difficulty with sensory modulation find challenging is finding clothes they can feel good in.  Dressing can be the most difficult point of the day for a child challenged by sensory issues and their parents.  Continue reading →

Great Weekend Links!

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My sweet toddler is under the weather and so am I; I hope all of you are faring healthy out there!  Working on stocking stuffers and gifts?

I found a few links I wanted to share with you this weekend that I thought were well- worth a read and a look:  Continue reading →

Link To Your Favorite Etsy Sellers Here!

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Please link to your favorite Etsy Sellers here!  I have families from all walks of life and many different countries who read this blog.  Many of them are contemplating adding more handmade or small-seller gifts to their holiday celebrations for the very first time (and as we all know, sometimes this can be the first step toward also making some gifts next year!)

 

However,  these readers have no idea where to start on Etsy.  Therefore,  I would love for you all, my dear readers, to post links to the sellers you love on Etsy and what you have bought this year or in the past.

 

Okay, let the linking begin, and thank you for helping other families move toward handmade!

 

Many blessings, what fun!

Carrie

Children Who Dislike Everything

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I was going through some papers this weekend and came across an article by Michael Howard that I had printed out called, “Educating the Feeling-will in the Kindergarten” and this quote just popped out at me:

“The defining characteristic of feeling will is the capacity to live deeply into the inner quality of something outside us, knowing and feeling it as if we are within it or it is within us. In the early childhood years a healthy child is naturally inclined to drink in the inner mood and qualities of places and persons.  It is one of the tragedies of our times that the ways of the world, including the life of the family and school, can dull rather than foster this natural soul attachment.  Tragically, many young children come to kindergarten with a sense-nerve disposition already strongly developed.  Their thinking has become prematurely intellectual and abstract, and their feeling life inclines toward strong personal like or dislike.”

I have been seeing so many tiny children yet with so many big opinions.  Have you been seeing this as well?  Continue reading →

Making Holiday Gifts

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In our family, I love when the shopping part of the few things to buy is done and we can focus on making some handmade gifts!  Don’t you love that too?

Here is what we are making….. Continue reading →

Guest Post: How To Help Families Challenged By Childhood Cancer

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In this holiday season, I hope we do not forget the families that are facing bittersweet moments…you all are in my heart and on my mind.  This is an article by a friend a pray for daily, and I hope it will help anyone wishing to help families who are facing childhood cancer or other chronic diseases.

My friend writes:

I am the mother of a child with cancer. Long ago, my walk to work would take me past our local child cancer support office and I would think of the parents who made use of the service, wondering how those poor families managed in such terrible circumstances. Then we became one of those ‘poor families’. Our lovely and lively young daughter, Hope, was diagnosed with a rare and difficult-to-cure cancer just after her second birthday. Our family life changed in a flash and we were thrown into a new world that we did not ask to be part of, that no parent should ever know of.

Time passed and we eventually found our feet amongst the confusion of worries, intense treatment and new faces. We coped. And then, two years later and just a few short months after finishing treatment, Hope’s cancer relapsed and we were once again thrown into that murky place of despair. For our daughter, a relapse means her cancer cannot be cured and she is now in palliative treatment, treading a careful balance between length and quality of life.

I am the mother of a child with terminal cancer. People sometimes tell us they don’t know how we manage, and I have nothing to respond with except to say that when things are going well, we just live. We try not to think too far into the future and we spend time enjoying our children. But there are other times when all we can do is simply get through the next few minutes, the next hour, the next day. We don’t ‘manage’ at all.

It is in these times that we feel most blessed to have the love and support of a great group of family and friends. Continue reading →

Another Question From The Field: Balance In Homemaking

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This question came in awhile ago and I have been pondering it since in the back of my mind.  I was not certain I had anything valuable to add;   some things ”just are”
in life, but then I did think of something I wanted to say (uh, and it turned out to be way more than I expected, so you may need a cup of tea! LOL)   Here is the original comment/question:

Here is a very honest admission for you: I get no satisfaction of out homekeeping and I am quite certain that I never will :) I *can* do all the things: cook delicious meals every day, ferment, and mill my own flour, I can sew and knit and paint, I can keep the home clean and in reasonable order. But when that is all I do, I can feel my soul slowly dying! I go through seasons of pulling myself together and even enjoying my tasks, and then falling apart, throwing in a towel, because after all, what’s the point? Yes, this is a lovely way to live, to have a cozy home and good food, but I.am.miserable. I’ve been told all manner of things: I’m lazy, I need to change my attitude, I need to get therapy to deal with some deep-seated resentment and blah-blah-blah. I feel that the truth is simpler than that. I am someone who is extremely extroverted, requires massive amounts of regular intellectual stimulation, and a great deal of variety in life :) There must be a way to find some kind of balance. I realize that my children are young (2, 4.5, and one on the way), I am quite realistic about the care, time and effort they require at this stage of life. But I just can’t give up my sanity and my very essence to keeping the home.
Thoughts? thanks!

That is really hard and I think so many of us as mothers can identify with the feelings expressed in this comment.  It can be so hard to do all the things we might think need to be associated with homemaking and parenting, to make things “right”.  Maybe there is also a bit of perfectionism hidden within many of us – if we don’t do all these things, then our children will not do well.  This can make things seem burdensome or a chore instead of light and lovely.  And, it all can be such a big burden – why do I have to be The Queen of My Home? Can’t someone else do it?  I just want to take the day off!  There are days I feel that way as well. Continue reading →