The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men....

Here is my happy wee girl, just over a month ago on her fifth birthday. Since my last post, things have been so different.

We have all had a run of colds, throat & ear infections & coughs over the last two weeks.

Then on wednesday, my darling girl developed very bad mouth ulcers. Which got worse & worse, to the point that she couldnt drink. I had spent an exhausting night syringing water into my wee girl mil by mil.

We returned to see our doctor the next day who admitted her to hospital because the ulcers were so severe, her temp was very high & she was dehydrated.

She was deemed fit to go home later that day, but it has been an exhausting battle to get any fluid & pain relief into her. Watching her in so much pain has been the worst thing.

Today she has turned a huge corner & whist she is still in pain, she is quite grumpy, which, is a massive relief for this heartbroken mummy! She has been too lethargic up until this point to show any emotion.

I was hoping to post about our new Charlotte Mason style curriculum this weekend. I still hope to get that up as soon as I am able.

I cannot let this moment go by without a huge thank you to my dear friend Andrea - who let me garble worried thoughts & swear far too much.
Thank you Andrea :)

Well, i have a big pot of chicken broth on the stove top that I must attend to for my poorly girl.

Thank you all for your kind words to my 'comeback post' - hoping to chat with you all soon.

LX

Snowdrops

Friday is nature study day in our home.
This morning, we observed a wee patch of snowdrops growing in in our front garden.
The girls took great pleasure in sketching them in their nature notebooks:



Here is Elianna's sketch (7 yo)



Here is Rosie's sketch (4 yo)



Now, the waldorf purists will notice that my 4 yo has written in her notebook!
We came to waldorf late with Elianna - she was already reading a writing a small amount when we went fully into waldorf last year. With Rose I was determined to hold back on the academics. Hmmm - i should have told Rosie this! The last few days she has been engrossed in 'reading' & 'writing'.
I am happy for her to do this - it is where she is at. we wont be doing any 'formal' lessons yet & she has abundant time to play & be outdoors. We are all happy : )

Our resources for nature study today are favourites of mine:

Field Guide in Colour to Wild Flowers

My favorite guide to wild flowers. This was bought for me by my aunt when I was a small girl, so it has great sentimental value, but also, as a resource, it cant be beaten! The illustrations are hand drawn, which I prefer to photographs. The edges of the pages are colour coded, to make finding your chosen flower very easy.
There is an index of scientific names & another for common names & I just love the layout & the information contained within this book.

The second book we used is A Gospel of Wild Flowers

This description of the book from amazon sums it up perfectly:
This work is a thought-provoking portrait of the natural world, written by the former Bishop of Lynn and illustrated by celebrated artist Pat Albeck. Pat presents a beautiful painting of a different wild flower on each spread. Accompanying this is text by the Bishop describing the plant and its practical uses, and then linking the plant and its properties to aspects of Christian thought and devotion. This is a comforting book that will appeal primarily to mature people with a Christian inclination, but will also be appreciated by nature lovers of all ages. Full of thoughtful stories and insights, this is a gentle and peaceful book, written in a direct, open way that is both soothing and refreshing.

I read selected parts from the chapter on Snowdrops to the girls this morning - not all of it was (in my opinion) suitable for them, but the parts I read appeared to resonate within them - I need to let them sleep on it, as I do myself : )

This wee book is a great one for mothers to tie their own innerwork around the changing flowers of the seasons.

Happy nature study!

Poorly Baby

Today, my eldest daughter awoke with a very sore throat & fever.
After making her some hot honey & lemon to drink (juice of a whole lemon, 1 tblsp honey, made up to 1/2 pint with hot water) I quickly showered & helped my youngest daughter to dress.
We all headed downstairs where I made up a 'bed' on the sofa & hit play on the i-pod so she could listen to The Wind In The Willows.
Breakfast was eggy bread, which they both munched happily on, then they enjoyed several cups of Strawberry Tea - a huge thank you to my friend Andrea for mentioning this - I bought it yesterday, having not seen this type of fruit tea before. The girls loved it! And it really enabled me to keep Elianna's fluid levels up.

We went on to read When Vera Was Sick - a favorite with my girls on days like today.

After some puzzles, we had lunch & now the girls are having their daily Quiet Time ~ Elianna is tucked up in bed with the curtains drawn * Rosie is in our 'Quiet Room' playing with her animals.

I think, when children are ill special soothing traditions are needed ~ ones that comfort, amuse & distract. Below are my ideas to help perhaps give you a few ideas for your own "poorly little people days'

Things to do

Play with Mama’s jewelry box
Look through family scrapbook albums
Make models with playdough
Have a stack of paper & the child’s own art box close at hand & create pictures
Puzzle books
Have a posy of flowers next to the child
Read: When Vera Was Sick by Vera Rosenberry

Things to Eat & Drink

Porridge: 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of oats, sweetened with honey
Banana’s in milk
Buttery toast with honey

Chicken Soup
Saute onion in butter
saute chopped carrots & potatoes.
mix in 1 tblsp plain flour
gradually add chicken or vegetable stock & milk
bring to the boil, reduce & simmer for 15 mins
Add sweetcorn & cooked chicken
Simmer for 5 minutes more
Blend if desired, or serve chunky
Freshly squeezed orange juice
Honey & lemon drink for sore throats & boosting the immunity: juice of one lemon, hot water, honey to taste.
Lemon Barley Water to boost Vit.C intake.

Lemon Barley Water

4oz pearl barley
4 pints water
4 lemons
4 oz sugar


Peel the lemons, making sure not to get pith on the rind.
Add the sugar & water to a pan & gently dissolve the sugar.
Add the pearl barley & lemon rinds, cover and simmer for half an hour.
Halve the lemons & squeeze juice into a large jug.
Strain the barley water into the lemon jug. Leave to steep and cool.

The Land of Counterpane
by Robert Louis Stevenson
When I was sick and lay a-bed, 
I had two pillows at my head, 
And all my toys beside me lay, 
To keep me happy all the day. 

And sometimes for an hour or so 
I watched my leaden soldiers go, 
With different uniforms and drills, 
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills; 

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets 
All up and down among the sheets; 
Or brought my trees and houses out, 
And planted cities all about. 

I was the giant great and still 
That sits upon the pillow-hill, 
And sees before him, dale and plain, 
The pleasant land of counterpane.

Coincidentally, I read two smashing articles a few days ago about Parenting the sick child. They were written by Donna Simmons creator of the Christopherus Curriculum.

She says:

"How do we regard illness in our families? Do we respond with an arsenal of medicines and potions, moving quickly to get rid of whatever it is that is making our child ill, or do we view illness as a time to take stock, to slow down and to trust the healing process?

I’m not saying don’t do anything when your child’s ill. What I am suggesting is that we each take a moment to scrutinize our attitude toward ill health and to ascertain whether we regard it as basically a negative thing or a positive thing. Is illness a failure of wellness, or is an opportunity for wellness to be enhanced, strengthened?

Once upon a time, children were expected to have a range of illnesses in the course of growing up and time was allowed for the healing process. One spoke of bed rest, of convalescence, of slowly regaining health. Of course, in days past, many children died during their early years - but let’s recognize that the majority of those deaths were in families stricken by poverty, overcrowding, poor nutrition and hygiene. And, of course, there were those children with conditions easily addressed nowadays, whether by conventional or alternative medicine, who were considered ‘incurable’ in earlier times.

My point is: that illness was regarded as a basic part of childhood and that there was a recognition that once health was regained, the child was stronger and healthier than he had been before he was ill. It is this point that I wish to focus on because I feel that it has been largely lost in our society."

Read the rest of the article here

In a second article, Donna makes practical suggestions for caring for a sick child:

"Rest, rest, rest - rest and sleep are the most important parts of the healing process. Too many parents say things like “I can’t get him to stay in bed” - well, you need to figure out how you can! Being up and about, even if it’s “only in the house” is no substitute for bed rest, especially if the child has or has had a fever. After the fever goes, the child should still be kept quiet for a day or two. Quiet, peace and bed rest are essential for the body to heal.

Have a box or a bag of interesting playthings put away for sick days. Fill it with Playdoh, buttons, wooden beads to string, an etch-a-sketch, pipe cleaners, beeswax, travel activity books, picture books... things that don’t get played with at other times.

Help being in bed be pleasant - perhaps make up a bed on the couch so the child doesn’t feel lonely. If your household is very busy it might be wiser to leave the child in her bedroom. Maybe one of the younger children can act as messenger, fetching drinks of water and books and requests for attention. Put some lavender essential oil on the pillow, keep lights dim and spend time reading aloud to the ill child.

Make sure the ill child drinks a lot, although some have a real aversion to this. See if there’s a preference for cold or hot drinks. Some children who refuse water or tea will drink lemonade or some sort of broth. Flush out the child’s system by ensuring he drinks enough.

No baths or showers for a sick child, especially if there’s an ear infection, sore throat or chest complaint. Get over this American obsession (those of you who are American!) with daily bathing - getting wet when you’re ill is not a good idea!

No TV, computer or videos for ill children. This may seem harsh because it may be “the only way” you can keep her still, but you’ll have to figure out something else. The nervous energy produced by children watching electronic media is not conducive to healing.

Here are a few homeopathic remedies for you to try. I suggest you use a 30c potency. Give one, wait 15 minutes and if there’s no change, either for better or worse, give another up to 4 doses in one hour. If nothing happens after that wait another hour and try something else. It’s an especially good sign if the child falls asleep after the remedy.

Chamomilla: for teething, toothache, sore throats. Characterized by impatience, anger and fussiness - babies want to be carried, demand a toy, then throw it across the room. Often one check is red, the other pale.
Pulsatilla: sore throats, ear ache, tummy ache, especially with yellow discharges. Child is all soft and sweet and elicits sympathy in those around her. Thirstless. Likes to be wrapped up warmly in a cold room but suffers from being too warm.
Aconite: whatever the physical complaint may be, the main thing about this remedy is extreme fear late at night and paleness. Often the complaint follows time spent outside in the wind.
Belladonna: this remedy is similar to Aconite in terms of intensity and rapid onset - and sometimes fear as well - but it is characterized by redness. Often the pupils are dilated. For those of you who are breastfeeding, it’s very good for mastitis, especially is the breast is streaked with red. Pulsatilla is also often indicated for mastitis as is the following remedy:
Bryonia: think of a grumpy bear and you get a picture of the person who needs Bryonia. This is a great flu remedy, indicated when the person is grumpy, irritable, wants to be left alone and holds the sore or painful part. They have a great thirst for cold water, but at long intervals.
Gelsemium: is another flu remedy, but has a slower onset than Bryonia and is not so cranky. Aching!"

Read the rest of the article here

Here's to good health!

Playtime.

Play.
I have put a lot of thought into how my children play over the years of being a mother. I wanted toys that are 'open ended', that is, without a 'set' way to be played with. Toys that encouraged my children's imaginations, natural materials that warmed in their hands, & allowed their imaginative play to take wings. Toys that create a bond with the natural world & have as many ways to be played with as my children can come up with.

Elizabeth Stutz is the founder of Play for Life . In an article published in 1995, she writes:

Saturation entertainment has taken over the playtime and the homelife of children, so that, not only do they suffer the consequences of being overwhelmed and brutalized by their entertainment, but they are exposed to concepts totally unsuitable for and inimical to their stage of development, and in addition they are robbed of the carefree hours in which they should be enjoying the nourishing and creative forces of play... Children's leisure time has been made the subject of intense commercial competition. The richest and most powerful industries and interest groups — such as the ever expanding communications industry, the electronic entertainments and music industries, Hollywood and Silicon Valley, the toy and consumer goods and food empires — these have together in a loose conglomerate taken over as their domain, the market of childhood and youth; they decide what children will play, read, eat, wear, admire, hate, how they behave to each other, to their parents and authority and who their role models are to be; this contrivance is then sold as the youth culture. (Article: Play for Life 1995)

Up until the age of around seven (& older children, to a lesser degree) children learn about life by modeling the adults around them. That gives us mothers such an important role. Such a great responsibility, but such a great joy too. Our children can 'play' alongside us as we work. As we prepare dinner, they can help us to chop vegetables. As we sweep the floors, they can sweep too, with their own little brooms. It makes me aware of how I am to be a joyful mother of children. Psalm 113:9 not a grumpy one!

Waldorf is open to the trap of materialism just as any other lifestyle. It has to be this toy, that toy.

In the article by Marsha Johnson 'The Issue of Toys, Children, and Materialism' She states:

Children should be surrounded by a few multi-purpose, open-ended items that encourage imaginative play, social interaction, and healthy bodily movement. Young children need to be interactive with the physical world in a direct sense, stomach or back to the earth, although a blanket, skin, or floor may lie between.

Open ended items are simple, often made of natural materials such as wool, wood, metal, or cloth. Undefined or lightly defined toys allow children to use them in a multitude of ways. A new playmate brings new ideas for logs, scarves, blocks, and playhouses. Endless games with ropes, sticks, and simple tools will result during afternoons with friends.

This is so far removed from the images she uses at the beginning of the article:

Shopping bags and baskets full, parents and family friends arriving with parcels, long store lines, and big dollar prices………birthdays, holidays, other occasions both secular and religious, family rooms, play rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, filled with play items, bright colors, plastics, woods, cloth, books, and more…………is there room for the child? Where is the child? In late fall, these questions start to present themselves to even the most unconscious person as we strive to find the ‘perfect’ addition to an entire house filled with personal items…….as well as strive to come up with a wish list for ourselves. This year, I notice the most advertised item is a S’more cooker! If only we could just package the happy feelings that we experience when gathered around a cozy campfire, in the woods, while toasting food on a stick! This is what the manufacturer knows will sell his silly little invention: he is selling memories.

Yikes!

I recently took Marsha's words to heart & took action in my own home.
i have included part of the article below for you to read. It is inspiring stuff! To read the article in full visit Waldorf Home Educators.

Families who are seeking a different way of providing toy items and play spaces for their children must be willing to undergo some conflicted feelings and pressures. In addition, parents must be able to agree to adopting a new approach and support one another: it is not uncommon to find one parent wishing to be dedicated to a less materialistic lifestyle while the other one is sneaking the Gameboy into the stocking.

PLAY ITEMS CHECKLIST AND ADVICE:

If you are not a parent yet, good, you can skip the rest of the this paragraph and go on to the section for specific recommendations for children by ages. If you have children already, then you must make some tough decisions. Here is one method that works well and it gentle in its approach. If you follow this advice, you will find that in about 1 year, your home will be free of all commercial/materialistic toy burdens, you will feel lighter and more in tune with nature and the seasons, and your family time will be enhanced and enjoyable with the need to spend hours organizing and cleaning up after your children and yourself.

First, have a private discussion with spouse and come to agreement. This is critical and this program will not work unless this has been completed. Then examine your home and its contents. Go into your child’s room and count how many items are in that space. Include clothing, shoes, and coats. Count aloud and be amazed. How can one being be surrounded by so many physical things? Notice how many images or hanging items are on the walls, how many things hang in windows, etc. Do the same activity with your play room or family room where toys are kept. Look into the movie cupboard and notice how many boxes or cases. Count how many TVs are in your home. How many music CDs? Where are these items kept? Peek into the attic, the basement, the garage, the kitchen cupboards, the laundry room, the sheet storage, the towel closet, obtain a good impression of how many items there in your home.

Take a break and have a cup of tea. In a day or two, send the children over to play at a friend’s home. Strengthen yourself with prayer and go into your play spaces and remove about one third of the toys not on the list below. Put into large black storage bags and drive over to someone else’s home or garage. (No temptation to retrieve and after 3 months, you can given them to charity). Include books, posters, stuff, even expensive stuff. This first foray is the hardest and you can select items that you know your child rarely plays with. Try to include mostly plastic junky items that will never be missed. Include stuffed animals that are sitting, lonely, and plastic dolls that lie heaped in the corner. Sentimental items like grandma’s doll clothes should be kept, there is love in the stitches that cannot be replaced.

If you are really strong and on a roll, you can do this for other areas of the home and include the clothing drawers: children do NOT need walk-in closets, this accumulation of 24 pairs of shoes is both confusing and ridiculous and I am old enough to remember when children under 3 wore white baby shoes (1 pair) which we polished. Do your kitchen (who need 4 tablespoon measurers?) and your own closet. Donate your items to charities and store if you must.

If children notice something is gone, if under six, distract them with a play idea, or tell a little story about a bunny who had so many things she couldn’t sleep in her cozy bunny hole. Leave it at that if possible. Children six and older may need to know that the family is making some changes that are healthy for everyone and that is probably enough. If you try this on older children, you will need their cooperation.

In about three months, do this again. In the meantime, begin adding to the store of items listed below. Slowly replace various toys with substitutes that meet the three criteria of being open-ended, socially healthy, and encourage body movement. If you continue this pathway for a year, that will give your four opportunities to reduce, diminish, refocus, alter, redefine, and re-direct your child’s play environment, sleep environment, and living environment.

In your organization, create specific areas of particular play items: outdoors for certain pursuits, an art space with paints, crayons, brushes, pastels, paper, and more, a reading/book area to share, and a game playing space. These spaces can share your dining room or family room. Bedrooms are for sleeping and keeping clothing in, maybe 1 special stuffed animal friend, or 1 doll cradle. When a child is sent to clean their room, it means change the sheets, sweep the floor, wash the window, and take care of shoes and clothing. How many times do we confuse cleaning with picking up?


MUST DO:

1) Remove all TVs from home if possible with young children and middle aged children and teenagers. You will not regret this decision.
2) If not possible, keep one and put in closet that locks or some space inaccessible to family members without a lot of work.
3) Obviously same with all video equipment….dvd players
4) Remove all computer games from computer and put cds in a box and hide them in a closet. Computers are for ‘working’, writing, communicating. If you play games, do it only after kids are in bed.
5) Ask or persuade friends and family to switch from giving more toys and clothes to a) buying items you request, b) gift certificates to particular catalogs (Magic Cabin, Chinaberry Books), or c) put the money they would have spent into certificates of deposit for future educational expense (tuition is a big issue for the future) or d) be willing to substitute time together for physical items. Come over for dinner and stay for a games night, go out for a walk in a bird reserve, take a trip to the beach, cook a family recipe together……beg, plead, and insist. They will adopt your methods, slowly.
6) If child receives an unexpected objectionable item, be gracious and enjoy it for a while, then ‘disappear’ it magically. Time is a great healer.
7) Frequently visit other families who are like minded to encourage yourself and find support. You will find that all the children in the neighborhood will want to hang out at your house! Bring them in and teach their parents.
8) Take the money you save and enjoy a fantastic family camping trip or vacation. You will literally save thousands and thousands of dollars over the 18 years of your child’s life.
9) Examine wardrobes and put together fourteen outfits for your children, enough for 2 weeks without laundry, for each season, and donate the rest. Buy good quality wool, cotton, and natural fiber clothes that will last through several children, practice the fine art of hand me downs, and gather a group of other families to have a twice a year ‘share’ time where you all bring extra clothes and parcel them out. You will be shocked at how this is so very freeing although you will spend a bit more time doing laundry on your new schedule.

10) Begin a rhythm in your household that includes all members in a reasonable cycle of chores that includes and shares out cooking, cleaning, washing, and gardening. Spend your time together with purpose as opposed to trying to get a few chores ‘done’ while everyone else sits in front of a screen. Laundry day can be a good social time to visit over sock matching, laundry line hanging, and there is nothing that can beat (Sorry commercial artificial laundry scent manufacturers) the smell of wind-dried sheets on summer days. Avoid using machines for your household work, study up on how to make your own healthy cleaners, and treasure old towels for wonderfully soft rags. Step away from silly products that promise to somehow make your life easier that actually are simply substitutes for old fashioned, tried and true methods.
11) Get together with a couple other families and form a study group to enjoy dinner together once a month and talk about parenting, read new books, enjoy community, and share ideas. Insist that gift giving occasions be primarily social events, outdoor adventures, nature immersed, and intentionally diminish or reduce the time of ‘gifting’ in your life. Try an ‘exchange’ habit, instead, or take a class and learn how to make something useful, for example, learn to carve wooden spoons and give these as gifts. Simple and very helpful and useful. Do not overdo it and give dozens! Avoid the consumption addiction in all respects.

PLAY ITEMS FOR PARTICULAR AGES LIST:

INFANTS UNDER 1 YEAR: (Secret! Children under 1 year old do not need ANY toys! None at all. They need humans and something to suck and chew on, like their fingers and toes. But if you must….)

Wooden chew toy/rattle (1)
Soft ball (size of an adult fist)
2-3 silks to play peek a boo
1 soft cottony type stuffed thing to chew on, can be animal or shape
A special snuggly blanket for bed time
A nature table to observe

1YEAR TO 3 YEARS OLD:
The above items plus……..
A set of wooden blocks (can be made by hand, or tree limbs that are smooth and splinter free, cut into rounds and sanded)
1 soft doll, no features, stuffed with wool, with doll cradle and blanket
Several soft balls
Baskets of smooth sticks, shells, nuts in the shell, stones
Stacking toys (there are wooden ones that are nice)
Small truck or car
Basket of silks, six or eight, in large squares for playing and dress up
3 stick crayons in red, yellow, blue and some sturdy paper for coloring
6 small board books, classics
1 nice picture on the wall
1 nice hanging hand made mobile

4 YEARS TO 7 YEARS
Same as above
Plus dress up capes and crowns
Stick horse is nice, jump rope
Play areas for pretend kitchen, pretend laundry area
Digging tools for the garden, seeds
Board games (2-3 at one time)
Crayons in eight colors
Water color paints in 3 colors (red, yellow, blue)
Beeswax for modeling, sewing kit with big needle
Playstands for creating homes, forts, pirate ships
Simply music instruments are nice: rattles, bells
Outdoor riding toys are enjoyed
Wagons, swings, ropes, small logs outside
1 doll with legs and arms, clothes for the doll
Small animals for playing, wooden shapes are nice
Often a small playhouse with furniture, all wood
Or a barn with horses, stalls, fences, etc. of wood
No more than 2 dozen books on shelf for a few months
Candle next to bed for lighting and night time song and story

8 YEARS TO AGE 12
Cards, dice
Board games for the age: checkers, chess, cribbage
Collectables (big age for starting collections)
Kits for building, tool sets that are real tools
Wood carving with supervision
Sewing kits
Knitting kits, wool, crochet sets and patterns
More paints, include pastels, chalk
Blackboard is nice for wall with chalk
Sport equipment as your family enjoys
Bike
Treasure box for rock collection
Often a more complex doll
Roller Skates, or blades
Bird watching kits, books
Excursions: Take them places!
Books on a shelf, family books, carefully selected for content
Binoculars, telescope, microscope
Magnifying glasses
Items that your child really desires and will take care of………


This is a only a partial list and I am sure more can be added as you think of your family and their needs. As time passes, the children will become more independent and the parental guidance loosens quite a bit. If we can help our children perceive that we can escape from the commercial/material treadmill that keeps so many sad captive people enslaved to both earning the money to purchase items and time sacrificed to maintain them, we are doing a good deed for the world and the future.

Tomorrow I will share my own children's toy collection, so please look out for 'Playtime Part Two' : )

Songs for the Day

The Singing Day is a super book for inspiring a person to want to sing their way through the day with their children : )
We have already made verses an important part of our day - now it is the turn of songs!

Say's Candy Verney in a Singing Day:

Rhythm is important in young children's lives. Not so much the mechanical beat of the metronome, but the movement of the breath, contraction & expansion like the sea's tide flowing in & out. Children have no use for , & no conception of linear time, but they thrive when their day has a breathing rhythm, a flow between the IN of peace, rest, reflection; & the OUT of activity, action & interest in the world.

When such rhythm becomes a part of the child's everyday experience, it promotes health & contentment & strengthens growing life forces. The world is chaotic without rhythm. Singing can be used as signposts & cornerstones to mark these flowing rhythms: not only of the day, but also the longer rhythms of the week, & to celebrate the annual rhythms of the seasons & the cycle of the year.

Here are the songs I have chosen to make a part of our day. 'You are my Sunshine' is a song I have always sung to my girls when they get up - I started when Elianna was a tiny baby. Moon River, well, just because it's Moon River ; ) & the others come from the book. The book comes with it's own CD to help you learn the tunes, but you could always make your own.

Upon waking:

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away

Tidying Up

Now’s the time to tidy up.
Let’s be busy pixies,
Busy Pixies hard at work
Tidying everything away.

To calm down!

I wiggle my fingers
I wiggle my toes
I wiggle my shoulders
I wiggle my nose
Now all the wiggles are gone from me
And Im as still as I can be.

Bathtime

Rub a dub dub
Two babes in the tub
Who do you think got wet?
The daddy the mummy
The teddy bear’s tummy
Hoppity out you get!

Bedtime

I’ll sing you a little song
And it wont take very long
Goodnight, my darling, goodnight

The stars in the sky
Look down where you lie
They shine so bright for you.

Chorus
Snuggle up, little darling, snuggle up
The angels will ghuard you
Will guard you, will guard you.
All through the night

In the field, in the town
The silver moon is looking down
At you safe fast asleep tonight

Any time : )
Moon River
Moon river, wider than a mile
Im crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever youre goin, Im goin your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
Theres such a lot of world to see
Were after the same rainbows end, waitin round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

We sing a hymn each morning as part of our circle time & have a seasonal song, fingerplay & verse. My voice is not the best by any stretch of the imagination, but my girls are so very forgiving.

Have fun singing!

A Quiet Place...

I had an idea to create a quiet place in our home. a place for quiet reading, a place to go & be with God when the rest of the house is too noisy; too distracting. A place I can go for my early morning Bible study & a place for me to go at quiet time, when the girls hunker down in their room (somewhere where i cannot be distracted by chores, or emails!)

Today, I created that place. It was very simple & the whole family is pleased with the result.
In our tiny spare room, I hung a canopy from the ceiling



on the floor is a small rug, a basket of seasonal books & a selection of Tasha Tudor books.





I have added some of my Bible study aids to the children's bookcase



Here is my own personal Bible study basket



Here is a reading bag I have put together for my 'school' study



My journal, You Are Your Child's First Teacher & Heaven on Earth: A Handbook for Parents of Young Children

My cosy chair



Ssshhhh!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today my baby turns four years old! This is impossible for me to comprehend!
Above, you see her at a few hours old.
Below, you see my four year old princess :)



Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet Rose



Here is a repost of how we celebrate birthdays in our home

Birthday’s

The essence of our celebration; you are an important member of our family, we love you & our lives would not be the same without you!

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psalm 139:14

Birthday to-do’s & good things to eat.

Find balloons tied to your bed when you wake
Be greeted by kisses, the same number as your age
No chores today!
Birthday gifts & always a book
Find a balloon on your chair at breakfast time
A prayer of thanks for you
A special birthday muffin for breakfast, with a number candle
Your height measured & marked
Birthday party tea
Homemade birthday cake with candles...we sing happy birthday, you make a wish!
Number (of your age) sugar cookies
You get to wear our special pink maribou-trimmed party hat
A letter for you written in your journal
Read: Happy Birthday to You! by Dr Seuss

Classic Birthday Cake
(makes one tier)
4oz self raising flour 4 oz caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder 2 large eggs
4oz soft butter 2-3 drops pure vanilla essence

Pre-heat oven to GM 3
grease & line cake tin
sift flour & baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients & whisk till thoroughly combined. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of tap-warm water. Whisk again.
Add the mixture to the tin, level off & bake on the centre shelf for about 30 minutes.
When cooked remove to a cooling rack.
The cake can be sliced in half, layered with jam & buttercream or stacked.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(Fills & frosts a 8/9” cake.)
3 cups icing sugar 2 tsp vanilla
3 oz softened butter 3 oz chocolate, melted & cooled
3-4 tblsp milk

Mix sugar & butter in a medium bowl on a low speed. Stir in vanilla & chocolate.
Gradually beat in enough milk to make frosting spreadable.

Sugar Cookies
2 cups plain flour 6 oz softened butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to GM 3

Cream the butter & sugar. Add the egg & vanilla, beating well until mixed. Add flour on very low speed: do not over mix.
Gather dough into a ball & wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour. Allow dough to sit for 10 mins before rolling. Roll on a floured counter to 1/4” thick. Cut with cookie cutters & place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 12-15 mins.
Can be frozen.

My New Planner

I thought I would share with you my new school planner



Isnt that cover adorable!

I have taken all my homeschool planning sheets, printed them & had them spiral bound at my local Staples Office Supply Store.
The first page contains my name & telephone number, should my precious planner & I be parted; & an inspiring quote to keep my eye on the ball, so to speak :)
The following few pages contain our favourite verses for Circle Time



Then comes my timetables page;who is doing what & when during schooltime & our circle time activites & weekly rhythm (yet to be marked in)



Next up is our day to day schedule - ahem, rhythm (I must remember that word, as we are following more of a waldorf path this year!)



The next page features all the festivals/birthdays/special days that we celebrate each year, plus full moons etc.



Some planning info & a goals page (yet to be marked in)
These pages are taken from Melisa's EBook.



I then have a page for each season, with each month planned out as to our goals for each subject.
Our subjects this year are:
French
Maths
Language Arts
History
Faith
*lots* of creativity & Nature Study
Artist Study



Then we get on to the bulk of the planner; my weekly planning sheets



Last but not least I thought I would share my matching box of matches :)
(aarghh! I forgot to add this photo & have since deleted it! - I simply covered a large matchbox with the same cardstock as my planner)
I am planning to re read this lovely book & make our bedtime routine more creative again. Creative, but simple. We already have the story, snuggle/nursing & prayers; but we have gone back to lighting a candle & saying a verse or written prayer. There is something very special about the familiarity of this routine that little ( & not-quite-so-little ones adore.

Happy planning & sweet dreams!

The Clutter Monster

One of my New Year Goals was the following:
"8. Simplify. How , what & when I am not yet sure...i just know that everything within me is crying out to live a more simple life..."

I faffed around thinking about it & then I read an article on the waldorf home educators Yahoo group
The article is called The Issue of Toys, Children, and Materialism.
This is an article you need to read!
It moved me to the point that this weekend, my girls went to stay with their grandparents & I attacked our home like a crazy lady!
I have filled around 10 black plastic bags with toys/clothes & other clutter, that has either been freecycled or taken to the rubbish tip.
My home is 'lighter' my head is 'lighter' I am so happy with the results.
According to Marsha (who wrote the above article) I need to do this again in three months. It's a date with myself that is going on the calendar!

A Proud Mummy Post!

Do you remember this picture?



Well, here is the result:



I am a very proud mummy!

E is now busy spinning a grogeous baby cake (batt) from Loop. These things are seriously beautiful! However, my daughter has caught the 'how thin can I spin' bug & has decided she needs to save up to buy a new, lighter spindle.
Thats my girl ;)

The Clickety Clack Club!

It has happened! The moment I have waited for...my dear sweet daughter is obsessed with knitting :)
"Mummy, I cant stop thinking about knitting!" ahhhhh, music to my ears! LOL!

She has knit on & off before, but just a few days ago, whilst watching me finish the shawl for Miss R, she asked to work on her own knitting again. I dug it out from my knitting basket & away she went! And she is fast, too!

On Friday we took an impromptu visit by train to the next town. (she knitted on the train there & back!-thats my girl :)
We trawled the charity shops looking for hidden gems in the yarn department. (600g cherry red pure new wool-£6!)
So now, E has her own 'Stash' from which she can choose her yarns for upcoming projects. We have even begun a plan for her Christmas gift knitting. "I want to knit presents for everyone, Mummy!"

She has made a really sweet set for her doll, Angela - a lovely hat with tassels & a purse with a wonderful vintage button. (did I mention we collect buttons, too?)
We hold our regular 'Clickety Clack Club' meetings on the sofa, complete with The famous Five on the I-Pod & a bag of cinder toffee. Yum! We look forward to a change in the weather, then we can take quilts into the garden & knit in the sun to the tune of honeybees.

Will this last? I dont know, but I hope so! It has really made me think how my girls are growing up fast & developing their likes & dislikes. To share this with my baby is just so special. Discussing our projects, talking about yarn, who we would like to knit for. This really is a time to be treasured & nurtured. I love it!

Why We Do What We Do....

I just have to share with you this wonderful song



I first heard it at Elizabeth's blog.

You have to listen, you really do.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Family Art Gallery

I recently began the idea of our own 'family gallery'. Nothing grand, as you see, but I had begun collecting stacks of clothes the girls wore when they were younger, that I could not bear to part with. Then I came across the idea of mounting a circle of the fabric in an embroidery hoop & displaying it on the wall. Perfect! (I still have too many items of childrens clothing in my attic, though. But Im working on it!) I have also begun to display special pictures the girls have draw or painted. Their faces light up to see their artwork framed & on the wall! It is such a boost to them, & I love to see their work...& I *know* that, as they get older, how precious it will be to see their first efforts. This is a wall that will grow...& spread. I love it!

Rainy Day's

Rainy Days

The weather is never disagreeable, only our attitude towards it!

Psalm 147
Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
Things to do:
Dress up in waterproofs & go puddle dancing!
Play dressing up
Use play silks & blankets to make houses, tents etc
Build a train or bus with chairs
Play pirates on the sofa (the floor is the ocean)
Have crumpets for afternoon tea, cuddle up & read stories
Open the rainy day box.....
*
Blank scrapbooks, Glue, Sellotape, Scissors, Pencils/Pens, Old Christmas cards, Magazines, calendars & catalogues for cutting up. Pretty papers, Stickers, Fabrics, Buttons, Beads for stringing, String, Pipe Cleaners, Lolly sticks, Natural materials: Pinecones, Feathers, small twigs, Seed heads &Shells, Pie dishes, Egg boxes & Envelopes.
The Rainy Day box is kept only for such days. It’s magic is soon lost if brought out at other occasions.

Read:
Mushroom in the Rain by Mirra Ginsberg,
A Drop Around the World by Barbara McKinney,
Rain by Marion Dane Bauer.

For Rainbow Days:
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman,Rainbow and You by Edwin C. Krupp and Robin Rector Krupp
For Thundery Days:
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

Ten Habits of a Happy Homeschool

a great post from Lyndafay

More on our journals....

After much thought, I decided upon the use for the pretty journal I made....this involved the use of two more journals, however :)


My plan is that we will use the pretty patterned journal as a 'gratitude journal'. A record of our thanks to God for His goodness. I hope to raise children who live in a real relationship with Christ, & this appears to be another way in which I can encourage this. I also know this will be a great spiritual discipline for myself...to focus on answered prayers & such.
The other two journals? Well, they have been put into service as I read this book:

The Gift Of Family Writing by Jill Novak

what an inspiring book! I would recommend everyone to read this book as soon as they can. Jill is wonderfully inspiring as to how to get your children to record their memories, their life stories. But this is so much more.
So, our new bed time routine involves, cuddling up on mummy & daddy;s bed & I write into the children's journals something they would like to remember from their day. They love this! They tell me the story, & I write it into their journals (they have one each) E has been drawing into her book too.


Then, we think back over the day & make an entry into our gratitude journal.
I cannot praise Jill enough for this wonderful book. Here is an article from her website www.giftoffamilywriting.com

Record Your Life Stories as They Happen!
By Jill Novak
Just think of all the experiences you and your children have shared together: everyday moments, special times, or life lessons tailor-made by God—irreplaceable stories that you thought you would never forget. Yet life rushes by like a reel of film on a movie projector, thousands of unique experiences in a blur. Precious few will be remembered unless they are viewed in slow motion. Family writing slows the motion.
Like the genealogies of the Bible, words beget words and stories beget stories. Before you know it, you’re recording the ordinary moments of your day, and something extraordinary happens—you and your children become writers! The gift of words and the means of expressing them flow from the heart of God to all of your children. When you teach them to capture their thoughts, feelings, and perceptions on paper, you enable them to remember; and in remembering your family members are bonded to each other and the Lord in a more profound way.
Families are constantly changing. Children grow up and leave childish things behind. As time goes by, the memory of your home life with them fades. It doesn't have to be this way, though. Your family's life stories and unique spiritual heritage can be preserved through The Gift of Family Writing.

Remembering the Past
Every family has at least one member who can remember—as if it were yesterday—events that happened in the family when he or she was a child. My husband Robert (the only boy among three sisters) is the storyteller in his family. Most of his accounts are about the family farm and fishing trips in Canada. Our children were raised on these stories and value them as part of their heritage. When our family moved to a farm in 1999, new “farm stories” began to take shape. I recorded them in a journal, knowing we would forget these experiences if I didn't write them down. My husband’s love of storytelling had rubbed off on me.
Gradually I was drawn to read books about recording your life stories and writing from the heart. Geared toward adults, these books focused on writing memoirs or life stories for your children and grandchildren. As I read, a thought arose in my mind: Why aren't we recording our children's life stories as they happen? We're with them all the time. What wouldn't any of us give to read—in our own words—the accounts of people, places, or things that mattered to us when we were young? How much easier it would be for our children to write their life stories now, while they're still fresh on their minds!
I began to really listen to my children. I was amazed to hear how many words they used to describe their experiences, and surprised at how naturally they expressed themselves. The younger ones only needed me to write their stories down. A bond formed that wasn’t there before; I was hearing the hearts of my children through the words of their experience.

Recording Your Life Stories
You may not have thought about recording your life stories together as a family. I know I hadn’t. I’m amazed that it never occurred to me to have my two oldest children narrate their daily experiences to me when they were younger. I didn’t realize that we could write about all the wonderful things we’ve done together as a family or that I could preserve my spiritual walk so my children and grandchildren would know the awesome God we serve. One thing I’ve learned, though, it’s never too late to journal your life stories. As long as you live and breathe there will be plenty of experiences to preserve on paper.

Our Family journal

Whilst I was making the new Nature Journals, I decided it would be a great idea to start a family journal.

I have not quite decided the path this book will take..I have a few ideas floating around in my head... I need to ponder this book :)

My baby...

...is no longer a baby. She has her first wobbly tooth!

Sweet Dreams...

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3