Breathing

The photo above really has nothing to do with life at the moment.  This is a picture however of my Bess and one of her triplets back in 2005.  We haven't had sheep since late 2005.  I miss them.  Terribly.  I long for them.  My poor husband does not.  Right now, and every year about this time, I begin to think about the sheep.  Their warm wool.  It's the time of the year to think about knitting sweaters, scarves, hats, gloves, and wool socks.  One day we will have sheep again. 
The last two weeks have been a bit rough around these parts.  Last week I was drained emotionally.  Just wiping the table brought on tears.  Towards the end of last week the little ones came down with colds.  I became a bit proud over the fact that I hadn't gotten a cold the last few times they've had them.  Well, pride goeth before a fall.  Sunday morning I awoke to a very sore throat.  By Sunday afternoon I was horribly congested and it just seemed to get worse on Monday and Tuesday.  Today is much better.  Now we're looking forward to a visit from a dear one and this Momma is looking forward to getting back on track with school.  We need structure.

Rethinking Math

I need to rethink math and my approach with my littlest.  Her brother gets numbers very easily.  It's how his brain works.  He "gets" letters and reads well however he dislikes writing them nicely.  The little one however just goes blank with numbers.  Letters...she's all over them.  Numbers...nope.  She seems to understand patterns/sequence with objects.  Put a number on a piece of paper and she looks/feels lost.

MFW Highlights week 3

While it is week 3 for MFW highlights, it is only our 2nd week participating.  This week completely did not go as scheduled.  We're perfectly okay with it too.  Life is what it is.  My Dad passed away and as a family we spent time together in the woods near the base of Mt. Rainier.  We managed 2 days of "structured" schooling.  The rest of our time was spent hiking and exploring.  Thoroughly taking in all of God's wonders.  While I have no pictures of our "structured" schooling, I do have many pictures of us just being and exploring the natural world.  We nearly caught a Northern Alligator lizard, now have 3 woolly bears taking up residence on the dining table, captured frogs near Reflection Lake, caught a Western Toad at the river where we soaked in the Cascade Mountains, had a large boring beetle climb a leg, nearly caught a garter snake, drank the colors of alpine and sub-alpine meadows, was up close and personal with marmots, and took in both the north and south side of Mt. Rainier. 

 

 

 

 

 

Head on over and visit 2 ladybugs and a lizard to MFW Highlights.

Silence

My Dad passed away earlier this week.  It was expected.  My husband, my children and I have spent the week together as a family in  the woods exploring, hiking, and playing in the river.  At the moment all I want is for us to be together.  I want to hold each one of them close to me.  They are my everything.  They are my blessings from God and I long that they know how very loved they are.  I long for them to know that I love them unconditionally. 
This week my children have taken to calling me Momma Bear and in turn I respond to them, "Yes my cub?".  I pray that we always know this intimacy. 

Week in review

We're back in the groove.  This week was our first full week of school and what a grand week it was.  Truthfully Monday wasn't the best despite a great start last week.  A Momma who didn't keep order in the morning mixed with a little girl who didn't want breakfast cooked up to a very frustrating time.  Tuesday was much better.  I am blessed to have little ones who love to learn.  Little ones who love to be at home with their Momma.  

Jonathan blossomed under the guidance of MFW k program.  I am so proud of my guy.  He has an insatiable appetite for knowledge and at times it's difficult for me to keep up with his hunger.

 We began to work on animal patterns this week.  Some of the creatures have been simple for the children (and their Momma) to master while others have proven to take a bit of time to figure out.  While they...ahem..."play" (wink wink) with the pattern blocks I read to them.  We've started the Little House series.  I adore that they love stories and being read too.  That has not always been the case.  Both of the kids didn't seem to like being read to until roughly 3.  At that point I never could seem to read enough.  I treasure having them at home and being able to curl up in the rocking chair or on the couch and reading.  And as if that isn't delicious enough, where else can a young Miss attend school in a mask that her Gee-Gee and Pop-Pop brought back from Italy?

Nature study is nothing new to our household.  I have, at times, put aside other studies in order to dive into a subject in nature that holds the kids' interest in it's grip.  What is new however is our own nature notebook.  The kids have been looking forward to this.  We have a drawer that is our "special art drawer".  It contains pencils and color pencils that are exclusively for our notebooks.  Wednesday morning we were outside by 7:45am with excitement bubbling over.  This week we've been discussing things close to the ground.  Slugs and snails seem to be what the kids are most interested in.  We have had a worm habitat and recently an ant farm. I can now say that this Momma now knows more about slugs and worms than I ever thought I'd want to know.  Frankly, I no longer see them as simply icky, slimy creatures.  Don't get me wrong, I'll still put ground eggshell and diatemacious earth out to prevent them from eating the greens in our garden.

This weekend we are headed to the mountains for camping.  I plan on sneaking our nature notebooks into our gear and know that we will most definitely have a wonderful time looking at all of the wonderful things that are close to the ground.



linked to homeschooling highlights in MFW at: Discovering Their Gifts

Currently Crafting...

Proverbs 31:13

She obtains wool and flax, and she is pleased to work with her hands.

A quilt for a precious boy due in mere weeks

and a new shawlette.  The desire to knit a shawl for Autumn

and winter has now taken hold.  I believe my little Miss may like one.