tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6942759283550167952024-03-21T20:28:06.085-07:00Swinging AlongKids. Writing. Waldorf. Knitting. Writing. Homeschooling. Writing. Oh, and did I mention the kids and the writing?Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-63784210372556870212012-02-15T07:02:00.000-08:002012-02-15T07:02:01.561-08:00Long time no post. Again. Yes, I'm terrible at this.<br />
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February has been a month of history blocks. Evil Genius is doing Norse mythology which is one of my favorite blocks ever, and Hufflepuff is working through Roman history. We're racing to meet the end of the month with the fall of Rome so that our final history block this year can be Medieval. (My Chaucer passion is driving this.)<br />
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Norse has been fun. He already knew most of the stories, has read Odd and the Frost Giants twice now (once listening to the book on cd when his sister was doing Norse), and we're reading <i>Runemarks</i> by Joanne Harris together. He's also reading the Time Warp Trio Viking-themed book, and still working through <i>My Side of the Mountain</i>. Up next on his reading list: <i>Call of the Wild</i>, which I think he's going to love. Every time discussion of Norse blocks come up in Waldorf circles, there always seems to be reference to how beautifully the conflict of it meets the needs of the child at that age, and with EG, I'm seeing this in spades. He is so in the midst of that butting heads stage, and these stories are stimulating and calming at once, I think.<br />
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Hufflepuff loves Roman History, and I'm loving the chance to finally delve into some serious Art History along with it. That was the subject of my little-used degree, so it's as if the student loans are finally worth something. Her writing has improved tremendously, and she's filling pages in her main lesson book this year. Last year it was a struggle to get her past the first few sentences.<br />
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Things I wish I had more time for: main lesson book drawings. Sadly, the kids are left to their own devices with these more often than I want to admit, as I need to run after the three year-old or prepare the next lesson, or deal with some volunteer responsibility. They're doing a fine job, but I long for enough time to sit down and really draw with them. Form drawing has also been pushed aside when we're running late or in a hurry, and I'm sad about this. I need to make more time for that. Also, you would think that with Roman history, I would have been able to work in Latin practice more often. But alas, I have not.<br />
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Homeschool science fair at the end of the month. Both projects are weather-related.<br />
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Up next month: Physics for grade 6, and Human Beings and the Animal World for grade 4.<br />
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Her Royal Highness is thriving in public school. It is totally her element. She lucked out this year with a fabulous teacher and a really great class. The only problem is that it tethers the rest of us to the school year schedule, which has been a bit of a challenge in terms of getting things done. If we start late in the day, the end of school comes before we're finished with lessons, and the chaos that ensues throws us right off course. As always, I suppose, our schedule is a work in progress.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-91088929224766353662011-12-04T22:06:00.001-08:002011-12-04T22:16:44.301-08:00Under a sky that's clear...I apparently had no time over the course of our math lesson block to make any posts at all. So it goes, I guess. <br />
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November was an enlightening, challenging month of upheaval and new routine, but I think that we seem to be settling into December just fine. <br />
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The biggest and probably most important change is that HRH is back in public school. I figured that was an inevitability given her love for all things formal-classroom-related, and the school is at the head of our street so the convenience is lovely, but it happened so quickly that she literally went from being homeschooled to sitting in a classroom at a desk 24 hours later. It took all of us the last few weeks to adjust. She loves it for the most part, is excelling in almost every subject (after getting past the confusion of learning the same math she's known for years through a method that was counter-intuitive to her). <br />
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Being locked to the school schedule again? As little fun as I remember. <br />
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Evil Genius finished his first fractions block at breakneck speed even as I tried to go slowly. He's now working through The Life of Fred: Fractions because he needed more challenge. A lot of his math work is done backwards. He can do the very complex things in his head and is annoyed when I insist we back up and discover how he got there. <br />
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Hufflepuff is struggling with math a bit. It's mostly a focus issue, so we're trying new things out to fix that. I'm reading The Extra Lesson and hoping to pick up some tips on where to look for the root of her issues. <br />
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December is Saints for HRH. Since I only had a few picked out for her this month - Saint Nicholas and Saint Lucy, we're going to be doing their stories even though she's in school now. Evil Genius is starting my very favorite block of grade 4, Norse Myths. Can. Not. Wait. And Hufflepuff is doing Physics. We only do a two week block in December, so I'm feeling very at peace with where we're headed. <br />
<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-41452748991887272482011-10-10T06:36:00.000-07:002011-10-10T06:37:26.980-07:00Oh, OctoberMy favorite month. We entered it with a funeral and a birthday wrapped around the same weekend, and it all seemed apropos for the heart of autumn. My grandfather passed away in the final days of September, so we drove home for the funeral, and celebrated Evil Genius's birthday (post on that to come). <br />
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I've had a hard time getting out of the return-from-unexpected-travel funk and back into the homeschooling mindset, though. I don't know why. I love what we're doing, on every level. But I just can't jump start myself into meeting the morning with enthusiasm. I'm trying to get to bed earlier, which is fabulous in theory, but in reality, when the Wild One doesn't wind down enough for bed until 11 pm, and I finally have my brain to myself and my to-do list in front of me, it's impossible to just <i>sleep</i>. Anyway, whining and excuses aside...<br />
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Her Royal Highness is entering a Saints and Heroes block this month. We're starting off with one of my favorites, St. Francis of Assisi. She's still doing some grammar, and math practice every day, and she wants to start cursive writing now. I think we'll do that as a group. Hufflepuff knows cursive but is far out of practice, and Evil Genius was never interested before, but he's writing more now and I think it would help him write faster. <br />
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Speaking of Evil Genius, he's started the Waldorf block that troubles me the most, Human Beings and the Animal World. It's one of those points where Steiner's worldview and my own are so entirely different that I've actively avoided it in the past. But I got some fantastic advice on approaching it at Taproot this summer, and I think we're going to do all right. I'm using a lot of nature documentaries for this block because, while not so Waldorf an approach, they can cover a whole lot of things that I cannot. <br />
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Hufflepuff has started Rome, and I'm trying to balance out my need to cover ALL OF ROMAN ART HISTORY with her need to discover the history and social significance of the Roman Empire. It's neat how her Latin studies have suddenly become more relevant. Still doing geometric drawing every Monday. I'm pretty sure by now she can use a compass to divide a circle into twelve equal parts in her sleep. <br />
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Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-45290938143747733822011-09-22T20:26:00.000-07:002011-09-23T05:31:45.770-07:00I had this English teacher in high school, AP English, 12th grade, and he basically treated the class like we were taking freshman level Rhetoric at university. It was kind of fantastic. One of the things I remember most, though, is that every once in a while, he would come in to class with notes prepared, sit down, and strike up a conversation with a couple of students. On those days, a few more students would join in, and then a few more, until everyone in the class was involved in the conversation. Then our teacher would look around, toss his papers on the floor, and say, "We're blowing off today. I don't feel like doing this stuff."<br />
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Today, that was me. I slept later than usual, so we were going to do school in the afternoon. Then I got distracted by a few other things, and time just started slipping away from me. By the time lunch time rolled around, I knew it was going to be that kind of day. So we blew it off. This means working on Saturday, which will be tricky, because I already had a few schooly things planned for the weekend. And while the break was kind of nice, I'm feeling a little guilty, because it's awfully early in the year to start skipping school. I just couldn't bring myself to check in mentally today. <br />
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Tomorrow will be better.<br />
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Evil Genius has been continuing his Local Geography block with a couple of famous historical figures from the area. We started with the obvious: Henry Hudson. There was a really nice segue there to Washington Irving. We read Rip Van Winkle yesterday, and tomorrow we'll talk for a while about the life of the man who wrote it. It would be nice to figure out a way to take a field trip to Sunnyside. We're going to be reading Sleepy Hollow together over the next few days, too. A nice tie in that's also seasonally appropriate. <br />
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Hufflepuff is still working on her first research paper. She's doing well with Latin, especially since most of her work thus far has been nothing but note taking. I know she's dying to really get into it. <br />
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HRH's story tomorrow is going to be St George and the Dragon, so we'll all sit in on that one. The plan is to create a dragon mask and have a bit of a Michaelmas play. We'll see how well that pans out. Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-1643983648118119642011-09-17T06:07:00.000-07:002011-09-17T06:07:01.564-07:00Sooooo, wet on wet watercolor painting is still my weak spot. It's so strange, because every time I get training or coaching on it, the pictures come out beautifully, but then when I try to put it into practice, everything is so very runny. I'm thinking that tonight's probably was paint that was too thin. Hufflepuff and Evil Genius painted Thursday. When HRH painted on Friday, I'd thickened the paint a little bit and tried to be more cautious about extra water and it seemed to work better. I'm probably too stingy with the paints because of the cost, but I also tended to have this problem when I was teaching at LCG, and the paints there were all mixed by people who knew what they were doing.
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I started next week's lesson plans on Thursday. This is WAY ahead of my usual schedule. Didn't get as far as I wanted to tonight, but I have a few of the specifics sketched out. Tonight I'll finish the rest. (Because if I post it here, then it has to come true, right?)
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Waiting until Thursday to have Evil Genius put his form in his book made <i>some</i> difference, but not as much as I'd hoped. There was still frustration boiling up, and expectations of perfection. We're going to keep following that rhythm, though, and seeing if we can make it work.
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HRH is really enjoying grammar right now. We're highlighting nouns and verbs in her main lesson book stories. She's finally reading independently again. It took a full year after she left public school for her to want to pick up a book or write something on her own. It amazes me, because she burned out after <i>kindergarten</i>, and this is a kid who would happily do book work eight hours a day if I let her. I could go on and on about that, but I won't.
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Hufflepuff is learning how to outline and cite sources for a research paper. I discovered that I have to brush up on how to cite websites, since the internets were a very different place in the mid-nineties when I was in college. Her handwriting has improved so much in the past year. I think her discovery of creative writing has a lot to do with that. She can type very fast, but there isn't always a computer available when she gets ideas, so she's been keeping notebooks. I need to get her writing cursive, though. That's one of those smaller lessons that falls by the wayside when Wild Thing starts getting restless and we have to bring everything to a quick end.
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I guess that goes on the list of wrinkles to be ironed out.
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Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-15670963413467304812011-09-14T11:00:00.000-07:002011-09-14T11:02:25.076-07:00Me and my rampant abuse of italicsWell, last week went better than expected considering our sudden trip out of town to help a dear friend out as her family welcomed their beautiful new baby.
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We ended up working through the weekend to compensate. I didn't follow our entire daily rhythm then (more on that in a minute), but we did have work in some math and reading every day.
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So our daily rhythm is definitely in need of a bit tweaking and rearranging, I think. We're trying to center circle time around the Wild One for now, since that's pretty much the only part of our day that allows him to participate fully. This morning he seemed to enjoy the songs and verses, though. More than he has before, anyway. But I also realized this morning that we've been forgetting our candle-lighting verses all week. I use the traditional Steiner school verses when we light our candles, because I think the memorization and the ritual of it all is so good for the kids. Wild One gets to snuff the candle just before main lesson time (we like to conserve our candles a bit). So I have to take sometime, sit down with some new verses, and really work to create a circle time that's going to speak to everyone.
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Another addition to circle time this year (last year we did it at a different time) is the math facts flash cards from Making Math Meaningful. This year all three of the grades age kids can participate, so it's been a lot of fun. I'm not a huge fan of flash cards, but the kids decorated these themselves last year and they really love doing them every day.
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HRH's main lesson stories have been surprisingly well-received so far. I was worried about transitioning from fairy tales to fables, but she loves the fables, and the pictures she's been putting in her main lesson book are quite beautiful. I'm definitely seeing the effect of public school art class on her, though, and it's been a bit of a struggle to convince her that our pictures don't start with an outline. I think I'm actually going to bite the bullet and purchase <i>Coloring with Block Crayons</i> by Sieglinde de Francesca. I've wanted it for a long time but never really could justify the expense. I've heard really great things about it, though, and I'm thinking it's going to be worth it.
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Evil Genius is working on a local geography block right now. He's mapped our apartment, the state, and the Erie Canal, and we've learned about the Hudson River a bit. We've also talked a little bit about the Dutch immigrants that settled this area. Yesterday we walked down to the NYS Museum ("I <i>love</i> being able to walk to everything, Mom!") and took note of the date plaques on downtown buildings. At the museum, we spent some extra time at the Ellis Island exhibit to talk about immigration, and then longer still in the Discovery area where the mapping of the Erie Canal took place. We're going to spend the rest of the week focusing on the Hudson River and early settlements in New York. I think next week, per Evil Genius's request, we're moving on to the Adirondacks. (He was appalled and devastated to see how many species had been wiped out from the Adirondacks completely by the early part of the last century.)
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I took some advice from Taproot teacher training this summer and Evil Genius is now getting is form for form drawing on Monday, practicing it all week, then committing it to his form drawing book on Thursday. That seems to have taken a lot of the stress of perfectionism off him.
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Hufflepuff is absolutely enamored with her geology/mineralogy lesson block. She's decided that her research paper is going to be on Chrome Tremolite, and she sketched it and took notes at the museum yesterday. Today she learned how to properly cite books and articles as sources, and how to start an outline. We're also talking about the layers of the Earth and tonight she's going to start needle felting a model.
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Latin is coming along very well, I think. We're using Wheelock's Latin right now, and just getting started, but she's really grasping everything she's read so far and is ready to just jump right in. We're going to see how this goes. I'd love to get Rosetta Stone Latin (our old library had it and we fell in <i>love</i> with it), but there has also been talk of getting Rosetta Stone German next year, and getting two different programs is definitely cost prohibitive.
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Hufflepuff is also still working through Life of Fred: Decimals and Percents and still just loving the series. She's having so much <i>fun</i> with it, and I love the amount of review that she gets with each new chapter.
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So that's our first week and a half of homeschooling this year.
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Oh, and lots of Oregon Trail was played. Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-6518038802895667932011-09-09T09:41:00.000-07:002011-09-09T09:41:19.909-07:00I am just not very consistent with the whole blogging thing, I guess. But looking back through old posts, and coming across things I don't remember until I read about them, I'm realizing that I need to work on that. New Year's resolution, perhaps?
The thing with me and journaling is this: In retrospect, I have a lot of difficulty tolerating personal things that I write. I've never kept a diary. I've written in diaries for years at a time, but it always ends the same way. I tear out the pages and rip them to shreds, or burn them cathartically. They never last. Blogging was sort of an antidote for that. I've had many blogs, and they're still all floating out there in the interwebs where I don't have to reread them, or even look at them, unless I seek them out. But I think my pattern is the same. I blog for a while, then feel terribly self-conscious, and fade into the wallpaper.
Anyway, my point is, I'm trying again. So, updates. New city, new digs (upstairs, even, and oh, is that an adventure with four), and a slightly more structured homeschooling year ahead of us. And the children (I'll be using clever little nicknames from here on out, as they get older an less inclined to be okay with me sharing too much).
The little Wild Thing is two-and-a-half now. And is he ever. It's become clear to me now that I've never had that typical two year-old. The boy is utterly and completely fearless. He's an independent, "Mama, let go of me!" in the pool kind of fearless, but still so very, very attached. He's been a real challenge to my convictions surrounding extended nursing. He is wonderful and clever and intense and loud. He loves to shout out lines from Sendak books. (Honestly? That kind of makes me feel like my work here is done.)
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Her Royal Highness is seven-and-a-half. Second grade. I'm hoping that the transition from those dreamy fairy tales that she loved so very much to fables and hero/saints stories will be a smooth one. She's writing and reading on her own again, after a year of refusing to do either in her post-public kindergarten burn out. I am an incredibly relieved mama on that account. This morning there was even talk of "if I ever go back to school", which gives me hope that her experience wasn't entirely negative.
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The Evil Genius will be ten in less than a month. Fourth grade. The year of bravery. And he's embraced it whole-heartedly. Walking out into Lake Ontario up to his neck, climbing, stretching himself socially. I'm immensely impressed by him. We're starting the year with a local geography and mapping lesson block, and looking forward to the Norse myths. We need to work on handwriting, and the list of assigned reading for this boy keeps expanding (he's started with My Father's Dragon). He's met a group of local kids who share his interest in Magic and are open to helping him learn D&D and is thrilled to death about it. As am I.
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Hufflepuff is nearing twelve and in sixth grade this year. What a lot of work this will be. We're moving on from Greek (Ancient, which I had a bit of background in) to Latin (which I have <i>no</i> background in) and the study of the Roman Empire through Medieval times. The goal is to end the year with Chaucer (my favorite, favorite, favorite). We're starting the year with a Geology and Mineralogy block. I had originally planned on an Astronomy block here, but after going to teacher training at Taproot again this summer, I decided to swap with this block, that I'd intended for seventh grade. For math, I'm using Life of Fred again (we've had great success so far), Biology and Pre-Algebra, and a couple of lesson blocks drawn from the Making Math Meaningful series. And we've started geometric drawing. Our science blocks this year in addition to Geology, will be Physics-based. I'd be lying to say I'm not a little intimidated by that. But setting up the experiments should be lots of fun.
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And then there's the Art History. That's my area of expertise and we're really getting into it now as we move through Roman history. I can't wait. I've been a bit excessive with the texts I've ordered, but man, this is what I <i>know</i>.
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We're still (after an entire year) looking for a ukulele teacher here, but in the meantime, she's learning what she can on her own. I think we're going to make some time for her to sit down and peruse youtube for lessons.
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So that's our fairly parenthetical update. Our curriculum is very strictly Waldorf-based. The more trainings I go to, and the more reading I do, I realize that Waldorf just fits our family so well in most regards (although I do diverge on the standard Waldorf stance on media, but that's a topic for another post). I've started listening to Steiner's lectures to teachers online. It's a great wind-down at the end of the day, and helps me get my focus on for the following day's lessons. Heh, I just said "lessons". My former radical unschooling self is boggling right now.
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Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-4187549315175952352010-04-20T18:16:00.001-07:002011-09-09T22:48:44.043-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnMP60uuJF2Y0nY17jxHm-KvCwT1dHxKWFLGasrINa8e62I1wcHN4yRVAbeMeSrImLoGyauZ5y0bpfCbMYGxeJA_yxMQGG4EnTLL-z9pIsvsSFnYRaPFYTwx5pwgG4jLqaZ89R5z3K3pJ/s1600/February+2010+003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnMP60uuJF2Y0nY17jxHm-KvCwT1dHxKWFLGasrINa8e62I1wcHN4yRVAbeMeSrImLoGyauZ5y0bpfCbMYGxeJA_yxMQGG4EnTLL-z9pIsvsSFnYRaPFYTwx5pwgG4jLqaZ89R5z3K3pJ/s320/February+2010+003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462396581200629218" /></a><br /><br />I didn't realize until late this evening that this is National TV Turn Off Week. Middle Girl had mentioned it when she came home from school one day last week, but we'd never really discussed it further. Ironically, the television has been on more this week than in the last three weeks. Middle Boy's been sacked out on the couch with a stomach bug, so it's been mostly for his benefit, but I think we've all watched a good deal more than usual. <br /><br />The thing is, though, that we're just not real big television watchers in the first place. Even when they turn it on of their own accord, the kids hardly ever sit in front of the tv for the duration of an entire show. There are a couple of things they like to watch, but Middle Boy is far and away the only child meticulous enough to pay attention to the times and dates that his show airs. I think the girls must get it from me, because as much as I've enjoyed certain shows, I've always been notoriously bad at remembering when something is on and turning on the television. <br /><br />(At this point, I make a mental note to myself that Food, Inc. is on PBS tomorrow night at nine and I've been wanting to see it. I'll probably end up missing it because I have a Girl Scout meeting that will run until 8:30 and then I'll get home and there will be things to do and it just won't cross my mind again until I'm getting into bed for the night.)<br /><br />In other news, my digital camera has died. I was taking pictures of the kids on an Easter egg hunt at my parents' and set the camera down outside. I forgot it was there until, several rainstorms later, I went searching for it in my bag and came up empty. It wasn't a great camera by any means, but I'm mourning the pictures of Youngest waddling through the woods in search of plastic eggs that died with it.<br /><br />Eldest is still working through a long, slow math lesson block. I think we may do another mini lesson block on math over the summer so we can finish covering all the grade 4 material. She's been reading almost non-stop lately, and as she didn't start reading on her own until just over a year ago, I'm loathe to call her away from it for lessons. Her homeschool Waldorf class performed their play last week - Jacob and Esau. Since the program starts a new "grades class" every two years, the class she's in is doing a third grade curriculum this year. It works out well because we don't get overlap with things she does at home. If anything, she hears stories we heard over a year ago and is glad for the retelling. <br /><br />Middle Boy has started a new main lesson block on "saints". We're finishing Gandhi and will be moving on to Mother Theresa. I think he's really enjoying it. His class's play was The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Very sweet. <br /><br />I think I'm too tired to form much more coherent thought, so I'll leave off here for tonight.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-68370031395881117042010-03-20T12:26:00.001-07:002011-09-09T22:47:25.501-07:00The sun is (sort of) shining through the hazy sky, and the kids are playing outside with light jackets on. I'm ostensibly cleaning house (though here I sit with a nursing baby dozing on my lap) and enjoying the open windows. <br /><br />The dive headlong into our next math block has begun and I'm very proud of our progress. I realized that we've been too busy to really get down to circle time in the mornings, so we've been reciting arithmetic facts in the car and it's actually been great fun. I feel like we'll be done with fourth grade in total by June, and our second grade lessons are already winding down for the year. Next year will be first, third and fifth if the little one comes home from public school. I am so looking forward to the fifth grade. Botany! Geometry! I can't wait. (And, um, the future-fifth-grader is plenty excited as well, I think.)<br /><br />We've also been mapping the Erie Canal for local history/geography. Having grown up here, I don't think I ever got a clear picture of the canal's significance, and it's fascinating to see how our local geography shaped, and was shaped by, the canal. <br /><br />Another load of laundry is calling my name, so I'll end this post here. Maybe I'll get the hang of this "blogging regularly" thing after all.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-31048868224332218612010-03-14T17:25:00.000-07:002011-09-09T22:47:11.966-07:00So nearly a month has passed again, but I am still determined to start blogging more often. Hopelessly optimistic, that's me. <br /><br />Our home school lessons have been on hiatus for a couple of very busy weeks. March was supposed to be a math block, and we'll be starting that tomorrow, pushing everything else forward a couple of weeks. My perfectionist tendencies go into overtime every time we have a math block approaching and I keep putting it off until I feel everything is perfect (which never happens, of course). I've decided we're just going to dig right in now and then if we don't accomplish everything we'd like, we can do a long, slow math block over the summer.<br /><br />The kids adore math, so this is my problem, not theirs. <br /><br />We've been doing a lot of reading aloud lately. Middle Girl is reading "When We Were Very Young" by A.A. Milne. She's very into poetry right now. Middle Boy is reading "Highway Robbery" by Kate Thompson. All three kids are currently enamored with "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes (as sung by Loreena McKennitt), so this book fits in perfectly. And Eldest and I have been reading Anne of Green Gables. Oh, Anne. My first literary love. <br /><br />Eldest is also reading "Beowulf" (a graphic novel version), and "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing". Next up on her list is "Ella Enchanted". <br /><br />Tomorrow Middle Girl is off school for conferences and I promised her I'd help her make her own knitting needles. I made a bunting baby for the little guy this week and I'm feeling very much in a handwork groove. Speaking of the wee boy, he's telling me he's ready for bed, so I'd better oblige him.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-27918226188234327972010-02-20T06:54:00.000-08:002011-09-09T22:46:06.126-07:00Oh, the Toddlerness of You!It's been that kind of few months in which there has been much to blog about and no time to blog. The girls turned 6 and 10 at the beginning of January, but more on that later. The big news around here is the very first birthday of Sir Babypants. <br /><br /><br />The birthday ring and lemon cake:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yogapixie/4373093588/" title="first birthday ring by yogapixie, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2780/4373093588_ba3bcdb67d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="first birthday ring" /></a><br /><br />For five seconds, he even wore his birthday crown:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yogapixie/4373093418/" title="ONE! by yogapixie, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4373093418_7b54fe1623.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="ONE!" /></a><br /><br />Sweet potato soup is good birthday food:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yogapixie/4372341433/" title="birthday grabby boy by yogapixie, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4372341433_3e09a8e19c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="birthday grabby boy" /></a><br /><br />And this one, I couldn't resist. Those eyes, swoon:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yogapixie/4373093012/" title="Eyes! by yogapixie, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2695/4373093012_510b86cfef.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Eyes!" /></a><br /><br />He is fearless, single-minded, happy and <i>funny</i>. Oh, is this boy funny. And he knows it. We just started a parent-child Waldorf class together, taught by a dear friend, our amazing kindergarten room teacher at LCG. He is having a fabulously good time there with all the other small people. At home, all he wants is to keep up with his siblings (who are luckily willing to slow down to a reasonable pace for him).Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-80455511576906237452009-11-29T19:27:00.001-08:002011-09-09T22:45:33.609-07:00Still alive. Still, apparently, a horribly slack blogger. Sorry about that. <br /><br />Too tired to update properly just now, but things are just lovely. From the sweet (fast) crawling baby who can stand on his own and teeter as he winds up his bravery to take those first few steps, to the kindergartener who is soaking up everything she sees and hears like a sponge, to the long-haired boy with a MUCH shorter hair cut, to the pink-and-black-haired girl who is becoming a young woman much faster than I ever dreamed. All lovely. And tonight, all very sleepy.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-40998056674593444372009-07-24T16:35:00.000-07:002011-09-09T22:45:22.556-07:00It's amazing what a little bit of a change in environment can do for my mental state. I did some rearranging in the kitchen today and removed a huge, clunking shelf unit in favor of a little table my parents picked up for us at a garage sale earlier in the summer. The difference is astounding. I cleared away all the clutter, and the window is no longer blocked, and my kitchen is now sunny and light and so dearly deserving of a fresh coat of paint (and some patch for the walls, and a new floor...). <br /><br />Last weekend I was so blessed to spend time with a group of wonderful, amazing, talented, fascinating women that I've known for many years. There was wine, and baby cuddling, and so much conversation that at times I didn't know where to settle in for a chat. The hellmonkeys and I loved every minute of it. I am truly, truly lucky to have the friends I do.<br /><br />In other news, I'm planning the upcoming school year, missing Eldest, who is away at camp for 2 weeks, and trying to fill as many donation bags of clothes as possible. The kids have outgrown so many things and they're all just piling up around us. I'm on a clutter clearing binge lately.<br /><br />Oh yes, and there was cherry picking a couple of weeks ago.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRtiDt-N80h0e7aO7FyIvmbGrny_0MnjU7nncwQuWv_70HP4qJbnPCk3KAnzLaJ4or_LgVtoX0rhJXUjfla_wYz9mKdgTuqP_JMeiVQ3vjj0xA-vavTmnlgucOJWrQNwB3whn13YCe4Mc/s1600-h/July+A+2009+008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRtiDt-N80h0e7aO7FyIvmbGrny_0MnjU7nncwQuWv_70HP4qJbnPCk3KAnzLaJ4or_LgVtoX0rhJXUjfla_wYz9mKdgTuqP_JMeiVQ3vjj0xA-vavTmnlgucOJWrQNwB3whn13YCe4Mc/s320/July+A+2009+008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362175837687772850" /></a><br /><br />The results were my first fresh cherry pie, which was <span style="font-style:italic;">delicious</span>.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-39195905471003469602009-06-01T06:07:00.001-07:002011-09-09T22:44:50.114-07:00Our life in picturesBecause I've been too busy to document it any other way lately. <br /><br />First outdoor fire of the year:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgKRXr5N0OkAcgVHlZIZUz3EnXT9DF7MuXBqQykc6-rRnHcWr84F6UkxUVAiaVMz3EqDN6MTSqqwhi9PsY0ytuMc50zpBPRn1O3zBCn_H9opEsSukW7-C-Jkcq8JmYsRLxlc7hv9Ncmt7/s1600-h/late+May+2009+005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgKRXr5N0OkAcgVHlZIZUz3EnXT9DF7MuXBqQykc6-rRnHcWr84F6UkxUVAiaVMz3EqDN6MTSqqwhi9PsY0ytuMc50zpBPRn1O3zBCn_H9opEsSukW7-C-Jkcq8JmYsRLxlc7hv9Ncmt7/s320/late+May+2009+005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342345195870828594" /></a><br /><br />Sleeping baby:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgou5_VmhyphenhyphenUkVz30SXc2bpnN31D2U1Ls8izcQSE8lg3FQn0Ar6GifSWPrZ2Pw7ZDilspty8Wg6SBat6E9TgirlcFgvz3m2zwO6NG15Jzvp4eIOU1aATzOJETtTcBblfuuLSPfZubtzUiHRh/s1600-h/late+May+2009+013.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgou5_VmhyphenhyphenUkVz30SXc2bpnN31D2U1Ls8izcQSE8lg3FQn0Ar6GifSWPrZ2Pw7ZDilspty8Wg6SBat6E9TgirlcFgvz3m2zwO6NG15Jzvp4eIOU1aATzOJETtTcBblfuuLSPfZubtzUiHRh/s320/late+May+2009+013.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342345403354494418" /></a><br /><br />That pretty much sums us up at the moment. If we're not <span style="font-style:italic;">doing</span>, then chances are we're not conscious.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-5734259204765741112009-05-08T20:41:00.001-07:002011-09-09T22:44:34.745-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNI_Ytk2SWXhIeulrNcg5pTBreXYgTp2x-GGcE7yRvr8W8KhpKzXsZvTA20xrVXqvQpBVE9JTHMl0FJwLNdquzkT1pK9JNmJarCh8nFZXRkjQe0mWhpZkD251MclJtoR9oZcSiLdvTdR_/s1600-h/early+May+2009+001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNI_Ytk2SWXhIeulrNcg5pTBreXYgTp2x-GGcE7yRvr8W8KhpKzXsZvTA20xrVXqvQpBVE9JTHMl0FJwLNdquzkT1pK9JNmJarCh8nFZXRkjQe0mWhpZkD251MclJtoR9oZcSiLdvTdR_/s320/early+May+2009+001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333666893009482866" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LoxhQVo-8jiNBux0qqnwsjhFba9VdbvhjVcs0rfJFBaeO7HH0n2AxdiiPTDxr1tsj7mJkH9aWIoMH3vuJB4VXytOlq0cUq2MoYBbLk6dOkjaKSVH3IcuDG_h28yNOYzznKNN7YtLeVz3/s1600-h/Copy+of+early+May+2009+014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LoxhQVo-8jiNBux0qqnwsjhFba9VdbvhjVcs0rfJFBaeO7HH0n2AxdiiPTDxr1tsj7mJkH9aWIoMH3vuJB4VXytOlq0cUq2MoYBbLk6dOkjaKSVH3IcuDG_h28yNOYzznKNN7YtLeVz3/s320/Copy+of+early+May+2009+014.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333666670759778258" /></a><br /><br />Little things I am grateful for:<br /><br />* <span style="font-style:italic;">Two</span> recommendations for the same doctor when I put out a notice that we're searching for a new ped. That fills me with confidence about making the call on Monday.<br /><br />* A baby who stayed up late enough that I know he's going to let me sleep in a bit in the morning. (But not too long, because the small one has ballet.)<br /><br />* Being able to see the end of this (home)school year and look forward to our summer activities as well as the year to come. <br /><br />* Getting the oldest a spot in a limited (and very inexpensive) swim lesson program that takes place <span style="font-style:italic;">before</span> she goes to Girl Scout camp. (Her swimming skills, or lack thereof, were an issue for her last year.)<br /><br />* That Middle Boy got up there on stage and recited all of his lines for our class play. Even if he was pacing in circles the whole time, he DID it.<br /><br />* That Eldest was willing and able to jump in at the very last second and play a part on stage when another student realized he'd be more comfortable helping out backstage. <br /><br />* The camporee I coordinated (with massive help from other volunteers) last weekend being a huge success. And all those volunteers who did extraordinary jobs feeding and entertaining 130 people. <br /><br />* My upcoming Daisy troop for next year. I'm so excited about working with the little girls. <br /><br />I am an incredibly blessed and lucky mama.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEU2JBPQigtDp_B24wzhrxemOsz06ZoDFMxBVOz4vmE8N9KjL5CGi9l0p4Zd2LBTosT_LdV2GBeTIK57dh7ylhG7zLA8HM5fGU8a5n_YeHqmOMnijY9Twn_1yJWii6nhrFce-qxA5Fc_0J/s1600-h/early+May+2009+004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEU2JBPQigtDp_B24wzhrxemOsz06ZoDFMxBVOz4vmE8N9KjL5CGi9l0p4Zd2LBTosT_LdV2GBeTIK57dh7ylhG7zLA8HM5fGU8a5n_YeHqmOMnijY9Twn_1yJWii6nhrFce-qxA5Fc_0J/s320/early+May+2009+004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333666457798966706" /></a>Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-11344189673498293472009-04-23T20:13:00.000-07:002011-09-09T22:43:52.056-07:00Gah. I close my eyes to blink and don't blog for nearly a month. The boyfriend is on the road again until Saturday, and I'm staying up so late tonight that I know I'll regret it in the morning. But we got to watch The Office together tonight in peace before he left, and the girls have bunk beds again (and a NEARLY clean room), and the thought of repainting my living room is filling me with an incredible amount of inner peace. So, anyway, what have you missed?<br /><br />There was an invasion of beavers at the science museum:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2n7OUaZKaQf4mtxc7eZXM3HuRRkqWzkOkt-QH_9fgbkVgtaRukhNBVA88hkKMx3dPfHpinsKdl1tuBsw-gr4Tnv9vSAjFdCB7T_71Qbms3e-hjWO1d3kHmQOjFUy8X_kWiddf4rbIN1p/s1600-h/April+2009+001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2n7OUaZKaQf4mtxc7eZXM3HuRRkqWzkOkt-QH_9fgbkVgtaRukhNBVA88hkKMx3dPfHpinsKdl1tuBsw-gr4Tnv9vSAjFdCB7T_71Qbms3e-hjWO1d3kHmQOjFUy8X_kWiddf4rbIN1p/s320/April+2009+001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328091938200837394" /></a><br /><br />Maple sugaring: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6WWjE3Rn_NHiwm5P4Ie52m7e9dO7SnvrN3sOVHA2BQq_rP3WAz9OjUsHhrfnfzGK1tt7OTOkvLcZmTpDcM5ntyhKeFXGbo-rkqcTxABJ5m-wedjF1C_nMB3Q-0oL8ai-smDsWYw0p5Oa/s1600-h/March+2009+020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6WWjE3Rn_NHiwm5P4Ie52m7e9dO7SnvrN3sOVHA2BQq_rP3WAz9OjUsHhrfnfzGK1tt7OTOkvLcZmTpDcM5ntyhKeFXGbo-rkqcTxABJ5m-wedjF1C_nMB3Q-0oL8ai-smDsWYw0p5Oa/s320/March+2009+020.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328092239919898306" /></a><br /><br />An Easter egg hunt at grandma's: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsl5Qk5MSmKZ6gCvXm51b6H91oZv9BCoZPS7ZgnaXExBdJ3cZkwGezKqGBua_jHVfBLEUuzqWn-fxzMAF4yuVDkrwZmfODTavyo2p1OMr-cGmDlue2KyjbFzknSsRomGoPB6qnJ2XuNoGl/s1600-h/April+2009+012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsl5Qk5MSmKZ6gCvXm51b6H91oZv9BCoZPS7ZgnaXExBdJ3cZkwGezKqGBua_jHVfBLEUuzqWn-fxzMAF4yuVDkrwZmfODTavyo2p1OMr-cGmDlue2KyjbFzknSsRomGoPB6qnJ2XuNoGl/s320/April+2009+012.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328091160173379410" /></a><br /> <br />And big, BIG smiles:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gKW4OF_4AkLzlLfYcpeMFdDSwb95pJ9fmvatAavmvs0STJ_lj8z2pyC55X8lpN6E62ftyir3h9tSq1HpsDeFlQTExqs3g543TIpC6SWk6QKg07iAPhCmZI26NH0pSl6JTlSgGsSPTAmo/s1600-h/April+2009+017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gKW4OF_4AkLzlLfYcpeMFdDSwb95pJ9fmvatAavmvs0STJ_lj8z2pyC55X8lpN6E62ftyir3h9tSq1HpsDeFlQTExqs3g543TIpC6SWk6QKg07iAPhCmZI26NH0pSl6JTlSgGsSPTAmo/s320/April+2009+017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328092652055527762" /></a><br /><br />You may notice that Middle Boy is only pictured once. The boy RUNS from the camera, or does his best impression of Cousin It (and with that hair, he's an ace at it). But every once in a while, I'll catch a shot of that gorgeous smile. <br /><br />Also not pictured: Spring Equinox festivals, new silks for the nature table, visits from grandparents from near and far, the first trip to Abbott's and the beach, playdates galore, museum trip with the Girl Scouts, TONS of snuggling with the baby.<br /><br />One class play down, two more to go. One of which I have to finish writing, but not tonight. Tonight I'm going to climb into bed with my littlest man, snuggle up around him, and try to get some sleep before the next nursing session.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-88624082658071912522009-03-30T11:09:00.000-07:002011-09-09T22:43:00.690-07:00Quickly for my own reference:<br /><br />Week of 3/29<br /><br />Eldest - Finishing up housing/Native American block. Copied "What do we plant?" verse and drew different types of Native American shelters. Will hear story of Sacagawea and finish paragraph for The Rough-Faced Girl before block is finished. Also, will visit science museum.<br /><br />Middle Boy- Copied and illustrated spring verse. Still working on word families reader. Will hear one more Irish fairy tale.<br /><br />Also need to do this week - Form drawing and painting.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-5655610829802587102009-03-20T23:17:00.000-07:002011-09-09T22:42:43.020-07:00Happy Spring!After over a week of sleeping through the night, it was inevitable that Baby would be up in the wee hours at least this once. It's okay, though, as I finally get a chance to sit here with him on my lap and update. <br /><br />He'll be six weeks old on Sunday and I'm finding that hard to believe. He's so big now, and still as alert as ever. His naps are growing shorter (but still frequent), and his smiles are more deliberate. He loves lying on a blanket without a diaper and just looking around at everyone and everything. I'd love to do a bit more knitting for him soon, but as he's such an in-arms baby, I rarely have my hands free these days. <br /><br />Middle Girl, who has ballet in a few hours, finally seems to be getting a handle on her meltdowns. They're definitely related to blood sugar and she's starting to learn that if she gets something to eat early on, they're not as bad for her. She's still contemplating public school next year, but I have a strong feeling she'll settle on homeschooling. At least I hope so; I really dislike our "neighborhood" public school (which really isn't in our neighborhood at all, but that's another story).<br /><br />My dad took Middle Boy and Eldest to see Race to Witch Mountain on Friday and they loved it. It was nice for the bigger kids to be out with grandpa by themselves. I think they needed a more grown-up outing. They've been absorbed with Star Wars lately, as have some of their friends, and we've been talking a bit about all the common mythology incorporated into the Star Wars stories.<br /><br />Middle Boy is just starting to learn recorder, and does better learning one on one from me than in class. I figured that would be the case. He's also doing some amazing artwork lately. He thinks in graphic novel form, and every story he tells comes out that way. <br /><br />Eldest's lesson block is still Native Americans/house building and she's really loving it. She's been reading a book about Sacagawea to me aloud, along with her extra lesson reader, and she's so much more fluent now than she was just months ago. She's working on some more challenging form drawings, and her writing has shown drastic improvement. She's going to be Princess Yashodora in her LCG class play about the Buddha's life, and she's bubbling over with excitement about it. <br /><br />Ah, Baby is fussing and ready for sleep. Time for me to sign off.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-82980826173583656752009-03-12T13:49:00.000-07:002011-09-09T22:41:09.227-07:00Middle Boy has spent a good portion of the afternoon making "mail" for everyone in the house. He made comics for the girls and sent them along with a bill. Middle Girl's reaction was, "Am I even old enough for a bill?" <br /><br />Anyway, she's sitting here beside me looking over her mail intently, so interested in what he's drawn there. I love these little moments. <br /><br />Of course, the batteries in my camera picked today to fizzle out. So I'll commit this bit of sweetness to memory here.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-88560176139301445482009-03-10T19:21:00.001-07:002011-09-09T22:40:04.062-07:00So my laptop is dead, which means that I'm now sharing our main computer with the four other computer-using people in this house. Someone commented a few posts back that they had some yarn they were willing to send me, and I just want you to know that I *am* interested, but it's been a bit crazy around here, so I'll email you as soon as I get my head back on straight (and have the time to go through my overstuffed inbox). Also, I've lost a lot of pictures/writing/homeschool records that I hadn't backed up over the last couple of months, but I'm trying not to think about that right now. So, on to happy thoughts...<br /><br />We started back up with our Waldorf-inspired homeschooling schedule this week and it's going very nicely. I'm back to work at Lilac Children's Garden and my class was absolutely wonderful today. At home, Eldest is doing a lesson block on Native Americans/housing and we're currently working with Iroquois stories. She's really into this lesson block, and has been writing more and more in her main lesson book. I'll try to get some pictures up soon because I'm really impressed with her progress. <br /><br />Middle Boy is still doing fairy tales, and recently we've told The Emperor's New Clothes, and a few Irish fairy tales. He also just got his pentatonic recorder today at LCG, so we're going to start working with that in the coming weeks. Both Eldest and Middle Boy have been very interested in singing more in our circle, which makes me wish I were more musically inclined. But I try to muddle through anyway, and we've had a lot of fun attempting to sing in rounds. <br /><br />Middle Girl's been working on a main lesson book of her own spontaneously, and she's occasionally asking me to tell her stories so she can illustrate them there. Her ugly duckling was very sweet. <br /><br />Newly Youngest is a very, very sweet baby. He has his fussy periods, but mostly he's happy to eat, sleep, and look around. He adores the Moby wrap, which is what made it possible for me to get back to teaching so quickly. This is the first baby I've used one for and I'm so appreciating it for a newborn. Which reminds me, Newly Youngest was one month old on Sunday. I can't believe an entire month has passed so quickly. I feel like I was just savoring the last few days of pregnancy, but here we are in the throes of our old routine all over again.<br /><br />And on that note, the baby's ready to nurse back to sleep, and I think I'm ready to rest my eyes for the night.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-47211757050339888402009-02-23T07:13:00.000-08:002011-09-09T22:34:39.134-07:00<span style="font-weight:bold;">Five things that are making me happy today:</span><br /><br />1. Sick hellmonkeys who are ever so slowly starting to feel better.<br /><br />2. A warm fire while it's so very cold outside.<br /><br />3. A mug of hot tea.<br /><br />4. A baby who has <span style="font-style:italic;">finally</span> decided to give in to sleep.<br /><br />5. A fridge full of meals from generous friends. <br /><br />So sleepy today. But the dishes are done, the kitchen is clean, hellmonkeys are fed, diapers are washed and a load of sheets is in the washer now. I think I'm going to curl up in front of the fire for a while and rest.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-20989838235251181502009-02-20T19:49:00.000-08:002011-09-09T22:34:23.792-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmPrb0y90Vn6M5_DyMQmYAul1dk24SREAGFXXO_UCIvw64_59Dbvq6ZLWJKb8PzcJZ7yzvgqmpBJQGW8nKgc00hmmP5KFAUHEwKGGMkSH_gzL7KxDkCgm64DQ_6WQbny1-CALiiRuvh3Q/s1600-h/February+09+Eliot+closeup.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmPrb0y90Vn6M5_DyMQmYAul1dk24SREAGFXXO_UCIvw64_59Dbvq6ZLWJKb8PzcJZ7yzvgqmpBJQGW8nKgc00hmmP5KFAUHEwKGGMkSH_gzL7KxDkCgm64DQ_6WQbny1-CALiiRuvh3Q/s320/February+09+Eliot+closeup.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305101463159482914" /></a><br />So I have a sleeping baby in my lap, the other hellmonkeys went to bed long ago, and it's quiet in my room. I have a cup of my current favorite tea, vanilla honey chamomile, sitting next to me, and the laptop here with me. The only way this could be more perfect would be if I had yarn. But alas, our financial situation is pretty woeful at the moment, so yarn is something of a pipe dream for me right now as I try to figure out how to keep groceries in the house after this month is up. (A dear, dear friend has arranged for friends and acquaintances to bring us meals regularly in the wake of the little one's birth, which has been a positively serendipitous reprieve.)<br /><br />My future in-laws are in town for a couple of days, and they came over tonight to coo over the baby and lavish attention on the other three. They're so sweet, and the older kids just adore them. The visit was rather spur of the moment (they're in the process of moving from a city 12 hours away from us in one direction to a city 3 hours away from us in the other, and are staying here on their way from the old home to the new), but it motivated me to do a bit of cleaning that's been neglected since I gave birth. <br /><br />He's such a happy, mellow baby, in arms. Of course this makes keeping up with the cleaning/older kids a bit of a struggle, but I'm working on it. He's out like a light every time I tuck him into the moby wrap, so he rides around in that a fair amount in the mornings. My freakishly short carnie arms make it hard to do dishes with him wrapped around the front, but we're managing. He'll be big enough to ride on my back all too soon, so I need to enjoy this while I can.<br /><br />We have a spot of our own, this baby and I, in a rocking chair beside the woodburning stove, and nearly every night we spend one of the smallest hours of the morning there, rocking and snuggling, and sometimes sipping tea. (Tea for me, that is, all he sips is breastmilk.)<br /><br />I took baby and Next to Youngest to the grocery store today, in some rather sketchy weather, to restock a few staples that were running low and get me out of the house for a bit. Now that my pregnancy is over, and with it the deep exhaustion, I'd like to start doing a lot more cooking and baking from scratch, and hopefully cut down on our grocery bills in the process. I've been reading up on recipes for homemade cheese, butter and yogurt, and I definately want to try them out, along with starting to make my own breads and rolls again. <br /><br />The older two and I have been sorting out our Waldorf supplies and cleaning/rearranging the dining room and getting ready to pick back up with our Waldorf-inspired homeschooling in two weeks. They're both very excited about it. Eldest asks me to read her the curriculum plan daily. I never dreamed that they'd become nearly as passionate about Waldorf as I am, and it thrills me to death. <br /><br />Baby's stirring... I'll end this here for now.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-17512397918256766772009-02-19T08:08:00.000-08:002011-09-09T22:32:48.818-07:00Newest BabyHe was born on February 8, at 2:15 pm, into his mama's hands after a lovely, long labor surrounded by friends and family and running, laughing children. A full birth story will follow soon, but for now, I don't want to look away from him long enough to write it. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaXcJnMtcFV0yca0KhXLm5HspYHQjljUdNWnjaKj3-KYNBpMlQLGY1PqEeoIv2EysV6K320qE3I2fjrCQHXi1Ypldj37w8iEDF4vM3rclwsl8c7ibzl53b5zeY9WtJ_MST0MlPZ_kjkqmX/s1600-h/Eliot1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaXcJnMtcFV0yca0KhXLm5HspYHQjljUdNWnjaKj3-KYNBpMlQLGY1PqEeoIv2EysV6K320qE3I2fjrCQHXi1Ypldj37w8iEDF4vM3rclwsl8c7ibzl53b5zeY9WtJ_MST0MlPZ_kjkqmX/s320/Eliot1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304543555164592034" /></a>Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-70339534333067474382009-02-02T07:18:00.000-08:002011-09-09T22:32:17.856-07:0041 weeks and still pregnant, and desperately in need of a blog update, I think. ;-)<br /><br />We had some dear friends up for a visit last week, hoping that the baby would make its arrival while they were here, but after missing a week of school, they had to head home. I think this is how all my babies have gone, though I've never been so sure of my dates before, so I can't say for certain. With the last two, I had a vague two week window and they tended to come at the end of that (and at the beginning of the month), so I'm thinking this little one is falling right in line. <br /><br />Whatever she/he's doing in there, she/he's staying active for sure. It's been hard to sleep with all the gymnastics going on at night, and I've found myself bouncing on the birth ball just to get baby to doze off again. It's funny how we can soothe these little ones to sleep before they're even earthside.<br /><br />I took the older kids to Target yesterday. They got Christmas gift cards from their lovely aunt and uncle in California, and we'd been waiting until the baby came to use them. (It was going to be a special day out with grandma and grandpa.) But I need something to keep me busy, so we went. Middle Boy picked out a Tamagotchi, which he's been coveting for a very, very long time, Youngest got a beautiful wooden music box with a spinning ballerina inside, and Eldest chose Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (which was very cute) and a package of pixie stix. <br /><br />So here I am, back to waiting, and trying to keep my hands busy. What I wouldn't give for more yarn at the moment. I've almost worked through my entire stash in the past week.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-694275928355016795.post-53153781587254732072009-01-21T16:27:00.001-08:002011-09-09T22:31:30.731-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaM9s9djQf_P9zgGCBDFLx4eM86exlPl37UE3BSlGKtj28SI2DjCxRM5SzD7yO3rMkOpytrb98SOxF3yunuJbKBhKkBZxr_LiHIQ3vwj95qHnj6ze_HOo7ve5rIF3I097IUfUs1Ti04IZ/s1600-h/Blessingway+mehndi.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaM9s9djQf_P9zgGCBDFLx4eM86exlPl37UE3BSlGKtj28SI2DjCxRM5SzD7yO3rMkOpytrb98SOxF3yunuJbKBhKkBZxr_LiHIQ3vwj95qHnj6ze_HOo7ve5rIF3I097IUfUs1Ti04IZ/s320/Blessingway+mehndi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293911838509284050" /></a><br /><br />Almost 40 weeks and busy as ever, so I haven't had time to update as much as I've wanted to. I had a lovely, lovely blessingway last Friday. I've never had one before. It was small, and quiet, and oh so peaceful, and a friend did a gorgeous henna design on my belly. I've always wanted to do that, and she made this incredible lotus flower that was just stunning. I didn't even tell her beforehand that I'd made an anklet for the baby with a lotus charm on it, and a matching bracelet for myself. <br /><br />It's been so cold here, and I haven't wanted to leave the house at all. Today I had to make a run to the bank to have some paperwork signed and it was such a relief to get back home and spend the rest of the evening in the warm kitchen preparing dinner (baked ziti and salad, with chocolate cake for dessert). <br /><br />The older kids and I have talked a bit about getting back on track with our Waldorf-inspired homeschooling, but I have yet to really get anything organized. It seems almost senseless with the baby due to arrive so soon; we'd just be thrown into chaos again. Of course, that might just be my radical unschooling mind looking for an excuse. The kids, however, are restless and eager. They've been pulling out the workbooks they bought at Barnes and Noble last year. It's tons of fun for me when all three of them are spread out ON THE FLOOR with workbooks and asking me to answer their questions and I have to hop from one to the other at 39 weeks pregnant. Ah well, that part won't last forever. <br /><br />And speaking of the hellmonkeys, it sounds like they need help getting ready for bed, so I should run.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12732323296013513552noreply@blogger.com0