You're Never Fully Dressed...Smile

"Nothing is so disgusting to our sex as a want of cleanliness and delicacy in yours. I hope therefore the moment you rise from bed, your first work will be to dress yourself in such a style as that you be seen by any gentleman without his being able to discover a pinamiss." "Remember to...not to go out without your bonnet because it will make you very ugly and then we should not love you so much."(1)

Quote from Thomas Jefferson, much-lauded hero of homeschoolers and the father of "keep the government out of our lives, please,"

Taking the Time to...

1) Eat right, which equals cook, exercise, laugh, love, play a game of speed with your kid? (Yes, that last one was on purpose.) What is it that makes us among the busiest and least satisfied of all nations?

2) Enjoy what is beautiful in life. Go look at the river, the trees, the cacti, the people in the city, the gorgeous works we have taken the time to create from paint, clay, music and movement.

3) Get outside; we went snowshoeing last weekend for an hour or so. It was a sunny winter day, not too cold, and it was fantastic to be out of doors. It was a free event; look for them, locals, at the Wapsi and Nahant Marsh, or any naturalist center in your vicinity.

4) Do what makes you come alive, feel happy, enthusiastic.

I just found a note from 2005. I had four small children, the youngest was a baby, the oldest 8. It was a list of my accomplishments for the day, insanity:
-pumped milk for another baby
-led a parenting class at church (most likely after getting 5 children church-ready and there on time)
-baked 5 loaves of bread
-baked a chocolate cake
-dishes
-nursed baby, changed baby (15 times)
-carried baby when not being fed or changed
-had a play date at my house
-hoed the garden and planted: carrots, sugar snap peas, spinach and radishes
-washed the cloth diapers
-cooked dinner while bathing 3 kids and nursing
-read Chapter 5 of "The Magician's Nephew" aloud
-put kids to bed, nursed baby

Why?

Mostly, I was doing all of the things I wanted to do.  I wanted a big family and I want to be here with them. It must have been a day when my husband was working out of town. Besides, this was pretty much a typical day for me.

Last night I watched a news report on communities that are teaching children about bio-dynamic agriculture and exploring nature in a place where time has slowed back down to natural rhythms. It sounds very much like a real Waldorf school. It also sounds heavenly. I would very much like this for my family.

The two teens say there's no turning back. They are used to their world and comfortable in it. I am glad they find happiness in their day-to-day lives, but I also say this way leads to madness, along with grumpiness, feeling unfulfilled as a human being and overweight to boot. To each his own...but I am probably right.

But I try to remember to compromise, after all, did it make me happy to see my favorite apron out in the yard on a snow woman? No, but it did please me to see the kids outside making snow people. Even the ones I cannot publish on a family blog because of the visual effects one can add with spray paint these days, rendering perfectly inoffensive snow people a perfect menace to the neighborhood.

One last snowman; the littlest one, made by my littlest child, all alone in the dark, (and happy as a clam, a clam who is not in the dark in the snow):

Books You Listen To

I imagine, dear readers, that, like me, you may, perhaps, have allowed yourself to become too busy to read as much as you used to, or as much as you'd like. I have three books, real books, begun, only one of which has any remotely educational value, as well as being full of historical anecdotes to keep your interest:

The other two are pure fun; Dune, the prequel, because as an adolescent, I LOVED Dune and all things sci-fi, but the Amazon link is puzzling, because it looks like there may be more than one prequel to Dune. As I may offend a fan more die-hard than myself, I will not link to anything. The other; (out of print, but available for $30 or $.01) Always Coming Home, Ursula K. le Guin, is because my book club declared it our February read. It is sort of putting me to sleep, but I bought it and read it I will...in a few minutes, just after I finish my baby sweater,        and the matching hat,      and a blanket for Duncan and a sweater for Charles...in other words, my knitting can get in the way of my reading. As can exercise and excessive driving to jobs on the other side of the river, children's appointments and runs to pick up farm eggs.

Discovering the Power of the Written Word; Unschooling-Style

Charles, at ten, is a happy, eager reader, but until a few days ago, was not an avid writer. However, he figured out how to bug his sister through note-writing last night, though where the impetus came from is anyone's guess. The first slip of paper read; "Greetings. Valentine is fit. I am a robot from outer space." HE was about fit...to be tied...when he found out the insult he had meant for his beloved sister had been turned to a complement through the mistake of a single vowel.

 Spelling instantly became a hot topic with him, after a second attempt gone awry to do harm through writing. He spends way more time than I seem to have free, asking me to spell this, or making sure he spelled that right. He said himself; "Mama, I am so happy to write what I want to write, instead of what you make me write."

Go for it, kid.

Spanish Co-op Class

I realized, after yesterday's post on Spanish Class, that I had not posted previously about this addition to our homeschool year; a co-op with one other family, two days a week, where we exchange children and areas of expertise to teach science and Spanish. Up until this year, the sheer number of children and a sometimes unpredictable schedule, have made me hesitate to take part in a co-op. The need to hold a daily rhythm was greater than the desire to take advantage of extra opportunities. Add to that illness, work, and simply children reluctant to leave the house...it was enough.

However, when a good friend offered an exchange, just a small one; I would teach a Spanish class to her one son and she would take my TWO boys for a science class, Tuesday and Thursday each week; it sounded like an excellent idea. And here we are; five months into our lessons and having the time of our lives.

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I studied Senderos, an approach to teaching Spanish in a Waldorf classroom, available there and at other Waldorf bookstores. I thought about what has worked well and not so well in past French classes that I have offered. I knew I needed a plan; one teen girl, three boys ages 7-10 would be my pupils, and their favorite thing to do (at least for the boys) is to tear around the house or the yard like crazed warriors, yelling battle cries and brandishing boffers or Nerf guns. First part of plan; lots and lots of "recess" time. This has been beautifully captured by their science facilitator on her own blog Archie Down! Next up; a set rhythm for each lesson. They have ten minutes or so to greet each other before we begin by reciting our poem. They learn new stanzas and work on a project, which may be drawing or sculpting...or spray-painting and glue-guns. For "Estando la Mora en Su Lugar," a sort of Spanish version of "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly," we created a set of flashcards to remember the sequence of the mosca, rato, gato, etc. They each have a Spanish good book in which they write new vocabulary, dialogs, verses and illustrate to their hearts' content. Then they have free time. Once they have rid themselves of a bit of energy, we sit down and read together, in Spanish and English.

Content is not novel; colors, weather, clothing, food, numbers, the basics of what one needs to begin functioning in a language. We do many mini-dialogs, however, based on real-life, the same way I've been teaching French. "Come in, give me your coat. Honey, take his coat. You can put your shoes over here, etc." One of those dialogs was designed to be used in a special situation; eating out in a Mexican restaurant. We learned how to greet, request and thank politely, and then studied the menu to learn how to order before we went. Our server was gracious in speaking to us in only Spanish. It took her a lot longer, I imagine, than a normal table, but she was very patient and we left a good tip.  It was a fun outing!

Thinking of offering language lessons? Go ahead, there are many resources out there. Are you already teaching a foreign language in your homeschool or classroom? Please share your best ideas in the comment section below! And bonne journée!

January and Birthdays

A busy month for such a normally cold, quiet one.  Starting on the 6th, la Fete des Rois, or Epiphany:

For my birthday; a day in heaven! Thierry stayed home and offered me breakfast in bed, time to read and knit while he took care of dishes and cooking. In the afternoon, we went to see "The Hobbit," in the theatre, then came home and watched "The Lord of the Rings." Birthday photos taken in the basement, where the screen resides...as well as many other useful things. The bowl? Homemade mousse au chocolat.

The December birthdays fell behind this year, as I was not posting much. Here is my new 18-year-old:

And her father, with whom she shares a birthday:

A present from her 10-year-old brother...something about poo, I'm afraid, but really containing Swedish fish:

Christmastime at church:

Cate singing in holiday church program:

Lunch afterwards with my parents:

Spanish Class

In our little Spanish class, we are on to our second poem of the year. The first was the traditional; "Estando la Mora en su Lugar," set to music and learned so quickly that I was taken off guard. We tried a couple of others until we found one that best fit our first-year Spanish needs. This is it, and this is how we've gone about learning it:

Una Poesia de Parches

It is a poem of patchwork colors, knit with love. So, as far as vocabulary is concerned, we cover the colors and another important term; "knitting." Perfect. Also; sky, sun, night, day, happiness, sadness.

First; we made our own patchwork on paper:

Next, came the construction unit. We are going to present it as a play, and there was a request for masks, which led to papier maché and spray painting and 3-D paints.

They are a work in progress, but here are, so far, sadness (gris), night (negro) and happiness (rojo):

The books we are reading aloud now during lessons are:




And a fun kit we use for the games and vocabulary review:

For reference and for reading together, a picture dictionary:

!Que tenga un buen dia!

Happy New Year! (and where have the posts been?)

There is only so much free time for a mother of five. Even eschewing proper amounts of sleep, there are not enough hours in the day. So, a sort of choice, not really a conscious one, more of an "oops, another day without a blog post," consequence came about, because of an ambitious knitting project,

Simple Bread That Even the French Approve Of

Our daily bread; this is the one I make almost every day. I use a bread machine, but you can knead it by hand, I'll give the directions for that method too. It is simply perfect warm with butter to be eaten with your soup.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

                                         Martinmas Lantern-Making:

                                        Valentine turned 13, Happy Birthday, Dearest!

                   Not quite French patisserie, but made with love:

Vegan Stuffing Recipe...or What do I do With the Leftovers?

Portabella Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms

 Happy Post-Thanksgiving Day to the Americans here and abroad. I hope each and every one of you was privileged with a lovely family dinner...and all the holiday entails. Now what to do with the leftovers? Turkey is easy; freeze it and feed it to the kids in sandwiches for the next three weeks, but the dressing won't keep. Here is my recipe for both dressing and a dish to make today special.

Portabella Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms

From Homeschool to College, Part 2

So, what are college admissions officers searching for in a candidate? What would they see as desirable in a non-traditional applicant's portfolio?

This was my research assignment as I battled with words, memory and with my own inclination to get a bit warm and fuzzy and nostalgic, looking back over all the wonderful years of living with my daughter and watching her grow and become herself. How do you capture that? Is that even what is needed in the situation?

With her brother, during a moment of camaraderie; 

Here are the results, straight from the horse's mouth (though what truck a horse would have with college is beyond me):

1) Academic: an applicant will need to somehow convey the fact that they are college-ready. This could be through teacher narratives about what was studied, reading lists (saved!), information on curriculum used (hmmm), and copies of papers written or projects completed.

From Princeton's website:

"We understand that for many home schooled students there is not as clear a distinction between academic and non-academic activities as there might be for students in a traditional high school.

The Day the Books Fit

The Day the Books Fit is a new holiday in our family. I know so, because I declared it on October 22, as I slid the last remaining volume onto a shelf, with room to spare and TWO free shelves for library books. The dog promptly took a nap in the sun spot on the bottom of these. This is a really big, wondrous deal. No more searching high and low; either for a book or for a place to put it away. No more piles of books in too many corners and on flat surfaces. And the shear accomplishment of what turned out to be a serious project. Not only are there now enough bookshelves, but there is also an extra bedroom in a third of what used to be our playroom/classroom.

Here is what it looked like during the divide and paint phase:

And here is the bookshelf: (dang it, someone left Balzac and Murderous Maths where they should not be... just when you think you've got it all figured out!) And, if you see one that belongs to you on the far left shelf, second one from the top, that's because the gnome is guarding the shelf of "books that belong to other people." Please stop in for a cup of tea and recover your missing volume.

How to Cook a Chicken

HOW TO COOK A CHICKEN

Ingredients:
1 chicken
salt
pepper

First: find the chicken. You will not find this bird in your local supermarket. Seek out a farmer, either at the farmer's market, through a co-op or through word of mouth.

Hamburgers and Fries at Our House

As I wait for the fries to be done frying and the boys to finish grilling the hamburgers, I thought about how our favorite (though naughty) meal is also a very simple one to make from real food. It is so simple that I have time to jot this down while it is all cooking. Here is my top secret recipe for hamburgers, and my French husband's recipe for French fries (of course).