Diggin' and Pickin'

One of my favorite harvest of the year was just a couple of weeks ago ... potatoes!

There is something so immensely satisfying about this harvest! It really does seem as though you are digging up an empty field; and then - "Look! Potatoes!!"

Despite our best intentions, we harvested enough to last a year (I may not be exaggerating!) Thank goodness we all like potatoes :-)

And somehow, despite all our years gardening and visiting self-pick farms, digging and growing and harvesting, we had never picked apples, a situation we have now remedied twice in just the past couple of weeks.

Sometimes it's hard to decide just which variety is your favorite, so it's good to try a couple!

Now to find new recipes for potatoes and apples ...

A Nature Shelf! {September 2012, week 2}

My little Nature Shelf is taking shape!

In the Waldorf tradition, your Nature Table should reflect the seasonal changes in your natural environment. For us here in Virginia, that means the first inklings of Fall are in the air.

The Nature Table is changed each month, with little additions made each week.

In week 1, along with your basics (home dyed playsilks and, for me, a gingerbread (gnome!) house we made a couple of months ago) you add items from the mineral world. I used some tumbled Crystals.

For week 2, you would add items to reflect the plant, and natural world. I added a blue playsilk and some pinecones and seed pods that we've collected on recent walks.

Next week, for week 3, I'll be adding a representative from the animal world.

And for the fourth week of the month, something from the human, or magical world (I like to add gnomes!)

But, really, my favorite part of the Nature Shelf is making the small changes and additions for the week, and then letting my four year old, The Little Guy, discover it. "Oh - look, Mama! Look what the gnomes did to the Nature Shelf!" Truly, it is the stuff that childhood dreams and flights of fancy are made of!

I'll be posting updates of our Nature Shelves ... I can't wait to see what the gnomes do next ;-)

A Nature Shelf! {September 2012, week 1}

We have always known that we wanted to homeschool our little ones ... it may not be for family, but it has just felt right for us.

But, once the decision has been made to homeschool, the next question is ... 'what kind of homeschooling'?! From unschooling, to strict 'school' type learning, we've bounced around a little finding, what we hope, is the right homeschooling fit for us.

Now, I'll admit that when I first stumbled across Waldorf as a fledgling Montessori teacher it seemed ... odd! Now that I have my own little brood, it seems nothing less than perfect; just the perfect way to learn and be allowed to develop and explore.

One of the aspects of Waldorf that really appeals to me is the aspect of bringing a little bit of nature closer to every day life ... a Nature Table!

Now, we live in a small house, with five people, a cat and lots and lots of stuff (although we are minimizing our stuff-load significantly!), and two of the people living in our house are ten month old 'littles' who are still trying to eat everything!  A table seemed too risky, and too much investment in terms of such a precious commodity - space!

So rather than a Nature Table, we are fashioning a Nature Shelf!

There are lots and lots of great articles and books on Nature Tables in the Waldorf tradition, and it's easy to be overwhelmed by how much time, money, effort and skill is put into them. If you're like me, one can be easily deterred when seeing how perfectly someone else seems to bake/decorate/educate/parent (fill in the blank!)

So this is my attempt to show just how easily it can be done, with little effort, time, money or skills! Hopefully!!

 And just in case you thought I might have been misleading you when I said it was a Nature Shelf, here is the shelf of the bookcase we are using! Junk on the top shelf (hmm ... this photo is inspiring me to take care of that - pronto!), homeschooling books on the next, and three bottom shelves of toys and playsilks are sandwiching our Nature Shelf! Nothing fancy here folks; but it's beautiful, and we're loving it!

What a Difference a Year Makes ...

Funny how life can change so much in such a short space of time!  

Baby Girl 

After taking nearly a full year away from this blog (can it technically be called a blog with only two posts?) I'm feeling the need to get back to it.

My Little Boy 

So this time last year I was a busy mama to The Little Guy ... fast forward a year and I am now the busy mama to three! Boy/Girl twins, My Little Boy and Baby Girl, have joined our gaggle and we're just one big hectic, messy, crunchy and frugal living family.

Adjusting to life as a family of five has been hectic (goodness, has it ever!) but we're slowly, slowly starting to find our rhythm and a flow that works for us.  Less stuff, and a drastically pared down schedule, coupled with more open ended and unstructured time have been key for us.  Of course, an ability to let go of any idea of what 'should' happen or be done has been helpful too!

As we approach the depths of winter, we're enjoying simple days at home, lots of easy-peasy craft projects (for both The Little Guy and I), meals a-plenty from the crock pot and cozy evenings folding laundry :-)