birthday ring

One of the fabulous things that I love about Waldorf education is the emphasis on tradition and rythmn. One of the wonderful Waldorf traditions that we have adopted in our home is the 'birthday ring'.

Twelve days before a birthday (or other looked-forward-to event) the ring is pulled out and set up. Each day a small gnome is pulled from the bag and fitted into one of the slots on the ring.
On the final day, a small candle is placed in the last empty hole and lit. The kids love the build up of anticipation to their day....and it seems to make it all the more special.

I got ours off of Etsy (of course) from a seller called Mamaroots. There are various types of rings available when you start to look around. Some have all candles, some have small wooden figurines, some have both....

Today, ours looks like this as we wait for Briar's fourth birthday to arrive.....

falling into place

Although life has become so stacked full of have tos/should dos/need tos associated with moving, I'm finding that the move and all things associated are falling into place and feel right.
I don't want to mislead you into thinking that life here is placid and calm; it's fucking crazy. But inwardly, I know this is the right decision (although if things blow up in my face, I may be found claiming that it felt wrong from the start....).
There is NEVER a 'free' nanosecond, let alone moment anymore. The second life slows briefly, Briar helps out by emptying the contents of a fire extinguisher in the basement, Liv decides that my refusal to by a fused plastic doll with shocked expression and a smear of some unidentified substance on its' synthetic clothing from the secondhand store is evidence that I don't love her as much as love "Briar or the Earth" (her words, not mine), and ducklings that were not expected to hatch out for four more days make a surprise appearance. (Again the humidity was off for the late part of the hatch causing one of the ducklings to need my now-skilled hands for extrication from his calcium-laden 'womb'...And again, we have a slightly mangled baby on our hands.
THIS time I know to let Nature straighten out toes herself though. NO orthopedic shoes for this little quacker....)
I have been hesitant to mention one of our enormous life changes before now. Liv will be attending public school in the Fall. I truly feel she is ready to face a few new challenges and to be with other kids more of the time. Many of the practises of conveyor belt conventional continue to cause me to hiss and spit but after meeting with the principal at the school she will be attending, I felt comforted with the thought that I can still remain a large part of her learning experience. I feel that not everything in life is perfect but is necessary for some of the lessons we need to learn (Don't I know THAT)....And I must admit that there are times that I need help. Liv is an eager and excited learner. She is so very bright and knows so many things I had never even grasped at her age....And I hate to admit it, because I feel like a failure as a mom and especially a homeschooling, organic eating, poultry shoe making mom....But it is sometimes hard being in the presence of a wonderfully spirited seven year old girl 24/7. I need a rest. This is SO NOT the main reason she will be attending school, but I think a break from eachother will do us good....I just wish it wasn't EVERYday for 6-7 hours. I will miss her terribly.
The house we are moving into is in the process of being renovated. New roof, new windows, doors, flooring, paint, etc. It's on a five acre parcel of land with two houses (one ours, the other the landlord's). The landlord's driveway goes straight down to the beach and we're welcome to go down anytime. They are happily accepting the arrival of our feathered friends and have even agreed to allow us to adopt a dog in the near future!!!!!
I've been offered a job but can't say much about it yet except to say that it will pay well and work with the kid's schedule awesomely.
I have so much more to write but so much more to read in preparation for my class tomorrow.....P.S. Did you know that dandelions are indicator plants and often signal a deficiency in calcium in your soil. BUT because dandelions themselves are SO full of calcium, it's nature's way of curing the problem. Cut 'em off, dig 'em up or mow 'em down, but leave their bodies to put the calcium back into the soil!!! It takes quite awhile to make a difference but is so much better for the enviroment than adding chemical fertilizers as an excess of one nutrient will cause a deficiency in another!!
P.P.S. Can anyone remember what the character's name was in Flashdance? The first picture is of a duckling that looks as if it's wearing legwarmers. I want to name it after the Flashdance girl....

chick-a chick-a boom boom

Out of the dozen eggs we placed in our incubator, 11 hatched!!!!! I am pretty proud of ourselves, I have to say.
I attribute our major success this time through to will-power. Liv and I adore candling the eggs (candling is a term for holding an egg up to a bright light to see the contents - hopefully a squirming chick) and we do manage to find a plethora of excuses for 'checking on the eggs' most of the time. This hatch, we managed to contain ourselves enough to only check at one week and two weeks to ensure that we weren't keeping any infertile or rotten eggs within the 'sacred chamber' that is our incubator.
Unfortunately for five of the wee chicks, our hygrometer (an thermometer like thing that measures humidity) seems to have become inaccurate at the end of the hatch. The poor little ones were stuck, cheeping madly, within the tiny confines of their partially open eggs for two days. Although you are NOT supposed to ever 'help' a chick hatch (because they can bleed to death if their umbilicus to the yolk sac has not completely closed over), I felt compelled to do just that. I washed my hands twice, sterilized my hands and the tweezers with rubbing alcohol and went to work quickly chipping off the shell. I found it tense yet exhilarating having to work fast enough that the chick didn't get chilled. The feeling of their tiny, damp bodies pressing intermittenly against the shell in an attempt to break free reminded me of giving birth to my little ones. I felt very.....motherly to these little ones and rejoiced when they managed to squirm from their egg-shaped prison (by rejoice, I mean jump up and down in staccato and quietly, so not to wake the kids, made "Yeah! Yeah!" noises while pumping one arm as I have seen athletes do at sporting events...)
Anyhow, the extended stay within the shell caused three of the tiny birds to have crooked toes ranging in severity. They can walk but....well, it looks awful and uncomfortable. In an attempt to find an answer, I turned to the trusty, yet sometimes questionable, information that the internet provides. I came across a site where some crazy peacock-loving soul gave instruction on how to fashion tiny orthopedic shoes for poultry. Delighted to have found a solution for my poor special needs chickens, I quickly got to work gathering and preparing materials - pipe cleaners, medical tape, scissors, wire cutters. With a deep breath to bolster my confidence, I grabbed the first mal-footed chick and went to work attempting to attach these ridiculous pipecleaner 'shoes' to the poor tramautized little soul. Although a chick's mode of defense seems to be absolutely terrifying gyrations that mimic seizure, I managed to adhere one set to the 'lucky' chick who I had deemed worthy of this life altering prosthetic.
Speaking lovingly and comfortingly to the little guy, I slowly lowered him/her back into the brooder box and gently placed him/her with his/her fellow 'peeps'. Without missing a beat, the others lunged at him/her. Incessantly pecking at the 'shoes' they rolled the strangely footed one on his/her back and were having their way with his/her orthotics.
Panicing, I hastily removed him/her from the box and attempted to slip the footware from his/her feet as smoothly as possible....But medical tape is meant to STAY ON!!! I was terrified of ripping off the chick's toes, but worried that if I took too long the chick would get chilled, be completely freaked out (like me) and have a heartattack (something I hear can happen in poultry) and die in my hands so soon after feeling it be birthed from its' shell-encrusted 'womb'.
I managed to remove the tape, sans chicken toes, after a few chaotic moments filled with horrific swearing, silent crying and loud cheeping that seemed to resembl pleading, and have decided that crooked toes are LOVELY. This malformation allows diversity within my flock and thus also enables me to tell one fluffy black chick from another by the severity of its' crooked feet.
Oh, Mother Nature, you are so wise. I promise, I will try to remember! Leave well enough alone!!! You know what you're doing!!

the thoughts of little ones

Our vet sent us a bouquet of beautiful and fragrant flowers with a sympathy card expressing her shared sadness for the death of Freckles.
The seemingly omnipresent and exquisite scent of the lillies has Liv wondering which part of the flower contains recepticles for the fragrance. Although we've done some research online, we have been unable to pinpoint the exact location of....well, the smelly part.

Liv has taken to doing her own scientific inquiry into the floral scent glands....
And has been coming up with her own hypothesis...
Which Briar has been testing by sniffing her face.

At this point, they have agreed that the smell from a flower does not reside in the pollen.

felted wool Easter eggs

For the last few years, the kids and I have been making felted wool eggs and chicks to give for gifts at Easter time. As a gift to anyone who has wondered how to make these little sugar-free Eastery-goodness, I've decided to do a bit of a tutorial on them. (I say 'bit of a tutorial' as I am sure that after I have written it out, I will realize that there is some bit of information lacking....If not or if you have questions, please don't hestitate to leave a comment mentioning what I have left out. I'll try to fill in any blanks!)

****Although they are relatively easy to make, kids do need help and supervision as you will be dealing with HOT water for the wet felting of the eggs and sharp needles when we get to the creation of chicks/ducklings****

Materials

• 30 cm (12") Wool roving (in the desired colour for your egg shell)


• Plastic egg (We use refillable 8cm tall plastic ones from the dollar store taped closed)





Hot water (large bowl or sink full)


Cold Water (large bowl or sink full)


Dish Soap


Rubber Gloves (These are to allow you to handle the hot water more easily without burning yourself)


Xacto knife or rotary cutter

Fill one sink/bowl with very hot water and one with cold water.

Put on rubber gloves.

Wrap the wool roving around the plastic egg.

Holding the wool wrapped egg firmly to prevent the wool from slipping off, generously squirt dish soap onto the wool/egg.

Gently dip the wool covered egg in the hot water to dampen it and bring it back out of the water.

Start squeezing the water/soap into the wool. Turn the egg as you go, but be careful to not 'slide' the wool around on the egg or allow it to fall off.

Dip the egg in the hot water occasionally to keep it hot enough to shrink while you squeeze.

The wool should start to tight-up and hold it's place on the egg. As it does, you can add some more soap to make it 'slippy'.

As long as the wool has begun to hold its' shape, you can start rubbing the egg gently (rather than squeezing) in small circular motions.

Alternate between the hot and cold water as you rub to add in the constriction of the wool.

When the wool is suitable hard and tight against the egg, rinse out as much soap as you can by dipping in fresh water.

When rinsed, squeeze out the excess water and let it dry. (You can also use a towel to blot out water to aid in the drying.)

After a few hours, use the Xacto knife or rotary cutter to carefully cut a zig-zag line in the side of the egg. Only cut this line 2/3 around the egg as the intact portion will act as a 'hinge'.
Yahoo!!!!! A wool egg!!!! I'll do the chick/duckling in another post.....

signs of Spring

Since Liv attended preschool at the age of three with our beloved Marylou, she is always on the hunt for "Signs of Spring". She has given many a child grief for destroying or harming a perceived 'sign'. Consequently, I too am always on the look-out for things that are Spring-like to show my little Bean. I can't wait to show her this tomorrow morning!!

pride is a bad thing?

Look at my little girl....
We worked together all last week making 'fairy house Christmas ornaments'. We found the wood at the side of the road, cut it, whittled it (resulting in a few bloody injuries for my poor, brave girl), drew in widows and doors, glued bark for the roof and twine for the hanger.
Liv attended a craft fair with my mom in the hopes of selling all 31 of her creations. She was selling them for $2 each (allowing many counting and money lessons).
She sold EVERY one of them. EVERY ONE! Her little grin when I arrived to pick her up was beautiful.
With her $62, she has decided to split it in thirds; 1/3 to the bank for saving, 1/3 for spending on needs/wants, 1/3 to charity (1/2 to SPCA, 1/2 to foodbank).
Lessons like this are my favourite. The ones that come easy and are filled with pride and excitement are the best.
I am so proud of you, my little love. You and your brother make life worth living and fill me with unexpected smiles. I love you, Bean.

some fun

Liv's learning consultant from Self-Design (her 'school') has sent a wonderful link to a site where you can create your own animated movies. SOOOOOO cool!! I thought I'd share it with the rest of you.

Have fun!!!!!!

learning through living

Liv can read. I didn't teach her to. We have never sat down to practise 'how' to read. She asked me her letters or we sang "ABC" or we read a book together. We wrote her name. She noticed the 'O' makes the same sound virtually everytime we write it. I marvel at her abilities. But, nonchalant, she lays for hours on her bed absorbing any book that catches her interest.
Watching this metamorphosis from non-reader to reader has been amazing for me. It has made me wonder what kids do at school all day.
I know there are other things to learn. I know that school is designed to teach children all the things they 'need to know'. But I am so pleased to see my children learn what they 'need to know' outside of this box as well. They are interested, so they learn. Curiousity may have killed the cat, but for my children, it fuels a fire called learning.
Today, however, my little boy began preschool. Liv went to preschool when she was three as well. She loved her farm-based school. The school that Briar will be attending is very much different than Liv's start but I feel that he'll enjoy having some time to feel independent and able to do something without mama.
Watching through the glass door to the classroom, I grinned at my 'big boy' listening to another adult and nodding solemnly. He and Brody, the little boy I care for everyday, sat together leaning slightly toward each other talking happily.
People have asked me if I will homeschool Briar as well. I can't honestly say yes OR no. We're taking it a step at a time. His 'education' may be entirely different from Liv's. Who knows? But I do know that this video articulates so much of what I have seen and watched my children experience since starting homeschooling....actually since Liv's and Briar's births....

what we do when fall arrives

It feels like fall. Kids are back in school. The temperature is more comfortable. The sunlight seems to have turned a little golden around the edges. We ingest copious amounts of apples, tomatoes and squash. Orb weaver spiders set up their posts in a short lived attempt to find food before the weather gets too cold.
(Why is it only in the Autumn that they do this? And why is it always in a spot that you least expect? It seems that their locale of choice is head height in the doorway causing your face to not only be encased in this sticky dessicated bug-filled net but forces you to search wildly and spasmodically for the yet unseen dweller of the web upon your body...and I am not even afraid of spiders).
I love the rest and calmness that a Autumn afternoon allows. And even though it is technically still Summer, September just seems to slow in someways that August doesn't.
I love puttering around in the yard. Tidying. Harvesting. Visiting my girls.

(Isn't Lucy the best mama chicken ever??) Poop scooping. Finding whatever needs doing and doing it.
I can't say that many days are like this but when they are, they are delicious.
The kids and I found ourselves having just such a day yesterday. They played as I puttered.

As I stacked wood, they floated pieces of bark in the wheelbarrow that had filled with rain water. Eventually, I grabbed Liv's toolbox that she and Jeff had made,

another hammer or two and a few nails and we set to work together building boats from unused pieces of 2X4s. We hammered long nails for masts, and small nails for ropes to tie to. We coloured the sides with waterproof marker. Then we sailed our elaborate little vessels in our little sea.

Bliss on a Fall afternoon...

you are seeing a person

If I remember correctly, it all started with sunscreen. Liv needed to keep covered from the sun. She despises the cold chill of sunscreen on her skin, especially her face.
At the farmer's market, a woman was selling bonnets like the ones they wore long ago....and on 'Little House on the Prairie'. Liv LOVED hers. She would wear it every chance she got.
After many comments about her hat and 'Little House', we started to read "Little House in the Big Woods". She was hooked. Everything having to do with how settlers managed to exist daily was absorbed and sought after. Their clothing. Their tools. Their homes. Their toys.
We soon started to read "Farmer Boy" without much success or interest because Liv wanted to get on to another book with Laura in it. So we began "Little House on the Prairie". She was entranced by the journey and the loss and return of Jack, the dog. She was intrigue by the building of the house and the digging of the well. But when the Natives were introduced, she was hooked. She was aghast at how Ma 'spoke' about these people. She would bring it up in the car drilling me about how Ma could feel that way and how the First Nations people had lived at this time. She wanted to know MORE. We read about Sacajawea and that night could hear drumming and singing coming from the reserve close to our house. She stayed up late listening at the window asking me to describe how the people were dancing , what they were wearing, what they were saying. We've now been reading books, building popsicle stick longhouses, doing crayon rubbings of the petroglyphs close to our home, learning about the symbols behind each of the animals, creating stories for our toilet paper roll totem poles, listening to music, and taking in anything that may possibly have some form of information about the Indigenous People of our area. She talks nonstop about how she wants to find a longhouse, how she thinks that the First Nations peoples have been treated unjustly and asks about the myths and reminds me "How Robin got his Redbreast" when we see one of the little birds hopping by.

I am so pleased that she is able to find what interests her. What lights her fire of learning and is free to let it burn. I see her growing into who SHE is meant to be and it is humbling to be able to watch her growth and the evolving person that she is.