Friday

Just a quick hello… We watched an amazing movie tonight called Duma. I saw it listed as an African children’s movie and I took a chance on watching it. It was rated PG– and there were a few intense parts- but very wonderful overall. Even Andy was wiping his eyes at the end.
Also I have started a new knitting project, a spring sweater coat for Hadley. It is fun to knit something so little as compared to Drew’s big sweater.

Well, we are looking forward to a fun weekend with a lot of skiing and a few house chores. Hope you all have a great weekend!

MLK

So I warned you… I just love second grade. I mean loooooovvvvve second grade. We have started the Enki sage story of Martin Luther King. It is really great, and Drew is very attached to ML as a character, especially because the story starts in his childhood. We have also been listening to lots of African music. I have a few Puntamayo CD’s from our library and I also purchased this CD called Steal Away. This is the poem we are learning this week

And here is Drews drawing from today

Hmmm.. I think that loaded sideways.. Not sure how to fix it. Anyway.. We are all healthy again and both kids are back to skiing. Here are a few cute pictures of Hadley’s antics.

She is a funny little person.

Its monday again

Funny how the weeks can pass so quickly. Saturday morning I went out to knit at a local knitting store. It was so nice to sit for an hour or so and have a little time with adults. Drew’s sweater is coming along so well. I really can not believe I am knitting a sweater– and it is not hard!

Here it is as of yesterday.. But since then I have finished that sleeve and started on the other. Saturday afternoon Andy took the kids skiing and he had a cranky Phoebe.. It seems she was sick because Sunday morning she woke up sick to her stomach. She spent all of yesterday bundled up on the couch. When Phoebe is sick she is very quiet. It was such a sad day without her little voice and body bouncing around. Thankfully today she is almost back to herself. There is not much bouncing but at least she is talking!
Today we started working with a new style of handwriting for Drew. This book is very nice and I love the script. Drew said he is excited to make letters with “all the flowing loops”

I also made up these letter cards to have out and available while practicing our letters.

Since we were home all day we also tackled an artsy project. I saw a website once where they had turned old wool sweaters into cat beds. We happened to have two beautiful wool sweaters that both Drew and Phoebe would not wear… too itchy unfortunately. So we sewed them up and stuffed them and voilà … A very happy and lucky kitty.

I also salvaged the buttons from the sweaters to use on the sweater I am knitting for Drew (and other projects I have in line).
Now we are settling in for dinner, I made a very garlicy chicken soup. Hopefully it will help Phoebe get all better and help the rest of us stay well!

Day two

I love second grade, just love it. I am probably going to say that a lot this year. The trickster tales are so much fun and they leave Drew with such a twinkle in his eye. We had a great morning of homeschooling again. I have started using rhymes and fingerplays from this sweet little book.

It was published back in 1904– I just love that. Phoebe loves the fingerplays and will often do them throughout the day. She even tried to teach a few to Haddie which was very sweet.
And that is a good segway to Hadley, the ever present busy body who wants to be the center of my world at every wakeful moment. It is complicated to homeschool with a toddler. Complicated. But I have been experimenting with a few things and I think I know what works. I have to keep her busy with something special while we are reading, otherwise she wants to be on my lap nursing or squirming or chattering. We did a few days with her in the tub (she loves baths!) while we all sat in the bathroom to read a story. This was not ideal, but it worked. Yesterday I pulled out her favorite toy and it kept her busy for our whole morning story.. what is her favorite toy you ask? I am a bit embarrassed to say it is a box of assorted tampons. She takes them out and puts them in all of the little boxes. Great fun. Today I put a few felted beads in a basket and gave her tweezers. She had a ball

I hope to rotate things like this to keep it interesting and new for her.
The big kids also started race clinics again. It is a big group this year and they had a good first night. For the next 8 weeks we will be eating, sleeping and breathing skiing.

Yea!

Here we are

Today we began second grade with Drew. I had been planning a lot for this day. I knew we would have to adjust our rhythm a bit to accommodate more stories and a few new academic activities, but I was not really sure how it would all go, especially because of our little toddler in tow.
Last night I read this on an email — Dr Michaela Glocker says this:
“Nothing is more problematic for children than having adults around
them who don’t know why they are there, who don’t start the day
happy, who are glad when the day is over and they can relax. This is
not for children! Children need to meet adults who haven’t lost the
child within, adults who can’t resist a little smile when the
children are naughty! No order will be terrible if this little smile
is there…If we live, knowing that whatever comes-even if it is
something very bad or painful-wants to help us toward something.
We can develop forgiveness, endurance, patience. There is nothing
that comes that I cannot use to develop faculties that I don’t have.”let me tell you, It was so timely sent for me. Andy woke early to get busy shipping and unfortunately I got only a few hours of sleep last night (Hadley is cutting massive top molars right now) Phoebe woke me by calling out “Mom!! There is poop on my bed!” Then I heard a bowl shatter on the floor of the kitchen as Drew was trying to reach for a cup.
It was not really a morning where I wanted to jump out of bed with joy. I did not want to get up at all. But, I knew things were bound to get worse if I tried to bury my head. So I did it. I started the day. I tried not to speak, just gathered the sheets, started the laundry, swept up the glass, fed the children, did the beds, and even took a quick shower. I kept my wits and patience. I even sang a bit and kept a smile. And because of this the day ended up pretty great. We read a story from this book for Phoebe

Then we went for our morning walk. It was chilly and icy day. We walked a spiral shape for our form and I came in to make a snack. Drew and Phoebe stayed outside for nearly an hour playing and this was perfect. I was able to get Hadley down for her nap before they came in. Then they had their snack while I read a Brer rabbit trickster tale and we did our poem and a few fingerplays. I kept refilling the snacks (which kinda turned into lunch) and they then wrote thank you notes for writing practice.

(normally Phoebe would not be writing now but for thank you notes it was perfect) then they were off to quiet time and I was even able to make two phone calls in complete quiet! Yippee! The rest of the day was playing and a trip to town for Drew’s guitar lesson. All in all it was a perfect start to second grade and a lovely reminder to me that no matter what comes my way I can adapt to the challenge and even do it with a smile.

This week

We have slowed down this week. We have been home and crafting and reading and knitting. This week we have been reading stories of St Lucia.

This is a beautiful story. We also read another story from the Seven Year Old Wonder Book and one from a book called Finnish Folk Tales. We are learning this very simple poem this week

And we are crafting like little elves! Handmade almond soap

And wool braided trivets

And of course we are doing fun things like finding our belly buttons

And decorating our tree

Tomorrow we all go to the dentist. Phoebe is brushing her teeth over and over right now. Hopefully we all get a good report tomorrow!