OMG! The Phoenix Rises from the Fiery Flame!

OK I'm not exactly a phoenix, but I feel like one after not being able to post for 6 months! I can't believe it...I'm finally able to post again! For some reason, my blogging status froze and I was unable to post anything new! I tried in vain to figure it out and then gave up all together, checking every so often and now...6 months later, I'm able to post again - woo hoo! My July post just went through - yeah!

So now I have to start taking photos again so I can return to blogging about our homeschooling journey. For those friends who have been waiting, thank you for your patience. I was *this* close to switching to WordPress - lol! I hope to resume posting about our waldorf inspired activities :)

And Jenn (from Our Little Nature Nest), if you read this, can you shoot me an email via comments so I can contact you? Thanks lady!

Sorry this is so jumbled - I just wasn't expecting to be able to post anymore on this blog and was trying to decide if I should walk away from it all together or start something new elsewhere...so I'm giddy with joy! Hugs and misses to you all! I'm leaving you with a photo of my big girls, who are still 8, and skated to Swan Lake (one white and one black swan) at our rink's holiday show last week. I'll have to post some favorite action shots in a subsequent post :) I'm so happy to return to the blogging world!

Mending My Wings...

A butterfly will flutter by
It's lovely colors catch your eye
Let it go, let it go

A heart may sigh as it goes by
and you may catch it if you try
Let it go, let it go

It has but a few days to see the world
It is so short a time since it's wings unfurled
Give it a chance to flutter and dance
A few happy hours to sip at the flowers.
A butterfly will flutter by
It's lovely colors catch your eye
Let it go, let it go

Anonymous

I can't believe it's been since April since I last blogged, but then again, I can't seem to remember what I did even yesterday, so the passage of time shouldn't surprise. It happened to me, though...yes, it did. The dreaded "B" word in the world of homeschooling..."burnout". I was burning out between having one too many hands in one too many jars. So, I stopped blogging, I stopped needlefelting, I stopped going online and reading all those hundreds of group messages in the quest to be the best "me" I could be for my beloved girls. I even took a break from homeschooling - ack! Yup, indeed...

There are so many supermoms in this community; just amazing moms who inspire others and unite us all in the common goal of raising our children as best we can. But sometimes, we moms need to make sure we are caring for ourselves, as well, along the way. We have to forgive ourselves our mistakes and accept the things that come our way that we can not control and strive to continue to be true to ourselves.

I wanted to thank those inspirational mommies out there who emailed me or tried to contact me to make sure we were doing OK. You know who you are ;) and your caring words brought tears to my eyes. You knew I needed a 'pick me up' and you brought it. Thank you.

Right now, I'm mending my broken wings and feeling them strengthen and that desire returning to share our educational lives on this blog. Maybe I'll even get around to posting all the other fun educational elements we wove into our 2nd grade year that I never got around to sharing, but if I don't, know that I just don't have the time right now. I am excited about Grade 3 and know that my workload will be significantly easier thanks to Jenn at Our Little Nature Nest, who continues to blow me away with her creative energies and natural gift for organic teaching with her beautiful daughter.

Until then, I will enjoy the fruits of mine as this much needed lazy summer unfolds like the wings of a newly hatched butterfly...

The King of Ireland's Son

The King of Ireland's Son by

Padraic Colum

What a fun month March was for us - Springtime and Irish legends, along with some Language Arts tied into the block. We had such fun!

We're have been preparing a nature project and found some old stumps from a Christmas tree farm that we collected. You can contact one by you and ask them if you can pick up a bunch and they usually will welcome the clean-up and you get some free nature supplies for various craft and school projects! We clean ours off and then bake at a low setting to be sure we're not bringing termites and things into the house.

I apologize that this post will be somewhat short, but we are restructuring things in our home and I have been so busy that I haven't taken the time to document as much or share, but I'm goint to start back as soon as I can and until then, wanted to share this for the month of March and Grade 2!

Our monthly book was "The King of Ireland's Son" and we wove it into our homeschooling, as well. Here are a few pictures of some drawings and MLB's that we did that were tied into the story. Following Eric Fairman's suggestion of color coding grammar, we put our nouns in one color and our verbs in another and formed short sentences. Here are a couple more pictures that we tied into the story. I also wanted to share one of my favorite resources for Irish Legends and it is this book by Yvonne Carroll. Irish Legends for Children contains several wonderful stories to tie into this March Irish block! We also enjoyed stories of St. Patrick and some great legends using some of our favorite Tomie dePaola books! I have been working on various Saint stories that I was hoping to put in one big post and will do so eventually, even if it ends up being summer - lol! Great time to get caught up, right?

Also, I'm really excited because we have decided to move our school back into the old school room upstairs, which had been used recently as a play room. So we emptied it out and prepped it and I just primed it yesterday. I have big plans for this room that I will be sharing as soon as it is finished! Can't wait!

Hope you are all having a wonderful spring and enjoying your little elves and pixies grow!

The Wonder of Childhood Online Magazine

Oh I am so excited about this online magazine created by Lisa Boisvert Mackenzie who blogs here. Lisa is well known for her beautiful outreach to the community, sharing her own wonderful stories and understanding of waldorf education and holistic living. She is putting the finishing touches on what promises to be an amazing resource for families everywhere with an emphasis on waldorf homes, life and education. The magazine is called, "The Wonder of Childhood".

I was honored when Lisa contacted me to write a monthly column for her new online magazine, representing the waldorf inspired homeschoolers out there. My first article can be seen here. I am so excited to be in the company of so many amazing contributors whom I so admire and who I have turned to time and time again for inspiration and education.

Lisa is one of the most beautiful souls that I've met. She willingly gives and shares with others, always striving to do more and to learn more. I am thrilled at this undertaking to put together an all encompassing free magazine for the benefit of families everywhere. Thank you, Lisa! And hope everyone gets a chance to check it out and take it all in. It is absolutely fabulous and has contributions by so many amazing experts out there, including Eugene Schwartz, Marsha Johnson, Christine Natale, Suzanne Down, and so many others that you will most likely recognize if you scroll through it.

Very exciting! Be sure to have a peek at The Wonder of Childhood...

Sorry to be MIA...Bdays and Family Time

Life has been keeping us so busy lately that I've taken a break from blogging. I'm almost caught up and eager to share what we've been up to, but not today. I want to mention that I have several comments that I haven't published yet with wonderful awards that I'm so flattered to receive. I will blog about them as soon as I can and thank every one who sent some love my way :)

In the meantime, my baby girls turned 8 in Feb! My mom flew out from Chicago and spent about 3 weeks in California to attend a lavish wedding of my cousin who got married at St. Patrick's Cathedral in San Francisco, followed by a reception at The Palace Hotel where many VIP's have stayed at this historical hotel. Will blog some pictures about that later. It was gorgeous there!

In the meantime, we had two different bouts of the tummy flu blow through our home (coupled with a broken washing machine with parts on back order - ugh) and ended up having a very mellow b-day for the twins. They haven't finished opening their gifts yet because we kept getting hit with illnesses and family obligations. But here is a glimpse at our store bought cake (I know...I know...) and a couple of special gifts they received this year.


Charley held up the "banana cake" for Elena to blow out the candles on since she was under the weather :) Yes, it is literally an opened banana with candles - lol!

A few special goodies...

They were thrilled to get a few Ostheimer horses to add to their collection and some used Ostheimers we found from a special mama who was ready to pass them along.

And I will be returning to the blogging world soon to share some lesson plans. Am excited to announce that my friend, Lisa, has something very special planned for everyone that I'm playing a tiny part in...and I will be bringing back my shop soon! I've missed working on projects, but had to take a much needed break.

Hugs to all my friends out there and hope to catch up with everyone soon! Happy weekend!