Make & Listen Along with Simple Thing Notebook

I've been wanting to join Dawn for Make & Listen Along at Simple Things Notebook for ages.  Yesterday I finally made it happen!  (Christmas miracles, I tell you.  Christmas miracles.)

Three cheers for Dawn, for Christmas, for gingerbread, for creativity, for a cozy house on a cold day, for candles, and for Harry Connick, Jr.'s What A Night!

It's the Little Things...

We made cookies that called for crushed candy canes, and the kids decided how many they thought should be used.  Worked out great for me because the extras are used to sweeten my coffee.  And, they're pretty sweet-looking on my kitchen counter, too!

Next year, this will be done as a matter of course.  "Kitchen helpers!  I have a job for you!  Bring your hammers!"

Ordinary, Everyday {Amazing} Science

I think you know how much I love library book sales.  Last time, I bought seven great books of poetry for children.  Seven.  And, I was barely trying.  

In my delightful stack was a little book called Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman.  We didn't get to this one right away.  (Between you and me, I'm really not a bug-lover.  I fake it.  If my kids like them, great.  I can appreciate bugs in theory.  I love the beautiful photos that people take of them, the magnifications.  But, in real life, I'm okay with us each going our own separate ways.  You know?)  So, poetry book on bugs.  Probably great.  Probably really great for the kids to read and enjoy.  I was willing to come along for the ride.  But, seems I picked up the other new books first.

While later scanning the audiobook titles in the library proper I came across Joyful Noise again -- seemed like I really should try it.  We have a lot of car time.

It's... FANTASTIC.  I know that you're getting great book recommendations from lots of informed, well-read, interesting people out there.  I don't mean to add to your list.  But really -- I recommend this one so highly.  The poems are interesting and expressive.  They are beautifully recited.  It's informative!  (And John McDonough -- enough said.  Hearing him as Mr. Putter and Misty of Chincoteague's Grandpa Beebe makes this an especially easy sell.)

This same week, we mailed our collection for a nature exchange hosted by Mud Puddles to Meteors.  What a way to get into nature!  Again, I hate to be bossy (okay, I don't really), but do check out this site.  Find a way to participate that works for your family -- there are a lot of options.  And catch the next exchange when it happens.

 Aaaaand, we spent as many days of fall that we could at our favorite farm.  Open just one month every year, we go as many times as we possibly can.  We get to see baby animals of all kinds from almost the day they're born. We get to hold them and watch them grow and change.  We watch the chicks learn to fly, the puppies open their eyes.

So, where have I been lately?  Doing science with my two favorite lab partners.

(Did I happen to mention the fall tomatoes in our backyard?!  Yeah, science can be a tasty business, too!)

Sometimes you need a little something...

Looking for a simple, cute & functional craft activity?
How about these wreath napkin rings?  They make cute package toppers and tree decorations, too.
Sometimes we need something for a mixed group -- kids who love crafts, kids who don't always but are in for something simple, big kids, little kids, adults.  Easy to make a few or a bunch.  Great for a gathering.

Here's what you need:
pipe cleaners
green tri beads
red round beads
ribbon
scissors

Cut pipe cleaner to size, slide beads on, twist ends to form a circle, tie on bow!

Putting Something Back Together Again

Our picnic blanket is a quilt that I gave my grandmother for Christmas a long time ago.  Thirteen years ago, it came back to me.  It had been a department store purchase, nothing extra special on the shelf.  Just something sweet I thought she might enjoy.  But it did become very special.

Not made particularly well, it had started coming apart at the seams.  A small gap here, a small gap there.  And those grew.  And more holes appeared.  By the time I brought it from the car to the house to do "something" with it (no idea what that would end up being), it was in terrible shape.

On a warm summer night, while everyone slept, I sat down with this old quilt.  And I just started mending.  No plan.  Just a needle, thread, scissors, and pins.  I started with one small, easy hole.  And then I sewed the other open seams on that star.  I touched the fabric and noticed the colors and prints.  I found the next easiest star.  And I sewed it back together, one seam at a time.  I got to know the construction of the blanket.  I sewed until I felt tired, and I went to bed.

And over time, this blanket started to come back together.  

By the end, I was left with two stars right in the center that were in shreds.  And I thought, "There is no way I can mend something like this."  But, I started anyway.  What did I really have to lose?  I sewed up one seam.  And then one more.  And then one more.  And I stopped thinking about what I couldn't mend.  I just thought about the stitch I was making.

This blanket is whole again.  And, to my mind, it is more beautiful than it was before.

Project-Based Homeschooling

I did something really cool this summer.
It was, in fact,  so cool that I still haven't figured out how to write about it in one measly post.
So -- I give up.  (And I'm okay with that.  I believe there's strength in knowing when to say when!)
I'll just start with this.

I took the Project-Based Homeschooling Master Class.
It was fantastic.
Fan-tastic.
I can't recommend it highly enough.
The class was superb -- the material, the format, the facilitation and the support.
Really -- you should do it.
It's easy to say to ourselves, "Not right now. I'm just too busy."
But this -- this -- gave me focus where I had been wanting it.
Support where I *needed* it.
And, the support is ongoing.
It's sort of a no-brainer, actually.

It isn't just for homeschooling families.
It isn't even just for "kids."

Check out the blog.  Participate in the forum.  Buy the book.  Jump in -- you'll be so happy you did!

sewing, women in history

a clay charm business

nurturing a home that can nurture us

Creative Placement of Creativity

I have a little basket near the table --
just a little basket with a needlebook, embroidery floss, scissors and a project.
How my kids eat meals: giggle, giggle, take a bite, giggle, tell a story, 
     (fall out of a chair), giggle, take a bite, ...
So, I eat.  And then stitch and giggle and relax.