Amid all the other lessons of today, we managed to finish up our newsletter. 
Lynn
|
||||
|
I absolutely LOVE seeing the creative side of my daughter come out when we really get into playing dolls in her room. She has her art desk close by, so it’s no trouble to stop and invent whatever you need in the midst of playing. Take, for instance…
this fine shower. In the middle of redoing some rooms, Princess of the Universe decided that the dolls absolutely positively had to have a shower installed in their bathroom. Okay. Yes. But OF COURSE! She used a little clear plastic box (left over from who knows what), some light wood material left over from the recent airplane building, and a little condiment container for the shower head. She even used one of her foam stickers as a no-slip pad in the tub, which has been trimmed in the most beautiful of polka dot tiles. And that was not all. Princess of the Universe loves to go to the HGTV website and watch the decorators transform rooms from dull to DrAmAtIc!!! She especially likes David Bromstad. She got the idea for doing a custom piece of art work on a box. If you know David, then you’ll know about the boxes. Anyhoo…
This art on a box top really pops in the fancy-schmancy dolls dressing room! Yes, I love to see her creative side, but I also love just being with her. Playing side by side, laughing, putting little things into place in the doll house, with our faces practically side by side. I guess I’m just in love with my children.
Another recent creation by Princess of the Universe is this sweet little crib/playpen for the babies. Let me tell you, it has come in VERY handy in keeping the dolls safe from wild horses, fires, storms, and even a bear attack! Oh yes. WHO would have every expected that a well known bear from preschool days would wander out of his bookshelf and over to the doll house to attack??!! Not I. On a school note, I am absolutely LOVING Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho No, really. There’s something so totally endearing about this book, not to mention how educational it is. And can anyone say beautifully illustrated? It is illustrated by Demi.
Shakespeare anyone? We are still reading Hamlet and enjoying all these words you never hear anymore. I was Bernardo today. Joseph was Horatio. Princess of the Universe was Marcellus. (I think I have all those spelled right.) Well, another day has come to a close. Now it’s time for bedtime stories and sleep. There’ll be more fun — hopefully — tomorrow. Lynn There’s been much activity around the doll house this evening.
We recently finished up Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book) Let me just say that the dolls were wild with excitement to find out that Snowflake Bentley was a distant cousin on their family tree! And they inherited the most amazing old photograph.
There’s more at homemadedollhouse.blogspot.com Good night, I like to take time on Sunday evenings and get ready for Mondays. Monday brings a work day for me, a new school week and a new week of menus. This evening was nice. In addition to having chicken and garlic pizza – a treat around here - I got a lot of planning done for the upcoming week. I also managed to declutter and clean up the girly-girl mantle in our bedroom, the place where all my hair thingys live.
It was hair pins and clips gone wild, but now all is under control, I’m happy to report. I threw things away that were no longer usable. I fished out a few nails and safety pins (gasp) that had gotten mixed in with hair pins and put them in their proper places. I got really inspired to try to do more with Michaela’s hair on Sunday mornings, rather than just let her fly out of the house with a ponytail. Yes, it was pretty bad.
As far as school, I have copywork lined up for this upcoming week. Michaela will be copying from Matthew 5, verses 3 through 11. Joseph will be copying from Robert Louis Stevenson all week. Math lessons are ready. For Five In A Row, Michaela will begin studying I am really excited about this book because Joseph is studying Japanese and I think he will enjoy listening in on some of Michaela’s lessons, and I think Michaela can learn some things from Joseph. It should be fun! I am also planning to start teaching Michaela to play the piano tomorrow. Our budget really only allows for one type of lesson at a time, and that is going to karate, which we are enjoying immensely and don’t want to give up. I don’t play piano myself, but played the clarinet and bassoon in school, so I think we can learn together. I found some very simple books at the thrift store and we do have a nice keyboard, so here we go! It’s time for bed now, and I’m confident I shall sleep more peacefully knowing that all of my pretty hair pins are nail-free and where they belong.
Good night! I’m just not willing to waste anything that’s good. If the prices of food were not enough to make me feel this way, knowing that there are people who go hungry certainly is.
We’ve stopped making pizza regularly since we are trying to eat less cheese, but I think very occasionally, with low-fat mozzarella, it’s probably okay, especially if we can knock each other away from the table in time to not eat five or six pieces each. Yesterday we had some very good BBQ chicken. It was all white meat, so I knew it would be awesome on pizza. I had about a quart container of it left over–not enough to feed six of us as a main dish but enough to do something with. It was really, really good chopped up and put onto homemade pizza crusts with garlic-flavored tomato sauce and freshly minced garlic. Yum. NOTE: This pizza can actually be even healthier. Sometimes I sautee spinach leaves in olive oil with fresh garlic, just long enough to wilt them good, and we add those too. Also, thinly sliced roma tomatoes are great! For the dough I use a recipe from a packet of Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast. I double the recipe and get four thin pizzas from it. I checked out the Fleischmann website Breadworld, which is great, by the way, but I did not find this particular recipe, so I’ll share it here. PIZZA DOUGH
Soften yeast in warm water, in a mixing bowl. Add 2 cups flour, salt and oil. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth, about 4-6 minutes. Place in greased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes. Punch dough down. Pat dough into a greased large pizza pan. Top with desired toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until done. The above recipe is calling for the dough to make just one thick pizza crust. I use the same recipe for two thin crusts, doubling the recipe to make four crusts. I roll them out and bake them on a flat pan with toppings of choice. It makes a FANTASTIC pizza crust. Being thin, it doesn’t need to bake as long as stated above. For sauce on the crust, one 8-ounce can of Hunt’s tomato sauce flavored with basil or garlic, etc. will be enough sauce for two pizzas. This makes a really good pizza sauce that doesn’t compete too strongly with the toppings. Lynn Today’s a work day for me (sigh). I’ll miss you today, blogland.
This morning I’ll sit down at my work desk with a lot of thoughts on my mind. As Joseph’s graduation from our homeschool nears, how will we define whether or not we’ve been successful? Will Joseph feel his education was a success? There have been many obstacles. Three heart procedures for my husband over the course of five years. My having to somehow provide continuous medical insurance coverage. Those were the two biggies. And yet, if homeschooling is going on, then it must be given just as much of a priority as everything else. Add to the mix that Joseph deals with dyslexia big time, and the matter of success becomes even more complicated. The last time we had him tested, his spelling scores… Hmmm. Do I share this on line? I don’t think he minds, especially if it helps someone else. He spells on a third grade level. But his reading comprehension is 3rd year college. The consultant said she’d never seen such a span. Her words to me were that he’s compensating for his disability. Very well. He’ll be fine. But how do you take notes in a college class if you write and spell slowly? How do you ever prepare for college if you cannot remember from week to week how to spell “every” or “where?” It’s tough. As tenacious as I was regarding Joseph becoming a reader, which he surely is, I am bound and determined that he will spell well. We are down to months left. A quotation I saw yesterday has been on my mind.
I have to just trust that if we keep working hard and pushing ourselves, we’ll end up exactly where we should be in time for graduation. I always enjoy a work day when I have something major to turn over in the back of my mind all day. More on this later. Lynn Paying for Medical School will not be an issue.
His handwriting is just too neat. I don’t think medical school is in the stars for this child. Another son, however, could end up a brain surgeon if his handwriting holds out. Lynn So much to do today! I am working on the January newsletter for my website, The Healthy Homeschool. The goal was to publish monthly, but it’s not easy keeping everything done. (Tracy, I just do what I can in a day and then hope for another day. I like to stay busy, but alas there are only so many hours in each day! And I do use Mod-Podge.) I am requiring each one of my homeschooled children to contribute something to the newsletter, so this should prove interesting. Joseph already has his contribution. We’ll see what Princess of the Universe comes up with. I’ll place a link when it’s done.
A couple of days ago my husband brought home a package of model airplanes for Miss Priss. She set to work putting them together yesterday. It was a good lesson in ReAdInG InStRuCtIoNs before starting something. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. She did get them put together, though, and they flew beautifully! That was her science lesson for yesterday.
Last night we started placing furniture in the new doll house. We put a tiny cuphook-type screw in the ceiling and hung our little paper lantern. I love it. The walls need some color and some art pieces, but we’ll tackle that in time. It was just really fun to get back into playing. As you can see, one of the little woodland folk, Paisley, has been invited to come in and visit. She’s behaving herself. So far. Unfortunately, thanks to Michaela’s imagination, a Fisher Price horse went bucking wildly through the house last night and messed a bunch of stuff up, so we’ve got some clean-up to do tonight. For our bedtime story we read Yonder
This book is SO sweet. I, of course, cried at the last of it (like I always do with a good melancholy sort of book) and Princess of the Universe had to wait on the last few sentences while I got my sniffles under control. I cannot believe I have not seen this book before now. It would be an awesome go-along for Warm As Wool or They Were Strong and Good
Before going to bed, I couldn’t help but notice this. Bitty Baby looked to me to be a bit concerned that there was an alien in her crib, but this is a child’s world after all, so I guess it works. On a gardening note, I have to step outside each day and see a bit of green. I am thinking of spring, but enjoying winter. Yes, I do realize what month it is.
I appreciate the herbs for producing even a little bit. I also noted many bright green dandelions in the vegetable garden. They will make a healthy infusion today.
And look poking through the ground! It would appear to be hyacinth or tulips. One would think that I would know, but I planted so much in this bed last year….
Rosemary, I love you. You have a touch of blue even in the coldest months. What would I do without you? Just a couple more things. Diane, this
is the first film version of Hamlet Finally, my son Joseph said something this morning that I appreciated. He said when we lose, we look back and see what we did wrong. We note acutely what we could have done better. When we win, however, we sometimes go on without looking at what we could have done better. I want to remember this, in times of winning and losing. Lynn ClArItY. I had it at the thrift store today. Yes I did. I had to get out for an hour this morning. We had a lot of school work to do today, but the last few weeks have been so crazy-busy for me, with company, cooking, shopping, holidays, and cleaning out, I woke up this morning with one thought in mind: Goodwill or bust.
I went in with my word in mind. My thoughts were clear, my reasons for shopping were to find things we could really use and to buy only things that would really save us money in the long-run. I checked my thinking to make sure I could stay true to my belief that we need to pay down some debt in 2009 and not overspend on things we don’t need. I was thrilled to find this really cute Life is Good shirt with the tags still on it. I can definitely trade up one of my T shirts. Yes.
I was very restrained at the books, picking out about 10 and then culling enough to get back down to just 4.
I love the weathered look of this “welcome” sign and just know that I can repurpose it for something beautiful to hang up somewhere in the house and maybe replace something I’m tired of. For 1.49, I bought it.
I also bought this beautiful frame. I’ll show you this again later when I have something in it. I came home feeling really good about sticking to my WORD and then we settled into some serious school work. Tuesday is not a work day for me, so the kids get my full attention. We worked on math, read part of Act I Scene I of Hamlet. And I though we could do Hamlet in a week. (laughs hysterically) We also read some about the reformation and Henry VIII, of course to tie in with this whole Shakespeare drama thing. Joseph’s copywork was a poem from Tolkien’s work. When we finished up, I got on the computer to read more at Ambleside Online because I am really wanting to get more serious about my belief in Charlotte Mason and I want to be a part of Ambleside. Or maybe I should say I want Ambleside to be a part of our homeschool. Supper was tacos and bran-chocolate chip muffins and then I had some crafting time. Want to see what I did with the weathered sign?
I LOVE the way it turned out. LOVE it. Becky, can you see some of that gorgeous tissue paper incorporated into this? The word GARDEN. The little girl on her knees gardening (near top right).
I love the message. HAPPINESS MUST BE GROWN IN ONE’S OWN GARDEN. I agree. Don’t you? Lynn Today was a work day for me and it’s not always easy to get up from being at my desk all day and then start on supper. Sigh. What to fix! The easy days are the days I use the crockpot. Today was not an easy day, but it ended up okay.
These are potatoes cut into pretty thin wedges and then tossed with a liberal amount of olive oil. I stand them neatly in the pan, skin side down, because it seems the skins don’t stick so much. I sprinkle them — again liberally, with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and paprika. Then I bake at 400 degrees for probably 20-30 minutes or until done and crunchy and I don’t turn them or anything. They are the best fries ever.
You don’t need to know how many of these I can eat with ketchup. Or not. We also had salmon patties, slaw and homemade apple sauce. Yum. On another note, I called to renew a magazine subscription today and was totally blown away by the fact that this magazine — my favorite magazine ever…
is NO LONGER GOING TO BE PUBLISHED. Why? The man answering the phone could not tell me. Just that the last issue I bought, Dec 2008/Jan 2009, will be the last one. I am sad. Was it your favorite magazine too? Lynn |
Approaching-50 mother of four. Thrifter. Content with lots of clothes bought for very little money. Loves retro. (That could be styles from the 40s and 50s. And sometimes stuff even older than that. And sometimes stuff from all time, all mixed up together!) Bluffs about decluttering but secretly loves STUFF. Goes through stages. Has standing and staring spells before rearranging the entire home. Just because. Tune in each day to see what new outfit comes home from G.W. Boutique next. (That's Goodwill, by the way.) Oh, and she owns a spoiled beagle named Annie. And this blog.   <div align="center"><a href="http://www.amothersjournal.com" title="A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong"><img src="http://www.innatelygray.com/images/abitofbirdsong_120_200.jpg" alt="A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong" style="border:none;" /></a></div>    
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
 
I would
|
|||
|
Copyright © 2012 A Mother's Journal ~ A Bit of Birdsong - All Rights Reserved
Powered by WordPress & the Atahualpa Theme by BytesForAll. Discuss on our WP Forum |
||||
by Dawnine Spivak. I think this is my all-time favorite FIAR book. Well, I’ve said that before haven’t I?
for 
. 
, because of the homesteading and strong family theme. It also has a theme of planting plum trees that grow and produce over time, so any orchard or tree or farming theme would work too.
that comes to mind. Do you have a recommendation? Anyone have a recommendation? I am going to pursue seeing a theatrical production of Shakespeare, but not sure I can find Hamlet this year. 
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
Recent Thoughts