Wild Schooling natural mama, I inspire others to slow down and connect with the world around them, especially their own family. With an MA in Child Development, I support others on their own parenting and homeschool journeys.
I hope we can connect & grow together!
The past two years I have been stepping away from the crunchy mom way of life and stepping into wild mothering.
For me, the transition was a natural part of my healing process. The last three years, especially the two after leaving my marriage, have been primarily focused on healing. I let go of bad habits, hurtful people, and primarily, mindsets that were impeding me from stepping into my power and flow within life.
Wild mothering for me, is allowing myself to be untamed and unimpeded in my flow. My intuition, my joy, and my love for my life and love for myself lead the way – not fear.
It sounds like common sense – to live aligned with our intuition and out of love – but fear is so prominent in our current society it’s challenging for it to not get a hold on us.
When I had began my journey into the crunchy mom life, I was deeply influenced by fear. If I’m being honest, fear ran my life.
As soon as I was pregnant, the fearful comments poured in. Hospital birth is dangerous, home birth is dangerous, this and that problem can happen in pregnancy, etc., etc. No one ever asked what I intuitively felt was the best path for me, but rather tried to influence me towards what they thought was best using fear.
I’ve always said, I went into motherhood knowing too much. I had a BA in developmental psychology, an MA in child development and nearly ten years of experience working in the field. And while yes, that had its benefits, it also had its downfalls. I knew all of the research and was hyper aware of developmental milestones, typical development, developmental disorders, and the causes behind things not going “typical.” It was a lot of pressure and rather overwhelming feeling fully responsible for every little aspect of my child.
While outsiders projected their fears onto my motherhood experience, I also created a lot of fears around not be able to fully implement the “optimal parenting” I had learned getting my masters degree. But there is no optimal parenting – there is only healthy and aligned parenting. Once I released the idea of some optimal, perfect, way to mother, parenting became a lot easier with more flow and space to find my own ease with my children.
One of the first big life changes that led me in the direction of Wild mothering rather than crunchy mom life, was my free birth. I had made parenting decisions from my intuition previously, but they were also decisions made from fear, research, and outside influences. My free birth was a decision I made purely from wisdom. It just felt right for me.
Having a free birth that I truly loved seemed to free me in motherhood, and while I still had a lot of healing and learning to do after my free birth three years ago, it was the beginning of unraveling my fears and the control they had over my life.
“I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories… water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.”
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés
To love motherhood, to be present within motherhood without resentment and without burnout, we have to release the hold our fears have on us and begin parenting from a space of trust. We have to trust ourselves to show up, to know what’s best, and to know that when we’re having trouble showing up in a way that’s aligned, we’ll learn how to become aligned.
Once we feel untamed and unimpeded, we can feel confident, secure, and even at peace within motherhood.
So many of us face the story of disconnect. Stuck in the cycle of rush, moving too quickly, to really pay attention to our present environment. A cycle that keeps many of us depleted, exhausted, and aching for something more. And there is a way to get more.
We can’t just say that we want the world to be different and keep living the same.
It’s our job to start living the way that we want to see the world change. That includes doing what we can to start creating more connection in our lives. From building communities, to slowing down in our own homes, to making home and connection the center of our lives rather than money and productivity. For me- this looks like child led homeschooling, practicing homestead skills like cooking from scratch and gardening, and slowing down to be more intentional in how I spend my time.
We can start living in ways that replenish our minds and our bodies rather than the ways that deplete us.
Reading, listening, and deep diving into my own passions, I have mulled over the idea of living a connected life time and time again. I do believe a connected life will look different for everyone but there are a few things that are core to living a more connected life: living aligned with what brings you joy, quality time with those you love, and community.
As we fall into a routine on our new 10 acres and old farmhouse – our farm – I noticed the days have become longer. As if I somehow now have more hours in the day, as if I can somehow now get more done with the same amount of time than I could before. I’m able to get my to do list done, for the most part, and still have time to rest and play. I thought maybe I would get overwhelmed running a farm on top of running a business and homeschooling, but honestly things have somehow felt easier. It is, of course, never perfect, and stressful moments still arise, but things are easier even though it’s technically more work, because I am doing things I love. The daily work nourishes me rather than depletes me as I flow through each bit of work with gratitude. It’s not about doing less but doing more of what feels you with joy, ease, and passion.
As we dove into our passions, as we heal, as we create more space for the things we love, we will start to fill a shift in our energy. I am asked nearly every day how I have the energy to do all that I do and everyone wants a quick fix or easy trick that will somehow make them super human and able to take on more than any human should, but the truth is the key is in setting boundaries, getting clear on your priorities, and realigning your life to flow with ease so that it takes less energy (if this sound likes what you need check out my Burnout to Badass Coursewhere we deep dive and transform your life to take your energy and confidence back).
Burnout IS disconnection. Once we hit burnout, it’s nearly impossible to be present, even when we are doing the things we enjoy. We just cease to have the energy. There is a process of healing and recovery that must take place between burnout and connection, but it doesn’t have to be checking out of life. It can happen within community, within support, within connecting with ourselves our passions and those we love.
Let’s be the change we want to see. Let’s step into a space of connection and lead our families to a life of connection.
Autumn is my little family’s favorite time of the year. My daughters and I try to make the most of it with outings, crafts, baking, learning, and lots of celebrating. As a child led homeschooling mama, I find the changing of the seasons are a great guide to creating yearly flow, learning opportunities, and happy little traditions.
Learning
Emergent learning is all about letting the curiosities about the environment take the lead in prompting learning! Seeing pumpkins, leaves falling, apples on trees, and all the fun fall themed environmental changes can be a great prompt for your child’s learning. Children learn better and more effectively when when the learning process is hand on and interest based!
“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.”
Fred Donaldson, Ph.D., play researcher
We love to integrate supplemental curriculum in our fall activities to learn more while having fun! Carving a pumpkin? Learn about the pumpkin lifecycle and parts of a pumpkin!
A pumpkin patch outing is the perfect way to learn about a pumpkin life cycle and what a pumpkin plant needs to grow!Help your littles learn new words and phonics with these cute autumn cards you can get on my Etsy here.
[Not an affiliate for this craft guide, just love it!]
Gifts
I do my best to not make celebrations all about consumerism, so the gifts I choose are second hand or something the girls need or can learn with. For Autumn equinox, I am gifting my little ones organic fall pajamas and lovely fall books I want to read with them this season. You can also find lots of fun fall themed gifts at your local thrift or toy stores! [click the image to purchase]
Comment and let me know what fun activities you’re doing this fall!
Enjoy the free fall memory matching game and the fall scavenger hunt!
“All I am saying can be summed up in two words: Trust Children. Nothing could be more simple, or more difficult. Difficult because to trust children we must first learn to trust ourselves, and most of us were taught as children that we could not be trusted.”
John Holt
Unschooling is a method of homeschooling that is child-led and interest based. It does not follow a set learning schedule, it does not have a set curriculum, and it doesn’t have learning goals the children are supposed to reach. Unschooling is allowing a child to take charge of their education through the pursuit of their own interests and curiosities. Unschooling is the lighting of a fire rather than the filling of a pail – it is creating intrinsically motivated learners who know their own passions. Unschooling is play. It allows children to dive deep into subjects, work on long term projects, and learn the interconnectedness of the different topics they pursue.
This idea that children won’t learn without outside rewards and penalties, or in the debased jargon of the behaviorists, “positive and negative reinforcements,” usually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we treat children long enough as if that were true, they will come to believe it is true. So many people have said to me, “If we didn’t make children do things, they wouldn’t do anything.” Even worse, they say, “If I weren’t made to do things, I wouldn’t do anything.”
John Holt, How Children Fail
We all know the importance of free play (or is that just my child development degree speaking?)- it supports emotional, cognitive, and social development. A child can not develop to their full potential without unstructured play. But at what age did we decide this is no longer valuable? As children age, we step away from seeing curiosity and play as a necessity. But the truth is, even as adults, play is healthy. The New York Times even wrote an article on adults needing to play, stating play has immense benefits, “including improved stress management and an improvement in our overall well-being” (NYT). Depression and anxiety are at an all time high in adolescents, yet research has found that number is lower in homeschooled kids. We have to take the pressure off children and adolescents and allow learning to unfold.
“Our rapidly moving, information-based society badly needs people who know how to find facts rather than memorize them, and who know how to cope with change in creative ways. You don’t learn those things in school.”
Wendy Priesnitz
Unschooling focuses on allowing the child to develop their critical thinking, research skills, and their role within the world. Unschoolers learn real world, life skills daily, rather than memorizing or regurgitating old information from a worksheet or text book. Learning is hands on and builds on past knowledge rather than following a set curriculum. This allows children to engage deeper and create useful life skills.
It is important to note unschooling IS NOT leaving your child alone. It is not isolating a child. It is not ignoring their needs. Unschooling can only be effective when a child is well cared for and has support in their learning process. The unschooling adult should be available regularly to answer questions, provide resources, or to scaffold learning.
Ready to Unschool but don’t know where to start? Check out my resources!
Little ones can quickly get bored on long drives, but there’s a lot of fun ways to keep them engaged and entertained! As a mama traveling full time, I wanted to share my children’s favorite activities to do when we’re on the road!
When you travel with your children you are giving them something that can never be taken away – experience, exposure, and a way of life.
And most importantly, books! The thing we use most on our car rides are interesting picture books. My kids love to “read” to themselves. You can find my book recommendations here!
When traveling with kids, no matter what fun activities you have, it’s important to remember everything will take longer and patience is key. Plan to make extra stops. Plan for their to be delays and learning experiences. Make sure every day includes big movement! Traveling with kids is definitely an added challenge, but it’s also added fun and joy!
As the leaves start to turn vibrant shades of red and gold, and a crisp breeze fills the air, it’s time to celebrate the magic of fall with your kids. This season offers a multitude of opportunities for both fun and learning. So, grab your scarves and boots, and let’s dive into some fantastic fall…
Unschooling, a term coined by educator John Holt, is a unique approach to education that places children at the center of their learning journey. It encourages them to explore their interests, passions, and curiosities, fostering a love for learning that extends far beyond traditional classroom settings. To inspire you on this unconventional path to education,…
As an unschooling mom of two, I’ve come to deeply appreciate the flexibility and creativity that unschooling allows when it comes to education. One of the joys of unschooling, child led homeschooling, is the ability to tailor our learning experiences to match our family’s interests and values. With Latiné Heritage Month approaching, I wanted to…
In a world where the narrative often dictates that mothers must be self-sacrificing with porous boundaries to be deemed “good,” it’s no wonder many of us find ourselves exhausted and unable to fully embrace the mothers we aspire to be. But it’s time for a paradigm shift. It’s time to reclaim our power, set healthy…
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About Me
Hi, I’m Birdie. I’m a mother of two, a farmer, and dedicated to natural and sustainable living. Join me and my family in our journey of organic farming and homeschooling.
Unschooling is all about the child learning through engaging with their surroundings and then pursuing more deeply the concepts that spark curiosity and interest. The environment is key for learning to be a natural and smooth process. The environment should encourage children to explore their interests, learn from experiences, and pursue project based learning. Everything in the learning environment should encourage experimentation, problem-solving, creativity, and open-ended play.
The space should inspire children to direct their own learning. To create an engaging environment there are a few key areas to focus on – aesthetic, loose parts, natural materials, and basic resources.
The space should allow time and space for a child to linger with an idea or project they are interested in.
Vertical gardening is an aesthetic way to create more space to grow food, herbs, or beautiful foliage. Instead of growing spread across the ground or in garden beds, plants are grown on top of each other. It’s an effective solution for those of us trying to save some time and space in our gardening endeavours.
Vertical Gardening Benefits:
More Sunlight: Each plant on a vertical bed gets exposure to sunlight without being crowded out by its neighbors.
More Space: Vertical gardening allows for more space in your garden or indoor grow area by utilizing space above. This can be great for growing herbs and flowers on balconies and windowsills.
Easier to Care For: Instead of crouching down to care for everything in the garden bed, you can tend to all your plant-babies much easier. Also, there will be way less weeds- if any at all.
Aesthetics: Vertical gardens are popular in office spaces and hotels for making a plain wall a lush, green garden. A vertical garden of flowers or succulents can liven up your backyard. It’s one of the most decorative ways to grow!
Please note plants with lots of bulk like melons and squashes may be more challenging to grow vertically however almost everything else is on the table! A vertical garden is also effective for a medicinal herb or tea garden!
Vertical Gardening Ideas:
The trellice, commonly used for bean stalks and grape vines, is the most common example of vertical gardening, but there are a lot of effective and aesthetic ways to utilize vertical gardening!
Tiered Garden Planters: These tiered planters from Greenstalk allow you to grow way more plants in a much smaller amount of space. We love how convenient it is to water and care for our garden this way!
So easy- a cat and a toddler can help out too!
Hanging Baskets:Hanging baskets like these are a great choice for using your garden as a decoration for an outdoor space. Usually, hanging baskets are used for things like flowers, but they work great for things like tomatoes and herbs. I prefer these baskets because they self-water and come with a water level indicator. But if you have some of your own baskets baskets and thin, sturdy rope, you can make your own unique hanging baskets as well.
Leaning Ladder: Stabilize an old wooden ladder and fasten planters onto each rung of the ladder and plant whatever you can think of!
Grow a Green Wall: If you’ve been in any hotels or office buildings recently, you may have noticed a new trend of a “green walls” that bring life and fresh air to indoor and outdoor spaces. A simple DIY way to do a green wall is to get a vertical hanging planter bag with pockets. Leafy plants in each pocket grow outward until they cover the space behind them and become one wall of lush green!
Interested in vertical gardening? Share and inspire with what you’ve done or are planning to try!
Starting a homestead can feel really overwhelming. It will feel like there are endless projects to do and things to learn, but don’t worry, there are people who have been in your shoes and have created beautiful and successful homesteads. There are so many resources on starting a homestead and homestead skills that it can be hard to figure out where to start. My suggestion – start with what interests you most! Are you most interested in raising animals, growing a garden, preserving food, making homemade goods or in creating natural remedies?
Chamomile has been used since ancient times by Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans for its medicinal properties. It’s been used to treat the symptoms of flus, colds, digestive issues, and hormonal imbalances. When concentrated into a balm or tincture, many use it to treat irritated skin. Chamomile is most well known as a tea for a flowery taste and a calming, relaxing effect that soothes stress and anxiety. This is why it’s often one of the main ingredients in “sleepytime” teas.
Lavender
Lavender is lovely plant to grow that adds great color to any garden. This flower, full of anti-oxidants, is also said to reduce blood pressure, lower heart rate, and improve your sleep. It brews a very flowery cup of tea with the same powerful flavors of its smell.
Dried lavender buds can also be used to make lavender syrup, lemonade, and herbal seasonings as well!
Calendula
Calendula, part of the marigold family, is a beautiful flower and the perfect addition to a tea garden. Calendula extract is actually still used in many creams sold in stores today! High in anti-oxidants, calendula boosts the immune system and supports the healing of damaged skin. It’s the perfect herb to mix with chamomile for a healing, pre-bed tea.
As a tea, it can ease the symptoms of ulcers, IBD, and GERD. The same skin-healing properties treat irritation of the stomach. It has a sweet aroma with a spicy, earthy taste. Many recommend throwing fresh calendula petals into a salad for extra flavor.
Mint
Mint leaves can relieve indigestion, improve brain function, and boost your immune system. As a tea, the menthol and hot steam can relieve tension and clear out your sinuses. This is especially soothing when you’re having a cold or allergies.
Mint leaves also make a great addition to salads and beverages. You can also make Peppermint oil extract to use to relax muscles and as a bug repellent like stink bugs, spiders, and ants.
Bee Balm
Bee balm is a plant with bright and beautiful flowers that attract pollinators like birds, bees, and butterflies into your garden. It’s actually part of the mint family, so it has a minty spice but smells more of citrus. Bee balm is often made into a salve to treat skin infections of wounds. As the name suggests, it can be very useful for bee stings in particular.
Bee balm tea can relieve digestive issues and nausea, and many claims it even helps with gingivitus, fever, and PMS.
Rose
Roses have many great uses! Not only a medicinal and tasty tea, they are also great for attracting pollinators and making dried bouquets. They also can make a great garnish for many dishes.
Rose tea has a tangy flavor and a pretty pink hue. It is said to help specifically with menstrual pain and general hormone balance. Both the petals and rosehips are used in preparation for the tea, with rosehips having the highest vitamin C content of all fruits and vegetables.
Rose tea can be made with just about any rose, but least bitter and most flavorful for tea and cooking is the pink “Damask Rose.”
Holy Basil
Holy basil contains the compounds eugenol, camphene, cineole, and camphor. You might recognize cineole and camphor from Vick’s Vapor Rub for soothing a bad cough. Holy basil tea can also reduce inflammation and stress.
Holy basil is also a nice addition when cooking or simply eaten raw for its medicinal properties.
Echinacea
Echinacea, like other herbs, is also effective at reducing inflammation and symptoms from respiratory infections. The Blackfoot Native Americans chewed on echinacea as a painkiller to treat toothaches.
They have a beautiful cone-shaped flower and produce a very strong, floral flavor of tea.
Elderberry
Elderberry has tons of researched benefits coming from its polyphenols- a kind of antioxidant. It’s been found to lower blood sugar, reduce blood pressure, improve the immune system, and even reduce risk of cancer.
Remember, elderberry is not safe to eat raw! If you’re making tea, boil the dried elderberries in water and allow them to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Elderberry tea is sweet and tart, with slightly bitter undertones. Many suggest throwing a few cinnamon sticks into the tea while brewing as well.
There are also lots of fun recipes with elderberries like jams, jellies, and syrups.
How to Harvest & Preserve Your Tea Herbs
While fresh herbs are fantastic for tea, drying herbs is a way to utilize the bounty of the summer garden! All herbs, once dried, should be stored in non-plastic containers that are well-sealed and out of the direct sunlight. There’s nothing more beautiful to liven up a pantry or counter than storing your dried tea herbs in mason jars.
Chamomile: Chamomile is ready to harvest whenever the flowers are at full bloom. Their medicinal properties are really only in the flower- so no need to keep the the stems or leaves. Just pluck them right off at the base of the flower. You can shake any debris or dirt off, or gently rinse your chamomile blossoms under some water and dry carefully. To dry, just spread them out on a dry rack and leave them some where very warm, dry, and dark for a week or two until dried.
With a dehydrator, set it to the lowest settings and let the chamomile blossoms sit for 12-18 hours until dry.
Lavender: The best time to harvest lavender is in its early bloom. Although the more mature buds are brighter and more full-bodied, its medicinal and aromatic properties are less strong. (Fully-open lavender flowers are better for preserving bouquets, however, just not for brewing strong tea!) Find the lavender flowers you want to cut and follow the stem all the way down to the “junction,” where it branches off from other stems and leaves. Cutting the stem at the junction helps the plant grow more blossoms to replace the one you’ve cut.
To air-dry, make small bouquets of the lavender by tying the stems together. Make sure you tie enough to keep them held snug, but not so tight you’re damaging the stems. Hang them upside down in a warm, dark, and dry place until they are fully dry. This could be anywhere from one week to a month, but it’s worth the wait. You can also use a dry rack!
For the dehydrator, use the same lowest settings for the chamomile. Lay flat in a single layer and let dry for 24-48 hours. To make sure they’re dry, try crumbling a large bud and make sure the interior doesn’t have any moisture.
Calendula: Calendula can be harvested like chamomile, picking the heads off of the stem. Pick calendula blossoms before they enter in to full maturity, while the petals are still “half-open.” Make sure to pick them early in the morning when they’re dry of dew but not too warm from the sun.
Lay the blossoms flat on a single layer on a drying rack and let them dry for a week somewhere dark, warm, and dry. Make sure the green flower heads at the bottom of the blossoms are dry as well (the will lose color).
In a dehydrator, lay the blossoms flat in a single layer and dehydrate for 14-18 hours on the lowest settings. Check the moisture around 14 hours and leave longer if parts of the plant are still soft.
Mint: Mint leaves should be harvested just before the plant begins to flower while they have their strong smell. If you only want a few leaves, just pick off as much as you’d like. If you want to prune the whole plant and get a big harvest, cut the entire plant off just above the first or second set of leaves at the bottom.
Wrap the stems of mint together the same way as described for lavender and let them hang 1-2 weeks in a warm, dry place.
To dehydrate, spread mint leaves in single layer and dehydrate for 2-5 hours on the lowest settings. Since the time can vary, check your mint at 2 hours. If it’s not crumbly to the touch, then keep checking every 15 minutes to make sure the mint doesn’t over-dehydrate and then brown.
BeeBalm: Harvest bee balm by clipping at the base of the stalk. You can either dry it the same way you would with stalks of lavender, or by plucking the leaves and petals off and drying them out like you would with chamomile or calendula.
If using a dehydrator, lay the leaves and petals out in a flat layer and dehydrate at the lowest settings. Check every 30 minutes to see if they’re done.
Rose Petals: When harvesting rose petals, make sure to put the petals on a single layer and not put them in a bag. Rose petals can heat up and bruise very easily. Dry the rose petals in shade, since the sun can fade the pretty colors. Rose petals are very delicate. If you choose to dry them like chamomile on a dry rack, make sure you lay something directly on top so they don’t blow away in any breeze.
If using a dehydrator, set to the lowest settings and check every 30 minutes until done. You can also bake the rose petals in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit until they are dried but not burnt. This should only take 10-20 minutes.
Rose Hips: Pick rose hips off the bush then wash clean and dry. There’s two types of rose hips: Rosa Rugosa, which are very large, long, and associated with “wild”roses, and Rosa Canina (Dog Rose) which are smaller. For the rugosa variety, cut your rose hip in half and scoop out the seeds. For the rosa canina, just snip the bottom and top of the hip off.
Put in dehydrator at lowest settings and check regularly until they are hard and a dark color.
Holy Basil: Cut holy basil above the bottom two or three sets of leaves. Pick off any leaves that look yellow or discolored. Wash the stalks, dry them, then bunch them together and hang to dry like you would with lavender. Dried holy basil will lose its smell and flavor after one year, so use it up!
With a dehydrator, put it on the lowest setting and check at 6 hours. It could take up to 24 hours if you live somewhere more humid, so check periodically after 6!
Echinacea: Cut above the lowest set of leaves of the plant. Check all the leaves and petals for discoloration. Lightly rinse the petals off in water and pat dry. When drying, either bunch the stalks together like lavender, or dry the petals and leaves on a drying rack until brittle and dry.
If using a dehydrator, follow the same method for calendula, checking periodically.
Elderberry: Just to reiterate- elderberry should not be eaten raw! Make sure you cook down your elderberries before enjoying them!
Harvest elderberry by cutting off the entire clusters. Wash the elderberries, dry, then pick them off of the stems. Lay them in a flat layer on the drying rack and let them dry in a warm and dry place for 4-5 days. This can be done in direct sunlight if you live somewhere dry, but if your climate is more humid, make sure to do this indoors somewhere dry.
To use a dehydrator, lay the clean and dried berries in a flat layer in the dehydrator at the lowest settings. Check around 10 hours to see the progress.
Best Herbal Tea Combinations:
A dash of honey or a stick of cinnamon will elevate any of these tea herbs when brewed. Here are some of the tastiest combinations of the different tea garden herbs as well to inspire you to get creative:
