St Nikolaus poem

1. Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt,
Bald kommt die frohe, selige Zeit.
Weihnacht, Weihnacht ist nicht mehr weit.

2.
Der Schnee, der Schnee kommt von der Höh',
Draußen im Wald der Tannenbaum
Träumt schon seinen Weihnachtstraum.

3.
Und huckepack mit seinem Sack
Geht nun bald von Haus zu Haus
Der gute alte Nikolaus.

Happy 10th Birthday

‎10 years ago today a certain Springy was born at 1.30 a.m. She whooshed out and looked like a little bunny rabbit baby. I was shaking so much with exertion that I couldn't hold her myself so our midwives and C took it in her turns to hold her to me, wrapped in a towel, so I could start to feed her. She was very little, at around 6lbs, and kept falling asleep. I ate a huge box of chocolates that C had got for me (oblivious to the fact caffeine goes through breastmilk and also that eating them at that time in the morning was not so great for me either but I was very hungry). And she pooped shortly after her birth and I had my first moment of "Oh no, that's what they do...!". :) So Happy 10th Birthday Springy.

Sinter Klaas

St Nicholas visited our house last night. Springy cleaned her shoes and she found a mandarin orange and a little poster on yoga in them this morning.  My  parents also arrived late afternoon.  It was the first time they have both seen her on her birthday (on the 8th) and they retired earlier this year which freed them to come along.  They brought Lebkuchen including a St Nikolaus one and Krampus (who is a rather scary figure from Austrian folklore!).

Napoleon

I've been dealing with the Local Authority for several months now, not a on a personal level but on a philosophical principle basis.  They have been able to access funding which could benefit older home education but until recently have sought to avoid accessing it.  Anyway, I approached the political hierarchy instead and they agreed.  It's been a rather interesting foray into the world of Government (yet again).

Dealing with the Government is weird. It's not based on common sense at all and it's extremely irritating. You can have all the law of the land laid out in front of you against someone  but the civil service will not back you up, even though they can tell you the information you have is correct on a factual basis.  The LA seems to have made it a criteria that if you want funding for your child in effect to leave home education and go to college, then you will need to have been registered with them for at least a year and under their scrutiny.  So now we're fighting this little piece of ultra vires caveat. I can understand that the LA need advanced notice in order to upfront the funding but there is a huge difference between a notification of interest and registration.  The rules they sent back also imply that they will want to scrutinise you and your child's education and abilities before they will fund.  Again, this is something they have no right to do - yes, I agree that both a college and a family should meet and interview, present a portfolio, discuss the involvement and responsibilities of the learner for the course.  None of this, however, should be down to the LA.

I do keep reports and notes etc but I'd rather share them with friends and family. I would also hate it if we had to do what teachers do as it would kill the spontaneity of home ed. Today for instance we discussed decomposition and mortuary gases on our walk because there is a myxomatosis outbreak in the area, with lots of dead bunnies lying about (sadly). We also talked about post-war farming and large scale agriculture (it came off the back of the discussion of the virus) and then discussed how raptors had been affected and why red kites numbers had fallen years back due to poisoning. Springy also made a pineapple, almond milk and fresh picked raspberries from the garden smoothie with her dad. I love that not having to plan every last detail towards some kind of tickbox approach. That said we are partially structured too but it would be soul destroying to work from 9 to 3 with a term plan etc.

 A few nights ago I read Animal Farm by George Orwell.  I highly recommend this book as a reminder as to why it is good to remind oneself to note one's own memories and trust in your own ability to work with democracy. It's been a few years since I last read it; the first time was when I encountered is as one of my set texts on my degree.

 This week has also seen us work on our German.  I'm starting a Certificate in German in a few weeks - I can't wait because I'm hoping at the end of it I will a) be able to teach Springy really well (and during the course too) and b) that I will be able to read German Waldorf websites and craft magazines/books.

We also have done a little bit on apostrophes and how they show an omission.  The one we really struggled with was I had - I'd because it's one we realised that we never say.  We say I'd for I would  and we often shorten she is to she's and do not to don't and many of the others but not I had.  I also got out the Yoga Pretzels cards - great fun.  Springy did the Turtle, the Fish and a few other yoga moves.

Gelb is alles was ich hab!

Gelb, gelb, gelb sind alle meine Kleider, Gelb, gelb, gelb ist alles, was ich hab. Darum lieb ich alles, was so gelb ist, Weil mein Schatz ein Obsthändler ist...

We made this up this morning based on a traditional German/Austrian children's song which has grün (green) as the colour rather than gelb (yellow). :)

Best in Show

Last week our dog Lily won Best in Show at a local pet show.  Yesterday she also won a Third Prize for Novelty Class, Child Handler.  Springy was her handler and it always amazes me how good Springy is with animals.  I hope that this will somehow be a passion that she takes into her adulthood.  I'm hopeful in many ways that her future career will involve animals and psychology, perhaps as a trainer for the police or for dog charities.  We were informed yesterday by some dog obedience teachers that Springy is a natural and that was a really good reinforcement.  University is a long way off but I'm hoping that animal sciences - zoology or biological sciences will be subjects that she wishes to study.  At the same time, I'm trying to be careful not to live my own dreams through her.

Springy's cursive writing has improved considerably this summer.  I sent her for a couple of tutorials with a tutor who is a school teacher.  However, it was Springy telling me, "Mummy, do you know why my writing improved? ... because I decided!"

We had a lovely day today.  It was sunny and warm. We went to an outdoor place for a walk and took two of Springy's friends along.  They were telling scary stories to each other (Halloween seems to be early!).  We found walnuts, beech mast and hazelnuts on our walk.   There were some adorable pigs in the woods - a mummy and 5 piglets.  She was a Tamworth - so they were all a beautiful bronze colour.  I always imagine that the reason there are legends of golden pigs is because in the sun, their bristles glint away.  I am so glad to be vegetarian:  they were skipping and running about and when we threw some beech mast in for them they ran away to their mother.  They were adorable babies and to think of them as sausages makes me so sad.

Michaelmas Story

The Story of the Harvest Loaf.

Once there was a fair and beautiful land. The people were happy and busy and their faces shone as they worked and the whole land glowed with a bright light. But a time came when darkness fell upon the land, for through its valleys writhed a mighty dragon, foaming and lashing its tail. It was not long before he laid everything to waste and disappeared to his cave, leaving the country barren and frozen hard with ice. All the people were frozen too. Now the Archangel Michael looked down from the heavens to this sad and frozen land, and his heart was full of compassion for its people. He stretched forth his right hand, plucked a handful of stars from the heavens and flung them down to the earth. With his left hand he gathered sungold from the sky and sent that, too, on a journey to the earth. When the stars reached the earth they became lumps of iron, and entered deep into the earth. When the sungold reached the earth the ice was melted and men once more felt the blood warming their limbs. Then the people began to work. The farmers ploughed the lands and sowed seeds. The iron in the earth gave strength to the crop as it grew, and soon the grain was ripening on tall, straight stems. When autumn came Archangel Michael spoke to the farmers. “Harvest the good grain, grind it into flour. Mix a dough and knead it well. Bake it in the oven. Place it in the middle of your table and share it with family and friends. For this will be the harvest loaf: each slice that is cut in friendship will warm your hearts and each slice that is eaten will give strength and power to overcome the dragon” This the farmers did, and when the Harvest Loaf was placed on the table, they sang this song:

“Earth who gives to us this food
Sun and stars who made it good
Dearest Earth and Stars and Sun
We will remember what you have done”

(adapted from a Waldorf story - unknown author)

Chocolate and Beetroot Cake

2 cups SR flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup cocoa 2 tsp grated orange rind 1/4 cup orange juice 2 eggs 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup cooked grated beetroot 200g chocolate chips

Scrub clean and steam the beetroot. Leave to cool and then grate both skin as well as flesh. Mix SR flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa and set aside (dry mix). Beat  eggs and sugar together until fluffy. Add the oil, orange peel, juice and beetroot. Beat well. Stir in the dry ingredients, just enough to blend.  Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Turn into a prepared cake tin and bake at 180 degrees C for 40-45 minutes until done. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to cool. Dust with icing sugar or ice with chocolate icing. Butternut Bake 1 medium size butternut squash 250ml single cream grated cheese (cheddar works well) yoghurt (optional) sprinkle of nutmeg Peel, seed and chop butternut rings into quarters (keep seeds aside to roast in salt and olive oil) Place squash in an ovenproof dish. Pour over the cream or  a 50/50 mix of cream and yoghurt. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cover with grated cheese. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 45 min or until butternut is cooked through and cheese has melted. Fruit Cake Ingredients 250g chopped dates 300ml water 85g plain flour 85g wholemeal flour 3tsp baking powder 1tsp ground mixed spice 50g ground almonds 500g dried mixed fruit 80ml orange juice Method 1. Boil up dates with water and then cool. 2. Sieve dry ingredients together - the flours, baking powder and mixed spice. 3. Add almonds, dried fruit, date mixture and juice. 4. Mix well. 5. Pour into greased baking tin and bake for 45 mins at 170 deg C. Christmas Ring Ingredients 50g butter 2Tbsp olive oil 1 large red onion, chopped 1 large leek, trimmed and finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed 500g cooked, peeled chestnuts 225g fresh cranberries 140g millet flakes or bread crumbs 15g fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped 2Tbsp fresh thyme 2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 3 medium eggs, beaten 550g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and grated (300g grated weight) 100g soft goats cheese (optional) Method 1. Line a 2-pint ring mould with baking parchment and brush with oil. Preheat oven. 2. Heat half the butter and 1Tbsp oil in a large frying pan; gently fry the onion; leeks and garlic until softened. Place the chestnuts in a food processor until most is finely chopped, but a few large pieces remain. 3. Transfer onion mixture to a mixing bowl. Return the pan to the heat and melt remaining butter and oil. Add the chestnuts and cook for 5 min until lightly browned. 4. Tip the chestnuts into the mixing bowl and stir in almost all the cranberries (saving some for decoration); the bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, rosemary, eggs, grated apple and plenty of seasoning. Mix well. Spoon half the mixture into the prepared mould, pressing it down with the back of a spoon. Dot with pieces of cheese, then cover with remaining mixture. 5. Bake for 40-45 min until lightly browned. Allow cooling in tin for 5 min. Loosen edges with a round bladed knife and turning out onto an oiled baking sheet. Discard baking parchment. 6. The ring can be refrigerated for up to 36 hours before its final baking. 7. On the day, preheat oven to 200°C. Bake for 40-45min. Remove from oven and slide onto a serving plate.

Fun Pet Show today

From downstairs comes the sound of the hairdryer. Two bold adventurers have sought to bathe the beast and take her to a pet show this afternoon.  Martha our guineapig won First Prize for the guineapig category (out of 4 piggies so not really a proper competition). Lily won first prize for dogs (albeit there were only 2 dogs there) and Lily with Springy won Best in Show for the array of tricks such as sit, down, wash face, bless you (Lily sneezes), stand and beg. There were loads of very cute animals there including some very sweet hamsters and an adorable baby rabbit.

 Lily spent most of the time being very disinterested apart from when someone came to pat her, at which point she did her tummy thing. She didn't notice the cats which is just as well as she's scared of them.

 9th September 2011 - Tawny owl outside window - one of the best sounds of early autumn. :)

 

Frost Giants

This morning Springy was working on spellings (with pre-fixes and suffixes) and also she had a story by Reg Down on the lifecycle of salmon. Lots of play inbetween and then this afternoon we had a restful story time with Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. In all a satisfying day but the weather has most certainly changed. There is a definite feel of autumn about. The tractors have started ploughing up the fields; their chugging down the roads is comforting and yet a reminder that the evenings are drawing in and that the freedom of summer light is fast disappearing. The leaves on the cherry tree out the front look drooped and are about halfway to being fully tinged. The Michaelmas daisies are opening and in the sky there are grey to lavender clouds and a line of red to the west. It's apple season and the swallows were not about today. The sun has definitely passed from the brightness of Leo into the hands of the maiden.

http://www.tiptoes-lightly.net/storage/stories/the-salmon%27s-tale.pdf

23rd August 2011:  

Young Embroider's Guild was great. They did wet felting and then used pre-felts to sew on to the main piece. Springy did a sheep scene. Some of the ideas were so creative - the 2 pieces turned into handbags, the vase of flowers, flowers, poppy field, the autumn pears, the fish...

 18th August 2011:  

Springy just conducted an experiment. She cut a plastic drinks bottle up (with Daddy's help) and placed chicken grit in the funnel (which was the top half of bottle). Her hypothesis was that if she placed dirty, muddy water in the filter, the grit would either help filter the water or not filter the water

I love it when she comes up with spontaneous things. I did have to ask her not to drink it though (ick).

 

August 2011 so far...

Today we went blackberry picking, got some local apples and plums and then had a birthday lunch. Washing is out, hens are out, piggies are out and the 2 'baby piggy' hamsters are fast asleep and so is C.

The baby piggy hamsters are in fact just hamsters.  We're hamster sitting at the moment.

This morning I woke up to breakfast in bed (our little hen eggs scrambled and toast) and a hanging basket of flowers outside. C also got me a Motorhead t-shirt for my birthday. You're never too old to rock n' roll.

On Wednesday we went to our local outdoor museum. Springy and her friend had a great time doing skip rope jumps, playing jacks and talking through tin can telephones.  They also had a great time with soapwort and a bucket of water. I'm hoping to grow some. I also found out that the ground elder that I haven't poisoned (my garden is organic) is edible. I just thought it was animal fodder but the Romans used to have it as salad. If only a Roman legion would march through I could get them to eat it all.

Today we returned our Viking hoard to the museum.

I've been reading up a bit on some of the 'Viking' tax systems, especially under the Christian transfer, which resulted in some raids occurring on other villages/places. Basically you were told your tax bill by some official ruling author...ities which you couldn't pay, you then, in order to save your own village, had to go off and raid somewhere else to get the payment and you needed extra to build a church too. It had nothing to do with Christianity but some bright sparks realised that it was a very effective way of lining their own coffers.

Hamster at thevets

Snuggle went back to the vets today and was given an anti-parasite treatment. The vet understood my request not to do skin scrapes on her. I said she'd been through enough already - her skin looks red raw and she has scurfiness and so he treated her. He was really pleased with her recovery from wet tail. Also she has put on some weight.

Norse Myths and Man and Animal

I have to say that so far I'm really enjoying learning with these as our focus.  The Norse Myths have always been stories I enjoyed.  I love the capricious nature of Loki and the stubborness and honourable mix of the other deities.

We picked up a box on Tuesday of Viking replica artefacts from our local museum. There is a linen shift and a woolen tabard type thing. There is also a replica Thor's hammer pendant and a drinking horn. 

Today, in the oven are 2 fimo Thor's hammer Mjolnir pendants and a piece of very fetching turquoise fimo with the imprint of the Viking comb in it. We also had a bit more of our Norse Myths and earlier in the morning I read the chapter on seals from Charles Kovacs' book.

Yesterday I wrote "Fields have been harvested, chickens are out making lots of squawking noises and there is a tinge to the leaves that says Lammas has been."

Last week Springy got her dream.  She got a pet hamster called Snuggle.  It is unfortunate though that said hamster has been unwell with 'wet tail' and also seems to have skin mites!  However, I complained to the pet shop and their vet has been treating her. 

The activities I recommend other than listening, writing summaries out on the board and popping stuff in the MLB are:

- using a lucet/knitting fork to make braid (handwork)
- getting a Scandinavian recipe or two - e.g. cinnamon buns and maybe something on rye bread 
- discussing how the length of night and daytime differ in Scandinavian countries
- dressing up in a linen shift and wear a woollen over Viking tunic
- making a Thor's hammer with Fimo modelling clay or beeswax
- asking your nearest museum if they can help you with a box of replica artefacts
- looking at Viking patterns for braiding and bookwork (so either try and make them or draw them)
- Read some runes - make some puzzles up by writing messages in runes and get your child to work them out


With the Charles Kovacs book I'm reading directly out of it.  I find he has a jolly style that is engaging Springy really well.

July 2011

We went to Chatsworth House, Chester Zoo, the Legoland in the Trafford Centre and generally had a really good week holiday visiting family.  Chester Zoo was amazing as usual.  They have so many habitats.  Our favourite was probably the new African Painted Dogs enclosure.  The dogs are beautiful in terms of their colouring and the way they stand.  It was an excellent trip to coincide with Class 4 Man and Animal.  I must admit to not really getting the way this is presented in Waldorf schools.  However, as zoology it is interesting and Springy was able to see a wide variety of the wonderful creatures that inhabit our planet.

Legoland mini was fun.  We went three times on the laser ride and Springy had a good time in the play section, climbing nets and sliding.  Chatsworth House was also very interesting.  The house had an outstanding collection of native crystals such as Blue Johnstone and there were two very large crystals - amethyst and rock crystal.  We enjoyed the garden there too, especially the maze and the rock garden (and the weeping tree fountain).

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Our current read aloud is The Witches by Roald Dahl.  It seems to be tying in nicely with Class 4 Steiner Waldorf.  The grandma is Norwegian and the witches are very similar to trolls.  The little boy in it also is transformed into a mouse which ties in with Man and Animal.

1st Prize

Last weekend Springy won a few prizes.

She took part in her first Irish Dancing Feile (a competition). She was in the Novice section for under 10s and did just two dances but was placed First for her Reel and Third for her Light Jig. She did all of this without wearing make up or the pantomime wigs that seem to be a tasteless part of it too. We didn't realise that she had won and it was only because one of the other mums from the dance school we attend knew what was happening that she got there in time.  My legs went all wobbly with surprise and elation for her.  My parents were there and were so proud too (along with C).

We took home two trophies which are now standing on the bookcase (they're plastic but from a distance look good).

The last few weeks

June has been amazing so far.  We were not blessed with brilliant weather but our visitors were wonderful.  Springy's grandparents (my parents) came to stay nearby.  The first weekend Springy was on Cub Camp so C and I had a weekend to ourselves and my parents were able to settle into the holiday apartment they were staying at.  We invited them around for a homemade meal of carrot and coriander soup with oat bread.

On the Sunday my brother, his partner and their 6-month old son (my nephew) arrived at the apartment and Springy was collected from Cub Camp.  She stayed a number of nights over the past few weeks with her extended family and had a great time playing with her new cousin.  She chose clothes for him in the morning and helped to fetch things.

We also went to Portsmouth with my family.  We visited HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Museum.  We went up the Spinnaker Tower and also did a harbour boat tour.  

Missing my 5-year old

I sill miss my the one who would be a 5-year old by now.  I had 2 pregnancies but I only have 1 child.  I often wonder what my 5-year old would be like and think about what if he (I think it would have been a boy, don't know why, just instinct) would be here now in terms of our life.  For the first year after losing my pregnancy I couldn't go anywhere near babies.  There were people I knew who were pregnant around the same time and I could not be anywhere near their babies when they were born.  I didn't know how to tell them but it was too painful.  I switched off from holding babies.  It was like a switch to stop me breaking down.  I still think of the bleeding, the awful time in the hospital walking down that corridor and I don't know how mothers who have had stillborns or cot deaths etc cope at all.  I have a small part of my brain that creates an imaginary life where he stayed and is part of our family and I go all quantum and think of another life, another 'verse.

  I guess at some point you have to.  Last year was the first time I had managed to hold a very young child in all that time without feeling awkward about it.  I held a just toddler boy and he was so lovely and it was so healing to hold him.  I've got a nephew who was born last December.  We went to see him at Christmas and he's gorgeous.  He looks like a boy version of Springy.  He's been very healing and I held him.  I hadn't held a small baby before that and 2005 when our little one when back to the stars.
C hasn't really got over it either.  I know I'm not likely to have another child but I always hope.  C's health isn't as good (being almost 70) and I'm almost 40 with chronic anaemia so neither of us are safe to be parents in terms of wellbeing.  I would love to have another little person to care for, to be mother to.  I would love Springy to have a sister or brother as well but I can dream.  

Lunch and voting

Yesterday was local elections day.  Springy came with us to the polling station last night - I always think it's important for children to experience going to the voting station and we discussed how in some countries women can't vote and also sometimes you can't have choice between candidates.  She's been reading some of the Horrible Histories books from the library.  We've also been working through Junior English Book 1 from Galore Park.  I really think GP books are excellent value (got mine from Book Depository which was a good discount) but also contain a lot of what I would call the classical elements of a good foundation in education. 
  
Lunch today was homemade focaccia bread with bean, barley and tomato soup.  We've gone to being vegetarian for now.  It's based on ethical and health reasons.  I don't enjoy eating food that I'm friends with and also with our small budget we were buying some very cheap cuts of meat - not only is it disgusting to think of how the poor animals lived but I do not want Springy to have the cocktail of antibiotics, low--grade soya feed in her system.   

We're in a financial ditch at the moment.  We're having to shop for food and groceries on £40 per week between all three of us.  Somehow we manage but there is no spare and no luxury foods.  Soup mixes of beans and lentils are helpful overnight.  I've been baking bread from scratch (various types) as well. 

Art Class

Springy went to an art class today.  It's at a local outdoors education centre.  I thought her drawings were very good.  They showed a lot of detail.  The art tutors were surprised that she likes drawing in Biro (it's one of those things that annoyed me for a while - here I am buying beautiful Steiner art materials and she likes pen!).
 
Yesterday Springy had a bit of disappointment but was then quite philosophical about it all.  The pigeons attacked both her butternut squash seedlings so we won't be growing these this year. She did learn from it though as we discussed how hard it is for people who have to rely on their crops to feed themselves and their families.  She said she didn't mind the pigeons eating her seedings because they needed food more than her.

Fairs and latrines

We went to a local food fair. Met a re-enactment group and a man from there had specialised knowledge in medieval latrines and parasites - yay - great fun :) Springy had a great time sifting through a box of medieval latrine deposits that included a horn spoon, wooden dice and shells.  They were all genuine archaeological finds.

On Friday, 29th April we watched the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Katherine Middleton.  Springy was not overly interested apart from the horses. 

 

On 26th April we went to a local nature reserve with another home educating family.  We took some tape measures and a ball of string and went about measuring tree trunks.  Springy really likes the pond there.  It has loads of tadpoles and pond snails.  We also saw some juvenile newts.

Happy Easter and bluebells

Happy Easter. This morning we heard the first cuckoo of the season and also watched 2 hares run around the field (they must have been out delivering eggs). We had pink eggs waiting on the breakfast table from the Easter Hare.

 

On 20th April we went to see the local bluebell woods.   It was as if a very large magic carpet of blue was floating above the ground.

 On 18th April Springy was  building fairy boats with leaves and twigs in the garden (she has a lid of a propogator as the 'lake'). She also placed cherry blossoms in the water in case the fairies capsize their boat and used lemon balm leaves as the sails.

9th April -  we had a stunt plane fly over this afternoon. They often fly over the fields near us and over the sea (coming from local airfield). It can be a bit disconcerting when they do the snap roll and the engine cuts out and you see vapour trail and think it's smoke and wonder how "over the house" they are but great fun to watch the aerobatics. It was a red plane so it looked rather cool.

Hung out washing, mowed the lawn, dug out a load of ground elder, cherry tree has blossomed, violets are peeking out on front lawn, guineapigs out in their run nibbling away, hens out in garden grazing, went for a walk with Lily to local shingle beach and Springy has a Scout friend back here for a playdate - and the weather is beautiful blue sky and sunshine.

Ploughing

Springy did about ploughing in her MLB today and lo and behold outside in the field opposite the house the farmer turned up with his tractor and plough. We've now got a beautiful chocolate brown field with furrows through the window.

22nd March - Spring is in the air - skylarks over fields are doing their busy song, woodpecker was hammering a bit, crow was cawing, rook nests are in the tops of trees, and our robin pair kept going into the conifer tree with bits of moss and other assorted nest building material.

13th March - We've been carding more wool too. It's full of bits - bugs, straw, grass seed. However, we have quite a fluffy pile now so we're hoping to get the dye pot out later during the week and make some orange wool. :)

 

4th march - We've had sunshine all day today so we have been out in the garden...digging up ground elder (a bit like spaghetti with its roots - tangles everywhere) - clearing the ground making way for abundance in the summer (well that's the hope). :)

 

 

 

Botany and Pin Map Montessori stuff

http://ellenjmchenry.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/botanyfirstchapter.pdf



http://www.polestarmontessori.com/Pin_Map_Continents.pdf

Class Three links

English phonemes:

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/phon00.htm

Weights:

http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/units/oldunits/weight.htm

Class Three:
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Clearing%20House/Spring%201977a.pdf

Class Three Steiner blocks and lessons

We've done the Old Testament stories in relation to The Creation, the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden (which Springy thought was unfair), the tale of Noah and his Ark (and again Springy thought this was unfair against the animals who got left to drown), Joseph and His Coat and the story of Moses in the bulrushes.  We went to see the Tutankhamun exhibit at the Musuem of Museums in December which tied in to Egypt and Moses.

We're reading Farmer Boy as our read aloud (although 9-year change Springy doesn't like it).

Springy can manage knitting basic knit stitches but I need to find her a teacher because I'm not getting it through in the right way to her.  I also have a spinning contact (the same as the knitting tutor) who I hope can give her a lesson in spinning wool.  She's done weaving before and also is a member of the Embroidery Guild so has done some interesting projects through that.  I'd also like to get her going with crochet but again I'm limited in my own skills with it.

Our building was a willow dome.  We still need to find a yurt to look at.  We studied about igloos earlier in the autumn.

I still need to do more on weights and measures.

In relation to farming, we have some seed potatoes.  Money is tight as usual but I'm hoping to get a raised planter to have some carrots and leeks or salad crops this year.  I bought Springy a child-sized garden fork so she can dig up the back bed herself and turn it into her own vegetable patch (or flowers or herbs).  I hope to get a little garden rake and hoe as well for her (I noticed her enthusiasm when she played with some real but child-sized tools the other week).

February 2011

The history of weights and measures is complicated but really fascinating. We've not done much on measures other than walking around the house seeing how many thumbs etc it would take to measure the table and so on. Then we demonstrated h...ow having different people's fingers, thumbs, elbows and so on would be not much use in terms of consistency so we got out rules and tape measures to work with inches and centimetres. We've weighed each other and covered it in baking. However, I'm reading up on the history of weights pounds, ounces and so on and trying to decide whether to try and approach this again later on in the year (after I've understood it myself but I now know where the d came from in old money, at least I think I do).

The crowsfoot is starting to appear and there are some wild primroses. There were 2 skylarks singing away over their territories. I'm soaked because i had to wash Lily (and remind me never to feed her sweetcorn again!) and Violet the Pekin bantam (very froo froo feathers so she gets really dirty - like a feather duster).

22nd February - Springy and I had a great time at the Willow workshop. The morning was spent harvesting willow withies (well I mainly watched whilst Springy had a go). We then helped the group to plant some willow withies in the ground. Then it was lunch. We then helped build a willow dome and she had a great time doing some gardening (mainly digging soil) in the greenhouse (an industrial one).

 18th February - we had a lovely ML this morning. We sang our morning verse and then did a poem on Spring and a movement verse on horses. Springy then worked on nouns. After that I went to my yoga class and that wiped me out so I had an afternoon nap.

Yummy cinnamon rolls

http://rosehipsandspiderwebs.blogspot.com/2011/02/by-popular-demand.html

I hope to make these soon.

We've washed one bag of wool so far and have dried and carded a small portion of it already.  However, we could do with some dry weather days so that I can dry the rest.

Springy tried one day at school the week before last.  I'd lost a lot of my confidence.  We've had constant barrages of 'school is better' and all the rest of the socialising dogma that comes with that.  With the 9-year change on top from Springy (who is more melancholic and sulky than sanguine at the moment) I felt quite exhausted because there is so little support (apart from, thank goodness, by beautiful homeschooling friends who gave some much needed esteem boosting discussions).

We have been looking at some non-verbal reasoning tests withSpringy. We've done them on a conversational learning basis. It's quite interesting to note how Form Drawing would help a child note the kind of patterns involved.

German resources

I've also found some excellent German resources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/lj/

and


http://www.goethe.de/lhr/mat/ffl/elm/dwn/de3680772.htm

Lambing

This morning we went to see the newborn lambs at a local organic farm.  They had several hundred sheep in the flock.  The ewes had loads of lambs and all were adorable.  We saw some that were 5 minutes old with the umbilical and placenta still on show.  Fresh hay was being given to the ewes and there were lots of lambs skipping about with their dangly tales.  I got several large bags of lambs' wool to use for needlefelting and dyeing.  It's of no use for spinning because it's a second shearing (too short).  However, I was so happy because I got it for free.

Not To School

Springy went to school today.  She tried it, she stayed for the whole day, left the building and isn't wanting to go back.  All I can say is hooray.  I had a great day - cleaned out some cupboards, did a Flylady hotspot thing, did some studying and got some work done.  I've not had a day off for ages so it was nice.  I got a holiday.  I took time, had space in my head, sat down with a cup of tea in the quiet, took my supplements, made a few calls, ate lunch, took Lily for a walk and so on - in fact most of the things I do on a regular day but normally there is a 9-year old bouncing about (with the occasional sullen face on for the oh so melancholic 9-year change).

I think a lot of people think I'm mad for home educating.  I homebirthed.  I was mad for doing that.  There were dangers apparently and I was putting the baby at risk.  My ante-natal classes were booked in by the hospital after my due date!  That was the first oddity that made me wonder whether the hospital knew what they were doing and I remember the phonecall to ask whether some mistake hadn't been made.  Surely several weeks after my due date means that I won't be needing the classes.  Oh, so that's just how it is.  Thank goodness our independent birth counsellor, who kindly did a pay it forward scheme when we were too broke to pay for the classes at the time.  We had some amazing classes with her learning about gravity, about active birthing etc.  That's what we wanted and we didn't trust the hospital to do anything that we wanted so we had 2 amazing midwives who came to our home, who along with the aforementioned IBC were the three wise women who attended Springy's birth along with her daddy and I (well our IBC left for dinner but she sat with me all the while until my contractions got to the stage where she said "Go and call your midwives.").

 Nappies - questioned = diaper free or infant elimination communication.  Formula - questioned = breastfeeding.  There are other things that I do that I hate doing or have been manipulated into because I know they're all trickery - smoke and mirrors but I just do/did them regardless even though I ought to know better and change.

Anyway, we get to home education.  Many people assume that home education means your child stays at home all day and doesn't have a clue as to how to mix with other children or people.  It's a common misconception.  Springy walked into that school on Monday and knew loads of children in so many different classes, across the ages.  When she was 4 it would have destroyed her, when she was 5 she wouldn't have been ready but at 9 years she went in with sniffles from a cold  but confidence.  She went for a full day today, from 8.50 am to 3.15 pm.  It was all right but she doesn't want to go back.   It wasn't that the school was bad or that the children were mean etc - it was all okay - they were very pleasant to her (mainly because she knows through various activities children in about 5/6 schools in the area) - but she had expectations of school (because of all the PR that she has been given by the anti-home-education brigade -  that school is great and much better than home education) that 'school' couldn't live up to. I reckon if the teacher had come in with homemade cookies, playing rock guitar, with a soft voice like Miss Honey in Mathilda and they had all gone off site to a lambing event and breaktime had been the whole afternoon of free play then they would have roped her in and I'd have willingly gone along with it. But that didn't happen...

 She's  been told not to complain to me anymore that I'm boring (because of all the build up she has had that school is exciting and wonderful and full of amazing feats of edutainment) because the work they gave her today in maths was the 1x and 5x tables (which may have been not to frighten her but they could have actually talked to her and found out that way that she is capable of going beyond that now). Not only that but it wasn't teaching but just involved sticking her in front of a computer and not her choice (I'm not against boredom because it leads to creativity but this was boredom without a chance for that). Her favourite bit was break time.  Even the toilets were not as nice as home (which I found very surprising - I keep my toilets clean but I have to remain ever watchful!).

And so I live in hope that I will not hear about Springy needing to go to school again.  She is 9 years old.  She tried it.  I've now been told a day isn't long enough.  It was long enough - they had a day to make a good impression and they failed.  It didn't wow her, it didn't move her or inspire her.  It didn't change her life or her perspective.  There wasn't a moment that made her feel the Universe.  I know there are good schools out there with brilliant teachers but home education for us works just as school works for others.  We've had moments of wonder and surprise.  It's our life and we love it and if I ever get down again, lose my confidence and let things get to me can you please all kick me in the rear end. :)
xxx

The past week of February

Today we played bean bag games, used our feet to pick up stones and pop them into a basket and worked on a number of maths equations including some bar graph questions.

Yesterday we did a lot of Form Drawings.  I love doing this.  I've got a separate book for them at the moment and doing the outlines in yellow to aid Springy (she's in her 9-year change at the moment and everything seems to be a big trauma unless we take it back to something less stressful).

We baked some scones (with cranberries and raisins) and worked on negative numbers using the stairs and the keyboard. We used middle C as zero and worked up and down from there. We also had one stair as the zero stair and then went up and down from there too - it's just to give a quick overview to Springy so she can understand more about temperature etc later on.

For Imbolc we made candles, read Farmer Boy (which resulted in us making some popcorn and polishing shoes with wax), Springy did some maths problems whilst I was working, did some knitting, walked dog, made egg stir fried rice with courgettes and cashews + lots of conversation.

Poetry

This is a very useful resource (and I hope it will be ready to purchase soon becuase it sounds like a keeper for the bookcase):

http://www.waldorfpoetry.com/look-inside.html

I loved this poem by Dorothy Harrer:

The Four Sentences by Dorothy Harrer

Commands

Listen to the night wind blow.

See the swirling flakes of snow.

Close the window. Shut the door.

Keep out the wild wind’s angry roar.

Light the fire.  Let it blaze.

Exclamations

How wonderful the morning is!

Oh, what a sparkling day!

Sky’s blue around the golden sun!

The wind has died away!

Statements

The golden sun shines on the snow.

The trees blue shadows make.

The colours of God’s own rainbow.

Twinkle in each snowflake.

Questions

Where do snowflakes come from?

Why are they so white?

Who gives them each a separate form?

How far has been their flight?

And what creates the rainbow

In which each star of snow?

We've also been working on the number 11 (using the Earth School Grade 2 Maths Block and augmenting it with our own ideas too).  Springy has enjoyed being able to work out the multiples of 11 from double digit numbers and doing it as a trick.

E.g. 22 x 11 = 2_2
2+2 = 4 (put the four in the space)
22 x 11 = 242

We wrote out some sentences about 11 e.g. The Chancellor of the Exchequer lives at No 11 Downing Street and The Mariana Trench is 11km at its deepest point in the ocean and Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the Zodiac.

Irish dancing

Springy has been twice now to an Irish dancing class.  She loves it. I'm so pleased because it's a good cardiac workout, along with being enjoyable and good for her co-ordination and posture.  At the moment she's dancing barefoot and is doing "soft shoe" style reels.  She picked up the 1-2-3 move in a week (practising on the farm tracks).  It also reminded me of how I used to love dancing.  I did ballet and tap until I was about 11 years old and in tap I used to get distinctions.  I've been learning some of the moves so that I can help her practice at home.

Springy gave the guineapigs a bath this morning.  It was new guineapig Martha's first time in a full bath bathtime.  With piggies that means they go swimming.  They look like mini capybaras (who are also South American creatures). Our dog fell asleep on one of my knees earlier.  We played three rounds, as a family, of Bananagrams. We love the game - it's a good way to increase vocabulary and spelling awareness.  I'm surprised how many words Springy knows at times.  She's currently reading a book called Dog Detectives.  I'm reading The Lord of the Rings - I read it every year.  I see it as a holiday (since we don't have a holiday otherwise) to voyage to Middle Earth and read of first Bilbo Baggins' adventures in The Hobbit and then travel with Frodo and Sam.  I liked the films but feel they fell short of the books by a long way.

I've been working on the garden a fair bit the past few days.  It's been quite cold outside but dry enough to dig up some of the borders, pull out some of the old and decaying plants e.g. the angelica.  I've kept back some of the angelica stalk to make a musical instrument with.  We're also hoping to do some willow workshops over the next week as we're moving into our block on Shelters again.  This time we're hoping to have some hands on opportunities.

We finished our Old Testament block.  We've covered since last year Adam and Eve (which is about questioning and disobeying authority and the loss of innocence), Noah and His Ark, Joseph and his Coat and Moses in the Bulrushes.  I dislike the Bible generally speaking because I find that the deity is rather nasty and into smiting.  However, I took the stories that I felt had general wisdom in them and that would meet some of Springy's 9-year change aspects.  It's interesting how prone to melancholy she is recently.  She was always very sanguine in nature - happy, skippy, la-de-da like a butterfly.  However, in the past 6 months we have much more of a huff and a "not fair" and general "I'm not doing that" going on.  It's involved at times lots of psychological ploys including the melancholic empathy thing whereby I've done "Oh I remember that when I was your age..."  Some of it has been peer influence.  There  are a few friends that I'm having to stop her seeing - they're not bad per se but they don't have the same curbs on pop culture that I prefer.  I know that this too shall pass but it can be a little exhausting at times and also a little sad to see some of them go through this change into 'attitude'.  Ho hum as some of my good friends would say. 

Winter Reads

Schoolroom in the Parlour by Rebecca Caudill
The Children of Green Knowe

Crow and Dog

There on the path was a crow. It was minding its own business when along came a certain defective Shih Tzu with a short, curled but wagging tail. "Play with me," the tail begged but the crow decided to jump to the ditch and then took off to the west, away from the lonely canine.

In other news, Springy has been working on a scrapbook about her pets.  I had a beautiful scrapbook set which I had always intended to use but never got round to doing so.  I find the whole thing too time consuming so I have been glad to pass it on to Springy.  She seems to be really enjoying printing, writing, cutting out photos, sticking bits of paper and so into the book.

We've also started a new book today.  It's called the Children of Green Knowe.  We're reading it aloud.  Springy was leaping about during the story - she wants to be a wildebeest trying to cross a river with crocodiles in, during the migration season in Africa!  She has an amazing imagination and she can leap off the floor from all fours onto the sofa in single bound.