We're having this for our dessert tonight, served with organic ice cream (not homemade although we have made it before). I've gone all American because I'm working out things with cups rather than ounces.
Vanilla Chocolate Shortbread
2 and a 1/2 cups of plain flour (actually a bit less but remove some, about 1 heaped tablespoon, of the plain flour and replace with cornflour to give your shortbread a softer texture)
1 cup caster sugar
2 sticks butter (about a cupful)
2 tbsp cocoa powder (I use Green and Black's)
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1. Sieve flour into bowl, add sugar and then butter.
2. Rub ingredients together - mixture will go crumbly (a bit like for apple crumble topping) and then rub it until it forms a very soft crumbly doughlike consistency (make sure it doesn't go sticky though - it should be 'short')
3. Divide mixture in half
4. To one half, add the cocoa and mix in well
5. To the other half, add the vanilla essence (I just pour it from the bottle in a quick flick) and mix that in
6. Take your baking tin and grease well with butter (I use 2 tins - round Victoria sponge ones)
7. Pat down half the mix and then add the other half on top (or if using 2 tins then do different tops and bottoms - so one is chocolate on the bottom, vanilla on top or vanilla on the bottom with chocolate pressed on top)
8. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes - with the first bake mark out segments with a knife or slice.
9. Put them back in the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.
Serve with ice cream...(you may want to serve them warm).
Tip: if you use unsalted butter then you may wish to add a pinch of salt to the mix - it gives them a better flavour.
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Friday, 19 December 2008
Next year - 2009
It's not very long until 2009. Springy will be starting Brownies next year which she is looking forward to, along with continuing with her Beavers and swimming. I have been trying to find dance classes but to no avail.
Her reading is great. She has a dictionary and I will be asking her to make more searches in it during next year to find new words for herself to discover. She's been making her own word searches and loves the ones I have been giving her with various themes. She enjoys word puzzles and I think she will soon be into simple crosswords. She really wants to do joined up writing so I have explained that she needs to do more Form Drawing first and that it will get there if she practices with lines and curves first. We now have a Spelling Word Book which is an exercise book that I place words in that she would like to spell. Springy also has her own poetry book - again it's just an ordinary exercise book but she has been inspired to write her own poems and illustrate them on its pages.
In terms of maths we will continue with the four processes and lots of mental arithmetic for a while yet. We've covered Roman Numerals but I would like to do a recap on them with her and go on a Roman trail in the Spring and visit Roman remains with the numerals on. Our Times Tables need more recitation and drilling.
Her reading is great. She has a dictionary and I will be asking her to make more searches in it during next year to find new words for herself to discover. She's been making her own word searches and loves the ones I have been giving her with various themes. She enjoys word puzzles and I think she will soon be into simple crosswords. She really wants to do joined up writing so I have explained that she needs to do more Form Drawing first and that it will get there if she practices with lines and curves first. We now have a Spelling Word Book which is an exercise book that I place words in that she would like to spell. Springy also has her own poetry book - again it's just an ordinary exercise book but she has been inspired to write her own poems and illustrate them on its pages.
In terms of maths we will continue with the four processes and lots of mental arithmetic for a while yet. We've covered Roman Numerals but I would like to do a recap on them with her and go on a Roman trail in the Spring and visit Roman remains with the numerals on. Our Times Tables need more recitation and drilling.
Baking cakes and pizza
Today we made homemade pizza for lunch (from the Baking Bread With Children book) and then we made a Dundee cake for my husband's birthday.
Springy still has a cough but it's not so bad during the day. I am still full of a bad cold and am going to see a consultant in the New Year because my GP thinks there may be more to my throat problems than just repeatedly catching colds (plus I lose my voice on a regular basis all through the year - it often cuts out).
Yesterday we talked about a dozen and half a dozen. Springy knew what a dozen was but was confused as to what half a dozen meant. I told her to find 12 things and to put them on the floor. She then had to divide them in half. We also did some work on paper with my drawing out a number of dots (even) and Springy having to put a line through them to divide them in half. She can halve a pizza or other things in the kitchen but for some reason she's not getting it when applied to non-edible things. Anyway, we kept working through and she understood and I think it was more of a case of the way I was saying it confused her.
It's pretty hard doing anything much at the moment because I keep coughing and getting very short of breath.
I am so grateful for computer-based technology at the moment. Last night, since I can barely talk let alone do a complete story, Springy and I listened to the next few episodes of the Advent story at Waldorf Radio.
Springy still has a cough but it's not so bad during the day. I am still full of a bad cold and am going to see a consultant in the New Year because my GP thinks there may be more to my throat problems than just repeatedly catching colds (plus I lose my voice on a regular basis all through the year - it often cuts out).
Yesterday we talked about a dozen and half a dozen. Springy knew what a dozen was but was confused as to what half a dozen meant. I told her to find 12 things and to put them on the floor. She then had to divide them in half. We also did some work on paper with my drawing out a number of dots (even) and Springy having to put a line through them to divide them in half. She can halve a pizza or other things in the kitchen but for some reason she's not getting it when applied to non-edible things. Anyway, we kept working through and she understood and I think it was more of a case of the way I was saying it confused her.
It's pretty hard doing anything much at the moment because I keep coughing and getting very short of breath.
I am so grateful for computer-based technology at the moment. Last night, since I can barely talk let alone do a complete story, Springy and I listened to the next few episodes of the Advent story at Waldorf Radio.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Class 3 Waldorf building activity video and Frau Holle
I found this on Youtube (it's still a few years off but I thought the little houses were intriguing):
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk7mWv5RjtU
There is also this puppet performance of Frau Holle from a Steiner kindergarten:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GE5d8BMMff0&feature=channel
The Waldorf Kindergarten at Trier has other videos too:
http://www.waldorfkindergarten-trier.de/videoBilderreihen.php5?nr=10&unr=0&xmlDatei=videoBilder.xml
Since my voice is just about working due to yet another bad cold, I will be utilising the puppenspiel/puppetshow resource over the next day or two. Today, I told the story of Peter and Lotta's Christmas to Springy. We also made a tissue paper 5-pointed star which we stuck on our window with a bit of paper glue - it's very large but pretty when the sun shines on the window.
We went to see A Christmas Carol this week and Springy also visited Father Christmas with her aunt.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk7mWv5RjtU
There is also this puppet performance of Frau Holle from a Steiner kindergarten:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GE5d8BMMff0&feature=channel
The Waldorf Kindergarten at Trier has other videos too:
http://www.waldorfkindergarten-trier.de/videoBilderreihen.php5?nr=10&unr=0&xmlDatei=videoBilder.xml
Since my voice is just about working due to yet another bad cold, I will be utilising the puppenspiel/puppetshow resource over the next day or two. Today, I told the story of Peter and Lotta's Christmas to Springy. We also made a tissue paper 5-pointed star which we stuck on our window with a bit of paper glue - it's very large but pretty when the sun shines on the window.
We went to see A Christmas Carol this week and Springy also visited Father Christmas with her aunt.
A good felting link
One of my good online friends passed this link on:
http://www.harrisville.com/images/curricguidelesson3.pdf
http://www.harrisville.com/images/curricguidelesson3.pdf
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Christmas Fairs and St Nicholas
Springy left her clean boots by the fireplace on Friday, 5th December 2008. In the morning St Nicholas had left her a matchbox card Ark and a mandarin orange. We gave her a little hen egg cosy (made from the pattern in the book Feltcraft) from us.
We've been to a few Christmas fairs in recent weeks. The Steiner school fairs are always so lovely, both in atmosphere and the community that surrounds many of the Steiner schools. We heard harps playing, Christmas carols which we joined in with and so on. Springy also met King Winter and received a gift of stone.
We're going to be doing some soap carving. All you need is a plain block of soap e.g. Simple soap in white and some biscuit/cookie cutters. You push the cookie cutter onto the soap and then cut around the shape with a knife. It's a nice thing to do for children 7 and above and it can make some nice gifts.
This morning Jack Frost has been about. Springy went out into the garden with her croc shoes on and thought it was great fun to hear the crackling of the lawn and also to see her breath. I had to call her back in because it was so freezing and she was out there in pyjamas (no sense of temperature or self preservation at this age). We had to take a kettle of hot water out to the bird bath because it was frozen and a poor wood pigeon was trying to peck through the ice.
Springy is really happy today - she kept skipping yesterday and is currently babbling away with some dolls. She chose a little white felt fairy as a special gift yesterday from us. She's only about an inch high (the fairy doll, not Springy) and has a little wire wand with a star on.
We've been to a few Christmas fairs in recent weeks. The Steiner school fairs are always so lovely, both in atmosphere and the community that surrounds many of the Steiner schools. We heard harps playing, Christmas carols which we joined in with and so on. Springy also met King Winter and received a gift of stone.
We're going to be doing some soap carving. All you need is a plain block of soap e.g. Simple soap in white and some biscuit/cookie cutters. You push the cookie cutter onto the soap and then cut around the shape with a knife. It's a nice thing to do for children 7 and above and it can make some nice gifts.
This morning Jack Frost has been about. Springy went out into the garden with her croc shoes on and thought it was great fun to hear the crackling of the lawn and also to see her breath. I had to call her back in because it was so freezing and she was out there in pyjamas (no sense of temperature or self preservation at this age). We had to take a kettle of hot water out to the bird bath because it was frozen and a poor wood pigeon was trying to peck through the ice.
Springy is really happy today - she kept skipping yesterday and is currently babbling away with some dolls. She chose a little white felt fairy as a special gift yesterday from us. She's only about an inch high (the fairy doll, not Springy) and has a little wire wand with a star on.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Last week
Last week Springy made a felt jingle. You basically use embroidery thread and attach that to a small bell. Cut up some felt and then thread these on (with a needle). It's a piece of thread with a bell and then up the thread are the bits of felt piled on top of each other and you then tie it off at the other end of the thread and hang it up somewhere. It makes a great Christmas decoration. It was lovely that Springy a) had such good needle control and b) enjoyed doing it.
We've also been making finger pom poms and Springy, as of today, has a collection of four pom poms. She's given them all names and they seem to be a family of a mummy and daddy plus 2 children.
How to make a Finger Pom Pom
You use two fingers together (with a bit of a gap and don't pull the wool too tight otherwise you will cut off the circulation to the fingers) and wrap the wool around these, round and round you go with the wool. When you think you have enough wool then tie a piece around where the middle would be and then slide the pom pom off your fingers. Tie the middle section tight and then cut the ends of the wool (the loops) - et voila you have a pom pom.
We've also been making finger pom poms and Springy, as of today, has a collection of four pom poms. She's given them all names and they seem to be a family of a mummy and daddy plus 2 children.
How to make a Finger Pom Pom
You use two fingers together (with a bit of a gap and don't pull the wool too tight otherwise you will cut off the circulation to the fingers) and wrap the wool around these, round and round you go with the wool. When you think you have enough wool then tie a piece around where the middle would be and then slide the pom pom off your fingers. Tie the middle section tight and then cut the ends of the wool (the loops) - et voila you have a pom pom.
Ron Jarman - maths
I have the Ron Jarman maths book. It has been discussed on a few lists. It's been very useful. I'm doing a block with Springy on Roman numerals. We talked about how the numerals look a bit like fingers with the V (5) being the shape between thumb and first finger indicating the whole hand of 5 digits etc.
Springy has begun to copy the numerals into her Magic Book and we have completed all the alphabet entries (lower and upper case but no pictures/illustrations) - I felt she didn't need to because she already knows them and we discussed the alphabet in terms of relating the letters to words e.g. C is for cat and a curly cat lying down in a C-shape etc. She has also done some lovely pictures for the number properties. She's been able to count and recognise numbers for years and we have done some story work about the number properties before but it's nice for her to have a book that she is creating herself with her own work.
We're continuing with the Four Processes and Springy gets to do little sums almost daily. I write them on a little chalk board. She's allowed to use the abacus and her little bag of stones if she needs to. I also do some aural/oral maths with her so she does it mentally rather than with manipulatives. The colds we had stopped a lot of our maths flow but we will hopefully get back into it all again this week.
So to sum up:
Alphabet
Introducing the alphabet visually - Upper case - giving M for mountain and then relating the symbol of the letter to an image.
Introducting the alphabet visually - Lower case - same, although lower case are companions
Alphabet - upper - written - Springy has used this for a few years (not very Steiner but there you go...) to write us letters and to write stories - self interest and self initiated - knows them all
Alphabet - lower - written - not as confident or as competent as upper but getting there.
Oral awareness - can correspond letter symbol to sound. Is aware that some letters in words do not correspond with the sound.
Maths:
Introduced properties - via stories. What is 1? (Marsha Johnson/Eugene Schwartz)
The Four Processes - Springy can do plus and minus (up to 20) but still struggling with divide and multiply (my fault - and needs me to put more energy into this - the right kind of energy)
Counts in twos - yes
Counts in tens up to 100 - yes
Counts in fives up to 100 - yes
Knows her shapes - yes
Starting to recognise time - o'clocks, half pasts
I could go on about all the everyday maths that is conversational and through everyday life but won't yet.
What I'd like to do again is have another letter search. We've done these a few times around the house, looking for items that start or end with particular letters or have used themes such as animals.
Springy has begun to copy the numerals into her Magic Book and we have completed all the alphabet entries (lower and upper case but no pictures/illustrations) - I felt she didn't need to because she already knows them and we discussed the alphabet in terms of relating the letters to words e.g. C is for cat and a curly cat lying down in a C-shape etc. She has also done some lovely pictures for the number properties. She's been able to count and recognise numbers for years and we have done some story work about the number properties before but it's nice for her to have a book that she is creating herself with her own work.
We're continuing with the Four Processes and Springy gets to do little sums almost daily. I write them on a little chalk board. She's allowed to use the abacus and her little bag of stones if she needs to. I also do some aural/oral maths with her so she does it mentally rather than with manipulatives. The colds we had stopped a lot of our maths flow but we will hopefully get back into it all again this week.
So to sum up:
Alphabet
Introducing the alphabet visually - Upper case - giving M for mountain and then relating the symbol of the letter to an image.
Introducting the alphabet visually - Lower case - same, although lower case are companions
Alphabet - upper - written - Springy has used this for a few years (not very Steiner but there you go...) to write us letters and to write stories - self interest and self initiated - knows them all
Alphabet - lower - written - not as confident or as competent as upper but getting there.
Oral awareness - can correspond letter symbol to sound. Is aware that some letters in words do not correspond with the sound.
Maths:
Introduced properties - via stories. What is 1? (Marsha Johnson/Eugene Schwartz)
The Four Processes - Springy can do plus and minus (up to 20) but still struggling with divide and multiply (my fault - and needs me to put more energy into this - the right kind of energy)
Counts in twos - yes
Counts in tens up to 100 - yes
Counts in fives up to 100 - yes
Knows her shapes - yes
Starting to recognise time - o'clocks, half pasts
I could go on about all the everyday maths that is conversational and through everyday life but won't yet.
What I'd like to do again is have another letter search. We've done these a few times around the house, looking for items that start or end with particular letters or have used themes such as animals.
Feeling better
Springy and I are both over the worst of our colds. Springy had a temperature most of last week and we had to take it very easy. She missed swimming and Beavers and we hardly went outside.
We've been practising The Fork and the Spoon - a song from the Oak Meadow First Book of Recorder. I'd love to do more violin and piano lessons with her but just cannot afford it at the moment.
Today was nice - Springy and I played dominoes (she won...twice) and then The Hedgehog Game with the variation being that we had to add up the dice values in French.
I told her the Shingebiss story again tonight (from the link below):
Shingebiss' Song:
(Am) North Wind, North Wind, (G) fierce of feature,
(Am) You are still my (G) fellow (Am) creature.
(C) Blow your worst, you (G) can't scare me.
(Am) I'm not afraid, and (G) so I'm (Am) free.
Springy has read up to book 21 of the Rainbow Magic series which means that she is on the last book of the entire boxed set (from The Book People).
We've been using our peg loom to make a possible rug (in a synthetic pink wool - lovely and soft but not very natural!). When I say a possible rug I mean that if it turns out big enough then it may end up as a rug but it's about the width of a scarf.
We baked foccacia bread this morning and C made soup (with kidneys - smell terrible but at this time of year we need their nutrients). Today at lunchtime we were out in the garden with the bantams and the guineapigs. I pruned the other butterfly bush and tidied up a few areas in the garden. Part of me dislikes tidying up too much because it is those places where insects tend to settle down and hide for the winter but at the same time I need the garden to look as if it belongs to a home, rather than just a piece of wildlife scrub.
Springy has some nice new front incisors growing and one wobbly tooth (as well as a gap on the bottom 2nd left incisor).
We've been practising The Fork and the Spoon - a song from the Oak Meadow First Book of Recorder. I'd love to do more violin and piano lessons with her but just cannot afford it at the moment.
Today was nice - Springy and I played dominoes (she won...twice) and then The Hedgehog Game with the variation being that we had to add up the dice values in French.
I told her the Shingebiss story again tonight (from the link below):
Shingebiss' Song:
(Am) North Wind, North Wind, (G) fierce of feature,
(Am) You are still my (G) fellow (Am) creature.
(C) Blow your worst, you (G) can't scare me.
(Am) I'm not afraid, and (G) so I'm (Am) free.
Springy has read up to book 21 of the Rainbow Magic series which means that she is on the last book of the entire boxed set (from The Book People).
We've been using our peg loom to make a possible rug (in a synthetic pink wool - lovely and soft but not very natural!). When I say a possible rug I mean that if it turns out big enough then it may end up as a rug but it's about the width of a scarf.
We baked foccacia bread this morning and C made soup (with kidneys - smell terrible but at this time of year we need their nutrients). Today at lunchtime we were out in the garden with the bantams and the guineapigs. I pruned the other butterfly bush and tidied up a few areas in the garden. Part of me dislikes tidying up too much because it is those places where insects tend to settle down and hide for the winter but at the same time I need the garden to look as if it belongs to a home, rather than just a piece of wildlife scrub.
Springy has some nice new front incisors growing and one wobbly tooth (as well as a gap on the bottom 2nd left incisor).
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Shingebiss
This is the story I plan to tell to Springy because today the wind is blowing cold:
Shingebiss
http://www.healingstory.org/treasure/shingebiss/shingebiss_and_the_north_wind.html
Update:
A few hours later...
I told Springy the story and used the audio track (since my throat can just about cope with speaking). Springy loved it and lay down near my feet, stretched out and very relaxed so she was really listening.
We had a Sunday roast which C made and then Springy and I made the dessert - fairy cakes with sprinkles on. I had mine dipped in a decaff coffee. I haven't baked fairy cakes with Springy for quite a while - she was very adept at cracking the eggs today.
Shingebiss
http://www.healingstory.org/treasure/shingebiss/shingebiss_and_the_north_wind.html
Update:
A few hours later...
I told Springy the story and used the audio track (since my throat can just about cope with speaking). Springy loved it and lay down near my feet, stretched out and very relaxed so she was really listening.
We had a Sunday roast which C made and then Springy and I made the dessert - fairy cakes with sprinkles on. I had mine dipped in a decaff coffee. I haven't baked fairy cakes with Springy for quite a while - she was very adept at cracking the eggs today.
Thank goodness for tangrams
I've still got no voice at the moment and when I do have one it's painful (laryngitis) and I then cough like mad and my sinuses pour like a waterfall (nice image...not!). Home education still has to go on though.
Last night Springy did some tangram pictures.She's still loving her Rainbow Magic books and is onto the second set (given that they are very short she can read one a day). I read her the Michael Hall reader for November as her bedtime story (inbetween coughing and my voice going - not great). At lunchtime she helped me to cook some pasta with some vegetables. She had questions about how the kettle worked (told her in brief it had something called an element in it that worked with electricity and that heated up and thus heated the water and mentioned that in days before kettles, people would have to boil up water over the fire or on the cooker in a pot or with a non-electric kettle).
This recipe for Dundee Cake sounds delicious and I hope to be able to get one ready for C for Christmas: http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/pdf/receipts_dundee07.pdf
Last night Springy did some tangram pictures.She's still loving her Rainbow Magic books and is onto the second set (given that they are very short she can read one a day). I read her the Michael Hall reader for November as her bedtime story (inbetween coughing and my voice going - not great). At lunchtime she helped me to cook some pasta with some vegetables. She had questions about how the kettle worked (told her in brief it had something called an element in it that worked with electricity and that heated up and thus heated the water and mentioned that in days before kettles, people would have to boil up water over the fire or on the cooker in a pot or with a non-electric kettle).
This recipe for Dundee Cake sounds delicious and I hope to be able to get one ready for C for Christmas: http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/pdf/receipts_dundee07.pdf
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Reflexology
I'm studying several complementary therapies at the moment. Reflexology and Indian Head Massage are the two I'm most interested in (other than crystal healing which is something I am also fascinated by). I will be a fully qualified Reflexologist for insurance purposes by late spring, having done over 90 hours training and practice as well - spread out over 9 months. The Indian Head Massage is something I will qualify in (again for insurance purposes) by spring too (35 hours training - spread out over 3 months).
I also need to redo my First Aid certificate to ensure that I am up-to-date on current practice and in event of emergencies arising and then I will continue with CPD. I hope to upgrade my Reflexology to AOR standards.
Today was lovely in that C and I gave Springy a box set of Rainbow Magic books. We held it behind us and said that we considered her to be a star reader and that because of this we felt she should have more of her favourite books. Her face was like the sun sparkling on water as she smiled.
I also need to redo my First Aid certificate to ensure that I am up-to-date on current practice and in event of emergencies arising and then I will continue with CPD. I hope to upgrade my Reflexology to AOR standards.
Today was lovely in that C and I gave Springy a box set of Rainbow Magic books. We held it behind us and said that we considered her to be a star reader and that because of this we felt she should have more of her favourite books. Her face was like the sun sparkling on water as she smiled.
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Rainbow Magic still going strong
Springy's fascination with Rainbow Magic is still going strong. I found a boxed set on The Book People website so ordered it since it is so nice to have her enjoy something.
Last night we were meant to be going to a firework display but it got cancelled because of the weather.
also, last night, I heard a noise when I was in bed and worked out it was coming from the bin next to the toilet. I got up very quietly and sneaked my way across the landing, turned on the light and a little fat, roly poly mouse scurried out of the toilet (room), across my foot and into Springy's room. It was so cute but it really is the enemy at the moment. One has chewed my velvet cloak at the bottom and yes, I'm too old to prance about in elven velvet cloaks these days but it is the principle of it - the mice have to go. I'm not sure how many we have but I am fed up of little poos and wees everywhere. Not only that but it or they raided Springy's dollshouse and chewed to pieces all the little wax fruit that she had made. They also chewed her froggy rucksack a little and destroyed the little nature area with acorns and corn dollies. I have set traps but they seem to be avoiding them and know how to set them off, take the bait but not get caught - smart mice. I have been ensuring that nothing is left out for them in the kitchen. We certainly have less woodlice and spiders than normal so perhaps they have been surviving on these. I keep wondering if I will find out what the major food source is (although everything is in jars and cupboards, swept up crumbs into the bin etc). Hmmm...if one could only talk to them because we do have waste but they just chew on everything.
Last night we were meant to be going to a firework display but it got cancelled because of the weather.
also, last night, I heard a noise when I was in bed and worked out it was coming from the bin next to the toilet. I got up very quietly and sneaked my way across the landing, turned on the light and a little fat, roly poly mouse scurried out of the toilet (room), across my foot and into Springy's room. It was so cute but it really is the enemy at the moment. One has chewed my velvet cloak at the bottom and yes, I'm too old to prance about in elven velvet cloaks these days but it is the principle of it - the mice have to go. I'm not sure how many we have but I am fed up of little poos and wees everywhere. Not only that but it or they raided Springy's dollshouse and chewed to pieces all the little wax fruit that she had made. They also chewed her froggy rucksack a little and destroyed the little nature area with acorns and corn dollies. I have set traps but they seem to be avoiding them and know how to set them off, take the bait but not get caught - smart mice. I have been ensuring that nothing is left out for them in the kitchen. We certainly have less woodlice and spiders than normal so perhaps they have been surviving on these. I keep wondering if I will find out what the major food source is (although everything is in jars and cupboards, swept up crumbs into the bin etc). Hmmm...if one could only talk to them because we do have waste but they just chew on everything.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Sarah Crows and fairies
Springy has had a lovely week so far. Today I'm ill so she was spending much of this morning in her room playing away.
She loves some books called Rainbow Magic. They are all about fairies and a very clever marketing idea in that each set in the series is 7 books and there seem to be about 10 sets. We're lucky in that many of them seem to be in the library. Springy has arranged the books along her bed and when I was listening in to her playing earlier I realised, plus she also confirmed this, that she was using the book covers as characters in her games. She came in saying "Mummy, Pippi (Longstocking this is, which is another book we had from the library this week and which I need to do as a read aloud) took something so the fairies have put her in the dungeon." This was alongside the joke, "What do fairies travel in around the world when they've lost their wings?" "A fairy boat."
We've also had some lovely walks this week. The autumn leaves are always spectacular and we've been lucky to have some dry but cold weather. Springy also made a scarecrow. We had a hazel stick whittled down into a stake at one end, another stick as a crossbar - tied on with string onto the hazel stick and this represents the arms. Some material with a small hole cut into the centre of it so it drapes across the crossbar and hangs down like a dress. This we tied with raffia and then we found an apple to use as a head on the pointy bit (which is the neck). We added some cloves to make eyes and a smile and our apple already had a lumpy bit which became the nose. We also glued on some wool as hair.
This afternoon her daddy and she went out in the garden with the bantams and now they're out at the playground. Yesterday I had to bath our Serama bantam as she had sat in one of her unviable eggs and was covered in egg yolk which a) stank, and b) matted her feathers (I told her glazing with egg yolks is for glazing, not that she'll listen or even understand!). She's such an adorable little bird - she's our Zen hen with her placid nature. We're not sure if our other bantam won't turn out to be a he rather than a she.
I've got a horrid cold which makes me feel really sluggish. I've taken some echinacea tincture but need to do some steam inhalation later.
She loves some books called Rainbow Magic. They are all about fairies and a very clever marketing idea in that each set in the series is 7 books and there seem to be about 10 sets. We're lucky in that many of them seem to be in the library. Springy has arranged the books along her bed and when I was listening in to her playing earlier I realised, plus she also confirmed this, that she was using the book covers as characters in her games. She came in saying "Mummy, Pippi (Longstocking this is, which is another book we had from the library this week and which I need to do as a read aloud) took something so the fairies have put her in the dungeon." This was alongside the joke, "What do fairies travel in around the world when they've lost their wings?" "A fairy boat."
We've also had some lovely walks this week. The autumn leaves are always spectacular and we've been lucky to have some dry but cold weather. Springy also made a scarecrow. We had a hazel stick whittled down into a stake at one end, another stick as a crossbar - tied on with string onto the hazel stick and this represents the arms. Some material with a small hole cut into the centre of it so it drapes across the crossbar and hangs down like a dress. This we tied with raffia and then we found an apple to use as a head on the pointy bit (which is the neck). We added some cloves to make eyes and a smile and our apple already had a lumpy bit which became the nose. We also glued on some wool as hair.
This afternoon her daddy and she went out in the garden with the bantams and now they're out at the playground. Yesterday I had to bath our Serama bantam as she had sat in one of her unviable eggs and was covered in egg yolk which a) stank, and b) matted her feathers (I told her glazing with egg yolks is for glazing, not that she'll listen or even understand!). She's such an adorable little bird - she's our Zen hen with her placid nature. We're not sure if our other bantam won't turn out to be a he rather than a she.
I've got a horrid cold which makes me feel really sluggish. I've taken some echinacea tincture but need to do some steam inhalation later.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Springy's maps
Springy loves making maps of our house and garden for treasure hunts. We hide things and then play using "hotter" or "colder" to tell each other whether the other one is near to the hidden object. These are good games for cold and wet autumn days.
Update on the shed
I forgot to update this - our chicken/piggie shed is fine now and has been refitted with a slide lock and a load of bricks to stop ratties and foxes. I think I saw a rat up a tree that goes on the shed roof last night so need to be extra vigilant for them. It could have been a squirrel but we tend not to have any so I'm thinking it may have been a rat. If I see another one or two then we need to sort them out because they can create a problem with small bantams - basically small bantam = takeaway meal!
It's gone so cold today and the westerly winds really add an extra chill. We're going to have bangers and mash tonight for dinner. I love cooking with Springy and she is able to make sandwiches (as well as tell bad jokes about sand witches!). I really enjoyed the soul cakes today because she enjoyed them so much. They're also not too messy to make which means washing up afterwards is simple.
It's gone so cold today and the westerly winds really add an extra chill. We're going to have bangers and mash tonight for dinner. I love cooking with Springy and she is able to make sandwiches (as well as tell bad jokes about sand witches!). I really enjoyed the soul cakes today because she enjoyed them so much. They're also not too messy to make which means washing up afterwards is simple.
Language
I've been working on phonemic awareness with Springy quite a bit recently and in particular making her aware of the sounds as they apply to her oral and nasal areas. For instance, we've been doing fricatives and I've been asking her to "feel" where the sound is. She's picked it up very quickly and seems to be aware.
In terms of vowels and consonants, we have been doing a rather Waldorf-inspired thing with the AAGGGH or AYYY, EEEE or eh, ih/i (as in aye) Ooooo (going on and on) or oh, Uwww/ur and so on. I've been explaining the vowels don't stop and then we got on to mmmm and nnnnnn and the fricatives (since they don't stop either) but she seems to have understood the difference by sensing the feelings that the sounds make and give.
Our Magic book (main lesson book) is coming along well with the capital and lower case letters (4 per page) and also the numbers (one per page but with a drawing). I don't want to overdo them in a Steiner Waldorf way because she knows her letters already but at the same time I wanted her to have a book to look back on and it prepares the way for her to apply her will and to be careful with her "work".
In terms of vowels and consonants, we have been doing a rather Waldorf-inspired thing with the AAGGGH or AYYY, EEEE or eh, ih/i (as in aye) Ooooo (going on and on) or oh, Uwww/ur and so on. I've been explaining the vowels don't stop and then we got on to mmmm and nnnnnn and the fricatives (since they don't stop either) but she seems to have understood the difference by sensing the feelings that the sounds make and give.
Our Magic book (main lesson book) is coming along well with the capital and lower case letters (4 per page) and also the numbers (one per page but with a drawing). I don't want to overdo them in a Steiner Waldorf way because she knows her letters already but at the same time I wanted her to have a book to look back on and it prepares the way for her to apply her will and to be careful with her "work".
All Souls Day Cakes
These were made a little early but were great fun for our "lesson" this morning. They involve a lot of simple mixing and at the end the dough is nice to roll about and then squash and mark. They smell really nice too (not to mention the taste - yummy!).
All Souls Day Cakes
All Souls Day Cakes
1/4 cup of caster sugar
1/4 cup of butter
1 cup of plain flour (sifted) + a little extra flour for dusting
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup of raisins, currants or sultanas
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp mixed spice
Splash of milk
1. Cream sugar and butter together.
2. Add the egg yolk
3. Sift flour into mixture
4. Add spices
5. Add in enough milk to make a soft dough.
6. Grease a baking tin
7. Heat oven to about 180deg C
8. Take dough and take enough in hand to roll small balls out. Squash ball slightly to make a small cake shape and then put a mark on the top of the cake (in days gone by people used to make the sign of the cross on the All Soul cakes but you can mark on initials etc).
9. Put the cakes onto the tin and put in oven for about 15 minutes.
10. Cakes should be golden brown upon removal. Cool slightly and then eat (care with sultanas as they may be hot still). You can add butter if you wish but they are moist enough to eat on their own.
Our current read at the moment is Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson. We love these books and Springy listens through the chapters which are quite long and peculiar in nature. We talked about the North Pole today and the way the sun goes to bed for months and then doesn't go to bed for months. Springy thought this quite strange. she knows that where we live the sun sets either over the church at midsummer or over the fields in midwinter and we always watch the sunsets (as they are so beautiful) so she seems to be quite observant of where the sun goes to bed (we can't see the sunrises here though). A few months back, Springy and I watched a Joanna Lumley documentary on the aurora borealis which was amazing to see - one day I hope both Springy and I can see it in person.
Back to the Moomins - I grew up watching a beautiful stop-motion animation of the Moomins. Since then they have been tragically turned into a cartoon animation of extremely low quality which we won't be watching anytime soon. The books though are always a delight and this particular one is very relevant to the impending cold of winter coming upon us. We were reading the bit today about the troll (Moomintroll's forebear) who lived behind the stove. It made me wish we had a woodstove because I'd love to imagine a troll of sorts rattling around behind one. Ah, atheist pagan that I am...
Our current read at the moment is Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson. We love these books and Springy listens through the chapters which are quite long and peculiar in nature. We talked about the North Pole today and the way the sun goes to bed for months and then doesn't go to bed for months. Springy thought this quite strange. she knows that where we live the sun sets either over the church at midsummer or over the fields in midwinter and we always watch the sunsets (as they are so beautiful) so she seems to be quite observant of where the sun goes to bed (we can't see the sunrises here though). A few months back, Springy and I watched a Joanna Lumley documentary on the aurora borealis which was amazing to see - one day I hope both Springy and I can see it in person.
Back to the Moomins - I grew up watching a beautiful stop-motion animation of the Moomins. Since then they have been tragically turned into a cartoon animation of extremely low quality which we won't be watching anytime soon. The books though are always a delight and this particular one is very relevant to the impending cold of winter coming upon us. We were reading the bit today about the troll (Moomintroll's forebear) who lived behind the stove. It made me wish we had a woodstove because I'd love to imagine a troll of sorts rattling around behind one. Ah, atheist pagan that I am...
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Steiner Waldorf Handwork and Science Resources
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/Handwork.pdf
and
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/Scienceonline.pdf
and
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/Scienceonline.pdf
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Our first formal recorder lesson
We just had a very successful recorder session playing The Fork and the Spoon (from the Oak Meadow recorder book). It was our first formal recorder lesson and Springy really did very well (I helped her with her finger from A to B).
Years ago I learnt to play recorder too and I wish I could find my old book because I remember it being very user-friendly.
Years ago I learnt to play recorder too and I wish I could find my old book because I remember it being very user-friendly.
Monday, 13 October 2008
It's October...
I realised this evening that the nights are really starting to draw in close. We had the bantams out just before 6 pm and I felt the rush to put them to bed because the sun was starting to descend and darkness was coming in, along with the feeling that predators were starting to be out and about.
We had a nice homemade soup for lunch today - chopped an onion, fried it in my soup pot with some olive oil, added a crushed clove of garlic, some celery, a bit of chopped up butternut squash and added some boiling hot water from the kettle. Then added a cup of red lentils and boiled and then simmered it all up for 20 minutes - about 3 minutes from the end I added some miso and also added a handful of fresh garden herbs earlier in. I also added a dash of canned tomatoes. It was very yummy.
Springy and I made some herbal honey for the winter. We stuffed a glass jar full of sage and a little bit of thyme and then poured honey onto it. This is sage honey and is excellent for coughs and sore throats.
I really love Samhain. I always feel the magic at this time of year and I think it is because of the darker nights. There's something very primal about eating dinner and then getting all snuggled up in blankets later on in the evening as the cold creeps in.
There's a pumpkin craft link here:
http://cjstitchingandblooms.blogspot.com/2008/08/wool-felted-pumpkin-tutorial.html
It looks the same as the one in Living Crafts magazine.
On to home education (not that the above isn't related) but Springy has been working hard on her main lesson book thing. She only likes to write either in her best Magic book or if there is a purpose. She will write shopping lists and also we sometimes play at restaurants and she writes down my order. Other things that seem to encourage her pen control are those mazes in puzzle books and she loves word searches. We have a small chalkboard too and she will write with chalk on that (because she can rub it out). She uses that to practice her pictures and writing before putting them onto something more formal (her idea, not mine since I'm not that fussy).
We had a nice homemade soup for lunch today - chopped an onion, fried it in my soup pot with some olive oil, added a crushed clove of garlic, some celery, a bit of chopped up butternut squash and added some boiling hot water from the kettle. Then added a cup of red lentils and boiled and then simmered it all up for 20 minutes - about 3 minutes from the end I added some miso and also added a handful of fresh garden herbs earlier in. I also added a dash of canned tomatoes. It was very yummy.
Springy and I made some herbal honey for the winter. We stuffed a glass jar full of sage and a little bit of thyme and then poured honey onto it. This is sage honey and is excellent for coughs and sore throats.
I really love Samhain. I always feel the magic at this time of year and I think it is because of the darker nights. There's something very primal about eating dinner and then getting all snuggled up in blankets later on in the evening as the cold creeps in.
There's a pumpkin craft link here:
http://cjstitchingandblooms.blogspot.com/2008/08/wool-felted-pumpkin-tutorial.html
It looks the same as the one in Living Crafts magazine.
On to home education (not that the above isn't related) but Springy has been working hard on her main lesson book thing. She only likes to write either in her best Magic book or if there is a purpose. She will write shopping lists and also we sometimes play at restaurants and she writes down my order. Other things that seem to encourage her pen control are those mazes in puzzle books and she loves word searches. We have a small chalkboard too and she will write with chalk on that (because she can rub it out). She uses that to practice her pictures and writing before putting them onto something more formal (her idea, not mine since I'm not that fussy).
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
First Grade Readiness article
This article by Joan Almon is very useful:
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/firstready.pdf
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/firstready.pdf
Illness and hens
Today has been a beautiful October day. We spent a lot of time with Springy outside as today was the first day she has not had a temperature for three days. Springy has been ill since Sunday. She came home from a Beaver event with a headache which we just put down to being overwhelmed. However, it seems that there is a bug going around and Springy developed tummy ache and a very high temperature for the past few days, along with frequent toilet needs.
Today was gorgeous. We had the bantams out on the lawn and Springy and I played a little bit of football (just kicking the ball back and forth). We also baked some bread (I've been reading a book called Bread with Children). Later on I drew some chalk numbers from 1 to 12 in a line on the path and Springy did some maths that way (moving between numbers with plus and minus). I think tomorrow will be nice too because the sky has a nice pink flow about it.
Today was gorgeous. We had the bantams out on the lawn and Springy and I played a little bit of football (just kicking the ball back and forth). We also baked some bread (I've been reading a book called Bread with Children). Later on I drew some chalk numbers from 1 to 12 in a line on the path and Springy did some maths that way (moving between numbers with plus and minus). I think tomorrow will be nice too because the sky has a nice pink flow about it.
Monday, 29 September 2008
What a morning!
Today was a rather stressful morning. I'm not coping well with stress at the moment due to all the financial pressures that are going on. I had a plan this morning to do some of the Letts Magical Maths and Funny Spelling books that Springy really likes. So we went out to let the hens and guineapigs out because the weather was so nice but...the combination lock on the shed wouldn't open. Aaarghhh!
The combination lock, I figured would be better than one with a key because we'd probably lose the key. However, I didn't realise last night when I was locking it that the code had been tweaked whilst it was off. I went through 000 to 999 on the combination - took several hours. None of them worked. Phoned a locksmith - "Sometimes that happens with the combination locks - if one of the barrels was slightly off the actual number then it can be really difficult to make it work. Again...aaarrrghhhh! So I can hear the chickens and guineapigs - they make buck buck and squeaky whine noises because they think they are going to be let out to have a run and/or get some interesting food. I felt so useless. I then decided to dismantle the metal parts on the shed door - screwdrivers out. That didn't work either because of the metal piece that was blocking the opening side of the door. Aarrghhh!
C had to run off to fetch his cousin from the train station. She's really nice so that was a good part of today. When he got back he managed to remove the entire metal lock piece with the combination padlock still attached to it. So now we have a shed door which we can open but we can't lock. Aaarrrhghhhh!
Anyway, the hens and piggies both had a lovely time out on the lawn. Springy and I then managed to do some of the Funny Phonics and Spelling book. I really think phonics should be used only in cases of remediation or to back up those already reading. To me reading needs to come from the child, when they are ready and not be dictated by Government. Yes, provide opportunities but reading comes out of play, eye tracking, phonemic awareness and so on and best of all the child should enjoy it.
The combination lock, I figured would be better than one with a key because we'd probably lose the key. However, I didn't realise last night when I was locking it that the code had been tweaked whilst it was off. I went through 000 to 999 on the combination - took several hours. None of them worked. Phoned a locksmith - "Sometimes that happens with the combination locks - if one of the barrels was slightly off the actual number then it can be really difficult to make it work. Again...aaarrrghhhh! So I can hear the chickens and guineapigs - they make buck buck and squeaky whine noises because they think they are going to be let out to have a run and/or get some interesting food. I felt so useless. I then decided to dismantle the metal parts on the shed door - screwdrivers out. That didn't work either because of the metal piece that was blocking the opening side of the door. Aarrghhh!
C had to run off to fetch his cousin from the train station. She's really nice so that was a good part of today. When he got back he managed to remove the entire metal lock piece with the combination padlock still attached to it. So now we have a shed door which we can open but we can't lock. Aaarrrhghhhh!
Anyway, the hens and piggies both had a lovely time out on the lawn. Springy and I then managed to do some of the Funny Phonics and Spelling book. I really think phonics should be used only in cases of remediation or to back up those already reading. To me reading needs to come from the child, when they are ready and not be dictated by Government. Yes, provide opportunities but reading comes out of play, eye tracking, phonemic awareness and so on and best of all the child should enjoy it.
Friday, 19 September 2008
Two birthdays and a funny egg
We've got 2 birthday parties this weekend. We made a felted playscape as one gift and for the other we have some Hama beads.
Our little bantam keeps laying strange eggs. She stopped laying eggs when we started the worming food. The "chicken expert" said it is because she is a natural bantam so she won't lay at this time of year but...she is still laying. It's just the eggs are not viable. I am wondering whether it is because the temperature is dropping a lot at night. This morning, walking into the shed felt like walking into a refrigerator room, so I think I am going to pop on the little electric radiator at a very low setting and see if that makes a difference.
This was put up on the list as a useful curriculum resource:
http://www.winterpromise.com/animals_worlds.html
I must admit I really like the sound of some of the sections.
Our little bantam keeps laying strange eggs. She stopped laying eggs when we started the worming food. The "chicken expert" said it is because she is a natural bantam so she won't lay at this time of year but...she is still laying. It's just the eggs are not viable. I am wondering whether it is because the temperature is dropping a lot at night. This morning, walking into the shed felt like walking into a refrigerator room, so I think I am going to pop on the little electric radiator at a very low setting and see if that makes a difference.
This was put up on the list as a useful curriculum resource:
http://www.winterpromise.com/animals_worlds.html
I must admit I really like the sound of some of the sections.
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Summary of Summer
Our learning doesn't stop during summer or any holiday for that matter. Springy had a number of playdates which has been lovely for her. She's also had music lessons and the bantams have been a valuable asset to our home. We went swimming twice (we would have gone more but I would only go to a private club pool around here as the public one makes me feel queasy). We went to visit my parents and saw my beloved Oma (sad because my Opa is no longer around). Springy got to hear quite a bit of German because of it (and she seems to take to pronouncing the sounds with ease). Springy went to the cinema for the first time ever and saw Wall E.
We've finished The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse and started The Wise Enchanter. Springy has started her own Magic Book (sort of a main lesson type book) which relates to The Wise Enchanter. We've had lots of other stories too, both from oral and book formats including our favourites Rapunzel, Rose White and Rose Red and the Michael Hall readers (last night we read the September one).
We've played a great deal with The Noble Knights of Knowledge maths curriculum and ... yes we have even done some workbooks such as the letts Magical Maths one. Springy has a reading age of a 9-year old. Her writing and spelling require working upon but this is happening. She can write well in upper case and likes to leave notes, create cards for people and so on. She has created some lovely pictures in recent weeks and has made some pretty patterns with her Hama beads which show signs of symmetry. We're practising our music almost every day in between the weekly lessons (although sadly we have to stop next week as money is once again very tight). I'm still using the odd smattering of French and German with her and she responds in turn. Singing is something we do all the time and we're still doing fingerrhymes, beanbag stuff and so on (I just don't call it circle because we're not in that shape when we do these things).
Springy has been to craft and countryside events, watched the harvest, been to the zoo, seen performances (not many though and in fact one was so inappropriate for children I had to complain to the event hosts but that's another story! I do regret not being able to take her to the theatre this summer as there have been some really good shows on but money is tight).
We have had lots of walks, playing in the garden - running, football and Springy has swimming weekly so this covers all the physical exercise side of things. She also does lots of physical activities at Beavers. We discuss the food we eat and how to stay healthy. We go shopping with Springy and she helps choose the ingredients for our meals. We've also grown tomatoes, courgettes, red currants, blueberries and various herbs such as rosemary, oregano and mint. We go to a museum quite often that enables us to see history in action - there are demonstrations on early food, traditional crafts and so on. Springy also went on a special trip to visit the Victory in Portsmouth with her father.
Yesterday we made pastry and today we had quiche - all homemade. Next week she resumes swimming and Beavers.
We watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on the 8.8.08 together. Today we watched the Paralymic Opening Ceremony which was even more moving for me because it wasn't as epic but somehow had much more of a human component to it - needless to say I bawled my eyes out.
It's very clear to me that if my LA ever asked for what we do I would have to write about past tense stuff because planning and my family doesn't work well. It's much better to write summaries of what has happened rather than to try and predict what may happen. However, they'd have a lot to read because we do so much.
We've finished The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse and started The Wise Enchanter. Springy has started her own Magic Book (sort of a main lesson type book) which relates to The Wise Enchanter. We've had lots of other stories too, both from oral and book formats including our favourites Rapunzel, Rose White and Rose Red and the Michael Hall readers (last night we read the September one).
We've played a great deal with The Noble Knights of Knowledge maths curriculum and ... yes we have even done some workbooks such as the letts Magical Maths one. Springy has a reading age of a 9-year old. Her writing and spelling require working upon but this is happening. She can write well in upper case and likes to leave notes, create cards for people and so on. She has created some lovely pictures in recent weeks and has made some pretty patterns with her Hama beads which show signs of symmetry. We're practising our music almost every day in between the weekly lessons (although sadly we have to stop next week as money is once again very tight). I'm still using the odd smattering of French and German with her and she responds in turn. Singing is something we do all the time and we're still doing fingerrhymes, beanbag stuff and so on (I just don't call it circle because we're not in that shape when we do these things).
Springy has been to craft and countryside events, watched the harvest, been to the zoo, seen performances (not many though and in fact one was so inappropriate for children I had to complain to the event hosts but that's another story! I do regret not being able to take her to the theatre this summer as there have been some really good shows on but money is tight).
We have had lots of walks, playing in the garden - running, football and Springy has swimming weekly so this covers all the physical exercise side of things. She also does lots of physical activities at Beavers. We discuss the food we eat and how to stay healthy. We go shopping with Springy and she helps choose the ingredients for our meals. We've also grown tomatoes, courgettes, red currants, blueberries and various herbs such as rosemary, oregano and mint. We go to a museum quite often that enables us to see history in action - there are demonstrations on early food, traditional crafts and so on. Springy also went on a special trip to visit the Victory in Portsmouth with her father.
Yesterday we made pastry and today we had quiche - all homemade. Next week she resumes swimming and Beavers.
We watched the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on the 8.8.08 together. Today we watched the Paralymic Opening Ceremony which was even more moving for me because it wasn't as epic but somehow had much more of a human component to it - needless to say I bawled my eyes out.
It's very clear to me that if my LA ever asked for what we do I would have to write about past tense stuff because planning and my family doesn't work well. It's much better to write summaries of what has happened rather than to try and predict what may happen. However, they'd have a lot to read because we do so much.
Friday, 5 September 2008
Owl nursery rhymes
"A wise old owl
Lived in an oak
The more he saw
The less he spoke
The less he spoke
The more he heard
Why can't we be
Like that wise old bird."
"There's a wise old owl
with a pointed nose
Two pointed ears and
claws on his toes
He sits in his tree and he
looks at you
He flaps his wings
and he says
Twit twoo"
"My hands upon my head I place
On my shoulders, on my face
On my hips I place them so
Now I raise them up so high
Make my fingers fairly fly
Now I clap them, one, two, three,
Now I fold them silently."
Lived in an oak
The more he saw
The less he spoke
The less he spoke
The more he heard
Why can't we be
Like that wise old bird."
"There's a wise old owl
with a pointed nose
Two pointed ears and
claws on his toes
He sits in his tree and he
looks at you
He flaps his wings
and he says
Twit twoo"
"My hands upon my head I place
On my shoulders, on my face
On my hips I place them so
Now I raise them up so high
Make my fingers fairly fly
Now I clap them, one, two, three,
Now I fold them silently."
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Springy's own words
today i played in the garden with the chickens. and had a music lesson.
and went shopping. In the evening we went blackberry picking.
and went shopping. In the evening we went blackberry picking.
Springy's Goals for Autumn
Springy's Learning Wishes and Nice Things to Do
Autumn 2008
Learn how to knit (a toy)
Learn how to sew (pretend toy)
Maths – Times Tables (1, 3, 2, 10)
Multiply and Divide, Plus and Minus (numbers up to 20)
Learning how to do half pasts on the clock
Springy wants to visit a Butterfly Garden
Pretend the kitchen is the South Pole
Blackberry picking (more)
Make mummy play with my Beanie Babies
Play with Barbie dolls
Spelling: archaeologist, information, geologist, guineapig, learn how to knit toy lion
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Yesterday and today - so different
Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun shone, it was warm and we went to the beach. We had a lovely time. I stayed at the flat for most of the time and knitted and Springy and C went body boarding (well Springy did - C supervised) and then Springy dug along the breakwaters in the sand. "Can you tell I'm having a good time, Mummy?" was her question - yes, I could because she was smiling and covered in wet sand. She was looking at anemones on the breakwaters and gently touching the ones with their tentacles in. We spotted barnacles, mussels and then did a bit of fossil hunting. Some men were digging up lugworms and they had a little group of children with them so Springy got to play with them. I also found some hermit crabs and brought them up shore for the children to see. We then returned them to the water.
Today the rain came. It's so grey and damp out there. We had about an hour or two late morning/early afternoon that was grey but dry so the bantams and guineapig girls went out on the lawn to have a graze. Springy has found that if she picks up the pullet and takes her to the bottom of the garden she will run very quickly, using her wings with a flap, to be back with the hen. It's very funny but I've said to Springy she must not do it too often because it could stress the pullet.
Today the rain came. It's so grey and damp out there. We had about an hour or two late morning/early afternoon that was grey but dry so the bantams and guineapig girls went out on the lawn to have a graze. Springy has found that if she picks up the pullet and takes her to the bottom of the garden she will run very quickly, using her wings with a flap, to be back with the hen. It's very funny but I've said to Springy she must not do it too often because it could stress the pullet.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
An article on how learning at home happens (sort of)
It seems to be a bit of a PR drive for a new book but since I happen to like Dr Alan Thomas's other books I know I will be reading it. In the meantime here is the link to the newspaper article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/19/schools.education
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/19/schools.education
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Geographical awareness
Springy likes to draw maps and following on some reading from other wonderful home educators I reckon it would be nice for Springy to draw a map of our home and where we live.
The weather is something we're discussing and the autumn is the perfect time to discuss leaves changing colour (not in detail). We've been picking blackberries and I'm hoping to make some Hedgerow Crumble soon with the elderberries, sloes and blackberries from around the hedges here.
Springy keeps reversing letters at the moment so I need to work on some lemniscates with her - off to the right and back to the middle (8 on its side). Her favourite toy at the moment is her little wooden road set and she's getting better and better at building it herself. We're now down to the last 3 pieces that she needs help on (rather than about 10).
The weather is something we're discussing and the autumn is the perfect time to discuss leaves changing colour (not in detail). We've been picking blackberries and I'm hoping to make some Hedgerow Crumble soon with the elderberries, sloes and blackberries from around the hedges here.
Springy keeps reversing letters at the moment so I need to work on some lemniscates with her - off to the right and back to the middle (8 on its side). Her favourite toy at the moment is her little wooden road set and she's getting better and better at building it herself. We're now down to the last 3 pieces that she needs help on (rather than about 10).
Monday, 25 August 2008
EYFS
Here is a link to how to get an exemption for the EYFS:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/eyfs/resources/downloads/guidanceexemptions.doc
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/eyfs/resources/downloads/guidanceexemptions.doc
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
First Grade from Linden Waldorf school
I liked this summary of Class 1 (age 6/7 years) from the Linden Waldorf school:
"The first grade curriculum provides a context out of which language arts and math learning grow. It awakens capacities of memory and thinking. At this time in the first grade students’ lives, retaining content is less important than what content and form of presentation do to the children in terms of body growth, physical health and moral development.
History: Fairy tales, folk tales and nature stories cultivate imagination and awareness of environment and world.
Literature: Language is expressive in vocabulary, poems with strong rhythms. Fairy tales imagery gives way to reality of ideas and relationships.Geography: Wonders through observations of nature.
English and Grammar: Writing and reading evolve out of oral tradition. Instead of abstract symbols, the introduction of letters is as actual characters with which the children have a real relationship. Fairy tales and stories introduce each letter. In addition,straight and curved lines are observed in body, classroom, and world and practice through walking and drawing in air, sand, blackboard, and paper. Form drawings train motor skills, awaken powers of observation, and create a foundation for letters. Speech exercises, short plays, and class play are included each year.
Science: Stories from nature build awareness of and sensitivity to their surroundings and they are introduced to the kingdoms of nature through storytelling. Also, the children go outside twice a day to maintain a close connection to seasons and environment.
Mathematics: The children are introduced to whole numbers to 100. They learn qualities of numbers before learning addition or subtraction. What is oneness? What is there only one of in the world? Stones, acorns, and other natural objects are used to introduce counting. Considerable practical experience in adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing is expected before written symbols are introduced. This qualitative approach stresses the natural experience of the numbers realm. Rhythms, mental arithmetic, Roman numerals, and number riddles reinforce skills.
Music: The children learn the pentatonic scale, in which all notes have a harmonious sound in any order they are played. Songs are based on seasonal themes. Playing the pentatonic flute develops finger coordination, concentration and breath control.
Artistic work: When painting, the children experience working with color, not creating formed pictures. Children imitate teacher’s work, drawing whole shapes, not filling in outlines. Feeling for form is encouraged through beeswax modeling and crayon illustrations. Form drawing, painting, beeswax modeling, knitting are also practiced."
Ref: http://www.lindenwaldorf.org/curriculum/grades/grade_1.html
In terms of handwork we have done Springy has started with knitting and has also done some weaving (for her dollshouse rugs). Her first knitting project was a plain knit rectangle which has been used in her dollshouse.
"The first grade curriculum provides a context out of which language arts and math learning grow. It awakens capacities of memory and thinking. At this time in the first grade students’ lives, retaining content is less important than what content and form of presentation do to the children in terms of body growth, physical health and moral development.
History: Fairy tales, folk tales and nature stories cultivate imagination and awareness of environment and world.
Literature: Language is expressive in vocabulary, poems with strong rhythms. Fairy tales imagery gives way to reality of ideas and relationships.Geography: Wonders through observations of nature.
English and Grammar: Writing and reading evolve out of oral tradition. Instead of abstract symbols, the introduction of letters is as actual characters with which the children have a real relationship. Fairy tales and stories introduce each letter. In addition,straight and curved lines are observed in body, classroom, and world and practice through walking and drawing in air, sand, blackboard, and paper. Form drawings train motor skills, awaken powers of observation, and create a foundation for letters. Speech exercises, short plays, and class play are included each year.
Science: Stories from nature build awareness of and sensitivity to their surroundings and they are introduced to the kingdoms of nature through storytelling. Also, the children go outside twice a day to maintain a close connection to seasons and environment.
Mathematics: The children are introduced to whole numbers to 100. They learn qualities of numbers before learning addition or subtraction. What is oneness? What is there only one of in the world? Stones, acorns, and other natural objects are used to introduce counting. Considerable practical experience in adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing is expected before written symbols are introduced. This qualitative approach stresses the natural experience of the numbers realm. Rhythms, mental arithmetic, Roman numerals, and number riddles reinforce skills.
Music: The children learn the pentatonic scale, in which all notes have a harmonious sound in any order they are played. Songs are based on seasonal themes. Playing the pentatonic flute develops finger coordination, concentration and breath control.
Artistic work: When painting, the children experience working with color, not creating formed pictures. Children imitate teacher’s work, drawing whole shapes, not filling in outlines. Feeling for form is encouraged through beeswax modeling and crayon illustrations. Form drawing, painting, beeswax modeling, knitting are also practiced."
Ref: http://www.lindenwaldorf.org/curriculum/grades/grade_1.html
In terms of handwork we have done Springy has started with knitting and has also done some weaving (for her dollshouse rugs). Her first knitting project was a plain knit rectangle which has been used in her dollshouse.
Saint Lucia Day
I've been looking up recipes for December called Lussekatter which are saffron buns for St Lucia's Day and/or the Winter Solstice.
It seems you need:
saffron
milk
yeast
butter
flour
salt
sugar
eggs
raisins
I've yet to find a recipe in full though, that I know is guaranteed to work (since I don't trust recipes unless someone has approved them).
It seems you need:
saffron
milk
yeast
butter
flour
salt
sugar
eggs
raisins
I've yet to find a recipe in full though, that I know is guaranteed to work (since I don't trust recipes unless someone has approved them).
Breastfeeding anniversary
It's been over a year since we last breastfed. Springy has changed so much in that time. Her molars are coming through, she lost her 2 lower teeth and she lost her right top front incisor on 5th August and her top left front incisor on 2nd August 2008 so she's looking a bit gappy at the moment. It's also made her speech hard to understand at times (at least for me).
Thank you to Breastfeeding Network most of all but thank you to La Leche League and Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.
Springy has been swimming twice over the holidays for about an hour each time, which has been nice. She's really coming along. She's still a bit lacking in stamina and will put her feet down but the best thing is she is confident and happy in the water and doesn't mind going underwater either (which I still cannot do). She's been learning front crawl, backstroke and has picked up doggy paddle (from her uncle) and breaststroke (which apart from backstroke is my only swimming stroke). I still cannot go under the water so I am so pleased that she can because it opens up so many possibilities and looks like great fun too.
Thank you to Breastfeeding Network most of all but thank you to La Leche League and Association of Breastfeeding Mothers.
Springy has been swimming twice over the holidays for about an hour each time, which has been nice. She's really coming along. She's still a bit lacking in stamina and will put her feet down but the best thing is she is confident and happy in the water and doesn't mind going underwater either (which I still cannot do). She's been learning front crawl, backstroke and has picked up doggy paddle (from her uncle) and breaststroke (which apart from backstroke is my only swimming stroke). I still cannot go under the water so I am so pleased that she can because it opens up so many possibilities and looks like great fun too.
Bantams and Wise Enchanters
The bantams have settled in well and today was our 4th egg from the little Serama. Their faeces have an odour that is going to take a while to get used to but it could be worse (lions for instance) - there is a feathery smell about the garden as well. I love that smell because it reminds me of the budgies and canaries I had as a child. I had scrambled egg (tiny portion) yesterday and it was one of the most delicious eggs I have ever had. They had some sweetcorn yesterday and they've been eating clover (not sure too much is a good thing) from the lawn. They love to be outside but because they're so tiny we stay with them when they are. We have a sparrowhawk and a kestrel about - I reckon the former would find them easy to take. I had the little Frizzle bantam on my lap earlier and she settled down and didn't seem to mind being stroked. She's still following Springy around but the two bantams seem to have formed a bond too (although the Serama is still top chicken).
I have been telling The Wise Enchanter since yesterday. Springy is going to be getting a chapter a day for the first three days of each week (this week will be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday since we are out on a children's day thing tomorrow). The first chapter was the prologue, the second introduced the letter A/a through Ancestor and today Springy received The Magic Book (a blue main lesson book) from me. She wrote in her best writing in pencil crayon The Magic Book by (Springy) and did some spirals and a face on the first page. The rest of the book will be the Stockmar wax crayons - 26 pages with the letters in upper case and lower case. I really like The Wise Enchanter. The four children in it are very sweet-natured and positive role models for Springy and it's a lovely way to connect with the symbols that are our letters.
Springy has started to read some of the Animal Ark books by Lucy Daniels (although looking at the copyright pages of some of the books I'm pretty certain that the name is being used in a ghost way). We went to the library yesterday and she chose a couple more of the Animal Ark books. It's not always easy to find decent books though - some of the series they have in the library are full of fashionista-type children who tease and taunt and bully their way through the pages.
We also did some Magical Maths - one of the Letts books for 5-6 year olds. She really enjoys it and I do too. The premise is that you are a wizard's apprentice but you answer questions, receive a shield (a silver sticker) for every section completed. Springy is not doing the questions to get the stickers which is a relief but is enjoying the maths in general - just one big game. Maths is one of the areas where I believe there is a window where it is easier to learn and latch on to the concepts and I'm hoping to make use of that window.
I've ordered some more of the Letts books in the same series for her. I hate workbooks but these are so well-designed and imaginative in their formatting. They are also a year behind (at least on the cover) her actual age, although to me they are at the right stage because we haven't been doing formal academics until very recently and she's sailing through the concepts. The suggested ages for many books baffle me because they push little ones too early on and set them up to fail.
I heard a sad thing the other day when a friend of ours said her 7-year old no longer wants to visit the playground because it's too babyish. I'm so glad that Springy isn't thinking like that. It's nice to have a child who is still a child. Yes, she's asking some very deep questions these days but she's still a proper little girl rather than 7 going onto a teenager. This is the age that she would just be starting school in many countries e.g. Finland.
I have been telling The Wise Enchanter since yesterday. Springy is going to be getting a chapter a day for the first three days of each week (this week will be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday since we are out on a children's day thing tomorrow). The first chapter was the prologue, the second introduced the letter A/a through Ancestor and today Springy received The Magic Book (a blue main lesson book) from me. She wrote in her best writing in pencil crayon The Magic Book by (Springy) and did some spirals and a face on the first page. The rest of the book will be the Stockmar wax crayons - 26 pages with the letters in upper case and lower case. I really like The Wise Enchanter. The four children in it are very sweet-natured and positive role models for Springy and it's a lovely way to connect with the symbols that are our letters.
Springy has started to read some of the Animal Ark books by Lucy Daniels (although looking at the copyright pages of some of the books I'm pretty certain that the name is being used in a ghost way). We went to the library yesterday and she chose a couple more of the Animal Ark books. It's not always easy to find decent books though - some of the series they have in the library are full of fashionista-type children who tease and taunt and bully their way through the pages.
We also did some Magical Maths - one of the Letts books for 5-6 year olds. She really enjoys it and I do too. The premise is that you are a wizard's apprentice but you answer questions, receive a shield (a silver sticker) for every section completed. Springy is not doing the questions to get the stickers which is a relief but is enjoying the maths in general - just one big game. Maths is one of the areas where I believe there is a window where it is easier to learn and latch on to the concepts and I'm hoping to make use of that window.
I've ordered some more of the Letts books in the same series for her. I hate workbooks but these are so well-designed and imaginative in their formatting. They are also a year behind (at least on the cover) her actual age, although to me they are at the right stage because we haven't been doing formal academics until very recently and she's sailing through the concepts. The suggested ages for many books baffle me because they push little ones too early on and set them up to fail.
I heard a sad thing the other day when a friend of ours said her 7-year old no longer wants to visit the playground because it's too babyish. I'm so glad that Springy isn't thinking like that. It's nice to have a child who is still a child. Yes, she's asking some very deep questions these days but she's still a proper little girl rather than 7 going onto a teenager. This is the age that she would just be starting school in many countries e.g. Finland.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Chickens
We've embarked on a new experience today by purchasing 2 chickens - one is a Frizzle and the other is a Serama. They're very gorgeous and little at the moment and it will be nice to have our own little egg-layers around our home.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Knitted chick
Springy, Uncle C and I went to the cinema. It was the first time ever that Springy has seen a film at the cinema and we saw Wall-E. We really enjoyed it.
Later we went to a fantastic playground.
Chick Knitting Pattern:
Cast on 20 stitches.
Knit 2 rows
Increase to 30 stitches next row
Knit 7 rows
Increase at each end of next and alternate rows until 36 stitches.
Knit 1 row
Cast off 10 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows (so left with 16 stitches).
Knit 8 rows.
Thread wool through remaining stitches.
Sew eyes
Use a felt diamond for beak
Draw up thread to make head and stitch together.
Stuff head with wool
Tie piece of ribbon around neck.
Later we went to a fantastic playground.
Chick Knitting Pattern:
Cast on 20 stitches.
Knit 2 rows
Increase to 30 stitches next row
Knit 7 rows
Increase at each end of next and alternate rows until 36 stitches.
Knit 1 row
Cast off 10 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows (so left with 16 stitches).
Knit 8 rows.
Thread wool through remaining stitches.
Sew eyes
Use a felt diamond for beak
Draw up thread to make head and stitch together.
Stuff head with wool
Tie piece of ribbon around neck.
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Lions and tigers and capybaras
We've been to the zoo again. We love going there and Springy had a great time, along with grandparents, uncle and Oma.
This week has been very full of animals and Springy has found some great frogs in grandpa's pond. She keeps picking them up and holding them - they're huge but not great at getting away...yet.
The weather has been nice and sunny but it was muggy this morning when we went for a walk. We did some shopping and had smoked salmon on sunflower bread for lunch, with some beansprouts as a salad and also an olive/feta cheese mix. Delicious!
Springy is doing her Air Activities badge at the moment so we spoke to a pilot the other day to find out some more information, along with taking some photographs at an airport.
I've been playing Sryth (www.sryth.com). We're having a very unofficial kind of day when it comes to education but what better way to spend it this morning than walking, talking, frog holding, talking German, and playing (I think today is the autonomous ed - No Learning day or something).
This week has been very full of animals and Springy has found some great frogs in grandpa's pond. She keeps picking them up and holding them - they're huge but not great at getting away...yet.
The weather has been nice and sunny but it was muggy this morning when we went for a walk. We did some shopping and had smoked salmon on sunflower bread for lunch, with some beansprouts as a salad and also an olive/feta cheese mix. Delicious!
Springy is doing her Air Activities badge at the moment so we spoke to a pilot the other day to find out some more information, along with taking some photographs at an airport.
I've been playing Sryth (www.sryth.com). We're having a very unofficial kind of day when it comes to education but what better way to spend it this morning than walking, talking, frog holding, talking German, and playing (I think today is the autonomous ed - No Learning day or something).
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Writing our educational philosophy
Every year, at the end of what would be our "academic year", I write out what we have done in each year. I've never showed it to anyone in the LA, nor would I want to be forced to, but I quite enjoy writing up the summaries of what we've done. I don't do a detailed thing (because I don't see it is the LA's business - since I have legal responsibility) but if asked, at least I have something and have given myself lots of practice. I often laugh when I've seen school brochures at some of the way they write things that makes out that the schools are doing such a great job, especially when I have had insider knowledge on the school and that all is not as it seems. It's such a shame that schools are businesses.
We had a lovely day today. We did a country fair and there were lots of animals on display - goats, pigs, sheep, cows, rabbits, chickens, ducks and dogs. Springy enjoyed it although there was a lot of walking about to do (she was very tired by the end and I ended up picking her up and carrying her for a rest). We got some nice craft bits and bobs from there as well and I can't wait to do some felting and so on. We also got some little knitting needles for her. She's done really well with her knitting and has made a little dolly blanket/rug out of wool. It will be nice to keep her going. There was a bantam chicken that was there who was adorable and Springy held her. We also held a number of rabbits.
Yesterday we went to a school fair and there were some dancers there. Springy managed to copy their moves by watching them - not all - but it was still rather impressive for a 6-year old. Her visual/kinaesthetic learning is good. She spent the afternoon hopping from haybale to haybale, playing with some friends she knows and doing cartwheels and handstands. She's been reading The Magic Treehouse books herself. We read them some weeks back and, although the grammar and research are not great for any of them it's still nice to have her read something that she has chosen and enjoys to read. She also loves the Mr Men books.
We've nearly finished The Little Wooden Horse - we let it slip a bit but we're almost at the end of his journey.
The sky tonight is beautiful. The rainbow of the sky colours has left the black outlines of the trees and buildings across the way to be set off by the reds and oranges - which are a rust colour. There are some cloud layers that earlier were skimming their way across the sky but have now slowed down so their mutability is barely visible.
C and Springy went swimming together last week. Her swimming lessons have ended and won't start up again until the autumn so they went swimming with some friends of ours. Springy swam front crawl and backstroke and managed a lot on her own so she is swimming properly now. I didn't go but she was so pleased when she got back and C gave her free reign in the pool to play rather than be instructed. I must admit I get the feeling that our swimming instructor needed a holiday because she has been a bit short the past few weeks which I will monitor in the autumn. Springy doesn't respond well and she was not using play or verbal instructions that build a visual picture - in basic terms our swim instructor seems to be tired out, short on fuse and is being developmentally inappropriate for children who are 4-6 years old (which she didn't used to be so I'm hoping it is just an end-of-term thing).
Our other group thing also broke up for summer. It's funny but when Springy was 4 and 5 and all her friends were too tired to see her after school then she did get a bit lonely but she now can go most places and find friends who are either home educated children or ones she knows from swimming or other club events she has attended. We're having to sort out a new French tutor - our old one got herself a good job which means she can no longer offer French club. We have a new one who is a parent of one of Springy's friends but I don't know how it will work out because she doesn't have teaching experience (saying that she does teach her own son and she's a native French speaker).
Last night, Springy and I watched the bats outside her window. The moths and other insects were being attracted to the light of her bedroom window and so the bats were coming in really close to the glass - sometimes just a foot away from our heads. They were doing the most daring aerial manouevres (probably normal for a bat though!). Springy loved it.
One of our other friends has de- televisioned her home and I must admit it's so tempting to follow this. However, tonight we had a DVD called Night at the Museum which so far I have said no to Springy watching because I thought it would be much too scary. We watched it all together and it was such a sweet and funny film. I'm glad I waited until Springy was nearer to 7 though.
We had a lovely day today. We did a country fair and there were lots of animals on display - goats, pigs, sheep, cows, rabbits, chickens, ducks and dogs. Springy enjoyed it although there was a lot of walking about to do (she was very tired by the end and I ended up picking her up and carrying her for a rest). We got some nice craft bits and bobs from there as well and I can't wait to do some felting and so on. We also got some little knitting needles for her. She's done really well with her knitting and has made a little dolly blanket/rug out of wool. It will be nice to keep her going. There was a bantam chicken that was there who was adorable and Springy held her. We also held a number of rabbits.
Yesterday we went to a school fair and there were some dancers there. Springy managed to copy their moves by watching them - not all - but it was still rather impressive for a 6-year old. Her visual/kinaesthetic learning is good. She spent the afternoon hopping from haybale to haybale, playing with some friends she knows and doing cartwheels and handstands. She's been reading The Magic Treehouse books herself. We read them some weeks back and, although the grammar and research are not great for any of them it's still nice to have her read something that she has chosen and enjoys to read. She also loves the Mr Men books.
We've nearly finished The Little Wooden Horse - we let it slip a bit but we're almost at the end of his journey.
The sky tonight is beautiful. The rainbow of the sky colours has left the black outlines of the trees and buildings across the way to be set off by the reds and oranges - which are a rust colour. There are some cloud layers that earlier were skimming their way across the sky but have now slowed down so their mutability is barely visible.
C and Springy went swimming together last week. Her swimming lessons have ended and won't start up again until the autumn so they went swimming with some friends of ours. Springy swam front crawl and backstroke and managed a lot on her own so she is swimming properly now. I didn't go but she was so pleased when she got back and C gave her free reign in the pool to play rather than be instructed. I must admit I get the feeling that our swimming instructor needed a holiday because she has been a bit short the past few weeks which I will monitor in the autumn. Springy doesn't respond well and she was not using play or verbal instructions that build a visual picture - in basic terms our swim instructor seems to be tired out, short on fuse and is being developmentally inappropriate for children who are 4-6 years old (which she didn't used to be so I'm hoping it is just an end-of-term thing).
Our other group thing also broke up for summer. It's funny but when Springy was 4 and 5 and all her friends were too tired to see her after school then she did get a bit lonely but she now can go most places and find friends who are either home educated children or ones she knows from swimming or other club events she has attended. We're having to sort out a new French tutor - our old one got herself a good job which means she can no longer offer French club. We have a new one who is a parent of one of Springy's friends but I don't know how it will work out because she doesn't have teaching experience (saying that she does teach her own son and she's a native French speaker).
Last night, Springy and I watched the bats outside her window. The moths and other insects were being attracted to the light of her bedroom window and so the bats were coming in really close to the glass - sometimes just a foot away from our heads. They were doing the most daring aerial manouevres (probably normal for a bat though!). Springy loved it.
One of our other friends has de- televisioned her home and I must admit it's so tempting to follow this. However, tonight we had a DVD called Night at the Museum which so far I have said no to Springy watching because I thought it would be much too scary. We watched it all together and it was such a sweet and funny film. I'm glad I waited until Springy was nearer to 7 though.
Friday, 11 July 2008
Needle felting
I did a search on Flickr for nature table stuff and found this adorable little aviary (and apiary) of needle felted creatures. Springy just went "Aww," about them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27271328@N08/ (The Singing Bird)
I wish I could make things like this.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27271328@N08/ (The Singing Bird)
I wish I could make things like this.
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Sea Monkeys RIP
Our sea monkeys are no more. I've been watching the tank for a few weeks now, expecting to see little hatchlings but it would seem that they have come and gone as many times now, and won't be returning unless we set up a brand new tank.
Springy helped me do some work-related sticking today - great for her hand-eye co-ordination and she is so careful doing them + enjoys helping.
She's been playing with the Rainbow River animals from the Noble Knights set and I also asked her to watch from her bedroom window for birds. We watched a great tit feed, she saw some swifts (and added this bird to her RSPB/Usborne sticker book as having been spotted) and a wood pigeon.
I'm making another knitted piggy at the moment, as another friend has a small baby with a birthday.
Today is so wet; it's been raining and raining, non-stop. It's grey and miserable and...where has the summer gone? It's so offputting because it makes it difficult to go on walks (we had a nice walk in a stream yesterday evening though) and the garden is green but very, very wet (not good for our tomatoes and the currants have given up hanging on).
Springy helped me do some work-related sticking today - great for her hand-eye co-ordination and she is so careful doing them + enjoys helping.
She's been playing with the Rainbow River animals from the Noble Knights set and I also asked her to watch from her bedroom window for birds. We watched a great tit feed, she saw some swifts (and added this bird to her RSPB/Usborne sticker book as having been spotted) and a wood pigeon.
I'm making another knitted piggy at the moment, as another friend has a small baby with a birthday.
Today is so wet; it's been raining and raining, non-stop. It's grey and miserable and...where has the summer gone? It's so offputting because it makes it difficult to go on walks (we had a nice walk in a stream yesterday evening though) and the garden is green but very, very wet (not good for our tomatoes and the currants have given up hanging on).
Noble Knights of Knowledge - Flambert's Game
We played Flambert's game from the Noble Knights of Knowledge maths curriculum today. Springy loved it and didn't want to stop. She picked up that 10 is:
0 + 10
1 + 9
2 + 8
3 + 7
4+ 6
5 + 5
6 + 4
3 + 7
2 + 8
1 + 9
10 + 0
with the counters and we used a little piece of sponge to represent Flambert, the Falcon (as he dives down on the rows of rocks left by the Giant). Our maths gnome Penny Plus was the one doing the counting.
We also did 11 on the Rainbow River (with the otter) and Springy picked up the pattern that it was 1..1, 2..2, 3..3, 4..4 and so onand was able to guess which would be the next few places that the otter landed upon with her pawprints.
0 + 10
1 + 9
2 + 8
3 + 7
4+ 6
5 + 5
6 + 4
3 + 7
2 + 8
1 + 9
10 + 0
with the counters and we used a little piece of sponge to represent Flambert, the Falcon (as he dives down on the rows of rocks left by the Giant). Our maths gnome Penny Plus was the one doing the counting.
We also did 11 on the Rainbow River (with the otter) and Springy picked up the pattern that it was 1..1, 2..2, 3..3, 4..4 and so onand was able to guess which would be the next few places that the otter landed upon with her pawprints.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
crochet patterns
I saw these crochet patterns and thought the little animals were really sweet and very compatible with some of our storytelling:
http://kristieskids.weebly.com/patterns1.html
However, I can't understand the patterns, at least not yet.
http://kristieskids.weebly.com/patterns1.html
However, I can't understand the patterns, at least not yet.
Friday, 4 July 2008
White Plume Moth
In our front garden we have a patch of mugwort which I've allowed to grow, although a few days ago I pruned it back a bit to avoid it killing off the roses behind it, and also harvested the mugwort (it's not a herb I've utilised except I had moxibustion when I was pregnant).
Springy and I saw a beautiful moth and upon identification we discovered it was a white plume moth. We found one yesterday by our strawberry patch and I caught it (very gently) and held it until C came out to have a look at it. He thought we were a bit potty when I first described the moth from the other day because I said it had fairy wings and was pure white. I've been trying to identify it and it turns out it is called a white plume moth, although I prefer "Pandora":
http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/moths%20p4.html#LWhPlume
We also identified another moth we saw last year which was a cinnabar moth, looking quite tropical.
Around the garden I've noticed lots of cockchafer beetles (maybugs), mainly deceased. It seems to have been a good year for them to turn from larval stage into adulthood.
Today we had a lovely walk and saw 5 cygnets. Many of the ducklings and cygnets have been lost this year because of rooks predating on them. For some reason the grub cycle this year means rooks and other corvids have had to rely on other food (possibly the wet summer in 2007!).
Springy and I saw a beautiful moth and upon identification we discovered it was a white plume moth. We found one yesterday by our strawberry patch and I caught it (very gently) and held it until C came out to have a look at it. He thought we were a bit potty when I first described the moth from the other day because I said it had fairy wings and was pure white. I've been trying to identify it and it turns out it is called a white plume moth, although I prefer "Pandora":
http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/moths%20p4.html#LWhPlume
We also identified another moth we saw last year which was a cinnabar moth, looking quite tropical.
Around the garden I've noticed lots of cockchafer beetles (maybugs), mainly deceased. It seems to have been a good year for them to turn from larval stage into adulthood.
Today we had a lovely walk and saw 5 cygnets. Many of the ducklings and cygnets have been lost this year because of rooks predating on them. For some reason the grub cycle this year means rooks and other corvids have had to rely on other food (possibly the wet summer in 2007!).
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Learning to Knit - our way
I think the thing about knitting is that you have to be able to knit first yourself. This does not mean you have to be a brilliant knitter (I'm not) but knit around your child so that he or she will notice knitting.
I've been learning to knit for a few years now because...that's how long it has taken me and I still cannot knit a jumper or do anything fancy, or read a proper pattern. I've struggled but now my daughter is finally interested in knitting herself.
The book that has given me the most hope (for myself) is The First Book of Knitting for Children by Bonnie Gosse and this is our "book" to learn from. First off Springy has managed to finger crochet for a good while now and also managed to use a lucette (knitting fork) which we got from Myriad (it's a nice big chunky size, perfect to see what is going on with the wool for small people.
Today we did some more knitting. I find that big needles are working best along with thick yarn. This way it is easy to see the pattern the stitches make and easier to work out how to undo any dropped stitches and so on (won't call them mistakes as it is great to learn how to pick up stitches this way). Springy sits on my lap so we work together with the knitting - she can see what to do from her and my perspective and I can see from her and my persective too - we're working with the same view and the same hand positions etc. We talk about the stitches as sheep (based on the First Book of Knitting...) and every few rows we've been counting the stitches, as sheep, to check that they all got herded up.
I've let Springy set the length of duration - she loves knitting so she's happy to do 6-8 rows at a time (with 6 stitches on the row). I've used a wool which is very cheerful - it's 100% wool and is slightly tie-dye in appearance - purple, pink and so on. I think you've got to get them to think about what to make (not too many choices though because I didn't want to baffle her) - so we said either a blanket for the dollshouse or a scarf for a small doll - and because it will be the same either way it will work out in terms of its practical use.
The hand-eye co-ordination is great and she has to count stitches, use her memory (both kinetic and auditory - for the knitting rhyme) and so on. She's noticeably ready to learn knitting and that for me is great because it's not as if I'm having to "teach" her - she's observing, absorbing and learning it that way.
I've been learning to knit for a few years now because...that's how long it has taken me and I still cannot knit a jumper or do anything fancy, or read a proper pattern. I've struggled but now my daughter is finally interested in knitting herself.
The book that has given me the most hope (for myself) is The First Book of Knitting for Children by Bonnie Gosse and this is our "book" to learn from. First off Springy has managed to finger crochet for a good while now and also managed to use a lucette (knitting fork) which we got from Myriad (it's a nice big chunky size, perfect to see what is going on with the wool for small people.
Today we did some more knitting. I find that big needles are working best along with thick yarn. This way it is easy to see the pattern the stitches make and easier to work out how to undo any dropped stitches and so on (won't call them mistakes as it is great to learn how to pick up stitches this way). Springy sits on my lap so we work together with the knitting - she can see what to do from her and my perspective and I can see from her and my persective too - we're working with the same view and the same hand positions etc. We talk about the stitches as sheep (based on the First Book of Knitting...) and every few rows we've been counting the stitches, as sheep, to check that they all got herded up.
I've let Springy set the length of duration - she loves knitting so she's happy to do 6-8 rows at a time (with 6 stitches on the row). I've used a wool which is very cheerful - it's 100% wool and is slightly tie-dye in appearance - purple, pink and so on. I think you've got to get them to think about what to make (not too many choices though because I didn't want to baffle her) - so we said either a blanket for the dollshouse or a scarf for a small doll - and because it will be the same either way it will work out in terms of its practical use.
The hand-eye co-ordination is great and she has to count stitches, use her memory (both kinetic and auditory - for the knitting rhyme) and so on. She's noticeably ready to learn knitting and that for me is great because it's not as if I'm having to "teach" her - she's observing, absorbing and learning it that way.
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Strawberry jam
Our strawberry jam is so delicious. Yesterday we had it with croissants for our breakfast and today we had it on our toast. another favourite breakfast of ours is mackerel - Springy is partial to mackerel and we find that one fish is enough between us (not C) girls.
C used:
1kg strawberries
juice of 1 lemon
250g fructose sugar
You boil up the strawberries after mashing them (and hulling them - which was Springy's job), in a big pot.
Today I was working for most of the time. I've just finished editing a book. Springy and C went for a bicycle ride - Springy didn't want to go on her bike so she just ran alongside C! At the moment they are at the playground (which one I'm not sure) because Springy said she needed to run and play outside. It's a very windy day but it is sunny. My washing is outside on the line (and I hope it doesn't blow away).
Our potatoes were delicious but we could only make 1 meal out of them. I think I hadn't watered the potatoes at the bottom enough and so the dry soil meant they didn't grow very big. Next year I will know better. We ate one of our courgettes - Springy was fascinated by the large, orange flowers - it was delicious. We've got strawberries, tomatoes and blueberries yet to come (and the chives are continuing well).
I've made a knitted horse, a knitted pig and am in the process of stuffing and stitching a lamb. I'm really pleased at the progress with my own knitting because it will make it much easier for me to teach Springy.
We're going to my parents in a few weeks and I cannot wait because my Oma will be there too.
The day after the Solstice always feels a little sad for me because I think, oh the days will be starting to grow shorter again. I love the long days and I like waking up to the light.
C used:
1kg strawberries
juice of 1 lemon
250g fructose sugar
You boil up the strawberries after mashing them (and hulling them - which was Springy's job), in a big pot.
Today I was working for most of the time. I've just finished editing a book. Springy and C went for a bicycle ride - Springy didn't want to go on her bike so she just ran alongside C! At the moment they are at the playground (which one I'm not sure) because Springy said she needed to run and play outside. It's a very windy day but it is sunny. My washing is outside on the line (and I hope it doesn't blow away).
Our potatoes were delicious but we could only make 1 meal out of them. I think I hadn't watered the potatoes at the bottom enough and so the dry soil meant they didn't grow very big. Next year I will know better. We ate one of our courgettes - Springy was fascinated by the large, orange flowers - it was delicious. We've got strawberries, tomatoes and blueberries yet to come (and the chives are continuing well).
I've made a knitted horse, a knitted pig and am in the process of stuffing and stitching a lamb. I'm really pleased at the progress with my own knitting because it will make it much easier for me to teach Springy.
We're going to my parents in a few weeks and I cannot wait because my Oma will be there too.
The day after the Solstice always feels a little sad for me because I think, oh the days will be starting to grow shorter again. I love the long days and I like waking up to the light.
Friday, 20 June 2008
Gnome sums
This morning was, erm, interesting. I got one of the very dry workbooks out that my mum keeps sending to us. This one was Phonics Handwriting! Anyway, I thought Springy may like to have a short go at it. Needless to say she hated it - it was like trying to draw blood from a stone and she wasn't making any effort and kept sliding under the table. We had a nice day yesterday with strawberry picking at the fruit farm and in the afternoon C and Springy made strawberry jam together whilst I did some editorial work.
Back to today, we got the mini chalkboard out this afternoon and did some Gnome Sums. Springy loves doing this and the difference in attitude and energy to the dreadful handwriting workbook was very noticeable. She had 12 sums, along with the stones and the gnomes to help. Penny Plus helped her do the addition sums, Daddy Divide helped with sharing, Minnie Minus didn't exactly help because she's so little she drops stones and Maria Multiply whizzed about making groups of whatever.
I wrote the process sign in the corresponding colours and Springy had both the written equation and the stones as manipulatives (plus the little voices that the gnomes have). She managed every sum and thoroughly enjoyed doing them. She asked for more this evening.
I know that if the gnomes start to write letters then Springy will join in with that, no rush on writing though.
Back to today, we got the mini chalkboard out this afternoon and did some Gnome Sums. Springy loves doing this and the difference in attitude and energy to the dreadful handwriting workbook was very noticeable. She had 12 sums, along with the stones and the gnomes to help. Penny Plus helped her do the addition sums, Daddy Divide helped with sharing, Minnie Minus didn't exactly help because she's so little she drops stones and Maria Multiply whizzed about making groups of whatever.
I wrote the process sign in the corresponding colours and Springy had both the written equation and the stones as manipulatives (plus the little voices that the gnomes have). She managed every sum and thoroughly enjoyed doing them. She asked for more this evening.
I know that if the gnomes start to write letters then Springy will join in with that, no rush on writing though.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Re: Playing in the garden
We had a lovely morning playing in the garden. Springy and I played kicking the ball with the swing as a goal. We each had ten kicks and Springy got five (with a little help) "goals" in whereas I got three. We then played bounce the ball and catch which was great fun. Springy decided that if we missed we had to sit on the ball and cluck like a chicken.
This afternoon Springy went swimming and she is doing so well, as is her friend C. C swims like a mermaid in that she can swim really well but best of all under the water, rather than on top. They did star floats, mushroom floats, swam on their backs and on their fronts, had to turn over in the water and so on and they worked so hard at everything.
Yesterday, Springy did a bit of fingerknitting and managed to use a whole ball of wool. Her daddy and I were so amazed. Next of all will be needle knitting.
I'm knitting a number of gifts at the moment. I made Springy a little blue horse and a friend of mine who has twin daughters will be receiving a pig and a lamb in the post for their first birthday. I'm using the patterns from The First Book of Knitting by Bonnie Gosse. It's brilliant and I finally understand knitting. I've noticed that since my awareness of Waldorf education has increased and since I've been putting into practice some of the elements of it, it has acted in a good way on me too. I went on a bicycle at the weekend which is very brave considering it must be almost 15 years since I last had a go and I'm very clumsy. I've noticed my motor control has been improving - I've always been good at fiddly, small things but it's the medium and gross areas that I have often had difficulty with.
This afternoon Springy went swimming and she is doing so well, as is her friend C. C swims like a mermaid in that she can swim really well but best of all under the water, rather than on top. They did star floats, mushroom floats, swam on their backs and on their fronts, had to turn over in the water and so on and they worked so hard at everything.
Yesterday, Springy did a bit of fingerknitting and managed to use a whole ball of wool. Her daddy and I were so amazed. Next of all will be needle knitting.
I'm knitting a number of gifts at the moment. I made Springy a little blue horse and a friend of mine who has twin daughters will be receiving a pig and a lamb in the post for their first birthday. I'm using the patterns from The First Book of Knitting by Bonnie Gosse. It's brilliant and I finally understand knitting. I've noticed that since my awareness of Waldorf education has increased and since I've been putting into practice some of the elements of it, it has acted in a good way on me too. I went on a bicycle at the weekend which is very brave considering it must be almost 15 years since I last had a go and I'm very clumsy. I've noticed my motor control has been improving - I've always been good at fiddly, small things but it's the medium and gross areas that I have often had difficulty with.
Saturday, 14 June 2008
2nd Grade tips
I've not even got myself fully into 1st Grade thinking but here is a useful tip I found:
"For our Arithmetic, we practice the four processes. The key to 2nd grade is repetition,
repetition, repetition. The children know that ‘Practice makes perfect’ is one of my favorite sayings. Last year we had the story of the gnomes who had gone to the ocean to count shells. This year their wise, wise King noticed that the gnomes were becoming confused by counting all those shells. He built a lovely wooden shelf with three sections to help them. The children put the single shells in the first section. When they have counted ten shells, they put them in a pouch in
the second section. When there were 10 pouches, they put the pouches in a basket in the third section. In this way we introduce place value. We’re still really living into that: we are learning and practicing how a number such as 324, can be 3 baskets, 2 pouches, and 4 individual shells. We are also taking the 324 shells and separating them into two different numbers: always starting with the whole and going to the part."
http://www.emersonwaldorf.org/wp-content/themes/ews/pdfs/Insights_Spring06.pdf
There are also a couple of recipes on there:
Gingerbread Cookies
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine wet ingredients and add dry ingredients to wet. Refrigerate dough until firm. Roll out dough and cut into shapes. Bake on oiled/buttered pan for 8 minutes.
and:
Festival Cake
A recipe for celebration at the Morning Song Nursery
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1-2/3 cups vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
4 cups pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients in a second bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan and bake for about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, or serve with fresh whipped cream and Celebrate.
Ingredients for 6 apricot dumplings:
2 large floury potatoes (almost a kilo in weight)
1 egg
Cup at least of SR flour (but you add this very gradually)
6 apricots
6 sugar lumps
Breadcrumbs to coat dumplings
Butter (used for frying breadcrumbs and to help them stick onto the dumplings)
First off, remove the pits from the apricots but do not open them entirely. You want to leave a pocket to insert the sugar in place of the pit.
Boil your potatoes (cut them small) until they are soft.
Sieve potatoes (which mashes them).
Add egg.
Add flour gradually to dough mix. It should form to a consistency that means it no longer sticks to the bowl and that is doughy but not sticky (not too dry and not crumbly).
When this is ready pull off pieces and wrap them around the apricots.
Add Marillenknodel to a pan of boiling water (do this slowly as if you drop them in they will displace the scalding water).
When they have risen they are ready.
Roll them in the lightly fried breadcrumb mix and serve hot with a dusting of icing sugar.
They are quite heavy on the digestive system and in Austria they are served following a course of soup, as a main dish.
You can use the potato/egg/flour mix and roll in your hand to form gnocchi. Pop them in boiling water and wait for them to rise, serve with some kind of pasta style sauce.
"For our Arithmetic, we practice the four processes. The key to 2nd grade is repetition,
repetition, repetition. The children know that ‘Practice makes perfect’ is one of my favorite sayings. Last year we had the story of the gnomes who had gone to the ocean to count shells. This year their wise, wise King noticed that the gnomes were becoming confused by counting all those shells. He built a lovely wooden shelf with three sections to help them. The children put the single shells in the first section. When they have counted ten shells, they put them in a pouch in
the second section. When there were 10 pouches, they put the pouches in a basket in the third section. In this way we introduce place value. We’re still really living into that: we are learning and practicing how a number such as 324, can be 3 baskets, 2 pouches, and 4 individual shells. We are also taking the 324 shells and separating them into two different numbers: always starting with the whole and going to the part."
http://www.emersonwaldorf.org/wp-content/themes/ews/pdfs/Insights_Spring06.pdf
There are also a couple of recipes on there:
Gingerbread Cookies
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine wet ingredients and add dry ingredients to wet. Refrigerate dough until firm. Roll out dough and cut into shapes. Bake on oiled/buttered pan for 8 minutes.
and:
Festival Cake
A recipe for celebration at the Morning Song Nursery
Wet Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1-2/3 cups vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
4 cups pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients in a second bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan and bake for about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, or serve with fresh whipped cream and Celebrate.
And this one is from the Spring 2006 newsletter of Emerson Waldorf:
Swedish Lenten Buns
Ingredients for buns:
1 oz yeast
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
Melt butter in a saucepan. Pour in milk and heat until tepid, about 98o F. Pour over yeast in a large mixing bowl and stir to dissolve. Blend in salt, sugar, egg and most of the flour. Knead until the dough is
smooth and pliable. Cover and leave to rise for about 30 min.
Turn out dough and knead on a floured board until springy and elastic. Cut dough in 2 pieces. Form each into a sausage and cut into 6 pieces. Form each piece into a smooth round roll. Place on a buttered, parchment lined baking sheet. Cover until light and puffy, 30 - 40 min.
Bun Wash:
Beat one egg, and brush each bun with egg wash.
Bake 480o F for 8-10 min. Put buns on wire rack, cover with a cloth, and allow to cool.
Cut the top of each bun off and scoop out some of the inside of the bun. (You want to leave sturdy outer walls.) Place the crumbs in a bowl, and mash with a fork.
Filling:
Crumb from the buns
2 3/4 oz almond paste
1/4 cup milk or cream
Grate the almond paste into the bowl with the crumbs from the buns. Add the milk or cream. Mix well.
Fill the buns with the almond mixture.
Whip another 3/4 cup cream. Put some cream on top of each bun, and then place top of bun back on. Dust with confectioners sugar.
Eat plain or with warm milk poured over them.
---
The last recipe here is for Marillen Knodeln (Apricot Dumplings) and this is my own recipe writing adapted from my own Oma's. I made them tonight and they were delicious:Ingredients for 6 apricot dumplings:
2 large floury potatoes (almost a kilo in weight)
1 egg
Cup at least of SR flour (but you add this very gradually)
6 apricots
6 sugar lumps
Breadcrumbs to coat dumplings
Butter (used for frying breadcrumbs and to help them stick onto the dumplings)
First off, remove the pits from the apricots but do not open them entirely. You want to leave a pocket to insert the sugar in place of the pit.
Boil your potatoes (cut them small) until they are soft.
Sieve potatoes (which mashes them).
Add egg.
Add flour gradually to dough mix. It should form to a consistency that means it no longer sticks to the bowl and that is doughy but not sticky (not too dry and not crumbly).
When this is ready pull off pieces and wrap them around the apricots.
Add Marillenknodel to a pan of boiling water (do this slowly as if you drop them in they will displace the scalding water).
When they have risen they are ready.
Roll them in the lightly fried breadcrumb mix and serve hot with a dusting of icing sugar.
They are quite heavy on the digestive system and in Austria they are served following a course of soup, as a main dish.
You can use the potato/egg/flour mix and roll in your hand to form gnocchi. Pop them in boiling water and wait for them to rise, serve with some kind of pasta style sauce.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Where Springy is at...
We've been in a kind of transition stage between Kindergarten and what would be called the Classes/Grades for a few months now. Our year in terms of officialdom is January to January. However, in terms of our feel of the year we start in April - Aries to Pisces. In terms of Steiner, Springy would be starting in September in Class 1 as she is 7 in that "term" but home education allows for breaking of rules created by Government policy.
Springy is now swimming well, she can pedal and I reckon if we could just find the device to get the stabilisers off she would be not far off riding her bicycle herself. Yesterday we visited the seaside and Springy has a body board - she was so happy in the sea (she had on her wetsuit and swimming hat to protect her from salt and sun!). The tide was coming in so I felt much safer as she went off with her daddy a good 10 metres out.
She lost her 2 lower incisors and her top 2 incisors have been very wobbly for ages. Her rear molars have come in. Her baby dimples have transformed into knuckles and she has started to skip rope with both legs together.
She can read really well. Her spelling and writing is another matter, although she can write very small and beautifully if I write out things for her to copy.
She can work out some basic maths - divide, addition and subtraction with numbers under 20. She can count in tens to 100 and count up to 100 backwards and forwards. She understands odds and evens and has enjoyed our Quality of Numbers stories (Marsha Johnson inspired, along with some Alan Whitehead reading et al).
We recently acquired the Waldorf Alphabet book. It has different styles of the letter (lower case/upper case and variants on font for the lower case) on one side and a picture on the other side showing a number of different things that all start with the same letter. Springy likes looking at it in bed. She also loves the Usborne 1001 things to spot... books.
We did some nice paintings with colour based on the Earthschooling May block (e.g. the Rainbow Cat) and I can see she has much more brush control than last year.
Her singing is lovely - she sings songs all around the house and is happy to sing Happy Birthday to relatives and friends without being self-conscious about it.
We've not done much in terms of setting things down on paper so far. I wanted to start this newer phase in her education in a very gentle and oral/aural way, rather than displaying stuff (I think a lot of stuff that is done in schools is for the benefit of the teachers to prove to the parent that a child is doing something - so this is something I feel we can relax on as home educators).
In terms of reading - we have some delightful seasonal readers from Michael Hall school:
http://www.michael-hall.co.uk/files/uplink/sample_story.pdf
Springy likes reading picture books (we get lots out from the library) and we've been quite fortunate to find some French picture books with fairytales such as Puss in Boots that she seems to be looking at (our place is full of books - we have more books than shelving so books tend to be left around, against walls etc).
Springy is now swimming well, she can pedal and I reckon if we could just find the device to get the stabilisers off she would be not far off riding her bicycle herself. Yesterday we visited the seaside and Springy has a body board - she was so happy in the sea (she had on her wetsuit and swimming hat to protect her from salt and sun!). The tide was coming in so I felt much safer as she went off with her daddy a good 10 metres out.
She lost her 2 lower incisors and her top 2 incisors have been very wobbly for ages. Her rear molars have come in. Her baby dimples have transformed into knuckles and she has started to skip rope with both legs together.
She can read really well. Her spelling and writing is another matter, although she can write very small and beautifully if I write out things for her to copy.
She can work out some basic maths - divide, addition and subtraction with numbers under 20. She can count in tens to 100 and count up to 100 backwards and forwards. She understands odds and evens and has enjoyed our Quality of Numbers stories (Marsha Johnson inspired, along with some Alan Whitehead reading et al).
We recently acquired the Waldorf Alphabet book. It has different styles of the letter (lower case/upper case and variants on font for the lower case) on one side and a picture on the other side showing a number of different things that all start with the same letter. Springy likes looking at it in bed. She also loves the Usborne 1001 things to spot... books.
We did some nice paintings with colour based on the Earthschooling May block (e.g. the Rainbow Cat) and I can see she has much more brush control than last year.
Her singing is lovely - she sings songs all around the house and is happy to sing Happy Birthday to relatives and friends without being self-conscious about it.
We've not done much in terms of setting things down on paper so far. I wanted to start this newer phase in her education in a very gentle and oral/aural way, rather than displaying stuff (I think a lot of stuff that is done in schools is for the benefit of the teachers to prove to the parent that a child is doing something - so this is something I feel we can relax on as home educators).
In terms of reading - we have some delightful seasonal readers from Michael Hall school:
http://www.michael-hall.co.uk/files/uplink/sample_story.pdf
Springy likes reading picture books (we get lots out from the library) and we've been quite fortunate to find some French picture books with fairytales such as Puss in Boots that she seems to be looking at (our place is full of books - we have more books than shelving so books tend to be left around, against walls etc).
Monday, 2 June 2008
Faery Tales and RPGs
I am ever so happy tonight. Springy played her first RPG and it is a really sweet and gentle game. D&D is very much combat based and does have a level of violence which is not so easy to avoid without a lot of tweaking. However, Faery Tale Deluxe has been designed with children and non-violence in mind and is available from Green Ronin publishers:
http://www.greenronin.com
We played Jack and The Beanstalk whereby Springy played the part of a Brownie, along with her squirrel companion and they headed up the beanstalk to rescue Jack. The game is non-violent and is ever so simple. The attributes of each faery character are Mind, Body and Spirit and then each type of faery has different gifts. For instance, Brownies have Invisibility and Household Tasks (so they can churn butter, sweep the hearth etc with ease). Springy loved this and it was a great way to have fun and learn. The feats are based on getting even numbers on the dice (or you could do it without dice). What was so good was getting it as an e-book PDF which meant not having to wait for it to ship.
http://www.greenronin.com
We played Jack and The Beanstalk whereby Springy played the part of a Brownie, along with her squirrel companion and they headed up the beanstalk to rescue Jack. The game is non-violent and is ever so simple. The attributes of each faery character are Mind, Body and Spirit and then each type of faery has different gifts. For instance, Brownies have Invisibility and Household Tasks (so they can churn butter, sweep the hearth etc with ease). Springy loved this and it was a great way to have fun and learn. The feats are based on getting even numbers on the dice (or you could do it without dice). What was so good was getting it as an e-book PDF which meant not having to wait for it to ship.
Friday, 30 May 2008
Drawing and Form Drawing
This is a very useful article on drawing at the Waldorf Library:
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/drawing.pdf
Today we got up, had porridge for breakfast and Springy went outside straight afterwards and found a pill millipede which she put on her hand, with the hope that it would uncurl and move. It didn't so she went a bit later to watch her wren's nest. She noticed that all the moss in the wren's nest had been pulled out but didn't tell me until this afternoon and it looks like the stoat has been there, taken all the babies and destroyed the nest. There is a stoat poo underneath the nest and we'd seen the stoat yesterday evening going through the flower bed. Springy was upset but we said that that is nature because the stoat has babies to feed too.
We went to the duck pond later and Springy saw some beautiful little ducklings. She was feeding them and they came very close and she was able to reach out and touch them several times which made her really pleased (she got very grubby knees from leaning over). It turns out that our own Mrs Duck is nesting next door to us now - hooray! We hope that she is well hidden and that her babies will hatch soon.
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/drawing.pdf
Today we got up, had porridge for breakfast and Springy went outside straight afterwards and found a pill millipede which she put on her hand, with the hope that it would uncurl and move. It didn't so she went a bit later to watch her wren's nest. She noticed that all the moss in the wren's nest had been pulled out but didn't tell me until this afternoon and it looks like the stoat has been there, taken all the babies and destroyed the nest. There is a stoat poo underneath the nest and we'd seen the stoat yesterday evening going through the flower bed. Springy was upset but we said that that is nature because the stoat has babies to feed too.
We went to the duck pond later and Springy saw some beautiful little ducklings. She was feeding them and they came very close and she was able to reach out and touch them several times which made her really pleased (she got very grubby knees from leaning over). It turns out that our own Mrs Duck is nesting next door to us now - hooray! We hope that she is well hidden and that her babies will hatch soon.
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Waldorf Veil Painting and Needle Felting
This seems to be a fascinating site on Waldorf art for the older classes:
http://www.outofthecolor.com/index.html
Also, this link was given out today on needle felting:
http://www.kimchatel.com/Felt_Album.html
I've ordered the book on rainbow sheep because it looks really sweet and I know Springy will love it.
http://www.outofthecolor.com/index.html
Also, this link was given out today on needle felting:
http://www.kimchatel.com/Felt_Album.html
I've ordered the book on rainbow sheep because it looks really sweet and I know Springy will love it.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Practical and Conversational Learning
I find myself noticing that so much of our learning is informal, through practical, everyday situations arising which either leads to the acquisition of knowledge through necessity or through conversation. For example, Springy has known about the o'clocks of time for quite a while because she hears both C and I discuss what time we are leaving for somewhere or what time a meal is. She now has an awareness of half past and over the weekend started to ask about quarter past and quarter to. I don't tend to go into long explanations but when there is an indication that she is interested in something then I make the effort to engage with that. So now instead of saying it's nearly 8 o'clock and therefore you can longer eat at this time before bed I have started to say it's quarter to 8 (or nearly or just gone quarter to 8). That way, when she's ready it will just slip into her knowledge base.
We had the same today. We were shopping and I did a price comparison on some food and rather than overload her with the details I pointed out that I was finding out which one was cheaper by using maths and showed her the label. I didn't explain any further than that but the idea has been encountered.
I haven't listed all that we have in our garden in terms of fruit and vegetables. I tend to grow small quantities - to me the experience of knowing where food comes from, how to care for plants etc is a very important part of home education but I'm certainly not an expert gardener. Our raspberry canes look good this year (nettle mulch seems to have helped), we seem to have a lot of strawberries again, two blueberry bushes, a gooseberry bush (which isn't doing well - I need to move it), redcurrant bush (it looks like some little birdies have devoured the unripe currants because there were a lot), some dwarf runner beans, several varieties of potato (courtesy of the British Potato Council), leaf beet, tomato vines and courgette plant and lots of herbs (comfrey, nettles, dandelions, sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, mints) and edible flowers such as calendula, carnations, and roses. We garden without pesticides and I like to companion plant. We often lose our crops to other lifeforms and I try not to mind sharing.
We had the same today. We were shopping and I did a price comparison on some food and rather than overload her with the details I pointed out that I was finding out which one was cheaper by using maths and showed her the label. I didn't explain any further than that but the idea has been encountered.
I haven't listed all that we have in our garden in terms of fruit and vegetables. I tend to grow small quantities - to me the experience of knowing where food comes from, how to care for plants etc is a very important part of home education but I'm certainly not an expert gardener. Our raspberry canes look good this year (nettle mulch seems to have helped), we seem to have a lot of strawberries again, two blueberry bushes, a gooseberry bush (which isn't doing well - I need to move it), redcurrant bush (it looks like some little birdies have devoured the unripe currants because there were a lot), some dwarf runner beans, several varieties of potato (courtesy of the British Potato Council), leaf beet, tomato vines and courgette plant and lots of herbs (comfrey, nettles, dandelions, sage, rosemary, thyme, lavender, mints) and edible flowers such as calendula, carnations, and roses. We garden without pesticides and I like to companion plant. We often lose our crops to other lifeforms and I try not to mind sharing.
Re: Looking for lost things
Springy has been hilarious this weekend. She's really into telling jokes at the moment - at first they were not funny e.g. Why did the rabbit cross the road? Because it left it's car there! but she's slowly adding in more funny ones, the traditional jokes of childhood that I remember. For instance, she has been telling her Grandpa "Will you remember me in a day? ...a week? ...a month? ...a year?" to which Grandpa responds Yes and then Springy does the "Knock, knock" and Grandpa responds with "Who's there?" ...see you forgot me already... I also taught her a new one today which was to do a gulping noise with your throat and ask what bird is it. It's a swallow!
As I'm typing this Springy is playing before bedtime and the sky is a beautiful lilac, pink and orange colour. I'm hoping that means "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight" and that tomorrow will be a glorious day.
C lost his voice to laryngitis this weekend and Springy wondered whether he had lost his voice under his side of the bed. It was so sweet to hear her say this.
In our garden we have a wren's nest in the ivy. Springy has been watching the parent birds go in and out, bringing food to their chicks. The chicks seem to consist of large beaks, either in closed or open mode. The goldfinches have been fabulous this year - they are like clockwork birds at times with their funny little dances. We also have a baby wood pigeon who is now a fledgling but is still being cared for by her parents. Many of the birds seem to have no fear of Springy.
Springy has been watching the bees on the comfrey and in the foxgloves too. I told her to listen to the bees when they go in the foxglove because the buzzing noise makes more of a ringing sound. It is no wonder that foxgloves are considered fairy flowers in folklore.
This morning's maths lesson was about division. We had iced gem biscuits (a rare event) on a plate and I asked Springy to divide them between her, me and 2 toy dogs.
As I'm typing this Springy is playing before bedtime and the sky is a beautiful lilac, pink and orange colour. I'm hoping that means "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight" and that tomorrow will be a glorious day.
C lost his voice to laryngitis this weekend and Springy wondered whether he had lost his voice under his side of the bed. It was so sweet to hear her say this.
In our garden we have a wren's nest in the ivy. Springy has been watching the parent birds go in and out, bringing food to their chicks. The chicks seem to consist of large beaks, either in closed or open mode. The goldfinches have been fabulous this year - they are like clockwork birds at times with their funny little dances. We also have a baby wood pigeon who is now a fledgling but is still being cared for by her parents. Many of the birds seem to have no fear of Springy.
Springy has been watching the bees on the comfrey and in the foxgloves too. I told her to listen to the bees when they go in the foxglove because the buzzing noise makes more of a ringing sound. It is no wonder that foxgloves are considered fairy flowers in folklore.
This morning's maths lesson was about division. We had iced gem biscuits (a rare event) on a plate and I asked Springy to divide them between her, me and 2 toy dogs.
Saturday, 24 May 2008
Eurovision
We watched the Eurovision tonight which is mainly bland Europop but there is nevertheless something compelling about it. We have an Usborne Flags sticker book and Springy, her daddy and I worked together to find the flags for each country of the Eurovision song contest and stuck them on the appropriate page. Springy managed to work through the index with the country name, found the page number and then looked at the flag and then found the sticker which went over it. It was really fun doing this (especially since some of the songs were dreadful).
Springy also keeps asking about odd and even numbers and checking numbers that she thinks are odd or even with me. She's got the hang of it and has worked out the pattern.
I've started to read this article (about Steiner early childhood education):
http://thesis.library.adelaide.edu.au/uploads/approved/adt-SUA20030411.095119/public/03chapter4-chapter10.pdf
Springy also keeps asking about odd and even numbers and checking numbers that she thinks are odd or even with me. She's got the hang of it and has worked out the pattern.
I've started to read this article (about Steiner early childhood education):
http://thesis.library.adelaide.edu.au/uploads/approved/adt-SUA20030411.095119/public/03chapter4-chapter10.pdf
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Currently reading...
We're currently having a read aloud of The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse by Ursula Moray... It seems very sweet so far.
I love sitting down with Springy and doing a chapter or two each day with her.
I love sitting down with Springy and doing a chapter or two each day with her.
Another walk
We had another nice walk today. We had our scooter with us (very helpful if springy gets tired because I can stick her on it and wheel her a little - and I can go on it as well if I get tired and she runs alongside). We found lots of different types of grasses in the hedgerows and the elderflowers are almost in bloom (some are already but not enough to make elderflower cordial from).
Mrs Duck seems to be ready to lay again (her suitors have disappeared).
Springy had a lovely time yesterday with a playdate she had. She and her friend are so similar in terms of what they like to play with and both have that very fine motor control aspect with toys (both seem to be very careful and gentle with "things"). They also both like running around together, playing on the swing, cartwheeling and so on. I hope it's a longlasting friendship.
It was much cooler today--cloudy with a dampness to the air. We could do with a little more rain as the garden needs it.
I can't wait for our Mayfair that we will be going to. There is supposed to be a Maypole -it's late in that Mayfairs are usually early in May but nevertheless I can't wait because I know Springy loves dancing.
We didn't have a good morning at first. i've been under loads of pressure from my mum to get Spring to read and write. She doesn't understand that Springy can read and enjoys it - the last thing I want to do is to force her or "teach" her reading because it would just put her off. Springy can write all her upper case letters but not the lower case ones and I ended up having a panic last night and decided that Springy should be able to write them. I tried to get Springy to write all her lower case letters this morning and we both had an awful time. C helped a lot and what he did was all right because it was more of a conversation about if she could write what would she be doing with it and this got her interested to write. Then he left and it was obvious that she didn't want to do any more. Instead I took her knitting fork (lucette) chain that she had made and made a sigmoid on the sitting room floor and I started jumping over it. Springy thought this was great and joined in and then we tried some other shapes - walking around, jumping over and so on. This was much more fun than a pencil and paper for her and by this afternoon I was doing my best to throw off the voice of "In school children can do this" and "She's behind on...."
I really hate those voices of doubt and negativity because I know that what we are doing works really well and is developmentally and cognitively more appropriate than anything Springy would get in school. It's really hard at times to be out on a limb; even amongst other home educators there seems to be a race for academics. I need to remind myself all the time to go with Springy's age, aptitude and ability and not some theoretical child in a school.
We got our gnomes out today and they stood near their felted garden with pond (Springy found a tiny piece of red wool on the carpet and put it in the pond as a goldfish) and had their wooden tree. Penny Plus found 18 stones and she needed help - a golden butterfly came along but said she could only carry equal amounts but over 2 journeys only. Daddy Divide came along and helped Springy share out how many stones needed to be in each pile for there to be equal ones.
We also covered 4 and 5 in terms of number qualities. Springy was hilarious with Eyes, nose, ears and mouth (all being on the head) and got fingers and toes for 5. We also did our Vitruvian Man shape as a star (using one of the Eugene Schwartz poems on Millennial Child). She loved doing that and that old lady has gone back to sleep again (thanks Marsha Johnson for your wonderful files!) with the question of what is 6...
Springy has been reading a Letterland book that we got at a jumble - it was one of those books I got and tucked away and then forgot and it was only when I was tidying our bookshelf that I rediscovered it and she straightaway latched on to it. She really likes it. She also enjoys reading Snow White and Rose Red.
It's very frustrating trying to find resources at the BBC website as they are all computer-based and cartoonlike. I wish there were more resources aimed at assisting parents and teachers in helping their own knowledge so that I can then filter before passing things on.
We've done some lovely paintings this week - wet-on-wet ones. I did one myself which looks like a butterfly (by accident).
I was also feeling a little overscheduled at the beginning of the week - we have 3 activities for Springy plus work commitments and so on. It was the work commitments that got to me and feeling overwhelmed by things and I just wanted to sit down, relax and do nothing at all but had to get Springy to these things. It was a good thing we did because we ended up with one of the social activities we go to going for a lovely 1.5 hour walk with the sun shining and a breeze, amongst hedgerows and with water, fields and so on. We had a picnic along the way and it was so pleasant to eat outside with simple food.
I'm starting to feel a little better from my "cold" (a mix between a cold and intolerance reactions to pollen etc). We need to get the violin going again. Springy can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all right on the piano now (and on her xylophone).
Mrs Duck seems to be ready to lay again (her suitors have disappeared).
Springy had a lovely time yesterday with a playdate she had. She and her friend are so similar in terms of what they like to play with and both have that very fine motor control aspect with toys (both seem to be very careful and gentle with "things"). They also both like running around together, playing on the swing, cartwheeling and so on. I hope it's a longlasting friendship.
It was much cooler today--cloudy with a dampness to the air. We could do with a little more rain as the garden needs it.
I can't wait for our Mayfair that we will be going to. There is supposed to be a Maypole -it's late in that Mayfairs are usually early in May but nevertheless I can't wait because I know Springy loves dancing.
We didn't have a good morning at first. i've been under loads of pressure from my mum to get Spring to read and write. She doesn't understand that Springy can read and enjoys it - the last thing I want to do is to force her or "teach" her reading because it would just put her off. Springy can write all her upper case letters but not the lower case ones and I ended up having a panic last night and decided that Springy should be able to write them. I tried to get Springy to write all her lower case letters this morning and we both had an awful time. C helped a lot and what he did was all right because it was more of a conversation about if she could write what would she be doing with it and this got her interested to write. Then he left and it was obvious that she didn't want to do any more. Instead I took her knitting fork (lucette) chain that she had made and made a sigmoid on the sitting room floor and I started jumping over it. Springy thought this was great and joined in and then we tried some other shapes - walking around, jumping over and so on. This was much more fun than a pencil and paper for her and by this afternoon I was doing my best to throw off the voice of "In school children can do this" and "She's behind on...."
I really hate those voices of doubt and negativity because I know that what we are doing works really well and is developmentally and cognitively more appropriate than anything Springy would get in school. It's really hard at times to be out on a limb; even amongst other home educators there seems to be a race for academics. I need to remind myself all the time to go with Springy's age, aptitude and ability and not some theoretical child in a school.
We got our gnomes out today and they stood near their felted garden with pond (Springy found a tiny piece of red wool on the carpet and put it in the pond as a goldfish) and had their wooden tree. Penny Plus found 18 stones and she needed help - a golden butterfly came along but said she could only carry equal amounts but over 2 journeys only. Daddy Divide came along and helped Springy share out how many stones needed to be in each pile for there to be equal ones.
We also covered 4 and 5 in terms of number qualities. Springy was hilarious with Eyes, nose, ears and mouth (all being on the head) and got fingers and toes for 5. We also did our Vitruvian Man shape as a star (using one of the Eugene Schwartz poems on Millennial Child). She loved doing that and that old lady has gone back to sleep again (thanks Marsha Johnson for your wonderful files!) with the question of what is 6...
Springy has been reading a Letterland book that we got at a jumble - it was one of those books I got and tucked away and then forgot and it was only when I was tidying our bookshelf that I rediscovered it and she straightaway latched on to it. She really likes it. She also enjoys reading Snow White and Rose Red.
It's very frustrating trying to find resources at the BBC website as they are all computer-based and cartoonlike. I wish there were more resources aimed at assisting parents and teachers in helping their own knowledge so that I can then filter before passing things on.
We've done some lovely paintings this week - wet-on-wet ones. I did one myself which looks like a butterfly (by accident).
I was also feeling a little overscheduled at the beginning of the week - we have 3 activities for Springy plus work commitments and so on. It was the work commitments that got to me and feeling overwhelmed by things and I just wanted to sit down, relax and do nothing at all but had to get Springy to these things. It was a good thing we did because we ended up with one of the social activities we go to going for a lovely 1.5 hour walk with the sun shining and a breeze, amongst hedgerows and with water, fields and so on. We had a picnic along the way and it was so pleasant to eat outside with simple food.
I'm starting to feel a little better from my "cold" (a mix between a cold and intolerance reactions to pollen etc). We need to get the violin going again. Springy can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all right on the piano now (and on her xylophone).
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Kittens and windy washing days
Springy saw a kitten earlier on today which really kept her pleased. It's a gorgeous day today - more of a north-easterly wind is blowing though which means it is quite gusty (great for washing duvet insides).
We read a story about counting to ten (from www.waldorfschoolonline.com) and Springy loved the twist (in brief a King wants to marry off his daughter but only to the wisest - a group of suitors arrives, mostly with brawn rather than brains in order to take up his challenge which is to throw the spear so far and hard that they can count to ten... The wimpiest but kindest suitor throws the spear and counts in twos to ten).
The sweet woodruff has started to poke its little white bouquet of flowers out from their green star ruffs - the scent is a delight.
We read a story about counting to ten (from www.waldorfschoolonline.com) and Springy loved the twist (in brief a King wants to marry off his daughter but only to the wisest - a group of suitors arrives, mostly with brawn rather than brains in order to take up his challenge which is to throw the spear so far and hard that they can count to ten... The wimpiest but kindest suitor throws the spear and counts in twos to ten).
The sweet woodruff has started to poke its little white bouquet of flowers out from their green star ruffs - the scent is a delight.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Butter and bicycles
Today Springy and I heard some more from Rumer Godden's The Dolls House. Marchpane is causing a lot of trouble for Tottie and her family. We're nearly at the end.
Springy also heard more from Mummies in the Morning - the third book in The Magic Treehouse series. I like the stories but have to say that the author needs some writing lessons to learn how to write proper sentences.
This afternoon we baked some chocolate chip biscuits and then we made some of our own butter in a small kilner jar. I have some lovely milk that is very rich; it's made from Jersey and Guernsey cow milk. We poured off the top cream and dolloped it into a kilner jar. Springy and I took turns in shaking it and it wasn't long before we had some golden butter and a small quantity of buttermilk to drink. I'm hoping that when we go strawberry picking we can do this again and use the buttermilk in the recipe for scones and then have strawberries, scones, butter and cream - yummy!
This afternoon we went for a bicycle ride (well I went on my scooter since I don't have a bicycle). It was so warm today - the breeze was from the East and I managed to do two loads of washing as well as some orders that needed sending off.
My cold is improving but I still have tonsilitis and pharyngitis. My left ear still feels strange too. Yesterday I had some sage tea as well as a steam inhalation.
I forgot to write an update on the duck situation. We get mugged every day by the three ducks. Mrs Duck escaped from the fox but has abandoned her nest. This resulted in her being courted again and her regular white-breasted suitor and another male have been hanging around with her. We gave up incubating the duck eggs (I'm sure I posted on this but can't find it).
Springy also heard more from Mummies in the Morning - the third book in The Magic Treehouse series. I like the stories but have to say that the author needs some writing lessons to learn how to write proper sentences.
This afternoon we baked some chocolate chip biscuits and then we made some of our own butter in a small kilner jar. I have some lovely milk that is very rich; it's made from Jersey and Guernsey cow milk. We poured off the top cream and dolloped it into a kilner jar. Springy and I took turns in shaking it and it wasn't long before we had some golden butter and a small quantity of buttermilk to drink. I'm hoping that when we go strawberry picking we can do this again and use the buttermilk in the recipe for scones and then have strawberries, scones, butter and cream - yummy!
This afternoon we went for a bicycle ride (well I went on my scooter since I don't have a bicycle). It was so warm today - the breeze was from the East and I managed to do two loads of washing as well as some orders that needed sending off.
My cold is improving but I still have tonsilitis and pharyngitis. My left ear still feels strange too. Yesterday I had some sage tea as well as a steam inhalation.
I forgot to write an update on the duck situation. We get mugged every day by the three ducks. Mrs Duck escaped from the fox but has abandoned her nest. This resulted in her being courted again and her regular white-breasted suitor and another male have been hanging around with her. We gave up incubating the duck eggs (I'm sure I posted on this but can't find it).
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
A horrid cold
My last cycle really depleted me and I feel anaemic and rundown with this cold which I have had for a week now. C has taken Springy out to the beach today which means I am having a day off. I really need it. I've been reading every day to her but my voice is on the verge of packing up and at night I seem to be coughing all the time (which has meant a general lack of sleep).
I have a new coughdrop mixture to take - ground up calendula petals. They seem to be quite soothing and I'm about to do another steam inhalation.
At the moment I am falling behind with the plans I had. Saying that we have been doing the quality of numbers for 1 through to 4 so far.
Springy heard a story about a little girl called Springy (based on Marsha Johnson's files) who followed a rabbit in her garden to a hole and then fell through it (Alice in Wonderland). At the bottom (soft landing) was an unknown land and a hill with a door set into it. An old lady was the guardian to the door and she has questions to ask. For example, she asks "What is there one of?" and then falls asleep again. We've been working with it orally so far rather than doing anything written but Springy has been reeling off that there is:
one of herself,
one of the sun,
one of me,
one of the moon,
one of the Earth and so on. One is circular and so a circle is for me the shape of one and the old lady let Springy know this. I also mentioned in brief that the Romans wrote their numbers in a different way and held up one finger and showed her on our mini chalkboard what that would look like written down: I
When the Springy in the story gave the old lady the answer she woke up and asked the next question, "What is there two of?". Again, the lady fell asleep and I left it to Springy. Springy came out with:
Mummy and daddy
Night and day
sun and moon
my arms, my legs, my hands, my eyes
and we added things in (via the old lady in the story) like a line goes from here to there so a line is the "shape" of two and also did the same with the Roman numeral of II.
For three, Springy came out with:
You, me and daddy
The old lady informed Springy of the triangle (and we were in the car at the time and went past some road triangle warning signs and a roof side so Springy was able to spot them) and then the old lady (as me) showed her three fingers and so the Roman numeral III.
Yesterday, I told Springy the next bit of the story and the old lady's question was "What is there four of?".
(I realise there is some deviation from the way this would be covered in a school but even Steiner knew the value of being economical with things that children already knew and Springy does know her numbers already, although the qualities for the numbers coming up until 12 will be more difficult for her).
I have a new coughdrop mixture to take - ground up calendula petals. They seem to be quite soothing and I'm about to do another steam inhalation.
At the moment I am falling behind with the plans I had. Saying that we have been doing the quality of numbers for 1 through to 4 so far.
Springy heard a story about a little girl called Springy (based on Marsha Johnson's files) who followed a rabbit in her garden to a hole and then fell through it (Alice in Wonderland). At the bottom (soft landing) was an unknown land and a hill with a door set into it. An old lady was the guardian to the door and she has questions to ask. For example, she asks "What is there one of?" and then falls asleep again. We've been working with it orally so far rather than doing anything written but Springy has been reeling off that there is:
one of herself,
one of the sun,
one of me,
one of the moon,
one of the Earth and so on. One is circular and so a circle is for me the shape of one and the old lady let Springy know this. I also mentioned in brief that the Romans wrote their numbers in a different way and held up one finger and showed her on our mini chalkboard what that would look like written down: I
When the Springy in the story gave the old lady the answer she woke up and asked the next question, "What is there two of?". Again, the lady fell asleep and I left it to Springy. Springy came out with:
Mummy and daddy
Night and day
sun and moon
my arms, my legs, my hands, my eyes
and we added things in (via the old lady in the story) like a line goes from here to there so a line is the "shape" of two and also did the same with the Roman numeral of II.
For three, Springy came out with:
You, me and daddy
The old lady informed Springy of the triangle (and we were in the car at the time and went past some road triangle warning signs and a roof side so Springy was able to spot them) and then the old lady (as me) showed her three fingers and so the Roman numeral III.
Yesterday, I told Springy the next bit of the story and the old lady's question was "What is there four of?".
(I realise there is some deviation from the way this would be covered in a school but even Steiner knew the value of being economical with things that children already knew and Springy does know her numbers already, although the qualities for the numbers coming up until 12 will be more difficult for her).
Friday, 2 May 2008
It's May
I was really ill last night. I have a cold and as the evening went on my ear got worse and worse. As a child I used to have lots of earache and would be dosed up on antibiotics (I'm now allergic to most antibiotics). It took me back. I used to scream and cry. Last night I cried and cried because the pain was so unbearable. My husband gave me some paracetamol and Ibuprofen to counteract it but neither worked (my limbs felt great though). In the end I went downstairs (dizzy as well) and crushed some garlic and stuck that in my ear. I felt it start to work - it burns but garlic has antimicrobial and anti-viral properties. My husband helped with some olive oil in my ear (took the edge off the garlic) and this morning I'm feeling loads better.
Anyway, the last few days we have been reading chapters from The Dolls House by Rumer Godden. We've been feeding the ducks who beg at our door for bread. Springy and C went on a bike ride yesterday afternoon whilst I did some work. We went shopping several times yesterday and this past week I knitted my daughter a guineapig.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25250744@N06/2438489679/
Anyway, the last few days we have been reading chapters from The Dolls House by Rumer Godden. We've been feeding the ducks who beg at our door for bread. Springy and C went on a bike ride yesterday afternoon whilst I did some work. We went shopping several times yesterday and this past week I knitted my daughter a guineapig.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25250744@N06/2438489679/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)