full circle...

i love life...

i love how things are constantly changing.  i love how there is always so much more to learn/do/create/explore.  i love how things can come to us unexpectedly.  and i *love* how it feel when we are on the right track.

the wave of peace & warmth that washes over us when we are on a road that is true to both us & those we love...

right now i am referring to homeschooling.

i have a friend who is pregnant with her 3rd child & due to start homeschooling her eldest this fall  ask me, a "veteran homeschooler" with *7* years under my belt for advice.  she is where i was when we began our journey...;)

in writing her back about various methods that we used/explored so long ago in our early years, i rediscovered 2 lovely approaches that we used with our eldest.

this was key, because when she asked me for advice, i was contemplating our own upcoming year.

our history??  we began with"school @ home", like so many other moms who want to homeschool, but weren't homeschooled themselves & have no idea where to begin.

i quickly learned that this would not work!

so, then we began exploring...my neighbor turned me onto Charlotte Mason, which felt good for us & then told me about five in a row, which was perfect for us.

later on, i fell in love with waldorf.  the waldorf approach felt so very right for me.  as the mother of a newborn, with 2 young children, i was looking to honor this new life, while enjoying freedom to be & do with our other 2 children.

and then, just a year & a half into this new life, i was pregnant with our fourth child...a sweet girl.

waldorf guided us through these early years, but later on when homeschooling the two eldest with the two littles in tow, it became too much.

this gentle approach no longer felt right for us...it was way too stressful & i was spent.  the boys, then 11 & 8 were tired of waiting for their "turn" with mama & just wanted to be done!

i, too, felt that our day was a struggle.  lessons dragged on because our two youngers were still very much in the thick of needing mama.

after the great coup of 2010, our same amazingly wise neighbor told me about what her daughter had been doing.  superb child-led book via christian light education.  affordable, thorough & just what the boys were looking for...

and we remained with this approach last year as well.

it really is a great curriculum, and our now 13 year old wants to continue with it this fall.  *but* things have changed so that i have both more time & energy.  our littles are now 4 & 6 & this is huge!

and so, we begin anew this fall, with things having come full circle...

our 6 year old will use five in a row & our 4 year old (who very much wants to be in on the lessons) will sit in when she wants to & play on her own when she feels so moved.

five in a row has enough structure for me to feel that we are forming a good foundation, but it is in no way intense.  we read *one* book every day for a week.  then your lessons, math, literature, art, science come form the books.

for example, the first book is the story of ping, a duck.  each morning we will read the book & then:

Monday: (social studies, geography) we'll find china on a map & read a second book about china.

Tuesday: (math) we'll use manipulatives (buttons, clothespins, or perhaps even pictures of ducks) to count out ping's family.  we'll do some basic addition & subtracting as well.

Wednesday (this is when our homeschool co-op meets)

Thursday (science, animal kingdom) we'll learn about ducks.  we'll read a couple of books about ducks & observe them @ our neighbor's pond.  perhaps we'll even bring our notebooks & sketch them.

Friday: (art, drawing water)  we'll look back through the book, noting the different ways that water is drawn...puddles, ripples for motion, etc.  and then we'll try our hand @ drawing water in our lesson books.

as our week's are only 4 days, because of co-op & because some books are more inspiring that others, we will cut some down to 4 lessons & extend some to included 8 lessons.

@ any rate, i have been having so much fun planning out our year!

i bought a super simple, but *perfect* planner for $10 @ target.  it is awesome & has *everything* i need & none of the extra stuff i never use.  basic outlines will go in here.

i also have a spiral notebook where i keep more detailed notes about each lesson, including addition thoughts, ideas & resources.

i have missed all of this!! i have missed planning & being more involved in our children's lessons.  i have missed picking out experiments & projects that i know they'll love...

this is where i'll leave you...next time, charlotte mason & our 10 year old. :)

~love & peace to each of you on your journey~

a bit of christmas gifting...

i promised grandma that we would post lots pf photos of the children opening their gifts, as she & grandpa terry couldn't be here to celebrate with us...

i also want to share photos of the christmas sweaters that i knit for the children this year...

so, without further ado...;)

the older two each got a digital camera & have been on a dueling photo battle ever since! 

aydin, our resident inventor, got a snap rover.  a super cool snap, together way to create all sorts of cool gadgets!

a new raincoat for ev...

this color looks amazing on her (i think ;)

oh & here is my sister samantha (aka sk), who was recently reunited with a lost soul from her past...

black kitty! 

there is a long story behind this one, but basically this was her favorite stuffed animal when she was little, you know the one that we each had & would take everywhere with us??

one day she disappeared, never to be heard from again, until christmas eve. :)

knit lovelies from aunt sk & mama...

sk made each of the littles a lyon hat, which they love!  perhaps even moreso because they *match* (these two are very much into being twins right now, donning the same accessories, etc...very cute!)

ehren's "thing one" sweater... it fits him perfectly!!

ev's "evalinda" (aka nova), also a perfect fit! ;)

close up of ehren's "rainbow high five hat"...

& one of ev's "aphrodite's helm"...

a super cute christmas dress for ev...

a solar powered race car for bean bean...

'fruit fly' (aka butterfly) wings for ev...

i got papa a pair of bogs as i had caught him swiping mine, pink/purple paisleys & all... ;)

& lastly orin, hamming...ahem, i mean 'modeling' his military cardigan...

i still am unsure about the colors, but man is he absolutely LOVING this sweater!! 

he has worn it pretty much non-stop since opening is on christmas eve.

also, overheard him telling a friend about it..."my mom made this sweater, she made it..."  i am LOVIN' it!!

i will add a few more photos @ some point this week.  still have a few more lovelies to share, one of which is aydin's "black dragon' sweater. ;)

until then...happy holiday!!

welcoming "the universe"... a lesson in trust.

this painting is "dawn of creation"
for a long time now i have been famous for being a "do-er".  my husband gets onto me for never sitting down, but i don't WANT to sit down!  there is so much that i want to do each & every day!! 

but that isn't always a good thing, or the best thing...

enter my favorite word...BALANCE.
if you have been reading our blog for any amount of time, you have heard me speak of this many, many, many times.  it is a constant struggle to keep things in perspective & just when you think you've got it...something changes & we begin anew.  also, not a bad thing. 

consider a peaceful mountain stream...the currents, how the water bends & moves around the rocks, the lush moss, this is life.  do we not avoid the pools of stagnate water??  oh my, yes!  who knows what is lurking in there!?!
@ any rate, i have been working, actively working, on taking a step back.  a perfect example is with our son orin.  as you know, we have been homeschooling since he was in kindergarten.  well, last year, he decided he wanted to give public school a go.  things were a bit tense @ home, he & his younger brother are quite close in age & this brings about a lot of competition.  my husband & i decided to give him the opportunity to decide for himself.  he was 10, a "big boy", double digits & who knows...this could be a good thing.  if it improves the family dynamic, then it is worth my letting go (among other things of course).

well, orin loved public school!  he loved his teachers & he loved what he was learning.  he did not especially love the long days, the "silent lunch" the very short recess period, or the "silent bus", but these were all part of the deal, he decided.  and his grades were great, dean's list, which made mom & dad happy. :)
so @ the end of 5th grade, this is what he told me.  i don't like elementary school, but i will give public school another chance.  middle school might be different.  this i appreciated, from a parenting standpoint.  i have always told then to give things a second chance...people, activities, etc.  so, it was nice to see that some of my "words of wisdom" had hit home. 

we decided to respect his decision even though there were many things that we personally don't like about the public school system either.
a week or two goes by & i mention in passing to orin, 'so, are you still planning on going to middle school?"  he says something very grown up like, 'i am keeping my options open' or something like that.  very cute...

2 days later, our neighbor drops by to chat.  we are good friends, but haven't seen each other in a bit.  we talk about any number of things, i mention something about homeschooling & she goes on to tell me about a wonderful curriculum that she used with her daughter last year.  (i see orin listening attentively from the next room.)
she leaves.  a few minutes later, orin enters the room & tells me that he definitely wants to homeschool & he wants to use that curriculum. 

i am thrilled!!  the curriculum does sound perfect for him & it is absolutely affordable.  it was as though a huge burden had been lifted...i love it!!  and it all came about on its own because it was meant to be.   
"the proof is in the pudding", to quote an old snoopy comic.  i took a step back, trusting in the universe, and everything fell into place.

absolutely amazing!! 

and that is not quite where our story ends.
the next step, of course, was to earn a bit of extra money to pay for the new curriculum.  the wheels began to turn, i'll need to stock up the shop, perhaps sell a few of the homeschooling books that we no longer need, etc. 
well, that day when i went on the computer i had received 4 custom orders!!  sign #2 that if we open ourselves up to the wonders of the universe, truly & honestly put ourselves our there, everything else will fall into place.
trust...it is an amazing thing!

xo

handmade holidays, continued...

here are some of the lovelies we made for christmas gifts that didn't quite make it into the pre-day posts...
my ultimate favorite gift made this year??...definitely ehren's doll! which he named "rudolph #4". ;)

a 16" waldorf doll, using joy's radiant doll pattern, which is apparently no longer being sold :(. i bought this pattern 3 years ago, as it has become a family tradition to give each of our children a waldorf doll for their 4th christmas.

i made him a few sets of clothes to go with him (2 shirts & 2 pants), just sort of winged it on the pants. but here is the pattern for the shirts. and (of course!) i had to knit him up some goodies!

he got a super cool pair of rainbow overalls

and a doll sized pilot hat...

this is my second go round & i think i did amazingly better...he is totally awesome! & already a part of our daily lives. he eats his meals with us, ehren gets him dressed when he is done dressing himself...he goes on our walks, & sleeps in our bed...wherever we are, rudolph #4 is never very far away!

there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that your gift is truly loved! (hooray!!)



for orin (our 10 year old)...sammi & i revamped his quilt. he made this quilt our first year homeschooling, he was 6~! this was his first sewing machine project ever...i helped him a bit here & there, but he did it 90% on his own. he entered it in the 4-H contest @ our local heritage festival & won honorable mention that year as well. he LOVES this quilt, so much that is was in shambles...the backing was 80% gone! & there were holes everywhere & squares completely gone in some spots...but he would never let me have it long enough to fix it. so a few months ago i stole it & hid it under sammi's bed...and a few weeks before christmas we set to work patching it & searching out a new backing for it. it turned out awesome & was definitely one of orin's favorite gifts...gotta love that!


lance has now asked us to fix up his blanket...we actually wanted to surprise him as well for christmas, but his quilt was made by his gramma & she has since passed away, so i wasn't sure if he would want us messing. he said though that he would rather be using it, that having it stowed away, so i guess well be working on that one soon. <3



my dad requested this ear flap hat. i knit it double strand as both him & my mom are both avid outdoor enthusiasts & i wanted the hat to be practical.





got the call on christmas & he loves it! (hooray!!) said he tried it out on their greenway one morning & is passed the test...:)

for sk (aka sammi), orin & i made an earring holder. she has LOADS!!! & no where to put them, so i poked around on etsy to get a few ideas & ran with it.


we found a *brand new* unfinished wooden photo frame @ our local thrift store, then i picked up some aluminum screening & some screen board @ lowe's. it didn't take too long to piece it all together...

sk loves it & while i was worried that there wouldn't be enough room for all her jewels, there is actually a bit of room to spare!

for more creative goodness & loads of inspiration, be sure to check out "creative friday" @ natural suburbia...LOVE IT!

lake louise...

to close out our week-long celebration of both michaelmas & autumn itself, we like to head spend time with mother nature.

in the past we have gone to the arboretum, hiking on the blue ridge parkway, & to our local bird sanctuary...this go round, the boys chose to go to the park...lake louise to be specific.


this park has a lovely pond where we can watch the ducks & sometimes the geese, there are some really amazing weeping willow trees, a great play area, & a 'primitive' exercise corner that the boys LOVE! (it has loads of bars & beams, as well as gymnastic rings...need i say more?? ;)









now for a trek around the pond...


the boys LOVE playing on these rings!

as we were leaving, we caught site of this trio of ducks leaving as well. they were walking up the hill to the front door of this house, as if were there home...and perhaps it is. :)


we took a different route out of the park, on a whim...and discovered a whole area that we have never been to before, despite having frequented this park for YEARS!

it had this really old waterwheel, waterfalls, an entire rock face that just called to the boys 'climb me!'






absolutely gorgeous!


poor ev...she stayed by my side, on the outskirts, as she was a bit too young to go on this exploration...

but in the end we found a little hill for her to climb on as well...;)

perhaps you, too, have a secret cove waiting to be explored...??