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yarn along

Yippee, new yarn! I finally decided on a new and easy project, went and purchased a lovely shade of green yarn, and haven't been able to put it down since. Andrew has wanted a moss colored scarf for {ashamedly} years. We found a great pattern on Ravelry, that he approved, and I think he might actually be able to wear it before the week is out. Just in time for the cold snap that seems to be intruding on our hopes for spring. Maybe everyone needs a new scarf to cheer us up till warmer weather!

 

Rounding out my Michael Pollen kick is his book The Botany of Desire. This is the hardest book for me to enjoy so far, in that it is a bit more difficult to ignore the fact that he weighs heavy on evolutional theories. Which in all other manners of interest I have been able to weed out from the meat of his thoughts. But this particular angle is a bit more challenging in that regard. However, as always, the topics of his study and research results in simply fascinating stuff.

 

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yarn along

My knitting needles have been a little quiet as of late but they are still making an appearance from outside the weaved basket beside my bed now and again. {Relocations are rough on an ample sense of creative time allotment.}

Just before Christmas I was given a hand written pattern from my grandmother. It was of the baby blanket she has made for every child, grandchild, great-grandchild, friend's baby, and probably friend of a friend's baby over the many years I've witnessed her needles in hand! My own children pull their blanket from the cedar chest every winter with great joy, using them not only to sleep with but also as an extra companion for reading, a tent for secret hideaways, or the perfect cape while defeating a super-villain.

As I watched my daughter one evening, getting newly enraptured with the concept of playing dolls, the thought occurred to me that a smaller version of our beloved blankets would be a splendid coverlet for the new baby crib soon to be sitting under the Christmas tree. It was extremely simple to modify the pattern and came out looking wonderful. So I cast on again for my niece's baby doll and have since devoted two more skeins for another.

I also enjoyed the company of Love in a Time of Homeschooling, by Laura Brodie. It was purchased as an antidote in a moment of home education realities {emphasis intended}. And I actually would recommend its cure to many. It is off the beaten path of my regular dose of inspiration in that it isn't idealistic in the least! But it made me exhale a bit and carry on with a redirected reasoning as to why we've made the choices in education that we have; while also providing a well needed perspective on unpleasant vs amazing moments, which will always be a part of directly tutoring an off-grid, strongly opinionated, excessively brilliant preteen. Isn't that a mouthful! And what a privilege it is too.

 

If you would like to see other project and fantastic book selections

join in at Yarn Along

yarn along

I've been following a blog for a bit that is simply an enjoyable journal to read. From her life I find a smorgasbord of inspiration from homeschooling to adoption and from knitting to cooking gluten-free. Can you see why I love her thoughts? Anyway, on Wednesdays she begin the Yarn Along to which you can post your current knitting project and book-reading selection. Sounds like fun to me! But the best part is satisfying that curious desire to see what everyone else is knitting up and reading out. 

I {heart} sharing.

 

I'm knitting my first garment that is suppose to be worn by an adult. Hopefully that adult will end up being myself, if all goes according to plan. Baby and toddler clothing seems to be far less risky when you have a few children as options for the resulted size. But I'm excited to make this leap into my handmade world. 

The book is Second Nature by Michael Pollan. I've been on a Pollan kick of late. Which you can see a plethora of his titles in my bookshop. Reading up on the element of gardening might seem a bit odd for such a city-bound girl such as I am, sometimes literally but not always so in my dreams. It has indulged the farm girl in me quite thoroughly and by his own words made my education of all things planted far more realistic to nature. 

Join Ginny at Small Things for more delicious exchanges!

three letter words

My third and fourth child are learning to read! George has conquered three letter words and Annika is working her way through two sounds blended with a vowel. I have tried to get a more creative curriculum for reading, with pretty flashcards and cute poems, but I always seem to come back to the amazing job that this one book performs. We use Phonics Pathways. We do an ever so small amount each day because I learned the hard way that long time frames only add unnecessary frustration! So maybe its doing one page per day or maybe its just one row on that page but we simply progress. And by the end of the book you have a magnificent reader!

 

About a week ago a glorious day arrived in that process, the one where what had once been long lengths of sounding out individual letters metamorphosed into a connected strand suddenly becoming a cohesive unit! A little boy proudly spouting out words like - tug, dig, bed, and mat with the greatest of ease as he grins big and looks at his older brothers for winning approval. Ahh, let's just delight in the accomplishment of something, anything really, before we lament over the other quizzes, reviews, and tests that somehow failed to bring a grin. Oh, at least kindergarten can revel in its delight!

 

 

{sorting}

I can't say that I'm all that fond of mathematics. I know that it is an essential part of life and has probably been the bedrock of upper education that has brought about so many of the things that make modern what it is today. Even so, I am still a literature-history-art kinda girl. But I do aim at picking at the brains of my young-ins just in case they are a bit more bent towards this topic of study than their teacher.

All that said, Kindergarten mathematics is just plain fun. We use an excellent program from Singapore. I enjoy how colorful it is and how it uses the workbook as more of a platform for hands-on play. George particularly got a kick out of a day dedicated to sorting. As a teacher sometimes its hard to see where the easy stuff is going. Is this really a necessary skill? Isn't sorting pretty common knowledge that gets picked up anyway? Well, yes and no. It's amazing how much sorting goes on in other areas. It gets new fancier names like classifying or organizing your thoughts, formulas, or writings. But it all starts in the fun that's created when you pull out a drawer full of children's dishware and say, lets sort it!

music to my ears

Art classes and music classes have always seemed to be an elusive element in our school days. It tends to be like the family time that is always scheduled over or the personal time that get swallowed up into needful household chores. And as good advisers will tell you, put these things on the calendar and make them as much of a priority as going to the dentist! So this year I scheduled in art and music. It's just one hour in every week but it doesn't (and won't) get over run by other subjects that have for one reason or another lagged behind. We have gone three straight weeks now saying, "no grammar you must go away now" or "enough math, we will deal with rounded decimals and mixed fractions later"! I have been very pleased with the results.

Yesterday was music class. I decided that all the kiddos need to brush up on their music appreciation so we are studying the orchestra. We are beginning with The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and then will go on to use The Story of the Orchestra. Both are superb books, accompanied with a CD recording which just wouldn't be the same if not heard - obviously.

When I was in grade school we regularly visited the symphony orchestra. I remember so vividly the plush velvet seat and the glittering chandeliers. Standing in that enormous hall, dressed in my favorite dress and wearing patent leather shoes it was quite a magical place. But nothing was as beautiful as the sounds. I often remember going with my grandparents and watching as they closed their eyes when the music played. The first time I tried that the orchestra went to a whole new level of sensory emotion, one to which a simple recording on a ipod could not nearly embody it's great fullness. That's why I hope to take my children, all dressed in there best of looks, to the symphony orchestra after this music class has commenced. And then, and only then, will true music appreciation be caught rather than only taught. 

In the meantime, I delight in what has already turned out to be a very good thing. Here is my homegrown orchestra - George the Conductor, Peter the Flutist, Annika the Percussionist, and Nicholas {well in true form, my photographer}. Oh, and the orchestra itself all played by our dearly loved friends of the stuffed variety.

gifts!

A big shout out to some wonderful ladies who came bearing gifts to church one morning! 

This adoption baby book is awesome. And the illustrations are simply adorable. 

:: Looks like I better get writing!

:: The boys and I love this book too!

Oh, and can't you see Annika looking adorable in this beautiful bow?! If you're interested, checkout Angel Face Bows for more handmade loveliness!

The Laws of Simplicity

I have had my eye on this book for some time. Last week when Andrew was out of town I took the boys over for an evening run to Barnes and Noble. It was finally my chance to grab it. 

It's a very simple read. Maybe that was intentional. Simplicity on any term is a subject matter that I gravitate toward but this had a bit of a different slant. While I might browse the subjects of homemaking and education, this was focused on business. 

There are listed ten laws of simplicity. It is basically one man's observation on how design is utilized in our current culture. Using everything from ipods to google maps the author breaks down what appeals to us and why.

For myself, this book has been a point of interest to several areas of life. I do appreciate good design and am anxious to look for how I can utilize these "laws" in the not so business related fields of everyday living. It's also fascinating self-reflection on why certain magazines, home interiors, handmade crafts, blogs, even atmospheres, etc. I tend to find extremely inspiring while others, not so much. 

I would recommend this quick read to anyone who thinks about design in any shape or form. And beyond that a few observation could even bring a dose of good perspective on the design of life in general.