recent projects...:)

i wanted to share a few of the recent projects that i have been working on...

first up, my most favorite project to date i think...a spring poncho knit for a sweet 3 year old. absolutely gorgeous!

(many thanks to our model, ehren...our 3 year old :)

another custom calorimetry...

and lastly a sweet little waldorf cat (from the children's year), handknit of the softest merino yarn!

happy crafting!

vance birthplace...

for week 3 of our local geography block we booked a visit to the vance birthplace, home of zebulon vance.



'zeb' as he was known, fought in the civil war & served 30 years in various nc public offices. he was a man of the people, and a dominant persona in south for nearly half a century.



the vance birthplace is his family's pioneer home, now restored & it is *free* to visit. i booked us a trip with several other local homeschooling families so that we could enjoy a full afternoon of activities. we were privilege to a rifle demonstration, a weaving demonstration, a guided tour, a quill & ink activity, as well as a very educational video introduction.

we ended our day with a picnic & playtime with various period games & toys. vance has a toy box loaded with the toys & games that children born during the late 1700's & early 1800s actually played with. it was awesome & the kids all loved it!

tammy, thank you so much for everything you did for our group! we all had a blast! :)

we had an amazing turnout!
the house...

lard candles...

a sweet cradle...

beeswax candles & a tool used to tighten the bed robes (seen in the next photos) when they began to sag...

children, both boys & girls, wore these simple white frocks until they were 12 years old

simple leather shoes...

the guest room, complete with trundle bed...

the 'pantry'...what food wasn't dried or wasn't soaked in brine, was hung from the rafters...

part of the tool demonstration...

part of the kitchen tools...

a gorgeous bark basket/backpack...

the cast iron cookware...

beeswax chandelier...

ehren lasted through a good bit of both the documentary & the tour...but in the end he chose to roll down the hill with a few other young boys...:)

ahhh...the weaving loom...amazing!

introducing niro...

we brought our sweet baby bunny home today! he is just 5 weeks old, though we first met him when he was just a niblet. :)

we have been visiting him & his young family since he was just 1 week old, slowly letting him get used to us, our scent, & our noise! :)

i checked out some images on google this afternoon & as far as i can tell, he is indeed a 'he'. and thus we have dubbed him niro...if by some chance he does turn out to be a girl, we will change it to nira...easy enough, right??

so far he is adjusting well...

we have given him much space & peace (or as much as one can in a home with 4 young children!) and he is now quite happy, hopping around his cage...smelling & exploring his new world.

i will be building him a portable 'rabbit tractor' at some point in the next few weeks so that he can 'free range'.

knitting...

some recent projects that i've been working on...
headband/earwarmers/scarf....

sweet sheep for a friend...

a bit of the baktus...(my mom's mother's day present)

another calorimetry for my friend sierra...for when she teachers yoga. :)

nc block (week 1)

our final lesson block for this year (for grade 4) is local geography. i went with more of a unit study format for this one because, well, we all live here! plus i wanted to do a lot of field trips.

i cheated a bit as well...downloading a NC lapbook vs. creating my own lesson, which is what i usually do. but it is spring & we have a lot going on with the garden & the chicks, a baby bunny...and well, life in general. the year is wrapping up & the sun is beckoning us to come out & play!

we are still doing our baking & our handwork, but we are practically LIVING outside as much as possible.

our first week:

(field trips)

we went to walnut creek for a picnic with friends & lots of good times with mother nature!
we also went to the health adventure...a local & very hands on children's museum...

and for our studies??...

salt dough maps...this one is aydin's...

and orin's...

handwork (a kit from their easter baskets :)...

a friend gave us a couple of ship kits...aydin's is on the left & orin's on the right...

orin baked a "one world cake"...(from an old "green teacher" recipe)

and aydin baked "morning glory muffins"...these are soooo good! (though we leave out the coconut.)

geography...woo-hah! (gamewright's "the scrambled states of america")

this book series is amazing (& packed with info)...the watercolor pictures are truly gorgeous!

part of the lapbook..."fact book"...

our state nickname..."the tarheels"...

vocabulary words...

maps & things...