There have been certain experiences in my life lately that have been guiding me towards the Pioneer Experiment. At first they seemed quite independent, but as they collided in my mind, I couldn't shake the vision it produced. An idea was born.
One of these mentioned experiences has been my interest in home food preservation. There's something about it that intrigues me. It's like a lost art. I've been making yogurt and trying my hand at sourdough bread. Last year I canned tomatoes and jam, peaches and pizza sauce... just to name a few. I love acquiring these skills that many think are modern day miracles that appear on the grocery store shelves. My dad found a cookbook a while back that was from the turn of the century. Because refrigeration was not readily available, most of the recipes were for preservation. I loved looking through it and reading all the bizarre techniques for saving food that would sustain families through winter.
Outdoor adventure is another idea that's been creeping up from time to time. Recently I was at a conference and attended a class on the benefits of backpacking. The presenter had 10 lessons in life that he had learned from "roughing" it. These lessons are profound, and frankly, hard to come by in our pampered society. I've been dreaming of warm weather when I can finally get outdoors.
Lastly is the idea of letting the classics be our teachers. By classics I mean classic literature. We started homeschooling and as such I've been studying and researching methods of teaching. I've fallen in love with a method called Thomas Jefferson Education. There's no way I can sum it up for you, but I highly encourage anyone to look into it at TJed.org. One of the ideals it promotes is that we can readily learn many of life's lessons through fictional narrative... that the brain is actually hardwired to pick it up faster that way than by text books or non-fictional works. Just think about an number of songs or poems that you learned that were actually acronyms for the colors of the rainbow, or the periodic chart of elements. The idea is that if you want to learn about something, start with the greatest. Read the originals. Naturally I start reading things like "The Little Princess" and "Little House in the Big Wood" to Rylie and Jocelyn, and my mind once again is dreaming of the days before electricity and water and stoves and all those such luxuries.
With the ideas of food sustainability, outdoor adventure, and authors such as Laura Ingalls Wilder painting pictures of cute little cabins with attics laden full of smoked meats and vegetables I was inspired. It was time to take action.
This is where The Pioneer Experiment was born. How can we give up modern day comforts in the middle of a modern home, and what would we learn from it.
I hope others will join our family. I think it would be fun for those near-by that we can actually interact with, but I hope others will join too... friends and family far away... and even those I don't know that find this by chance.
I'll be inviting all to post to this blog in the end. I want to see pictures and hear of experiences.... and grow close to all of you through a common goal.
