By The Maple Tree

Happy New Year and my new blog!

2009-12-31T10:40:00.005-05:00

I wish you all a new year full of hope, love, creativity, joy and patience.
From now on I will be blogging from manyblessings.typepad.com. I hope to see you all there. Have fun celebrating tonight and be safe!

My New Blog

2009-12-28T17:11:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to let you know that I'm in the process of turning this past year's blog into a book for my family. When I'm finished with that I will discontinue this blog as I'm starting a new blog on Typepad. I'll let you know when it's ready (hopefully by the end of the week). I hope you'll follow me there! Blessings, Jane

Love that Christmas Spirit!

2009-12-24T21:14:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T16:00:00.003-05:00

My Dear Blogging Friends, I hope you have a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2010!
Peace and Love, Jane

Stained glass cookie ornaments

2009-12-22T20:31:00.005-05:00

We made some very cool stained glass cookie ornaments today. I found the recipe here. Here is B crushing up the Jolly Ranchers. Out of the oven.

And on the tree.I also thought they'd look nice on the mantle next to B's votive holder.

I love this picture!

This darkest day of the year

2009-12-21T21:17:00.005-05:00

brought comfort for an injured hand in the form of stuffed animals, Mrs. Pigglewiggle, beeswax, ice, Hershey's kisses and hugs (and mama's kisses and hugs).It also brought candlelight as a reminder that even in the darkest days the sunshine always returns.

And it brought poetry:

Welcome to you, Old One

Welcome to the snow and ice,

The bitter cloud of your breath,

The pillow-feathered snow

Welcome you in, this Winter day.

May your blessing hold us,

May your chills avoid us,

May the bright promise

Of each clear day

Remind us of your gifts.

Old One, cold one,

Though we fear your storms,

Yet we welcome you

Into our winter hearts,

With your cleansing breath,

To blow away the old year

And usher in the new.

John Matthews: Invocation to the Old One

Hope you're surrounded by warmth and family on this darkest day of the year. Welcome back sunshine!

A little gift for my mom

2009-12-20T17:38:00.004-05:00

While Jeff was at the hardware store today he found some high-powered non-prescription reading glasses for my mom. She's been wanting some of these for a while but we could never find any-who would have thought they'd have them at the hardware store! Well, he brought home a couple of pairs and then I got to work making a glasses case for them. I'm hoping my mom will actually use this case (she tends not to use my presents and I usually find them in her basement). The one present she does use is a flower vase I made her as a child. Of course, she doesn't use it to hold flowers -instead she filled it up with sand and uses it as a door stop. Oh well, at least it's getting used!

1 day + 1 felted wool sweater = 2 upcycled hats

2009-12-19T16:09:00.004-05:00

Sorry sweater! Elf hat for my little niece

Cat hat for B. I'm hoping he'll love this hat and give up on the baseball cap!

Thanks J for modeling the hats!

Look who's watching us. . .

2009-12-18T15:20:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we made some ornaments for the birds. We took some small aluminum pie tins and filled them up with cranberries, orange slices and water. We added string to hang them from and put them outside overnight to freeze. Voila! These are some of my favorite ornaments to make-they're easy, they look nice and the animals get to eat up the fruit when they melt.

What we've been doing the last couple of weeks. It's a long post!

2009-12-15T19:37:00.019-05:00

Well, yes, we've been doing some relaxing and looking out the window hoping for snow. We did get a little bit of snow (maybe 3 inches) but then it rained and now we only have patchy snow.

But mostly there's been a lot of busyness. The good kind of busyness. The kind that doesn't include running around to malls. Well, I did make a trip to Kohl's to cash in on my $10 gift card that they sent me in the mail. I got a $26 pair of slippers that were on sale for $12.99. So, I got them for $2.99! Woohoo! I'm still excited about it mostly because I went in with my gift card and didn't buy anything else. Supreme self-control. Love those gift cards! But that was it for mall trips. Excellent. What have we been doing instead of hitting the malls? Well, there has been card writing. Shrinky Dinks (I LOVE these) and ornament painting.

Salt dough ornaments.

Oobleck and homemade silly putty.

The trimming of the tree.

Aaaaawwwww.

Playing with gingerbread playdough.

Making votive holders out of cans. These were later decorated with Sharpie pens.

We also talked about why the water in the can expanded when frozen and pushed out the bottom of the can.

There were gingerbread cookies, The Gingerbread Doll story and we read about the history of gingerbread.

Fun with the advent calendar. This is what they found when they woke up on the morning of the 10th. I've also left little messages, water marbles (a big hit), Shrinky Dink ornaments and cookie cutters.

More Shrinky Dinks. These are addictive!

J made a Shrinky Dink necklace for a Jewish friend.

Look what they got one night for Hanukkah! So, they've also been watching a lot of Looney tunes at night. Candle lighting and potato latkes and Hannukah stories and music.

Hope you're having a festive holiday season too!

Crafty Crow ornament swap

2009-12-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

The kids and I are participating in the Crafty Crow's ornament swap this year. The theme is fairy tales. So, this is what we came up with: We took our gnomes, dragon and king and placed them amongst our polymer water marbles and polymer snow. We used our scarves in the background. What do you think? I think they came out well. Each ornament is a little different but they all have pictures of our little magical scene with a message on the back. They were supposed to go out today at the very latest but they needed some finishing touches. Hopefully they'll make it out tomorrow.

And here is a cute little gnome we received in the mail today from a family in California. He seems very at home on our tree!

I finally got out those knitting needles! Warning: Don't look Grace and Sarah

2009-12-13T16:30:00.010-05:00

All fall I've been admiring the work of my knitting blogging friends such as Joy -so many beautiful hats, sweaters, etc... out there to drool over. Finally, I got out the knitting needles to make this little pig for one of my nieces for Christmas. Her name is Sophie and I think all she needs now to be complete is a scarf. The only decision left to make is which niece to give her to!

Later this evening:

That's better. She was complaining of the cold. I forgot to tell you, Sophie's an Irish pig and she's not accustomed to these frigid Vermont winters.

My all-time favorite Christmas book

2009-12-10T15:12:00.003-05:00

I have very fond memories of my mom reading stories from this book to me and my two sisters when I was a child. I loved seeing the animals at the farm snug in their beds waiting for Christmas, the little bear who had a golden heart and wanted more than anything a golden sled, the polar bear who gave up his fur to make beards for Santa's helpers . But, my absolute favorite story was that of The Christmas Tree Lamb. The lamb that had spent many Christmases on trees and being played with by little girls. He was a well-loved lamb and through the years had become shabby, had lost a couple of legs, an eye and his bell. Well, I always thought that we had that lamb. We also had a sweet little shabby lamb that came out each Christmas. I miss that lamb!

The last few years we've had our own little Christmas lamb that I'm hoping will be as well loved as the lamb I had as a child. This book has made its way into the hearts of my children while bringing back so many memories of childhood. Of course, I don't think anyone can read these stories quite like my sweet Irish mom but I'm sure giving it my best shot! I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season full of warmth and tradition.

Our Saint Nicholas Day celebration

2009-12-06T11:43:00.003-05:00

I didn't grow up celebrating Saint Nicholas Day. In fact I only heard about Saint Nicholas Day when J started kindergarten at the Waldorf school where they would leave out a slipper and on Saint Nicholas Day they would receive a little gift.
The last couple of years we've been leaving out our shoes by the hearth and in the morning the kids would find little gifts such as clementines or gnomes in their shoes. This year I was more prepared as I had found a website with great ideas about celebrating Saint Nicholas Day. Last night we read about Saint Nicholas and learned about his great generosity and how he especially looked after children. I also took The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale out from the library. It is a wonderful tale about generosity and the illustrations are beautiful!

Last night J and B left their shoes by the hearth.

This is what they found in them in the morning.

I'm so glad we've added Saint Nicholas Day to our list of celebrations. I hope you have a wonderful day. We're off this afternoon to cut down our Christmas tree!

So much goodness

2009-12-05T13:51:00.006-05:00

Do you ever feel so full of happiness that you think you just may burst? Well, that's how I feel right now. Life is good. Very good. I love this time of year. . . the celebration of loved ones, the Christmas scents and the holiday fairs. Here's a little look at some of the happiness that's been going on.

B and J making birthday cards for their Papa who is celebrating his birthday tomorrow. J is very excited about her creation.

A few days ago we had a hard day. J decided that it really should have snowed by now and she bombarded me with questions of this sort:

When is it going to snow?

Why hasn't it snowed yet?

Will it ever snow this year?

And statements such as:

It's never going to snow.

I don't like this warm weather.

I want it to snow!!!

I told them we just had to make the best of it and I went inside and made them smoothies. Things seemed to turn around after that.

We tried to make lip balm. The kitchen was filled with the scent of beeswax and coconut oil. Mmmmmmm. The lip balm turned out too waxy and I need to add olive oil and sweet almond oil but it didn't phase me. It was fun making them anyway. I'll try again in the next couple of days.

I took J out last night to the International Festival . We had a lot of fun looking at the various crafts, listening to music and watching the belly dancers. J also got a maple crepe with whipped cream and sprinkles for dinner. You can't beat that!

These are a couple of pictures J took last night with her camera.

This morning I got to have another date with my daughter. We went to two craft fairs. First we went to a fair at the elementary school in the neighboring town. J played musical numbers. When the music stopped she had to stand on a number and if your number was picked you won a cake. She played twice and she won on her second try. This is the cake she picked out. She was VERY excited.

I picked up these cinnamon vanilla candles. Don't they look nice? Well, I guess they don't look that pretty but they sure smell good!

Next, we headed across the street to the Waldorf School's fair. Julia went to kindergarten there and it was fun to take a little walk down memory lane.

Here she is decorating a gingerbread star. That didn't last long.

She also made an angel to hang on the tree (we should be getting that tomorrow).

Lots and lots of goodness. Goodbye for now!

A festive sort of day. . .

2009-12-02T20:13:00.002-05:00

Today we met some home schooling friends at the local skating rink to do some skating to some festive holiday tunes. J and B haven't been on skates since last winter and they were very excited to strap them on. They both did really well out there. Later in the day we made some gifts and decorations. J made some soap for her Earth Scout friends while I tried out making beeswax ornaments for the first time.

I was pleased with the result. The hardest part was waiting for the beeswax to melt. I can be quite impatient-just ask my sister!

I also read to them from The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden and the kids watched a Rudolph video. Now, we just need some snow!

The holiday season has begun. . .

2009-12-01T16:41:00.003-05:00

We kicked off the holiday season with my birthday the day before Thanksgiving. It was a nice birthday spent with my family at Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower 2 at Plymouth, MA. Unfortunately my uncle in Northern Ireland died right before Thanksgiving and my Mom had to rush off to be with my aunt. My parents' house wasn't the same without my Mom there.

Here are Jeff, J and B on board the Mayflower. 102 passengers slept below deck-it must have been very stinky!

We also checked out Plymouth rock. Not too exciting. It is, after all, a rock.On to Plimoth Plantation. . . Here the museum staff pretends to be living at the time of the Pilgrims. It's always very interesting and amusing.

The day after Thanksgiving we made a quick stop at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. And when I say quick, I mean quick. I think we spent longer at the cafeteria than we did at the exhibits! Our goal was to check out the mummies and the Impressionists before the kids dragged us out of the museum and we did accomplish that. I was there with my sister and her two small children (ages 3 and 5). My 3 year old niece was not impressed with the mummies-she was afraid they would give her nightmares.

Here is a dog and a cat mummy.

Renoir.

So, now Thanksgiving is past and we're on to Christmas. I threw together this Advent calendar last night while the kids watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was inspired by this blog.

And here's the back of it. Made with toilet paper tubes and an Amazon box.

We've also been celebrating advent with our homemade advent wreath.

It's been a very nice start to the holiday season. Hope you're enjoying the holidays too!

19th century farm life

2009-11-19T18:25:00.006-05:00

Today we took a field trip to Shelburne Farms to learn about life on a Vermont farm in the early 1800's. Our day started off with a little play.

This woman was waking up on a farm in the 1800's:

This woman was waking up in her room in 2009:

The kids learned about all the chores that were done on a farm in that time period. One chore was making butter. So, we made butter while singing a song to pass the time.

Next, it was off to visit the animals.

The goats enjoyed the brown November leaves.

We headed back into the barn to grind up some corn for the chickens.

And then enjoyed feeding the chickens, picking them up and collecting eggs.

B almost picked one up-maybe next time!

After lunch we made beeswax candles. J and B took their candle making very seriously and ended up with perfectly tapered straight candles. They smell so good!

Here they are with their finished candles.

We also carded wool and spun it into yarn. A perfect November day! Oh, and did you see that the coats were off while we were outside? It was almost 60 degrees and sunny here in VT.

I am thankful today for...

2009-11-17T13:48:00.002-05:00

the gift of sunshine on a cool November day,

cranberry-orange scones,

and children working together peacefully.

Our day...

2009-11-16T18:25:00.002-05:00

started off with pink hair. It was crazy hair day at J's home school all-day co-op.
Mama: Do you want me to put your hair in lots of little pig tails so it sticks up funny?
J:Mom, I want pink hair so you don't go putting my hair in lots of little pig tails! (said with appropriate attitude)
Very well. They grow up so fast! B and I stopped at our favorite library after dropping J off in the morning. We had to return Bill Nye's Stuff Happens video. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. We checked out some books, read some Thanksgiving books and went on our way.
At home there was some Club Penguin (yes, my child loves this site) and then we learned about value as it relates to art on Creativity Express.

There was some more reading and balloon play.

We started to memorize a new poem and did some writing and then made some corn muffins.

Ding dong. Friends are here! B had a play date for a couple hours while I chatted with a friend and then it was off to pick up J. From 3-5 today J had theater and she came home with some lines from The Wizard of Oz to memorize for her audition. Oh, she wants to see the movie too. I keep telling her those flying monkeys are really scary but she's not convinced. She thinks she can handle it. We'll see.

For the love of wolves. . .

2009-11-14T16:33:00.002-05:00

B is going to a birthday party tomorrow for a homeschooling friend who is turning 8. This little girl absolutely loves wolves so we thought we'd do a wolf theme for her gifts. First, she let us know that presents are optional and that she would really love it if everyone made a donation to a canine charity. So, we'll be doing that but everyone needs a few presents on their birthday, right?

Here's what we made :

I know the gifts are lacking color but I just couldn't decide on a color for the t-shirt and then I wanted to do a picture frame and I couldn't figure out a way to make it work with the cut out wolves on white background (without taking a huge amount of time to cut right along the edges). So, this is what she'll be getting. Hope she likes black and white! ;)

Happy Martinmas!

2009-11-11T18:12:00.001-05:00

November Days

2009-11-10T19:52:00.001-05:00

Outside the car window Gobble, Gobble

A Day in the Life

2009-11-07T07:55:00.006-05:00

I've enjoyed reading Dawn's account of a day in her life so much that I thought I'd do my own. This is how yesterday went:

Got up around 7 a.m. I had oatmeal for breakfast while the kids had Puffins (B) and Multi grain Cheerios (J). The kids played around for a bit and then I sent them downstairs to the basement to watch Families in China (I've been doing a little China unit with B this past week). Jeff made coffee and we enjoyed some time together having our coffee and chatting before he headed off to work.

It was a short video (30 mins.) and the kids are back upstairs in no time. I start J on spelling and B on Explode the Code 3 1/2 while I finish cleaning up the breakfast dishes and go shower. The kids are working very nicely and I'm hoping this continues throughout our morning.
I'm back down after my shower and they're just finishing up their work. I send J upstairs to study her vocabulary for her Monday home school class (they are studying art in American history and the vocabulary words all relate to this). I get out Pick of the Litter by Bill Wallace and read a few chapters to B while we snuggle on the couch.

J wanders down and says she's done with her vocabulary. We go over a few words and then I send her upstairs again to read Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet. Yeah! Back up she goes.
I decide to change gears with B and take out Singapore Math 2B and we work on telling time.

While B is working on a math worksheet I go boil some water and start preparing our petri dishes for an experiment. B comes over and measures out the gelatin and sugar. We are going to be growing some bacteria.

I look at the time. . .it's about 11 a.m. Time to get the kids fed before heading out for swimming and basketball. J has pb&j, avocado and apple. B has pb&j, banana and apple. Can't remember what I had. I gather up their stuff and we head out.

12 p.m. B has his swimming class while J heads to basketball. We are in a home school swim and sport group and this is the first week of basketball (we were doing tennis before this). I watch B's lesson while chatting with a friend.
B gets out of the pool a little early so I get him showered and we head up to the basketball court to watch J. J seems very happy with the basketball class.

1:10. J heads to swimming and I watch B play. I chat with a friend about the kids, family camps and camping.

2:15. The kids are done. We head home. We take samples for our petri dishes (B's baseball cap, the toilet handle, an armpit and inside B's sneaker). I'm hoping lots of bacteria grows in the baseball cap petri dish and B will decide to give up his baseball cap obsession.

The kids put on Ramona and Her Mother to listen to and I clean up. The kids also do some Halloween candy trading in the den. After cleaning I check on some blogs and then head upstairs to take a bath (I'm feeling a bit chilled and my throat feels a little sore). I tell the kids to make some toast and have some fruit if they're hungry.

5:30ish p.m. Jeff gets home from work and takes the kids to a pottery open studio and out to Friendly's. I get in bed and look at a favorite parenting book (Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids), think about what to make for Christmas gifts, look at some crafty blogs and check out a Ruth Beechick yahoo group. I bookmark some craft ideas and some suggestions about girls devotional books. I contemplate ways to make advent and Christmas meaningful for the kids.

8 p.m. Jeff and the kids are still out. I turn on CNN and watch Campbell Brown for a bit. I say a prayer for the victims and families of the Fort Hood massacre.

9 p.m. Jeff and the kids come home. They quickly tell me about what they made (B made two aliens and J made a cup). They need to pick them up in a couple of weeks. They head off to bed. I chat with Jeff for a while, have a couple slices of pizza he brought home, and then go to sleep at around 10 p.m.

That's it!

Nerf dart gun math

2009-11-04T16:24:00.004-05:00

B was having fun shooting Nerf darts at the window this morning and I thought, maybe I can incorporate some math into this activity. You know, homeschoolers always trying to make everything educational. :) So, I stuck little sticky notes onto the window with various numbers on them. I then called out an equation such as "What's 9 times 5?" and B would have to shoot the answer on the window. He had a lot of fun with this. We did multiplication, addition and subtraction.J came downstairs and joined in the fun too.I'm thinking this dart gun could really come in handy! ;)

Halloween

2009-11-01T19:11:00.001-05:00

Our little witch and cat had a fun Halloween. Hope you did too!

I forgot to tell you

2009-10-29T17:59:00.006-04:00

B learned how to ride a bike! We were at my parents' house last week and the kids weren't sure what to do with themselves so I sent them outside to play up at the circle. When I got out there after taking a shower, B was riding a bike. He tried a few months ago when he was there and couldn't do it and when we got home he never wanted to ride. Jeff said to me, "one day he'll decide he wants to ride and he'll be able to do it by himself." That's just what happened. By the time we left my parents' he was riding down hills and over curbs. I'm so proud of my little guy!

Here's a picture of the kids in their new pj's. My mother sends all the grand kids pj's every year. She was always worried about her kids being cold and now she likes to make sure her grand kids are nice and snug. The kids love them-thanks Mom!

I also have to thank Dawn from Renaissance Mama for the new bath products I received in the mail. I was the lucky winner of her generous giveaway a week or two back. I purchased the Rosemary and Orange Shampoo and Conditioner and some Coconut Soap using the $25 gift certificate she sent me. My limp, lifeless hair is now looking shiny and healthy. I love the smell of the soap too. Thank you Dawn!

What we've been up to the last couple of weeks

2009-10-26T20:17:00.002-04:00

Visit to Montreal. . . Museum of Archaeology, Chinese Lantern Festival at the botanical garden, the Science Center.

Worrying about swine flu. Got the shot-today.

Home schooling-Pilgrims, Puritans, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Salem Witch Trials, The Matchlock Gun, writing poems, birds and bird migration. New math program-Right Start Math. Yeah!

Grandparents and Uncle Steven came for a visit. Jeff played a free round of golf with his dad and brother.

Visit to my parents' in MA. Haircuts. Lots of reading-The Time Traveler's Wife. Dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant. Chess. Othello. Beautiful foliage.

That's about it. See you soon!

B's glow in the dark owl craft

2009-10-06T18:49:00.005-04:00

Today B finished up an owl he has been working on for a couple of days. The inspiration for the owl came from That Artist Woman. We changed the craft a little by using our triangle paper cut-outs for feathers, pipe cleaners for claws and we painted over the whites of his eyes with glow in the dark paint. The eyes really do glow! I think we may make black cats with glow in the dark eyes next.

Silly socks and more crafting fun

2009-10-01T18:04:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was silly sock day at B's soccer practice. We decided to decorate B's socks with felt faces and silk leaf fairies. He won some tie dyed socks for his creativity. The cold, rainy weather has kept us inside and we've been doing more fall crafts. We made these trees with a water color background and then made the trees by blowing the paint around.

We used some square and triangle paper cut-outs for the leaves.

J and B also finished up their leaf salt dough decorations.

J remembered making houses out of paper in second grade and wanted to try this out again.

Here's a happy little cat decorated by B.

Lastly, we strung up some peanuts for the squirrels.

Fall art projects

2009-09-29T18:57:00.002-04:00

This morning I was thrilled to click here and see two art projects I wanted to make and I was even more thrilled that I already had all the materials I needed. Isn't that the best! Here's my little fall fairy hanging over the nature table.
We used a silk leaf to make some salt dough creations (I guess the veins of actual leaves don't show up as well on the salt dough). I finished one of mine and it is on the nature table.

J and B will hopefully finish their projects tomorrow.

A very good trip to the library

2009-09-27T19:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I stopped by the library to drop off/pick up some books and there happened to be a book sale going on. I almost didn't look at the books because it was 3 p.m and the sale had been going on since 10 a.m. I thought chances were pretty slim there would be anything there I'd be interested in. Well, I was wrong. This book shelf is filled up with all my lucky finds for under $10. J has already read one Roald Dahl book (Roald Dahl is her favorite author) and she is reading another book right now. I can not tell you how excited I was (I even found a 1/2 dozen books for myself)-there really is nothing better than coming home with bags full of books. :)

Just had to pass this along

2009-09-26T09:14:00.001-04:00

It made my day yesterday when I first saw it. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btXr9tDU_Vw

Tut Tut the game-created by J

2009-09-25T17:06:00.002-04:00

J is participating in a learning co-op on Mondays. Each month there is a different theme. September's theme is archaeology. They've created time capsules, did an archaeology dig, and they're meeting with an archaeologist from UVM on Monday. Each month they need to read one book relating to the month's theme and give a presentation on the book. You can just talk about the book, do a book report or a project of your own choosing. J chose to create a board game based on the book. Here is the book she chose:
It's about 4 children who open a magical book and then travel back in time to ancient Egypt. They have quite a few adventures in ancient Egypt before locating their book and returning home. Here is the game board she created:

These are the four children who traveled back in time. She made them out of Sculpey.

If you land on certain spots you either move forward or backward depending on the card you pick. Here are some of the cards:

She also had question mark spaces. If you land on one of these spaces you have to answer the question before proceeding forward. The questions all relate to the book-she tells you which chapter the answer is in. If you haven't read the book thoroughly, you may be in trouble! She had a great time making the game and I thought it was a very creative way of presenting a book.

It's official...

2009-09-22T16:56:00.003-04:00

It's fall!

Welcome fall, we're ready for you!

A little bit of cuteness-B recites his first poem

2009-09-21T22:05:00.002-04:00

Just the two of us-harvest time

2009-09-20T13:38:00.004-04:00

I can't remember the last time I had a few hours out with just J doing something fun. Most days I'm at home with both kids and on the weekend we're together as a family. Today I suggested to J that we head to the local harvest festival (just the two of us) and amazingly, she agreed. I say amazingly because two of her neighborhood friends had just come to our house wanting to play and she passed up playing with them to go out with me. If you knew my daughter you would know how much she LOVES playing with friends. So, I was thrilled.
Out we went to the apple orchard. First stop was the craft shed. We picked up a couple crocheted dishcloths and checked out the train. Then J wanted an apple cider slush. . .yum!

She tried her hand at making cider.

Then we put our order in for Dizzy's home made donuts. We were told to come back in about 30 mins. to pick them up. That was just the right time to grab a bag and head into the orchard.

It didn't take long to fill our bag up with some lovely macs.

We got back just in time. . . here come our donuts!

We ordered powdered, cinnamon and maple.

These could be some of the best donuts I've tasted, all fresh and warm. We picked a spot under an apple tree and gobbled them up!

Before heading home we checked out the marionette show and spoke with someone from the local recycling center. She gave me information about various field trips and activities we could do with our Earth Scouts group and I left very excited and full of ideas. I can't wait to do more of these special outings with J!

Just a bit of advice. . .

2009-09-12T18:01:00.004-04:00

If you're taking your children out on a boat ride while your spouse stays home and naps, don't call the house three times and when your spouse doesn't answer send an email that says only this: Call me right away!!
Your spouse may just wake up, read the email and think something dreadful has happened.

P.S-Every thing's o.k except for a tantrum and a car that needed $400 worth of repair work. The children had the tantrum, not the husband.

Picture of the day

2009-09-11T18:13:00.001-04:00

Fairy houses and Snapfish

2009-09-10T12:04:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since J and B have felt like making fairy houses but this morning that's just what they wanted to do. They both like to use only things they find in nature and they like to keep them simple. J made a sea glass pathway (from sea glass she found at the beach yesterday) up to her fairy's tee pee. This one is for a girl fairy. She left a blueberry from our blueberry bushes in a little bowl (an acorn cap) in case the fairy got hungry.B had an entrance way arch made out of sticks with a stick and stone path leading up to his house. He also made his fairy a camp fire (the red berries are there to show the fairy that they are to light a red fire there) and left a small stick for roasting marshmallows. He also thought his fairy would be hungry and left some berries to nibble on.
This afternoon I was looking at an album I made for B for his 6th birthday in June and I thought I'd share it with you. I was visiting a friend in NJ and she showed me 2 albums she had made for her children for gifts. With B's birthday coming up, I thought this would be the perfect gift. So I stayed up late that night creating his album on Snapfish.com . Here are a few pictures from the album:
Did you catch his little tongue sticking out at me? I only saw that when I downloaded the pictures-that little rascal! ;)

First week of homeschooling

2009-09-09T17:43:00.003-04:00

Could it be only last week that we attended the Not Back to School Picnic? A lot's gone on since then. We've attended our first home school swim and sports class, both kids have started soccer and we're getting into a groove with the homeschooling. J is really enjoying the Sonlight curriculum and they're both enjoying all the math games we've been playing. B hasn't really started using his Sonlight curriculum as right now I'm working with him mostly on phonics and handwriting. We've been using Phonics Pathways and Explode the Code. For handwriting he's using the Handwriting Without Tears program and I've seen a lot of improvement in his hand writing in just a week.

J is writing a cat story.

B decided to make a beaver.

This afternoon we met some friends for a late summer romp at the beach. We have been blessed with some really spectacular weather lately and it just wouldn't be right not to enjoy it to the fullest. The kids played in the water and collected clay and sea glass for hours. Everyone was perfectly content. It may be the last lake swim of the season but I think we're all ready for fall now.

A lovely day for. . .

2009-09-08T18:17:00.008-04:00

a little bit of everything. We started off our day with french toast and Sticky Situations. Then we traveled the ocean with Christopher Columbus. We learned about African and Indian elephants and wondered whether we would like to be one for a day. We decided that yes, it would be cool to have a trunk especially so that we could use it like a snorkel.
We worked on handwriting and learned about copyrights and why they're important. There were math games-this one is called Bargain Chasement and it's from the math game book in the sidebar. We had fun with it for a while. . . Then there was a trip to the library to pick up books and story tapes. Next, we headed outside. Be played with his favorite sticks.

J cuddled up with Puddles.

I read some poetry to the kids.

And, of course, the tree was climbed.

We also made a new acquaintance.

Did some felting of who-knows-what.

And we listened to Flush, again.

We were able to add a little bit of color to our nature table and I believe Mother Nature was pleased.

Organization and a river walk

2009-09-07T13:32:00.002-04:00

This weekend I've spent a ton of time getting my house 'in order'. I started by getting out the plastic bins and putting clothes, toys and books in a bin for my sister (Susan please let me know if you don't want these), another bin for Goodwill and another bin for stuff that's beyond saving or passing along. I then got my bookshelves in order. I put all the kids' curriculum in one book case (stuff we're definitely using) and then put other curriculum that we will sometimes use in a roundabout bookshelf. I have this all divided up by subject area. In the kitchen (below) I placed some readers I will use with B and chapter books for J. I also have all my Waldorf picture books and Waldorf seasonal stuff together here.

Then I went through all the art supplies and organized them too. These probably won't stay organized for very long but I can try, can't I?!

The mudroom was a big task. I got rid of a lot of shoes and hats and mittens that no longer fit and figured out what I will need to buy for the cold weather that will be fast upon us. I've finally made room in one big closet in the mudroom for the vacuum, mops and brooms.

And for the kitchen, I bought an office supplies caddy to put all the stuff we use daily into-pencils, scissors, tape, etc... This will just stay on our kitchen counter. I feel so much better starting off the new year organized!

After lunch today Jeff and I did get a chance to go exploring for an hour while the kids were at a friend's house. I love it when I find a new spot so close to home. This is my favorite time of year. . . the leaves have just a tinge of yellow and orange. It really smelled like fall today! We'll see what the rest of the day brings, maybe a nap and then a family barbecue.

A Magical Glow

2009-09-06T21:37:00.004-04:00

Tonight we went to Shelburne Museum to see the first annual balloon glow. It was a beautiful night-the sky was clear, the stars were shining and the moon was almost full. As we walked around the museum grounds we were enchanted. There were maybe 12 balloons that were lit up and glowing in the night. It was also fun to walk around the grounds of a place that is so familiar to us but seemed quite new and magical at night. I did my best to capture the evening in pictures but it was really hard to take any good pictures of balloons that were so huge up close.

A balloon being filled next to the light house.

This is the old Ticonderoga ferry in the background. It once took passengers across Lake Champlain.

Do you think the kids had a good time? :)

Out into the wild (a family nature walk)

2009-09-05T11:14:00.008-04:00

This morning we took advantage of the glorious sunshine and went for a walk in the fields behind our house. This is a wetland area and I thought it would be a good time to walk as we've had a solid week of sunshine. Well, it was dry but we had to make our way through grasses as tall as the kids. I felt like Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer! We did get some relief in some areas where a kind soul mowed a path. Anyway, we felt like quite the adventurers!

A little, little hill the kids call Mt. Everest

B was determined to make it down to the brook.

Cotton Candy

September 3: Dr. Seuss, wolves, coyotes, worms and sun painting

2009-09-03T18:16:00.006-04:00

Today was our first day back to homeschooling. I thought I would give them a little gift for this special day. I painted a 'book' box that I had on hand and decorated it with some great Dr. Seuss quotes. Here are some of the quotes:

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And YOU are that guy
who'll decide where to go.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

You'll get
mixed up with
many strange
birds as you go.

Kid you'll move mountains!

Inside the box there were some back to home school goodies. Well, nothing to jump up and down about but some stuff that might come in handy.

Polymer clay

Pencils

Erasers

Bookmarks

Math Dice

A thesaurus and

Lollipops.

I also printed out and revised a poem I thought was appropriate but I'm just now remembering it. I'll have to give that to them tomorrow.

We played Wolves and Coyotes from a new math book called 25 Super Cool Math Board Games. It was a cool game. We also played with the new Math Dice. Again, very cool.

We worked on our handwriting, read (J read from Om Kas Toe and B worked on his qu- words) and J learned how to write a persuasive argument. Now, J is a girl that doesn't like to be told what to write about but she seemed very excited to learn this skill. I can see those gears in her head turning. . . what have I gotten myself into! :)

More reading. . .this time about homelessness. Did you know that there are about the same amount of homeless children in the world as there are people in the United States? Now that was eye opening for me. We also talked about what we could do personally to help with this.

In the afternoon. . .

Worms.

And more worms.

A little art. Sun printing on fabric.

I have to say this is quite new to me. I had only so-so results today. Could be that I was excited and didn't really read over the directions.

This is some fabric I did last spring that I think turned out much better. Oh well. If at second you don't succeed, try, try again.

Soccer for J in the late afternoon and now at 7 p.m they're just coming in after bike riding and plasma car riding with friends. It was a happy, full day. O.k, to tell the truth, B just walked in and his dad asked him how the first day of homeschooling went and he answered, "boring". Now, you just cant win. :)

Not Back To School

2009-09-02T18:53:00.004-04:00

Today the school bus came by at 7:40 a.m and whisked all the neighborhood kids off to school. What did we do? Well, mama spent quite a bit of time cleaning the kitchen while the kids played with some water balloons we found while I was organizing yesterday. Then, at about 10:45 we got all packed up and left for a Not Back to School Picnic. The picnic took place here. There was much fun to be had. I spent the time socializing while the kids spent about 3 hours playing Never Ending Tag. Do you know this game? Well, it really is never ending.

We got home, the school bus returned all the kids, and out went J and B to run around some more. Where do they get the energy?!

B had his first soccer practice this evening and I stopped by to watch. This is a big deal. Although B is very social he usually does not like to take classes of any sort. But, his love of soccer won out and right now he's dribbling his little heart out.

I'm exhausted. This was a lot of activity for me too after a week recovering from my back going out. I think I'm going to sleep well. Nighty night!

September 1, little people in the garden and what's that in the sky?

2009-09-01T21:29:00.007-04:00

Today there was some early morning TV watching (we're removing the TVs when school starts and the kids are getting their fill). Then it was off to the doctor for B's yearly exam. 75% height, 75% weight, 20/20 vision and excellent hearing. Now those are numbers that make a mama smile. He was so cute raising his little hand so enthusiastically when he heard 'the sound'. O.k, I'm gushing. But I was thrilled and thankful to hear I have a very healthy little boy.

When we got home there was some bike riding, baseball and lots of silliness. J was thrilled to find out that her voice recorder was not broken but just needed batteries. Then there was a little Rush Hour and some decorating of little wooden people. They decided to make their neighborhood friends and placed them in the garden.

Then some more baseball. And some hollering, "the ice cream truck's here!" Well, of course you need ice cream on the last day of summer (school starts tomorrow). A little football and then. . .

some more hollering. A hot air balloon! Off they went to chase it down while I got out my camera.

September sure got off to a nice start!

Look what came in the mail today

2009-09-01T13:56:00.003-04:00

I have about a gazillion math books. I can't help it. I'm always looking for ways to make math more exciting and fun for J and B. They are going to love these. Now if you hear me talking about purchasing another math book please, please, please stop me. My bookshelves are overflowing!

A Special Sort of Place

2009-08-31T17:28:00.003-04:00

"Oh no, don't go any higher!" "Come on Mob (yes, that's Mob, not Mom) I can climb to the very top!"

He just had to stick that foot in there.

Sisterly Love

"Look at me!"

Methinks autumn is on it's way!

Lovely.

Books that are inspiring me

2009-08-30T16:08:00.011-04:00

Yesterday I ventured out into the world for the first time in 5 days. I was going a little stir crazy being cooped up in the house for so long so I made a little trip to the bookstore. I didn't stay long, my back is still sore, but I did pick up a few goodies. I've been meaning to get this book for a long time. Lots of ideas in there. And another book by the same author. In the new education section of Barnes and Noble I found this. I love this book! Anything by Joseph Bruchac is great. Not sure if I'll use it with the kids at home or with our new Earth Scouts group but it will be used!

I also made a couple of little felty creations (they will be brooches when I get to the craft store). My inspiration for these came mostly from Lisa at 5orangepotatoes.com (she's always making felties!)

I made some little needle felted acorns too. I'm going to make a whole bunch of these.

My back went out

2009-08-27T15:18:00.002-04:00

My back has not been great since my little road trip a month ago. Yesterday it was a little worse and today I took the kids for a morning walk and didn't know if I could complete it. My back went into muscle spasm. :( Well, I made it home and on to the couch and the doctor prescribed me some Valium. So, I'm a little out of it but my muscles are relaxing a bit. The kids have been occupying themselves making potions and playing with sticks(B) and listening to story tapes and reading Children Just Like Me (J). They have been amazingly well behaved (this is not always the case). I've been on the couch with the computer on my lap reading through the Earth Scouts Facilitator's manual. I'll be starting an Earth Scouts group with a friend in the fall. So, we're all trying to do our best and I'm trying to remind myself that this to will pass.

Homeschoolers: Please read Please Don't

2009-08-25T18:49:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine directed me to this inspired blog. Please read Please Dont.

Thursday, July 30, 2009
please don't...
...feel guilty if you are not writing your own homeschooling curriculum for the upcoming schoolyear. If you are doing "school in a box", do not think you are a bad mommy. If you ordered all your books and syllabi in May and are enjoying the last days of summer by going camping, hiking or sitting poolside without a curriculum catalog in sight, take heart. Your children will turn out normal and smart (and will be good swimmers to boot). Or if you have many children and did not order any books because you are planning to use the same old, faithful, well read books that have been passed down from brother to sister to brother again, do not despair that you are not buying the most up and coming, trendy materials. Your children will learn and flourish nonetheless.
If you are using the same curriculum provider you used last year and the year before and the year before that, don't hang your head in shame because you are not being creative enough or because you aren't tailoring your entire curriculum to the fancies of each of your children. The key to success is to be steadfast and to stick to the basics while allowing much free time in the afternoons for things that interest your family members. A little bit done well every day is better than a school year of feast and famine, taking much time off and then catching up quickly in desperation.
I was recently talking with a college friend who is a veteran homeschooling mom. She shared her fears that she has every summer that she might plan or choose the wrong curriculum. She second guesses herself every year because she compares her plans and ideas to others around her. After all, there is so much out there. Many experienced moms do this, they spend the summer months spinning their wheels, writing elaborate plans that are only used for a few weeks. They often continue their search and change their plans even after the school year has begun. They spend hundreds of dollars on supplies and books, often times to quit midyear because they can't get it all done or because they are plagued with self doubt. It is the never ending search for the perfect curriculum.
The perfect curriculum for our family is simple and doable. That doesn't mean it is academically easy. It is one that can be done day in and day out, even when mom is sick or in the months after a baby is born. Our family spent a lot of time spinning its wheels in recent years because I overplanned all summer long and expected too many subjects to be completed during the school year. Now we mainly focus on math, reading and writing. (And reading encompasses a wide variety of subjects because one can read books about history, religion, science, art, music, nature and more.) The rest is gravy and there is plenty of time for gravy in our home when the core work is done. In fact, my daughter learned to knit, my son learned to carve wood, not because I scheduled it onto a calender but because we got the core subjects done and there was plenty of time left for them to pursue their own interests.
Let go of your guilt that you are not doing enough if you are only doing the basics. Stop reading books or visiting sites online that feed your feeling of homeschooling inadequacy. Plan as much as you need to have a successful year. No more, no less. Just because someone in your homeschooling group wants to plan their entire day down to each half hour segment or wants to study twelve different unrelated subjects each year doesn't mean you need to do the same. And resist the temptation to schedule every waking hour of your day with school work. You will burn out and so will your children.
Many subjects can be "farmed out". Maybe your kids are in scouts and can learn science while completing a merit badge. Music can be covered by the piano teacher. Physical fitness can be covered by team sports if your children play them. It doesn't have to be up to you to cover every possible subject.
And, really, there is more to life than homeschooling, isn't there? Just have the children get to the basics on a daily basis and allow lots of time for whatever floats their boats. Many of our fall and winter afternoons are spent around the fireplace with everyone together even if doing something different. The littlest may be lying on the floor drawing pictures. Another might be knitting, another reading a book or practicing an instrument. Someone else might be baking something in the kitchen. These are not things I schedule but things that happen because parents and children spend time together, live together, play and work together.
I have missed many a sunset, game of catch and good conversation with my family because I used to spend my entire summer overplanning, overtalking and overthinking the upcoming school year. Then I spent a lot of time during the schoolyear being frustrated that my elaborate plans were not being fulfilled.
Our value as homeschooling mothers does not come from the plans we write or don't write, the books we use or don't use, the schedules we create or don't create. It comes from loving and caring for our family's needs, teaching them the important things and spending time with them. This requires looking into their eyes, not staring at a computer screen, color coding and scheduling our life while our children memorize the back of our head. Turn around and look at those beauties. They will remember your face and the time you spent with them far more than the plans you write or the schedules you create.
Posted at 11:28 AM in home learning Permalink Comments (14) TrackBack (0)

August Nature Table

2009-08-22T11:36:00.002-04:00

My brave little girl

2009-08-20T11:41:00.003-04:00

This morning I took J to the dentist to get two teeth pulled (or jiggled as they say). This was not our first time. She went a few months ago but did not like the idea of laughing gas (what they call happy air) and left with teeth intact. She is a very sensitive child and does not like the idea of breathing in something that's going to make her feel different (even if it's different in a good way). Her eyes are sensitive to light, her ears are sensitive to noise (not a big fan of the movie theater) and her nose is sensitive to smells (she has walked out of restaurants because she doesn't like the smells). So, this was not something either of us were looking forward to. But, she did it! I was so proud of her. The laughing gas didn't seem to have any effect on her except for making her feel shaky and she talked the whole time about all the weird sensations she was feeling. I think she's going to be like her mama and have a high tolerance for drugs. . .who knows. Anyway, she went through with it even though she was so scared and today she has a sore mouth and a very proud mama. I hope the tooth fairy appreciates these two teeth!

Mile long swim, playing with rocks,fun in the sun, bbq

2009-08-19T19:10:00.005-04:00

Just thought I'd catch up on posting some pictures. The first one is of Jeff after he swam a mile from an island to shore in some very choppy water. Uncle Wilson and J rowed beside him to make sure he was o.k.

It's been hot. Very hot and humid and I haven't felt like doing much of anything. The shades have been down all day and I've been moving very slowly. We did make some rock sculptures though. . .

And we played with shaving cream. . .

A few days ago J really wanted to have over all her neighborhood friends for a BBQ and campfire. I think they had a good time. . .

Puddles found a nice, cool place to take a nap.
Stay cool!

A little homeschooling update, quiet neighborhood and blueberries

2009-08-13T15:07:00.003-04:00

I came back from a week at family camp and felt all vacationed out. So, I decided to start doing a little homeschooling with the kids on Monday. J is studying early American history and she's been reading about Native American life (in a very general way). On her own she's been reading Om Kas Toe and I've been reading Walk the World's Rim to J and B. We've also created a timeline by the stairs going to the basement. We've also been reading an interesting book called Diary of an Early American Boy by Eric Sloane. It's a semi-fictional account of a boy living in 1805.
B has been working on his handwriting with his Handwriting Without Tears book. He seems to really like it. He's also been working on his reading skills while using Explode the Code.
We haven't really started math yet as I am still unsure as to what I'm going to do with J. I tried out Singapore 2B with B but he didn't seem too interested. I'm going to stick with it though for a little bit and see how it goes. The three math curricula I'm most interested in are Math-U-See, Right Start math and the Key To series. Any recommendations?
I've also been doing some drawing lessons with them using Mark Kistler's Draw Squad. They both really seem to enjoy that.
That's it. . .the neighborhood's been quiet as all their friends have been away. One family came back home last night and they all went out bowling. This afternoon they have been over climbing trees, playing with water guns and picking blueberries. The blueberries are better than ever this year but I'm afraid the bushes have some disease. The leaves are all spotted. Ugh. I hope we don't lose the bushes. I'll have to investigate. All's well on this hot summer day.

A few more vacation pictures

2009-08-08T08:07:00.004-04:00

We went out on a boat ride the other day and I snapped a picture of where we're staying from the boat. Uncle Wilson and J out for a sunfish sail.Some fun at the playground.

My sister out at "the point".

B and his cousin had fun playing with their food at lunch.

We had a great, sunny week away!

An Adirondack walk

2009-08-05T08:32:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I took a couple hours for myself and went for a walk by the Sacandaga River. What a beautiful walk! I love this walk because it is an interpretive trail so I get to learn the names of the local flora and fauna as well as enjoying the beauty all around me.

Today is another sunny day and I expect we'll spend it by the lake. My brother-in-law is renting a sunfish so he'll be taking us all out for rides this afternoon. After dinner my older sister and her family are leaving to go back to China. We'll miss them all so much! :(

Fun at family camp

2009-08-04T06:58:00.004-04:00

Every year my parents treat our family (along with my sisters' families) to a week at a family camp in the Adirondack mountains. I thought I'd share a few pictures of the trip so far as I wait for the dining hall to open for breakfast.
Here is the view from outside our cabin. We are right on the water!Every Monday night at the camp they have a carnival night. This is the children's dress up parade.This year they've added a new state of the art sports complex. It's awesome! That means they've been able to add games such as these to the carnival night. Here J is attached to a rope with her cousin at the other end. They are both trying to get the basket balls in the hoop while been tugged in the other direction.Another fun game. They are trying to knock each other off a platform.Boxing!My darling niece Sarah dressed up for the parade.Out for an evening kayak.Relaxing by our campfire after the carnival.
Look who was outside my door at 6:30 this morning!

I'll try to share more pictures later this week. Happy summer!

Next year's curricula

2009-07-24T13:34:00.017-04:00

After a lot of thought and far too much time on the computer, I've finally come up with a curricula for J and B for next year. I had been drifting from Waldorf to Charlotte Mason to Unschooling and now I'm back with mostly Charlotte Mason with a bit of Waldorf.

J will be using Sonlight 3+4 for history and geography(American history). 3+4 stands for the 1st and second half of American history, not 3rd and 4th grade. She will also be doing reading, language arts and science with Sonlight (grade 4). I chose Sonlight because it fits wells with a Charlotte Mason educational philosophy and uses mostly living books rather than text books. I will also add some Norse mythology to her curriculum and some form drawing(both taken from Waldorf curricula). J will continue with Saxon 5/4 for math until she finishes it and then we may change to Right Start Math or Math U See.

B will also be doing Sonlight for history, language arts and science. He will be doing Sonlight 1+2 for history and second grade language arts and science. For math I've chosen Singapore 2B. I may also purchase the math card games from Right Start to use with B.

These will be very reading intensive curricula but if we do have extra time I'd like to continue reading the Little House books with the kids and do some activities out of the Prairie Primer with them.

For nature study I will be using The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.

That's it for now!

Oh, and of course, there will be lots of field trips!

I'd love to hear what everyone is planning for next year-unschooling, Charlotte Mason, Waldorf.

Our road trip

2009-07-20T10:58:00.013-04:00

Last week I took J and B on a little road trip. Our first stop was Albany, NY where we just spent the night on the way to NJ. I took this picture at 3:45 a.m. It's evidence that when J and B are given more than a single bed to sleep in they end up sleeping sideways(one reason Jeff and I don't like sharing our bed with the kids!)Next stop, Pennington, NJ. We were visiting a friend of mine and her three kids. B was quick to make friends with 6 year old Jack.That evening we caught fireflies. J and B had never seen them before! I loved catching fireflies as a child growing up in MA but I don't know if we're just never outside at the right time but I don't seem to see them up in VT(maybe it's too cold for them???) Anyway, they really enjoyed this activity!And there was the night time bouncing on the trampoline. We had lots of fun-thanks Lisa!Then it was off to Philadelphia to chat with Betsy Ross and see her house.We viewed the Liberty Bell.And saw where the Declaration of Independence was signed.We learned all about Ben Franklin and saw where he lived. The kids are holding up flags that they got while touring historic Philadelphia. There are 13 storytelling benches where you can sit and be entertained by wonderful actors as they tell you a story. After listening to the story they give you a star to put on your flag. This was a great way to keep the kids interested in all this history!We took a Duck tour of the city.And played a lot in the hotel pool. I didn't get a picture but there was a wonderful market(Reading Terminal Market)right next to our hotel. They sold anything and everything you could possibly want along with Amish goods. We had fun there too!Next stop-Mystic, CT. My sister's family joined us there. The first day we went to the Mystic Aquarium and saw the beluga whales.We also learned about piranhas. We took in a sea lion show.
And we enjoyed feeding the sting rays. We decided it felt a little like a vacuum when they take the food from your hand.

The next day we visited the Mystic Seaport Museum. We were thrown overboard by a whale.

We saw a little play about life on a whaling ship.

Here is a picture of the last wooden whaling ship. I think this ship was built in about 1840.

The kids enjoyed going on the ship and seeing how they lived while out at sea.

We saw a wonderful magic show.

We learned that the terms upper case and lower case letters came into existence because in print shops the upper case letters were stored in the upper case, lower case in the lower case.

We learned how to make some knots.

And we played Skittles. B loved this game!

It was a beautiful day at the seaport!

Tomorrow we return to VT.

Happy anniversary Jeff!

2009-07-16T18:43:00.004-04:00

Fourteen years ago today my husband and I were married here on a beautiful, sunny evening. About 100 of our friends/family joined us in celebrating. It was a wonderful evening. This is the first year(I think) that I've been away from Jeff on our anniversary and I miss him! I'm in Mystic, CT and he's back home in VT. So, here's to another wonderful 14 years (and hopefully many, many more). I love you Jeff!

100th post, quiet week and road trip

2009-07-11T16:25:00.010-04:00

I can't believe I made it to 100 posts-quite an achievement for someone who doesn't like to stick with things! My blogging has slowed down a bit recently with the slower summer lifestyle but I'm still enjoying blogging just as much. I think I might just make it to 200 posts!

This week has been quiet. J was at camp from 8-5 every day so it was just B and I for what B likes to call "J and B time". We went into Burlington one morning for the International Waterfront Festival and watched and listened to these very talented storytellers/musicians.

We picked hydrangeas from the garden:

And wild flowers from our lawn that hadn't been mowed for 3 weeks:

There were a couple trips to the toy store to buy marbles, a day visiting with a homeschooling friend and a morning at the lake. That's about it!

Our quiet lifestyle will soon be changing as I'm packing up the kids and going on a little road trip. I'll be on the road for 6 nights. I'll try to post while I'm away if I get a chance!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-07-03T13:33:00.007-04:00

The last couple of days I've been at my parents' house in the western suburbs of Boston. I've been having a great time looking through drawers of old photos. One project I'd like to do over the next couple of years is to put all of my childhood pictures into albums. I thought I'd share a few of these pictures with you.
Here is my sister Cathy helping me to walk.

A family photo. Mom, Dad, Jane, Cathy(1 1/2 years older) and Susan(1 1/2 years younger) I loved this inch worm!

My sister Susan and I sitting on the couch in our play room. This picture was taken in the field behind our house. I don't look very happy here but I have many, many happy memories of playing in this field and picking wild flowers.

The three sisters-Susan, Jane and Cathy.Yikes!
Happy birthday to me!

Wearing my school shirt.

Growing up.
High school graduation and prom.

I think I was about 21 here.

World Trade Center May 1994. :( Jeff and I were married the following year.

An Honest Scrap

2009-07-02T10:53:00.013-04:00

Joy, my blogging friend from You know how we're an art family , tagged me for Honest Scrap so I thought I'd play along. Here are 10 honest things about me.

1. I fantasize about living out of an Airstream RV and traveling throughout the United States. I want to go to all 50 states and see everything! It's a challenge for me to stay in any one place for any length of time. My poor family! I think it's quite an achievement that I've lived in VT for over 5 years now (although this is my third residence in VT)

2. I enjoy folding laundry almost as much as my mom does (she just came into the room and took all my laundry away to fold-boy did she look happy!)

3. After high school I took off by myself to go to Australia for 6 months. I did a little babysitting, lots of hiking and did some volunteer work on organic farms. When I came back, I missed Australia so much that I wanted to become an Australian citizen and even sent away for the paperwork to become one.

4. I think I love homeschooling even more than my kids do. My favorite part of homeschooling is reading tons of books to the kids, doing science experiments and learning all about the natural world. Oh, and going on lots of field trips!

5. If I was to have another job (other than being a full time homeschooler) I would love to work at a living history museum. I'm thinking Williamsburg, Sturbridge Village or Plimoth Plantation. I want to dress up and pretend to live in another time!

6. I love doing creative projects. My only problem is that I never stick with anything long enough to get really good at any one thing. I'm much more process oriented than product oriented.

7. I'm starting a new blog with a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I feel this will help give me direction and help me to achieve my goals. Right now I'm in the process of coming up with my list.

8. I have a hard time traveling with other people. I want to do exactly what I want to do when I want to do it. I really don't like waiting around for people. Some people might call me impatient! O.k, a lot of people. :)

9. I really enjoy blogging and am very excited when one of my blogging friends has a new post. I love to hear about all the exciting things people are doing and hear about their lives. I would love to meet some of my blogging friends in real life some day!

10. I am a very novice blogger. I wanted to post the picture for Honest Scrap on this post but couldn't figure out how to do it. I'd love to have pictures of books we're reading on the sidebar with links to the books but I can't figure that out either. If you can help me out, let me know!

I would love to read Honest Scraps from these people:

Tara- Periwinkles and Pine
Andrea-Saying Yes 2 Boys
Lisa- Goose and Binky
Lisa- 5 Orange Potatoes

More Cape Cod bliss

2009-06-30T14:51:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was my last full day at the Cape. In the morning I took J to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. We first learned about Cape Cod during the Ice Age and how it's changed since then. J is sitting in front of a woolly mammoth tusk in this picture. It's hard to imagine such immense creatures roaming Cape Cod!
Here is a woolly mammoth tooth!

Next, we went to watch the osprey. The museum has a camera focused on an osprey nest behind the museum. A mama osprey was feeding her three babies while we were there.

After hanging out with the osprey for quite a while we went downstairs to the aquarium. We gazed and gazed at these moon jellies. So beautiful!

While I was there I showed a volunteer a picture of the turtle we saw out in the ocean the other day. She told us it was a diamond-backed terrapin.

A picture with a lobster is always fun. . .

And a picture with a toad fish. I love this guy!

What a great museum. I could have stayed there all day learning about marine life but J was ready to go. We spent the afternoon at the beach. It was low tide and these boats were just sitting on the sand. The fog, as you can see, was so dense and you could walk and walk without reaching the sea. Beautiful and mysterious. I felt like I had walked right into a murder mystery!

This here's Hermie. J befriended many hermit crabs.

Goodbye Cape Cod-see you next year!

A Cape Cod Day

2009-06-29T22:16:00.006-04:00

Today started off rainy so J snuggled up in bed while the boys went out on the porch to play cards. I finished up Plainsong (I hate it when a good book ends!) and then we all got ready to go to the Brewster Store. J and B got to pick out some penny candy-a hard choice!

Then we drove along route 6A to Sandwich. Our first stop was pizza and then on to the Thornton W. Burgess Museum. We learned a bit about his life growing up in Sandwich and I purchased his first book of bedtime stories which he wrote for his son.

Next we visited a trout hatchery also in Sandwich. I've never been to a fish hatchery so that was pretty interesting. These trout are being raised here and then being released into the wild.

A quick detour to Hyannis to tour the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory. The kids were happy to receive free potato chips at the end of the tour. This helped a little with B's mood (he really had just wanted to stay back at the cabin and play cards. It can be so hard to meet every one's needs!)

As the sun was coming out, we headed back to the cabin. Jeff and the kids went swimming in the lake while I rested my back. When they returned Jeff and B decided to play some soccer and cards while J and I headed to the bay.

Aaahhhhh!

J entertained herself for quite a while playing with what she called "goo pods" (seaweed) while I took in all this beauty.

We went back and got B and Jeff and headed to Cobies for dinner.

Waiting for dinner.

Then off to the bay for a little walk.

I learned while I was here that barnacles attach their heads to rocks and kick in their food. They are open when they are in water and then close up when out in the sun to protect themselves. They are attached to the rocks with limestone that they produce using ocean water (correct me if I'm wrong!) They stay like this for the whole of their adult lives.

Good night Brewster!

Summer vacation

2009-06-28T22:29:00.005-04:00

I've been away on vacation since last Thursday and haven't wanted to spend much time on the computer but I thought I'd share a little of what we've been doing. First of all, we're staying in a little cabin in Brewster, MA (Cape Cod). This is my second year staying at this cabin and I'm enjoying every minute of it! The day we arrived was a beautiful, sunny day (they haven't seen many of these at the Cape recently) so we first headed to the lake at Nickerson State Park. My sister and her three kids were able to join us for a few days. They are staying with my parents in MA for the summer (they live in China). Here are Brianna and Christopher checking out their rock treasures.

The lake was full of tadpoles. The kids were able to just catch them with their hands (they released them after a few minutes).

We then headed to Brewster bay. This is one of my favorite spots. At low tide, the tide goes out maybe a mile or two(I'm terrible at estimating distances) and becomes a wonderful spot to explore and study marine life. One little boy found this turtle in the ocean. Isn't it cute!

The next morning when we woke up J made us all some pancakes. She's quite skilled with that spatula!

Then it was back to the bay for some kite flying(this here's Robo-man, he came with my sister from China).

Elliot is showing us that he knows his letters and sounds.

Some digging in the sand. . .

A magical scene. . .

Some card playing before bedtime. B is teaching his cousins some of his favorite games.

This morning brought more cards (today it was spoons). . .

And then my sister and her kids left to go back to my parents' house. :( Jeff took J and B biking on the rail trail (a wonderful bike trail that goes through maybe 6 towns-a total of about 25 miles) while I read Plainsong by Kent Haruf back at the cabin. I'm thoroughly enjoying this book!

This evening we drove to Wellfleet to go here:

This was the one place Jeff really wanted to go to while at the Cape. And here is the dish he wanted to have-Portuguese stew. Delicious!

On the way home from dinner I had Jeff snap a picture of my favorite store around here as we drove by. They have everything you could ever need while on vacation. The penny candy section is always a hit!

Hope you're all enjoying your summer as well. I'll catch up on my blog reading when I return home!

A toad-aly fun day

2009-06-23T18:13:00.001-04:00

The strawberry festival!

2009-06-20T18:56:00.009-04:00

Today we went here for a strawberry festival. We all had a good time. There was the eating of strawberry shortcake,

and the climbing on tires,

the feeding of the animals,

a kiss for B,

climbing at the playground

and the Bouncy House!

Stuff we made today

2009-06-19T20:01:00.004-04:00

Freezer paper stencilled t-shirts and a tie dyed t-shirt(J made the tie dye at a friend's house).

A ring made from a dollar bill.This is the book with the ring in it. There are so many fun, creative ideas in here!Gross food. Dinner! Actually, while I was making this for the kids they were invited to a friend's house for dinner so Jeff had to eat it for dinner. Yum, yum! ;)

A conversation overheard

2009-06-18T16:53:00.002-04:00

The other day I was out in the garden pulling weeds when I overheard a little conversation going on between J, B and two of their neighborhood friends. The kids were doing some inventing using things such as sticks and pine cones. One child invented an electric toothbrush. "That's already been invented" said J, "and it's really popular". "No, this is an electric toothbrush hand. You sit in front of it and the hand brushes your teeth" said the 6 year old girl. I giggled to myself (this child strikes me as one who doesn't like to do much work). How fitting. Next, I overheard their 10 year old boy friend say that he was inventing a virtual reality video game. Also fitting-this child is very technology savvy. I wonder what J and B are inventing? Well, it didn't take long before I found out. They pointed a stick at me and said, "this is a mind control remote control. Now, run around the house". Again, very fitting. Let's hope these two never run for office! Oh, and watch out if you see J and B coming with a stick!

Here we go again!

2009-06-15T14:32:00.004-04:00

Stilts, golf, camp fires, Joe

2009-06-14T18:30:00.004-04:00

This was a very dreary week. And, although I hate to complain about weather, those stratus clouds really get me down. Fortunately, the forecast for this weekend was promising (which means not a complete wash out) so I thought, let's pack up and head out of town. Our first stop was the Cabot Creamery in Cabot, VT. They were celebrating their 90th anniversary by having a dairy festival. For me, this is absolute bliss. I love all dairy products and I especially love small festivals in out-of-the-way towns. There was free Green Mountain coffee (yeah) and free Ben and Jerry's ice cream (double yeah). Music, children's games and a walking cow named Daisy. We also saw our Governor (he's everywhere) and got to say hello to our favorite Senator (Bernie Sanders). What more could you ask for? Oh yeah, there was cheese galore (but you knew that). Here is J trying out stilts for the first time. She progressed to the next level up. Next, on to Danville. Danville is a sleepy little town a few towns over from Cabot. We were camping here for the night. B's trying out the mini golf at the camp site. He got two holes in one!

J got a hole in one too.

After heading into St. Johnsbury for dinner at a diner, we went back to the camp site to toast some marshmallows. The kids like to burn theirs while I like to brown mine to perfection.

In the morning we headed into Danville for breakfast at Joe's Pond Cafe. I loved it! When you walk in, there is the store to the left and then on the right side was a counter with three local men hanging out and having breakfast. We pulled up our stools and ate alongside them. Pancakes, french toast and eggs. Yum! There was only one guy behind the counter and he did a great job. If you're ever in Danville, you should stop by! That's about all there is in Danville.

Well, there's also Joe's Pond. We hung out for a while and watched the ducks.

Then back home for a nap on the hammock. Ahhhhh.

In Bloom

2009-06-12T21:33:00.003-04:00

I keep having to remind myself that all this rain is good for the garden!

A jazzy sort of day

2009-06-10T14:05:00.005-04:00

Today we headed into Burlington to hear some jazz out on Church St. J took a little video with her camera. Burlington has a jazz festival every year for about a week and it was fun to get a chance to take the kids to hear some music.

B wasn't too interested in the music but he was into climbing on all the rocks on Church St.(there are about a dozen). He's been really into rocks lately!

Then there was a stop at the candy store and back home again. The afternoon consisted of playing with neighborhood friends and planning a party for Friday when school is officially out. I'm not sure exactly what they have in mind but they made their own pinata and I've agreed to get candy for it. We shall see!

Here's what we've been up to. . .

2009-06-09T15:32:00.007-04:00

Taking a ferry ride from Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY

Playing at the playground in Essex.

Climbing rocks.

Discovering new things to do with a see-saw.

Visiting the Ethan Allen Homestead to learn some local history and play some early American games. In this game, you have to pass the bone behind your back and the other team tries to guess who has the bone when you stop.

J dressed in mid 18th century clothing. Doesn't she look sweet?!

Playing with neighborhood friends.

Celebrating birthdays. B turns 6 on Thursday and we had both sets of grandparents and my sister's family up last weekend to celebrate. My sister also turned 40 on Sunday but she lives in China and could not be with us to celebrate. Happy birthday Cathy!!!

Enjoying time with cousins. We took everyone on a root-filled walk on Saturday by the bay. My three year old niece did a great job jumping over the roots trying to keep up.Pounding on rocks. B literally spent hours doing this on Saturday. I think he was inspired by our recent trip to a quarry.

And visiting the ECHO lake aquarium in Burlington. B is shooting off a rocket here.

J and B are playing in the fog outside the aquarium. The fog is pumped out through these rocks.

Hope you're all enjoying these late spring days!

Flying over Vermont

2009-06-08T20:00:00.003-04:00

We watched a hot air balloon fly by as we sat on our deck this evening. This was the first of the season-we are usually surprised by three or four during the summer months. Sometimes they land in our neighborhood and we run out from our house to watch them land. Always exciting to watch! Has anyone ever taken a hot air balloon ride?

2009-06-03T16:30:00.005-04:00

We made a quick visit today to Shelburne Farms. Yes, that is the farm along with a school that rents space. Pretty amazing, huh?Right when we arrived we were asked if we'd like to go out to a field with a portable chicken coop to collect the eggs. J said, "Yes!". What do you think B said?B was happier when he saw all the eggs in the coop.I'm not sure that the chickens were excited to see us.Look at all those eggs. Makes me want an omelet!
We washed the eggs and then went into the barn to see the animals.The one black sheep was J's favorite.This is Marx. He's a 1 month old brown Swiss bull calf. This milking cow stuck her tongue out at me when no-one was looking.Then it was on to see the chicks and the chickens. J finally picked up a chicken. She's been wanting to for a while but I think she's been a little scared until today. As you can see, she was awfully excited! We had so much fun that we decided to get a membership. We'll be back!

Chocolate, water guns, veggies, clay

2009-06-02T19:52:00.008-04:00

Today we visited Lake Champlain Chocolates factory. It was fun learning about chocolate production and watching them make the chocolates (and, of course, eating the samples).

When we got home J and B wanted to try out their water guns and I thought we could do some art.

I call this one of B's Scrambled eggs and fried eggs.

Then it was time to collect clay at the beach with some friends.

I think I have about 20 lbs. of clay in the car!

Rock of Ages

2009-06-01T14:07:00.006-04:00

I took the kids today to the Rock of Ages granite quarry in, where else, but Graniteville, VT. First we saw an informative movie in the visitor center and then went out to the quarry to watch the granite removal in action. Very cool. We saw them lift a huge slab of granite with a crane while we were there. We learned that the granite goes down to a depth of 10 miles underground and that it would take 4,ooo years to use up all the granite at this site. Wow. Of course, I had to get a picture but when I snapped the photo I realized that I had forgotten to put the card back in the camera after downloading pictures yesterday. Ugh. Anyway, here is the brochure and some sample granite pieces we were allowed to take home. I didn't know what to do with them so they ended up in the garden. The grey pieces are from the VT quarry, the others are from out of state.

Wacky weather

2009-05-31T20:16:00.007-04:00

We've had some crazy weather here the last few days. First, we had rain, rain and more rain. In fact, we had so much rain that some seagulls got confused and decided to take up residence in my backyard for a couple of days!

Then, this evening I was having dinner at a friend's house when we had to get all the kids indoors because the wind really picked up and branches were falling from trees. The kids all rushed to the basement screaming, "tornado, tornado!" They're a little dramatic!

When I got home, my husband called for me to come outside to see a beautiful double rainbow. The photos do not do it justice. I think we have some more unsettled weather in the forecast this week!

I was curious about what causes a double rainbow and here is an explanation I found at eo.ucar.edu/rainbows/

What makes a double rainbow?Sometimes we see two rainbows at once, what causes this? We have followed the path of a ray of sunlight as it enters and is reflected inside the raindrop. But not all of the energy of the ray escapes the raindrop after it is reflected once. A part of the ray is reflected again and travels along inside the drop to emerge from the drop. The rainbow we normally see is called the primary rainbow and is produced by one internal reflection; the secondary rainbow arises from two internal reflections and the rays exit the drop at an angle of 50 degrees° rather than the 42°degrees for the red primary bow. Blue light emerges at an even larger angle of 53 degrees°. his effect produces a secondary rainbow that has its colors reversed compared to the primary, as illustrated in the drawing, adapted from the Science Universe Series Sight, Light, and Color.
It is possible for light to be reflected more than twice within a raindrop, and one can calculate where the higher order rainbows might be seen; but these are never seen in normal circumstances.

Happy stuff this week

2009-05-28T16:11:00.005-04:00

Enjoying wishing wells.

Look at that happy face and the little upturned toe. I love it!

Pretending to be a baby.

This is an adult cradle at Shelburne Museum. I was told by the guide that the cradle was built by the Shakers (this one is a replica) and the elderly and infirm would use this as a sort of day bed. It would be placed in the kitchen by the hearth.

Growling like a bear-yes, my kids do this a lot!

Climbing trees before the rain comes.

Creating spring napkins.

Coloring on rocks with rocks.

Little kids, little dog, big dog, big sculptures. . .all in NJ

2009-05-23T16:05:00.014-04:00

Scenes from NJ

Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ

Taking off!

2009-05-22T14:44:00.004-04:00

I'm taking off to NJ this evening to visit a good friend from high school who I haven't seen in years. Just me, no husband or kids. I'm excited for some good ol' female bonding time. Anyway, I've been busy getting things in the garden and doing a bit of cleaning before I leave so I haven't done too much with the kids today. We did get in one fun project though-homemade stomp rockets! If you're interested in making one you can go to the exploratorium web site and do a search for stomp rockets.
"Now what are they up to?" says puddles."Wow, it works!"Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!

It's Great To Be Alive Celebration

2009-05-21T18:55:00.018-04:00

Yesterday I was thinking about birthdays and all the little holidays we celebrate and I thought, why don't we ever have a real celebration just because it's great to be alive on this amazing planet? So I went out last night and picked up a few supplies and we celebrated. First, there were the streamers. J came downstairs this morning and said, "isn't it a little early to put up streamers for B's birthday?" His birthday is a month away. Oh, I forgot to mention that this celebration was a surprise.

Then there was the decorating and filling of the water balloons. It was steamy here today. . .mid 80's! Some of the balloons weren't quite in a celebratory mood.
Next, it was outside for some fun. The fun mostly consisted of chasing me around the backyard and pelting me with the balloons and the water splat balls.

J and B got some new celebratory ducks for the pool.

Time for some lemonade! We headed inside for some lunch and to cool off and then enjoyed some ice cream cake out on the deck. Yum, yum!

Now it's time for some shaving cream fun.

Wrestling anyone?

To the slide!

Time to rinse off and go meet friends at the beach. Well, B is still in wrestling mode.

Aaaaahhhhh. Beautiful Lake Champlain! Those are the Adirondack mountains in the background.

It was a glorious day and I'd have to say we enjoyed life to its fullest.

Another day, another museum

2009-05-20T19:55:00.003-04:00

As I may have already mentioned, I've been itching to see and do new things. So, when I woke up this morning and it was cloudy and cool (not what was expected) I packed up the kids and drove to Montpelier. We went to a small (every thing's small in VT) VT history museum. This catamount was the first thing we saw when we entered the museum. It is the last documented catamount to be seen in VT. I guess a catamount is the same as, or similar to a mountain lion or a puma. I'm not really sure. Anyway, it hasn't been seen around here since the 1800's. This one weighed in at 182 lbs.

We also learned about the Abenaki (the local Native Americans). J and B did quite a good job identifying these fur pelts.
We learned that Vermont children used to help out a lot with chores. They often carried two heavy buckets of water(can't remember if it was 30 or 50 lbs. I think 30. Do you see a trend with my memory!) B is trying to lift just one of them. Those kids must have been strong!And J and B sent a telegraph.

J loved the museum. B kept saying he was bored. But, that's typical for B. If he can't run around, it's boring. Although when his dad asked him how the museum was he said, "Awesome!" Go figure.

We also met my husband for lunch (Mexican-yum, yum). And then the kids ran off to the neighbor's when we got home. It's 8:15 now and they're off riding bikes and plasma cars. Have you ever gone on a plasma car? They are a lot of fun. B went down our street on one with my husband close behind. I almost died. We live on a small hill and he flew down!!! I can see him out the window-looks like he survived. Goodnight!

Shelburne Museum

2009-05-18T15:18:00.013-04:00

Our local museum opened yesterday for the season and we were excited to go check it out. I love going to it because it's interesting for both the kids and the adults and the kids have lots of room to run around.

Our first stop, as always, was the antique carousel. The kids ride on this over and over and over again.

Next stop-the Circus Building. Another favorite for the kids. The Kirk Bros. hand carved about 3,500 wooden animals and people from about 1910-1950's. Very cool and much, much more impressive in person.

We saw the train, above, and the Ticonderoga(not pictured-an old Lake Champlain ferry). Had lunch, ice cream and a big bag of skittles.

Then, with full bellies, we lounged around and watched the ducks and the cutest little ducklings. I tried to get them in the second picture.
We checked out the old wagons. This one is a conestoga wagon used for carrying cargo.

We made a stop at the printer's and watched some posters being printed. The printer gave us a little puzzle to figure out. See if you can solve it. It took us a minute or two-the printer was quite impressed!

How quickly can you find what is so unusual about this paragraph? It looks so ordinary that you would think nothing was wrong with it at all, and in fact, nothing is. But it is unusual. Why? If you study it, and think about it, you may find out, but I am not going to assist you in any way. . . you must do it without coaching. No doubt, if you work on it, it will dawn on you. . . who knows? Go to work now and try your skill. Par is about half an hour.

Did you get it???

With our bad luck, we ended up in jail. J doesn't look too sad about it.
We climbed some beautiful flowering trees.

Got hot.

And checked out the bikes one last time.

Now it's off to soccer practice! O.k, If you scroll down you will find the answer to the puzzle.

Answer: There are no e's in the paragraph.

Date Night

2009-05-15T21:54:00.005-04:00

We have been trading babysitting nights with our neighbors and tonight was our night to go out. We headed south to a little town called Bristol. It's a sort of funky, throwback to the sixties sort of town. First we went for dinner at Mary's at the Inn at Baldwin Creek. It was fantastic. We tried the cream of garlic soup which won an award for being the best soup in Vt (I don't remember who gave out the award. . .probably the chef's sister). It was delicious. I also had the lemon crusted tofu which was very good.

Then it was off to the waterfall. I can't wait to go swimming here on a hot summer day! We still had some time so we went into town for coffee and a cookie and Jeff admired the motorcycles outside. Now it's time for a little Keith Olbermann-the perfect end to a perfect day!

Marbles, bowling and bonding time with Dad

2009-05-14T18:05:00.002-04:00

These marbles have provided so much entertainment to my children the last few days. B loves to tell stories with them and they have races and bouncing contests. J has them participating in other competitions. It just goes to show you that the simplest toys can provide the most opportunity for imaginative play. They are both working through some issues with competition!
This afternoon we met some friends for a string of bowling. Here are J and B in action! They'll be going again on Saturday for a Girl Scouts party to celebrate all the cookies J sold this spring.
And lastly, B has been bonding with his dad while playing sports. The minute Jeff gets home he says, "can we go outside and play basketball or football or soccer." He's really gotten good at dribbling the ball!

Scavenger hunts, playgrounds and math outside

2009-05-13T17:51:00.017-04:00

Monday the clouds went away and so did our less than wonderful moods. You really have to try to be in a bad mood when the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the temperatures are in the 60's and 70's. On Monday we went to the Perkins Museum of Geology at the University of Vermont. I had no idea it existed until just recently. The kids did a geology scavenger hunt and then we picnicked outside. It was too glorious a day to be inside so we headed over to a friend's house for an afternoon of
outdoor fun.

Tuesday we met some friends for a picnic at North Beach in Burlington. The kids had a great time playing on the play structures.

Today we did a nature scavenger hunt at the meadows and wetlands behind our house. Anyone know what that triangular thing is???

And then there was some long division (it's a lot more fun outside with chalk!)

A Cure for Boredom

2009-05-10T13:32:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I experienced something I haven't experienced in a very, very long time. Boredom. Absolute boredom. The weather was cool and gloomy. I felt uninspired. I tried gardening but the black flies (or whatever those little pesky bugs are) drove me inside. I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do or anywhere I wanted to go. Usually I love to read but not yesterday. Oh, I was in such a rut! Then I thought, what I'd really love is to be read to. Now, my kids read to me all the time but they aren't quite up to Pride and Prejudice. (Hee, hee) That's what I wanted to hear. So, my wonderful husband indulged me. He sat down on the couch next to me and I closed my eyes while he read. It was really so nice to enjoy a book in this way. And, yes, I think he enjoyed it too. (Liz, Jeff will kill me if you share this with Peter-I can almost hear him making a joke from VT. Likewise for you Steven ;0) Hopefully he'll read a few more chapters to me today!

Mother's Day discoveries

2009-05-10T11:41:00.014-04:00

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

There's still time. . .

2009-05-08T22:21:00.003-04:00

to walk outside and gaze up at this spectacular full moon. It's a wonderful world-I love it!

Wordless Wednesday-Garden beauties

2009-05-06T17:46:00.003-04:00

Meeting the needs of children, meeting the needs of parents

2009-05-04T18:07:00.003-04:00

As you may have seen from my last post, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about how to meet my needs as a parent as well as the needs of my children. I quoted Naomi Aldort who stated in Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves that " Even what some parents call 'natural' consequences is mostly parent-imposed and therefore causes the same harm and mistrust as punishment." I received a lot of interesting and insightful comments.
To add to my confusion, I've also been reading Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids-7 Keys to Turn Family Conflict Into Co-Operation by Hart and Hodson. I've been practicing some of the ideas from this book with J and B over the last couple of days and have been amazed at how the conflict has dissipated. The authors talk about us all having universal needs such as fun, learning, choices, physical nurturance, relationship with our self(achievement, integrity, self-expression, etc...)relationship with others(belonging, kindness, sharing gifts and talents,etc...)and relationship with the world(beauty, harmony, order and so on). We are all trying to meet our universal needs.
We may have a need to meet for order(cleaning up the house) while the child may have a need to meet for having fun or learning. It's important to realize that our children are always doing their best to meet their needs. They state, "While you can ask others if they are willing to help you, you are the only one responsible for meeting your needs. . .thinking that another person or a group of people are responsible for your needs has at least two unfortunate outcomes. The first is that you can waste a lot of time waiting for certain others to do things for you when you could be busy finding your own solutions. . .the other. . .is that whenever you think in these terms-that others should, have to, or must do something for you-people will most often hear a demand, which makes giving to you less likely. Demands provoke power struggles and are a major obstacle to joyful giving and willing co-operation."
They suggest, in a family meeting, exploring questions such as, "What do people need? Why do you do the things you do?"
Needs: Play, Learning, Rest
Strategies for meeting need: playing video games, reading, 8 p.m bed time

Let's see. . .so much good info in this book. . .they say that you should try to hear your child's yes behind the no. "Whenever your child says No to you, he is saying Yes to something else. By taking time to find out what is more exciting, interesting, fun, or challenging than what you have in mind, you defuse a potentially volatile situation, make a heartfelt connection, and clearly demonstrate your interest and care."

Make do-able requests. p. 104-105
Examples:
Would you be willing to take ten minutes and help me pick up the living room?
Right now, would you brainstorm with me some ways to help you remember to wash your hands before eating?
Non-doable requests-
Would you help around the house?
Would you be more considerate?

p.107
". . .at the time you make your request there may be other needs your child is wanting to meet that will lead them to say No to your request. What you feel and what you say next will demonstrate whether you have made a request of a demand. If you are upset on hearing No to your request, you have probably made a demand. If you have make a request, you can receive your child's No as another possible point of connection."

By the way, we have lots of possible points of connection in our family!:) There's so much more in this book with lots of great ideas for peaceful conflict resolution. Some food for thought. Let me know what you think!