Easter

This week we prepared for Easter Sunday.  

I have very fond memories of this time of year.  I hope the children will as well.  We always try to make it special.  Of course we had discussions about bunnies and eggs, but I delicately explained what we are really celebrating here as a Christian family.  We read some nice stories and one great one that incorporated both Jesus and the hare.  The hare was the fastest at spreading the good news.  That is why he is the Easter representative.  The story is in Festivals Family and Food by, Diana Carey and Judy Large.  I highly recommend this book for all seasonal celebrating.

For our baking this week we made hot cross buns.  

We sang the song often during our baking session.  They turned out really good.  We talked about the cross and how people eat them to remember Jesus this time of year.

We also tried coloring eggs different ways this year.  

Our first batch we blew them out.  

Then we went to the Good will and bought 100% silk neck ties.

We wrapped our hollow eggs up tight with the silk

then, wrapped the silk with cotton boiled and...

Voila.  

The tie patterns get imprinted on the eggs.  

Here is a link to directions in case anyone wants to try.

We also tried naturally dying our eggs too.

This year we used red cabbage, blueberries, onion skins, Kool-aid.  

The red cabbage made a deep blue and the onion skins are the really bright yellow ones.  

This is so fun to let the kids see how to re purpose our food.

We painted pictures of abundance.

Our Easter grass really grew!

now it's ready for the bunny to add extras :)

Our chickens have really grown a lot too.

 taking more risks.

Aunt burp holding "dottie"

Happy Easter!!!

until next week...

~blessings

Spring animals

This week we talked about spring animals.  

How some animals bear their young only in the spring.  

We really focused our efforts on chickens.

Mostly because our chickens arrived this week!!

The boys and Tom spent time building their new home.

We learned a lot about chickens this week.  

We have two breeds.  One will lay brown eggs and the other will lay blue eggs!  I can't believe the variations they can have.  We are really embarking on some new territory here.

The boys created artwork about their current chicken experience.

Wesley's caged chicken

Matthew's home with caged chicken inside.

Our new baby chicks!!

We also started our Easter baskets this week. 

We decided to grow our own Easter grass baskets(Wheat grass).  

Hopefully they will sprout in time for the bunny to add suprises.

Tom also spent time building a cold frame for our vegetables.  

So we could have a mini greenhouse. 

This was a lesson for all of us.  

With the really cold temps at the end of the week I may have lost all my plants.  

I need more research into cold frame gardening.  

Thank goodness for the CSA!!

Hello to our new urban homestead.

Until next week...

~blessings

Earthworms

This week we spent some serious time outdoors.  Finally, it was warm in Minnesota.  I worked this week quite a bit so they were with Dad, Uncle Chad, and Grandma Spike too.  Chad took the boys ice skating and played a lot of  tennis with them.  Thank you for helping me out!!  

Worms, I love worms.  My appreciation has developed over time.  Right along side my gardening.  Tillie is not yet a fan, she will be.  The boys love worms.  Everything about them.  This was a very fun subject to tackle.

On baking day though we made our famous oatmeal cookies.

Delicious!!

We did some watercolors this week too.

Matthew does not prefer to paint. 

It is my most pressing challenge to get him to participate.  Painting is so crucial to the curriculum.  I need suggestions on how to encourage him more.  Please make comments if you have ideas. :)

We also dug for worms

We read a lot of books about the worm.  

I told many worm stories and acted out worm finger plays. 

and we dug for worms some more.

We found some!!!

We decided to create a worm habitat to see our new friends up close.

We inadvertently added more than just the worm.  

It was a lot of fun observing all the various creatures that came along with our garden soil.

We had so much fun with these wiggly guys.

until next week

~blessings

Spring

Spring is coming, spring is coming,
Birdies, build your nest;
Weave together straw and feather,
Doing each your best.
Spring is coming, spring is coming,
Flowers are coming, too;
Pansies, lilies, daffodilies
Now are coming through.
Spring is coming, spring is coming,
All around is fair;
Shimmer, quiver on the river,
Joy is everywhere.

  The above is a song that I just love about spring that they sing in the Waldorf schools. 

We had a spring break last week! :)  

This week we started a new with a brand new season to explore.  This new week has also been exhausting.  I started out this new season with another job.  So, everyone is sort of tired from all the new transitions.

We did manage to get a little school in.  Along with a lot of time with our Grandmas and Auntie Burp.

We made a hefty pan of brownies on baking day.  They are always a favorite.  

Then, we crafted sheep refrigerator magnets.

 We used jar lids and added magnets to the back.  
Then, we glued cotton balls all over and added sheep faces.  
Tillie made her own version.




After a little outdoor exploration we found rocks to bring inside.

Wesley washed them up.

then, we painted them for our nature table.






Coloring, and decorating for Easter time

Wesley's chick

Wesley's Hen

Matthew and I did some wet felting this week too.  

We made this sweet little flower fairy.

I got the idea from here.


I turn to this website frequently for ideas.  I love it!!




Hopefully things will settle into a better rhythm soon. 
I am still very stressed around here :)


Until next week,
~blessings