April Goals and Rhythm

Easter! The children (and lucky parent volunteers) learned to paint Pysanka, Ukrainian Eggs. We had a fabulous workshop at school, run by Joan Brander of Baba's Beeswax, who managed to create success, step by step, for all ages gr K through 7!

If you have not followed this blog before these monthly planning pages lay out a general structure for the month, including a theme and seasonal table, a way to wake, a table candle blessing, a couple of projects and a verse for going to sleep. These are goals the follow up varies from great to imperfect but having the plan helps it to happen and helps bring rhythm to our days!

April Festival / Theme
Easter, Spring is in the air.

Seasonal Table
In our handy dandy spring storage case (see post September 29th, 2009) we have all the little Easter trinkets we have made, collected and been gifted over the years. Flower fairies, eggs, chicks, bunnies. Felted, paper, wooden, stitched. We keep palm crosses made for Palm Sunday each year - they dry nicely. We even have blown Easter Eggs made for the past decade; some are whole some are pieces. This year we add our Eggs!

Waking Song
"Little rabbit foo foo, hopping through the forest, picking up the field mice and bopping them on the head" (may not be politically correct but it sure is fun)!
Little Rabbit Foo Foo - from summer camp - an old favorite around here.. we just sing the first few lines then everyone joins in as they wake and goes where it goes.. :-)
Feel free to use comments to request words to look them up on Google.

Breakfast Verse
"Snowdrop snowdrop dressed in green and white, what do you do when teh cold winds blow?
Hide my little heard and say, Cold winds, cold winds, go away."
Seems appropriate as it is colder now in teh Northwest than its been all winter :-) we'll save the 2nd verse for next month and spring weather.

Bedtime Verse
"Star for you to wish on, sun so warm and bright
Moon for you to think on, pleasant dreams, a kiss goodnight."
Author unknown, a friend gave this to us - we draw the pictures, star, moon on the child's tummy as we tuck them in. Our children are getting older but tehy still love these familiar traditions!


April Project 1 - Cascarones
Easter cascarones - a new twist on an old Latin tradition. Little pinata eggs that can be broken for luck over a friends head and contents (confetti) sprinkled for fun - have a dust pan handy :-) For Easter we photocopy and shrink some of our art to glue onto the egg. Instructions will follow in a future post this month - watch for them!

April Project 2 - Ukrainian Eggs
The children did a Pysanka workshop at school and it was fabulous. Instructions will also follow on a future post!

April Project 3 - Easter Bread
We are ambitious this month (and all at the beginning as Easter is pretty quick); but Easter bread is a family tradition! Watch for it!

Who's Following Who? And How?

OK where are all my followers? Where are all my comments? Is there anybody out there? If these statistics indicate how well my blog is progressing - I am sadly lacking!! :-) Perhaps I am missing something (no surprise there). Any suggestions?

Have a great day!

Luck of the Irish!

"You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind!"
.. isn't that the truth!

Draw a quick shamrock on paper and cut your two pieces of wool felt. Fill with a tuft of wool fleece and blanket or whip stitch, adding 2 or 3 glass beads every stitch. Don't forget to use a beading size needle and to split your embroidery floss down to 1 or 2 threads.


We made these wee amulets when the children were young and they still pull them out to wear every year. Loving stitches, memories, security, safety. Sitting around my girlfriends old, oak table; handwork circle, kids in tow, playing in the house around us. My daughter would watch and watch, week after week, with her intense blue eyes, brain clicking 'round - one day at the age of 6 she just picked up a needle and voila - she could sew!

"May you be in Heaven a half hour before
the Devil knows you're dead!"

Love these Irish proverbs! Happy St. Patrick's Day All!

Poetry and Verse

There is poetry filling up our house! Handwritten / typed on an ancient typewritter Santa once brought / lying 'round the floor of the playroom / on torn scraps in the art room / sent to me via e-mail!

Here are two of T's poems. He is 12 years old.

Rapture

The sweet honey and luscious chocolate
are an elaborate dream from near a place where wind
whispers to eternity and cool blue watery sea spray
floods the sun and shadows the gorgeous summer sky

Indulgence

by T (c)2010

'spring garden II' by C (c)2008

Love

Love is a language of its own; easy to gain
easy to lose. Sometimes we miss the
most important & wonderful gifts of life - we fail to stop to see a
gorgeous moment or listen to the
singing poem of Love. It is magnificent
to see through the dark shadows & soar through a dream full of Love.

by T (c)2010

This is wonderful! March Project 1 - Poetry - Complete!

Have a great day!

March Goals and Rhythm

'spring garden' by C (c)2008

If you have not followed this blog before these monthly planning pages lay out a general structure for the month, including a theme and seasonal table, a way to wake, a table candle blessing, a couple of projects and a verse for going to sleep. These are goals the follow up varies from great to imperfect but having the plan helps it to happen and helps bring rhythm to our days!

March Festival / Theme: Spring
March, while we still try to ski and snowshoe and hang onto winter, it is Spring Break, in our family the beginning of preparation for the arts - our speaking, dance and piano competitions are all in the next few months!

Seasonal Table - Spring
Whatever the children choose from our spring box - mermaids, flower fairies, garden gnomes! No the kids want to continue the red Canadian theme for ParOlympics, plus some tulips for spring!

Breakfast Verse
Continuing with author June Cotner's book House Blessings as a resource.

"The kiss of the sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth - One is nearer God's heart in a garden. Than anywhere else on earth.."
by Dorothy Frances Gurney (1858-1932). From House Blessings by June Cotner

Waking Song
Kids are wanting to continue with he line from "Beautiful Day" by the Boo Radley's. They like to join in! Find it on itunes.

"Wake up its a beautiful morning, the sun is shining for your eyes.., Wake up its a beautiful morning.."

Bedtime Verse
The children have started this calling our thing in the manner of "the Waltons" though they have never seen or heard of that show. We call out "good night great mama", "good night great daddy""good night great T.." "good night great C.." Its fun, its their own, we're going to run with it!

March Project 1 Poetry
The children are all over poetry at the moment so they are writing away. We will aim to submit some once i find a collaborate call for poetry submissions - it is never to early to practice this as long as children can handle being turned down!

March Project 2 Gratitude Book
The Secret Gratitude Book, by Rhonda Byrne - I love this we are filling in a page a day in the morning! Next year C wants to make our own - great idea!

Not a lot of bread or soup happening at the moment! Disappeared since we went away! That happens, we'll get back to it :-) Great salmon bbq, tenderloin bbq and even pie, however! We had a fabulous Bakehouse pie and now that has triggered a renewed interest in pie making, well pie eating at least!