Continuum Concept and Radically Rewilding Parenting Brainstorm

Regenerative Culture Birthing & Caring for Children
#1

I wish I’d actually read the Continuum Concept before having a child. Well, I wish a lot of things, but here I sit facing the challenges of today, straddling a culture I didn’t invent and the one I try every day to invent or re-invent, and I ask other folks to share their solutions to this transitional dilemma.

So ideally, a child gets to run around freely, all day every day, with a pack of other kids (hey, I’ll give the old ki a try here) of mixed ages ki’s known all ki’s life, visiting, observing and learning from various adults with various skills as ki chooses. Everyone has choices, everyone has support, everyone has tradition and story and elders to suggest what to do.

Fast forward to my (our) world. I work towards that ideal in any ways I see possible, but still we have more time than I’d like sitting in the house (i. e. sick family member, child/parent energy ratio out of whack, already had our fill of cold/wet weather, or I just have stuff I need to get done in the house) and sometimes drive each other crazy. Today we took the edge off with a foraging expedition, other days desperation sets in.

Toys provide some diversion in the sorry lack of the above-mentioned conditions and opportunities, and believe me we have some, but most of the “toys” out there JUST SUCK! I guess there are some media options that suck less than others (we favor Muppet Show and Thomas Elpel DVD’s). . .

So, folks, what you got? How can we bring the kids and parents, at times when stuck in this and other cultural compromise scenarios, closer to their continuum (i.e., everyone gets ki’s needs met, no one loses ki’s mind)? What brilliant, simple and elegant solutions have rewilding folks found to reinvent “hangin at home”? Non-parents, please throw out ideas too!

My best ideas so far:

blanket/sofa fort building
recycle bin building materials
put kid to work (sweeping & washing dishes stay fun only so long)
musical concert and/or dancing
tumbling/obstacle course/indoor “parkour”
wish i knew more simple games. like string games?
get together with other folks

someone told me recently, community happens when you ask for help. ;D

Help!

#2

I remember hanging around inside, in the hallway or something, or clear out a room like, and we kicked a little ball around, always fun.

#3

Cooking? Is there a YM/YWCA or some kind of public swimming pool? Library?

When I was a stay at home Dad I just took my 4 year old daughter everywhere I went, but made sure to do at least one real fun thing even if it was just stopping to make a snowman while I was out checking rabbit snares.

“So ideally, a child gets to run around freely, all day every day, with a pack of other kids (hey, I’ll give the old ki a try here) of mixed ages ki’s known all ki’s life, visiting, observing and learning from various adults with various skills as ki chooses. Everyone has choices, everyone has support, everyone has tradition and story and elders to suggest what to do.”

My older kids got to run pretty wild. The place we lived was way back in the hills but there were a few other families with kids within walking distance. We all did school work with our kids in the morning and they ran loose all afternoon, riding horses, building forts, and visiting various adults who were busy doing their things. It was great but had it’s sketchy aspects too. If there’s a dominant kid who isn’t exactly always coming from a healthy place there can be some wierd dynamics among kids. Now that my kids are grown they sometimes tell me some pretty crazy stories about what they got into when they were younger. The usual pecking order stuff is one thing and most of us have had to deal with that but if you throw a couple of wierd twists in there without enough parental monitoring it can go off in a strange direction.

#4

Tite!

So, how about indoor/outdoor, park/street/sidewalk, backyard/frontyard, picnic potlucks parties. That looks like seven different locations, seven ways to keep oneself and their offspring having fun, to me.

lucky # 7

Also, Walks Of All Directions and Inbetween. For example, when I give walks to others and myself I pick and plan a new direction to travel in such as east, south, north, west, and everywhere inbetween; I spoke out from my starting destination in a bycycle wheel fashion. First one walk I give a walk east, the next time I give a walk I pick west for example, then south, then north, and then everywhere inbetween, SW, SE, NE, NW, and so on, up trees, over fenses, down holes… I’ve found this to give myself and others a more competent sense of what Neighborhood has to give and where ones home shelters in the neighborhood of existence.

Hm. I can’t think of anything else presently that I feel comfortable sharing with u’l quite yet, but if anything comes to my mind that I do feel comfortable sharing I plan to.

#5

Yarrow Dreamer, please elaborate on “Continuum Concept?”
Thank you!

#6

Hey all,

I just want to drop a link in here since this thread is about the Continuum Concept. The Teaching Drum Outdoor Living School in Northeastern Wisconsin has started what they call The Children’s Culture. The way I understand it The Continuum Concept has been a huge inspiration as to how they function in that culture. They’re really doing good work over there.

http://www.teachingdrum.org/childrensculture.html

Take care,

Curt

#7

our kids love it when we start a big fire, hang a bed sheet in front of it, turn out the lights and play a shadow puppet/charades - type game

also, if you’re looking for games when you’re stuck inside i can’t recommend wildcraft! highly enough:

www.learningherbs.com/wildcraft.html

seriously, it’s a terrific game that we all enjoy playing…

and although i’ve never played it, gaia’s garden looks quite interesting:

www.eco-logicbooks.com/index.cfm?fa=book_details&book_id=937

and cooperativegames.com has a number of possibly titles you might find of interest.

i’d also suggest if you can’t go outdoors, then bring nature indoors. we often take walks collecting branches, vines, etc. then that night sit around together and decorate the house.

also, there a a number of great books on nature activities yall could do in your living room.

have fun!

#8

I feel like my kids have the most fun playing with things like sticks, rocks, digging in the dirt, having some buckets or puddles of water to mess with, finding and messing with bugs, doing things with leaves (ripping, stacking, etc.) It’s the simple yard stuff that best grabs their attention and feeds their imagination.

#9

[quote=“primal parent, post:7, topic:751”]also, if you’re looking for games when you’re stuck inside i can’t recommend wildcraft! highly enough:

www.learningherbs.com/wildcraft.html

seriously, it’s a terrific game that we all enjoy playing…[/quote]

that looks interesting, but seems most useful in a bioregionally specific version. How hard would it be to make our own versions?

#10

Hey Yarrow Dreamer,

Looking back at this, I’m wondering what your thoughts are these days? Are they still the same? Improved? Etc.?