Monday, October 8, 2012

Trading in letters for numbers

Our craft circle at Portland Waldorf School

Our craft circle at Portland Waldorf School

Our craft circle at Portland Waldorf School

Our craft circle at Portland Waldorf School

Our craft circle at Portland Waldorf School

Adventure day (homeschooling)

050

024

October birthday fun

October birthday fun

Kevin and K have been conversing back and forth in German lately leaving me in the dark. K giggles over it when I ask her what she said. She responds with 'Oh we're just speaking in German!' Such a goof. She even tries teaching it to Little L. She actually has him saying something in German... I want to say it's belly or something along those lines. Now it's my turn to be in on it and Kevin to be in the dark as her first school block is over and the next one starts tomorrow. She will now be learning some Spanish (a language I can understand!) and letters will be put to rest while numbers and math come out.

Our school has a crafting circle that meets every week after drop-off. The group makes things to sell in our school store to help raise money for the school. Crafting with a sincere purpose - I can get into that! I have been longing to attend since we first moved here but I have always had little ones in tow so I never tried. Last week my friend and I decided we would just go for it and see if our little girls would enjoy playing together while we needlefelted owls. Our trial paid off. C happily played the whole time and Little L was on my back in the Ergo. He was ever so patient with me while I worked. Of course I had to stand the whole time but I'll take standing for the chance to be with such a great group of women any day! Needlefelting is not my strong point, for sure. My project reminded me more of a Russian nesting doll than an owl but I am trying to learn and practice so I can get better at it eventually. I don't plan on pushing my luck and attending every week but maybe every other week or once a month. I can't even begin to tell you how invigorating it is to be able to interact with adults (in person, no less!) on a semi regular basis.

I am looking forward to our homeschooling this week. I decided we would have a theme for the week and that it would be Johnny Appleseed. I loved learning about him as a child and still continue to read all that I can find on him. We are starting out making apple cake for baking day tomorrow and I have quite a few apple craft ideas up my sleeve. There are some nice poems and verses about Johnny Appleseed to read during the week, too. I think C will get a kick out of it. We have already been doing the Johnny Appleseed mealtime blessing for awhile now as I really planned on incorporating him in our September schooling but time got away from me.

"Oh God is good to us,
and so we thank our God,
for giving us the things we need
the rain and the sun and the apple seed.
Oh God is good to us.

And every seed we sow,
will grow into a tree,
and there will be apples there
for everyone in the world to share
Oh God is good to us.
Amen, Amen,
Amen, Amen, Amen
Johnny Appleseed, Amen!"

I have been finding out some new facts about him in preparing for this week. Did you know he was vegetarian? Always something new to learn! I found this book (although a much earlier edition) at our school library and I can't put it down. Such a great read.

After this week I am not sure what themes I may have.  Autumn centered ones for sure, though. Martinmas will be pretty soon, too. I have pictures and moments from the previous weeks to share with all of you and those will be coming soon before they are horribly behind!

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Comments (13)

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The felting is so beautiful!
Real Art!

Warmly
Heike
belambolo
Nicole, I know you are not much into T.V. but you might like to check youtube for a vintage short animation on Johnny Appleseed put out by Disney in the 50's. It's really cute! My teens loved it when they were little, and it has a really catchy song based on that little poem you just shared. Have fun with your unit study ;o)
1 reply · active 650 weeks ago
Thank you Melissa! I will look for it. I think they play the song from it every day on our local Catholic radio station.
I love the beautiful owls. How sweet!
Beautiful photos!
Oh I love love the owls. I really hope I have time to whip up a few. They would look great with our advent calendar. Thanks for sharing this - it sounds like a great way to earn a few dollars for the school.
1 reply · active 650 weeks ago
They would be sweet for an advent calendar! I just finished up one for us to keep at home. Much easier the 2nd time around.
Good job mama for getting out and crafting with friends! What a difference it does make to spend time with crafty folk. I like the autumn theme plan for homeschooling. We do a lot of that as well. For the past few years I have used bits and pieces of the weefolkart homeschooling free curriculum. It has lots of seasonal ideas, and it has been a good jumping off point for me. At the very least it lists one story and one more science-y book for each topic. Fun times. Here is the weefolkart link, just in case you are interested: http://weefolkart.com/content/homeschool-companio.... Can't wait to more needlefelting...your owl looks fantastic!
1 reply · active 650 weeks ago
Oh thank you! I will check it out.
It really does make everything better when you craft with friends, doesn't it?!
those owls are just too much! thanks for sharing the idea.
I love the photos!! Well done!
Beautiful designs. I love the crafts and your designs. You're amazing.

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