Through the eyes of a 3-year old

Everyday this kid amazes me.  Of course we are all individuals, but still with each of my nieces and nephews, with each of my own babies, and those of dear friends I am continuously amazed at how very many different personalities there are in this world, at how each each child is so very much him/herself.  Kale is no exception.  Parts of him are so very much like his older cousin Oliver.  He is sensitive and stoic. Like his brother he likes to know how things work.  Like his cousin Audrey he is an animal lover.  He is a story teller, an artist, and a ham for sure.  He is an athlete of all sorts.  He is incredibly articulate for his three years, and seems to know himself better than most young adults.  He is helpful and very good company.  Of course we all love him to bits.
Right now he is deep in the throws of "Papa obsession".  He dresses like Rob, follows him around, and while he still asks daily, "is it a Papa night or a Mama night?" (hoping all the while for a Mama night) he is no longer sad when it is Papa's turn for bedtime--only wanting to be prepared.
Overheard from upstairs:
K: "Hey Pop, you gonna wear your cap today?"
Rob:  "Yup"
K:  "Okay".  
Of course the both came down stairs wearing baseball caps and worker pants.

Below, our home, through the eyes of a 3-year old.

 

 

 

 

A Bit of Spring

A few bits of spring we're enjoying each day:  

Baseball, or soccer, or football, or ballet cleats (for the sport of the afternoon--whatever it may be)

New leaves unfolding on the beech trees 

The marsh greening up before our eyes 

Sunlight through baby leaves 

Flap-hats ("Mama, I look like a woman!" huh?), skinned knees, and shorts 

  
Violets 

   Happy hens, and buds on the blueberries 

A newly planted lilac 

Daily walks on our  our path.  

Homeschool Thursday: A few things Schooly

In bits and pieces throughout this amazing spell of weather (that seems to have ended since my last post) we did very little formal schoolwork, but I'm always amazed when I look back at my pictures and see all of the educational--even schooly moments that have happened on their own accord.  

This is of course not to discount the valuable learning that occurs throughout each day in play, exploring nature, sibling negotiations, gardening, pet care etc.  

Just a few:  

Practice in using a phone book.  In this day of digital everything is it even necessary to know how to alphabetize?  I'm not sure.  But its still the only way I know to find a phone number.  (If there are others don't tell Wylie).  

Khan Academy is a resource we use most often for math, but it has a bunch of other interesting information that Wylie loves to explore.  Right now he's in the beginning stages of a robot build.  This may be a long project that will most likely require some outside help--specifically in the form of some experienced solderers (any volunteers?)   

 

More and more rubber stamping, watercolor painting, embroidery (by Wylie) drawing, read a-louds, and lots of music.   

 

 

Monday Morsels

Morsels:  Tasty bits from the past week or so...

The weather here has been exaustingly beautiful--(is that possible?Am I a terrible person for thinking so?).  In the past two weeks we've had one cloudy morning, and I swear I hoped it would rain so we'd have an excuse to stay inside and get some things done (dishes, vacuuming, cooking, schoolwork).  But, it didn't happen.  I started a woodstove, set up some dough to rise for bread, and before I knew it it was sunny and 70 degrees again.  Hard to complain.  We just headed outside for another day of turning soil, planting, weeding, playing in the sand box, chasing chickens, and running through the sprinkler.  We are sun burned, dirty, and tired.  Its a hard life here.

We've been pretty much living on the screen porch, each day adding and/or taking away this or that until it is exactly what we've been hoping for.  I'd say its about there.  Thanks to my brother and his wife donating a futon, and my Honey with a hammer who built a kick ass picnic table we are pretty much set.  We ordered the bamboo blinds from Amazon, to block the blinding rays that hit the porch just about 6:30pm, but roll up the rest of the day to let in the breezes.  Its fantastic.

I've been doing a lot of gardening, in this new little patio space, in the cold frame, and in the big garden.  The peas and many greens are up and growing, slower than I thought due to the cold nights, but they'll make it.  Since there's been no rain, and none in sight for days, that means a lot of watering too.  The hose situation each spring is a bit of a headache, figuring out which ones are leaking, tightening connections, etc.  We have plans for maybe running a burried conduit for the hose to reach from the house to the garden which would hopefully protect the hose a bit and make it last a longer.  We did find some nifty attachments at the hardware store that clamp onto a hose where ever you need it, so you can simply cut out the leaky section, then clamp the hose together again.  These have worked well for the past two years, but our hoses will all be too short if we cut any more off.   For now we're making due, which is still a lot better than having no water at all, even when it means hauling 5 gallon buckets.

Kale (to Mimi):  My friend Jacob is the fire scheep.  
Mimi:  Jacob is a sheep?
Kale:  No, the fire scheep.
Mimi:  asleep?
Kale:  No, he's the fire scheep.  He sits in front of everyone in the fire truck.
Mimi:  Oh, he's the fire chief.  
Kale:  Yes.  He's the fire scheep.  He says I can do his job when he's done.  

Juniper and Kale have been having fun with water color pencils.  She likes to "help" him draw things, such as the cat below.  You can see his contribution in the red, her blue lines around his.  I swear she may be a politician when she grows up, she is so savvy at getting people to think her ideas are theirs.
J:  Kale, is that a cat you drew?
K: (looking at his scribble) No, its a tiger.  
J: But, do you see how it kind of looks like a cat?  Don't you think it looks kind of friendly like a cat, not fierce like a tiger?  Do you want me to help you make it look like a cat?
K:  Yes, it can be a cat!    
Thankfully he doesn't mind a bit.  He is more than happy to play any game she's willing to play.

Normally she's up for almost anything, but recently has reached some kind of developmental stage where she's seeking some alone time.  She will sit for  over an hour alone in the sand box, or under a tree, talking to herself and creating little fantasy worlds with sand, sticks, moss and flowers.  It is a lovely thing, unless you are a three year old, watching forlornly, begging to be allowed to join.  

I recently overheard this
heartbreaking conversation:
Kale:  Juniper can I play?
Juni: I really just want to play by myself for a while.
K: What are you playing?
J: That I'm a fairy.  But I just want to play it by myself.
K:  But could I be a fairy?
J:  Well, fairies are girls.
K: But, could I pretend to be a girl?
J: I just want to play by myself ok?

Fortunately today they shared a ride in the grocery cart, giggling as they hugged and kissed and pinched each other's cheeks while I tried to hush them a bit. But really who minds a little noise when there's so much sweetness?





















Kale is officially big enough for the tag-along.  And he is loving it.  "I can go so fast on the tag-along.  I can probably go as fast as a motorcycle." 
We rode down the road a mile to the Passagassawakeag River for some fishing and a picnic.  We spent an hour just sitting in the grass, casting Wylie's pole, slicing apples and enjoying the sun.    Kale and I went back the next day when he requested upon waking, "a bike ride to the river, just me and you."  How could I refuse?  It was the perfect date.

They say it may rain on Thursday.  Until then we will live it up.  Gardening, bee keeping, bike riding, hauling water, playing in the dirt.  When it rains we cozy up inside for some reading and board games, cooking, and some much needed cleaning.  We'll enjoy it for a day.
Then we'll be hoping for sun again. 

Yum!

I took advantage of a warm day earlier this week to remove the extra honey super I'd left the bees for winter security.  They made it through the winter with good numbers, and now with a bit of pollen coming into the hive (from Red Maples, Pussy Willow, Colt's Foot) I wanted to get that honey super off before the queen decided to lay some eggs up there.  Fortunately there was no brood in the honey super, and still quite a lot of honey!  I got about 4 frames worth, and by the weight of the hive body I'd guess they still have plenty of honey in there to keep for themselves. 

We have no extractor (hoping to buy one this summer with a few friends) so for now we're letting them drip slowly.  Five gallon brew buckets by the woodstove work well--though a bit slow.  We should have a few pints of honey by next week.  I'll save one frame as a housewarming gift for the new hive of fuzzy ladies who should arrive in June.

    photo by Juniper

 

 

  

Morsels

Morsels:  Tiny bits of goodness from the past week...

For better or worse, I pruned our fruit trees several weeks ago, and brought these pear branches in to force flowering.  They were looking lovely in our bedroom, until we realized, wow, pear blossoms smell really bad!  I moved them downstairs where the smell wouldn't over power the larger space, and they have become kind of a roaming tree.  The flowers are gone now, but the leaves are a welcome sign of whats to come outside before too long.

Kale: "I think I won't be an astronaut when I grow up.  I think I'll be a skateboard guy."

I've come to realize that with each shift in seasons I get the urge to move furniture.  I suppose its fitting that with everything looking new and fresh outside the inside should be the same.  So, last week when my mom invited the kids to play for a few hours I did a little sewing and moving things about.  I only moved two things, but it made a sweet little spot for reading books, and a sunny flat surface for all of the wooden block play that Kale's been doing recently.  

 

I also managed to sew two pillows, that I've been trying to find the time to make for months.  I am so excited to replace the piles of old pillows, that end up strewn across the floor every time a child enters the room
(I swear, its as if they walk into the living room with the sole purpose of tossing a few pillows on the floor).  Not anymore.  These suckers are stuffed with the remnants of an old wool/cotton futon shared by a friend (thanks M!) and they are heavy.  Plus, being new they have a bit of specialty status, so no one stands on their ear if I tell them don't move the pillows!  

 

 

With the snow gone (again) and the mud quickly thawing the garden is suddenly visible and inviting.  Thats was enough motivation to get me in their, slogging through mud, raking off straw, and gathering bits of broken/strewn this and that which seem to collect in our garden over the winter (couldn't be that I left it there last fall?).  In the brief patches of sun between rain showers (and after the 2 inches of snow melted).  I put in a few rows of peas, radishes, and carrots, which the chickens just as quickly scratched up!  I'm hoping to start some beets later this week, just as soon as I can figure out how the ladies are getting into the fenced garden.  Inside we'll be starting tomatoes and broccoli.  

We've also begun work on phase II of our bridge/bike path.  Last fall Rob re-built our old walking bridge, making it sturdy and smooth enough for bikes, and now we're working to widen and smooth out our "bog walk" so the kids can use it to bike over to the slower, side road on the west side of our property (the road in front is too fast for kid biking).  Last weekend we all spent close to 2 hours out there, raking, clipping, climbing trees, snacking, and setting a smaller bride in place at the end of the path.  Next will be a lot of clipping and hauling gravel by wheel barrow.  Its a race against the black flies.
                   
                    big bridge 

                  little bridge

                      photo by Rob

Hope you all have a great weekend.  Things are warming up out there!

Homeschool Thursday: math and science

Some days our schooling feels a lot like our refrigerator door:  a bit chaotic, but full of good things.  There was a point in my life when I wanted a stainless steel fridge, with nothing on the door (ok, sometimes I still want that..) but mostly I appreciate this ever changing collage of artwork, photos, to do lists, and favorite quotes.  

This week we did a little impromptu kitchen science when we all realized Kale had never seen a "mini volcano".  When Wylie was Kale's age experiments with household ingredients were one of his favorite things to do.  For his 4th birthday we gave him a hand made science set with his own beakers, thermometer, funnels, and huge containers of vinegar, baking soda, and food coloring for experiments.  What he'd asked for was a Bunsen burner, but he still liked it.  Kale isn't so interested in that sort of thing (yet anyway) so he had never experienced the wonders of baking soda and vinegar.  We didn't get all sciencey with this but just let it be what it was, again and again and again..with red, then blue, then yellow, etc.  Pretty fun.  

With the older kids we've been looking at nature, studying some edible plants in the wild, and thinking about moving onto a study of birds. 

We finished our study of Leonardo DaVinci and moved onto a bit about Leonardo Fibonacci.  I don't think this will be long study, but we read a nice book from the library, watched a few YouTube videos (This one was our favorite), worked out the sequence mathematically, and made some or our own Fibonacci spirals.  We're waiting for some flowers to open to do some searching for numbers in nature too.  

 

 kitchen table mid morning

 

 Always a bit of writing going on here, fortunately with excitement and no fuss these days.  I love this early spelling and handwriting.  Think I may save these books for nostalgia.