Movie making...

Today the kids made the third installment of their "Coyote Hawkes" movies. This time adding special effects, and trying yet another video style. The kids had a great time, and so did dad (as can be seen by the horrifying monster mask he was ordered to make). I catered the "cast party" after the final photo was taken. We had homemade pizza, and cookies for lunch.

Yesterday (Friday Jan. 16th) Sagan worked on words that end in "og" and subtraction with the number "6". Then he, Cae and I played the Harvest game, a wonderful co-operative game in which everyone works together to get the crops in before winter sets in ( http://www.blueberryforest.com/fun_games/harvest-time-game-family-pastimes.htm ).

Today (Jan. 17th) the boys and I made play dough using this recipe

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 tsp cream of tartar

2 cups water

4 Tbsp oil

mix it well to get rid of lumps, then heat on stove top until it comes together and changes constistancy (looks like play dough). we divided it up into three sections then added a different package of unsweetened "kool-aid" to each. One grape, one cherry and one orange. You kneed the still warm dough together with the "kool-aid" and you get pretty good colors and a neat smell.

Tomorrow we will finish up our lesson on hibernation and make bears in caves with the play dough.

Sagan had a great morning learning about all the different ways you can make "6" with whole numbers while adding. He also worked on words ending in "AT".

We also talked about hibernation, and read about it in "Do Not Disturb" by Margery Facklam.

Today being Monday, which is a baking day, we will be making peanutbutter bear paw cookies in the afternoon.

Finger Knitting

Yesterday Caelan, Sagan and I learned how to finger knit. Right now we are learning about Lambs and wool. We are reading some great books right now also... "Warm as Wool" by Scott Russell Sanders, "Charlie Needs A Cloack" By Tomie dePaola, and "Weaving the Rainbow" By George Ella Lyon.

It is amazing how we take for granted warmth.

I found a lovely sight with a monthly lesson plan for Waldorf homeschooling/childcare. Check it out... http://www.littleacornlearning.com/index.html

Our wand wander

Sagan has become more and more interested in my paganism over the last year or so. Yesterday he wanted to know all about herbs, wands and how to heal using plants. We got out many of my books, looked up much stuff, talked about plants, and healing. Then we decided to go to Baxter woods and get him an oak wand. Cae and Lumpy went along for the adventure. It was a nice wander thru the woods, we had to stay off the path, as it was covered in ice, but that lent it self to a wonderful walk in the trees and the finding of many treasures. We topped the wonderful adventure off with hot cocoa and donuts at a coffee shop. All in all a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

What we have been up to

We have been very busy, what with Yule happening and getting settled in to the new house and routine. But it has been a good sort of crazy here. We have weather a few amazing storms here in Portland... an ice storm where we lost power for over 12 hours, and a really big snow storm on Yule (18 inches of snow in one day, a record). The boys have been braving the outside every day. Sagan is our snow lover and will stay outside as long as we let him. He will be out there helping Mike shovel the snow with a big smile on his face. Lumpy on the other hand has no fondness for the snow, but does like the occational spin around the yard on the sled.

There has been much baking and story reading and soup making here, a few fires in the fireplace and gallons of hot cocoa.

Audrey has decided to be homeschooled again (yeah!) and wanted to do some on-line studies, so she is doing K12 science, Saxon math, Latin, reading classic lit, and as always working on movies and stories and music.

Logan is also doing K12 science and saxon math, along with latin and reading, he is very much into his guitar and writing music and lyrics, he is also learning classical pieces on the piano and his guitar... he picks itup so easily it is scary.

Sagan is reading now. He is so happy. Just s few beginner books, but still it is such a joy to sneak a peak at him reading to himself. He is also one for the math worksheets, so the gnumber gnomes are left for Cae to do. Sagan is so interested in so many things. He is a wonder to behold.

Cae is loving doing just about everything and anything. He loves playing games and listening to stories and painting with water colors. We added some lovely wooden toys to his collection and he can get a pretty interesting game going on with those. I made a large bunch of gnomes which he really enjoys.

Lumpy, well he likes to get into everything and take everything apart then run away laughing gleefully.

It is very good here right now, very wonderful.

We are here...

We made it to Maine! Yippee. Now I should be able to get back to what this blog was intended to be... about homeschooling. LOL stay tuned...