Home found (we think)

I think we found our home. It is in SE Portland and it is a great building that was a school before, so all we will have to do to it is put in new paint and carpet and furnish it. The landlords have to apply for a Conditional Use Permit in order for us to occupy the space, but everyone anticipates this happening without a hitch. So we are almost there!

Update on marketing fundraising - we have raised almost all the funding we need to fund our marketing/branding/new identity. This is very exciting. It is amazing to me that we did that, out of thin air it seems that we were able to raise $36000 and we only need an additional $4800 to make this happen. It isn't out of no where though, it is actually due to several key people and their super hard work. I am only responsible for a very small portion, but it feels good to be able to have come up with something. Anyone feel compelled to chip in to cover our gap? With the money we will be able to get our marketing and piece in place. Then we will have both key pieces that we need to start our major fundraising to open the school for the fall of 2010. Still on schedule - 8 months to go.

Meaning in Relationship

“Because meaning is formed in relationships within the family system and in individual interactions within that system, sustained effort in conscientious relationship to the child can allow the parent or caregiver to access greater trust, to engage the process of self-inquiry, and to make new meaning throughout life in relationship to the context of his or her world. The results of my research have revealed that deep involvement with the children in our lives can break open the parents’ hearts to greater well-being and self-awareness.” (Josette Luvmour, 2008)

God I love that woman!

Life gets away

I have been meaning to write for so long but life seems to have a way of speeding by these days. Time is an interesting thing. When I was a kid time seemed to crawl. When it was Thanksgiving, Christmas seemed like such a long way off. Now it seems like it will be here when I wake up tomorrow. So as the time is zooming by, I am plugging away at this project and trying to enjoy the simple moments with my kids. Like my youngest daughters first time in the snow. Reading books and playing word games with my 3 almost 4 year old. Snuggling up and doing crafty family projects.

Rest asured that the project is still very much alive and well. We are working hard with this building partner to get a space deal together - hoping I will be able to reveal the actual place soon. Fund raising is slow and steady which makes sense given the economy. I am reading a great book called The Common Vision - Parenting and Educating for Wholeness about the educational philosophies of Steiner, Aurabindo and Inayat Khan. It is amazing to me that what these guys have been saying has been around for so long (since the early 1900s) and it had no taken stronger hold on the way that the masses conceive of education. I know that there is an evolution to shifts in thinking, and that some people are just ahead of the curve, but come on people - 100 years! Hell, Ba and Josette have been writing about this for 25 years and it is still a struggle at times to find people who can truely "dig it" if you catch my drift. But hey, I am not letting it stop me, watch out, make way, let's create a revolution! One... small... step... at... a... time.

Catch up

It has been a while, so many things have happened. The biggest news is that we have come very close to finding a location. I can not yet reveal more as the deal is not done, so the speak, but it looks very positive. I can however say that is means that we will be on schedule for a fall of 2010 opening date. So for all you Natural Learning Rhythms fans out there, it looks like it is going to happen! The building is in SE Portland. Okay, really can’t say more now.

Other news, still plugging away at fundraising, it is tough. I can say though that the asking gets easier especially when I remember it is all about the kids. I have wanted to write a few more posts for the NLR It list, but just haven’t had time. But a few things everyone should do this fall: walk in the Arboretum and the Japanese garden; take swim lessons at Children of the Sea swim school (my daughter went from not wanting to put her face in the water to swimming; actually face down swimming, in two months all from a half hour lesson once a week); make pumpkin pie from pumpkins you get at the farm; go and see Peggy the logging train by the Forestry Center, she is 100 years old and a wonderful thing to explore up close and last but certainly not least, snuggle up on the couch when it is pouring outside and read a book to/with your little one(s).

Feeling good

Well I did my first fundraising this weekend. It was extremely challenging, but I did it, I asked some good people for money. I fretted and stressed and then I just jumped in. And I have to say that it went pretty well if not a little anticlimactic. They said yes, but they will have to get back to me in December with how much as that is when they make all their giving decisions. In the end I kept the images of my smiling girls in my mind and I just spoke from my heart. I think that is the key, speaking from my passion about this project. I hope it will get easier as I do it more often. New skill building, it is a good feeling.

Amanda Blake Soule – The Creative Family

NLR Seal of Approval: Yes

What it has to offer: Really beautiful photos of children and interesting craft ideas for the whole family. Her book The Creative Family is beautifully written and expresses ways of viewing creativity in our children and ourselves in a simple and profound way.

The NLR breakdown: For BodyBeings (0-7) lots of great ideas for family crafts, sensory based exploration and supplies – definitely read The Creative Family.

For FeelingBeings (8-12) Nature, nature, nature! Need I say more, Amanda Soule offers many ways to explore nature and nurture adventure and creative exploration – wonderful.

For IdealBeing (13-18) she is obviously not there yet with any of her four children, so I can’t really comment here.

Details: Read The Creative Family http://www.soulemama.com/the_creative_family/ and check out her blog too.

Website: www.soulemama.com

Wildwood Recreation Site

NLR Seal of Approval: YES!!

What it has to offer: Everything. Hiking, swimming, fishing, fish viewing (more on this later), sandy beaches, picnic tables, bathrooms complete with warm running water, foot bridges and wetland viewing platforms, oh, and a playground. The Wildwood Recreation site is totally worth the short drive from Portland. The park is clean and remarkably well laid out. With paved, boardwalk and gravel “hiking” trails that my 3 year old loved, you can’t go wrong. There are numerable picnic tables along the way as the trail follows the wild and scenic Salmon River. In the fall be sure to catch the salmon spawning, but if you miss that don’t worry there is an underground viewing station where you can see the baby fish and snails and crawdads. It is heaven for a nature loving family, truly.

The NLR breakdown: For BodyBeings (0-7) you have the basically flat walking trails, sandy beaches where they can wade into the water and throw rocks, high wooden bridges crossing the river, and the underwater viewing station, sensations galore. It is the perfect place to spend hours and hours in a safe, fun and rich natural environment.
For FeelingBeings (8-12) this place has any number of lessons in nature just waiting for exploration. There is a whole series of wetland trails where you can observe from different viewing platforms and walk on raised boardwalk trails. Go in the spring or fall and catch the migrating Salmon as they head up or down the beautiful Salmon River. There is much to learn about the cycles of life at this place not to mention the feelings of awe just to be near the beautiful river.
For IdealBeing (13-18) there is a much more serious hike up to a nearby ridge that offers a good challenge and I even saw something about over night hikers, so perhaps there are backpacking opportunities. With a little planning this could be a jump off place for some serious adventuring.

Details: Open 3/15 – 11/30; $5 per car

Location: about 45 minutes drive; 40 miles east of Portland, off US Highway 26, just past the 39 mile marker.

Website: http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/site_info.php?siteid=221

Brochure: In PDF http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/files/brochures/Wildwood_brochure07.pdf

The NLR It List

I would like to introduce a new concept to my blog; the Natural Learning Rhythms seal of approval. You will begin to see posts added about Natural Learning Rhythms approved items (books, toys, etc.), places (parks, restaurants, etc.) and maybe even a few people. I have worked with Natural Learning Rhythms for over 15 years and have in that time become intimately aware of what works and what doesn’t, what is supportive to a child’s development and what is detrimental. In these posts I will mostly focus on things that work and are supportive, but you may also get a few negative reviews because I might not be able to resist.

I have lived in Portland for six years and I have come to use several different websites to find fun family friendly activities around the area. And I have this incredible knowledge about what children need to support their optimal development. So why not create such a site myself? Actually to be perfectly honest the idea is not solely my own, Ba suggested that I create such a list as well. So here is how it will work: I will write posts every now and then about people, places or things that I come across and I will review them from a developmental perspective using Natural Learning Rhythms as the guide. The the person, place or thing will either get the seal of approval or it won’t (I will try and create a little icon so that you can know with one quick glance if it made the “It” list or not). All posts will be labeled “The NLR It List” so that you can easily search for them and see all the posts in one place.

I will try and explain in detail why a person, place or thing got the seal or didn’t, so that you can begin to understand Natural Learning Rhythms and how it can be applied. If you have persons, places or things you would like me to review, write a comment to that effect and I will try and work them in. I will never review something unless I have a personal experience of it/them. Also if you disagree with my review, please also feel free to post, I invite your feedback. This is going to be fun!

Fundraising

If I have not stated this before, can I just say that this venture is pushing me to the limits of and beyond my comfort zone in so many ways. Asking people for money is not something I feel particularly comfortable doing. But I can see that if I am going to be successful in creating this educational expression, I am going to have to get comfortable with it.

Given that this is something that I feel so passionate about, that I have committed countless hours to and focused my creative life force on, it seems by extension that it should be easy for my to ask other people to give to it as well. Not so. The thought of sitting down and asking someone for $5-10 thousand dollars is terrifying. Why? Well what if they hate me for asking? What if they say no? Or what if they feel like they can’t say no, but they really want to? I guess my thinking is a little faulty, I mean this really isn’t about me, it is about the children, and who wouldn’t want to support children? Rejoice even in the opportunity? But what if I can’t express myself well enough to show people that that is what this is about? It would be so much easier for me to wrap my mind around the concept that this is not about me, if I wasn’t the one doing the asking.

Marketing with Owen Jones

Sorry it has been so long since I posted, been busy waiting for some things to fall into place. The board has approved Owen Jones. This is fantastic news; it means that we are all seeing the same picture. We have to have a marketing approach and Owen Jones’ view of what we need in order to get this thing up and running is so right on it gives me goosebumps. As some of you may have figured out by now, I am not in this venture alone. This blog is my journey, but I am privileged to be part of a group of committed individuals all working with EnCompass (www.EnCompassInstitute.org). Okay, back to Owen Jones. They are a local creative marketing firm, emphasis on the creative part. As their principle, Rusty, likes to say, the first thing they have to do is fall in love with our organization. Once they have done that, then they can really go to work, creating a rebranding experience that will translate our vision to the community.

They have given us a proposal outlining our journey with them, what to expect, what it will cost and how long it will take. When they presented it to us they said that in an ideal world, they would be able to do this for us for free, but the economy being what is, that is just not a reality for them at this time. Still it feels good to know that they see the value in what we are doing and they want to support us and they did work a generous discount on their services into the bottom line. They are a wonderfully creative and insightful group of individuals I can’t wait to get started. So, next step: create a fundraising plan. Great, another thing I have never done.

A building update

I wanted to write a quick update on the building situation. Last week I spent more than my share of hours looking into the building that I wrote about in the North Pearl district. I talked with PDC (Portland Development Commission), the city, the owner rep, and the architects. It was quite a week. What I found out from the city is that in order to have a school in any building, it has to have an ‘E’ use classification, this refers to the building code and what the building has to have in terms of fire safety, ADA, seismic rating, etc. The Pearl building currently has an F and S use. What I found out from the architects is that this particular building has non-reinforced concrete walls, which means that in order to bring the building up to an E use, we have to seismically upgrade the building’s walls. What does that mean to us? $750,000.00 worth of rebar and concrete reconstruction of the building’s exiting walls, apparently. Needless to say this made my heart sink; perhaps this building would not work for us after all.

Not giving up yet. I called the owner rep and passed this info on to him. Apparently he was well aware of this and told me that PDC has all sorts of money available to offset these costs. So, being the diligent researcher that I am, I called the PDC. I had no idea what they really do down at the PDC, but now I do. They provide gap loans mostly. This means that when you want to upgrade a building (say seismically for $750,000), and you have say $300,000 and the bank is willing to give you $300,000 and you are still $150,000 short, you can apply to PDC for a loan to cover that $150,000, but you have to pay it back. Okay, well that still requires me to come up with a serious amount of capitol to put into the building, which I don’t currently have. Strike two.

PDC also has granting programs. For example we can apply for a grant to make “storefront improvements” to make the building look pretty on the outside (doesn’t really help us). Or they also have a DOC program which gives money to help with the design and concept development of a redevelopment project. That could be useful. However, this building sits in the River District Urban Renewal Area and apparently there is a “cloud” over the funding for this district and these grants would only be available to us if we applied and for them by the end of October! Strike three. All this seems to make it not really worth the effort given the whole scope of what needs to be done to this building in order to bring it up to snuff for our use. Three strikes, you know what that means, the search continues…

Sensation at Kaiser

Yesterday I had to take my baby to her 2month well baby visit at Kaiser. This is generally not a pleasant experience for me. I find that the medical establishment is not sensitive to the development of children in general. And I see that medical establishment as embodying most of the confusion and misunderstanding that the world has about how children grow and learn, and what well being is really all about for the family. But then this happened…

After any Kaiser appointment they print you an “after visit summary” that has growth charts and general info about baby care, development, etc. This morning I was reading through that document and was pleasantly surprised to read something that made me think, maybe there is hope that the rest of the world is finally catching on. I mean you can’t get more mainstream then your child’s well baby after visit summery from Kaiser Permanente. But it said right there under the “Normal Development for 2 month olds” section, “Cannot conceive of an object if it cannot be sensed.” Holy s#@t, I mean wow!

In that one statement lies the key to BodyBeing children (ages 0-7), sensation, it is all about sensation. The interesting thing is the language they chose, “cannot conceive of an object” they are saying that if the baby can’t sense it, it does not exist for them. If every Kaiser parent read that and understood it, oh how the world would change. I mean really understood it. BodyBeing children perceive their world through the “language” of sensation. They create sensation based maps of their world, if something is not sensed it does not go on the map, it is not part of the child’s world, simple as that. If everyone recognized this, paid attention to the sensations they project into the world, children would be nourished physically and psychologically beyond measure and the ripple effect would be incredible. May it be so.

The edge of the Pearl

Went to see a building this week, right on the edge of the Pearl District. Bummers: it is right by the 405 freeway so there is a lot of traffic noise, it has no current green space, the windows don’t open, it is currently listed with a $5mil price tag. Greatnesses: It is right on the street car line making field trips with the kids an easy fun thing, it is the perfect amount of space at 10,000sqft a floor and 2 floors, the ceilings are nice and high, it is relatively open inside with tons of natural light, it sits in an area of Portland where the PDC would love to see a school (according to an unofficial source the mayor would welcome a school in the area and there would be funds available to make the building what it needs to be for a school’s use – in other words we would not have to fight the city, we would have their support), it has a parking lot, it has an LA fitness right across the street that might be willing to share facilities with us, there is a new park that is going in 2 blocks away, and the BEST part is that the owners of the building want to see us in there and are very excited to keep the building what it is instead of changing it into a glass and concrete tower like so many other buildings in the Pearl.

Next steps: take our architect through the space and get his take on it today. Have our architect and the owner’s architects talk number and see what it would cost to bring the 1929 building’s systems up to code for an educational use. Talk with the city about money that might be available for repurposing the space. Crunch all the numbers and plug them into our business plan to see if we can make it work. Is this “the one”?

Quick note about zoning and use

Just a quick note to say that I am currently frustrated and tired of looking through the city of Portland's website to try and figure out what our zoning and use requirements are. Since we will be a private school this is a little more complicated because we actually don't have to follow state rules and such. I am enlisting the help of everyone I can think of and am hoping that some light can be shed on this most confusing of processes. You see in order to find a perfect home for my endeavor, it would be most helpful to know what our city use requirements will be. Zoning is a little easier, but the city has rules about what types of things any particular building can be used for. So we have to match the use with the building, or rather we have to be sure that the building that we find has the right zoning and use assigned to it, or if it doesn't we will have to apply for a conditional use permit. Anyone done this before and have some suggestions?

Asphalt and Education

The other day as I was driving home from a trip to Sauvie Island it struck me. It happened just as my car went from the loud familiar whirr of the freeway to the sudden silence of new asphalt. Thank you stimulus package and president Obama. Let me first state that I am/was an Obama supporter – I have the women for Obama t-shirt which I proudly wore during his campaign. However, as I was saying when my car was suddenly quietly purring down the newly paved highway, I realized that the money paving this road could have gone elsewhere. Like say, oh, education. Let’s see education or asphalt, hmmm… Why did my president pick asphalt? When you put the two next to each other there seems very little contest, support the precious minds of the next generation, or the rubber tires of our gas guzzling “freedom” boxes.

I was suddenly filled with rage. How stupid. How could our president – Mr. Change, Mr. Hope support asphalt over education. I don’t get it. I mean what is really important? If he had the choice between sending his beloved girls to a good education or repaving his driveway, I would like to think that he would choose education. But I guess now I am not so sure. And what about Oregon and our progressive ideas? No, we want new asphalt too. Well, not me, I want educational reform. I want the next generation to grow up loving themselves and knowing their strength, knowing that they matter and that their love counts. I want them to realize that if they are the change they want to see in the world, it will make a difference. But I guess I feel a little bit helpless in the face of this new asphalt and what it seems to represent. Not such a good day for education. I would have thought that such an experience would bring me new energy to achieve my goal, but instead I am left feeling a little deflated and helpless. Well, at least I have a smooth ride home to mull it all over… damn!

Map a home

This map hangs in my office on the wall. It shows all the private schools in Portland with nice little neat color coordinated tags. I use it whenever I go out to scout a potential home for this EO. It took me a long time to make. Well, one day my three and half year old decided it needed her touch. So she climbed up on the table and took the pens and made it "pretty". It now not only serves its purpose as a map for finding a home, but is also a reminder that three and half year old's make the world so much more interesting!

Well-Being for all

This morning I was perusing some sites I frequent (see list to the right) and I read this on one of them, “…[a] state of mind in which you're willing to allow Well-Being into your experience no matter what the conditions. To me, Well-Being is an ever-present, always available resource. You don't need to earn it, you just have to let it in! Children are naturally allowing in this way, but over time they learn to disallow the experience of Well-Being under certain conditions. Our cultural values are conditional: we grew up learning that happiness has to be earned. Conventional schooling is a major factor in the formation of the conditional worldview and the habit of disallowing Well-Being.” http://www.enjoyparenting.com/hem-interview

My immediate thought: What would this world be like if it was normal or more common for people to let Well-Being in? My answer: Radically different. I see this inability to allow the natural experience of Well-Being, as the root cause of so much unnecessary suffering in this world. For example, think about what would happen to prejudice (a deep lack of trust) if everyone had an experience of Well-Being instead of feeling like it was a scarce resource that had to be earned. It would disappear or at least be greatly diminished because everyone would be able to experience themselves as trustworthy whole beings and so that would ripple outwards.

In the Educational Opportunity (EO) that I am creating, my focus in terms of curriculum will be focused on Well-Being. I think it is so important to nurture and feed that in children instead of making it something they have to earn. I say death to gold stars and A’s and oh yeah to the celebration of the greatness that lives in all children (and in ourselves)!

Rites of Passage

This last weekend my dad, Ba (www.luvmourconsulting.com), went to Ashland to teach a group of FeelingBeing boys and their mentors (www.boystomensouthernoregon.org) how to use Natural Learning Rhythms in Rites of Passage for 9-12 year old boys. [For more on Natural Learning Rhythms and BodyBeing, FeelingBeing, IdealBeing and ReasonableBeing go to www.EnCompassInstitute.org and look for the first three chapters of the book Ba and I are writing coming soon to this blog.]

In my life I have participated both personally and professionally in many Rites of Passage. It is such an incredible opportunity to mark natural transitions in our lives. I have had several in my life: one marking my transition into womanhood at age 14, one at 19 marking the transition to “adulthood”, one as part of my wedding, and one on my 30^th birthday after we found out I was pregnant with our first child. These ceremonies are carefully designed with five steps to mark transition in a very sacred way. First there is the acknowledgement of the old (finding those things that no longer serve us), followed by the casting off of the old (letting said old things go), followed by the gap (moving into unknown territory), followed by the acknowledgement of the new (attributes and qualities we now possess or hope to), followed by the celebration (yay, you are you and oh how wonderful you are).

It strikes me that as a society we are seriously lacking in this department. We have graduations (a paltry excuse for marking a transition), weddings (usually only contain the last of these steps) and that about does it. No good. I have seen children and their families completely transformed through the Rite of Passage process. EnCompass used to run a Rite of Passage camp specifically designed to take the whole family through these steps, it was unparalleled in its transformative power. So when Ba came back from Ashland and told me about his weekend, I was reminded of the power these types of experiences hold. I am determined to have Rites of Passage play a role in my children’s lives. Specifically they will have one in each of the major developmental transitions of childhood, but I am also wondering if there is a way to include this type of experiences in the educational opportunity I design for them. Hmmm… food for thought.

Marketing

This is an interesting notion. What the heck is marketing anyway? For me it is this thing that I know is necessary, but that I just don’t understand and it always seems to be just out of reach. Or maybe a better way to say it… it seems like it is always just three steps beyond the edge of my universe. However, for this educational venture I am sure it will be necessary.

In a recent board meeting this mysterious ‘thing’ was discussed in some detail. I thought it very interesting that everyone seemed to share in my sentiments: it is in fact necessary, it does seem rather amorphous, it is incredibly expensive and we can all only take our best guess as to which way we should approach it.

My best guess: head on. Like most things that seem large and lurking in the shadows, if we shine a light right on them they take shape and are then much easier to address. Fact is I will need people in Portland (and then maybe the world at large) to know about said educational venture so that they can join the journey by enrolling. Part of me thinks, just keep chipping away and someday someone will notice me and say “Wow, nice work, mind if I take a photo and share it with my friends?” Of course this could take eons. Perhaps a better tactic would be to ask for the help of some incredibly creative individuals who handle this monster for a living: www.owenjonesandpartners.com. They probably know what they are doing and all I have to do is help them understand what we are doing so that they can do their thing and then presto – we will all be famous! Still I have a feeling we will need a lot of luck, a serious amount of sweat equity and diamond clarity of vision.

A physical home

One of my main jobs at the moment is to find a physical place for this educational expression to coalesce. This is harder than it sounds. There are many considerations and so many cool places in Portland. After creating a list of criteria, we find possible buildings. But more importantly I open myself to a space when I tour a building. I let myself imagine children in the space, how would they flow through it? How would the space influence them and how would they influence it? Are there opportunities for learning built into it? Are there nooks and crannies – places like I used to find in the Buckeye trees of our backyard when I was a kid.

The idea of space’s influence on us is not a new one, but it is new to me to consider it in this way. We have an architect we are working with and he is always filling my head with new perspectives on space. An architect moves through space in a totally unique way. A mother moves through space in a totally unique way. And an urban commercial real estate agent moves through space in a totally unique way. Put all those unique perspectives together and you get a taste for what this process has been like.

So what have I seen? Old brick buildings built in the early 20’s, like the old City Water Building, complete with unique features like a water powered freight elevator and beautiful red brick architecture, huge wood framed windows and sloping floors. Warehouses that are like open shells with vast wood beamed ceilings just waiting to be loved and completely re-purposed. 4-20 story office buildings in the heart of downtown with commercial carpeting and halls of cubicles and possible opportunities for rooftop play areas. This part of the process has given me a new appreciation for our town and the diversity in its buildings. But where does it leave me in terms of finding a home. Realizing that we could fit into a lot of different types of spaces. Realizing that it is the partnership opportunities with the building owners, tenants and commercial developers that are going to make the difference. I have to find the right fit, and that means looking at the whole picture, it may seem obvious to most, but to me it has been a new learning.

In the beginning...

What was it that Groucho Marx said, “I was born at a very young age”? That is about how we all begin, naked, vulnerable and brand new. And then we grow and develop in response to our own inherent greatness and in relationship to our environments, physical, emotional and psychological. I was brought up in a non-traditional household and I developed ideas and ideals about the world, my role in it and what kind of parent I would be when I “grew up”.

Well, then I had two children of my own and I have begun to see that so many of those ideas and ideals are not in fact mine, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that development never stops. I am developing in this very moment, as these words flow out through my hands, my perspectives and ideas about things are changing in response to what I experience, who I am in the world and how I perceive myself.

When I gave birth to my second child, two months ago, my life changed forever. Not in some dramatic way, but in the simplest everyday type of way that just creeps in and takes over, like blackberry vines in your garden. A certain urgency to get on with my life, to find out what I will be when I “grow up” is one persistent tendril. Being the observant person that I am, I recognized that shift and plan to keep close track of it and you can too as you read along. So why is this taking the form of creating an educational opportunity for my children? I know that my children (now 3 ½ ad 2 months) will grow up much faster than originally anticipated and will need an education along the way. However, the options that are out there, are for the most part scary, unappealing, frightening… the adjectives could keep coming, but you get the idea. The two dove tail nicely I think, my need to find my vocation and the need my children have for an education.

So what qualifies me? Well, first I am a mom and every mother no matter her background is an educator (fathers too). Second, I have spent the last 15 years working with a non-profit who’s mission is the well-being of children and families. For more about that read here, www.EnCompassInstitute.org. The truth is I have to send my kids to school and I don’t like my options and I think I (and the people I work with) can do better. So follow this blog if you are a mother, an educator, a politician, a grandparent, an uncle, a brother, a sister, follow this blog if you are human and have children in your life. Follow along with me as I fumble my way through the starting of an educational opportunity for my children and the children of this community. Hopefully we will all learn something in the process and with any amount of luck the ripples of where this journey leads will be felt throughout the world.