Subsistence Farming - Hawaii

i wanted to let you know how much we are enjoying the hens you gave us. the one bardrock is so friendly that she is like a puppy. She follows us everywhere and has no fear of us. They are all doing well.

i have talked with lauren, tracy and scott about the 8th grade no child left behind testing. my considerations are whether this part of the “system” is for our benefit or only to support the system. since lauren is working with a different curriculum than the students in her grade at the charter school and the testing is to help assess the school’s curriculum, i believe that invalidates her test results anyway. however we all do see the advantage of Lauren using the test to learn the ropes for taking standardized tests (sat’s etc). but the real determining factor comes down to transportation. i am not willing to either drive or have lauren driven into town for that testing schedule! five days in one week is far too disruptive for our current curriculum plus we have been keeping our business close enough to home for biking. if you or someone is willing to give the test here at the farm or someplace within biking distance then we can work out a schedule that works for everyone.

i am teaching an ecology class based on jane goodall’s work called Roots and Shoots. lauren loves it. scott is teaching physiology and tracy is finishing up organic chem and math. lauren is doing extra curricular activities in creative writing, horse training (we got the Parelli horsemanship program level 1), hula, NVC class that has turned into a study group (lauren is the only “child”), plus her farm activities including garden planning, livestock management. we are looking into her working with a local vet as a mentor next year. she has such an aptitude for anything relating to the care of animals. we are very interested in focusing on voice lessons (if you have any ideas for a local teacher) and theater (perhaps the theater in pahoa?).

i love this idea of the phases of childhood, its from a waldorf source i once copied: In the first seven years of life, the child seeks to see that the world is a place of goodness, and will learn primarily by imitation and through activity. In the next developmental phase (through puberty) the child most naturally learns through beauty, from adults who merit being authorities. (This is why storytelling and art are employed as teaching vehicles throughout the elementary curriculum.) Finally, entering into the third developmental stage, and ready at last for true independent thinking: the teenager naturally begins a quest for truth.