three little birds

Our Summer Part Three

2010-09-17T00:00:00.004+02:00

I am starting this blog with this picture because it is my favorite picture from our summer vacation. It also portrays two of my favorite people and reminds me of Brian and myself a long, long time ago.

The interesting thing about going "home" is that I haven't lived there for 10 years. I did live there for 34 years (35 if you include our last year in RI) and there is so much of Massachusetts (New England) that will always be home to me. I would have to live somewhere from today until I am 78 (79) to equal the amount of time that I spent there. With a move coming up in the next year or two, and possibly a few more after that, I imagine that I will never live in one place for that long again. My "home" is really where my husband and children are, but for me, "going home" means returning to where I come from.

Below are just a few of the reasons that New England is still home for me.

Nick lives in RI

My parents live in MA

A summer picnic in Jamestown, RI with my brother Brian, Derby, Zoe, Emma and Kayla

Lunch with my brother Chris and Galen

Another favorite photo, Taylor looks like the Lorax

This is a very special picture for me. These are the women who I lived with when I first left home to college. We hadn't all been together for a very long time and it was fabulous to spend some time together (front row Me, Gin back row Linda, Nadine and CherylAnn).

This was my other favorite picture of the summer!

Our Summer Part Two

2010-08-16T00:11:00.002+02:00

City Museum , St. Louis, MO

St. Louis, MO is a fabulous place to visit. Some of my favorite people live there. There are some really cool places to visit (more info coming soon on my new travel blog ), and the best one of them just happens to be my sister's house!

Taylor at City Museum

Kitty , Brooke and D

D at the City Museum

Kitty and Brooke

Missouri Botanical Gardens

St. Louis, MO

Paul , Kitty 's husband

Paul and my mother .... oh wait , that 's not Mom, that's my sister Kitty !

Brooke

This is an exhibit by glass artist Dale Chihuly.

In the next couple of weeks we will be studying Dale Chihuly. We were inspired by ourvisit to the garden where they have some of his amazing work on display . I have two great projects to do with the kids , look for our future post!

Garden/dinner at Kitty 's house

photo by Taylor

D and Marie, Paul 's Mom

photo by Taylor

Fitz , our cousin (my nephew )

photo by Taylor

* We are sorry to Stephanie and Molly that we not do have pics of you to post!*

The Magic House

St Louis, MO

Taylor

Brooke

Kitty and the kids , The Magic House

All the kids

What a great trip , what a great time!

Our Summer Part One

2010-08-12T00:21:00.002+02:00

photo by Taylor

What a summer! We spent a good deal of it preparing, visiting and trying to get home from our trip to the States. I hadn't realized how long it was since I had put up a post and thought that I would get some done while we were traveling. Our trip ended up taking a bit more energy and time (as did the time needed to adjust to the time zone and life after) so that never happened. Hopefully, you can expect a good number of posts to be up soon.

photo by Taylor

The purpose of our trip was to visit family, meet a new nephew and see a few special friends. Unfortunately, there were a few favorite family members, friends and a reunion on the Caroom side, with the most wonderful people, that we didn't get to see this time.
I am working on a new blog of our travels so there will be more detail on these visits in the future. For now, here are pictures of our trip and the people that we love!
I will post our trip in three posts. Here is part one:

BALTIMORE, MD:

Baltimore Children's Museum-

a wonderful place to adjust to a different time zone!

AUSTIN, TX:

Taylor and Brooke have arrived in Texas!

Jackson, our new family member!

Jefe, Cameron's Dad, Doug

Nana, Cameron's Mom, Patricia

Cyrus and Carter, Cameron's brothers

Jessica (our sister in law) and Taylor

Carter (again) and D-

I love this picture!

Catherine and Brooke (Cat is Cameron's sister)

Jackson and Ryder (Cat's boyfriend)

No family visit to TX is complete without seeing our honorary sister, Ashley.

Degas "Painting life through a keyhole."

2010-05-31T00:30:00.210+02:00

Edgar Degas was born on July 19, 1834 in Paris, France. Degas originally studied law before taking up art. He liked to paint indoors and is well known for his many paintings of dancers. He used charcoal and pastels as often as he used paints. He liked to paint/sculpt how life was and not posed. He said he liked to paint life as if he was "painting life through a keyhole". As the artist grew older he had severe eye problems but still made paintings, sculptures, and drawings, from memory. His work was shown along with Monet, Renoir, and Cezanne. He died in Paris, France in 1917, when he was 83 years old.

One of my favorite consequences of doing a study on Degas was being exposed to all the great art work that he created in addition to his paintings of dancers. I had no idea how diverse he was and I especially enjoy his sculptures, mainly the horses.

We used several books for the above information and if you are interested in finding more information on Degas or any other famous artists please click here.

I chose this clip because it shows a variety of Degas' work:

We did two projects because I couldn't decide which one I wanted to do more. I love working with pastels and I had just received an order of burlap.

Our first project was from The Usborne ART Treasury. Pastel dancers. An easy project using black construction paper and pastels. It gives you tips on how to make the dancers. We personalized it a bit (because I made a mistake and didn't like the hair on mine) and cut it out. The girls really liked this so they cut theirs out also.

D wasn't as into making this project as others but he did like to mimic the dancers:

Our next project was from the book Discovering Great Artists by MaryAnn Kohl and Kim Solga.

This was a project also done with pastels. Chalk on Cloth. It called for a cotton cloth with a rough weave and we used burlap. You soak the fabric in milk and then draw a picture on quickly before the cloth dries. You turn the painting upside down on a piece of scrap paper and old newspapers, then you cover the painting with aluminum foil and iron. This sets the chalk design into the fabric.

Taylor:

Brooke:

I wasn't sure what we were going to do with them but using them as book covers on our travel binders worked out very well.

D made a smiley face for Nick.

Henri Matisse "Drawing with scissors."

2010-05-27T23:05:00.005+02:00

Henri Matisse was born in Cateau-Cambresis, France in 1869. Unlike other artists, he didn't know he wanted to be an artist when he was young. Matisse was studying to be a lawyer when he became sick with appendicitis and his mother bought him a set of paints to occupy his time while he recovered. Within a few years he gave up law and became a painter. Matisse loved to use bold color. Toward the end of his life, he became too sick to paint so he cut shapes out of paper and arranged them (by himself or through the use of an assistant) in a collage. He called this "drawing with scissors".

We used several books for the above information and if you are interested in finding more information on Matisse or any other famous artists please click here.

Our project today came from The Usborne ART Treasury book called Colorful Collage which puts Matisse's "drawing with scissors" into action.

Brooke:

Taylor:

Picasso "I paint objects as I think them."

2010-05-26T00:47:00.004+02:00

We began our artist study with Pablo Picasso. Picasso was born in 1881 in Malaga, Spain. He moved to France around 1900. He said "I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them" and he loved to shock and surprise people with his work. Most of all, he wanted to inspire us to dream. During his Blue Period (1901-1904) which was before he became famous for his Cubism, he painted with shades of blue paint to represent his paintings about loneliness and despair. After this was the Rose (sometimes known as Pink) Period (1904-1906) where he used warmer colors to represent his moods. The art project that follows is taken from this time of his life.

We used several books for the above information and if you are interested in finding more information on Picasso or any other famous artists please click here.

For a few of our studies we also used a series of art activity packs created by Mila Boutan. There is a very informative book about the artist and his work. We didn't use the activity that accompanied the pack (this was true for all the packs we got of this series) but we did like the book.

Our project came from the book Discovering Great Artists by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga. It is called One Color Painting. The kids each chose a main color and then mixed in other colors to get shades of their main color. We made 6 shades for each child (Brooke chose green, Taylor chose blue and D chose, you guessed it, yellow) and then they began painting.

Here is the final product:

Taylor

Brooke

Artist Study

2010-05-23T00:18:00.012+02:00

This spring, in addition to learning art techniques, we began a study on famous artists. We aren't studying our artists in chronological order since I am also working on a timeline for our classroom and this seems like a great opportunity to learn about timelines. We also never know where our travels will take us and we want to be able to take advantage of the ability to view works, or a museum, of a particular artist when the opportunity presents itself. So, I hope you will join us every week or so to see who we have been studying.

We begin by collecting some facts about the artist and recording them in our art portfolios. We are using some wonderful drawing books that are 12.5" x 15" and the perfect size to display art activities and the information. You can order them here: http://www.achildsdream.com/arts_crafts_kits/art_supplies.htm

We then read books about the artist, or artists. Most are non fiction, but some are fictional stories that give children a glimpse into the artist (or artists) lives from a perspective that they can understand.

My hope is that we will be able to view in person, one of the artist's work, their museum or birthplace over the next few years. We are fortunate enough right now to live right in the middle of Europe and to date, we've already been able to make that happen.

The following books have been a wonderful source of information and I highly recommend using them if you try a study like this yourself.

One book that will provide you with valuable information and assist you in helping your children (and maybe you) understand an artist or painting/sculpture is How to Talk to Your Children About Art by Francoise Barbe-Gall. This book is divided into 3 sections: 1. A good start this section helps your child develop an interest in art and offers helpful tips depending on their age 2. It's OK not to know provides information that you may not know and the answers to give your children and 3. How to look at a picture several famous paintings along with tips on how to look at, and discuss, these paintings and their artists with your children. These artists are listed chronologically.

One book that I have used quite a bit, that covers a wide range of artists from the Renaissance to Modern Art, is Discovering Great Artists by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga. This is a wonderful resource that is in chronological order that lists birthdays, art styles, art technique and an art activity for each artist.

Another great chronological book is Cave Paintings to Picasso by Henry Sayre. There is a lot of excellent information on each 50 art masterpieces and a timeline on each page.

A book by Bob Raczka is Name That Style all about ISMS in art. It provides you with a basic understanding of different art styles, some famous artists, characteristics, and an example of those styles.

Another great resource to introduce paintings is by Usborne The Children's Book of Art. Each page has a famous painting with information about the artist and the work of art. There is an internet link as well but we have not used it. DK publishing has a similar book that I have ordered, but have not yet received called the Children's Book of Art.

Usborne has another book ART Treasury that not only provides information on a famous work of art and the artist, but also includes an idea for a project.

Another great resource is Art in Story: Teaching Art History to Elementary School Children by Marianne Saccardi. This is a new resource to us but I wanted to mention it because of the amount of information in it. The book is divided into eight parts ranging from Art of the Ancient World to Art of the Twentieth Century. In each section, there are several lesson plans that include background information on the artist, a story, how to view the art, journal writing and an activity. I can't wait to use it!

A wonderful resource for really young people is the Mini-Masters Series. These are board books that can be purchased separately or in a boxed set. I bought these for my girls when they were just born but they have been a wonderful resource to use as it showcases about 10 of each artist's work. Little people love to look at the pictures and the books are welcoming and not overwhelming for them.

Another great way to introduce works of art to very young people are three books from the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art. One is 1, 2, 3, another is A,B,C and the last is Shapes. There are photos of paintings from the museum that reinforce counting, letters and shapes. The alphabet is also available in it's own version of a board book.

There are two great books by Judith Cressy and The Metropolitan Museum of Art called Can You Find It? and Can You Find It, Too? There are many wonderful paintings where you search for details. The first book features works of art from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY and the second version presents books from 3 additional museums in the US and seven European collections. The items are listed as is the artist and date of the work. In the back of the book is an answer key and more information on the artist.

Other series that you may find helpful while studying these famous artists are:

Getting to Know the Worlds Greatest Artists, Art Explorers, Artists in Their Time, and the For Kids Series. You can find these at your local library or buy them used on-line.

We hope that you have as much fun studying famous artists and art history as we are having. I will offer more book suggestions for specific artists as we study them. In the future, we will be doing the same type of study with music history and famous playwrights. We look forward to having you join us!

Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith

2010-05-18T00:59:00.003+02:00

I stumbled upon this journal when looking for a creative outlet for the kids. What a find! The kids (or should I say we) have had so much fun. This book may not be for everyone but I couldn't help but think that it would be a great birthday party for the right crowd.

I am a book person and I've always taught our kids to respect books. I'm the kind of person who wants to read a magazine, or book, first so the pages are brand new and the spine is tight. I cringed when I read the first page we opened to "break the spine of this book". Oh no! The kids bent, stomped and jumped and we were hooked. It was okay to do this with this book, that is what this book is for! After all, the title is Wreck This Journal.

Of course, it doesn't always go as planned.

One of my favorite pages is where they have you take the book in the shower with you but we haven't tried that one yet! Enjoy!

Springtime Multiplication or Counting Fun

2010-05-18T00:02:00.004+02:00

Brooke and Taylor were studying multiplication and D was learning how to count when spring arrived so I came up with a fun project to help supplement what they were learning.

We took some old magazines and punched out all sorts of spring shapes in many different colors. This ended up being a fun project in itself! The kids loved finding different patterns and making shapes that had stripes or eyes.

Then they arranged the shapes in groups to represent various multiple equations. After we were done, we had a nice piece of art work with a reminder of how the multiplication system works.

If you have different levels of learning you can make a key where each symbol represents a certain amount for more challenging equations.

Since we have different levels we are learning at in our home, I adapted this project for D who is learning to count.

There were groups to represent each number. For example, 1 golden sun, 2 trunks on the tree, 3 rabbits behind the tree, etc. I especially had fun with the number 4, see if you can see why (there are two separate pictures, each have two special surprises in them):

The kids loved seeing themselves (and their big brother Nick) hiding behind the flowers.

Spring Celebration

2010-04-30T00:09:00.016+02:00

Equinox noun
either of the two times each year (as about March 21 and September 23) when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are everywhere on earth of approximately equal length (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

The spring equinox is also known as the vernal equinox. Ver is a direct derivative of Latin (ver = spring). During my research, I read that scientists are getting away from calling it the vernal equinox and now referring to the spring equinox as the March equinox (and the fall, or autumnal equinox as the September equinox) since people in the Northern and Southern hemispheres experience spring, or autumnal, weather at opposite times.

A New Beginning by Wendy Pfeffer

The Spring Equinox by Ellen Jackson

We used the above books to begin our study of the spring equinox. I was impressed with the amount of information they provided. We learned how people all over the world have celebrated the Equinox throughout history and how some cultures celebrate it today. We borrowed a few ideas for our own celebration.

No Ruz is the New Year in Iran that coincides with the equinox. No Ruz was celebrated in ancient Persia over 3,000 years ago. No Ruz is a thirteen day festival that starts a week before the equinox. The translation of No Ruz is New Day. We learned that they place seven items on the table that begin with the letter "S" (in the Persian language). They are used to express good fortune and happiness for the New Year. Here are the items we used:

1st sugar-shakar

2nd syrup-shireh

3rd milk-shir

4th honey-shahd

5th candy shirini

6th rice pudding shir berenj
(we just had rice)

7th wine-sharab

Ten days before No Ruz, they plant wheat in a flat dish, so we did too.

Our dinner was based on several cultures celebrations of the spring equinox. We had:

BERRIES from the Native Americans, specifically the Plains Cree, would perform ceremonies to celebrate the first berries of the season.

PANCAKES from the Russian celebration, Maslenitsa (or Maslenita). This translates to Pancake Week, where the returning light was celebrated during a 7 day festival with the pancakes symbolizing the bright sun of spring.
MATZOH BREAD AND CHAROSET (a mix of apples, nuts and wine or grape juice) Jewish Passover celebrates a new beginning. Seder is celebrated on the first night of an eight day holiday and tells the story of how the Jewish people became free.

Here were some other facts we found interesting:
*In India they celebrate Holi on the night of the March full moon. They have bonfires that night that symbolize the heat of the summer and they bury the ashes in hopes of good crops. The next day, they pass each other in the street and throw multi colored water on one another. The kids were disappointed that it was raining during our celebration and we didn't get to do this (yet).
*In Chichen Itza, there is the El Castillo pyramid. The sun makes a shadow on the spring equinox that looks like a snake moving down the pyramid. At sunset, the shadow meets with a stone carving of a snake head at the bottom of the stairs and spring has begun. .
*The ancient Saxons of Germany celebrated the Goddess of springtime who was called Eostre. Her earthly symbol was a rabbit. Rabbits and eggs symbolized rebirth. The eggs were colored to represent the sun of spring.
*Easter Sunday is celebrated the first Sunday that falls after the full moon after the spring equinox.

The books I mentioned above provide a wealth of information on all sorts of spring celebrations and I recommend them highly!

Of course, no spring celebration would be complete without flowers!

Saint Patrick's Day

2010-04-13T23:11:00.009+02:00

We have had a busy spring and have lots of blogs to post so in order to catch up, this blog will be a quick one.

The kids insisted on sleeping in green because the girls had heard a friend say that a leprechaun will pinch you if you are not wearing green on Saint Patrick's Day. I told them I thought that was only during the daytime but I couldn't change their minds!

Their was a web of yarn that led to each of their Saint Patrick's Day treats. There was a small bucket with gold coins, tattoos, chocolate, 1 balloon, and a couple of Euro.

Breakfast consisted of some shamrock pancakes, a green apple drink and irish oatmeal.

For some great Irish stories, read Tales from Old Ireland.

We ended the day making potato print shamrocks.

Some highlights of the day:

Ha Ha

2010-04-02T11:27:00.002+02:00

Have you ever played Ha Ha?

It is a wonderful game to make everyone laugh. Even the most reluctant person to join will end up laughing by the end!

To play, lie in a circle with your head on someone else's stomach and another person's head on your stomach. Pick a person to start and say "HA". The next person says "HA HA", then the third person says "HA HA HA" and so on. We don't usually get very far.

Have a great weekend and enjoy!

Dynamikum Science Center

2010-03-26T00:32:00.021+01:00

No matter where we go, a science museum is one of our favorite places to visit. The Dynamkium is a museum located in former shoe factory in Pirmasens which is about 1/2 hour from where we live. It is a beautiful building that houses a science center the perfect size for our kids! We went on a Friday that Cameron had off and we had the place all to ourselves!
Here is the website if you are looking for more information:
http://www.dynamikum.de/en/naven/the-dynamikum/dynamikum/

This was the amazing entry/exit to the museum.
What a beautiful room!

The museum is divided into two floors.

The first floor is about moving things.

The second floor was about learning how to move yourself.

Dee managed to find some yellow!

And a really cool slide!

Here are Cameron and Taylor applying the new things they learned about moving.

Any device in science is a window on to nature,

and each new window contributes to the breadth of our view.

Cecil Frank Powell

Tanz der Vampire with Dennis Callahan

2010-03-23T00:27:00.061+01:00

Just a few weeks ago, we went to visit my cousin Dennis in Stuttgart, Germany.

We were so excited to see him and had an absolutely wonderful time.....after we finally arrived. The trip getting there was a little hairy and we got lost a few times, and we didn't get to see his rehearsal (my fault for not understanding that we would get to go in the first place) but we got to see Dennis when we got there and went out for dinner with him before he had to go to back to work for the evening. Before I go on, I need to tell you that Dennis is the choreographer for Tanz der Vampire. The original production opened in Vienna in October 1997 and was directed by Roman Polanski. One of the highlights of visiting Dennis in Stuttgart was that we were going to get to go to opening night of Tanz der Vampire the next night!

We met with Dennis the next morning for breakfast and spent some time throwing rocks in the pond outside of our hotel.

Then we took the train downtown and walked around Schlossplatz, Stuttgart which is where New Castle (German: "das Neue Schloss") located.

We had a fabulous time and it was perfect weather for a walk.

We spent most of our time playing on the equipment they had along the sidewalk.

At one point, D got focused on the pigeons and had us all in hysterics trying to catch one.

The kids were getting a bit tired so we started back to the train.

On the way, we walked down to the castle and let the kids play around in the fountain.

It was a beautiful spring-like day and Dennis was so patient with the kids and they had such a great time with him. He even got a big kick out of D wanting to go back to the first train station so that we could get back on the train because I had him jump on instead of walk on!

After a bit of a rest, we met Dennis and got to walk around backstage of the production. It was so interesting to see the dressing rooms and see all the costumes and makeup stations. I really enjoyed watching the production later and seeing all the props (and people) we had seen backstage.

Originally, we didn't think Cameron would be able to go with me because we didn't have a sitter. When we got to the hotel, we asked if they had one available. When I let Dennis know this might be an option, he graciously said to just let him know. We were lucky enough to get a sitter and Dennis gave us our tickets and bracelets for the cast party afterward. Here we are on our way:

When we arrived at the theatre, we selected a place to meet during intermission. Dennis said that he had to run backstage and take care of a few things. Being naive, I didn't think anything of it when he said that he wouldn't be sitting with us. Not until we were sitting in our seats did I suspect that Dennis may have given us his seats. I realized that Sue, the costume designer, we had run into a few times was a few seats down and everyone seemed to know one another. After the show began, I was sure of it. We were dead center in the best seats in the house! A perfect seat for a choreographer to see all the changes he had made (you'll have to ask Dennis about this). What a guy! I will tell you, however, that I truly enjoyed every single moment of the show. You can ask the current director, Cornelius Baltus, since he was sitting next to us (I had no idea who he was at the time) and gave Dennis a full report about how I was "sitting on the edge of my seat during the dance scenes wishing I was up there". I won't lie, I was! Cameron loved it so much he says he can't wait to go again. The costumes were amazing, the music was great and the dancing was spectacular. Of course it was, what would you expect with a coreographer like Dennis?

After the show, we went to the cast party and we had SO much fun!. We called the babysitter to ask if she could stay a little later. Would a couple more hours be okay? She said that would work and called us at 2:30 AM wondering when we were coming home. Cameron went back and let the sitter go and Dennis and I partied a little bit more. It was so wonderful to see him in his element and meet his people. So many people love and respect him and everyone was so welcoming, kind, and fun to be with. A few people even asked if I was a dancer. Dennis kept telling them that he didn't ever remember me dancing but I just told them he was jealous because I am a better dancer than he is. We had such a good time that I didn't get home until 4:30 AM!

The best part of the trip, however, wasn't the show, the seats or the being in Stuttgart. It was getting to spend time with Dennis. What a great guy!

Spring Cleaning Giveaway Winners

2010-03-22T22:05:00.001+01:00

Thank you for everyone who participated and left a comment on my blog. My husband generated a random number selection in an Excel spreadsheet and these were the winners for our items:

Toymaking with Children was won by Kara
The Picasso Art Activity Pack was won by Marci-Jo
The Degas Art Activity Pack was won by Beth of Pipsqueak, Inc.

I will contact all winners through their blogs if possible. If one of the above is you and you have not heard from me yet, please contact me at mkhc511@gmail.com and let me know where I can send your item!

Congratulations!

Spring Cleaning: Toymaking with Children, Degas and Picasso

2010-03-20T12:06:00.038+01:00

What a wonderful opportunity to be able to join the Spring Cleaning Curriculum Blog Hop. It gives us a chance to clean out our shelves and if we're lucky win an item for ourselves! It also connects us with like minded individuals and introduces us to some fabulous blogs.

For more information, just click on the Spring Cleaning Curriculum Link:
http://thecurriculumchoice.com/curriculum-clean-out/

If you would like any of the following items, please leave a comment and let me know which item you are interested in. There will be 3 winners and I will be choosing them Monday morning 10 AM EST by using the random.org site. Please also leave a link to your blog or an email where I can reach you in case you are one of our lucky winners!
Thanks for visiting and good luck!

First Drawing:
Toymaking with Children by Freya Jaffke
This book came to us used and has label on the inside front cover of the previous owner. The front cover and first page or two have a bit of dirt on them but otherwise the book is in great condition. This is the 1987 version of this book.

Second Drawing:

Picasso Art Activity Pack by Mila Boutan

This is an art activity pack that includes a full color art book and six decorated art sheets for creating collages. We did read through the art book but we used our own materials for collages so it is like brand new!

Third Drawing:

Degas Art Activity Pack by Mila Boutan

This is an art activity pack that includes a full color art book, an art activity book and coloring poster. We also only used the art book for reading, the other book and poster are brand new.

D the Conguero

2010-03-15T00:01:00.003+01:00

Someone who plays the conga drums is called a "conguero". Becoming a "conguero" was D's own idea. One day after dinner (you can tell because he hasn't even washed his face), he pulled himself up on the recycling bins and began to play. He loves it! Rumba anyone?

Fashion Designs with Paper

2010-02-24T21:58:00.000+01:00

This winter, when we were discussing different careers, Brooke mentioned that she wanted to be a fashion designer. We did a little research about what designers do and how they do it. I also found some great books, called Paper Fashions by Klutz, that let Brooke and Taylor try their hand at putting some outfits together. The book comes with some tiny little coathangers that are wonderful to hang their creations, but where do you put all of them? I decided to make a "store" where the girls could display the outfits they made. I looked around the house and found the perfect sized cardboard box (this is always easy to do when you've just moved) and began to create.

I added some special features like this light fixture and doll house furniture.

Here is the result:

I am working on a blog that will have step by step instructions for any of the crafts seen on this blog. Since that may not happen for a while, if you are interested in making this and have any questions please let me know.

Our Reading Tent

2010-02-22T21:50:00.025+01:00

Reading time is a special time in our house and the kids love it. I love it, too! It can be during the day, or right before bed, but it's always a relaxing, fun time with lots of wonderful books! During school, the kids have to read what I have them read, but during reading time they get to choose whatever they like. We visit the library every week to make sure they have lots of options and I have a fully stocked library for those weeks that we don't get there. Sometimes we make a special corner filled with pillows, blankets, and a have a cup of tea but their favorite reading times are when we make a tent and read by lantern.

Some of our favorite picture books are listed on the sidebar. I will be posting more of our favorite picture books soon along with chapter books for kids and some of my most recent reads!

Of course, reading time isn't always about the reading!

Vancouver Olympics 2010

2010-02-17T09:20:00.072+01:00

We love the Olympics. Winter or summer, it doesn't matter. The Olympics promotes peace in our world, teaches geography, provides worthwhile entertainment on television and introduces us to some of the most talented and dedicated athletes in the world. It also gives us the opportunity to do some really fun things with our kids!

We started opening night decorating our table for dinner. I covered the table in plain brown paper (we didn't have white like I thought we did) and put a red ribbon down the middle. We stamped a couple of Vancouver 2010 signs along with some red maple leaves and added snowflakes. We traced some round things (cookie cutters, glasses) and made the Olympic Rings in the right colors. The kids drew the rest, including the flags, on their own.

What are the Olympics without the lighting of the torch? Here are some of the kids versions which are very easy to make. If you are interested, see the sidebar for the website with instructions. Brooke added blue to hers which was a really nice touch.

The best torch of the night (though it doesn't show very well in the pictures) was when we made Feuerzangenbowle (which is also known as the Flaming Fire Tongs Punch), a traditional New Year's Eve drink here in Germany. It is similar to Gluhwein but even better! The recipe can be found on the sidebar. We highly recommend it!

I hadn't really planned out a special drink for the kids and was feeling a little guilty since I had this warm and delicious rum-wine-carmelized sugar concoction that had just been lit on fire, so I came up with these:

I took some ginger ale (that we keep in the house in case someone gets sick), mixed it with some homemade lemonade, topped it off with whip cream and put it in these glasses and hoped they looked like torches. The kids loved them!

We needed some medals so we made sugar cookies, cut them in circles and let the kids decorate them gold, silver and bronze. D didn't want gold, silver or bronze. D wanted yellow. D loves yellow.

I found a great project on the website Kaboose.com for downhill skiing. I made one like on the site:

Then we had a great idea, the kids would each make a jump and then we would make their skiers separate so they could compete at each other's jumps.

Taylor's:

Brooke's:

Here are the jumpers, if you look closely, you will see that Taylor made her skier from Germany, note the flag on his shoulder!

Here is D's skier visiting Brooke's ski jump:

Looks a little like Switzerland's Simon Ammann to me!

I will post the website for the downhill skiing and the torch project on the sidebar, if you need help making the skiers, just let me know!

Be Mine

2010-02-14T09:19:00.001+01:00

You know what I like about Valentine's Day? Homemade Valentine's cards. I like that it gives you the opportunity to think about the people you love while you create something special for them. I just let the kids pick who they wanted to make them for and let them create with whatever they could find. The only unfortunate part is that the cards are still awaiting their postage!

Brooke made this for her special cousin, Elle.

Taylor made this for her Grandma. It was her own design!

The one in the middle here (Brooke made the others) was my favorite and it was made for a special person. I'm not telling who it's for, you'll know who you are when you receive it!

A Boy in Yellow

2010-02-06T09:15:00.000+01:00

D loves yellow. When I found this hat he immediately put it on and needed to have his yellow shirt on too. We had made it when the girls had field day last year at their school. He was feeling pretty cool so we snapped a few shots of them and thought we would share.

Homeschool Baristas

2010-01-20T09:14:00.001+01:00

The best thing about homeschooling and creating your own curriculum is that you can teach your children whatever you want and what I want is a double shot non-fat latte. Truthfully, the girls wanted to learn how to make them ever since Cameron made them a cocoa with steamed milk and now they are willing to stop anything and make a coffee whatever your preference.

If you're ever in the neighborhood and need a cappucino or latte, please feel free to stop by.

Fraction Math Lunch

2010-01-04T23:17:00.021+01:00

The kids like when I make "surprise" lunch for them and during our first week back at school one of our lunches was a math lunch. I thought it was a good way to incorporate a lesson on fractions. I served one child in quarters, one in thirds and one in halves. We had quesadillas (very easy to cut in fractions), apples and juice served in a big glass measurement cup. I used measuring cups as drinking cups and Scrabble tiles for place names.

For dessert I filled glass measuring cups with milk to the fraction that coordinated with that child's lunch and served mini pies in the same way. It was a great lunch and the kids loved it!

Happy New Year or Ein Glückliches Neues Jahr 2010

2010-01-01T23:36:00.021+01:00

Happy New Year all around the world!

Since the kids are too young to stay up until midnight, a few years ago we began celebrating the New Year somewhere else in the world so they wouldn't miss out on a countdown and a celebration. When we were living in Japan we chose Kiritimati (aka Christmas Island) as our first (and only) countdown which is located in the Pacific Ocean and is the first place in the world to welcome the New Year.

This year, we began our countdown and visited countries all over the world. For every country we visited, we would look it up in the atlas and learn how to say "Happy New Year" in that language.

On New Year's Eve, We had a small Wii Tournament with the kids and then Cameron and I watched a movie.

At midnight, we knew the church bells would ring, but we were not expecting the amazing amount of fireworks that were set off for about an hour afterward! It was fabulous!

The next morning our last two New Year celebration's were in Hawaii (Hau’oli Makahiki Hou), and then an hour later in Alofi (Bonne Année)and Pago Pago (Ia manuia le Tausaga Fou).

We decided since the last New Year we would celebrate would occur in the Pacific, we would make a breakfast worthy of the islands! We made coconut pancakes with pineapple maple syrup. They were incredibly easy but if you'd like to know how I will include the recipe(s) on the side bar. We served it all with fresh pineapple rings (I got a pineapple cutter from Taylor for Christmas)and Kona coffee.

What a great way to start the year!

Fröhliche Weihnachten

2009-12-25T13:03:00.029+01:00

One of my favorite things we did this Christmas was let the kids buy presents for one another. It was a bit last minute with the move and ideally I like them to try to make something for one another, but they had a lot of fun picking something out and giving their gifts to each other.
Here are some of the highlights:

Pajamas and Books on Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T13:01:00.001+01:00

Another tradition in our house is that Santa always brings a pair of pajamas and a book for everyone the night before Christmas. The last few years the books have been pop-up books by Robert Sabuda. There is a list of books we own in the sidebar if you are interested. The kids LOVE them. The kids are usually in the middle of doing something when the doorbell rings. This year they were just getting out of the bath! Please don't look to close at the wrap, our wrapping paper didn't arrive and our choices were very, very limited. Those of you that really know me know how I feel about this!

Here are the kids putting out Santa's cookies and beer.

A wonderful night!

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-23T13:01:00.002+01:00

It's become a tradition in our family to make Christmas cookies every year. Here are a few pictures of this year's attempts:

Here were our favorites:

Mine:

Cameron:

Brooke:

D:

Taylor (it is a note for Santa in cookie):

This was a present from Brooke to everyone. She made a special stocking cookie for each person. It receives an honorable mention!

Christmas Market at Porta Nigra in Trier, Germany

2009-12-06T13:03:00.094+01:00

To celebrate St. Nicholas Day we attended our first German Christmas Market at Porta Nigra in Trier. Trier is about an hour from our house through the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Wine Region. Although the weather was less than perfect, we had a wonderful time!

Porta Nigra (which means black gate) was the Roman gateway into Trier. It received it's name in the Middle Ages because of the color of the weathered stone it is made from. The gate was built in the 2nd century. Porta Nigra is the oldest German defensive structure. In the 12th century, it was made into a two story church and used that way until the 19th century. I realized when posting this that the picture I took of the whole gate didn't come out (it was raining) but here is one of the kids and Cameron to show you the relative size of the structure. Please check out the following website, this gate is impressive and I can't believe I don't have a good picture of it!

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/trier-porta-nigra.htm

Walking to the market.

Here are a few pictures from inside the market.

Here we are with our first Gluhwein and Kinderpunsch.

I have had spiced wine before but never Gluhwein in Germany at a Christmas Market. It was delicious. The kids loved the Kinderpunsch (a non-alcoholic version of Gluhwein) as well. I am making it my goal for the rest of the winter to make a great Gluhwein. Try them both, they are really very good. There are recipes listed on the sidebar.

We have pictures of the kids all over the States and Japan so it seemed fitting that their first ride would be on the carousel!

If you know our Taylor, she isn't much of an eater. Every once in a while we find something that she can't get enough of and she found a dream come true at a stall that said Schoko-Fruchte aus reiner Schokolade.

At this stall were all types of fruit covered in chocolate and we discovered that "aus reiner Schokolade" translates to "from pure chocolate". The kids all picked strawberries and they loved them. Especially Taylor.

D decided right sround then that he had to use the bathroom so Cameron took him and here are the girls devouring what was left of his pure chocolate covered strawberries.

I think they may have tasted even better to the girls because of it. Luckily, he never even noticed.

We walked around a bit and found another alley with another section of the market. On the way down to the stalls and rides there was an accordian duo from Minsk. They took a liking to D when he tried to throw his Euro in their case and missed.

They were fabulous and we watched them for a very long time.

It was beginning to get late and very crowded so we didn't shop but just wandered around enjoying the rest of the day.

We did buy the kids some candy and I got some spices and the most beautiful fresh mistletoe.

Our last look at the Christmas Market.

This is a picture right outside the gate. We can't wait to go back.

Sankt Nikolaus

2009-12-06T10:00:00.051+01:00

We have always celebrated St. Nicholas Day in our house since my oldest son's name is Nicholas. We usually celebrated by having the kids wake up to a small present left out with breakfast and it was always fun in the spirit and anticipation of Christmas.

How lucky for us to be in Germany this year and be able to celebrate the somewhere that also celebrates St. Nicholas Day! Here is a great website if you are interested in the history of Sankt Nikolaus in Germany or anywhere else around the world.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=87

At our house, the night before, the kids left their boots outside on the porch.

The next morning, this is what we woke up to:

The kids found their boots on the kitchen table with candy (chocolate coins and a chocolate St. Nicholas to be exact), dates, pumkin seeds and some clementines. They were so excited!

There was also a small gift. These wooden toys are attached to a spring on the top of their heads and while they were not supposed to be used as toys (it says so on the box) the kids loved using them as yo-yo's and had the greatest time with them.

Lucky us, not only was there a beautiful sunrise but we got to watch half a rainbow grow into full one.

We celebrated the rest of the day by attending our first Christmas Market.

It was a great day.

Our House is a Very, Very, Very Fine House!

2009-12-03T10:03:00.016+01:00

Here are the views from our kitchen, from the porch and out the back window.

On our very first day we found our house! We lucked out since we have heard that getting a house here can be quite cut throat! There are 3 (or 4) bases here in the Kaiserslautern community and LOTS of people looking for housing. Most people look for a minimum of two weeks. There are two ways to acquire a house-on your own or through a realtor. If you go through a realtor you need to pay about a month's rent finders fee. If you do not, there are a couple of places where rentals are listed but we had heard that you often look at rentals that have been rented or they rent them out from underneath you. We are so lucky to have friends who have been here who let us know that it is worth the money to get a realtor so you can get a good house. We also had to take into consideration that we have the dog now and some people do not want to rent to people who have dogs (though truthfully, I think they should be more concerned about the 3 year old). We had been looking at houses from when we were in the States and most of those houses were gone unless they were less than desirable. We found a great realtor to work with (that I had contact with before we left the States) and luckily he (and she) had some great houses to work with. Cameron heard from the people that he will be working with that if he found a house that was acceptable for a couple of years that he should just sign right there since someone else would steal it out from underneath him. We were not very concerned since we could go anywhere and did not need to be on the bus route for school. In the long run, we did have a couple of houses that were amazing but about an hour away and we decided that was not worth it. We were looking for a house That had it all (who isn't?). We were hoping for: biking / hiking trails from the house, 3 stories with room for guests and homeschooling, a village to walk to (mostly one that had a bakery) and beautiful scenery. We got almost everything we were looking for in the second house we visited. We looked at one more house from the realtor and then one on our own. The one we looked at on our own was BEAUTIFUL and perfect if we were buying it to fix it up for ourselves. It was a gorgeous old house/barn with the most beautiful view that they had made into a house. It was a bit isolated, and parts of it were very old. It was so hard to walk away from but being a rental that we will only be in for two years or so we knew we would not be able to be really comfortable with it (it desperately needed a new kitchen). We know for the future what we'd like in a house we finally settle in! The house we did find is a 5 bedroom house (3 all the way upstairs) that is half of another house. It is so big that it does not feel like a duplex and we never hear the people next door. It has a beautiful patio and a really nice kitchen. It is 3 stories and it has it's own fenced in yard. It is on the very top of a high hill and the view from the kitchen looks over a church, farmland and fields of wild flowers (in the right season). We can walk to a bakery and a children's park. There is a small kindergarten that we are hoping to put Dee in for a few mornings each week so he can learn German. The best part is that it is 3 floors (only 1 shower and bath- but 3 separate toilets on each floor) and the downstairs will serve well as our homeschool/guest area. We repainted anything that wasn't already white. They also told us we can have a garden and do anything "like we owned it"! Our landlord is the brother of the guy who lives next door and they are twins! Marcus lives next to us and speaks very good English. Their father, who lives in the village, speaks no English at all but is very friendly and really loves the kids. The village name is Oberheim Kirchenarnbach but their dad told us "Nein Oberheim. Kirchenarnbach-Yes!" We got a huge kick out of that! Anything we can't get in our village is within reach at one of the bigger villages nearby. There are two or three villages by (5-6 KM) that have everything we need. One we can get to by bike/walking and another that has a bike path that you cycle past old water mills that are now restaurants or pubs. You can even cycle there from our house! The best news is that we are only about 25-30 minutes from Cameron's work.

We promise that pictures will be posted, we just haven't taken any of the house yet. This is the only one that shows the house at all, it's one of me from the day we moved in.

Lufthansa Flight 423 to Frankfurt

2009-12-02T20:56:00.018+01:00

Well, the day finally arrived and we said our painful goodbyes to my Mom and Dad and also to Nick who will be staying in Newport, RI. I was very glad to get all that behind me!
After we dropped Nick to the train we drove straight to Logan. We had the greatest baggage handler who got us right to the desk and helped us get all checked in while Cameron dropped the rental car off. By the time he showed up we had everything checked but the dog, and that was only because he was with Cameron. The kids went with Cameron to get Kuro checked in while I stayed with the bags. Everyone was so nice and helpful, it was a great start to our trip!We only had to wait down at the gate for a bit because they pre-boarded families with kids. Again, they were so helpful and kind.
After we were on board, the flight attendants came by with an age appropriate toy for each kid. Wow. We were already impressed. The pilot mentioned right before take off that there was a strong tail wind and the flight would only take 6 hours and 15 minutes! Our kids are used to the flight to Tokyo! With their own tv monitor, two meals to go and their travel packs I put together for them this trip was going so well!

When we arrived in Frankfurt the shuttle was ready for us. We got right in and I learned all about driving with someone from Germany. The roads were wet, it was dark and he was going about 100 mph (though everything here is in KM, I made the conversion for you). It was about then that exhaustion and homesickness set in. It was hard to see anything so we all took a little nap. When we woke up we saw how pretty the Germany countryside is even along the highway. We were very excited to see what was the area around us would look like.

The shuttle drove us right to our temporary house that looked amazing online. It wasn't. It was a good house but super dirty so we decided that we would stay for one night (because we had to and we were so exhausted already) and then find somewhere else. This was the only glitch of the whole trip! The next day we moved to another house that is still not our style but clean. The shower is a 3x3 foot shower and you have to open the door to pick up the soap or shave your legs. Luckily for us, we started house hunting and we found the greatest place on our first day (see next post).

Thanksgiving at Chris and Galen's House

2009-12-02T16:07:00.022+01:00

We had Thanksgiving this year at Chris and Galen's house. It was a bit hairy at first because we had been living in a hotel for a week with a dog and it was the day before we were going to leave. When we arrived, my parents were already gone because my mother left sick and things weren't coming together exactly as Chris had planned. It was wonderful though to be with family for one last New England Thanksgiving and the food was amazing as always. We didn't take any pictures because there was so much going on but the memories were awesome. Caramels and pickled green beans that Chris made, maple walnut and maple syrup pie by Brian, triple layer chocolate pumpkin cheese cake that Derby made, the best cranberry sauce I have ever had that Joanna (Galen's Mom) made. Everything was delicious and amazing. The only part about Thanksgiving that I didn't like (other than that my Mom and Dad weren't there and we had to say goodbye to everyone for a while) is that we didn't have leftovers that night. We didn't think that we'd be hungry when we were packing up and couldn't take it for the next day because we were leaving. That night around 8 o'clock we were all wanting more!

Juli and Family

2009-12-02T16:06:00.018+01:00

The night before Thanksgiving we went to see my friend Juli. Juli and I grew up together about 1/4 mile from each other. I have memories of Juli from before we even started school. I have very vivid memories from 2nd grade, 6th grade and so many times in high school. In short (which neither of us are)she has always been there for me. We have been friends for over 40 years (oh my)! Juli married John Dalzell, who was (is) a good friend of mine. I guess about 17 years ago? They have 4 children TJ, Riley and twin boys Bryce and Brody. One of my favorite things about Juli is that when she told me she was pregnant with twins I don't think I even knew I was pregnant. It was a surprise to her that she was having twins. When I found out that I was having twins it was a complete surprise to us too! Bryce and Brody are a little over 6 weeks older then Brooke and Taylor. It has been so fun to watch all the kids grow and I try hard to make sure we see them every year (the only time we missed was when D was born).

Here are some pictures of all the kids, except for Nick. It is always so great to be together!

One last hug:

Our Visit to Austin

2009-11-30T10:37:00.059+01:00

On Thursday, the 12th of November we set off to the airport to visit Cameron's family in Austin, TX. We wanted to get in one more quick trip before we left for Germany. The kids and I flew down and met Cameron there (he was in FL for training).

The weather was perfect and we had a fabulous time. How great it was to see everyone. It was the calm before the storm for us and the first time we had seen Cameron in a month.

The girls had a really good time driving with Patricia (Nana) in Doug's convertible!

While we were there we got to see Jessica, who is married to Cyrus, and expecting a baby boy in January. It was so fun to see her pregnant! She looked fabulous and we got to feel the baby move. Here is Doug (Jefe) taking his turn!

On Saturday we went out to get something to eat and watch the Texas Longhorn's play. It was nice for Cameron to be in TX and watch the game. Texas played Baylor and won 47-14. Go Texas!

Cameron celebrated his birthday all alone in a hotel room while he was gone to Florida so on Saturday night, his Mom and the girls made a cake and frosted it so he could have an official birthday party. Very sweet!

On Sunday, we went to Cameron's Mimi's house and had a shower for Jessica and Holly, who is Cameron's cousin. Holly was due in December but ended up having the baby the next day. What a great day! What beautiful mom's to be!

Let me introduce Dr. Monkey.

When Cyrus graduated from medical school, we bought him a monkey that has the girls saying "mama called the doctor and the doctor said 'no more monkeys jumping on the bed". Dr. Monkey now has come to life and has written a series of autobiographical books. I have a feeling that Cyrus helps him with the typing, but otherwise, I know his stories are for real. Here is everyone hearing about Dr. Monkey's sailing trip!

We went to see The Christmas Carol in the IMAX. I wasn't sure I was going to like Jim Carrey as the Scrooge but I actually thought he did a remarkable job. I wish we could see it again I liked it that much!

On our last night we decided to decorate some ornaments for Catherine's Christmas tree. I am disappointed that I didn't get a picture of the finished product. Here are Ryder, Ashley and Catherine decorating their ornaments with the kids. Carter made one but I think it was after the picture!

Making Corn Bread

2009-11-10T05:08:00.007+01:00

While the girls are home from school we have the opportunity to cook more. They are loving learning how to cook and need very little help making muffins or cookies. Here are a few pictures of the kids making corn muffins last week. We used Bob's Red Mill Organic 100% Stone Ground Whole Grain Cornmeal and followed the recipe on the back. It has been posted on the side bar if you'd like to try it! We ate it with Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry or Apricot Preserves.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-10T04:25:00.034+01:00

I was Scrooge this year for Halloween. We are living in temporary living. I don't have a sewing machine. We didn't want the kids eating lots of partially- hydrogenated, artificially colored and chemically enhanced candy. So, with a the bribe of a room in a hotel with a pool and a visit to Build A Bear we created our own type of Halloween.

The kids dressed up their new friends:

We set up "houses" filled them with organic treats and fair trade chocolate, shut the lights out and went trick-or-treating:

Their Aunt Cat sent stickers, pencils and all sorts of great Halloween craft items. The kids loved it and made trick or treat bags for their animals:

She also sent wax lips:

We jumped on the bed and then the kids ate as much as they wanted of their Halloween treats:

We spent the next day swimming in the pool and visiting with my good friend, Polly.

Brooke informed me that it was the best Halloween she had ever had. Taylor asked if we could do it again next year. Dee was very, very happy.

Scrooge does always turn out well in the end doesn't he?

My Favorite Place on Earth

2009-10-31T01:52:00.088+01:00

Farm Pond in Sherborn is one of my favorite places on earth. I won't go into detail about the place itself because if you've been there you already know. If you haven't been, then you should go.

My whole family grew up, and worked, at the pond and many of us learned to swim (and swim and swim) there. Everyone in my family loves Farm Pond (or Fom Pond as my mother refers to it)and we have brought our own children back there.

I was lucky enough to visit last week with my kids when my sister Kathy (known as Kitty to the kids) was in town. It was fabulous as always.

We went with Grandma, Kitty and cousin Zach (Kitty's son).

One of my favorite parts of the day was when my sister asked Dee what he was drawing in the sand. He said he was drawing the circles that he saw when he threw the rock in the water. Pretty cool.

What a perfect day.

OCTOBER Bragg Farm Maple Syrup

2009-10-12T16:54:00.018+02:00

On our way home, we stopped for gas and coffee. Our car decided that it wasn’t ready to leave VT and started smoking. Our new (old) Eurovan that we bought last week. Sigh. We were fortunate enough to find a nice hotel room for the night in Montpelier, VT.

The next day Cameron went and had the car looked at and the mechanic decided we could make it home. So, we decided to visit Bragg’s Maple Farm in East Montpelier where they make syrup the old fashioned way with galvanized buckets and an old boiler for the sap.

When life gives you a broken down car, get maple syrup.

http://www.braggfarm.com/

OCTOBER Ben & Jerry's Peace, Love and Ice Cream

2009-10-12T16:24:00.020+02:00

A trip to that area of VT wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Ben & Jerry’s. It was rainy and cold but there was a still 20 minute line for ice cream. I went easy with lowfat yogurt, Cameron got Oatmeal Cookie Crunch, Taylor got Mint Chocolate Chunk and Brooke got Whirled Peace. Dee inhaled a Chunky Monkey cone and he was as happy as I had ever seen him.

http://www.benjerry.com/

OCTOBER Von Trapp Family Lodge

2009-10-12T15:56:00.016+02:00

On the way home we decided to take the ferry home and drive through Vermont. We thought it would be fun to visit the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. When we heard we were moving to Europe we told the kids that we will visit the Alps in Austria where the Von Trapp Family was from. We thought we’d complete the story by visiting where they ended up. It is really beautiful there.

http://www.trappfamily.com/

OCTOBER Our Last Day in NY

2009-10-12T06:37:00.022+02:00

On our last day we decided to stay at the house and take a canoe and kayak trip. Dee started in the canoe with Brooke and Cameron and ended up in the kayak with Taylor and I. After Dee joined us in the boat we paddled over to see an old stone house and explore a tiny inlet. Brooke found a daddy long legs in the canoe and nearly capsized she and Cameron trying to kill it with her oar. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen until Cameron saw the “bear”. While Tay, Dee and I explored the inlet Cameron and Brooke were over looking at the stone house. I heard Cameron yell to me that there was “a bear, a black bear” in the woods. After a bit, the people who were taking the bear for a walk yelled to him that it was just their dog and not an actual bear. They tried to respond that although their dog was big their neighbor’s dog was even bigger and that their dog did waddle a little like a bear. I was laughing so hard that I could hardly paddle. Dee found it less humorous and was asleep through it all. We paddled back and played fetch with Kuro while I paddled Dee around for his afternoon nap. After Dee woke up, we went back to the cabin to warm up and eat lunch.

That afternoon we collected pretty leaves and pressed them so we can make some great autumn projects with them. After that we went on a fox hunt. I found a great box with pictures of a real fox on each side so I cut them out and Cameron went out and hid them. He made two different hunts. One was a hunt where they had to get to the next clue and look around to find the next clue that matched the picture. The other one they had to count their steps to the next place. It was so much fun to find the fox since it was so hard to find.

We went back to build a fire in the fire pit and eat dinner by the lake. Taylor wanted to try and paddle the kayak by herself so we let her take the kayak out herself.

She did a fabulous job, we were so impressed!

We ate dinner by the lake and made s’mores. It was perfect!

OCTOBER Penny and Tom

2009-10-12T05:59:00.016+02:00

On Monday, my sister and Tom came to visit at our house where we laughed and talked and watched the kids play with Tom and Cameron. We got to see two Loons diving and calling to one another. After a bit, 6 little babies swam by in a group.

On Wednesday we got to go and visit them at their house. It was wonderful and beautiful. My sister has herbs drying that she has either grown or picked around her house. Her house smelled just like I want mine to smell. She made a tea that is great for winter. Her recipe is posted on the right.

I have been trying to learn more about herbs and their uses and a great book that my sister recommends is this:

Healing Herbs and Spices; Heinerman’s Encyclopedia
By John Heinerman

We tried to build teepees but it was too windy.

We went on a hike on their property and skipped stones in the river that runs right outside their house.

The day got colder and we went inside and had hot tea and cider. It was a great day.

OCTOBER Outdoor Playground at the Wild Center

2009-10-12T05:46:00.008+02:00

We hope to build something like this for our kids at our next house.

OCTOBER The Wild Center Tupper Lake, NY

2009-10-12T05:32:00.028+02:00

There is a science center in the Adirondacks that is all about the Adirondacks and it’s environment. The Wild Center is made by the same people who designed the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. We loved all of it and the girls ended their day by spending their birthday money buying each other gifts.

The Wild Center has the coolest outdoor playground where we spent a long time. It was beautiful and we’re hoping to make one for the kids at our next house. Unfortunately, we didn’t have as much time as we would’ve liked for the outdoor trails, they were gorgeous.

Here is the website if you want to check it out: http://www.wildcenter.org/

OCTOBER Trip to the Adirondacks, NY

2009-10-12T05:14:00.012+02:00

This past week we went to Upper State NY to visit my oldest sister, Penny and her husband Tom. They live in a cabin outside of Owl’s Head, NY. The forest is beautiful and we rented a house that was right on a lake about a 25 minutes from them. There was an outdoor fireplace, a firepit by the lake and 3 boats for us to use (a kayak, a canoe and a rowboat). The weather wasn’t perfect but we had all of our rain suits with us and other then sleeping we spent everyday outside. We were lucky and got the timing of the foliage just right. What a great opportunity to start teaching about forests!

SEPTEMBER Birdhouses

2009-10-12T04:58:00.003+02:00

One of our upcoming segments will be on birds and we thought it would be fun to build some birdhouses with the kids. I didn’t end up getting any pictures of the kids building them with Cameron but here they are while staining them. Cameron didn’t realize that the stain was so dark before he started, but he was using this as a trial run since we won’t be taking these birdfeeders with us anyway.

SEPTEMBER International Day of Peace-Prayer Flags

2009-10-12T04:19:00.014+02:00

The International Day of Peace is observed on September 21. To celebrate we made our own prayer flags.

I spent the night sewing these since my sewing machine is in storage, we put them up while the kids were sleeping so they could see them when they woke up!

Traditionally, prayer flags are woodblock-printed with texts and images and come in sets of five, one in each of five colors. The five colors represent the elements,[1] and the Five Pure Lights and are arranged from left to right in a specific order. Different elements are associated with different colors for specific traditions, purposes and sadhana:

Blue (symbolizing sky/space)
White (symbolizing air/wind)
Red (symbolizing fire)
Green (symbolizing water)
Yellow (symbolizing earth)[1]

I got this information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_flag

Prayer flags are used to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom and this is why we made them for this day.

Taylor's:

Brooke's:

SEPTEMBER Happy 20th Birthday Nick

2009-10-12T03:59:00.012+02:00

Nick’s Birthday

The best thing about home school is you can spend the time personalizing special things like birthday cards for the family.
From me:

From Taylor:

From Brooke:

SEPTEMBER Roger Williams Zoo

2009-10-12T03:29:00.010+02:00

No school is complete without a field trip to the zoo. Especially if that zoo is Roger Williams Park Zoo where your Mom (and her Mom) grew up going to the zoo.

A few facts we learned that day that we didn't know were that:

The seal and the seal lion evolved from different land based mammals but developed similar lifestyles.

A male giraffe's spots get darker as he ages.

A snow leopard can jump 50 feet horizontally.

There was a quote for Theodore Roosevelt on a sign there, it said:

The nation behaves well if it treats its natural resources as assets
which it must turn over to the next generation increased; and not impaired in value.

This is my Mom at 85, we have a picture of her on this same dog at the age of 5!

Brooke, Taylor and Dee with my Mom.

Beautiful bald eagles.

Dee

SEPTEMBER Raptor Weekend

2009-10-12T02:38:00.014+02:00

Raptor Weekend at the Audubon Center in Bristol, RI

This weekend we learned all about Raptors at the Audubon Center in Bristol, RI. They have an amazing weekend with all sorts of information about Raptors.

Our owl masks:

Brooke and Taylor's wingspan:

Brooke and Taylor trying to survive as raptors:

An Eastern Screech Owl:

Collecting clues for the scavenger hunt so our names could be put in a lottery. Brooke won!

SEPTEMBER Garden Mural

2009-10-12T02:29:00.005+02:00

I found some great stickers of real flowers, fruits and vegetables so we planted a garden right on the wall. It was a great way to teach how different plants grow and teach about some different animals (ants, mice, worms) that are found in a garden. We started seeds this spring and planted a small garden at our temporary house and we are looking forward to having a bigger garden next year.

SEPTEMBER Surprise Lunch

2009-10-12T02:09:00.007+02:00

Surprise lunch!

Everyday, the kids love having surprise lunch. I'll go and make lunch while they clean up or finish what they are working on. They love the idea of not knowing what they are getting and now everyday is surprise lunch. Although we’ve always sent them with lunch made at home, it’s been great to serve fresh fruits and vegetables to them that aren’t mushy or brown.

AUGUST Happy Birthday Brooke and Taylor

2009-10-11T22:39:00.012+02:00

The girls had their 7th birthday on August 30th. They were lucky enough to have two birthday parties. One was at our temporary house in Middletown, RI and the other at their Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Millis, MA. Their other Nana and Jefe sent lots of great presents for their special day.

Here are the girls doing part of their scavenger hunt. They had a two day scavenger hunt all over the state of RI. Unfortunately, we didn't bring a camera with us so these pictures are only from the part of the hunt that happened at home.

This one is from my Mom's.

AUGUST Bread for Dinner

2009-10-11T22:19:00.008+02:00

The girls spent one day making bread with Cameron and made all sorts of shapes out of the dough they made. Here are some samples of what they made:

This was Taylor's and completely unprompted!

These were some of Brooke's!

AUGUST Lepidoptera-study of Moths and Butterflies

2009-10-11T20:13:00.023+02:00

When we started in school in the middle of August, one of the first things we did was study Lepidoptera.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera
http://blueyonderranch.com/shop/book-of-days-april-2009/

We studied all different types of butterflies and moths hatched our own caterpillars which turned into Painted Lady Butterflies.

Please check out the booklist in the right margin for some great books to use for this subject.

AUGUST Three Little Birds

2009-10-11T19:16:00.013+02:00

Why do we call it the Three Little Birds?

The name we chose is important to our family and not exclusive of Nick. When I was pregnant with Dee (our last) we tried to have an amnio but they couldn’t get what they needed. When they measured him on the ultrasound they thought that his measurements weren't correct for the age that he was and they were concerned that something wasn‘t the way it should be. When Nick was younger and times got tough financially (or otherwise) we would dance and sing to Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. We started doing the same thing every night after we found out there might be something different about Dee. We had decided that no matter what, we unconditionally loved this baby and he would be an important part of our family and perfect just the way he was. So, with the last three at home and with Nick’s approval, it seemed like Three Little Birds was a good name for our traveling home school.

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
sittin' by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing is gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing is gonna be all right!"

I can't seem to get the link to work but if you cut and paste here you can listen to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtwGyxzxBDg

I had the above picture custom made by Holly & Ivy Design's from Etsy.

AUGUST Why Homeschool?

2009-10-11T19:10:00.008+02:00

Welcome to our homeschool and travel blog. We hope this will be a good way to keep you informed on what the kids are learning in homeschool and let you join us on our travels around the world.

First, you may ask, why homeschool? We have many reasons for wanting to homeschool and we are happy to talk about them endlessly if you would like. Since this is a blog for everyone and everyone may not want to listen to all of our reasons we will just give you our top five:

1. With our upcoming move to Europe we want to be able to travel and have the kids see as much as we possibly can.
2. We want our kids to increase their knowledge of nature and be outdoors as much as possible.

3. We want them to experience life through real life experiences (ie trips to see the actual places they are learning about in their textbooks or meeting people, eating food, and learning languages from different cultures).

4. We want them to practice good nutrition, have more physical exercise and watch less tv.

5. We want them to learn to be creative and independent.

Above all, we want to incorporate these things with a good education and we are lucky enough to be given the opportunity to live all over the world and have the financial means to homeschool.