Running with a theme

Just as I am thinking of finishing up our current Shelters and Clothing Block, I had an idea of making a little doll of each character in my stories and an animal friend for each one as well. This has inspired me to pull out my needle felting materials after a long pause. The fact that our weather has turned cold and rainy again has made it easy for me to think of fun projects to work on inside the house!

This is Elena of Peru and her alpaca.Here is a polar bear to be a part of a scene with Ulli, the Inuit boy. I still need to create an Ulli doll.
This is Tim of the Northwoods. I think he should have a pet dog.


And here is Rowan working on a rhino horn for his Noah's Ark Play costume. The big performance is a week away! It is so fun to watch our home school group really begin to create some magic together in the play as well as memorize group poems and individual lines.

More Rainy Day Fun

Rain has come again! In our yard that means mud and mushrooms! We have discovered Elfin saddles, Witches butter, Candy Caps and more well-named fungi all around our house. In honor of our Clothing and Shelter block, Rowan and had some fun with wool felt and natural dyes, including two different mushrooms that grow near us. The one in the photo above is a coral mushroom. The dye was fairly boring, but it was fun to watch the color in the pot change and to see the very white wool felt become a pale tan color. The second dyer's fungus, the Dyer's Polypore, produced the lovely golden sheets you can see in the upper right hand photo. I love getting out the dye pots and mixing up funky brews! This is what my stove looked like that day.

Weeks Flying By

Wow! It has been very hard to sit down at the computer lately. When the weather turns fair, I feel this primal urge to pull weeds and dig! Our weeks in the school realm have been moving rather slowly, but it feels just right. I have continued to unfurl a shelter's block, moving from China and silk to the woods of North America. Of course, we had to get out into our own woods here and enjoy the lovely early spring weather and all of the beautiful mushrooms that the previous weeks rain blessed us with. We made Valentines and some heart shaped cookies to share with friends and we managed to build a small tree perch that may or may not become a tree house someday.

Last week we also had a meeting with our lovely education specialist who helps us keep our records for homeschooling through a charter program with the state. Our Waldorf work samples always satisfy and I do not really do anything extra to be "in compliance", with one exception: STAR testing! In order for this charter to receive state funds (which it passes on to families in the form of a stipend), we all must submit our children to the state standards testing in April. I try and take a very Zen attitude toward all of this, not placing any pressure on Rowan, not really worrying about how he does, coaching him on good guessing, but I swear, reading the sample test questions makes me hot under the collar every time. I just find it so absurd that this is what schools spend time teaching kids. I want Rowan to learn to read in order to enjoy reading books and other things when he grows up. I want him to learn math in order to get along in the world of numbers, measurement and money. I want him to listen to stories so that he will have a deep understanding of history and poetry, tragedy and comedy. The standards tests seem to be determined to suck the life out of learning and place kids in a world where knowing how to fill in a bubble and follow nonsensical directions is more valuable than knowing how to build a house! Ok, enough ranting. I will dutifully take Rowan in for his testing on the proper date but I will not let it get in the way of the real learning we do every day.

This week Rowan had a cold so we took things slowly. I began a story about a boy named Tim who lives in a log cabin in the woods and then the next day Rowan asked me to continue it. I had not planned on doing this, but I launched forward and this boy ended up getting in a canoe and travelling along a winding river and meeting different Native American tribes along the way. First he met some people who live in the Pacific Northwest and carve beautiful totem poles. We had some fun with needle felting after that one.

After some time with this tribe, Tim said goodbye and got back into his canoe and traveled for many days until he came to some foothills and met some people who live in earth lodges. Soon he will meet tribes of the plains who hunt buffalo and live in beautifully decorated tepees.

During one of our mushroom expeditions, we discovered candy caps! These little orange mushrooms have been growing all around me for years and I only this year made the connection. We picked some and let them dry. The easiest way to identify this particular edible mushroom is its unmistakable aroma. It smells like maple syrup as it dries. Next we need to crumble them up and bake them in some cookies!

Shelter and Clothing

Ah, the whole week passed me by and I did not get a chance to post a blog. We had a very nice, very regular sort of homeschooling week. We finished the igloo that we had started the week before as we learned about live in the arctic.

Next we travelled to China in our imaginations. We studied from library books about all the different sorts of houses that are traditionally built in China. From this, I created the story of Yin Lin, a young girl living in southern China in a stilt house. Her family grows rice in the fertile moist land and also raises silkworms with the abundant mulberry trees growing all around Yin Lin's house. This led to a side lesson on silk and silkworms. Rowan had much to include in is main lesson book.

It seems that all this talk of shelters is sinking in. Rowan asked if he could make a house out of the couches and various pillows and blankets in the house. I said ok and he went to work. A cozy next was produced. It looked a lot like an Afgan yurt to me.

But Rowan was particularly excited about the two books I had found at the library on the subject of TREE HOUSES! For many years now I have avoided building a tree house. I have built a fence around the garden and a chicken coop for the chickens but in the 16 years since first giving birth, I have resisted building a tree house. Now it seems, the time has come and it is the last chance for me with these children of mine. We found a good tree and took some measurements. Next we will head to the lumber yard and begin on the foundation platform. If only the rain will hold off for a few days so we can see some progress...

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.

Sweet Birds After My Own Heart

Each month a new "featured etsy blogger" is chosen by my fun new group called etsybloggers. All members take a look at the featured etsy blogger's etsy shop and blog, leaves comments, shops around and gives a little press on our own blogs. This month's featured artist is NicoDesigns. Anyone can visit NicoDesigns by going to http://www.etsy.com/shop/NicoDesigns. Nico creates fabulous goodies to enliven the home. My personal favorites are her bird designs. This one especially caught my fancy:

Winter entertainment, a blog carnival

I have many favorite winter pastimes and they all take place indoors! I love to sit by the warm woodstove with one or more children and pets around me! Sometimes we play board games, sometimes we get out the clay, but usually it is handwork. I have dabbled in knitting, but can still only handle squares and rectangles. I satisfy myself by trying out different lacework patterns. I did make a pair of socks once, but the stress of it was too much! I like the meditative state knitting puts me into. I don't like to have to pay too close attention.

I wish I could make something as lovely as this red ruffles scarf I found at FoxyGknits etsy shop!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16697919&image_id=94834098

As those who have read my blog posts before will know, I really like to sew. I only sew by hand, machines bother me. I guess this is why I focus on small projects, primarily felt. Wool felt is a fabulous fiber and it is just wonderful for working with children. Even small children can get a large needle through the thick pile of the felt and the edges do not fray so you do not need to worry about hiding your seams. This is quite liberating for young stitchers. When my children were very young, I would put the needle in and have them pull it out, stitch by stitch. Needless to say, this took a while! It was a great way to pass away the time on snowed-in or rain-ed-in days. It does not snow where I live (sniff), but we do get a good deal of rain. It is raining right now, in fact. The long gray, wet, cold days are perfect for starting a new sewing project. Lately I have been working on creating a new pattern for a raccoon. Here is what I have so far.