Tuesday

Today, I have been pretty tired, but we had a lot of things going.  First off, I had to go up to Keene, NH for a blood test to check my thyroid levels.  The doctor wanted to see if they might be off since I had the vertigo.  I will find out about that tomorrow hopefully.

So, my mother drove the girls and me up to Keene this morning and I had the blood test.  Then we went to get the girls some burritos from Taco Bell.  They always get the same thing. Bean burritos are the healthy standby at Taco Bell.  Then, we went to Michael's to get some boxes to decorate since we loved decorating the boxes at Historic Deerfield.  Now we have some great wooden boxes and some little decorative bird houses to decoupage, or cover.  I know the girls are going to want to do that tomorrow.

We got home from Keene and my mom got her dog, Mea, on the way home, and brought her to our house so the girls could play with her for a little while.  After my mom went home, I got to take a nap.  Then, while I cooked dinner, the girls played with our housemates' kids and another little girl who was over for the afternoon.

Tuesday evenings are Kosho time around this house.  There are so many little girls here, that the Kosho instructor will come to our house to teach the classes. He knows Noah and we feed him a free meal after the class.  Not to mention, because we all pay him for the girls' classes.  Still, they have been taking classes pretty much once a week for about four months now and they are all learning to focus their attention and getting some martial arts training and some exercise.  I think the focus is a great thing to learn.  Our instructor is great with kids, too.

After that, and then dinner, it was time for the girls to go to bed.  Noah read to them from the Avalon book they are working on at bedtimes and tucked them in.

Now, I have to get tucked in.  Very tired.
Catch you on the flip side.

Sick Day For Mom

Well, today I was quite sick.  I wound up in the emergency room around 10am with  severe vertigo.  They guess it might be a virus that caused it.  I felt a bit sick last night, but I had no idea what was in store this morning.  I got anti-dizziness medication, anti-nausea medication, and some anti-anxiety medication and a saline iv-drip.  Then, when I felt a little better, I got to go home.  It was 2pm!  I had no idea so much time had passed.  I still don't know where it went.  We live about 2 minutes from the hospital.

Anyhow, my girls were left much to their own devices today.  Juno read a book, No Flying in the House, by Betty Brock, and Freyja watched some Tick cartoons.  They both played with their big sister, Ereshkigal, and our housemates' children in the afternoon.  They played a game that I have never seen before.  Our housemates got Harry Potter Clue.  It looked much more elaborate than old fashioned Clue.  That was a big hit for all of them, except maybe Ereshkigal, who almost won and then found she had to get back to start or something like that.

At bedtime, I read some more of a book we have been working on reading in the evenings.  It is called, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.  We love the Miyazaki movie of the same name, Howl's Moving Castle, which was based on the book, so when we found there was a book we jumped on it.  I highly recommend the book and the movie.

Sorry no photos today.  So, I will tell you how I feel tomorrow.  I sure hope I feel much better.  Jeez.

Lazy Sunday

This morning, Juno and Freyja stayed at home with their big sister, Ereshkigal, while their papa and I went to exercise at the YMCA on our own.  When we got back, I found that even though I had put out the art supplies, they had been watching TV while I was gone.  I couldn't be too upset, because they were watching How It's Made on Netflix.  They also watched a documentary about New Guinea, called Pururambo.

This afternoon, we took a walk downtown for some hot drinks at Greenfield Coffee and we also stopped at Greenfield's Market (our co-op) and got a couple of things.  Then we walked back home.  It was about 50 degrees F when we were walking back, and Juno was getting cold because she didn't want to wear a warmer hat or jacket when we started out. We told her it would get colder after the sun set.  Maybe it became a learning moment?

Tonight, they are planning to play Magic: The Gathering with their papa and Ereshkigal.  They are going to teach Juno to play, but I don't know if Freyja is ready for that yet.  We'll see.  She can at least watch and help someone play their cards.

A Poem by Juno

Storm
by Juno


Dragons fly through the sky.
Wind lash; Lightning fire.
Hapless demon, shooting star,
Falls dying to the mire.

A whip of rain casts the eyes
And lights their inner spark.
Thee hast powers strong enough
To melt away the Dark.

A Visit to Old Deerfield, Massachusetts

Juno, Freyja, their grandmother (my mom), and I went to Old Deerfield, Massachusetts to see Historic Deerfield today.  We checked out tickets from the Greenfield Public Library before Thanksgiving, since it would be closed until Monday.  There was a special program today where re-enactors demonstrated many trades and how daily life was for people in
seventeenth century Deerfield.




First, we went to the Hall Tavern Visitor's Center where we got our wristbands and went upstairs to see a man making clay plates, a woman making bobbin lace, plus we saw the implements of candle-making and, also, an entertainer playing a fiddle (violin?) and singing.  Juno got to try out making the bobbin lace.  She was actually good at it!

Freyja did not try the bobbin lace.  When we went downstairs, I lost track of her for a little while only to find she had gone to the open hearth kitchen to churn butter.  They were proud of her churning perseverance.  There was definitely butter in the churn by the time I located her in the kitchen.

The Open Hearth Cooking demonstrations were interesting.  They had cooked a codfish and maybe a turkey was roasting in front of the enormous hearth/fire.  We were there during lunch time.  So the re-enactors doing the open hearth cooking were actually making plates for and serving the food to the other re-enactors.  We got a kick out of that.
   

While we were downstairs, we saw a basket weaver who told us how the wood is soaked for the baskets.  They used water in which tobacco stalks had been soaked in order to add a dark brown color, and (as my mother pointed out) insect repellent qualities to the baskets.



We also spoke for a while with a man who used horn to make many items such as powder horns, spoons, dishes, and drinking cups.  He was really friendly and very informative on all the aspects.  He mentioned that horn was the predecessor of plastics!  Things we might use plastic to make, were often made of horn in those times.

After we left the Hall Tavern, we went down to the History Workshop which had a Handmade Gift-making room set up so visitors could make a Band Box with a Mulling Sachet.  So we all decorated a Band Box and made a Mulling Sachet there before we walked back to the picnic tables for a little snack.

Finally, we decided we had enough for one day and went across the street to the Museum Store to see what kind of trouble we could get into there.  Juno and Freyja bought a slate and slate pencil each and they both got some candy canes.  Freyja also bought a little glass top to spin.  She has an appreciation of tops and collects them when she can.

Here is a photo of the fiddler!


Then, we went to the car and headed for home.  What a fun time we had today!  Here is a link to the video page of Historic Deerfield.

We Had Fun

So, what I can say about the last several days is that we enjoyed getting together with family.  Generally, Thanksgiving is a two day affair (Thanksgiving and the day after) and we go to Noah's aunt's home in Amherst, MA, which is about 30 or 40 minutes away.  This year, she thought she had to work on Friday (today), so we actually went to her house on Wednesday night for a pre-feast dinner of lasagna.  Then we went back on Thursday for  the actual Thanksgiving get-together.  Today, she found out she did not actually have to work, so she invited us back over for leftovers cleanup and a game.  Whew!

First of all, let me make a correction to my Tuesday the 22nd post.  I said that Freyja read to me from the "Uncle Owl" book, but I was sleepy.  I really meant she read to  me from Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel.  There is another book called Uncle Elephant.  I was seriously falling asleep when I typed the post on that day.  Heh.  I found this PDF with all sorts of activities for Easy Reader books when I was looking for a link to the book.  I think I will read through and see what Freyja might like to do.


Let's see if I remember some of the things the girls did during the last three days.

• Juno finished reading the book Edge Chronicles #3 Midnight Over Sanctaphrax.  Here is a link to a list of all the Edge Chronicles books.  I don't know if they are any good.  Juno likes them.  The  main character seems to be a boy named Twig.
• She also read quite a lot from the book The Name Game: a look behind the labels by Donna M. Jackson.  This was a very entertaining book on unusual names and where names come from.  Very funny! 
• They both did math on Wednesday.  Juno from the 4th grade Calvert Math book and Freyja from some worksheets I have been using up.  One day, all those worksheets will be gone.  Recently, Freyja asked me to make a math worksheet for her by hand.  I said I would, but we have all these other ones to use up.  Incentive for her to work through them.
• Both girls also got out their art kits (they bought these for themselves from BJ's with their birthday money/allowance) and made some art. You will see some of Juno's in this post, but I think Freyja's art was all taken by Grandma Sara.  We were supposed to have her choose some, but we forgot, and it all went home with Grandma.  That's okay.
• Freyja spent a lot of time telling stories to us.  She is a born storyteller and I need to take dictation from her very soon and post a story she makes up.  Very elaborate!
• Juno wrote quite a few poems and did some performing for our relatives of songs she has memorized and one she made up by herself.  I think she was feeling shy, but she got a kick out of the attention.  That is what spurred the creation of all the poems.
• Both girls played Hide-and-Seek with their cousins yesterday and played on the trampoline out back for quite some time today.
• We also played some games!!  We played Clay To Win today, and Fluxx yesterday.  We tried Star Fluxx and Martian Fluxx at our aunt's, but at home we have regular Fluxx and Zombie Fluxx!

Well, that is not everything, but it will show what we were up to.  Catch you on the flip side!

Back After Thanksgiving

Two days of holiday!  See you on the 25th.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Getting Things Cleaned Up

Today, Freyja and Juno cleaned their room off and on throughout the day.  I only checked on it once, but it seemed to be coming along pretty well.  It really gets messy very quickly.  I guess this is because they are home all the time, rather than off at school.  They really live in there.  Other than that, they played together all day long, pretending and enjoying a relaxing day.


I gave them each some math to do earlier this evening.  Freyja did a review on time-telling and Juno worked from her Calvert math book.  Other than that, Juno read some Tin-Tin on her own and Freyja read some Uncle Owl to me. We didn't play a game today.  I forgot until it was too late.  I guess we will have to play two games tomorrow to catch up.  Heh.


I got some things done today while the girls were cleaning their room.  I got mine clean, for one.  Once my table was cleaned off, I actually got some sewing done.  That was really great.  Once I get some of the things done which I have been meaning to do, I plan to do some sewing with the girls.  Juno has done some sewing on the sewing machine, but I would like to allow her to do some more complicated things.  So far, she has made some handkerchiefs, but I would like to let her make some headbands and dolls and other things.  Freyja might need a while before she is ready for the machine, but I will let her try some handkerchiefs, too, to see how she does.

  

Slow Day

Today was mostly slow and relaxing.  I was reading a book off and on throughout the day.  Juno and Freyja spent time doing some drawing and cutting.  When I saw what they had done, it was really cute.  They made paper "laptop" computers, so that when you opened the folded paper there was a screen (with a drawing on it- notice the cursor) and a hand drawn keyboard.  They have done this before now and one can  make requests of the subject matter of the drawing.  I think Juno made about four of these today, and Freyja made one.


For the game today, I played War with Freyja for a little while.  We didn't finish the game or anything, but I also had her practice addition when we would throw our cards down.  It was awesome, because she did not even complain about doing the adding.  Score!  Juno read for a while on her own and Freyja read a book to me.  They also spent about 45 minutes outside in the sunshine playing some sort of mysterious game of pretend.  Later on, they played with our housemates' kids and with their big sister, Ereshkigal.


Early in the day, the girls both watched some television.  We have Netflix which is great for homeschooling.  We chose to start a new documentary series called Discover Planet Ocean.  They watched episodes one and two this morning.  They also watched part of a documentary on wild cats which was called  Wild African Cats- Wild Cats, but which contained wild cats which were not African also.  Most notably, it had a short segment on Scottish Wild Cats.  We thought they were really adorable.  Evidently they are around 15 pounds and very fierce, but they look like house kitties.


Tonight, the girls are listening to an audio book on CD for bedtime.  They have been listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society for about a week now.  There are a lot of CDs since it is a long book.  Okay, well, time for me to get to sleep also.  Sweet dreams, people.

Sunday Was Really Sunny

Sunday was actually sunny.  Oh, and it was really unseasonably warm, so we went out for a picnic!  It was like a prize in the cereal box of this year.  So, first, we had a chill morning and the children played with some

Magna-Tiles we had borrowed from a friend.  Wow are they expensive, but I think the children loved them so much they would be worth it.  Luckily, we can borrow them sometimes.

Around lunchtime, we drove downtown with a picnic lunch that Noah made for us.  He made Sushi Balls, which is basically sticky rice with little bits of chopped up veggies and nori mixed into it.  We took our picnic downtown to eat at a little park and afterward we went to our co-op for treats such as chocolate pudding and gluten free gingersnaps for me.  

Then, Noah and the girls (after dropping me off at home) went to the YMCA to swim with our housemates, who met them there.  Noah tries to take the girls swimming at least once per week.  They love it.

After that, everyone was home again and we played our game for the day.  I decided to bring out one of my favorite games, Ravensburger's Labyrinth.  I really like playing this game with grown-ups (even though it is a kids game, I suppose).  Tonight, I decided to try it with three kids.  Freyja and Juno and our housemates' daughter, who is seven, played this together.  I had to sort of orchestrate the whole game, but it was fun.  

Juno won the game with a little help from me at the end, because she had to get her playing piece back to her home on the board.  I was ready for the game to be over, so when the move came when she could get home, but made a mistake, I helped her backtrack and win.  Truly, I was worn out by that time.  I guess that is why it is so difficult for me to play games with kids.  I get worn out directing the game.

Later on, Juno used Noah's Android phone to play a code-breaking game like Mastermind.  I don't remember the name of the game, but you have to guess the sequence and colors of a secret lineup.  I didn't ask if she won the game, but I think later in the week we will play Mastermind.  I love to play Mastermind.

So, they had a good time today.  Noah and I went out tonight and let Juno and Freyja's big sister, Ereshkigal, babysit them and she read stories to them before they went to sleep.  When we got home they were tucked in bed, thank goodness.

Sweet dreams everyone!

A Day in Vermont

Today we took a little trip up to Springfield, VT to see some friends of ours.  Vermont is a really lovely state.  It is all the better for having our friends in it.  We drove up around lunchtime and stayed for the afternoon.  The children all got to play together and the grownups got to do some talking.  We played several hands of Uno with some of the children, Juno being one of them.  The children also played with dominoes a little bit making some domino lines and knocking them down.  

I had brought a tote bag of games which I generally lug everywhere in case we decide to play one while we are out.  My bag of games contains the book Family Math which I got from a used book store at some point, a container filled with every sort of dice you could imagine, a book of math dice games, a deck of playing cards, two decks of Uno cards, and a bag of dominoes, plus Bananagrams and who knows what else. 


I would like to play games with the children a lot more often.  I think I will make a resolution to play a game every day for a week and see how that works out for us.  I am sure the children will approve, so stay tuned.  


Catch you on the flip side.

Busy Friday

Today, Juno and Freyja worked on math and spelling.  Juno is using a Calvert Math textbook and we have just started at the beginning of it.  Even though she knows everything so far, I thought it would be nice to review a bit.  She did some exercises in the book and she and Freyja both also used Cool Math 4 Kids.  The site has sections for teaching concepts as well as games to play.  The Cool Math Games are great for learning logic!  There are also brain teasers, jigsaw puzzles, etc.  Even grownups will enjoy the games, and there are also games for younger children.    


Juno and Freyja also used the Spelling City website today to practice the spelling words they are working on this week.  On Spelling City, parents and/or teachers can enter spelling words and save the lists (after registering) so the students may practice with the words.  There are games (a favorite is HangMouse) to improve spelling and also vocabulary.  There is a feature called Learn, which spells the words out loud to help audio learners, as well.  If you purchase the premium version, there can be several students logging in and there is a flash card option, too. My kids really enjoy the games, and I can convince them to do the Learn feature which helps them retain the spelling.  


Their grandmother came over and taught them how to use a quick "knitting" tool called Knifty Knitter which makes a scarf.  They worked on that for a while and then we went downtown to take some items to drop off at the Salvation Army.  We went in for a bit and came out with a Martha Stewart DVD on baking called Martha's Baking Favorites.  Since both girls like to cook whenever they can, they wanted to watch the baking shows.  That cost  $2.99-- thanks Grandmama!  

When I got back home, I realized I had forgotten to return some library books, so I left the kids with our housemates and went back downtown to the library.  Juno's book she had reserved through Inter-library Loan (Amulet book 3) had arrived, so I checked it out for her. 


Later, we all walked down the the Greenfield Middle School and saw a short play. Our housemates' daughter was in the play (The Gingerbread Girl).  It was extremely short, but very cute.  Then we all walked back home for dinner, and after dinner, my girls' dad, Noah, played a silly game with them (called a Parsley Game) named Action Castle.  It is a pretty funny game based on old computer text adventures called Parser, such as Zork and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, only, the computer is now a live person and it vaguely resembles an RPG.


Whew!  That was a pretty busy day.  Noah just took the girls upstairs to read to them.  They just started a new book called Avalon.  Juno already read it, but she wanted her dad to read it so that Freyja would get to hear it.  Freyja is not yet into reading chapter books, but she loves to listen to them being read out loud.


Well, that was our day!  What was yours like?  
Catch you on the flip side.

Harmonica Lessons!

Juno has been taking harmonica lessons at The Keene Public Library, in Keene, NH with a fun music instructor named, Tad Dreis.

Tad is the owner of Wildflower Harmonica Instruction, and he even teaches harmonica lessons on Skype (plus guitar and ukulele)!  For the last three Wednesdays, we drove up to Keene and spent time at the library for the afternoon.  Juno has been enjoying the hour-long lessons.  I could not convince Freyja to attend the class, unfortunately, because she was leery of being "taught" to play the harmonica.  She would rather noodle around on instruments and make up her own music, she says.  I think she would like the class if she gave it a chance, but the harmonica is not too hard to learn to play, so maybe she will do it on her own.  Maybe she will watch Juno and learn that way.  We will see what happens. Juno has one more lesson at the library.

When I lived in New Hampshire for four and a half years, I really missed the fabulous Western Massachusetts Regional Library System, which has now turned into the Massachusetts Library System, evidently.  I don't know much about the new change, but I will tell you what I really missed was the great inter-library loans they provide.  One can go online to the local library's website, and choose books from libraries all over the state.  That is something to miss terribly, especially when one moves to a teeny tiny town in NH which contains a teeny tiny library.  It is almost enough to make you yell out, "GIVE ME MY BOOK!!"


The library in Gilsum, NH was sweet and small, and was staffed by the nicest people, but it did not offer the book choices I wanted.  I was spoiled from my previous library life experiences.  Large cities with 8 or 10 different branches, the Mass Library System, etc.  New Hampshire does not have interconnected libraries.


So, I would go to the nearest city, Keene, NH, and I would purchase a year's library use with $50 of my own money.  It was a $50 well worth spending.  Even though I live in MA again now, with the super-great library system here, I still feel like the KPL offers me a lot for my $50 dollars per year.  For instance, this harmonica class is great.  They have been offering a lot of homeschool programs lately as well.  So, I keep renewing my card.  I will keep you posted what we do there.

Fall Chrysanthemum Show at the Botanic Garden of Smith College

On Monday afternoon, we enjoyed a trip to the Botanic Garden of Smith College in Northampton, MA.  We got together with another homeschool family  and drove to the Smith campus right after lunch.  When we arrived and walked in, the smell was fabulous.  You get used to the scent, but at first it is very delicious and you can not stop thinking about it. 

We made sure to look for the live web camera in the first Chrysanthemum room!  Having watched people walking through the show a few days  previously, we wanted to make sure we were very entertaining in case anyone was watching us.  Mostly, people walking through don't know there is a camera or don't look up at it, at any rate.  We smiled and waved and the children all did some silly poses for the camera.  

After walking through the Mum Show rooms,  we went through the rest of the greenhouses there.  I take my girls to the greenhouses at Smith College at least once a year and usually twice.  There are so many different climates!  There are very moist, steamy rooms filled with all sorts of tropical plants such as bananas and the tree cinnamon bark comes from.  All the areas are fantastic.  We love the orchids and the cacti and all the ferns and ivies! 

The Botanic Garden at Smith is fabulous for a learning adventure.  I would highly recommend going there if you live in the area.  They take donations on an honor system at the information desk as you enter the building and they sell really lovely postcards (and other cards) with photos of the flowers, etc.  The information desk also has great, free, activity booklets for kids; they can use the booklets to go through all the rooms and investigate the plants while learning interesting facts.  On the website, there is also a Kids Corner which looks interesting.  

What a great day we had on Monday.  I hope you enjoyed reading about it.  

Catch you on the flip side!

Two Little Llamas and a Microphone; Two Turntables and a Llama

Welcome to our homeschool blog.  We homeschool in western Massachusetts and generally try to have a good time learning together and doing things in our own way.  My girls, Juno (10) and Freyja (8) and I are interested in documenting our adventures.  


I am planning to let them dictate posts (for me to type, since they don't touch type yet) as often as they like.  I will also be adding posts.  This will be a way for us to look back on what we have done and also a way for us to share with others.  Content may vary widely (not to mention wildly, if my girls have anything to do with it).  I will be adding photos and perhaps videos.  Audio clips would be nice, if I figure out how to do that.

If you are wondering about the blog title:
One day, I was driving with my girls. We had just been to see the llamas at Hickory Dell Farm  in Northampton, MA.  I happened to tune in to my youngest daughter's quiet singing in the backseat.  She was singing a Beck song, except she was changing some of the words.  She sang, "Two little llamas and a microphone."  Then, I heard her sing,  "Two turntables and a llama."   


I have had those quotes in my head ever since and now we have decided to use them as our blog title.  We go to Hickory Dell Farm every so often, because we really love to look at those llamas.  On the same trip, Freyja provided yet another quotable moment when she said, "Their teeth are hilarious!"  Yes, llama teeth are hilarious.  It is true.  Go check out some llamas, close up, and tell me they're not.