February Goals and Rhythm

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!

February Festival /
Themes: Red! Olympics / Valentines / Chinese New Years
OK February and Canadian Olympic Fever is in full swing! We hung a few flags on the house and stuck some in the window boxes! I have shirts, scarves and pennants ready for my Dad's momentous torch bearing run on the 11th and any Olympic community events we are attending. So it looks like February is red, red, red.. Olympics (red for Canada - Believe!), Valentines and Chinese New Year (Feb 14th with Valentines this year - year of the Tiger). A strong start to 2010!


Seasonal Table - Red
We usually have a red February nature table full of cut out paper hearts, red roses and Chinese paper decorations from China town - this is a must see time of year for any China Town - decked out in red and gold paper decorations - fabulous in any city! 2010 sees the addition of some Canadian and Olympic flags to our table, maybe a few maple leaves - it all works together magically!

Breakfast Verse
We are sticking to one verse a month to simplify; this since December actually. Found a great author June Cotner! She compiles books of poems, prayers, blessings, toasts in her many books - check her out, interdenominational, a great resource for this type of thing!

"May this house be filled with joy in the morning and sweet dreams at night. Blessings on our meal today."
Welsh Blessing author unknown. From House Blessings by June Cotner

Love these simple napkin Valentines!

Waking Song
This is a catchy tune from teh song "Beautiful Day" by teh Boo Radley's, 1980's I think. Find it on itunes.

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

So many souces! Explore pop songs from your teens,twenty's, and use wake up lines; Us, James Brown, you'll be surprised! Depending on the ages of your children, consider campfire songs, girlguide songs, nursery rhymes! There's lots out there!

Bedtime Verse
sung, and there are more verses I just do not remember. This is my son's choice, from their younger years.

"The evening is coming, the sun sinks to rest, the crows are all flying straight home to their nest
Caw says the crow as he flies overhead, it time that we all were going to bed"

My son's Canadian Valentines!

February Project 1 Valentine Cards
Time to pull out the Valentines ephemera, images, doilies, red, pink and white paper, ribbons and bows, ruffly scissors, glitter, beads etc. Put it all-out on the craft table and let the kids go to town. Simple handmade valentines are really appreciated by other families these days. Our children love making them! They usually cut small square of pretty card stock and fill it full of decorations. Our English tradition is to sing Love ? a fun game and makes it easy to do several! This has become a tradition in our neighbourhood now. Secret Valentines appear on our doors and in our mailbox, even by snail mail every year! All ages participating, kids and seniors who live on our street in particular! Here are my son's Canadian Valentines!


February Project 2 Going on a holiday - so probably no project 2!

January Goals and Rhythm

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!

January Theme / Festival - New Year
It is always fun to make New Years resolutions, a feeling of starting fresh, the human gift of eternal hope and renewal!

Seasonal Table - Stars
Our seasonal table seems to center around stars for New Years or Chinese New Years Festival colours. This year stars, candles, lanterns, blue, gold, yellow and red!

Breakfast Verse
"January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow. Blessings on our meal today."
From Around the Year by Elsa Beskow.

Waking Song
"Good morning dear earth, good morning dear sun, good morning dear stones and flowers everyone. Good morning dear and birds in the trees, good morning to you and good morning to me!" (at least that is how my children remember it!)

Actually not a song, but children still love and requested "Good Morning Dear Earth" from preschool and playgroup!

Bedtime Verse
The children want to continue with "Oh Holy Night" from December and though I love Christmas I need to move on! So from A Child's Seasonal Treasury by Betty M Jones we have Colourful Journey which is probably for art but my children like to think of it as for dreaming too.

"With my crayons I will go, Journeying o'er the bright rainbow, Red and yellow, green and blue, Orange and purple, that will do, Now let's see where they take me to."

January project 1 New Years Resolution Collage
Taking New Years Resolutions a step further this is a Wonderful tool I learned from a friend last year. I found doing this had a huge impact on my year in a very subtle manner and my children are all over doing this!

Simply take a large piece of poster paper (dollar store / staples / wallmart) and a bunch of magazines and some magazines and collage what the you (or the new you!) looks like for this year. Ideas that strike you, images you like, images that represent what you want from, or for yourself (not stuff you want rather the image of who you want to be).

For example last year I had all kinds of sexy and more outlandish model pictures as I want to loosen up my style a bit, be more artsy, more attractive - hey don't we all? For me not for anybody else! Then I have fresh veggies for healthy food, social eating activities! I want to eat better and with friends more - and from my own garden - all those thoughts are in my food images, then I had romance and flowers. I want to be more romantic, be treated more romantically; have more flowers in my life, my garden, my home.


Then you add words, quotes, again vocabulary, poetry, prose that inspire you! That evoke your goals. Use different colours, different pens. You can go a step further add ephemera or anything you wish, you can put more on the back if you run our of space or have super secret goals :-) but my project is just two step. Step 1 Images Step 2 Words. The whole family can do this together or just you or just the children, but I do suggest you give it a try it is surprisingly powerful. When December rolls 'round and the New Year is on the horizon you will know what i mean! You'll want to so this every year!

January Project 2 Trip to China Town to see it Decked Out for Chinese New Year
Meant to do that last 2 years and haven't so we'll try again!

Happy New Years!