Date: 5/21/24

Season: Spring in the Mojave Desert

Location: Red Rock Canyon (Las Vegas, NV)

Desert flora in May: Buckhorn Cholla Cactus, Prickly Pear Cactus, Virgin River Brittlebrush, Mojave Yucca, Palmer’s Penstemon

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Buckhorn Cholla Cactus
Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa

Cholla is native to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Colorado Deserts of North America.

• Description

  The buckhorn cholla is an open and spreading woody cactus, up to 1 m tall. The gray-green stems, also called "joints", are cylindrical, 5-30 cm long and 17-20 mm in diameter with tubercles or nodules. Each tubercle has a cluster of stiff spines, which are covered with loose papery sheaths. The flowers are up to 5 cm long and range from yellow to purple-red with shades in between. The fruits are obovoid, dry, shriveled and spiny and drop off later in the season. The seeds are light yellowish to gray-brown, 3.5 to 4 mm. long.

  (https://plants.usda.gov)

• Classification

  Kingdom: Plants
  Phylum: Vascular
  Class: Dicots
  Order: Pinks, Cactuses, And Allies (Caryophyllales)
  Family: Cacti (Cactaceae)
  Genus: Cylindropuntia
  Species: Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa Common Name: Buckhorn Cholla

Prickly Pear Cactus
Opuntia woodsii

Located along path to the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center.

• Description

  O. woodsii is a medium-sized Opuntia, seldom reaching more than 50 cm in height. Nevertheless, it is not a small plant. It is typically a stiffly spreading or ascending bushy plant. However, it does grow low and spreads along the ground in cold winter climates. Cladodes may be round but are more often oval or obovate, narrowing toward the base. Areoles in the upper half of the cladodes have (1)2-4 whitish spines that may stand out from the surface. The white spines sometimes have brown bases extending halfway up the spine.

  Flowers are salmon, pink, or even bright orange-red.

  (https://www.opuntiads.com)

• Classification

  Kingdom: Plants
  Phylum: Vascular
  Class: Dicots
  Order: Pinks, Cactuses, And Allies (Caryophyllales)
  Family: Cacti (Cactaceae)
  Genus: Opuntia
  Species: Opuntia woodsii
  Common Name: Prickly Pear

Virgin River Brittlebush
Encelia virginensis

Located on the slopes of Calico Hills.

• Description

  Virgin River brittlebush is a native evergreen shrub up to three feet high and three feet wide with many slender branching stems growing from the base. Younger stems are hairy, while older stems may have fissured bark.

  Leaves are oval, simple, 0.5 to 1 inch long, with a smooth margin. Short, soft hairs give the leaves a grayish green appearance. Leaf arrangement is alternate and opposite.

  Flowers heads are borne singly on hairy stems and have yellow ray flowers less than 0.5 inches long, and yellow to orange disk flowers. The blooming period is typically March through June.

  The fruit is a dark brown to black achene, 0.2 to 0.3 inches long. Virgin River brittlebush is distinguished from other Encelia species by its smaller mature plant size, smaller leaves, and the presence of both ray and disk flowers.

  (https://plants.usda.gov)

• Classification

  Kingdom: Plants (Plantae)
  Phylum: Vascular (Tracheophyta)
  Class: Dicots (Magnoliopsida)
  Order: Sunflowers, Bellflowers, Fanflowers, Allies (Asterales)
  Family: Sunflowers, Daisies, Asters, Allies (Asteraceae)
  Genus: Brittlebrushes (Encelia)
  Species: Encelia virginensis
  Common Name: Virgin River Brittlebush

Mojave Yucca
Yucca schidigera

• Description

  Mojave Yucca is a species in the Agaveceae (Agave) family that is native to southern California. It grows in coastal sage scrub near the coast, in mountain chaparral, and in desert transition areas at elevations from sea level to 8,200 feet. Like others in this family it is a monocot, so the leaves have parallel veins. The leaves emerge from a central rosette, are succulent and quite stiff, with sharp terminal spines and long, tough fibers. Some of these fibers are typically visible along the edge of the leaves. Native people processed the leaves and used the fibers for cordage. In spring the plant produces a flower stalk 12-18 inches in height covered with white or cream colored flowers. The flower is pollinated by only a single species of Yucca Moth, and many of the flowers go unpollinated. The fruit is a large capsule holding dozens of black, wedge-shaped seeds. It reproduces only by seed, not by offsets as other Agaves do. Unlike most other members of this family, Mohave Yucca does not die after blooming, a trait it shares with Joshua Tree (Yucca Brevifolia). For this reason, it tends to grow taller with age, starting at ground level as a young plant and eventually reaching 10ft. or more. Older plants are usually branched and each branch carrying a leaf rosette. Areas that support older specimens have not been disturbed or burned for many years.

  (https://calscape.org)

• Classification

  Kingdom: Plants (Plantae)
  Phylum: Vascular
  Class: Monocots
  Order: Asparagales
  Family: Asparagaceae
  Subfamily: Agavoideae
  Genus: Yucca; L.
  Species: Yucca schidigera
  Common Name: Mojave Yucca

Palmer’s Penstemon
Penstemon palmeri

• Description

  Penstemon palmeri, known by the common name Palmer's penstemon, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the genus Penstemon that is notable for its showy, rounded flowers, and for being one of the few scented penstemons. The plant, in the family Plantaginaceae, is named after the botanist Edward Palmer.

  (Wikipedia)

• Classification

  Kingdom: Plants (Plantae)
  Phylum: Vascular (Tracheophyta)
  Class: Dicots (Magnoliospida)
  Order: Mints, Plantains, Olives, and Allies (Lamiales)
  Family: Plantaginaceae (Plantain)
  Genus: Beardtongues (Penstemon)
  Species: Penstemon palmeri
  Common Name: Palmer’s Penstemon

December in Kula, Maui. Riding upcountry for Sandra’s 7th birthday.

“Be right back, life in session” —has been the status of my digital presence. I thought I would be fully capable of writing an update every week of this new year. Too ambitious.

We hiked out of December 2023 with a trek through grazing cattle up the Waihe`e ridge trail on the West Maui Mountains, celebrated the birthday of our 7-year-old riding up in Kula, Maui on horseback, flew home to spend New Year's Eve in our abode with new friends under a lit sky of fireworks igniting above our heads; then stepped into January 2024 holding fast to annual family traditions of feasting and gathering with relatives in Pupukea. Somehow between January and April— among the beach days, hiking trails, and family visiting from the mainland— the girls kept up with their math and reading, and we finished Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and Kenneth Grahame’s classic novel “The Wind in the Willows.” My older girls joined literary clubs with friends on the Northshore, completed an 8-week ceramic class, and showcased their pieces at an Art Gala hosted by the visionary homeschool parents at a local church in Waialua. Evie breezed through all her literature for CC, attended the CC Protocol, and teamed up with her good friend/classmate, who proudly won the Challenge II debate at the end of the semester! I look back on all our accomplishments together in the 8-months of our school year, walked through valleys and climbed over mountains to get to where we are now, and I am reminded of this quote by Charlotte Mason:

“Our aim in Education is to give a Full Life.––We begin to see what we want. Children make large demands upon us. We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests. Thou hast set my feet in a large room; should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking––the strain would be too great––but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest. We cannot give the children these interests; we prefer that they should never say they have learned botany or conchology, geology or astronomy. The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”

-Charlotte Mason, (Vol. 3, p. 170-171)

Waihe`e Ridge Trail, an intermediate-advanced trail in the West Maui Mountains, makes it to top three on my favorite hikes list on the Valley Isle.

Sandra picked the largest, tallest, and most stubborn horse, Jimmy, to ride on her 7th birthday!

Once more: “The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”

These questions are profound, and a great self-reminder as a teacher, even as a mother. Early on this journey I struggled and took unsolicited advice and critical opinions about my children being homeschooled so personally, that so easily was I derailed and discouraged. Articles that put home educators in a negative spotlight comparing us to the rest of society in academic institutions, used to offend me, but I no longer feel the need to defend my calling and home life; maybe its because I just turned 39 and at this age of experience the above quote rings increasingly truer to me as the years go by and I witness my children discovering their passions and pursuing them.

My husband grew up in Kula, Maui, where his mother still lives.
One of my favorite places on earth is the Lavender Farm and meadow overlooking the island.

She was not afraid to trot around the stable on Jimmy.

Closing in on the end of May, I watched my niece graduate high school with Honors in Las Vegas in a stunning white cap and gown and stylish platform glossy black Doc Martens. I am a proud auntie of two brilliant nieces. I wish I possessed even half the discipline and ambition they possessed when I was that young! I can only imagine the success that awaits ahead of them and the mark they will impress on this world as they navigate the road with independence. They have already made an impact on my life alone.

When I began this blog, I had the vision to share about all the curriculum and books we were using; this would be a well of information for classical educators to pull from, but it has been challenging to keep to this content standard. Over the past year, I have been debating if I will change the name of this blog, and at this point, I feel my spirit beckoning in that direction for transformation. There would be a shift toward more personal journals than what it supposedly is— an informative academic blog.

Soon, my eldest will turn 15, and our summer break will begin on the 1st of June! In these summer months, my focus and desire is to refine my sewing skills and expand my garden. With that said, I am eager to turn over a new leaf! 

x Jena

october Family reads:

Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot

In the Northern Hemisphere, deciduous trees, shrubs, and vines shed their not-so-evergreen leaves to a spectrum of flaming reds, fiery oranges, and striking yellows as the transition out of summer is orchestrated by the stunning autumn equinox. The tradition of foraging the canyons for fall foliage, pine cones, and holly berries with my daughters will be a lovely memory living in California! In the tropics, we don’t feel a dramatic seasonal shift. Yet, I still welcome all the autumn/winter crafts and warmer hues to spruce up our home. Suppose I can find an off-the-beaten-path around our town dotted with pines and rainbow eucalyptus trees; I’ll be able to gather eucalyptus branches to fill my vessels with the invigorating scent that will indeed stimulate our senses indoors and continue our foraging traditions!

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09/29 — Playful Pioneers II, September gathering. Northshore, O’ahu.

Our home becomes an atelier of handmade clothing and goods within the months preceding December. In the last week of September, I dusted off my sewing machine after a year-long hiatus after moving overseas to make Indian costumes for our first Playful Pioneers II gathering with our homeschool co-op at my friend Corinne’s charming home. Costumes are often sewn with fabric scraps and anything we can pull out of our closets or thrift from second-hand shops to hack at. Unless we need specific materials, I’ll run to the store—which I did for a couple yards of brown faux suede this time. It always takes just one sitting at the machine to bring me back to the art of slow design. At the pioneer party, the girls and their new friend, Hana, were dressed as Indians, while the rest of the children dressed as darling colonial girls. They all took turns around the table to share something they’d been learning and feasted on a delicious spread of recipes each family made from the Playful Pioneer cookbook. At the end of it all, they decoupaged pumpkins with fall-themed napkins and pressed flowers. 

This really deserves its own blog post!

It’s hard to believe that we are coming up on one year—November 4th— of living in Hawai’i! Our potager (kitchen garden) is filling out with perennial herbs that were started from tiny seedlings— sage, lavender, rosemary, oregano, mint, lemon balm, basil, and thyme— keeping the bed full of life as the summer annuals push through. The garlic chives are flowering pops of white scapes, the plumeria tree is in late bloom, white strawberry blossoms have appeared, and the kale and rainbow chard might be good for picking soon. All the late summer/fall vegetable seeds germinated quickly; the next task is amending the soil where they will be transplanted. 

This fall, I’ve extended the flower garden to the side of our house, which receives even less sunlight than our garden beds. Ema’s colorful Impatiens have grown three times bigger after a few weeks planted in the ground. Again, we are combating gastropods, which arrived with the rain last week. Spencer goes out in the evening with a flashlight to kill off the population while Leia and I follow behind, sprinkling crushed eggshells around each plant. A white wintery wonderland of Diatomaceous Earth also covers the garden beds from insects, having a feast at my dahlias and kale. I plan to coil more copper rods— an ancient agricultural technique called “electroculture,” I learned from my friend Naomi!

09/15 — Nature study with our Charlotte Mason nature group at the Wahiawã Botanical Garden.

On the third week of October, we were on a break with our Classical Conversations co-op, which gave us time to catch our breath, especially with my Challenge student. On our CC day, we went on a late morning 2.5-mile hike along the Waimano Ridge trail. My hopes were high that we would end with a cool dip in the stream after taking the upper route through the caves in 97-degree weather— thankfully, the trail is mostly shaded. We were shocked to see the stream completely dry! So we sat on the rocks, ate snacks, and rested before we trekked back to our car. I’m glad to say we’ve hiked many trails on this island over this past year, some with our homeschool community and some with our family! 

I will elaborate more on what we have been studying in CC and with our Playful Pioneers II curriculum in the following posts! We’ve been reading about East Coast states individually—each of us creating a two-page spread of a state we’ve chosen. It was a spontaneous idea that began with a large stack of unused scrapbook paper in my mom’s closet. By the end of the year, we will bind it together with string to make our United States road map family notebook! We are slowly reading through “Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain alongside this significant effort. This classic tale’s language can be vulgar, so sometimes I skip the dialogue or paraphrase what is happening. I replaced a couple of the books on the Playful Pioneers reading list only because the recommended books were not at our local library—probably because other homeschoolers on the North Shore are borrowing the same books! Eventually, we will read “The Cabin Faced West” and “Why Don’t You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?” by Jean Fritz, or I may pick up “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and go on a binge-read of Twain’s classics. Evie is reading “Through Gates of Splendor” by Elisabeth Elliot and dedicating many hours to work on her debate strands for CC. More on that later! 

Have a beautiful harvest season!

x jena 

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Our beautiful summer days of leisure are quickly tapering off, and it is time to sit down to plan the menu. I am mustering up the mental energy to work and trying to not get distracted while the girls are out of the house this morning at a drum workshop my husband has been teaching on the Northshore every Wednesday. Sifting through e-mails, roaming the online CC forum for clarity, walking through curriculum, and organizing binders and bookshelves feels less like a chore with a home-brewed latte and John Mark McMillan on loop! Preparing for a school year is like sailing out into the open sea— eagerly expecting beauty and adventure, praying for wind in our sails, longing to reach the destination, and hopefully no shipwrecks.

Planning the feast for homeschooling is a checklist of having everything physically in hand and, as a teacher, familiarizing myself with the content of the curriculum. I like to review the lesson plan schedule(s) and mentally walk through the days in advance to ensure our weeks will run smoothly. Training the girls to be ready for school by 9 a.m. after summertime is like teaching them how to ride a bicycle again, so we practice the morning routine as usual on a school day— a few weeks leading up to the first day of school. 

Thankfully, I don’t have much to edit in or out of our curriculum—maybe specific crafts I don’t foresee us doing or the hope to linger longer on a subject. By week 5, I anticipate that our lessons must be tailored to individual learning abilities and pursuits, and our home schedule between my husband and I may require shifting. The aim is always for a seamless weekly rhythm and finding a good balance that works for our whole family.

We are diving back into U.S. history and government, which feels like the wind in my sails after studying the timeline and governments of European and Asian history. I like the relevance in our lives and how tangible it is to teach since we are, after all, on American soil!

x jena

A BASIC OVERVIEW

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HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY

In addition to our Foundations Cycle 3 U.S. History memory work this year, we are using The Playful Pioneers Volume II. Three years ago, I went through The Playful Pioneers Volume I with Ema for Kindergarten while Evie (2nd-year Essentials) was going through IEW U.S. History writing lessons.

I love how CC programs are all intertwined together; families with multiple children all at different grade levels are studying the same topics. Our bookshelves this year will be filled with American literature at different reading levels, encouraging the girls to help each other study and read books to one another!

MATH

We use Saxon Math: Math 1, Math 3, and Algebra 1. Leia will be using a Montessori Math workbook for preschool.

SCIENCE

I review our botany and nature books every school year to build on vocabulary and understanding of the natural world through art and observation. The girls also do labs and more significant science projects on our CC seminar days with their tutors and classmates. This year in CC, they will study human anatomy, the periodic table, and the Theory of Evolution vs. intelligent design.

Language Arts, reading & writing

We use IEW as our resource for writing and Our Mother Tongue for grammar lessons. Simple and short reading lessons come out of McGuffy’s Readers.

Challenge 1

Students in the Classical Conversations Challenge 1 program study in 6 different strands: logic (algebra), grammar (Latin 1), research (Physical Science), reasoning (Traditional Logic 1 and Drama), exposition (American Literature), and debate (American Government and Economics).

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“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”

— Job 12:7-10

8:30 a.m. Tuesdays — North Shore, O’ahu.

We’re getting used to these early mornings and longer days. The girls and I are getting bronzer under the island sun and feeling healthier near the salty sea. From May through July, we study Marine Biology with a homeschool Co-Op on the North Shore, using The Good and the Beautiful Marine Biology unit study. Our Tuesdays begin with learning about marine life and end with beautiful moments of swimming in the Pacific Ocean, combing the beach for seashells, and spending time with kindred spirits.

Everyone gathers together for prayer, then we learn a new name of God each week using “God’s Names” by Sally Michael. Beginning the morning this way really prepares our hearts and minds to learn who God is as we study the ocean and all that lives beneath the surface.

Afterwards, the children divide into grade level groups (K-2, 3-5, and 6+) to go over a lesson taught by mamas who rotate every week!

In addition to the unit lesson for each week, the older students in intermediate-high school need to complete the lesson extensions in their Marine Biology student journals and discuss it together. Elementary students, like Sandi and Ema, keep individual journals in a blank composition book that include worksheets and any experiments that need to be written down. On the side, I also have them write a short journal entry of what they learn on Tuesdays, write down new vocabulary words, and record information about sea creatures they chose to study, or times with their friends they want to remember. After 12-weeks of studying marine life and so much time swimming with their friends in the ocean, I believe these journals will not only become a great resource, but also encapsulate their first summer of living in Hawai’i!

“He who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever”

— Psalm 136:6

5/2 — Combing the beach for the tiniest seashells with Leia

In the mornings, I sit with Leia for nearly an hour to read, practice writing the alphabet, work on phonics, identify sea life that begins with each letter, teach her how to draw, and incorporate copy work by labeling her drawing. Earlier in the year, she had been tracing the alphabet on the dotted lines, and now she is learning how to write freehand and grasp the concept that alphabets form words. I am smitten by her cute illustrations and how quiet and peaceful homeschooling her is. Her aptitude for bookwork at age 3 is truly impressive!

I love unit studies, especially ones that bring me to the garden or the ocean! Immersing the girls in one subject for an extended time makes our school days more enjoyable and predictable for all of us. This summer, our books, art, activities, and bible memory verses will revolve around the ocean. I know that the more the girls learn about the sea, the greater their appreciation for living on this island.

x jena

resources:

Marine Biology Unit Study by The Good and The Beautiful

God’s Names by Sally Michael