Weekend Round-Up: Martinmas edition!

I love Martinmas. It's such a gentle, loving celebration, shining a light in the darkness as the days grow colder and longer.

We've opted for a week-long celebration of the feast of St. Martin of Tours. Who was St. Martin? He was a Catholic bishop who died around 397. The Baldwin Project-- how I love this website!-- has several stories of St. Martin on their website:
The Story of the Patron Saint of France
St. Martin from In God's Garden

St. Martin's Cloak is one of the most-told stories of Martinmas. In honor of St. Martin, we'll be going through all the coats, hats, scarves, and mittens up the attic. We'll get the kids' winter coats and things down, and give away what we don't need.

We like to couple the St. Martin story with a reading of Matthew 25:31-40. Lantern walks are a traditional part of Martinmas, and there are many sites that show how to make lanterns. Here are a few of my favorites:
Balloon lanterns, with jar and can lanterns shown as well
Uncommon Grace has beautiful oiled watercolor lanterns
Watercolor lanterns with cutouts from Our Little Nature Nest
More beautiful balloon lanterns from Klease
Jar Lanterns
More jar lanterns
Still more jar lanterns
Folded paper star lanterns
Paper bag lanterns

And hopefully at some point this week, we'll have a little lantern walk.

We may have to make some of these little St. Martins as well.

And Teaching Handwork has some beautiful examples of Martinmas art.

And of course, don't forget the free St. Martin's Day study at Alphabet Garten.

Of course, Martinmas has food traditions as well. Here are some of my favorites:
Goose with apple stuffing
Hobby horse cake
St. Martin's horseshoe cookies
Martinmas steaks from Scotland
St. Martin 's Day croissants
And, for the grown-ups, Bishop's Wine

Martinmas is celebrated in many countries, and you can read about some of them here:
School of the Seasons (scroll down to November 11)
Wilson's Almanac
Martinstag
Martinmas in Ireland

I'll hopefully be posting our Martinmas circle tomorrow, but here are some other sites with great ideas for stories, songs, poems, and more:
Our Little Nature Nest: Martinmas links
Fun Facts About St. Martin's Day
Song: Martinmas Time
Wonderful German Martinmas songs
And more Martinslieder

Shakespeare, Week One

Remember how excited I was to start Shakespeare with Michael? Well, a week into it and I'm still excited! One of my favorite parts about homeschooling is getting to be the one to introduce books and stories I love to my kids.

We're using the Charles and Mary Lamb adaptations, Tales from Shakespeare. I remember reading these in Mr. Garbrick's seventh grade English class, back in the day.

I also found a great book from the library called Starting with Shakespeare. This book has lots of great ideas for making Shakespeare accessible to kids without dumbing it down or trying to be too trendy, two approaches that always send Michael running for the hills.

We started with The Tempest. We've also been reviewing adjectives, so Michael drew the five major characters and included adjectives to describe them all.
He also did some copywork from the play.
We read some of the original play, including Come Unto These Yellow Sands

COME unto these yellow sands,
And then take hands:
Court'sied when you have, and kiss'd,—
The wild waves whist,—
Foot it featly here and there;	5
And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear.
Hark, hark!
Bow, wow,
The watch-dogs bark:
Bow, wow.	10
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry, Cock-a-diddle-dow!

and Where the Bee Sucks, There Suck I
Where the bee sucks, there suck I:
In a cowslip’s bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat’s back I do fly.
After summer merrily:
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

We looked at art inspired by The Tempest as well, and talked about the appeal of "stranded on a desert island" stories.

Finally, inspired by this lesson plan, we watch Cast Away together. This led to some really great discussion.

Next we read A Midsummer Night's Dream. I had to giggle when Michael complained about how frustratingly confusing it was, and I could tell he felt relieved when we learned it was Shakespeare's intent that the play be a bit confusing and difficult to follow.

Michael made a map of the fairyland in the story.


And since we were discussing similes, he did a page of similes for Puck.
He chose 4 characters and drew their pictures, copying some of their words from the original Shakespeare.




Some other activities included discussing laws and customs of Greece, discussing Helena and journaling about things he had a choice about and things he didn't, and memorizing Nick Bottom's speech:

Let me play the lion too: I will roar, that I will
do any man's heart good to hear me; I will roar,
that I will make the duke say 'Let him roar again,
let him roar again.'

Michael likes roaring.

We also spent some time this week learning who Shakespeare was and where he fit in history. Here is Michael's timeline.

And last, but not least, the cover of his main lesson book:
I'm not sure who first said "virtue is its own reward," but it wasn't Shakespeare. Michael, however, thought it a very Shakesperian thing to say. He did say, however, "Assume a virtue if you have it not."

D, E, F, Gee!

A continuation of our alphabet journey, begun here. Again, these are just things that caught my fancy or inspired me.

Dd
Fairy Tale: Hansel and Gretel
Book: Hansel and Gretel
The D is the door of the oven. Later, the letter H can be seen in the house.
I love this little wooden play set.
Little play dolls
A Hansel and Gretel paper craft-- definitely needs a good deal of adult help, but it could be fun!
Lots of gingerbread ideas here.
And how cute is this Hansel and Gretel fabric?

Ee
Fairy Tale: The Magic Key
While this is definitely one of the lesser known Grimm's fairy tales, I love the openendedness of this story.
The E is found at the end of the key. We see "Wheeee! A key!"
Check out this Waldorf-inspired treasure ball! Very cute. It reminded me of the ball of yarn with surprises wrapped up inside described in The Children's Year.
And here is a treasure box felting kit.

Ff
Fairy Tale: The Magic Fish
Book: The Magic Goldfish, a Russian Tale by Demi
The F is found in the shape of the fish's body.
I love this fishing game from Whip Up! It would be great on a blue play silk pond.
Another great fishing game is here-- what a great way to recycle old paint brush handles!
Of course, if you didn't feel like making one, you could always just buy one from Sarah's Silks.
These color scratch fishbowls could be fun as well.
Wrap it all up with these homemade goldfish crackers!

Gg
Fairy Tale: The Goose Girl
The G is the goose's form
I love this little puzzle with gnomes riding a goose. This goose girl puzzle is sweet as well.
And Ostheimer sells a Goose Girl, geese included! You could also buy a handmade set here.
Check out this cute little goose hat on Etsy!
And this beautiful Goose Girl ornament would little pretty on a nature table as well as a Christmas tree.

And a cute project for the whole alphabet!
Soft Sculptured Letters

Katie Grace's Main Lesson: Farming

We're halfway through the first week of our farming unit. I don't have a whole lot to show you, but what we have, I'll share.

We're using this for our main lesson book, so the first order of business was to start decorating the cover.

Next order of business: a title page.
We've been continuing with our multiplication facts while working on this unit, and are telling lots of farm stories to go along with it.
Katie Grace has also created a farm family that will serve as our frame story throughout the unit. I forgot to take a picture, but there's a mom and a dad and a baby, a toddler, a six-year-old brother and 8-year-old twins. They all help take care of our farm together!

We started of by discussing cycles-- the seasons cycle, and now, the life cycle of the bean. We'll learn a few more plant cycles and then talk about composting, and after that we'll talk about the life cycles of various animals.

We've done a few practical projects so far:
Making a toppings bar to go along with yogurt at lunch. Eventually, we're hoping to make our own yogurt and cheese!

And sewing gnomes and making beeswax fruits and veggies to fill our nature table cornucopia, together with Nicholas.

But our favorite project so far, making butter...




Unfortunately didn't turn out so well!

More on Katie Grace's farming unit next week, after we get the cream out of the carpet.

Workbox Wednesday: Katie Grace

It's Workbox Wednesday, today starring Katie Grace!

Workbox 1: Drawing a Day of the Dead picture to go with her narration from the other day.


Workbox 2: Modeling the seven times tables in her math main lesson books. She's still reversing her 3's. Sigh.

Workbox 3: A boring old cursive handwriting sheet.

Workbox 4: Practicing her spelling words by writing them with sidewalk chalk outside.

Workbox 5: Handwriting. She's beginning to learn about antonyms.

Workbox 6: A library book to look at. Tomorrow she'll make a page in her main lesson book.

And then a little break-- we're off to the dentist! This is the real reason my kids like to go to the dentist.

Home again, change for Awana, and then Workbox 7: Black Beauty.

Workbox 8: Subtraction review.

Workbook 9: Making a main lesson book page with a quote from King Louis XIV. This is also a good way to practice cursive.

Workbox 10: See that little skunk? Katie Grace made it!

Workbox 11: Katie Grace is working her way through this book. Today we read B is for Bread. Tomorrow, we bake!

Last but not least, Workbox 12: A letter to Katie's friend Maya!

Wordless Wednesday: Ready to watch them play ball!

A Day in the Life

It's Tuesday and we haven't done this for while, so here we go!

We were all up on time for a change. It was oatmeal for breakfast followed by chores, and we were starting our school day by 9 AM.

Michael and Katie Grace got started on their independent work while the little boys and I had circle. We're doing the Harvest circle time from Autumn Seasons of Joy. It was hard to get a good pictures as they rang their bells to celebrate the harvest!

The boughs do shake and the bells do ring
So merrily comes our harvest in
We've ploughed, we've sowed,
We're reaped, we've mowed,
We've got our harvest in.

Daniel's favorite part of circle is "Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow". I keep catching him singing it throughout the day!

Daniel opened up his "surprise boxes"- his Playmobile train set from Grandma and Grandpa, a coffee can with a slit cut through the lid with juice can lids to put in, and a little wooden horse on wheels.

Nicholas and I told the story of Jack and the Beanstalk again, and then worked on his main lesson book. Michael and Katie Grace, meanwhile, continued to work on their own.

One of Katie Grace's projects today was to place animals on a world map.
Nicholas worked on Unifix cube patterning
but it's hard when Daniel steals all the yellows!

Katie Grace had her main lesson- farming- and we learned about the seasons cycle. We also reviews the six times tables.

By now it was time for a snack and a little break, and then it was time for Michael's main lesson.

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.

Hark! now I hear them,--ding-dong, bell.

Michael declined to be photographed today, but he did some very nice work!

While Michael worked, Nicholas and Daniel did some more workboxes.

Making ice cream comes from the geometric solids-- yum!
Clipping the "feathers" on the turkey-- I'm not so much concerned with the color matching, although that's an added bonus, but the clothespin clipping is great for his small motor skills.

When Katie Grace was finished with her morning work, she got out her stamp and color set.



Daniel liked one of Nicholas's activities so much (placing buttons into egg carton sections labeled with that number) that he asked me to make him one!

Michael went outside and I made lunch. After lunch, the kids cleaned up. It is so cool to finally have the kids be at an age where they can help out. We began our new read-aloud, Charlotte's Web, and followed it up with some map work we missed yesterday. Then we read Story of the World. By now, it was time for Katie Grace to go to orchestra and time for us to end our school day.

Circle Time

This week we're doing the Harvest Circle from Autumn Seasons of Joy. Unfortunately, I committed the unpardonable sin of running out of matches to light the candles. Daniel was beside himself! He spent the first five minutes yelling "Circy time! Candles!" until I distracted him with a rousing rendition of "Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow," but then when it was over he started fussing at me again. He looked very forlorn, looking up at the mantle and pretending to blow out candles that were never lit.

Never underestimate the power of a good daily routine-- kids depend on it!

Starting with Shakespeare

I am really, really, really, really, really excited for Michael's main lesson block this month. It's not a fifth grade Waldorf block, but rather recommended reading from Ambleside Online, a Charlotte Mason homeschooling curriculum. We're starting with Shakespeare this month!

When I was in college, I remember reading a book called by E. D. Hirsch, Jr called Cultural Literacy. Cultural literacy is the idea that we, as a culture, have a shared bank of idioms, allusions, stories, slang, and other informal content that we draw from in order to communicate with one another. One of the points of the book is that we, as Americans, are losing that cultural literacy. I remember one example being that children no longer could be counted on to know nursery rhymes. One of the things that drew me to Waldorf education was its recognition of the rich heritage to be found in nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and children's songs.

What better example of shared culture than Shakespeare?! We'll be using the Charles and Mary Lamb adaptations-- another thing I remember well from my childhood-- and started today with The Tempest. Of course, we'll also include a good bit of the original Shakespeare as well.

I'm very excited to start this main lesson block with Michael. I'm not sure he shares my enthusiasm, though. His take on Romeo and Juliet? "Well, the part where everyone dies sounds interesting, but the kissing part? YUCK!"

He is, after all, still a ten-year-old boy.

So, what's your favorite Shakespeare tale? I'd love to know!

Happy Halloween!

Katie Grace dressed up as Molly MacIntire from the American Girls books, Daniel was a kitty, and Nicholas was Superior Nick, a superhero of his own creation.

Superior Nick with his trusty sidekick, Superior Dog. The face paint is lame, we know.

Walking with Daddy.

Up a looooong (to him) flight of steps.

Trick or Treat!

Nick was digging this giant "snow globe".

Michael is not picture. He was too cool to ToT with us and went with a buddy instead.

Also, we may have created a monster with Daniel. This morning he said "I don't want to go church. I want go Trick or Treat!"