First Day

Each year we begin our first day
with a special breakfast cooked

by daddy!

Then, when all is cleared and the teacher is ready, daddy walks the girls out the side door up to the front door of our "school". He rings the bell and introduces the girls to their teacher! They love this! We take a picture and then move to the schoolroom and start our year.

It all went smoothly..new circle time songs and verses, introducing the recorder, note "B", and then on to Main Lesson! We did forms with our finger in air and drawn on our backs and then in the Main Lesson books. I told the first part of the container story from A Journey First Grade curriculum

and the girls drew what I had on the blackboard. By then it was snack time, so it worked out great!

After, we took up our handwork project of the week- our felt playmat! I will be posting this soon :) Can't wait until tomorrow...

Ready, set?

Tomorrow is our first day, so I am finalizing things, reading this week's story (again) and creating the chalkboard drawing. I also put the Form drawings on the other chalkboard.










I laid out all the supplies, candles, recorders, main lesson books. Now off to bed!

Spider

A giant argiope spider has made a web in our backyard! I saw the tiny male off to the side, but is impossible to see in this picture. I attached another better example as mine was very hard to photo due to background. It is a bit creepy when you come upon one of these, but they are harmless and very interesting to watch.

Magical Tooth Fairy

At 6:45 am Lily emerged, eye-tooth in hand, explaining how it fell out in the middle of the night and she tried to hold on to it all night so she wouldn't lose it. She said she dropped it 6 times and has to search all around the bed! We put it safely into the tooth pouch where it has waited all day to be put under her pillow.

The lovely tooth fairy was very generous bringing a new charm for Lily's bracelet (she turns each tooth into a charm) a sundollar (shell) and beautiful stone. This visit she also received a small note saying how white and shiny her teeth are and that she knows she will be back soon due to another loose tooth!

All topped off with a few sprinkles of fairy magic dust...

Violin Lesson

Yesterday was Brooke's first official violin lesson. She spent the whole last year on a sofa watching her sister learn cello. The have a wonderful teacher who uses the Suzuki method. She decided at the end of the year she wanted to play the violin, so the teacher let her hold one and play a bit, to really get the feel of it. All summer she has not wavered, even when tempted with ballet or gymnastics, she knows what she wants, my little choleric wonder.

This morning the two of them set up there music station and played a duet for us. It was most amazing and all I could picture was the two of them playing Carnegie Hall one day! Oh, a mother's dream....

Coloring with our Feet!

I am not sure how our conversation evolved into "Mom, can you draw with your feet?" but...it was a great Sunday afternoon activity. There was laughing and dropping crayons and giggling and exclaiming, "Eeeww,, mine is weird!" But, the second try drawings somewhat resembled what they were actually trying to draw. Great for First Graders. We may expand this to painting when I am feeling especially brave. :)

I recommend this highly!

First Grade Planner

The past few weeks I have been scouring around for the "perfect" planner for our Waldorf First Grade. I checked the homeschool planners, teacher planners and regular calendars. None worked for me. So, being the anal chloeric that I am, decided to create my own. *wink*

It is really nothing earth shattering, but has what I need. I did something similar last year for Kindy. I just fill in the date beside the day of the week and has plenty of room for notes. The best part is that if I need to add or delete a column, I can!! If anyone wants it, I will email you the file in excel format. I can also email my Kindy one, just let me know.

I just took a small 3-ring binder and slipped in a watercolor painting for the front. Then I have it with days of the week Mon-Wed on the left and Thur-Fri-Notes on the right sheet. I use the pockets for other notes and verses.
I know it is a bit blurry, but it says Main Lesson, Circle/games,Handwork, Nakng, Music, Spanish, Social Studies, and Notes.

Hummingbirds begin to migrate

Every August, we watch many ruby throat hummers come through our area on there way down to South America. I was just thinking that I hadn't seen many. But, what I realized was that I was not spending time "looking". The last 3 mornings I brought my morning tea on to my front porch and every 2-3 minutes, one came to my feeder and flowers! It is so magical watching them hover and swoop down and the buzzing! If you have never heard those wings beating close to your head, you can't imagine how powerful it sounds!

I snapped these 2 pictures with a smile.

Handwork- Felt Cats

We handcrafted a few kittys from the book Making Fairy-tale Wool animals

Here are step-by-step pictures of their creation! I think they came out great. Oh, and the small gray one was made by my 6 1/2 yr old! I only helped a bit..Felting really isn't hard once you get the hang of it. Just need patience and a few days.. was very therapeutic during rainy days here in Coastal SC.

Step 1) Bend pipe cleaners for body form. Tie on legs with thread (tightly)

2)Wrap tips of head, tail and paws with wool

3) Start wrapping thin strips of wool on head, criss cross to shoulders and legs. Keep taught and smooth. The key is many light layers.

4) Keep wrapping to thicken body and wrap tail..make back legs wider at top, criss crossing onto trunk to keep smooth.

5)When body looks the right size, add decorative markings and needle felt where you need to make it stronger and smoother. It gives extra durability.

6) Needle felt on small wisps of wool for ears. Eyes can be sewn on with embroidery floss and/or a small bead (see top pictures we used beads only) Nose and mouth are sewn on with light pink floss going through the neck. Needle felt in any excess thread to cover. Your done!

Lots and Lots of Waffles!

I made a double bath of these Wonderful Waffles to freeze. Much more economical and organic ingredients! Here is the recipe. It is from Super Baby Food book I have used since my girls were babies.

Separate 2 eggs. Mix is this order:

2 beaten egg yolks
1 3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter ( I always cut this in half and use applesauce to make up the rest)
****secret ingredient*** add a few shakes of cinnamon!

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form (I put a bowl in freezer then put egg white in, helps speed up the process) Fold into rest of ingredients. Bake in preheated waffle iron.

Morning Meditation

I began my day early this morning (well, early for me) 6am.. as I have been doing for several weeks now. In fact, I have only missed one day. I can't wait to sneak out into the living room while it is barely light, followed only by the cat. All is still and cozy. I wrap up in a small throw, turn on my meditation music on my Ipod and have a blissful hour (or whenever the first girl gets up!)
I put many intentions out to the universe..I contemplate parenting issues, ask for help in homeschooling and ways to grow my finances. But, most of all I enjoy just.. Being... Me

Fixing Felt Toys

We took a good look at some half finished projects and some toys that had been really "loved"
I got out my huge bag of felt roving and my felting needle and I began to repair. New eyes sewn on, ears re-created and for that poor family- new hair!!
I even made a Pinto Horse out of the felt horses the girls received for the holidays many years ago. They had holes in them, so I patched with dark brown felt and they loved it!

I am inspired now to make another felt cat.. I will keep you updated!

Peach Cobbler

This recipe is just too good not to share... If you have peaches at their peak, this will be amazing! The following is with the sugar cut in half..I made it previously and it was too sweet. This time, fantastic! My peaches were very ripe..

*Boil peaches for 60 seconds, remove, then plunge into icy water. Skins peel right off. Cut and chill butter for later.

6-8 fresh peaches-peeled, pitted and sliced 1/4 brown sugar

thin wedges 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp fresh lemon juice 1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 tsps corn starch

Preheat to 425. In large bowl combine above ingredients. Toss to coat evenly and pour into 2 quart baking dish. Bake 10 minutes.

Meanwhile..

1 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup boiling water chilled and cut into small pieces

Topping: 3 tblsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon= mix together

Combine flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. Blend butter in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water just until combined (not too wet)

Remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of flour mixture on top (we took small amounts and spread them all over) Sprinkle cinnamon sugar topping over entire cobbler.

Bake until topping is just golden, approx. 30 min.

Under the Orange Moon

We watched the amazing orange moon the past few night. Last night, my DH and I took a walk on the beach. Hand-in-hand we walked under starry lit skies, until that huge orange glowing ball arose over the ocean... magical.

Summer on the Farm

Yesterday we drove to Indigo Farms about an hour north in NC . What fun! The girls fed the goats weeds they pulled up, chased chickens and turkeys and saw the biggest pig imaginable. Inside the farm store were luscious fruits and vegetables waiting to be taken home. I saw a basket filled with fresh yellow wax beans and couldn't resist! Blackberries, butter beans and fresh baked goods also made it into my basket.


I received these 3 white bowls as a gift from a dear friend. I just love them! Look how amazing they look holding this fresh fruit. Lazy, summer days...

Farmers Market Fare

We visited our local weekly Farmers Market. Though it was hot, the girls were refreshed by the free ice cream cones they were served upon arrival! I scrounged around looking for a sweet melon and some excellent red peppers.

I did buy something new- a Patty-Pan squash. It is the onion looking thing. I was told to cut out the stem and slice like a tomato. Then, rub with olive oil, salt and grill or fry! Here is a link to more recipes with this cute, but odd squash. Can't wait to try it, we agreed to try something new each week.

Homeschool Planning

I have been gathering all my books and supplies the last few weeks. It has started to look like a Waldorf store in here! I am planning First grade for my twin girls.. It is the first "real" year, since Waldorf Education really begins in First Grade. We have been doing basic rhythms and circle time, handcrafts and stories the last 3 years to establish a gentle flow.

For me, planning becomes an important part. In the past, when I had a basic outline with supplies ready -it all went smoothly. The time I thought I could wing it, not so smooth. So, this year I am determined to plan through the end of the school year even if we don't follow exactly.

Any tips on planning or ideas you have are welcome!

Here is a link to wonderful planning audios & other info. Waldorf Planning