Alina's Adventures

That poetry book in the pipelines.

Gnome and the King discuss "is" and "ain't".

I haven't been blogging as much, and I miss it. I miss the soft chorus of voices and faces from around the world. The wisdom of other mothers. The creativity and ingenuity of fellow females.

One big reason for the diminished blogging involves my first poetry chapbook coming out in March. It's called Objects In Vases, and many of you will recognize not my only voice but also, I think, your own inside its pages.

I am grateful for a generous, kindhearted, and (yes yes yes) homeschooling editor, as I am grateful to the publisher, Anchor & Plume, for making this such a beautiful experience in a challenging year.

At first, I wasn't sure whether to blog this book-- partly because I fall prey to the suspicion sometimes that poetry is extraneous, a luxury, an aspect of life we don't need, a facet of leisure. That is what I think.

But it's not what I believe. I know better than my cultural conditioning which tells me poetry doesn't matter. I know the first written history began as poetry and that poetry, whether in the form of psalms or sonnets or lyric, feeds a space in us that no sitcom or self-help book or video game can oblige. A space that is aching to be spoken and engaged.

So this is my first poetry book. It comes from the "wrack" (to borrow from poet, Mary Ruefle) and glory and ruin of homeschooling my children. It comes from the giant slalom of daily married life. It comes from the negotiations between my Alabama self and my native Romanian. It comes from the ordinary and everyday menu of successes and strife. It is a story of what it means to be a female- and a question. It is about you. And me.

I would be honored if you considered sharing it with others. You can pre-order a copy for $9 right now and it will magically appear in your March mailbox, just in time for spring. I will also have a free poem study handout/activity available on this website in late April to use with one of the more lyrical poems from the book. 

Your support means more than I can say. Or write. Please consider supporting other amazing authors featured by Anchor & Plume as well. Thank you. And thank you. For being a face and a name in a world of beautiful stories, a moment on our planet's wild heart.

DIY holiday dioramas.

This holiday season has been a challenge. Traditions which assumed mom's presence gape open, untouched. So much of what we know and love requires reconfiguration.

A frosty tree ornament.

With an oft-heavy heart and un-nimble fingers, we try to make the best of things. The best being, of course, what is here.

Frosty & his acorn-capped friend.

Crazy glue plus various odds and ends, including a small selection of martisorii from Bunica, became dioramas.

OUR DIORAMA INGREDIENTS

Box tops or boxes

Crazy Glue (brush-on is best)

Handmade paper

Scrap paper

Glitter + glue

Wooden circles

Acrylic paint & brushes

Old wrapping paper pieces

Wooden craft figurines

Cotton balls (for snow)

A bag of fake plastic trees (pace Radiohead)

Lonely Lorraine alone in the woods.

The beginning of a dio-drama...

How to reconcile the characters of Lotte and her little cousin, Bette?

These two are waiting for the right box.

Perhaps we've been playing a little much early Harry Connick Jr. on the house radio, but it seems like the recipe for dioramas is a lot like the recipe for making love: a little bit of me and a whole lotta you... just add a dash of stardust and really strong glue.

 

Knowing when to help-- and when to ask for help.

For kids on the autism spectrum, knowing how to ask for help (and how to offer it) is complicated. The Eldest says he's more inclined to step in and "do it for someone" without any explanation. In other words, he's inclined to give help without offering.

Alas, this contributes to misunderstandings and misconstruals so I put together a little activity inspired by an activity I found on the Teaching Tolerance website).

Gnome needed help to cross the ditch. The King lent a hand.

First flipped through recent photos and tried to identify scenes in which someone needed or gave help. Then we flipped through them again and looked for scenes where someone could have used help but the need went unrecognized.

Then we role-played how we might have offered help in those moments.

Finally, the kids filled out their own copies of the activity sheet (I was the Gnome's magic pen who transcribed her words.) 

Download your own copy below.

SOMETIMES I HELP ACTIVITY (PDF)

Shhhhhh.... of course it's free. Haven't you figured out that every single worksheet, lesson plan, unit study, coloring page, and feeling on this website is free?

Collecting concrete and abstract nouns.

There are so many ways in which writing intersects with learning at home. Yesterday, I couldn't get the juices flowing so I played around in my notebookm making lists of favorite nouns- words like derby, montage, cellulose, and bravado- when I realized the activity could be extended to the include the kids. Let's face it, everyone has favorite nouns, including toddlers who spout off their affection for Thomas the Tank engine in grocery store lines.

So I whipped together a quick worksheet for the Eldest to distinguish between abstract and concrete nouns and then to assemble a collection of 50 favorites each. What I didn't mention was that the collection would be used for next week's writing and poetry prompts. We live with our choices, right? Live with and through them until the verses set us free. 

You can print your own free version by right-clicking the PDF below. I hope you enjoy it and do it along with your kids.

NOUNS: ABSTRACT VS. CONCRETE (PDF, 2 pages)

The gift of plants, a printable freebie.

All the things I wanted to study with the kids were in my head, so I took a little time between nursing a croupy Gnome and rubbing beeswax under Prophet's red nose to make a handout, a hopeful activity. 

There's a simple handwork embroidery project on the reverse. A little freebie for celebrating plants and their role in the sustenance of life. Download and enjoy.

THE GIFT OF PLANTS (PDF)

Handmade holidays and sewing callouses.

What the Eldest stitched for his friend, Erin

I love handmade holidays-- despite the incessant tug to stitch as I speak, walk, sit, wait, or daydream. So many beautiful things to make for people we love and admire. This year, we've been rummaging through the huge box of decorator fabrics donated by Pamela.... and all sorts of critters and creatures are coming to life.

The Eldest models his creation

The King spent at least an hour last night learning how to embroider from the Eldest. It's the first year in which the King has decided to participate in handmade holidays and I love hearing their husky voices bicker over thread techniques.

Miss Meow tries out Gnome's chair. 

Little Isla took her ornament home on Friday...

though the box interested her more than the ornament itself.

"Mom, I really want to make something for Josiah's family...."

The Eldest and I collaborated on a ornament for our neighbors, the Blankenships, whose oldest daughter was born with Rett syndrome. If you haven't heard about Rett syndrome, it's probably because it is a rare congenital disorder. The Eldest designed the purple ribbon himself and wanted very much to make this gift-- which warmed my heart because it came without prodding or poking. The gift of life is a beautiful one, and if you're looking for a gift to give friends and family this year, consider donating to the Rett Syndrome Foundation. Research and cures cannot emerge from the woodwork-- and rare congenital disorders are not high on the research interests of any drug companies whose interest in profit rules the bottom line.

And so the stitching continues.... with every stitch, I consider the gift of friendship and family, sew love in between seams, backstitch with a kiss.

How to make an easy-sew cash ornament.

What to do with all the Romanian lei in our piggy banks? How to bring a little Romania onto our tree? Why not stitch an ornament?

supplies

1 Romanian cash leu (or euro or dollar or whatever)
thread and machine (use a constrasting thread color)
piece of colorful fabric cut to same length as cash
hole puncher
six inch hemp twine or whatever string for hanging

how-to

First, use your hole puncher to punch as many holes as you like in your money. Clever folks can punch a shape if they want to get frisky.

Then fold your bill down the center with your chosen fabric inside the bill. Make sure the printed side faces up so you can see the colors through the punched holes.

Use your machine to stitch together the edges, leaving a little room at the top for the string. Fold the string in half and tuck it 1 or 2 inches inside the folded fabric. Then stitch and backstitch to secure. Play around and make stitch designs until you're satisfied. Now you have a durable, longlasting ornament that can easily be slipped into an envelope to travel across the states and excite loved ones who come from Romania. Or whatever your native country might be. 

Making sock monsters from socks.

At last count, we had over fifty unmatched socks. So I made a sock monster this weekend-- and the girls made sock cuffs. Get this, though-- the King made his own sock monster. He asked me nicely to help him out with the eyes (which I plan to do pursuant to fire tonight). 

Part of me thinks it ridiculous that I can be excited when the King does something conventionally outside his gender's craft domain, and then part of me feels guilty for feeling excited. Should I just respond as if such things were normal? Isn't excitement a way of babying him?

No, self, it's just a way of reminding him that he can be good at needle and thread-- his penis does not prevent him from sewing or from enjoying it-- despite his socialization to the contrary. I know, I know, it's sexy for a woman to wield a circular saw or a power drill... I've seen the Man Show, I got the message that it's okay for us to build stuff because men have decided to find it "hot". (Part of me resists handling power tools for fear of pandering to the new sexy.) But the King doesn't get social sexy points for stitching. Instead, he gets nerd points. In my book, nerd points are the only points worth pursuing or having. 

A random assortment of handmade holiday cards for your viewing pleasure.

Because we didn't have the extra cash to purchase fancy Minted cards this year.... but boy did we have lots of materials from which to make collage cards. The kids either colored, painted, or wrote at least one part of each card to ensure our handmade cards were kidmade as well.

Front: kidmade watercolor, printed quote, glue stick, cardstock, scissors

Back: kidmade watercolor, glue stick, white mailing sticker, pen to write your message

Front: black ink pen, white paper, glue stick, family photo

Front: kidmade watercolors, scissors, glue stick, white paper, black pen

Front:  kidmade watercolors, scissors, glue stick, white paper, black pen

Back: kidmade watercolors, scissors, glue stick, computer printout of words

Front: kidmade watercolors, scissors, glue stick, free printed gift tags

Back: black ink pen, yellow Avery office stickers, free holiday clipart, glue stick, white paper

Front: copper glitter, school glue, scissors, kidmade watercolors, white Avery office stickers

Back: kidmade watercolors, scissors, glue stick

Front: kidmade watercolors, scissors, glue stick, white paper

Front: kidmade watercolors, scissors, glue stick, white paper, copper glitter, school glue, black pen

No one ever warned me about the enchantments of a sweet pea vine.

Sweet pea at dusk.

The sweet pea was the last flower I expected to see in our garden this year. Somehow, the delicate Lathyrus odoratus wears the mantle of the most unanticipated marvel- the beauty made all the brighter for being unharmed by expectation.

Add to this the fact that we did everything wrong (waiting until the weather was warm before planting the seeds directly in the soil) and I'm amazed that we get to see anything at all... But the tiny plants continue to flirt with their teepee... their tendrils beginning to curl and reach out.

"Treat it like a found poem," I urge the Eldest. He weighs the possibility of laying claim to treasures discovered by other pirates. 

"No," he replies, "I'm going to find my own found poem in another plant." Suit yourself, I think, remembering those days fondly, the ones where every secret worth saving needed to be entirely my own.

The surprise of the pea flowers enchants, keeps me from writing, the language of shoots and bulbs creeping into dialogue between characters. I need a technical distraction or some magical means of refocusing.

Sweet peas grow in full sun to partial shade and require rich, well-drained soil. A local green thumb I know warned me that sweet peas are heavy feeders, doing best with a few organic fertilizer treatments during the growing season.  

Word also has it that deadheading encourages a longer season of bloom.

Pea Shoots brochure, filled with delicious recipes
on how to cook those splendid pea shoots

3 FREE LAPBOOKING PAGES ON GARDEN PEAS

A SEASON IN THE LIFE OF A PEA (1 narrative bi-fold)

SWEET PEA FLOWER AND VINES (2 bi-folds with diagrams)

Foraging games for kids. And big folks.

Foraging Games for Kids Handout (PDF)

The weather is too perfect to stay inside. Here's a little something I made (with proper attributions within) to give you another good reason for lingering outdoors this week.... 

Telling the stories in a Poet's daffodil.

Cora Millay and her three daughters lived in the Coffin House in Newburyport, a Maine town that sidled up to the waters of the Merrimac River. It was a house in which every one of its women turned and churned poems. 

Reading Nancy Milford's biography of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay lit an image, perhaps even an association, in my mind, a line between two dots that harbors at least one story or poem. It is a relationship between a flower and what a pen does to a blank sheet of paper. 

Narcissus poeticus (Poet's Daffodil, Nargis, Pheasant's Eye, Findern Flower, and Pinkster Lily) was one of the first daffodils to be cultivated, and is frequently identified as the narcissus of ancient times—often associated with the Greek legend of Narcissus. Linnaeus, who gave the flower its name, might have done so because he believed it was the one that inspired the tale of Narcissus, handed down by poets since ancient times.

In her childhood journals, Edna describes the yard being "infinite" with the flowers of Narcissus poeticus. Given the intoxicating fragrance of its bloom, the possible metaphors abound, especially once you learn that the Poet's daffodil, like all narcissi, is poisonous when eaten.  Unlike other narcissi, however, this flower is extremely dangerous to consume- and even to keep. The scent is powerful enough that it can cause headache and vomiting if a large quantity is kept in a closed room. 

Do something beautiful with that fact. Here's a handout I created for the Eldest this morning.

The stories in a Poet's daffodil (PDF)
Free handout describing Narcissus poeticus in history, myth, and legend.

JOURNAL PROMPT: Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay credits the poet’s daffodil with bringing poetry to her childhood days. Write a poem or a letter adopting Edna’s childhood perspective where she explains why the daffodils covering her front yard exposed or elicited poetry. Consider using the sonnet form for your poem, since this was one of the poetic forms in which Millay excelled.

Sketchbook prompt: The spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 and musings of Egon Schiele.

Musing Egon Schiele in the sketchbook.

Reading about the influenza deaths this past year, my heart goes out to those who lost family members or friends. Today, I brought the flu virus into my sketchbook thanks to a recent dream of Edith and Egon Schiele, two lovers who perished just days apart in the 1918 spanish flu epidemic. As an artist, Schiele's lines and contours bear no equal. His early death robbed the world of the way he may yet have rendered it. 

Edith died on October 28th. Egon followed her to the grave on October 31st. 

Plan for the evening: To convince the King to play Edith and Egon as a tribute on All Hallow's Eve next year. 

DIY woodland tea party cards.

Since their valentines to E. and A. would travel by mail, the kids buzzed and begged to make "different valentines" for their further-away friends. So we created these woodland tea party cards, which can serve as a valentine or just a special way of connecting with treasured friends by mail.

SUPPLIES

cardboard or cardstock
scissors
glue stick 
watercolor paint
paintbrushes
water
newsprint paper (or another thin kind of paper)
stickers of various woodland creatures
stickers of tea party set (or cut-outs from magazine)
plastic bags and mailing labels

PAINT

Start by using the newsprint paper as a place for a painting frenzy. Arm all with paintbrushes, watercolor paints, and a little glass of water. There is no rhyme or reason to the painting- just the impetus to add an assortment of colors and brush strokes. When finished, set aside the painted paper to dry.

PICK

Now have the kids go through their sticker collection, looking for stickers of woodland animals. At this point, I should add that the kids revised my original idea by including stickers of toadstools and flowers, in addition to the requisite tea party pot and cups. If you don't have tea party stickers, then flip through magazines and cut out a few pictures of tea cups and kettles. Your friends can use a glue stick to add them to the woodland tea party scene.

Stickers were chosen and put into plastic baggies with a label and a name on the front. 

EXPLAIN

Finally, the kids included a message to their friends, instructing them to create their ideal woodland party tea scene with the added request that, perhaps, at their next meeting, they might act out the woodland tea party of their dreams.

As she sealed the envelopes, Prophet told me that she "loved making the kind of valentine" she "wanted to get." My "me, too" went without saying.

DIY beautiful birds lapbook.

The birds hover, chatter, and twitter all over the yard. Spring looks to be settling in early this year. And we've been working hard on our Beautiful Birds lapbook.

The Eldest's illustration of Emily's Dickinson's bird poem.

For the lapbook pages made by yours truly, just right-click to download in PDF format.

BEAUTIFUL BIRDS LAPBOOK COVER PAGE 
The girls colored the page and then we labelled the parts of the funky bird.

NEST BOOK 
The girls cut and colored the little book about nests. We used watercolor scraps to make a pocket.

BIRD SONGS BOOKLET 
Used to color and collage in lapbook where blank spaces arise.

TEACUP BIRD FEEDERS INSERTS

BIRD COLORING PAGE from Mr. Printables
Imagining different shapes as part of birds. 

I made a few booklets about feathers, beaks, and feet to contrast the different types found in varying species. We discussed how habitats and food requirements are related to body parts. Then we added them to the right edge of the lapbook with our trusty stapler.

I don't remember where I found this nest and egg printable, but we used it to observe the difference in egg coloring across bird species.

Free printable tree and shrub nature notebook page.

Just right click and save to download this PDF version of my doodled notebook page.

TREE AND SHRUB OBSERVATION NATURE NOTEBOOK PAGE

Honing our map skills on the road: Making a map of gnome-land.

 

Making our own maps begins with envisioning the terrain of a land we know very, very well- a land that does not limit us with its physical characteristics but, rather, allows us to freely imagine its topography and markings. Or, at least, so went my thinking when I made the Gnomeland Map activity for the kids.

I found they did a better job of designing their own worlds using other maps and travel brochures as a reference (rather than looking to mine as a model). We talked about the role of a key in providing a meaning for the symbols- and we learned to narrow down the materials we included based on their frequency. For example, if Gnomeland has one swimming pool, that might not warrant adding a swimming pool symbol to the key. 

The ladies enjoyed coloring my Gnomeland and then creating their own versions, for which I wrote in the words on the key. Micah's land included swarms of fairies and their fairy paraphenalia, while Milla's offered a "workshop" for Handy Manny. Go figure.

Or, do something better and go make your own version of Gnomeland. Alternately, you can print a few copies and pack it with colored pencils for your next road trip.

MAKE A MAP OF GNOMELAND (PDF)
Includes two sheets, my version of Gnomeland and a blank template.

Max's somewhat blurry version of Gnomeland.

Make a map for the island of Gnomeland.

Make a map for the island of Gnomeland.

Know that both humans and gnomes inhabit this island.

Add a key.

Tell a story about the human part of Gnomeland versus the gnome part of Gnomeland.

How do the creatures treat their environment differently? Why?

What can we learn from gnomes and the way they relate to nature?

MAKE A MAP OF GNOMELAND ACTIVITY (PDF)

Printable story starters coloring page, a freebie for thee.

My little freebie for your holiday car trips.

Just download the PDF version below and make sure journals and crayons are in hand.

STORY STARTERS (PDF)

Make your own lemon verbena water.

Flashback: In one of her efforts to treat to me to lady-like luxury, my mom purchased a spa massage for me. I was the only woman in the building wearing flip-flops and lacking a manicure. Despite my discomfort, I discovered something delicious in the waiting lounge- a pitcher of ice water with garden herbs floating inside. This information inspired our experiment today. 

On a hot Alabama summer day, after lamenting the vitality of garden weeds, we decided to add some freshly-picked lemon verbena to a pitcher of iced water. Sure enough, the taste is amazing and refreshing. Just a reminder to get creative and step harvest some herbs to add to ice water- you'll be surprised at the delicious result.

V is for Van Gogh.

Since Max is studying Van Gogh and Micah is officially 5- and therefore, in her opinion, "ready to do Van Gogh", I created two pages for her alphabet notebook on Van Gogh and the letter "V". You can download your own copy directly below.

V is for Van Gogh (2 PDF pages for your alphabet book)

In addition, we played the online diorama game to prepare all three munchkins for creating their own Van Gogh dioramas per the worksheets above. It was fun, and I reccommend it.

Camille's Diorama Online Activity (Van Gogh Museum)

PRINTABLE TEACHING MATERIALS FROM VAN GOGH MUSEUM:
An Artist's Struggle Teaching Package (PDF)
An Artist's Struggle Cut-Outs (PDF)
An Artist's Struggle Answer Sheet (PDF) 
Van Gogh's Letters: The Artist Speaks Teaching Package (PDF) 
Naturalism: Illusions of Reality Teaching Manual (PDF) 

PRINTABLE LEARNING FREEBIES FROM AROUND THE WEB:
Van Gogh Notebooking Page (Harmony Fine Arts at Home)
Van Gogh Sky Notebooking Page (Harmony Fine Arts At Home) 
Learning From Van Gogh's Textures (Meet the Masters) 

Exploring figurative language: Idioms.

Part of all the script-writing we've been enjoying lately involves being able to use and understand different types of figurative language. In my opinion, it's easier to learn how to write dialogue in a story by starting with writing dialogue in a script. That way, the essential verbal communication is captured first, prior to additional descriptions and mood. 

Figures of Speech Study: Idioms (PDF)
5 pages of worksheets like the one above

Today is devoted to idioms. Max started with the Idioms worksheets I made for the occasion (which you may use as well) while the ladies colored some fantastic pictures of idioms and learned from the  Illustrated Idioms Handout (PDF) that I discovered online at Henry School.

Curiosity Killed the Cat coloring page (PDF)
Raining Cats and Dogs coloring page (PDF)

More idiom-based free fun to chase:

Eye on Idioms (Read Write Think)

Illustrated Idioms Handout (Henry School)
Idioms Worksheet Set (Education.com)
"The idiotic joys of idioms" (The Guardian)
An Idiom A Day Activity (Fancy Free in 4th)
Idioms and their meanings (Idiomsite) 
The origins of proverbs and idioms (Phrases Finder)
Idioms (The Dog Hause)
Idiom worksheets (John Sherman Mills)
Out of this World Idiom Story (The Dabbling Speechie)
Children's books for teaching idioms (The Best Children's Books)
Online games related to idioms, for kids
Idioms Illustrated video (Vimeo)
Unveiling Idioms: A Game of Concentration (Read Write Think)
Paint By Idioms game (Fun Brain)
Idioms by Kids, a great site with illustrations
English Idioms Daily Blog 
8 Fun Things to do With Idioms (Minds in Bloom)
Idioms Worksheet #1 (Have Fun Teaching) 
Idioms Worksheet #2 (Have Fun Teaching) 
Idioms Worksheet #3 (Have Fun Teaching)  
Idioms Game (Children's University of Manchester) 
Teaching children with autism to understand idioms (Hear Our Voices) 

Assorted love-based creations.

When in doubt, draw a bird with a hat.

Or fall back on Tolstoy.

And geometry made from scribbles.

Johnny Appleseed and apple learning.

The Apple Roll Game (PDF)

Yesterday, we read The Story of Johnny Appleseed by Aliki with its lovely illustrations. Unfortunately, I got a little uncomfortable with the mythic component of the story of John Chapman's life, especially since John's relationship with organized Christianity was anything but comfortable given the radical nature of his teachings. (Straight Dope offers a more truthful account of John's life and character for those interested in such things.)

Then we read the Legend of the Apple Star from Freeflowing Ways, an inspiring blog which combines nature narratives with Waldorfian wonder. The lasses loved watching me cut an apple to reveal the little seed star within. 

"Inside every apple sleep five seed babies in their star beds, waiting for Mother Earth to give them life."

We discussed and colored the parts of an animal, and Micah explained which parts we must remove (i.e. skin, core, seeds, leaves, and stem) to make applesauce. Finally, Max helped the girls play a number-recognition game- The Apple Roll Game- which I saw somewhere online and could not quite afford to purchase (hence the cheap, Alina-generated model above).

Usually, Max will help "teach" at least one activity or book a day to the girls- I think it helps increase his confidence and ability to communicate. My thoughts on this have been greatly inspired by Grandma Vicki and the awesome Reggio Emilia.

Value Scale Worksheet for young artists.

Max explored value using his colored pencils today. "That's SO COOL, Mom", he insisted. True enough. With a little physics lesson on the side. DIY.

Value Scales Using Lines Worksheet (PDF)

Beginning botany coloring page.

Botany (PDF)

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the extent to which I get to learn new things alongside my kids. If you've ever heard teachers say that "teaching keeps them young", I think this is the reason. We began the morning with some field time just wandering around and looking at the plants in our backyard. Then we went back indoors and I printed a copy of this far-from-professional intro to botany coloring page which allowed the ladies to be part of our our conversation. The ruckus from a nearby room suggests that we are currently on our way outside again....

Playing with pastels playlist.

Pastels have been the order of the day- from my strange neon pastel nape to the pastel candyland on black construction paper. No pastel play is complete without a playlist....

NEW DELIRE- Serge Gainsbourg

BORN A MAN- Clem Snide

WALKING MY GARGOYLE- The Gothic Archies (mp3)

BUNHILL FIELDS- Amor Dias

STORY OF AN ARTIST- M. Ward

Princess Bluegrass and the Snowman.

Or just Princess Bluegrass herself, the girl who knows better than her "breeding" to question the alignments of money and power. Lev Tolstoy just may have been on to something...

Princess Bluegrass came to my doodling mind while listening to a Solomon Burke song in the background. When I saw him in concert during one of my pregnancies (yes, I was the waddling pregnant woman you saw at that concert), this song really captured my attention.

 

NONE OF US ARE FREE by Solomon Burke (mp3)

I wonder what story Max will tell about Princess Bluegrass.... Maybe I'll play this song for them in the background as color and interpret. In my mind, I see blues and greens and maybe some black as well. I love it when we all color the same page "in secret" and then, at the end, show each other the results so we can admire the different possibilities of something as simple as a coloring page.

 

Max's Some Thing Stories.

I guess that's one way to understand the super-talkative child. Patrick asked why Maximus was standing on a circle of pizza slices ready to attack him. Good question. I don't know. The only thing that's certain is that the bowtie should be colored bright red once I print it for the munchkins to add their details.

Micah's quest for unicorn juice: An unmade story-bed.

Micah has been my fairy tale muse since she first emerged, clearly unhappy with the post-womb world. Perhaps the whimpering babies are those whose fairy tale remains to be written and, unlike other children, they know it- they are expecting something clear and somewhat magical to bind them to this world and its ways.

The migraines made my past week an rather stiff-necked occasion, so I picked up some colored pencils and drew alongside the kids.

What would Micah's world be like if she could tell me all those colors and sights that coalesce in her tiny head?

I drew a story that remains to be told.

A story that takes place in a land between here and there.

A story which a fancy character named "no no" who always has a reason why Micah shouldn't go there or shouldn't do that or shouldn't see something.

A story with a character named "him", who does all those things that him's do inside the office cubbies in their professional bubbles.

A story in which triangular planes offer a different way of transport across flying barrels and vases.

A story in which the hunt for unicorn juice must continue without a clear reason and without a unicorn to offer assistance.

A true quest, if you will.

I can't wait to see how Micah tells it- and how it comes to life in her mind...

Have you ever doodled an untold story for one of your children? It's a wonderful way to meet them in lands where the rules don't apply- in places where you can be confidantes and partners in dreaming something thick and true.

The Legend of the Bluebonnet.

If it doesn't exist in the way you imagine it, just go ahead and create it. A basic rule of thumb for an unfrustrated life. Don't worry about whether you "know how" or have "talent"- go ahead and dare to dabble. For it is the dabblers and dilettantes, the tinkerers and innovators, the "I-wonder-what-would-happen"-ers to whom we owe a great deal that is beautiful and fresh in this world.

Today we continued our tormented study of Native American history. I'm sorry- there is just no honest way to explore these narratives in a way that casts a positive light on the actions of our nation's history. We read The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie Di Paolo and then played around with some painting inspired by Adventures in Mommydom.

As the munchkins painted, I doodled a handout that included all those neat little details about the botany of the bluebonnet as well as the legend of the bluebonnet. Then I scanned it and printed a copy for each small person. You can download your own 2-page version below.

 

The Texas Bluebonnet Coloring Page and Legend (PDF)

Experimenting with colored pencils and crosshatching techniques.

After chasing triangles around the house and head, Max and I decided it was time to learn some new "techne" (pace Jacques Ellul) with our colored pencils. We started by noticing how color basically "covers" the white or colorless space on a sheet of paper. Usually, when we color with our colored pencils, we cover the space in tightly-scribbled lines which go back and forth.

Crosshatching allows to to vary the depth, hue, and richness of the color by essentially recoloring the same area in a different direction.

Cross hatching uses lines coming from 4 completely different directions. But you can also use just one layer of lines, or 2, which some call 1/4 hatching and 1/2 hatching respectively. Each different kind of cross hatching provides different shaded values and influences how much additional color will penetrate the existing color. 

My tessellated beast.

We decided to use tessellations to create some shapes and figures. Then we sketched our tessellations onto white paper with lead pencils and started using plain old colored pencils to color them in.

For the multi-colored spaces, I used 3/4 hatching and 1/2 hatching more than cross hatching because I wanted a messy scribbled effect- nothing too clean and pristine.

The element of play never left our drawing session; both of us were clearly playing around with the effects of this technique on color and light and the third dimension.

"Fire Flower" by Max

Max really enjoyed "making the colors richer" so he tended to complete his crosshatches and then go around the borders to clean up the lines.

His tessellated worm (though misspelled by yours truly lazy) certainly looked "richer" and more colorful than our past colored pencil play. 

Tangled in triangles.

I find myself continuially inspired and educated by the drawings and lines on 10,000 Pages. This morning, it was the triangles that caught my eye. And my eye couldn't help sharing my newfound fascination with the munchkins in a visual language that they understand. Hence triangles for the letter A and triangles for gnome homes.

A blanket reprieve.

 

The snowflakes collect on my grandmother's rabbit hat from Romania.

The irresistible poem came to me this morning as I watched the snow cover our unmanicured front lawn- a poem about the way the snow coats the wagons and toys, ultimately equalizing the houses and landscapes of the neighborhood. Under a blanket of white,  we are all the perfect housekeepers.

As I tossed around words in the possibility of a sonnet, the munchkins were jumping out of their skin. Coats and caps, we ventured out to play and explore.

After traipsing and snacking on snow, we returned indoors to read some Robert Frost and revel in the strangeness of snow.

There is one perfect snowflake in the top right which allows you to distinguish its perfect shape. 

Each little flake carries its own signature. We studied the lines and shapes and then made a small snow-mobile to remind us that the huge mass of sculptures we see outside is composed of millions of tiny geometric wonders- each distinct and beautiful. 

We never end up where we start....

Snowflakes (PDF)

Then I printed up two copies (Mills was otherwise occupied) of the snowflake printable above and armed the kids with crayons to color their vision of snowflakes. Micah's snowflakes were rainbows of fruit flavor, while Max stuck to gray and light blue ("snow tones", as he called them). We added some glitter with glue and let everything dry. In the meantime, the snow started plopping by the bucket, so out we went again.

Micah kept taking a microscopic view of the snowflakes, pointing out "this one has a crinkly shape" and so on. Wet and cold with red hands and soaked shoes, we returned to the house to finish our snowflaking out. 

After cutting out each snowflake, Micah and Milla matched pairs of snowflakes so we could glue them together. I love the fact that each double-sided snowflake looks different as a result of alternate visions by Micah and Max- the same snowflake shape but different colors and glitter designs. Skills of comparing and contrasting benefit from slight variations which encourage little people to seek the underlying similarity. 

I used a hole-punch to punch holes in the double-sided snowflakes and looped a piece of string through each one. Micah practiced her counting skills by counting the snowflakes aloud and then matching a string to each.

As the afternoon sun revealed the "fairy wishes" (Max's longtime name for the house dust that really shows up when given a few rays of beaming light), the little people argued over the "best color of glitter" and "why the sun makes the snow sparkle less". 

So the snowflakes outside melt while the snowflakes hanging near the kitchen doorway keep their artificial sweetness. Time for a fire.

A snowy coloring page with questions.

Inspired by the snow outside and the warm tea and pumpkin-wheat muffins drawing us back inside. As Max watercolors, he hums and thinks about the questions. I saw him eyeing the bookshelf, and the scent of impending conversation hovers near my muffin. Perhaps I can convince the munchkins to "pretend we're hibernating" this afternoon- always a good game.

 Oh Snow So Snowy (PDF)

Teaching personification through the days of the week.

Another way to look at Monday.

This morning, we are learning about personification through a reading from Florence Holbrooke's Dramatic Readings for the Lower Grades, published in 1911. In this lively reading, each day of the week is personified as an ancient mythological character and the reader tries to guess which one. Images are included. 

I added my own two cents with two activities, including one in which Max will create a similar personification for the 12 months of the year using storybook and fairy tale characters. The reading, illustrations, and activities are available for free download in the PDF below. Enjoy! And please post a link if you make a video and share it.

The Days of the Week (PDF)

R is for Red the Robot.

Download the free coloring page and song below.

Working on the R sound with Micah and I couldn't find an R song online that I wanted to teach. Solution? Invent my own. So here is The Robot Song and Dance sung to the tune of "I'm a little teapot".

I’m a little robot, hear me out
(cup hand over ear)
I beep and I buzz and I never pout
(shake head and make frowning pout)
‘Cause everything I ev-er need to do
(point to chest)
Comes into my hard drive straight from you.
(point to kids)

I’m a little robot, my name is Red
I don’t ever sleep or go to bed
(close eyes and put cheek on hand like sleeping)
I really like the “R” sound when you sing
(nod and smile)
It starts my name and also r-r-r-ing.
(wave hands around during rrrring)

I’m a little robot, this is my tale
(point to self)
You should know the R sound pretty well.
(point to kids or others)
My buttons flash red just like my name
(wiggle fingers for flash)
If you reboot me, I’ll start again.
(pretend to press button and turn in a circle as pretend rebooting occurs)

We talked about why robots never pout- Max filled us in with his vast knowledge of the Turing test and how feelings and sentiments are difficult to program.

R is for Robot Coloring Page and Song (PDF)

Patrick helped Micah memorize the song and dance. When she finished, she colored the coloring page and added it to her Alphabet book, our ongoing project.

A free unit study on "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate".

Jacqueline Kelly earned herself quite a fan club over here with The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. It provides a delicious fictional introduction to the world of being a naturalist at a time when the skills of naturalists are no longer emphasized in science classes. In fact, Max and love it so much that I created a unit study to make sure we pore over every perfect little piece.

Granted, it makes a great subject for a unit study because it combines scientific observation with American history and social studies. The primary conflict in the novel pits Calpurnia's interest in science and curiosity about nature against the social expectations of her sex at a time when corsets were considered "the proper thing to do". 

This unit study is what I call a "folder study" in that we go through it gradually and add all related materials to a 3 prong folder as we go. It gives us something to go back and flip through- something to save and enjoy again. I'll try to post a few pages from the study every couple of days as we continue our exploration. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary (PDF)

Nature Journal Page 1: Stump Stories (PDF)

For more opinions and perspectives on this book from educators and book lovers, try Handmade Homeschool, Here in the Bonny Glen, Books 4 Your Kids, Simple Homeschool, Avant Parenting, Home Education Magazine, and Write4Kids. I'll go ahead and warn you that you'll have a hard time finding negative reviews of this book- it charms kids and adults alike.

DIY dear sweet Santa letter for little and big ones.

Dear sweet Santa printable (PDF)

Print it. Then bring together crayons, colored pencils, glue, and scrap paper. Let the authors of the "letter" decide how they best wish to communicate with Santa. For those well-versed in the homo sapien language, written words will work wonders. For those who have not yet outpaced their evolutionary ancestors, glue and magazines allow them to communicate with visual images, collages, and drawings. 

Authors may also want to "dress" ore decorate the child above to resemble their own likeness more closely. The printable includes much more room around the margins for writing, wishes, and thanks of all kinds. We plan on hanging ours with a few clothespins from a garland over the fireplace. I'd love to know how you share your communications with the mightiest Claus in the English language.

The birdie diaper clutch.

A work in progress which started as a gift for Isla but then I decided the colors were all wrong. The inside lining is a geometric flannel and the main fabric is a light gray sailcloth which I can't find anywhere anymore (that's what happens when your primary fabric source is the thrift store bin). I haven't decided whether to add snaps, velcro, or ironwood buttons for closing. If you'd like your own diaper clutch and have an idea in mind, try to custom order at my y.so.str8 shop- I love the challenge of bringing your vision to life.

5th Street Vintage Market.

I almost spent more than I earned at the 5th Street Vintage Market this weekend. It was beautiful and chock full of fabulous vintage frocks, old books, records, trinkets, and collectibles. 

One of the hardest parts about selling handmade goods for me remains picking a price and sticking to it. When someone likes something, I find myself so happy that I slash the price into shreds for the satisfaction of seeing a person with a y.so.str8 goodie going home. Everything happens so fast that it's hard to keep track of what you sell if you operate on a cash-only basis (as I do). Super grateful to Monica for her half-sandwich and general kindness.

I've been trying to go through my goods and make note of what I sold.... I do remember that the fairy tale bonnets went to two lovely little kids. Made from upcycled sweaters that needed a new raison d'etre, the bonnets were created from a design based on the fairy tales I share with the kids. 

Working with cashmere for bonnets and winter hats is lovely because the awful itchiness of wool hats as a young child sticks fresh in my mind. Wherever the little red riding hood may be, I know she isn't itching when she wears her bonnet.

The green lacey bonnet went to a little girl with a head full of beautiful black curls which peeped out around the lace. 

I kissed a number of handmade cards bye-bye. I also sold my old friend, the two-faced doll, as well as a funky grate-full packet for a young lady whose mother wanted "something creative and different for Christmas". I think the doily bib also found a home. (Boy, I would be easy to rob....)

Astri's star ornament.

What I sold is dim in my memory. But what I got is fresh. Dani Beach's itch for kitsch landed me with a dress straight out of my wildest 1970's daydreams. I stocked up on soap from The Left Hand- the scent of vetiver still lingers in my car. I also discovered some lovely old books from a vintage dealer impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and found myself the proud owner of a knit star ornament made by Astri Snodgrass, who has way too many talents up those sleeves.

The next 5th Street Vintage Market will take place in March of 2013. I'm so grateful to its organizers and planners who did the legwork of making it happen and bringing a little more awesome to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

DIY gift card packets made by little hands.

Making handmade "thank you" cards is one of my favorite ways to combine the multiple creative talents of the munchkins into handmade gifts for family and friends.

Everything begins with a blank piece of paper, some crayons, and the minds and hands of small folk.

SUPPLIES

double-sided tape
watercolored crayon resist drawing by munchkins
scissors
handmade cards for the gifting 

Cut the drawing into longways strips 1/4" wider than the size of your double-sided tape.

Assemble a stack of four or five handmade cards and pick up a strip. Add a piece of tape to one end of the strip.

Then lay the other end over the cards and attach the taped end on top. You are done!

There's something about seeing a nice stack of handmade holiday gifts that makes our dreary wintry rain less gray.

 

DIY herbes de Provence gift.

Spending my 7th grade year at a school in Nancy, France opened the doors of world to me at an age when I needed badly to understand that there was more than hairspray and perms to life. One of my favorite tastes- apart from pamplemousse sorbet- left by those heady young days is the taste of "herbes de Provence". 

When I returned to France after graduating high school, the reason was a backpacking trip across Europe with very little cash and lots of ingenuity. Tucked inside my backpack was a tupperwarer container and a jar of herbes de Provence to season anything I made (including tomatoes, cheese, bread, and other fresh market finds). It never let me down. So why not give the gift of southern France to family and friends this year?

YOU WILL NEED

a glass bottle with lid
blank mailing address labels 
a pen
various herbs for the herb mix recipe (see below)
a mixing bowl, preferably ceramic
a wooden spoon 

To make a mix of Herbes de Provence, combine the following herbs in a porcelain or ceramic bowl and stir with a wooden spoon. Don't skimp on the fennel seed- many recipes do, and it misses the flavor of France entirely.

2 tablespoons thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons marjoram
1 tablespoon savory
1 tablespoon chervil
1/2 tablespoon lavender
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed 

If you are unfamiliar with these herbs, maybe watch the related episode of "What's This Food?" online which should help you select the right ones and get a little historical context for the legacy of the herbes.

Once you've made your mix, use your pen to create a label for the glass bottle. The more personal, the better. I included information about how to use it- namely, on salads and vegetables, my favorite choices. You can also include a few recipes for chicken, fish, or roasted vegetables using herbes de Provence.

DIY rose petal dryer bags.

My sister brought organic dried roses for me from Boulder, Colorado- and I haven't felt much like drinking rosehip tea lately. On the other hand, having a baby with sensitive skin makes dryer sheets and fabric softener a no-go at the castle. So I decided to make rose petal dryer bags to make the laundry come up roses. Simple and oh so sweet.

SUPPLIES

dried roses and petals
wooden spoons (or a hammer)
muslin fabric scraps
reddish thread

Rosebuds tumbled onto the table top. The dried roses were still intact, so I took out a few wooden spoons and asked the kids to "gently crush" the roses into smaller pieces but not into a powder. I've found that the more descriptive my instructions, the more satisfaction the kids seem to get out of the task.

There's something marvelous about the integrity of a dried rosebud- the way you can see it's individual figure and shape in the drying. Max did not want to "crush" them, so he studied them as the girls took to the tough task of crushing and whopping.

As the kids crushed the rosebuds, I found a few scraps of muslin fabric and cut them to the size of 3" by 3" squares. Then I put them together wrong sides facing each other and basted them using my sewing machine. I left a spoon-size opening for flipping and stuffing. I was also very careful to backstitch and secure my ends.

Then I flipped the little 3"x 3" baggies right sides out by pulling them through the opening. The kids used a kitchen spoon to fill the baggies halfway with rose petal crushings.

Finally I rolled in the opening and used an ornamental stitch to close and line the entire dryer bag- because there's a difference between laundry that smells like roses and laundry covered in tiny pieces of roses.

The almost- final result.... The I-still-need-to-cut-loose-threads-and-clean result... Each one can be thrown in the dryer about ten times for a strong rose scent. After that, they make great baby doll and dollhouse pillows. If you'd like a few of your own readymade, visit my etsy page and make a custom order request. I'd love to fill your day with roses.

Making stickers and cards for holiday gifts.

The morning started slowly- Milla picked up the latest virus from our trip to Atlanta and needed us to concoct a nest for her in the middle of the floor. Then I added some colored pencils, markers, and scrap papers to the mix so the munchkins could work on Christmas gifts for family.

Max suggested that we make stickers will all those extra address labels I have that we never use. So we got to "work".

Max worked on his stickers with an eye to the fact that "sometimes you have to send a sad card about someone's dog that died or something."

After we finished making stickers (Milla helped me with the stamps), we decided to use all those scrap-paper sketches for our cards. Fantastic geometric designs were pasted onto blank cards. Is there any doubt that motivated munchkins make the best cards?

The diy necklet.

My kids don't like coats. Or hats. Or all those other things that keep them warm in important place. Over time, I've learned to adjust to the disdain for movement-inhibiting winter clothing by improvising my own creations. One of my most important toddler adaptations- "that which solved many problems"- is the necklet. 

Milla has inherited Micah's necklet, and she wears it with pride. I can throw it in a bag along with hats and mittens and know that it keeps her neck and upper chest warm without putting on a full coat or a turtleneck which will make her feel too hot when we go back inside.

The necklet solves the problem of keeping a warm, woolen scarf around the neck of a child who is more likely to remove it and use it as a jump-rope or hanging vine. So I thought I'd share a super-simple necklet tutorial to help you get started. Of course, if you'd prefer to purchase a ready-made necklet, the y.so.str8 shop will be happy to accomodate your neck-warming needs this winter. Custom orders are encouraged.

The primary ingredient is old, tattered sweaters made from wool. It's a great way to keep the cashmere and let it brighten another year.

My necklet tutorial was sketched out last night by the dim, wavering light of a campfire but I hope you still find it useful. Hopefully, it brings a little campfire family time spirit your way.

To print this tutorial, click on the image, save it and then press print. If you'd like to purchase the necklet pictured, stop by the y.so.str8 shop at etsy. Custom orders are encouraged and delivered in less than two weeks- just in time for the December holidays.

A baby shower for Isla.

There's nothing quite like preparing for your only sister's first baby shower. If I had to explain to an alien from outer space why we ritualize baby showers, I would not be able to leave out the way in which it somehow solidifies the status of motherhood which hovers around an expectant mother. Since she felt that first flutter deep in her body, the woman morphed from a female to "a mother"- that rich potpurri of love, patience, humility, and awe, that state of being that never stops becoming or changing. Knowing Carla's relationship to her "self" will evolve and bloom as a result of her relationship to Isla- and they way in which Isla's existence will change her relationship to the world we inhabit- makes me happy in one of those inarticulable, run-on sentence kind of ways.

It never hurts that some of Carla's closest friends are both very creative, gifted, and "artsy" (for lack of a better word). Amy and Josalyn always bring along a few boxes of magic tricks, as well as aesthetic imaginations which can quickly create something from nothing more than a bundle of twigs and a few jars. From bridal shower to wedding to every little life moment, they have carefully crafted the moments out of love for Carla.

Josalyn's burlap and home-grown eucalyptus seasoned the room as Amy's handmade pottery and small pieces of art breathed life into unassuming corners. Max, Micah, and Milla spent parts of the week watercoloring scrap paper for the garland which we hung along the tables and for the ornaments we dangled from the branches of boughs generously donated by Jeremy.

Sweet potato and honey ham biscuits alongside goat cheese salads catered by F.I.G. and generously paid for by our mother, who makes any such event possible.

Something about gentlemen at a baby shower. albeit a couples shower in which they are specifically encouraged to attend, adds untold zest to the event. 

Most guests chatted, laughed, got dizzy watching the kids run around the tables, and exchanged their own baby or birthing stories. Nowadays, fortunately, even the men have a little bit to contribute in such conversations. The totally clueless "I-don't-know-the-birthing-is-HER-thing" man doesn't speak up often. Or, if he does, he is politely humored.

Micah's composition for her Auntie Carla impressed her mother. In her usual stealth manner, Micah created a masterpiece with colored pencils, glue, paper, and even a little pebble which she managed to glue to the paper. 

Although the gift table was packed, this baby shower was not spent opening gifts. Instead, everyone ate, chatted, savored riesling, pinot grigio, punch made by Lydia, or delicious herbal tea made by Josalyn.

Watching the kids romp around the room, chasing each other, safe from the warnings of otherwise-unoccupied adults, brought back fond memories of the days when my parents threw parties and go so involved in their own conversations that no one really bothered to admonish us about glass, art, or the endless possibities of broken bones.

They hid under tables- only their little toes poking out- and slid behind heavy pieces of furniture, careful to make sure the littlest ones did not follow them into places of dubious safety.

Micah met a kindred spirit in Amarie. From their observant "shyness" to their post-waking moods, Micah and Amarie have always been similar in those ways which make them different from many of their peers.

I loved watching Micah come out of her shell around Amarie; she seemed to gather confidence or security from the way they interacted. It really does make a mother feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Max and Paul always hit it off as well- Max reminded me that "Paul is the best soccer player he knows". They enjoyed being the "oldest" of the batch and designating the direction in which the minions would run.

How nice to be part of a life well-lived- a life teeming with people of all sorts, hands bent on creating and crafting, little people curious about every nook and cranny, a sister and a brother-in-law waiting for the way in which their lives will never be the same.

Josalyn, Carla, me, and Amy at the end of the evening.

The Wendell Berry card set.

Now available for the grandiose price of two Happy Meals at my etsy shop. I don't think I will ever create it again, which makes it unique, one-of-a-kind, and all that good stuff. Share Wendell with someone you love.... because his statements are so true that they don't lay the groundwork for a debate or an argument, merely for an affirmative and shared nodding session.

Making beanbags with the girls.

Micah and Milla helped stuff fabric bean bags with beans for me. It's hard not to spill the beans.

But little hands cleaned them up just as quickly as they had spilled them..... The girls selected a fabric for their bean bags from the pile.

Help with the tiny details led to the creation of Milla's vintage sheet bean-bag.

Micah's secret flamboyance emerged in her fabric choice. "The flowers are dancing," she insisted.

The handmade feather headdress-headband.

Continuing our frolic with feathers back in the sewing room led me, as usual, to an unplanned place. A simple headdress became a headdress-and-headband combo with a button to boot.

It's always fun to find a way to use natural wood buttons as accessories or flourish on a piece. I felt like an ironwood button would add extra salvo and signify courage for little Micah's headdress.

She cooed and whispered when she saw it- walking carefully across the room as if entering Narnia.

The heart warms by rapid degrees when they love what you make for them- when it becomes something they use in their imaginary worlds of play.

Then she tried it on as a handbead that ties at the nape of her neck, leaving a small fabric "tail" reminiscient of actual native headdresses.

The ironwood button fits perfectly. If you hanker after your own natural, handmade, handpainted ironwood button as a sewing embellishment, for doll eyes, for gift-wrapping panache, or to add to handmade holiday hair pieces, stop by my y.so.str8 shop and and pick up a few. They are made from tornado-tumbled timber which would have otherwise been relegated to our city landfill.