Homeschool time at the park

A friend of mine created a new playgroup this past Friday for us homeschoolers. It was a surprise, really. I'd been invited out to a local park for what I thought was a playdate. But no, it was the beginning of something really wonderful. A large group of homeschoolers (twelve or so children, all friends) had gathered with us for stories, crafts, and a good time!

Here are some pics from Friday morning. Thank you so much, Dulseigh--you are wonderful!

On the left are the birdfeeders that the kids made. They were made without peanut butter (Emma's allergic).

Emma spreading margarine on a pinecone scavenged from the park.

Rowan dipping his pinecone in bird seed.

Hanging up the finished feeder.

Storytime!

Making a flying bird.

 Everyone had a wonderful time. And it is to become a regular (biweekly) homeschool event! We are very excited. This is exactly what I wanted homeschooling to be.

 On a sad note, today was not so fun. We travelled to my grandparents' nursing home to say goodbye to my grandad. He is dying, and it was very hard to see him so weak and having such trouble breathing. I am really going to miss him. It was his birthday today, and there was cake and balloons, but it was a very un-cheerful day.

Bedtime cleanup

We have way too many toys. Too much Playmobil and Lego. Too many books, wood blocks, toy cars, engines. You name it, we have too much of it. Especially for a two-bedroom apartment!

Sure, toys can be great sources for imagination and creativity. Like these Lego people Rowan made this evening. Each one has a name to match his constructed 'personality.'

The one on the far right, for example, is 'eye-y eye'. There is 'Mister Yes/No,' 'Mister Think-y think.' Etc. Rowan's in bed right now, but I'm sure he would still remember all their names.

But all that creativity comes at a cost. A GREAT BIG MESS!!!

And the mess extended well past the bedroom, I'm afraid. As usual, I tackled the kitchen while Robert helped the kids with the toys. Even with help and lots of time, the task is tiring. Rowan wanted to keep playing! Here he is, very very unhappy I'm afraid. Lots of tears.

But don't worry--he went to bed happy. His daddy went in and played shadow puppets with him, and I read him "The Ugly Duckling" (his new favourite). Still, I have to think about how to make bedtimes more calm. Something isn't working. Perhaps toys shouldn't come out after dinner? I'd love to have routine clean-up times spread through the day, but I hate interrupting play to do this. I would love to hear any suggestions!

Sometimes I wish we had only a few toys...that would solve the problem rather quickly--"Come on, children. Put your toy away. It's bedtime." :-)

Playground!

What a beautiful day. It is warm. It is sunny. Emma, Ben and I went to enjoy ourselves at the nearby playground. It's quite a wonderful playground, since it has many trees to clamber upon and around, rocks to climb, sand to dig in. There is a public field and sledding slopes (also good for rolling down). There is even a community garden.

Ben fell asleep on the way over, so I read a few chapters of Momo by Michael Ende while Emma found and played with a new friend. Ben eventually woke up and got to play, too. Here are a few photos documenting the day's fun!

 

Rolling down hills

The community garden hasn't woken up yet.

Ben's getting too almost too big to carry!

It's too bad that Rowan still had a bad cough and couldn't join us. It was warm enough to remove hats and mitts for a short while (such promise of spring!), but he's only just recovering. The final chill of winter will be gone before too long, and then we'll forget what cold is for a time. I should read The Tomten one last time before retiring it until Winter '11. 

"Winters come and winters go,

Summers come and summers go,

Soon the swallows will be here" 

--from The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

Supplies

I needed more brown wool. My last supply was the remnants of my spinning Coopsworth (natural brown shade), and it is all but used up. I needed brown right away, too, because I've had another request on Etsy for a brown bunny.

It was so cold today, not so spring-like after all, but Ben and I made our way downtown to The Loop Craft Cafe to buy more. They didn't have any of the brown Coopsworth, which was okay because it didn't really felt all that well. I bought a grey/brown mix of (maybe) Shetland. I hope it needle felts! It's in roving form, rather than top. I'm learning more and more about fibres right now.

I also picked up two new fine felting needles. Then, I went to the tobacconist (!) and bought natural pipecleaners. These are for forming the inner frameworks for needlefelting figures. I normally sculpt my creatures without a framework, but am game to try something new.

Crafts with the kids

We got out the glitter and glue today. Part of the incentive was a notice from "our friendly local library" that one of the books we have out--Usborne's Things for Girls to Make and Do--is due back soon. Here are the results of our crafty endeavors.

First we made a princess in a tower. After that, I made a crown for Rowan, inspired by the crowns in the book, but not following the instructions particularly. Emma was jealous, even though I'd helped her a great deal with making the princess tower. She stuck some feathers in her dress-up headband and refused all offers for me to make her a similar silver crown with sparkles, glitter, etc. I took a lovely picture of her angrily sticking her tongue out at Rowan, but I decided to leave that off the blog!

Happy Birthday, Ben

Our "Benjamin Bunny" celebrated his second birthday today. We had a Peter Rabbit party for him. Here are some photos from our day...

 

Ben was given this beautiful stroller (from Nova Natural) for his doll, Ollie. Sorry Ben's out of focus...he was unable to stand still for this shot! He was given this a week before his birthday, when it arrived in the mail.

 

"Reading" his Peter Rabbit birthday card.

A cutout Peter Rabbit set-up.

Blowing out the candles.

First signs of spring

I'm so excited! On our way home from the library today we saw shoots of spring flowers poking up through the soil. And it's not even (quite) March!

Also, the buds are getting larger on bushes and trees.

Winter goodbye, 

Winter goodbye,

You may no longer stay,

Springtime is on its way;

Winter goodbye,

Winter goodbye.

(traditional German)