After we returned from our trip to Maine I came up with a new homeschooling rhythm for our family. While we don't follow a curriculum and we do follow our children's interests and needs, I was feeling the need for more structure – less for them and more for me.

So we set aside time for various things  with me and also devoted time with Pete. That means that now, each week while I'm at work, these three set to work as well on the project of their choice.

Project day with Papa! What could be more fun than that?

During the very first day of our new "project plan" I got a text from Pete's phone while I was at work. There was a picture of a wooden frame up in the branches of a box elder tree and the words, "My project today. Guess what it is! – Lupine"

Of course I knew what it was in an instant. Her tree house project had begun!

While she is quick to find "secret" trees and magical nooks around our farm, it was her first more-or-less permanent addition to one of her special places.

While Pete and Sage have been working on an epic tree house for the past year, Lupine had not been interested in building one herself. But last week, after watching a bit more work unfold on Sage's, Lupine decided that she was ready for a space of her very own.

And through this project so much learning will unfold. From basic math to basic construction, a bit of plant taxonomy and physics – and let's not dismiss the confidence building that's going on. All that – and only on the first day!

What a wonderful project to claim for herself. I can't wait to see what else they create.