Thursday

Today, the children have been drawing all morning long.  We were going to do some academics this morning, but they were so happy drawing and chatting, that I decided we will work on our math and spelling later today.

Here are photos of Juno's story which she wrote last night.

Wetnessday

Juno has dubbed today Wetnessday since it is clammy and rainy out.  They have been drawing a lot today, plus listening to audio books.  The two they were listening to today are The Penderwicks and another called Junonia. 

Other things they did today include:

• math 
• spelling 
• phonics
• creative writing

Last night, at bedtime their papa read to them from the book Avalon: Web of Magic book 1.  They also listened to two audio CDs of The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall after they got in bed.

Tuesday- Kosho and Gingerbread houses

Today, we did math in the  morning.  Juno and Freyja both practiced spelling words, as well.  Juno is reading Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and she read that this morning.  She is almost finished.  Then, we walked downtown.  The weather today was weirdly warm.  It was nearly sixty degrees here in this New England town on December 6th.

Anyway, it was overcast and moist, but we did not get rained on when we walked.  We went to the Greenfield's Market co-op for lunch and to buy some groceries for dinner.  Juno and Freyja used their allowance money from Saturday to purchase some Oskri Coconut bar treats and Juno got a Very Veggie juice for herself.  They went to the counter by themselves and counted their money, etc.  This is great experience with money/math!  Then, we stopped at the World Eye Bookstore and Freyja got a YoYo with the rest of her money.

Afterward, we walked to the Greenfield Public Library to get some books, as if we don't already have a ton.  Luckily, my mom came to pick us up, because we would not have enjoyed our walk home with all those groceries and books in tow.

Today, Juno also used the Dragon Naturally Speaking software we got.  She is "training" it to recognize her speech.  Then, she can dictate writing onto Microsoft Office.  She seems to enjoy the program.  I have not gotten to try it yet.

Tonight was Kosho night, and my girls and our housemates' girls, plus one more little girl, had Kosho class in the playroom.  See my Novemer 29th post for links about Kosho.  After Kosho, there was dinner, and then our housemates' girls decorated some gingerbread houses they made a few days ago.  Juno and Freyja got in on the action, too

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Decoupage Box Day

Today, I got my long awaited chance to make my decoupage/collage box.  First thing this morning, though, the girls got to watch Howl's Moving Castle (the Miyazaki film) again since we finally finished the book last night.  After that, we did some math and spelling work.

At about 1:30pm, our friends Kim and Marisa came over and we got right to work on our boxes.  I have a lot of scraps saved from years of scavenging and collecting paper products.  I don't like having to store it, but I love being able to pull it out and have fun with it.  I have several boxes full!

We used plain wooden boxes which I got at Michaels craft store.  They were only $1.00 each.  Next time, I might try the papier mache boxes they sell.  The project would probably turn out pretty much the same.  I completely forgot to take photos the whole time our friends were here, so I don't have photos of their finished boxes.

However, here are our finished boxes.
This one is the one Juno made.

 

This is Freyja's finished box.



                       

And here is my finished box.

 This was a great project for children and grownups as well.  It kept us occupied for a couple of hours straight.

Catch you on the flip-side.

Tully Lake

Today Noah had the day off work, so we went with him to Tully Lake to play disc golf.  Noah actually played and I hiked around with him.  Freyja explored nature and Juno did too, plus tossed the discs a bit with her dad.  They really had a great time.  It was very  nice outside, even though it was quite chilly.  The girls enjoyed it so much, they have asked to go every Sunday.  I don't know if we can do that, but it was great that they had fun outdoors.

After that, we drove back to Greenfield and took the girls to the YMCA to swim with Noah.  I got time to do a workout and that made me feel quite nice by the time I was finished.  I got to relax a bit and listen to Pride and Prejudice after I finished working out, too.

Then, we came back home and dropped the gals off so we could go shopping for something for dinner.  Freyja played XBox Kinectimals and Juno read Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.  After dinner, the girls got ready for bed, and I read the rest of Howl's Moving Castle to them.  We finally finished!  We would have probably finished much sooner if we had been able to read every night, but Noah had also read Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett  at bedtime to them during the same time period.  So, I didn't get to read every night.

So, that was our day today.  Lots of fun.  Tomorrow, we are going to have company in the afternoon.  Our friends, Kim and Marisa, are coming to do crafts with us!

Saturday Afternoon at the Rumpus Craft Fair

Today, so far, Juno made a ghostie-doll and has been doing a lot of reading to herself.


Freyja used the Snap-Circuits set for quite some time this morning making different things with it.  Here are a few photos.

                                                                                                                   
                                             

Later on in the day, we attended a very nice craft fair at a school called The Greenfield Center School.  I have no idea why that is the name , because it is nowhere near the center of Greenfield.

 The girls were thrilled because there were free pony rides!  This was the first time they got to ride ponies.  They got right on and loved every minute.  It was lucky we got there when we did, because Juno and Freyja were almost the last ones to get rides.

There were also some great crafts for kids to do in the school itself.  There were tables set up in each of the rooms and a band was in one room playing what sounded like fun music, but I didn't get to sit in there for very long.

Freyja made a snake out of beads and Juno made a little basket and a flip-flop out of duct tape.  That occupied them for quite a long time.



After they finished their projects, we went to the actual craft tables in another building.  There were so many lovely objects.  I wanted them all.  Too bad that craft fairs proliferate in the season when I have no expendable cash.  Still, we spoke to many of the craftpersons and Freyja tried out some tops.  I took one of the woodworker's business cards just in case I can call her up for a top later on, since Freyja really likes them.

One woman, who was selling fabulous hand-made books, gave Freyja a tiny little book.  Score!  I totally want to make some paste paper (which is the decoration on the front of the book) sometime soon.  I also think we will make some little books.  I actually have a book out of the library right now about book making.  It is called Making Handmade Books 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms.  Very nice book.

We had a look at one table where there were all sorts of boxes (mostly of papier mache) covered in collage/decoupage.  I thought they were awesome.  So, that gave me some ideas for our wooden boxes.  I can hardly wait to start making them.  I sure hope I can do it on Monday.  Here is a site I found with some directions for making a collage/decoupage box (with a photo example) that looks very nice.

So, we had a great time browsing the crafts.  I was impressed by all the great things people were making.  Mostly because they are exactly the kind of things I would make.  Do make.  Sometimes...

Afterward, we went home for a while and had some food.  Then, we went over to my mom's apartment to watch a movie and eat popcorn and play with her little dog, Mea.

Okay, so now it is really late at  night and I am going to sleep.

Gooooood night!

What we did on Friday...

 I was washing the laundry all day on Friday, still.  That is finished washing now.  We will use this opportunity to get rid of some excess kid clothing, etc. Since it seems we have an awful lot of it.

Yesterday  morning, Freyja and Juno both watched How It's Made for about 3 episodes.  They learn a lot about manufacturing processes.  I can tell, because Freyja makes up manufacturing processes when she is thinking about how she would go about  making things herself.

Then Freyja used the computer to play Cool Math Games for Kids.  She started out with a jigsaw puzzle of a beach scene.  Then she played games.  Yesterday, she finally finished the entire game of Factory Balls 2 and was psyched.  I dare you to try it yourself and see how tricky it is.  It requires some serious thinking/logic skills.

Juno used the computer, too, for a while yesterday.  I think she also played Cool Math for Kids games.  Then they both spent time playing in the afternoon and reading with our housemates children.  I was gone for a bit, when I came back home, Freyja had done some sort of very messy experiment with fresh cranberries.  What a mess.  Not only that, they also ate some pomegranates and the housemates' children and their friend ate some more pomegranates.   You do not want to know what kind of mess I saw when I got back from downtown.  Eeek.

So, yesterday, my mom bought me an early Christmas present.  She got Dragon Naturally Speaking basic for me since it was on sale at BJ's.  I have wanted this for a while.  Juno has really wanted it, too, since she does not touch type yet, but loves to tell stories and talk.  So, it is really a family gift.  I am hoping to have the girls use it to do some creative writing.  It works with Microsoft Office to turn your voice to text.  That should be fun.  Maybe I can use it for blogging...  I dunno.  I am pretty fast at typing, but the Dragon software says it is 3 times faster, so maybe.

Before bedtime, we read another chapter of Howl's Moving Castle, by Dianna Wynne Jones.  While I did that, Freyja used a Potholder loom to make a potholder she has been working on.  She is almost done!  Excuse the weird photos lately.  I think my camera flash is broken and I am having to edit them to make them look okay.  Maybe it is not broken and I am just broken, but we'll see.

Juno had a look at some stamps we are thinking of purchasing.  I have wanted to get the girls interested in stamp collecting, so I ordered a big stamp catalog from Mystic Stamp Company.  They sent some stamps with it "on approval" even though I didn't agree to this.  I maybe just missed where they wrote that part of the deal, but I think it was a little sneaky.  However, since I actually do want stamps, I will go along with it.  So if you order a catalog, beware.

That being said, I remember doing this as a kid and loving it (maybe my mom didn't...).  I loved the little Glassine envelopes filled with pretty stamps.  My favorites were from other countries.  I don't still have those stamps, but I still have the memories!  I guess I am the one who wants a stamp collection, but I think Juno and Freyja will love doing it as well.  It will be something we can do together.  I don't plan on having a fussy collection with pre-printed albums to fill in with the correct stamps.  I just want an album with stamps put in to an order we choose.  We can research them, or just enjoy looking.

   

Art from Juno and Freyja

                                                                                                                                                            Here is a comic made by Juno to send to her friend, Destinee.

Here are some drawings made by Freyja.  She says they are Jellyfish Elves.

Thursday

Well, I missed a day blogging, but wait until you hear about yesterday and you will understand, I think.

List of things we did yesterday:

• We got up and had breakfasts, etc.
• Juno and Freyja did their math, spelling/phonics
• Juno read a book called The Shrinking of Treehorn  by Florence Perry Heidi
• The girls took showers.
• After lunch, we went to Keene again to take Juno to the last Harmonica class at Keene Public Library
• We went to Michael's again to get a couple more boxes, because (are you reading this Kim?) we decided to wait to make them until our friends come down for a visit to do some crafting next Monday.
• We went home and had dinner and then found out that the little girl who was over for Kosho yesterday, was found to have lice the next morning!!  
• All the female grownups in the house (my housemate and I) freaked out because we knew we were the ones who would have to do all the defensive work to make sure that we don't all (a house containing 9 persons) get lice.
• I started by washing my children (again) and blow-drying their hair.  I then sat them at my table to draw.  The housemates' children went to bed.
• Freyja decided she wanted to get a  jump start on her math and spelling for the next day, so she did some time worksheets, phonics worksheets, and a spelling worksheet.  Juno thought about it, but decided to wait until today to do her work for today.
• Then, I got busy taking all the pillows, blankets, sheets, etc. off our beds so I could pop them into the dryer for killing anything that might be on them.  I don't know if there was anything, but it makes me feel better to make sure.  The sheets and pillowcases needed washing anyhow, so they got set aside for washing today.
• So, finally I got all the blankets and pillows toasted up and back on the girls' beds and put them to bed.  We watched The Guild: Season 4 and  Star Trek: Enterprise episode 5 on Netflix, and I kept tossing blankets and pillows from around the house into the dryer.
• Then, I finally got to go to bed where I probably should have been the whole time, recuperating from whatever sickness it is that I have.
• I should probably point out that all heads were checked and no one seemed to have any lice.  Heh.

So, that was the excitement of yesterday.  On to today's mischief.

Today, Juno has finished her math and is working on her spelling and has also been writing a letter to her friend, Destinee, whom she met in Harmonica Class.  They really met a long time ago when they were all very little, but us  moms never quite got it together to meet up for play-dates.  We just kept running into each other randomly for years.  Well, we have the address now, and Juno has written a long, illustrated letter to Destinee, complete with a comic strip.  She made a hand made envelope and addressed and stamped it.  Then she went and put it out for the letter carrier to pick up.  She needs to get back to her other pen-pals also.  They are probably looking for letters as well.  

Freyja has spent the morning playing the XBox 360 Kinect.  She was playing Kinect Adventures games at first, and then moved on to her Kinectimals game.  So, she has gotten a lot of exercise this morning.  This is why she wanted to do extra work yesterday; she wanted to play around this morning.

Juno read the book ...If You Lived in Colonial Times by Ann McGovern, this morning.  I plan to read this to Freyja later on today.

Now it is lunchtime!  Juno is making peanut butter and jam sandwiches for herself and Freyja.  They had some orange juice too, although I did mean to have them eat cucumbers.  I was so busy washing laundry, I forgot...  

Later, they played together with our housemates' enormous tinker-toys.



 And then they did some audio recording for fun.  Telling stories and making silly noises.  You know.

Juno and Freyja read a book together later on.  Freyja did most of the reading.  Juno helped her if she did not know a word.  The book is called Postcards from Russia by Helen Arnold.

It is almost time for dinner, and after that, I have plans to read more from Howl's Moving Castle to the girls for bedtime.

Catch you on the flip-side!