Spring Garden

Our farming and gardening block is so much fun! One thing we just had to do to kick start the block was drop by the local feed and seed and pick up six new darling chicks. Once again, the broom closet is a little barn as we raise up our chicks to be big enough to move into the outside coop.



I found a nice poem to begin our gardening block with by A. Fairman in Wynstones: Spring

A little brown bulb went to sleep in the ground.
In his little brown nightie he slept very sound.
Old Winter he roared and raged overhead.
But the little brown bulb did not move in his bed.
But when Spring came tiptoeing over the lea,
With fingers to lips as soft as can be.The little brown bulb just lifted his head,
Slipped off his nightie and jumped out of bed!

Here is Rowan's rendition of the poem:


We started our formal lessons by reviewing the seasons and the months of the year. We sang the "Months Song" many times and worked out some creative charts. Thanks to Our Little Nature Nest blog, I also found this lovely book online called "Bobby of Cloverfield Farm" by Hellen Fuller Orton http://manybooks.net/titles/ortonhf2865228652.html. This story is simply a perfect accompaniment to our farming and gardening block.

This week, our painting theme was
"The Four Seasons Color Wheel".

Rowan's is on the left, mine on the right.

After our verse, poem, story period, Rowan cannot wait to get outside and actually garden every day! We have been focusing on the soil, getting it ready, checking different garden beds for soil that is too heavy or too sandy, turning the compost so it will be ready sooner, feeding our friendly worm bin and cleaning our the hen's big coop so that we can make use of their fine manure (after it sits a while and cools down!) We cheated a bit and used store-bought potting mix to start some early seeds (squash and cucumbers and lettuce). As we were weeding one bed, I decided to transplant a couple of the "weeds" we had pulled (an evening primrose and some foxgloves). I talked to Rowan about root division and the difference between plants grown from seed and those made from cuttings or division (I am keeping this in mind for a little math work later: division review). After we finish about an hour's worth of gardening, Rowan has plenty to write about in his daily gardening journal.After he finished his youth orchestra performance, Rowan came right home and burned his music! I was a little surprised at this, but now he is super focused on learning some new fiddle songs and it is amazing to see how much better he is at both reading music and picking up the rhythms! The orchestra experience, despite his nervousness, was so positive, I hope he will do it again. He has already said he is looking forward to Celtic Camp this summer (a fun local strings music camp focused on Celtic and other fiddle tunes - combined with climbing trees, swimming and running around in the woods).

Spring Chickens

First of Spring and a new block in our homeschooling journey - gardening! After many cozy days working indoors, it feels so great to get out into the sunshine and explore what the garden has to share. I have been reviewing what Steiner describes as the Twelve Senses lately and plan to bring a more conscious awareness of these senses into our daily activities. Rhythm, movement, balance, artistic work, time in nature - all of these are so vital to the healthy development of the senses! I can certainly feel the positive effects upon myself.
Our own chickens are clearly happy that the days are longer and sunnier! They are full of fresh feathers and laying just about an egg each day (except Olivia, our senior hen, now entering her 5th year! This is a record in our coop on the edge of the forest! The hen in the photo is one of our younger Buff Orpingtons, a fabulous layer of large brown eggs.


Last week our homeschool group met and made wet felted wool eggs. What fun! The warm, soapy water was very inviting, and the finished eggs are just the right size for a tiny needle felted chick to live inside. I enjoyed the activity so much that I decided to make more with Rowan this week. He was feeling a little sick on Monday so we focused on crafts and indoor activities. It seemed to me that the practice of molding and shaping the wet wool around an egg form was a calming activity for the two of us.



Here is how we made the wool eggs:





1. Take a layer of natural wool roving and wrap it around a closed plastic easter egg.
2. Add additional layers of colored wool on the outside to cover white wool.




3. Add a few drops of liquid dish soap to wool, dip quickly in and out of a bowl of warm water.
4. Gently massage the soapy wool egg, trying not to allow any of the plastic egg to show.
5. You can layer small "patches" of dry wool to cover any weak spots or white areas.
6. Continue to massage the egg for 2-5 minutes.




7. Rinse gently in cool water and squeeze out excess water.



8. Slide damp egg into a clean dry sock.
9. Put the egg-sock into the dryer for about 15 minutes.




10. Remove the egg-sock from the dryer and remove the egg from the sock.




11. Carefully snip open the wool egg, making sure to cut through all layers of wool, making the opening just big enough to pull the plastic egg out.




12. Toss the loose wool egg into the dryer for a few more minutes to help it gain a tighter shape.




13. Make a little needle felted chick to live inside your egg if you like!

Early Spring

Well signs of spring are here already. After almost non-stop heavy rains for two weeks, we finally have a lovely, sunny day! The bulbs are up and the smell in the air is unmistakable! I am feeling that annual pull to get back into the garden! Another sure sign, an egg in the egg box! After taking the winter off, my hens feel the slightly longer days as well. I might have to set the handwork aside for a bit and take advantage of this wonderful break in the weather. Rain must return so our state will have enough water for the dry seasons ahead, but for now...

This week our main lesson moved away from the Old Testament and more firmly into Shelter. On Monday I told the story of Toba, a nomad child who lives in the foothills beneath snowy mountains, maybe in what we today call Afghanistan. Toba and her family are shepherds and they carry their come, a portable yurt, with them on camels as they search for good pastures for their sheep, goats and oxen. Toba carries a drop spindle in her belt with her wherever she goes so that she can work on spinning yarn whenever she has free time. She also helps her mother prepare food for the family. Flat bread, goat cheese, olives and grilled meat are some of the foods they commonly prepare. Because they are nomadic, they sometimes stop at more settled farms and trade wool for things like olive oil, olives, fruits and vegetables. On Tuesday, Rowan drew a picture into his book to go along with this story. Today, he is working on writing some sentences.

Earlier today I told another story, this one about Uli, an Inuit child whose family hunts walrus and caribou in the Arctic tundra. Sometimes they build igloos, or snow houses and stay warm with fur rugs and blankets. Other times, they go out on the ice with their large pack of sled dogs pulling the whole family in search of animals on the hunt. In the wintertime, it is almost always dark, but the sky is beautiful with stars, moon and the Northern Lights all reflecting off the ice and snow. In the summertime, the sun never sets and much ice melts so that the family must use kayaks to hunt instead of dog sleds. Autumn and Spring are times when day and night are more balanced. In the autumn, Uli helps his family repair the hunting gear and take care of the dogs. When they do go hunting, every part of an animal is used. The fur makes warm clothing, the fat makes oil for lamps and the meat will be food for the family and the dogs. The dogs get to eat first because they work so hard pulling the sled. Uli and his family do not get many fruits, grains or vegetables and so they must get most of their nutrition from fish and meat. At night, Uli is snug with his family in the igloo, lit with seal oil lamps, listening to stories of the great spirits that inhabit the sea, the ice and the animals all around.

I think I will try to create two or three more stories like this (perhaps a wood house, a clay house and a house in the jungle).

We also took ourselves into the garden and tried to find a good tree for a treehouse! This is something I have been wanting to build for years and I think this year with the Third Grade Shelters Block, I finally have the chance! Rowan wants the house to be huge, but I think it will end up measuring about 4' x 5' and be anchored by three medium sized Bay Laurel trees up behind the chicken coop. It may take us the rest of the school year to complete, but it must begin sometime.