Thursday, May 7, 2009

Thrusday

Today felt like we got a lot accomplished! The morning cleaning routine was completed and our morning homeschooling activities were completed. I changed the story order around and did Baby's silk story first. He was fed by that and went off to play leaving Brother and I alone to read his Enki Fairy Tale. We are still reading the Queen Bee. It was pretty cool to have Baby go off and play. I felt like I could see a little piece of the future. Very Exciting!

Our garden is starting to get cleaned up a little bit. I have four beds cleared now. Which is amazing. Everything was so over grown, with grass and blackberries everywhere. So far we have planted twenty two strawberry plants, with twenty one growing, and one blueberry bush. I cleared the spot for the second bush today and it will be planted tomorrow. Blueberries need acidic soil, so I am collecting a bucketful of pine needles from our "forest" and mixing them in with compost. Instead of fertile mulch, I am using fallen tree branches. It is so fun to use what our property has provided!

Meanwhile, it took a long time to clear the land, and I lost of track of time. So Brother did not do a craft this afternoon. This is also a result of my missed planning session earlier this week. It's disappointing, but we'll get there! He did do a self -directed craft this morning. Three days ago he made a "sticker" with a piece of paper by putting some colored tape on the front of the paper and then taping it to his chest. After it feel off he crumpled it up. Then he put blue tape all over it except for a small hole for his "friend micey" to climb in. The blue tape was the primer. He now has covered everything but the hole in tape of other colors. He loves his home made toy and "flies" it all over the house. So, he has done "Crafts" just not MY crafts. ;)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Wednesday

Today I decided to add in the silk story for baby. I know he is only almost two, so we are not really homeschooling yet, but the younger stories feed Brother and baby enjoys them too. Brother starts first grade when he is seven, so in 18 months, I want to have our basic rhythms in place. And, my memory could really use the exercise.

I am also working really hard to complete a morning cleaning routine for myself using the Flylady principles. Here is her link: http://www.flylady.com/ I have only been doing it for a week now, but already our laundry pile is completely under control. The dishes are getting done, and the main floor bathroom - with the cat box - is clean enough for a drop by visitor. The brothers play really well in the morning for about an hour before they are ready for breakfast and I really want to take advantage of that time as much as possible.

Today we went to visit our good friends I and S. I is brothers age, and both boys are really interested in space. I built a rocketship using moving boxes. It's really, really cool. They boys carried it upstairs and played space games for a long time. It was so cute because when they landed on a planet with little gravity and no atmosphere, they did a little dance to show they walked different. It is amazing how much they know about space and to see them incorporate it into play!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Tuesday

Phew it rained last night! We have a metal roof and it was so loud it seemed like we were sleeping - or not sleeping- in a tent. Since we didn't get much sleep last night, everyone slept in really late this morning, pushing our entire day back. We still walked in the rain. Brother wore rain boots and splashed in all of the puddles. Since there are 2 long hills on the walk, we spend a lot of time with "running river" flowing down the hill besides us. He splashed down running river looking for worms for me to save. We pulled a lot of worms out of the river today!
Brother joined in circe today. I think this is one of the benefits of being in a co-op. I used the same circle as the co-op circle, which is actually designed for younger kids. But he enjoys it, and since he has seen all of the other kids participating in circle at co-op, it is carrying him at home. For story, I am reading "The Queen Bee" from the Enki Folk an Fairy Tales. He really sat quietly for the entire story, afterwards commenting that "he saw pictures of the story in his brain." Then he holed himself up in his room building with blocks for the next hour. He has a really big plan and has asked me not to clean up his room tonight.
This is the first time Brother has gone in his room and shut the door leaving Baby on the outside since Baby has become old enough to realize what is going on. Baby was sad, but brother needed his alone time. While Brother was holed up his room, Baby and I made granola. I gave him whole almonds, covered them with a dish towel and then gave him a wooden mallet. He had a lot of fun pounding on the nuts. He also helped stir the whole sticky mess together. We both have our hands on the spoon and I sing a rhythmic little verse (that I make up on the spot) so that he can feel the movement he needs for the stirring. It was very sweet, and we hardly ever get time alone together.
Before Baby went to nap, I read him a couple board books. I am trying to start giving him the same as I do for Brother, but on the appropriate level. I figure I might as well start now, I want him to be willing to give Brother and I alone time as Brother's work becomes more intensive in the next few years. I am laying the groundwork for it now.
This afternoon we worked with bee wax for a bit. Brother is creating a bird and would like to save it for him to work on next time. After it is done, he would like me to incorporate it in some stories.
Tuesday afternoons we babysit Brother's friend and her newly adopted brother.
Tonight I read the first chapter in The Burgess Bird Book for children. I used to read Brother a chapter book every night, and I want to get back in that habit. Since Baby is under 3.5, I am not concerned about his absorbing inappropriate stories yet. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Monday - Baking Day!

We had Co-Op this morning. The kid played really well together and had a lot of fun. Brother participated in circle again, for the most part anyway. And I told a silk story of "The Sheep and the Pig" from The Baldwin Project.

We made pizza for the second time. The gluten free crust is really sticky. It went much better because I gave each of the boys a bowl and little of their own dough to work with. It was a real mess, but they had a lot of fun. Meanwhile, I added brown rice flour onto the top of the crust so that I could spread it out. It worked much better. Next week, I'll show the boys how to do that as well. Every week we learn something new - about pizza crust anyway!

Friday, May 1, 2009

May Day Celebration















Tonight we participated in the local May Day celebration. It is held in a local park by a group of artists. A few other local homeschoolers make it as well. Brother is getting old enough now that he is really curious about what the older kids are doing. This year he participated in a Tug Of War and a Three Legged Race. We are a competition free family, so I was interested to see how he was going to react to a determination being made of who is the winner and loser. He didn't seem to notice and had fun even though they were last in the three legged race and the boys kept getting pulled over by the girls in the Tug Of War. The most important thing is that they have fun, and I don't think he realized he was supposed to be disappointed.  

We made tissue paper butterflies and attached them to sticks for the children to play with. And I had brought a play silk which turned into a parachute. We are already looking forward to next year!

Shoreview Park



Our hike this week was at Shoreview Park in Shoreline, WA. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a lot of fun. I love the trails because they are a little primitive. We also pass through a few different types of environments. In one part the ground is very sandy and more dry weather plants grow. After hiking down a hill, we walk along a lake and then along a creek. Then back up again into an evergreen forest. 

Updated Spring Nature Table


Here is our updated Nature Table. I added a bird to the nest and hatched the cocoon into a butterfly. Our challenge is that the cats climb onto the table and run off with the butterfly. Fortunately, this only happens at night and I can put it back again in the morning before the kids notice. 

We also have bees and clover from a silk story I told in April and some other treasures we have collected from nature.