Posted in Books and Reading, Learning, Playing/ Free Exploration on Sep 23rd, 2009
We’re studying Africa off and on lately, primarily because the girls’ interest in the continent was sparked by their favorite musician’s recent work in Malawi. I picked up this felt Africa playset at the thrift store on sale for a quarter, and it was a big hit. Along with Dana’s music, we’ve been listening [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Mothering tool kit on Sep 14th, 2009
Little Hen found this book at the library two weeks ago. The topic is one that has interested her for a long time, and she read the book , cover to cover, as soon as we got it home.
The basic massage routine takes 5-10 minutes, but there are several techniques described in the book, and [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Nature Table on Sep 4th, 2009
Yesterday afternoon, while Firecracker played with her magnet dolls, and Tum Tum slept, and I was mopping the floors yet again, Little Hen was a very busy girl – running upstairs, to her room, getting into the kitchen cupboards, and heading back upstairs again, gleaning items from around the house to remake the nature table.
Even [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Learning, Playing/ Free Exploration on Sep 1st, 2009
Here’s a look at some of the mathematics we’ve been studying this week. The girls LOVE the Sir Cumference series of books, and even though the math concepts are technically “above grade level” for them, the girls seem to have no problem understanding the material. For example, Little Hen informed us that the slice of [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Learning, Locally grown on Aug 25th, 2009
We made another trip to our favorite local bookstore, Powell’s. It’s on the way home from church, and so very hard to pass it by without stopping in. Every visit I am tempted to spend a ridiculous amount of money on crafting, cooking, and kids’ books. And I could hide out in the Orange [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Moderation and Economy, Sewing on Aug 4th, 2009
Today’s take-home from the library – I love it when a bunch of books I’ve ordered (and re-ordered!) all come in at once.
Today’s take-home from the thrift store (right down the street from the library). $1.50 of fabric (Maybe 3 yds total?). The one on top is my favorite.
Can’t wait to crack into both stacks.
Don’t [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Learning, Playing/ Free Exploration on Jul 8th, 2009
After a break of several weeks (during which time, she preferred to draw and paint large portraits and wildlife scenes) Little Hen has returned to drawing miniatures and creating mail for our Sparrow Post.
We’ve decided to put the Sparrow Post box out in the garden in a few weeks when it starts to take shape, [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Playing/ Free Exploration on Apr 30th, 2009
Someone’s been playing with the PlayMobil set she got for Easter. I think she enjoys arranging the toys as much as she loves playing with them. Maybe for her, you cannot separate the two – order is something she values highly, something she enjoys. Oftentimes, everything must be “just so” before she can settle into [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Learning, Playing/ Free Exploration on Apr 14th, 2009
Recently, the girls and I checked out Tasha Tudor’s Dollhouse from the library, as well a film about her entitled Take Joy. In Tasha’s world, her dolls wrote and received cards, letters, catalogs via Sparrow Post. Little Hen has been making miniature letters, cards, books for her doll, Princess Rooth. (A little side note, [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Mamas Who Inspire, Playing/ Free Exploration on Mar 31st, 2009
The Palumba catalog came today. The girls and I poured over it, dreaming and wishing and talking over everything in its pages.
The child-sized domestic items were a favorite – especially the clothespins and clothesline and the ironing set.
Most days, Little Hen seems to be wrapped up in pretending to be Susan Pevensie, so she was [...]