Finger Knitting

This semester has turned into a major hand working focus. I did not plan it that way, it just happened. One of my favorite websites http://heartsandtrees.blogspot.com/ had shared a link to learn how to finger knit http://youtube.com/watch?v=t3LKAlDz9ig . I could not wait to teach the girls. Our friends Lilith and Maura thought it was so cool they too wanted to learn!

It is so easy. I found myself "knitting" while watching TV and especially helped pass the time while waiting at doctor offices. :0)

I don't think this would fit the Charlotte Mason ideology for hand work. But as far as we are concerned, we love it! While we were in Seattle Emily, Sarah Elizabeth and I learned to knit. Both the girls and I absolutley love it!

Update on our window garden

You can imagine our surprise when came home from Seattle and found the girls seedlings had become full fledged plants! Sarah Elizabeth's sunflowers were huge. Unfortunately it appears that several days of watering was missed. Her plants are quite sad and droopy. I am in hopes that if we transplant them into better drainage pots they will come back. If not it is off the Greens Feed and Seed to try again. Our turnip had all but dried up~the growth on top however had been saved by draining all the moisture from the turnip top.

We have a new addition to our window garden peonies. Aunt Barbara gave each of the girls this really cool kit called an eggling. The kit came with seeds and a "egg" pre-filled with special soil. The girls cracked the egg, removed a little of the shell and placed the seeds on top of the soil. Add water and watch it grow. The girls had a lot of fun cracking their eggs and are anxious to watch them grow.

When I was at Target last night in the $ bins I found tiny little seed starters. A few more herbs, marigolds, lavender and a tomato plant. What luck! We are almost set with our garden. the girls would like to grow a few pumpkins, a strawberry plant, cucumber, zuccini and a red and yellow peppers. The girls are starting to get a little carried away!

Splatter Faries

Spring is in bloom in West Virginia!
Today was such a beautiful day! It was partly sunny and into the 70's, way to warm to focus on math and reading.

Somewhere I stumbled upon a great website: http://www.magicalchildhood.com/index2.htm I love it! When looking at the spring newsletter I found this great art idea. We were babysitting my girlfriend's 5 yo daughter, Maura (will be 5 tomorrow but she has started telling everyone she is 5! :0) and I thought this would be a good one to span the ages.....My 10yo and 14 yo would love it as well. I was right!
http://lapazfarm.homeschooljournal.net/2006/06/07/splatter-fairies/

We used card stock and tempera paint. I placed the colors they choose on a foam plate so that they could add colors or start again at their leisure. The girls also loved to swirl the colors and mix colors on the foam plate. Sarah took a piece of card stock and gently laid it on top of the mixed paint. it created such a cool design. Right after she set in down to dry the wind picked it up and smushed it against the house. The picture was ruined but the house has a cool design. Good thing it is washable!

I will post the finished product for you to compare. The girls can identlify objects in their pictures (kinda like when you look at clouds~I was never very good at that)I sorta see what they see if I squint real hard and turn the picture upside down! :0)