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Friday, May 24, 2013

Pure Play and Our Knitted Farm Mat



The Sun with loving light
Makes bright for me each day,
The soul with spirit power
Gives strength unto my limbs,
In sunlight shining clear
I revere, Oh God,
The strength of humankind,
Which Thou so graciously
Has planted in my soul,
That I with all my might,
May love to work and learn.
From Thee stream light and strength
To Thee rise love and thanks.
~ A Waldorf Morning Verse~



We've been busy here since our last post. Homeschooling is quite consuming, in a good way. Interesting I feel as if our days flow more easily now that we have a stronger rhythm. Even on days when I have no special crafts or stories to do, the children still crave our school rhythm. We also have gone totally TV free at home for the past 3 weeks. It has been a long time coming here. A gradual wean of sorts. While we've never been big on TV here, I have come to realize that we really have no need or place for it when it comes to the children. Apart from the occasional family movie night, they haven't watched a drop. A say this not as a combination for anyone who is not there yet or doesn't want to be there, rather as an encouragement to those whom want to reduce. It is possible. 

On that note however it means that we all have had more time. With that time I have used it to simplify our play space a bit and rework it. Since they kids are playing much more, it made sense. I also have been reading a lot more on how children learn and play- which inspired a few changes of my own. 

I reworked our playroom so that there was more open space to play in. We moved out our black play bench, play kitchen, and cleaning set. We set the kitchen and leaning supplies up in the dining room- near our own kitchen- so that they could be playing kitchen while I was cooking. They also can then easily clean up after their meals. I was worried at first that if I moved it out of the play stand, which they use primarily as their house, then it might hamper their house play. Rather, they just moved it. Now their house is under the table. We also set up our nature table in the dining room again after having it up high in the playroom. It did not work out well there since it was not as interactive. 






In place to the kitchen in the play stand, Craig and I made a play bookshelf. I have to say it was a super fun project- one of my first wood working ones. I have been admiring the palumba simple bookshelf for age. However the price was a bit high for me. Instead of $169, all it cost us was $40 in wood, stains, and brushes. It looks nice, right? On the book shelf we set up of gnomes house and all their furniture. 












In the now free corner we put the children's school table there. They kids love it so much more there. It is not as cramped. It's light and clear near the window. 





I moved the sling book case to where the table used to be and added our old rug. It's a nice little reading homeshcool corner. Many many times I have come in there now and have seen the kids laying down there skimming our books. 






In the far corner of the room we now have our baby doll corner, castle, and our new farm! We are farm people at heart. I have been skimping and saving up for the farm for years now. We also added a baby doll changing table. What really tipped the scale sin being able to add these treasures to our playroom was EBAY. I went through all our toys and purged. And then purged some more. And then went through the garage and even their old clothes. Not only were we able to get these goodies but we also were able to make a bunch more which went to other things (like bills!). 



















With it I finally sat down and finished our knitted farm mat. Back almost a year ago I participated in a knitted farm swap hosted by Carrie over at Crafty Moms Share. Those lovely squares sat and sat. I just did not know who to bring them all together. Some of the sizes ended up not being 12x12, while others were. So after playing young with it in my mind for a bit I decided I would just sew it together like a quilt. That's right, I used my machine. I joined up each row and then stitched them all together. Then I basted, backed, and binded them! I used the sweetest vintage flower fabric for the backing that make sit look like a field of flowers. I am so pleased with the finished product. (By the way I knitted the dark green cable fields- you can even tuck veggies and chicks into the cables!)

So that's our new playroom, dining room, and farm mat. It is really just the tip of the what we've been doing. More fluff and fun that substance. However I have been reading more Steiner and some other great books and my love of Waldorf has been deepening. If you haven't dug into Steiner yet but are intimidated. Please don't be! I promise to be back soon to share some of what I am learning.

Blessings and Light, 
Nicole


14 comments:

  1. this is all so beautiful, makes me want to play there myself! so much light and inspiration and I love the farm so much and the wee children't table. what a special home, for special people x x x

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  2. It looks so lovely and inviting! It brings out my inner child. Can we schedule a playdate soon...oh, and I guess I'll bring the kids too. :)

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  3. Oh my, what beauty your children have around them. Your mat is so lovely and so is all the rest. I try to keep my kids play room in some kind of order but I think they have too much stuff - I need to be ruthless in my sorting out.
    How interesting to learn that you can sew wool on a sewing machine!! Do you have to use a special needle? I'm new to sewing and it's not going well!!
    I splashed out on a farm set much like yours for my son's 3rd birthday, money well spend - he loves it and even when he's not playing with it, it looks so beautiful just sitting there.

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  4. Hello nicole, your house is so beutiful, and beautiful things have your kids, here you can not get this type of furniture, and wooden toys, to be ordered to the peninsula, also are very expensive.
    You have wonderful hands, doing wonderful things.
    Congratulations.l,i like very much your blog,thanks to invite me.

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  5. Thank you ladies! I needed the love this weekend. It's been a tough one here.

    @Emma- I just used a heavy duty needle and invisible thread on a zig zag stitch. It worked quite well and I have no issues feeding it through. I have a brother 'project runway' machine. As for organizing, I know who you feel. I go through the house with a donate bad once a week as I am cleaning and stuff things in there that NEVER seem to be put away. Then I wait another week to see if I miss those items. If not, to the thrift store they go. It's really helped us simplify. But boy do we still have a ways to go.

    @Rosa- Hola especie Rosa! Lamento que usted no puede conseguir grandes juguetes de madera en la isla! mi marido y yo hicimos la estantería. Usted también puede hacer juego gradas. Eso podría ser una buena idea para su familia? También hago un montón de nuestros juguetes (como los gnomos y duendes). Es fácil de hacer ellos. Pero también sé que es bueno para comprar juguetes también! Las madres tienen una gran cantidad de trabajo por hacer ya! Abrazos!

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  6. Hello! That is my "Sheep's Meadow" on the mat! Nice to see yours all put together. Mine is sadly still in pieces, but I very much like how you did yours and great to hear about the sewing machine!!

    Lovely blog, I will be returning to read more.

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    1. Oh wow!!! Well let me just say your sheep meadow is one of my favorite squares. It took me a long to time to get around the putting it together, so no judgment here. My kids played with the pieces happily for a long time :) Thank you for visiting! I hope to see you back!

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  7. I love the play spaces and your farm is totally adorable! Lucky children.

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  8. How lovely to have a playroom my house is not big enough, it looks like a great space to play and learn. I have shared some knitted animals this week on KCCO, love the knitted fields they would make a great addition.

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  9. Oh it makes me so happy to see a finished farm mat! I tried making one (along with 11 other wonderful mamas) when I very first learned how to knit but all our squares were different sizes and it didn't work :( I still have the squares here waiting for me to do something with them. I keep telling myself that one day I'll just make a new one. You are inspiring me to get on that!! Thank you for sharing on KCCO!

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  10. oh and I wanted to welcome you to the beauty and wisdom of Waldorf!!! I have a feeling your love for it will just continue to grow :)

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  11. Absolutely beautiful space. that farm mat is great.

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  12. Wow! I love your play space and that farm play mat!

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  13. Oh, your space looks beautiful and I love how your farm came out!! I need to do a few finishing touches on mine still. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!

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