Our First week of school

I already posted about our first day of school.  Now since our boys are young and we have chosen a Waldorf path for education, we aren't really doing 'school' stuff.  But since all TJ's friends have gone off to school and many more people keep asking if he is in school, we decided to start too in our own way.

I won't be posting every week but here are a few highlights of our first week.  I am so excited about this year.  We will be focusing on seasons and festivals.  Enjoying making a lot of homemade food and other things to use around the house.  We are also trying to focus on expressing ourselves in more appropriate ways, and showing love to others (especially our brother).

TJ washed all the fruit and veggies

We all met Super Sam

Super Sam joined us for a few walks

We went to the garden plot several times

TJ and I made two lovely nature mobiles

We enjoyed all God's creatures

Super Sam and his pet turtle found some beautiful rocks to start our rock collection

The boys dressed as leaves for Circle Time

Our toys all helped tell our story this week

We made peach apple sauce

We made more pasta sauce using all the veggies TJ had washed

How was your week?

How are you celebrating the seasons?

First Day of School

Yesterday was a very first day of school! Okay so it may have been a 'holiday' but there was not stopping my excitement.

TJ's first day of 'school'

MJ's first day of 'school'

First off the teacher in me wanted to wake up to a fresh, clean, organized house with all our activities falling into place according to my plan... but instead I was met to a pile of cloth diapers to fold, dishes, sick kids, and a tone of veggies to deal with before they went bad.

I quickly got to work on what was facing me as the boys didn't seem to mind.  As I was working away Jon reminded me that since we are homeschooling I don't need to worry about sticking to the plan, just go with the flow of the day.  Besides it is a holiday!

Deep breath and start again...

We had ice cream for breakfast (after our healthy stuff) I had offered pancakes but this was way better.  Then TJ gave every fruit and vegetable in the house a bath while I cut up a mountain of tomatoes and got them boiling for the pasta sauce.  Next we went to go pick up a dresser for the boys. By the time we got home it was already lunch.

 In my original plan we were going to do circle time in the morning but today was a bit backwards.  We had lunch and set out on a walk.

MJ and Sam ready for our walk

I introduced the boys to "Super Sam" our gnome.  TJ was so excited he wanted to show Sam our garden plot.  As we walked I told them the story about Sam and his friends.

Super Sam our gnome

We showed Sam all our veggies and took him to the playground.  On the way home we did all our circle time songs and had a wonderful talk about harvest and why all the fruits and veggies are ready at different times.

 

When we arrived home we all worked together to finish the pasta sauce, (froze some and ate some with dinner).  MJ fell asleep for a while and TJ helped Daddy with fixing the van.  I took some quiet time for myself and was so very thankful for this amazing first day.  We had a wonderful family time and the boys are loving Sam. 

MJ hugging Sam all the way home

I am reminded again as to why we are homeschooling because the boys are so young and it is an amazing time to enjoy the magic of childhood. This precious time and the rhythm we have is also working well with our home daycare.

Resources

I found some amazing knitting patterns on Ravelry website.  

I first did a search for Gnomes and then looked for free ones to find this one that I used for Super Sam.  I have also made a few animals from this pattern

And found some really cute pumpkin, acorn and tree knitting patterns for free on Ravelry too.

We are using the Thinking Feeling Willing program from Waldorf Essentials for myself and the boys/daycare.  I have also taken a lot of our songs and a few activities from Seasons of Joy Autumn.

Getting Laundy done!

Around our house the laundry does get done, but recently the folding part has been taking longer than it should.  At times my husband is looking through the dryer for his work clothes instead of in his drawers.  At any given time I have between 3-6 loads to fold.  I am thinking we need to pare down our wardrobe, but also there are certain points during the year when the boys are messier ad muddier than others.

 I am no longer hiding it all away and leaving it only for me to do in the evenings.  We are now sorting and folding laundry together.  We dumped all the clean clothes in the middle of the family room and with the help of the boys and their loaders, we sorted it all into piles (each person got a pile for their clothes, one for towels too).

TJ was very proud to learn how to start folding his own clothes.  He worked on his pile while I did he others.  Then his loader helped deliver the clothes to the right room.  MJ had fun being 'strong' and carrying things for me too.

Cool Photos

TJ asked me to take photos of him while he was running around listening to music.  After downloading them all it looks like the is doing some cool alternative dancing!

Have a great day!

Natrual Playscapes

Today I am excited to share with you the beginnings our our natural playscapes.  Oh we do have a sandbox, swing set, swing on a tree, and various outdoor toys, but I find that time and time again the children are always choosing more natural areas to play in.  Most of the time it is our flower beds or the planters at the front door.

Earlier in the spring we created a Fairy house.  You can see more details in this post here. The boys often check in on the fairies and still do play a bit with them.  We have had a few toads stop by to visit too.  I also find that the fairy house is a great way to welcome new children to our Home Daycare, as it is interesting for them and opens up dialogue.

In order to create more natural play spaces the boys and I chose an area in the back yard for their own garden.  I am very impressed that with minimal help the boys used my gardening tools to remove all the grass,  brought 2 loads of dirt from the compost, collected rocks and made the border.

 I'm not sure if we will get around to planting any flowers in there.  For now we have been rescuing stuck trucks and making mud soups.

Across our laneway we have used some logs to make a stepping path.  We just mowed a larger area around this area so it does look a little bare.

Next to the stepping logs is the balance beam and ramp.  There is a lot of bouncing and gymnastics that happen over here.  My boys are learning a lot about lining up and taking turns when others come over to play.

We have more plans to turn the last large slice of a tree we had cut down into a table for the kids.  Next to the balance beam is also the future home of next year's vegetable garden plot.  We look forward to sharing our updates with everyone!

We also love collecting nature items we find around the property.  TJ was collecting nuts from a tree to create 'golf ball soup'.  We took the soup for a walk so it could see the world and be introduced to our laneway.  I just love his gentle nature and the way he sees the world!

How are you playing outside?  Any suggestions for us?

Pancakes!

My boys love pancakes.  Well okay they love maple syrup really, the pancakes are just a means to getting what they really are after.  They are also somewhat picky eaters, so I have discovered a way to make their favourite foods much healthier.

Firstly we start with the syrup.  We use 100% real maple syrup (although daddy does love his Aunt Jemima).

I am working really hard in our house to use 'real' whole foods.  I won the most amazing cook book called Helpings: Real food for young people by young people.  I love that is it a real food cook book with information and great recipes.  I have made the pancakes from it several times.  I also tried to make the zucchini fritters but got distracted and pureed the zucchini so I made some more pancakes.  Even though they were rather savoury the boys gobbled them up.

Here are some other ideas of things to add (along with some good spices):
zucchini
dandelion
pear
apple
flax
sweet potato
frech toast using different breads

What do you add to your pancakes?

learning on our hike

 The boys and I went for a hike the other day.  It was our farthest walk yet (I did bring the stroller for MJ).  We had a great time just walking, singing, and marvelling at nature.

TJ's perfect walking stick

MJ found lots of sticks

Although I totally didn't plan it, we ended up having some interesting science conversations along the way.  I can tell you that TJ just loves to understand how things work and to learn cool facts.  He probably knows and remembers more about nature than the grade 4 student I used to teach (not tooting my own horn here, TJ is just so curious).

Interesting roots TJ found

Area that we check on and compare each season.

TJ asked about where all the water went from the photo above, as there was a pound of snow and ice in the winter.  I answered him simply, but he wanted to know exact details.  We got talking about the water cycle and he how plants use water.  We also looked at some fallen trees and talked about decomposition and tree life cycles.  TJ also loves to explain to anyone willing to listen all about tree roots, how they work and what happens if they aren't there. He will also tell you all about cycles and different cycles he knows.

I am amazed each day at what my kids a learning just by taking time to be with them and answer their questions.  My boys are such a joy to me. Being a parent is so fun and rewarding.

Parenting is also very humbling.  They remind me daily of my weaknesses.  Children imitate everything you do (good and bad).  It is a great responsibility to be a model all day long for your kids.  I got very frustrated at MJ yesterday because he wouldn't nap (that is a whole other issue) but mommy had a bit of a tantrum.  Of course I apologized to the boys afterwards.  TJ said "Mommy I'll always forgive you all the way to the sky and back."

Thank you Lord for my boys and the lessons we are all learning together!