Frontier Dreams: January 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

I get a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather

Every morning C's homeschooling begins with circle time which includes seasonal songs, verses and hand movements. Then before we jump into whatever activity is set for the day (ie. today is Thursday so we had painting day), we do something C specifically requested when we made her "What I want to learn in home school" list - the weather. As I am sure you can gather, this is not something done in the Waldorf kindergartens but I want to make sure that on top of following Steiner's educational plans, I also include things that C is really interested in. After all, most of the best learning is child led.

We walk into our dining room and C pulls our weather display and it's bag full of wooden and paper symbols off of the top of our school shelf. She then lines them up in our windowsill so that she can get a good look at what's going on outside (we also step outside to feel the weather if it's not pouring buckets down on us). She likes me to ask her, "What's the weather?". I happily oblige. Then she narrows it down (with the help of little brother) to which wooden and paper pieces best fit what she sees. She attaches the paper one to the weather card and then puts it back on the shelf. Then she places the wooden pieces up with it, steps back to admire her work and beams with delight. It's a quick but fun introduction to the weather around us while providing C with something she was wishing for. We don't go into the science behind it all and just leave it simple and sweet, "Today it's cloudy", but that is all she was ever really asking for.

The weather the past month or so has been going back and forth between cloudy and rainy. That's Portland for ya! It really doesn't seem like we get too many days of sunshine so C and I are thinking of keeping track for a year to count just how many we do get. That just might be a very worthwhile project for us both!

The details: I was inspired by this weather set from Armadillo Dreams and a post my friend Joy did awhile back. We printed out the free weather cards from here and then I laminated them to help them survive the grabby claws of Little L and then put velcro on the back of each one. We use a branch card holder to hold our display (you can find similar ones here or even make your own). I think that covers everything. Don't be shy. If you have any questions ask away!

p.s - Kevin got my computer up and running again (knock on wood). I am so happy to be back with photographs and all. The last time my computer crashed I lost all of the photographs from K's first year on earth :(

Thank you so much for all your kind votes and help with the top 25 creative moms. You placed Frontier Dreams in the top 10 coming in at spot 9!! I am happily sandwiched between two fellow Waldorf Mama blogs. The three of us cheered each other other through it all proving that community is a blessing and always a priority and that the golden rule lives on. Thank you!!

p.p.s - Anyone recognize the post title?? Does this give you a hint?

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.

Gasp - no pictures for today. My computer was attacked by a virus and won't work. At least I backed up my photographs on Saturday night. Phew!! Even though I am tryingto find the good in this, I admit I am a bit anxious. I mean my computer has been on it's last leg for months now but I can't afford a new one and the idea of going without... well that is just something I can not see working.

Anyways, enough sobbing. I am still working on Little L's birthday sweater. I added the sleeves over the weekend. That was a lot of trial and error. I couldn't quite wrap my head around the process and there was a key step in the process that didn't translate correctly (the pattern was originally in Norwegian). Thankfully Ravelry came to the rescue and I was able to get through it. I linked to one of the posts that helped me in my rav notes. Now I am on to the color work portion. After I had to rip it back once I came to the conclusion that color work is not something to be done around children.

I'm not sure where I will be with this broken computer of mine later this week so I may as well put up the last reminder now. If you have a spare minute each day please, please vote for Frontier Dreams for the top 25 creative moms. We are now at spot number ten and I would love to keep us there. That would make my week after all this computer silliness. Remember voting ends the 30th at 4pm and you can vote once every 24 hours.
Vote here.

What are you working on? Happy creating!

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Field Trip

Whenever K's class has a field trip, C, Little L and I are always up for whatever the adventure may be and volunteer to help. Well, unless we are sick like the week before last - we so wanted to go with K, but just couldn't. This latest field trip was even more enticing to C and Little L because we had the opportunity to ride the school bus or "choo-choo" as Little L calls it (Anything with wheels is a "choo-choo" at the moment). It was a day trip to the local ice skating rink. Her school has a tradition for the first graders to go about three times or so in the winter.

C and K were partners for the bus ride while Little L was mine. C was like part of the class. I have to say it was so endearing to see C in line with the big kids to get on the bus. I even witnessed K kiss her on top of the head. I live for those moments! I don't know who enjoyed the bus ride the most but all of my little ones were beaming the whole time.

Being able to help out the children and watch them skate was a blast. Many parents helped out on the rink skating along side the children. C and Little L stayed by my side on the side lines as I was not about to try teaching C how to ice skate while doing it myself with a baby on my back. The last time I ice skated was back in my hometown in New York when I was ten or so and believe me I fell down more times than I could count! Somehow I don't think Little L would appreciate me falling over and over again.

This was the class' second trip to the ice skating rink. Some already knew how to skate but I would say that most did not. We get more rain than snow or ice here in Portland so it's not what I would call an ice skating area. K did not know how to skate before her first trip out there and she is still building up her confidence. She started out hanging on to the wall but after her teacher and other parents took her around a couple if times she let go of the wall and started skating around on her own. You could see the pride in her face. Every time she passed by us she would stop and say hello to Little L quick, show him how cold the ice was (which he would follow with "ah two" which means cold in Little L language) and give him big hugs before doing another lap around the rink.

All of the children picked it up pretty quickly and were hungry (even with a midday snack) and exhausted by the time we had to ride the bus back to school. I was tired just from watching them. I hope my little ones and I can tag along again for the next go.

I've said it before but I am going to say it again and again-the wisdom of Waldorf education never ceases to amaze me. Every single thing is very intentional. The age of children in the first grade ( 6 1/2 to 7 1/2) is the perfect time for them to pick up skills such as ice skating, knitting, etc. Watching K's class learn these skills firsthand, proves to me just how spot on it all is.

p.s - I said I wouldn't mention it again but the top 25 creative moms voting ends this Thursday at 4pm and Frontier Dreams is slipping down each day. Let's see if we can try to keep it up in the top ten. I know we can do it but only with your help!! You can vote here.

Friday, January 25, 2013

I have decided to stick with love

I wrote a tiny bit about how our school community celebrates MLK day last year, but this is the first year K was actually able to participate. What better way to celebrate a man who devoted his life to helping others than to do the same? The students in the grades (first through twelfth) do some sort of community service appropriate for their age around the Portland area. Since K is only in first grade , her community service was helping out our school. Her class spent the day pruning the lavender bushes, raking the lawn and other outdoor activities. Afterwards they made peanut butter bird seed Douglas fir cones to hang outside for the birds and squirrels that live on or visit the school property (K corrected me earlier when I called the Douglas fir cones "pine cones" so I had to make sure I called them by their proper name here). These may seem like small and simple gestures but it's big to them. First grade is a time when children are still so young and innocent and not ready for the harsh reality out there in the world. Every deed done with love counts, no matter how small or how large. I am proud of them all.

I mentioned in my last post that I had a meeting at school. It wasn't so much a meeting but a wonderful chat with a friend. I am so blessed that one of K's former Kindergarten teachers told me that I could always come to her with anything about any of my children. I have been trying to get together with her for a couple of months now but our schedules clashed. Then on Martin Luther King, Jr. day it finally worked out.

I wish I would have typed all of this up right after I met with her because she bestowed a lot of wisdom upon me. I have forgotten many of the details now, but the sincerity in her eyes, the warmth of her words and the kindness of her smile are forever etched in my heart. That is truly what matters most.

We sat in our school library and I talked way too much about little things in day to day life, the new wild behavior of one of my children, the strong will of another, as well as things that weighed on me like the failure remark. As heavy and dark as they seemed to me at the time I was laughing through it all telling her how hard I am working to find the good in every struggle I am presented with. She told me to keep on laughing at whatever is thrown at me. I think I will.

I asked her for advice and books to help me, especially with my strong willed one because I see myself in her and that seems to be what scares me most. I want to always be able to respond to her boundary tests and stubbornness with love and compassion, but oh how some days my patience wears too thin. She has this spark in her that I never want her to lose, especially not by my doing.

Miss R told me she had no books to offer but was there to listen. It turns out that is what I really needed. She mentioned that perhaps I needed to toss out those parenting books (of course some are good for ideas here and there but not to solve life's problems) and just trust.

I let it sink in a bit. Then I listened to my heart. I keep searching for a book to solve all of my problems, one that has all the answers I could ever need. But there is no magical book. I need to trust in God's plan and pray for the strength to understand and follow it. I need to look within and learn to trust myself with parenting and what is best for my own family. Such a simple truth that is transforming me and setting me free. May the transformation continue for the rest of my days!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

I have finished the bottom half of the body on L's birthday sweater and now I am working on the first sleeve. I am doing broken rib instead of the K2 P2 for the cuff just as I did for the body. Knitting from the bottom up feels so backwards to me, go figure. I just hope it will fit him okay once completed. It seems a bit big around for my tiny peanut so I am added an extra inch or two to the body and sleeve lengths so that he can wear it longer.

I almost didn't have a picture to share with this post. I completely forgot to take one today during the half hour or so of light I get a day in my forest home. Thankfully, I happened to have both my knitting and my camera with me at a meeting so I quickly snapped a picture before I headed home. I have to say, our school library gets beautiful lighting.

Last chance to enter the Little Lamby Knits giveaway found here!

What are you working on? Happy creating!

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Baboushka

Baboushkas in progress. L to R: K's, mine, C's

The darkness of these photos just goes to show that our Oregon skies are gray, gray and then some more gray this time of year. I tried to wait it out to see if I would get a ray of sunshine to chase but, alas, Father sun never did come out to play and I just grew too impatient.

Have you ever heard of the story of Baboushka? It's a traditional Russian folktale and a favorite in our house. Everyone in the village is talking about the new star in the sky, but Baboushka, as always, is busy keeping her house spotless and bright. She hesitantly offers hospitality to three strangers who are following the star in search of a new baby king. When they have continued on their way Baboushka finally sees her missed opportunity and follows in their footsteps. But she has left it too late and, so some say, she continues her quest to this day.

My girls enjoy the simple version of this tale found in this book (pictured above). I particularly like the nice reminder to live in the moment, pay attention to the important things in life and to let the day to day things (like cleaning) take a back seat. I wanted to make a visual reminder of this lesson we learned through Baboushka (maybe I'll even hang mine in the car or somewhere else I will always see it). I found the pattern in this book and one cold morning the girls and I sat by the fire picking out our wool felt and thread colors. Then we each sewed up our own doll as I read the story again.

I originally planned on making these as Christmas tree ornaments but the girls had other plans for them. That actually explains why I don't have any photos of their finished dolls - the disappeared with them! As we sewed them up my mind started racing with variations to the pattern. I foresee my girls having giant Baboushka doll pillows in the future.But shhhh! Don't tell them.

On a side note, I just can't say enough good things about wool felt and it's role in teaching smaller children to sew. We have been using it for years (as you know I like to stick with natural materials), but it took me teaching C how to sew, to really show me just how invaluable wool felt really is. I think C might need some in every color for her birthday.

p.s -Don't forget to enter for your chance to win some beautiful patterns from Little Lamby Knits here.

Also, there are only 10 days left to vote for Frontier Dreams in the top 25 Creative Moms!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

You took care of me...now I'll take care of you

It snowed all day long on Monday, but the flakes were so very tiny that they didn't accumulate to much. That didn't matter to my girls, in their eyes snow is snow and they want to savor every last second of it (even though K felt under the weather). They spent most of the day back and forth between playing in the snow and warming back up by the fire. Little L wanted to come out and explore this white stuff falling from the sky, too, so I bundled him up and out we went. He experienced his first taste of snow (thankfully the dogs stayed inside by the warm fire all morning so we didn't have to worry about yellow snow) and saw the beauty of our forest all decked out in King Winter's mini crystals.

K was feeling much better by the end of the day and there was much rejoicing but then this Mama started to wheeze and C started to sneeze and

the

family

feels

sick

K murmurs, "Don't worry," and tucks us in bed. She bundles us up and kisses our heads.
She tells us, "You'll soon feel like new. You took care of me... now I'll take care of you."

Okay, that last part didn't exactly happen. I just have our favorite "sick book" memorized now. We have a couple of books set aside that only come out when someone is sick. That somehow makes being under the weather slightly less miserable. The one quoted above is from Bear Feels Sick.

But both C and I are feeling quite ill. I am doing my best to care for her as well as keep the healthy members of my family happy but I won't lie - it's a struggle when I barely have the strength to eat or make it up the stairs. As a mother I can't call in sick to my job or take it easy. I've been longing for my own Mama to come and take care of me. Am I just being a wimp? This led me to wonder - who takes care of the Mamas when they are sick? I know Kevin would gladly take care of me, if he could, but his job has him gone more often than he is home and taking time off just isn't an option.
What do you do when you're sick? Do you just tough it out? Who helps you to feel better?

p.s - Little L's boots are an older version of these (they used to be C's!) and his snowsuit and mittens are boiled wool from Disana.
p.p.s - Come back tomorrow for another giveaway.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Your eyes do not deceive you - that's snow! I had to run outside in the freezing cold, in my pjs no less, to snap a picture of yarn in snow. Hey, I've got to get my kicks somewhere, right? Ahem. Perhaps King Winter listened to our cries after reading Ollie's Ski Trip about one hundred times over these past few days.

That work in progress is from the yarn I showed you in yesterday's post. It's for one part of Little L's birthday present. There is more yarn to come for the rest of it. The yarn above is a customized version of the charcoal colorway. After I showed Jackie (owner of Luna Grey) what I had in mind we both agreed that the yarn needed to be a bit more solid with subtle variations due to some color work in the yoke. This is knitting up perfectly. It feels like it is taking forever on size 6 needles, though.

As I was browsing my Ravelry project page I noticed that I tend to go through favorite color phases. Apparently right now my color of choice is grey. I wonder what color I will move on to next?

Don't forget you can win a skein of your own Luna Grey yarn by going here. The giveaway ends Wednesday the 16th so hurry!

What are you working on? Happy creating!

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Monday, January 14, 2013

On the up and up (and getting by with a little help from my friends)

Thankful for distractions like a package of my favorite yarn arriving at my doorstep. What child could pass up winding yarn?!

Things have really slowed down around here the past few days. K came home from school with a miserable headache on Wednesday which then led to an earache on Thursday, many doses of our homemade earache remedy by the cozy fire on Friday, and lots of rest and cuddles over the weekend. I must admit I enjoy times like these, as weird as that sounds. I mean I don't enjoy any of us being sick but just the closeness it brings - drinking warm tea by the wood stove, reading story after story, knitting here and there, being surrounded by all my little ones as we snuggle together in a big heap along with an occasional dog or three...

I hope my sick ones feel the same way and get some comfort from that.

Nurse Nara stayed by K's side while she was sick, even allowing Little L to dress her up to make K giggle. As for his choice in dress up clothes - I finished knitting that second hat for myself during this down time and the little ones and I decided it looks remarkably like a hedgehog when turned inside out, as you can see on our Nara model!

Just look at those eyes! She such a sweet girl.

Little L and C tried their best to be calm for K but they can only take so much! They were feeling quite cooped up by the time the weekend came around but I think our 20 block walk to the wood stove store on Saturday helped to release some of that energy. Phew! These two really keep my on my toes!

I wanted to thank you all again for your comments on my post last week. I really want to reply to each individual post because each and every one touched my heart more than you could ever know. It made me so happy to hear from so many of you, too. Comments keep this blog world going! I was beginning to wonder if I did something wrong and this beautiful community I am a part of had moved on without me. So again, thank you!!

Here's hoping we are all on the up and up!

p.s -I am humbly asking for your help (again)! Frontier Dreams was nominated for the top 25 creative moms award (thank you!), and I would be thrilled to make it in the top 25. Would you mind clicking on the link below or on the icon on the top of my sidebar and searching for Frontier Dreams. You'll have to scroll down the page a tiny bit to find me - look for the picture of K dressed as little red riding hood with our husky Paw Paw. Once you find me just click on the orange button that says "vote" next to the above mentioned picture. That's it!

http://www.circleofmoms.com/top25/Top-25-Creative-Moms-2013?trk=t25_Top-25-Creative-Moms-2013#_

You can vote once every 24 hours until January 30th. I will keep the icon up on my sidebar until then as a gentle reminder, if you happen to have a free moment.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your help!!! ♥ ♥