Circle Time: The Little Red Hen, a table play

We haven't had a table play during circle for a while, so this week I decided to tell the tale of The Little Red Hen. In our story, we have a horse, a cow, a sheep and a pig. I made up some little songs to go along with the story as well, and will try to get them up tomorrow.

I'm a little worried about Nicholas though. He gets very, very sad when the Little Red Hen won't share her bread with the other animals. I fear he sympathizes a little too much with the animals who refused to help, yet still wanted a share of the spoils. He thinks the Little Red Hen is "mean" and "selfish," and I suppose I can understand his point of view.

Story of the World: Ho, Hum.

I must say, Volume 3: Early Modern Times, isn't really doing it for me. Don't get me wrong. We do the reading, fill in our little maps, answer the review questions and do our narrations, but it's just not terribly exciting.

I did crack up at Katie Grace's narration today re: Peter the Great:
Peter the Great wanted to make Russia more Western, but not so Western that he was no longer czar.

We will be heading into Colonialism soon, and the the Revolutionary War, so I'm hoping things will get a little more exciting. Or at least interesting.

Book Review: Everything on a Waffle

Primrose Squarp's life changes the night her parents are lost at sea in a horrible storm. But, hoping against hope, she believes they are still alive. As she makes her way through life without her parents to guide her, she gets some help along the way from the elderly and confused Mrs. Perfidy, her reluctant guardian, Uncle Jack, Miss Bowzer, the proprietress of the local restaurant where everything-- and I mean EVERYTHING-- is served on a waffle, her foster parents, Bert and Evie, even the meddlesome Miss Honeycut.

Polly Havrath tells a great story, and it's no surprise Everything on a Waffle is a Newberry Honor Book. Haven't you ever known something deep in your heart without reason? This is the question Primrose asks over and over and over again, leading to some great conversations about faith and belief.

It was also wonderful to read a book where the adults were (for the most part!) the child heroine's accomplices rather than her antagonist. The grown-ups in this book are on Primrose's side, and they all work together. This is a nice change from the usual kid vs. adult model used in children's literature today.

We listened to the audio book, read by Kathleen McInerney. She does an excellent job, and you can hear the first chapter here. Books on CD are my secret to peaceful car rides, especially the half-hour trip each way to co-op on Fridays, and this book engaged my ten-, eight-, and six-year-olds. This is one of those great books that works equally well as an independent read or a read aloud.

And, as an added bonus, every chapter ends with a recipe! We're looking forward to extending our book experience by trying some of them out. Humor, a compelling story, and everything served on a waffle-- what more could we ask for?

Weekend Round-Up!

It's that time of the week again!

First off, I've added some lovely new blogs to my Reader. Gingerbread Snowflakes has some lovely handmade holiday ideas. I especially liked these star photo ornaments, and I think we're going to make some.

I also added Adventures in Living and Learning. It's always nice to read another Waldorf-inspired homeschooling blog for encouragement and ideas!

Finally, I added Light and Momentary, an always inspiring and often hilarious mama blog .

Onwards and upwards.

Besides the aforementioned wheat star photo ornament, I also found these lovely felt trees at Wee Folk Art. Wouldn't they be perfect on a winter forest nature table? She also posted this sweet little tea wallet of a birdie on a branch-- what a lovely little Christmas gift this would be!

I bought an acorn squash specifically so I could try this roast acorn squash recipe from Weelicious.

I've found inspiration of another kind online this week as well. So many good ideas, so many kind and thoughtful words and comments. I've truly been blessed by my internet friends and community. May you have a blessed week as well!

FINALLY! Our autumn's end nature table

We finally got our nature table back up, and it's all due to Katie Grace. This was totally her project.
Martinmas pictures and a lantern made last year. Behind that, an autumn tree and beeswax owl Nicholas made. In front we have gnomes sewn by Katie Grace and Nicholas, a mushroom made by me, and a pinecone from our yard.

The gnome cave and bonfire, set up by Katie Grace.
A lonely gnome in a solitary cave, hanging out with a pinecone turkey, sporting wool fleece feathers and clay facial features.

Daniel and the gnomies!

Mealtime Rhythms and Routines

Before we start, I have a confession to make. Two, actually.

Are you ready?

One, I have never done a blog series before. Please do let me know what works and what doesn't, what you would like to see, and how I'm doing.

And two-- our own routines have fallen a little lax and I'm feeling at loose ends. My sincere hope is that starting this rhythms and routines series will not only bless and inspire you, but will also help my own family to get back into the swing of things.

Phew! Confessions over, and on we go!

This post is about mealtime rhythms and routines. I'm not going to focus on meal planning-- I'll save that for another post- but this will be more about meal prep and how your meals fit into the rhythm of your day.

I always try to wake up before the children. I find that the only chance I have of keeping one step ahead of them is if I can get a head start! Generally in the morning, I put out a clean tablecloth and napkins, as well as other kitchen linens. Then I start breakfast. This morning it was a yummy oatmeal porridge found in The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book.
This morning, I made cocoa as well. Since I'm making an effort to get back into a routine, I wanted to win the kids over to my side. What better way to bribe them than with chocolate?

I generally don't get a lot of help making breakfast-- they're waking up and going through their morning routine on their own. If help is offered, I take it, of course!

To call them to breakfast, I sometimes sing. Do You Know the Muffin Man? is a good song on muffin days, and The Singing Day has a lovely little song, also about muffins, called Three Little Puffins. But, to be honest, I usually don't have to call them to breakfast, because they're right there, hungry with bowls waiting.


This is our kitchen table, where the kids eat breakfast and lunch. We keep our silverware in the basket on the table. This makes it easier for everyone, and we can just carry it with us to the big table in the dining room when we all eat together. I also like to keep a bowl of "help yourself" fruit out.

We use cloth napkins and tablecloths. It's an ecologically sound decision, but I also find that real materials lend themselves to being treated with reverence and respect. We also try to use non-plastic mugs and bowls, although we do have a few melamine bowls for the little boys. Generally, the tablecloth makes it through breakfast, lunch, and morning and afternoon snacks. We use the same cloth napkin all through a day, barring any major messes. Each of us has a napkin ring so we don't get them mixed up.

I've had good luck finding cloth napkins at thrift stores, but there are lots of online directions for making your own, ranging from complicated to ridiculously simple.
Rip and Tear Napkins (ridiculously simple)
Make Your Own Cloth Napkins (pretty darned simple)
Simple Cocktail Napkins (fairly simple and a good size for little ones)
Molly's Handmade Napkins (somewhat complicated)

And of course, you'll need some napkin rings to go with them!

And, if I've gotten you into a sewing mood...
Bib tutorial
and
Aprons! Aprons! Aprons! And more aprons!
And a tablecloth.

In my house, everyone can clear their own dish. Right now, we're working on everyone but the toddler washing their own dish as well. This is fairly easy to accomplish with a sink of water and a stepstool. We try very hard to take the tact of "We're all working together to make our home a lovely place" rather than "I want to make myself redundant, so you're on your own to clean up after yourself." If you gently set an example and repeat and repeat and repeat, pretty soon you'll find your children leaning into the routine and doing their part.

Sometimes we do a cooking or baking project for morning snack, and I take my helpers where I can get them. This morning it was homemade rice pudding.

Afternoon is generally more of a "something from the pantry" affair. Today is was multigrain tortilla chips and salsa. Daniel approved.
One thing I would like to work on is how I call them to the table. While I do sometimes sing, I'll admit that more often than not, it's just me yelling "TIME TO EAT!!!!"

For handwashing before meals, we have our own version of "Warm, Hands, Warm". We sing:
Wash, hands, wash,
And dry them on the towel.
If you're going to wash your hands,
Wash your hands now!

We use a variety of blessings and graces. I'm Catholic and my husband is a Lutheran pastor, so between us we have a rich heritage of prayer to draw from. I do like to pick a couple of seasonal blessings and post them near the kitchen table. This can be a great use for watercolor paintings!
Finally, I wanted to share our helper chart. Knowing I was writing this actually inspired me to write a new one, with Daniel added.
You can see how faded the old one was, and it only included the three older children. Daniel should be able to pitch in now, even at a toddler level.

We have four jobs: chef, host/hostess, waiter/waitress, and busboy/busgirl. Generally, we use this only at dinner, but if they're squabbling to help at another meal, I'll look at the chart then as well.

The chef helps to cook. He also gets ingredients from the pantry, fridge, or storage area. The hostess sets the table and calls everyone to eat. The waiter gets drinks and if we need anything during the meal, it's his job to hop up and get it. Everyone clears their own dish, but the busgirl clears the serving dishes and wipes down the table.

These are just a few of the underlying rhythms and routines that help make our meals more peaceful. I'd love to hear what you do at your house! And of course, I'll see you back here next week on Thursday, when we tackle morning and evening routines.

Prayer for the Poor

This was in our church newsletter as part of the "Taking Faith Home" series. It seemed to fit in nicely with the feast of St. Martin of Tours this week.

Jesus,
You are the Word-- to be spoken;
The Truth-- to be told;
The Way-- to be walked;
The Light-- to be shone;
The Joy-- to be shared;
The Bread of Life-- to be given;
The Hungry-- to be fed;
The Naked-- to be clothed;
The Homeless-- to be taken in;
The Sick-- to be healed;
The Lonely-- to be loved;
The Unwanted-- to be wanted;
The Little One-- to be embraced.

Lord Jesus, you are with the poor and needy around us.
Help us to be your hands, feet, and voice to them. Amen.

Martinmas

Lantern, Lantern,
Sun, moon and stars,
Burn, my light,
Burn, my light,
But not only the light of my dear lantern.

The importance of rhythms and routines

Way back in the day, when I had just one child, I remember people asking "Is he on a schedule yet?" And I giggled to myself, picturing a baby with a briefcase and a pocket planner, busily making his way from one meeting to another. But out loud, I simply said, "No, we just play it by ear."

Soon enough, playing it by ear wasn't enough. Juggling a baby, housework, cooking, playdates, my husband's schedule, social engagements-- we needed a plan! And that was just with one child. Now, with four, I find that our rhythms and routines are the foundation that hold up our day.

And please do notice that I said "rhythms and routines" and not "schedules." In my mind, schedules are cold and unyielding, while rhythms and routines and flexible and work to gently support and uplift our family.

What is a rhythm? To me, rhythms are those repetitive cycles that drift in and out of our lives like the waves. In our home we have daily rhythms, weekly rhythms, seasonal rhythms and yearly rhythms. Woven into our rhythms are the traditions of our family. Our rhythms nourish us and give us strength.

What is a routine? It's the day-to-day step-by-step processes that help everything to run smoothly. In our house, strong routines give predictability to our days and help to make those rhythms happen. I strongly believe that we all are at our best when we know what to expect.

I can honestly say that many of the rhythms and routines which we started when Michael was a baby, ten years ago, are still part of our daily lives. I would invite you to join me as I revisit our routines and help cement them, and perhaps you can work on a few of your own as well. We'll be looking at rhythms and routines on Thursdays, and will start this Thursday with meal routines. (Not meal planning-- we'll save that for later!)

So, start to think about your meals-- what are your goals? what is working for you and your family? what do you want to change? how do you create a feeling on peace and harmony?

And I'll see you on Thursday!