Archive for the ‘Kid Notes’ Category
Winter Fairy Houses
February 23rd, 2010 | Author: Shannon
One of my favorite summer activities is to build little forts and huts in the nooks and crannies of trees, or built a tipi with sticks and cover it with bark… all for the fairies of the forest.
This winter I decided to build winter fairy houses (cause the fairies need a place to stay all year- right?). So out in the winter-scape of sled tracks and snow angels, we built this lovely little igloo for the fairies of our forest.
After we built this, part of me climbed in to wait out the rest of the winter. I dragged myself out today to write this post… but I might end up back in hibernation.
How are y’all doing out there? I heard it snowed in Texas today- how ’bout that?
This is part of the 30 minute blog challenge of Steady Mom. Post time start to finish 20 minutes. (Although it took me all day to get the 20 minutes of sit down time!)
Rainbow Baby
December 29th, 2009 | Author: Shannon
I have recently become a “mother” to a 6 month old who is a big, healthy, happy little girl.
A big part of taking care of a growing baby is feeding her and since she doesn’t get the benefit of the delicious healthy “mama’s milk” I am doing my best to supply her with lots of “real” food- not just formula. I feed her all the colors of the rainbow and she just glows!
I enjoy making her solid foods. This morning she had brown rice cereal, with blueberries (handpicked and frozen by me!) and bananas. For lunch she will have some rice with peas (homegrown) and carrots and for dinner squash (homegrown) and green beans. I like giving her a variety of foods and nutrients and I feel especially happy when I feed her foods we grew. The foods are so full of life and fresh energy. I can tell from the gleam in her eye and the smile on her face that she can taste the love. Foods fresh from Mother Earth give her the sustenance that mama’s milk gives too.
I use a food mill and make up enough food for a few days, freezing some and leaving some in the fridge for quick use. I re-use baby food jars that I have had for a long time because I feel better about freezing food in glass!
And as a side note…. the feeding process has humbled me. I have always had judgement about folks who bottle and or formula feed.. and although I believe that breast is best… I now have the experience of formula feeding because of a special situation. It is good to have an alternative like formula; I still wish for every baby a healthy, happy nursing life.
And may all children eat food from their own backyard.. right from the beginning!
This post is part of the 30-minute blog challenge of Steady Mom. Say it in 30 minutes!
5 GREAT reasons to take kids outside
December 21st, 2009 | Author: Shannon
1) Fresh air is SURE to tire ‘em out! Then mom’s (or dad’s) can get some well earned “free” time.
2) Rote learning actually requires a lower brain function then creative learning… unstructured outside play leads to smarter adults.
3) Kids that play outside have more self-esteem and confidence.
4) Outside kids move lots and they stay fitter and healthier… while “thin is in” really “fit is it” we can honor different body types and stay healthy.
5) Outdoor time has a positive effect on kids moods.
This way we have happy, healthy, smart, confident children who are ready to go to bed at bedtime!
Get outside: Tonight!
December 9th, 2009 | Author: Shannon
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the days are getting shorter and the nights longer, but just for the heck of it, I looked it up today and here’s the data (for Rhode Island): 7:01 am sunrise and 4:16 pm sunset; with the day length shortening by about 47 seconds each day… we are fast approaching the shortest day of the year (December 21st).
Make a lantern, bundle up and head outside!
There are many ways to make a lantern and I am going to share two simple ones.
1) Materials:
- a) quart-size ball jar,
- b) wire for hanging handle,
- c) tissue paper cut up into small pieces,
- d) no-cook paste
- e) a tea light (candle)
Wrap the wire around the neck of the jar, and make a sturdy handle for carrying, (I suggest making the handle to one side to avoid hand burning). Using the paste, glue small pieces of tissue paper to the outside of the glass jar, overlapping the colors like stained-glass.
2) Materials
- a) Wax Paper
- b) tissue paper cut up in small pieces
- c) an iron
- d) towel
- e) glue or tape
- d) a tea light (candle)
Sandwich pieces of tissue paper between wax paper. Overlap the tissue paper for a stained glass effect. Make sure the “waxy” side of the tissue paper is on the inside of the sandwich. Make an approximately 15 inch by 8 inch rectangle. (Let the kids measure for a math reminder!)
Even out the edges so it’s a nice even rectangle, then make a three inch long two inch wide “fridge” across the bottom. Connect the two side edges of the wax paper, interlace the fridge to make a secure bottom (adding a piece of round cardboard or heavy weight paper makes this a little sturdier). Tape or glue the bottom and the seam along the side.
Look up and check out the stars! Do you see any shapes in the stars? Do you think the stars can see the light from your lantern? Enjoy the night sky!
Dancing Leaves
November 17th, 2009 | Author: Shannon
Here’s another view of our Climbing Tree.
This beautiful little maple tree is in our front yard and these radiantly red leaves have fallen to the ground in the past month.
Remember as a child watching the leaves fall to the ground, dancing in the gusty wind? And then trying to catch them?
Last Thurdsay was the perfect leaf catching day here in our backyard so we ran and danced and caught leaves and made wishes with each successful catch.
This brought back such found memories of my childhood.
This morning, I found this wonderful little poem in a book called Autumn**.
The Wind and the Leaves
1) ‘Come, little leaves said the wind one day,
Come o’re the meadow with me and play;
Put on your dresses of red and gold,
Summer is gone and the days grow cold.’
2) Soon as the leaves heard the wind’s loud call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs they knew.
3) Dancing and whirling the little leaves went
Winter had called them, and they were content,
Soon, fast asleep on their earthy bed,
The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.
The colors, smells, warmth of the last days of Autumn are so beautiful and I can’t wait to get outside and enjoy them!
**Poems, Songs, Storied collected by Kindergarten Teachers from Steiner Schools in Britain for use in their work, 1983, Wynstones Press
{The is part of the 30-minute blog challenge brought to us by Steady Mom.}
Homemade Beeswax Candles
November 11th, 2009 | Author: Shannon
This time of year the darkness sets in so early that candles can be a really fun activity that can represent “lighting the way to a new year”.
Shopping List:
- Candle Wicks (available at craft and hobby stores)
- Beeswax (available at Amazon- might be available locally too)
- Other needs:
- Small sized coffee cans
- Newspaper
- Lots of pot holders
- A large pot
- Sturdy twigs
1) The beeswax comes as a big block; chop this up into small pieces that will fit into coffee cans.
2) Fill a pot with water and place cans of beeswax into the pot. Don’t let the cans float (remove some water if they do).
3) Allow the wax to melt in the cans. (Adding fresh chunks as the wax melts).
…….While the wax is melting.
4) Cut 12 inch wicks. Tie one end of each wick to a twig.
5) Remember to check on your melting wax! When the cans have 6-8 inches of melted wax, remove from the heat and place on a newspaper-covered area. (Note: use newspaper it’s a mess otherwise).
6) Dip the wick into the wax while holding onto the stick. “Dip it down; pick it up.”
7) Allow the wax to harden on the wick then re-dip… over and over and over again. Till the candle is large enough to fit in a candle holder. (To flatten the bottom of the candle, use wax paper and with each dip tap the candle on the wax paper- it will make the candle a tad easier to use in a candle holder).
Once you’re done, save the cans for next year (you can remelt the wax that’s left inside) and keep the newspaper for a fire in the wood stove (the wax on the paper will help the fire ignite).
Add some education to the process? Make honey cakes, use beeswax and talk about the gifts from the honey bees!
For more information or for guidance on making candles in a classroom setting, read Earthwaysby Carol Petrash.
Climbing the Tree (of Life)
November 3rd, 2009 | Author: Shannon
My little man is growing up; he’ll be three at the end of the month. I still remember the overwhelming joy I felt when I realized I was pregnant; the absolute love when I first looked at this little naked body; the joy when he first nursed; the terror with the first big cut (a lip wound) and all the blood; I remember the first steps; potty training, weaning…. and now my little baby boy is climbing trees.
This time of year change is so obvious and natural and gentle. I enjoy taking the children outside to experience the everyday changes of falling pine cones, falling leaves, acorns etc.
Last week, we went to the park where there was a cute little squirrel gathering goods for the winter and running up and down one tree. My son, who genuinely thinks of squirrels as his friends and playmates, began chasing after it. In complete terror, the squirrel perched on one very high branch.
Jeremiah is learning from his nature buddies and I am learning to appreciate the changes and seasons as a mother.
Have a great day! Be happy!
Standing on Solid Ground
October 27th, 2009 | Author: Shannon
I have just returned from my children’s yoga teacher training. It was fabulous. This weekend focused on a Body-Mind Centering approach to anatomy.
I am astonished at all that goes into movement and the human body. So starting, literally, from the ground up, I want to share some thoughts about feet.
Recently, I was on a jaunt in the woods and I noticed the beauty of the earth beneath my feet.
The pine cones, pine needles, leaves, sticks, and stones, all crunched as I stepped across them. I noticed the forgiveness of the earth as it bounced back after each step.
In some places, the moss-covered the ground with sweet softness and acted as a gentle cushion.
Branches, stumps, rotting fallen trees served as little obstacles to negotiate.
My feet held me up, confidently no matter what the terrain. As an aspiring yoga teacher I got to thinking about doing yoga in the pine trees and how different the experience would be to doing yoga on the wooden floor of a studio.
This weekend I revisited these thoughts as I learned about the feet, which are uniquely designed to navigated these irregular surfaces. So different then the hard concrete or wooden floors on which we usually walk or stand.
Standing upright with strength on any surface is as natural for our bodies, and especially our feet, as breathing.
How is it for you to stand strongly despite the uneven surfaces of life?
Free as a Bird
October 22nd, 2009 | Author: Shannon
In May 2008, I made a $32.00 investiment in 8 chicks; six chickens and two roosters. At first they lived in a plastic container in the living room with a heat lamp; there was a constant peeping chicks in the house. Then we moved them to the basement and into a plastic kiddy pool given to us by Erin (who was my biggest cheerleader through this process).
When the chicks became birdies flying around the basement, we moved them outside to this lovely A-frame chicken tractor my dear husband built for me. Feeding the chickens became one of our morning family chores. (I have since lost the plans for this chicken tractor, and would modify it to include wheels and an extended chicken run).
In November of 2008, they laid their first eggs. I remember feeling that this chicken business was really faith in action; for six months we fed these animals, with total confidence that they would produce for us; and then they did!
Here’s the J-man as a very happy chicken farmer.
I had always dreamed of chickens roaming the yard free as birds; however our chicken tractor seemed more practical because we live near a pond where foxes and other predators abound; last week I decided to run the risk of loosing a few chickens and now they are scavenging freely in our backyard.
I enjoy looking out the window watching as they peck away at the ground and run after bugs flying by; it is a pleasure to hear them scratching in the woods or running for cover when hawks fly by. We do run the risk of loosing them, I’d miss ‘em too, but at some point their happiness is important too.
As a mother, I am constantly weighing the risks; do I let him climb that high? Can he check the mail alone? What if he cuts himself with the scissors or falls over on the shovel?
I like taking risks, it’s terrifying in some ways, but I’d prefer to live free as a bird then cooped up in a fearful mind. So I let my chickens and my son take risks too.
How do you free yourself from fear? What have you been keeping cooped up that might benefit from some free-ranging?
Rainy Day Baking with Grandma
October 21st, 2009 | Author: Shannon
Sunday was a rainy, yucky, fall day that was perfect for a yoga adventure. It wasn’t too difficult to find excited grandparents for a couple hours of care, and Jeremiah ended up learning new baking skills in the processes. Lucky guy; the cookies were delicious!
I thoroughly enjoyed a kundalini yoga class and was renewed and rejuvenated!
