“The question is not how much does the youth know whenhe has finished his education, but how much does he care. ”Charlotte Mason
Archives for September 2009
Weekend Warriors
One thing we know how to do here at our house is fully take advantage of a rainy weekend. And for those of you who thought our craft studio was gonna be just another pretty place to sit, I give you felted flower pins!!!! The girls and I trudged into Goodwill in the pouring rain and bought every cute wool sweater (make sure they’re 95-100% wool—or they won’t felt) we could find, promptly washed them in hot water (which shrinks them and turns them into felt), and commenced the flower ‘arranging’. We printed some templates from here and then just added our own personal embellishments.
I made this gargantuan black ‘rose’ and could barely move my left arm without hitting it—but it’s so darn cute and very anthropologie-esk. I made the middle portion of the flower by cutting about a 1/2 inch end of the cuff of the sweater (so that you have a small little circle of fabric) and then make a cut so that it forms a single length of fabric and then roll that little piece ‘on’ itself and glue as you go. I used the macdaddy of all craft glues: E6000—which will make your room smell like you’re making something industrial—but it works like a charm. BTW, that cute shirt that I wore under my black dress to church—-Goodwill—$1.50! I know, I know! That’s the bonus of 1/2 price Saturday at Goodwill.
And after we’d ‘felted’ till our hearts were content, we switched gears to needle point. For those of you who love numbers, I re-threaded the needles 427 times. Or so.
Our precious little Studio 8 took a beating. There was floss and wool and thread , and chocolate chip cookie crumbs everywhere.
A bright spot in the room–despite the explosion of crafty-wooly goodness– was the ‘heather’ in the window sill.
When our little fingers were tired and aching, we switched to reading. May I recommend Glen Beck’s new book (which to my delight contains Thomas Paine’s Common Sense in the back)? I love the subtitle: The Case Against an Out of Control Government. Amen to that.
How We Spend our Days…….
I am no pro at this. I am not even what most would call a ‘seasoned’ homeschooler. But as year 2 is delightfully underway, I am more convinced than ever that this is where I belong. I receive lots of emails about homeschooling and I am probably ill-equipped to answer them.
6. Grammar—I settled on a combination of Shurley Grammar and Daily Grams. The girls love the SG chants and this week we added the preposition to our arsenal of words we can diagram in a sentence. We do a ‘Daily Gram’ everyday and then do about 3 lessons in SG a week. It’s working so far but I will likely switch (in a year or two) to Rod and Staff Grammar because apparently (according to Susan Wise Bauer) that is the only program that teaches the correctly and fully how to diagram sentences. For now, I like the chants and the question/answer flow of SG and the repetition of Daily Grams.
By far the best part of homeschooling is the sheer amount of time I’m able to spend with them. We share an intimacy that I wasn’t sure was possible between mother and child. It’s only made me more ‘jealous’ over them. Now I better understand why God is a jealous God. He wants our hearts—fully, completely. He loves us unconditionally, has our best interests in mind, and can teach us more about the world and about ourselves than anyone can. And that’s what homeschooling has been like for me. It has the familiar ‘ring’ of a relationship that I know deep in my spirit. I was created for this—–to be in communion with Him and these little ones in a way that is often difficult to put to words. I couldn’t be more grateful…..
The Making of a Craft Studio
She had a sinewy mind, capable of violent enthusiasms and possessed a driving energy to make and do. Sometimes, it seemed as if the wrong soul had been placed inside that slight body, for she pushed herself to her limits and beyond, and was often ill as a result. There was something in her that could not, or would not, see the distinctions the world wished to make between weak and strong, between women and men, laborer and lord.
sinewy adj. -tough, stringy, strong
Please visit Kimba‘s sight (it’s DIY day) to see lots of fun DIY projects!
Weekend Treasures
Today’s (Not-So) Creative Blog Post
hello, my name is edie and i have ADD.
so, when i should be sleeping, i sew quilt squares…….
and when we should be counting by 6’s, we’re fighting over who gets to play (frightfully bang) on the new-to-us piano……
and when we should be ironing laundry, we sit in our new craft studio and chat.it.up. about all the fun stuff we’re gonna sew and knit and glue……