moments

Today was definitely one of those days where I had to really seek out the peaceful, beautiful moments. The pine trees are "blooming" and I have been sneezing constantly all day long. Besides that, the children woke up about an hour earlier than their usual wake-up time, and they have been behaving like sleep-deprived children all day long (if you know what I mean). And, to be honest and fair, I have been behaving like a sleep-deprived, sneezy mother all day long.

So, a toast..... to the beautiful moments.

* Gratitude cards at homeschool co-op...


* Skipping the nature hike in favor of wading in the lake...


* A little tiny boat and one of my favorite little boys...



* Gnome homes made by Indigo and Willow...


* Making pizzas with Nana and sharing a delicious dinner...

bubbles

We had a very nice Saturday at home. Gma and Gpa made a special trip to Rock Hill, and we had a great time with them despite the fact that our planned activity for the day was rained out. There were moments of somewhat dry weather, and we spent most of those moments outside. Bubbles are always a favorite outdoor activity.


Daddy Tim and Gma and all of the little pixies worked really hard on this bubble bush:
During the downpours, we played with with playdough, read books, played games, and listened to music. We have been saving egg shells for a couple of weeks for a garden project, so Tim worked with the kids on filling the shells with potting soil. It was really nice to watch the rain falling while thinking about how lucky we are to have rain for our upcoming garden adventures!


When the rain slowed down again, Indigo and Willow played a nice, long game of "sink or float". They gathered up all sorts of things from the yard, guessed whether each item would sink or float, and then tested their theories. Most amusing "float" was a plain little tea light which bobbed around in the puddle. I lit them, and we watched their little flames bob up and down. It was fun!

busy day!

This morning, we had pottery class. The kids glazed their "snakes and snails" work. I have been assured that they will be vibrantly colored after the firing process.

After class, we had some lunch and headed over to my friend Colleen's house. It was raining when we first got there, so the kids played dress-up and vehicle play in the house. Nova was absolutely in love with this little crane. He spent atleast an hour hoisting marbles in the crane bucket.


When the rain slowed to a drizzle, we went for a walk and visited the sheep, chickens, and horses. We also had fun on the swings, and Clover found an acorn that had sprouted and was all ready to become a little oak tree!





The really wonderful, coincidental thing that happened on our walk was that I remembered Colleen's son's blacksmith "shop". We have been studying blacksmiths on the frontier this week for social studies, and I was so excited at the opportunity to see a blacksmith at work! Indigo and Willow were equally excited. Clover and Colleen's daughter (the sister of the blacksmith) were not quite as thrilled, but gained some interest once the process was begun. It really was fascinating to see him shape steel into a musical triangle that had a beautiful sound! Indigo and Willow sat on a little bench the entire time. They were mesmerized!!




I'm feeling lots of gratitude for Colleen and her sweet family. She sent us home with four bars of her homemade soap, three balls of yarn, and lots of sweet crafty ideas. I just love her and her kids, and wish that they were my next door neighbors!

learning

Clover is learning about biomes this week. I picked up some good books from the library about tundras, rain forests, and deserts. She has been reading, and making notes in her Science main lesson book with some very cute sketches.

Indigo and Willow are working on the letter T this week. We looked at the T page in the _Waldorf Alphabet Book_, and read _The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes_. Since it was fairly warm outside, they practiced writing "T"s with sidewalk chalk. Nova made several interesting pictures of Timmy Tiptoes.


This afternoon, we had a tea party with some buns that the kids baked this morning during our weekly bread baking. Willow made honey butter, and Nova helped with the berry tea. I also gave the kids some graham cracker sticks, and let them make the letter T before eating!

honey bees & a hike

This morning, we had a special guest at homeschool co-op. A local beekeeper came and talked to the kids about bees. It was a wonderful presentation. I read a sweet book to the kids called _Are You a Bee?_, and we did a bee finger play while waiting for the presentation to begin. The kids told a few short bee stories, and Willow wanted to say the bee rhyme from Winnie-the-Pooh: "Isn't it so funny how a bee makes honey? Buzz, buzz, buzz. I wonder how he does?!"

The beekeeper brought lots of neat things for the kids to look at including one of her own bee boxes and a super. She also brought honeycomb, jars of honey, beeswax candles, beeswax lip balm, beeswax hand cream (which the children all got to try!), and the smoker that she uses to sedate her bees for honey-gathering. She taught them some simple, interesting bee facts and led them in some fun activities. They each got to stand up and represent different bees in the hive, and she taught them the "bee dance". It was really fascinating. She inspired me to want to keep bees!


After a round of gratitude for the bee lady, we ate lunch and went on a nature hike. We walked a new trail this week. It was a nice change. There was faery's breath (bluets) in bloom and a nice stream for exploring. There were also a few may apples blooming, and we heard a blue jay imitating a red-tailed hawk. I want to explore the trail again as it gets warmer because there will be more wildflowers in bloom soon.

spring equinox weekend!

Spring Equinox is one of my favorite holidays, and we celebrated all weekend long! On Friday, we read some wonderful Spring-y stories including one of my favorites about Demeter and Persephone. We read that one every Spring and every Fall. We talked about how eggs are a sign of new life, and we made egg dyes from beets, onion peels, and blueberries.

We also worked on a delicious Spring Equinox meal. Clover made a beautiful braided loaf, and we had pork tenderloin, potato salad, carrot raisin salad, and boiled eggs in a "nest" of broccoli sprouts. It was so good! My dad came over and joined us for dinner, and stayed to watch the egg dye-ing festivities.




On Saturday, the kids woke up to some surprises in their baskets. I knitted a gnome for each of them, and they also got some chocolate eggs and a chocolate bunny. Clover got some new colored pencils, and the boys got some watercolor paints.
We spent all day doing some intense Spring cleaning in preparation for our potluck/egg hunt/birthday party for my dear friend sweet mama Carrie. We stayed up way too late, and had a wonderful time.



Today, we brought Clover's lovely friend Autumne back to her family (she slept at our house after the potluck), and joined them for faery princess Tara's 6th birthday party. She had a crafty party with blackberry ice cream for dessert, so ofcourse my kids enjoyed themselves immensely. They made beautiful flowers and wet felted with cookie cutters.


Needless to say, we had a beautiful, fun, exhausting weekend!!