More on Reading Ages

An excellent article from Carrie at the Parenting Passageway: http://theparentingpassageway.com/2010/03/21/regarding-waldorf-and-the-early-reader/

Reading Woes...Not in my Book

I wanted to share a link to a great article today, one that explains why I am not concerned about a child who is not reading at 6, 7, 8 or 9. The debate is still a hot one, even in my own family circle, but I have too much experience with homeschooled children now to have any doubts that this child too will read...when he/she is ready, and then I will not be able to get their little head out of a book.

Nostalgia, A Waste of Time.,,or Not

This post was provoked by another of those naive political articles stating how glorious our country was 100 years ago when there were no taxes on X,Y or Z. This sort of argument always has the power to irritate the pants off me. There is no Utopia, there never was a Utopia. It is an idea and ideal that helps us strive for better, attempting to create our own perfect place on earth. 

Winter Parenting

Parenting in sub-zero weather can be at its best and its very worst. These January days are so short and so cold that time outside is limited and time inside gets boring. Little arms and legs get restless and big voices miss having a space in which to loose themselves. It's not always easy to find ways of getting that energy out without destroying anything and everything in its path.

Vacation Grammar Game Show/Jeu de Grammaire des Vacances

...get set, ready, conjugate! translate!

Gathered around the fun table (where we paint, craft and eat pizza on family  night), with chips, sausage and blue Mountain Dew (I know, I know), we prepared for our very own French contest. In a country where there are more than 400 sorts of cheese and regions too numerous to mention, each with their own traditions, brins of language and roots, French grammar is a unifying force.

Tasha Tudor Givaeway!

Last Week's Little Congregation of Geranium Transplants/ Petite Paroise de Boutures de Geraniums de la Semaine Derniere

 

Their Winter Abode/ Leur Abri de l'Hiver

 

The Expert Household Bakers/Les Boulangers/Patissiers Experts de la Maison

 

Cold Weather Baking: Cinnamon Caramel Rolls/Patisseries d'Hiver; P'tits Pains au Caramel

 

In Charge of the Rolls/Le Controlleurs des Travaux en Cours

 

Rhythm's Rewards/Les Gains d'un Rhythme Regulier

Setting a pace and a mood for one's home means continually adapting to the changes in family dynamics while remaining mindful of the need for certain parts to remain the same. When my first two children were small, it was so easy; we ate, we played, we slept, we started all over. The trouble is, I did not know it was easy, it seemed to take all of my strength and then some.

Thanks and No Thanks: Black Friday Blues

It is our traditional day in the United States to gather with family and friends and give thanks as we feast on a fabulous meal. Or it used to be, until the big stores decided to make the horror that is Black Friday even worse by extending it into Thanksgiving Day. I will have to miss my sister and her entire family today, because rampant consumerism has pushed out even the one holiday most Americans agree on in order to declare it a huge day of SHOPPING. 

She has had to work at increasingly odd hours the past few years as the giant retail store she works for engages in an arms race to see who can open the earliest on Black Friday. Now the deal is sealed; she has to work on Thanksgiving Day. 

As for our family; we will be sitting out both days in the good old tradition of "National Buy Nothing Day" in which we peacefully and passively protest the need to shop while enjoying Thanksgiving and then afternoons in front of the fireplace, eating popcorn and playing games.

I wish you were here, Amy.

Knitting Purse Essentials/ Les Necessaires du Tricot Pour le Sac a Main

This is it; when I have on my person the items pictured above, I can withstand being stranded for just about any amount of hours in complete harmony with the world, (but a cup of coffee does wonders for the mix): one or two sets of 9" Hiya-hiya circulars, one set of 4"DPNs in Harmony wood, from KnitPicks and yarn, any yarn. If there is no yarn, I might unravel a hospital sheet or my own sweater and make up a new pair of socks, a hat, a mini mochi mochi dinosaur or cupcake or some fingerless mitts. The Mini Mochi Mochi are all done with the double-pointed needles. The KnitPicks set has six different sizes; sufficient for any weight of yarn that would work for a tiny project. The hat in progress is on a 9"circular, it will be completed with the DPNs.

Le voici; quand j'ai avec moi le materiel ci-dessus, je peux rester en attente des heures entieres si il le faut, en toute tranquilité, (bon, une tasse de cafe, ca peut rajoutter a l'experience): une paire ou deux d'aiguilles circulaires de 23cm de chez Hiya Hiya, des aiguilles a double-point de 10cm en Harmony bois de chez Knitpicks et de la laine. Si la laine vient en manque, je pourrais toujours defaire un drap de l'hopital ou mon propre pull pour en fabriquer une paire de chaussettes, un bonnet, un dinosaur ou gateau mini mochi mochi ou bien des gants sans doigts. Les mini animaux, etc, sont tous fait avec les aiguilles .Le bonnet en progres est sur une aiguille circulaire de 23cm. Je le terminerai avec les aiguilles a double-points.