Real Snow and a little Valentines

A view of our school room, Seasonal tree, and the gifts the kid's received today.  

Finally it seems winter is here... or was at least! We had a lovely little dusting this past Saturday (the same day as my son's 2nd birthday party).  Altogether that makes for a great day. Especially since, two years ago, it snowed on the day he was born too. What sweet memories that snow brought back to me. Plus we got to play in the snow before it melted away on Sunday. It was bliss for my kids! 

I will post later on more about Jonas' actual party and why we choose to do parties. When each birthday and holiday pops up I find myself reflecting of our Waldorf journey a bit more than usual, mainly due to the gifts and materialism issue. This time around all of that went well and I'd eventually like to share about that. Thank you for your wishes also. Jonas felt quite loved in blogland! 

Today was also Valentines day here for us. I find it very funny that my daughter and my son (and this baby) are all/will be born quite close to big holiday (Christmas, Valentines, and possibly Easter respectively).- but I digress. Our little family tradition is giving some small presents right when the kids wake up. They always have been a book and little toy. This year both kids got a book and a silk toy. Then we go somewhere fun together and make a special dinner. Crafts are usually involved, but today we did not craft any since we will be having a nice big co-op Valentine's day party later this week. I also made gnomes for all the kids, so I held off on giving my kids their gnomes until then. I also plan of wet felting hearts with the kids that day- oh I am just so excited! I also am excited about exploring with them who Saint Valentine really was as well as a better idea of what this extremely commercial holiday is truly about. 

Today was overall a pretty good day. My son was pretty fussy, much more than usual, so just my daughter and I went out at lunch time to a frozen yogurt place. While Jonas and Daddy played outside and hunted for worms to put in our compost. 

DD and I had a sweet Mommy-Daughter time together. She, in her 4 year old wisdom, opened up to me about how her friend just got her ears pierced and she liked it. I was really happy with how the conversation went, I asked lots of questions and listened a lot. Then, by herself, Deirdre concluded that she doesn't need her ears pierced yet and that she wants to talk about it again when she is 10. I thought that was a great idea. 

So I hope you all had a sweet and relaxing Valentine's day with your little sweeties! I can't wait to see all the fun crafting we all will be up to this week! 

Always, Nicole 

Outdoor Co-Op

This past Friday we had our co-op outdoors at a local park. I really love this park and we frequent it often. It is not ridiculously crowded and in addition to having some very kid friendly trails, they also have a great outdoor classroom, playground, and nature center. You can even camp at the park! 

During the winter it becomes pretty obvious to me that during the other seasons of the year, we are outdoors a lot. Rain or shine, we always seemed to make it outside for a sizable portion of the day, everyday. This winter however, whether from the random temperature changes or the plethora of cold rainy days (ones that are just so yucky that my kids don't want to go out)- we have been house bound a bit more than I like. 

I notice it more mainly because of our daily rhythm. When we cut out outdoor time, for whatever reason, we move through our days slower. We continue to do the activities we usually do daily, school work and free play, but then there is an hour or so leftover when there used to be none. I don't want that time to be filled up with TV, so I have had to get creative (board games, scavenger hunts, play dough play ground) but I also want to get back outside. 

I love the outdoors, I always have. I was forced to be outside as a child (albeit a little too much- but that is a whole other issue), so I grew to love it. Being outside in my yard was when I felt whole. I could breathe and be myself there- away from the chaos indoors. I was blessed enough to live close to the bay and ocean as a young child, so I am quite attached to the water. So for me being indoors too much, is not good for the soul. 

So I resolve to do more outdoor co-op away from the house, as to not be tempted to go inside. We spent probably 2 1/2 hours totally outside. We played, we hiked, we discovered, we learned, and we picnicked! My kids also came home with a pretty sweet nature collection (which is proudly on display on our seasonal nature table) and they took a great nap. Plus, I felt refreshed. 

Win-win!

Always, Nicole 

Progress and Completion

I am officially done with my Valentines Day craft swap (not pictured yet are the candies I will pick up at the store on my way to to the post office)! I really enjoyed dreaming up this little gnome set, wet felted heart ornaments, and sachet. I am slowly realizing that crafting gnomes and embroidering are coming more and more easily to me, which is good and validating. I also find that the artistic/crafty medium of wooden pegs and felt have endless possibilities once you have a basic method down. So all in all, I can't really take full credit for the gnome peg people and sleeping bags I make, since they were all inspired by Wee Folk Art's tutorials. The designs at this point are my own, however this really isn't about artistic integrity for me, since I make these for my children and friends as gifts. I want to keep it that way too. But I also want to give credit where credit is due! 

Deirdre helped me wet felt the purple heart ornament. She was very proud of it and is even more excited to send it to our swap partner in New Zealand. I pulled up photos on the computer for her and map. She concurred that  New Zealand  is beautiful but far away from us. I find that to be one of the really neat things about blogging though. I am making connections with people, different yet like minded at the same time, worldwide. It helps me feel not quite so alone in my homeschooling and Waldorf journey. Plus it's the next best thing to travelling (which Craig and I fully intend on doing again since we'll barely be in our forties when our kids are grown). Don't get me wrong, we totally plan on travelling some with our children as well but I am still looking for my money tree to make that happen ;) Let's hope I can still speak a few of the languages I studied by the time I find it! 

Enjoy the photos and feel free to use them to craft your own little Valentine sets. I will post a tutorial later on to explain how we wet felted the hearts as well as a spool table and spool mushroom tutorial. I realized that I did not give directions on how to make your own! Opps!

Until then, Happy Monday! (And enjoy some photos of the littles!) 

Yes they do help me cut them and it is helpful. Deirdre did one whole by herself (with a butter knife). Jonas tried really hard but ended up eating the raw potato more than cutting it. 

Homemade pound cake- yum! The kids helped with this too. They're great egg crackers. 

We are slowly replacing TV time with planned nightly activities. We started again to watch more TV when I was very ill with hypermesis. So far it is working. They also totally clean up after themselves collectively. I am very proud.

Some of our day... (and a yarn along)

The lavender sachet and valentine gnome sleeping bag for Natural Suburbia's swap. I'm not done yet but these are a start! I got the idea of the sachet from my friend Stephanie from church. Thank you! 

A doll cardigan for Valentine's day that I am beginning today. I hope my pattern turns out well! For my next yarn along I plan of actually reading something else besides my own pattern as well ;) 

Deirdre's, my 4 year old, sky scarf. She is getting so good. I am proud at her effort.

Deirdre and I are joining in with Ginny again today for a Yarn Along over at her blog, Small Things. You should join in too! She is reading one of my favorite books, Organized Simplicity. You should check it out. It was a game changer for me. 

Well it has been a few days, hasn't it? Thankfully both my children have kicked their colds.  I love it when they have their first uphill day. I miss their laughs and happy spirits when they're sick. I think they miss them too! 

This week we also began our new Winter circulum. My co-op partner and I spent the month to December creating our own curriculum to follow Advent, St. Nicholas, St. Lucia, Christmas, and Epiphany. It also allowed us to take a break without feeling guilty because we paid for 4 weeks of material and used maybe 2. This past Autumn we used Little Acorn for all three months and I liked it a lot. There was a lot of material in their package, so much so that I can use it next year and cover stories and crafts we just never got to- and trust me we did a lot! 

So for Winter and Spring we are trying a new circulum out from Wee Folk Art. Best of all it is free and a perfect mix of Waldorf for us. I plan on adding to it as I see fit for my kids and where they are at. I have lots of extra Waldorf resources and enrichment guides that I have gotten through Earthschooling and Little Acorn. That is the beauty of homeschooling for me. Through my education I have been given the tools to effectively teach my children and understand on a deep level where they are at developmentally. That peace gives me more freedom to add and subtract where I see fit, without second guessing myself. I feel immensely blessed to be able to teach them and to have found Waldorf education. If I had not, I think I would feel very lost or torn when it came to their schooling (which really at this point, since it is the preschool years, is not serious at all- as it should be). 

I really feel like a giddy child myself too when it comes to new material. I get really excited about the lessons plans and the upcoming days we will have with each other. I guess that is how it should be? 

At any rate, we are chugging right along. The new ciricuum went off well this week so far and the kids are having fun. I am enjoying watching Deirdre learn to knit and Jonas how to draw and paint. His forms are so cute and purposeful. 

In Nicole news, I submitted my article proposal for the Spring edition of Rhythm of the Home magazine. They accepted it, so now the writing and creating begins. If all goes well this will be my 3rd article with them. I feel so humbled and excited to share a bit of our world with others. I will be cmbing crafting, reading, and teaching in this article. My three great loves, not to mention the book I will be discussing is The Story of the Root Children! I love connecting with new and different people. I also am almost done with my craft swap for Valentines day. Deirdre and I even wet felted some heart ornaments today!  I can't wait to share all that we made. I hope my partner enjoys it! 

Until then!


Daily Quote or Verse:

Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
-Psalm 119:111

Happy New Year and Epiphany!

I must say that I am quite ready for the New Year! Really it is just another day for us in the Kleemann household, but we all have lots to look forward to as well as lots to be thankful for in the last year. 

Not only did I graduate with my BA and MAT, but that mean't no more college- and I could finally stay home full time. Really it was and is still a dream come true. My son had his first birthday and my daughter turned three. We moved into our new home and began once again our mini-homesteading adventure with our animals. This year was also the first year of homeschooling and co-op for us, and so far it has been a blast. Plus all of that is just icing on the cake. Most importantly, Craig and I are still as happy and steadfast as before. My love for him continues to grow each year. He really is my best friend. 

But as for 2012, who knows what it will bring? A new baby brother or sister for sure, but as for the rest, we will just have to wait and see! 

I don't really 'do' new year resolutions. There is not much I'd like to change about myself that I am not already working on with my God's help. I feel we continue to better our lives and lifestyle by eating healthier and living as green as we can. I suppose there are some new things I'd like to try or get better at in the world or crafting and teaching. But otherwise, I feel we're on a good path and hopefully we will continue to move forward on it. 

Today we are celebrating New Years and Epiphany at our house. We'll celebrate again this week at co-op. The kids and I are home alone tonight, as we are most nights, while Craig works. So I decided to have some fun and stay busy, since I really miss him on holiday nights. 

Over the past few days I have been needle felting the three Magi for the kids (my inspiration can be found here at one of my new favorite blogs Passengers on a Little Spaceship). This was my first time ever needle felting and I did it without a pattern, so forgive their primitive quality!!! Dionne's are much better than mine so please check them out!! I also made a felt star and treasure box. But I am pretty proud of them though!

Traditionally Epiphany celebrates, among other things, the arrival of the Magi to Jesus. We know they did not actually make it to the stable, since it took years for them to get there, but they certainly did get to him. Which in my opinion amazes me that they in faith continued on for so long. I really love the quote, "Wise men still seek him." 

In our book, All Year Round, the authors provide some neat ideas on how to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. We will be doing a puppet play with the set I made  tonight using the script in their book. Afterwards we will eat some special Epiphany cake and make floating beeswax candles. All in all, I predict we will have a blast!

So with that, I will leave you to your own festivities this evening! Happy New Year!