art, art

Art. It is made often in our home by various members, in various mediums and at various times of the day. Whether it be a play put on by my older pair or an impromptu watercolor painting session by all three of them, art is a daily part of our lives.



This lovely little video was so inspiring to me. I watched it last week for the first time and couldn't get the music or images out of my head. So simple. So honest. It gave me chills.

One of my favorite lines from the video says great ideas come from great bike rides. Yes. Great bike rides are good. So are long, lazy afternoons with no agenda, no classes and no commitments.

Giving my kids raw materials to work with are so, so important to me. I try to stay away from coloring books or other types of "art" that limit their imagination or show them what to draw or how to create their art.

I can see how proud they feel when they create something new. A new painting. A new tool. A new piece of jewelry.

We find time every day for some sort of creating. Sometimes it is what you would think of as traditional arts and crafts. Other times it may just be a new fort that is built. Or a scene that is recreated from a book or movie (like the photo below where our coffee table was turned into Mr. and Mrs. Beaver's dinner table from The Chronicles of Narnia a few weeks ago)



soap carving (photos below)
Art. I hope that their love of making art and creative imaginations stay with them through childhood and remains their constant companion throughout their lives.

maple sugaring

We had the chance to spend an afternoon spent maple sugaring with some friends and fellow homeschoolers last Friday. If there is one thing that is loved by all in this house, it is maple syrup. I really think that one of my children's love languages is actually maple syrup. The more a parent loves you, the more syrup they will pour on top of your pancakes in the morning. This is just a theory.

Here you see Nicolas being yoked by our guide...

... and later hung with two buckets that would be used for collecting and carrying sap to the sugarhouse.
While the older children enjoyed the sugarhouse, Elias found his way outside to the barn. Needless to say, Elias and I spent much of our afternoon examining sheep. We can now say that Elias has counted sheep... literally.

I loved the use of the antlers used inside the sugarhouse. Perhaps the next time I am in need of a coat rack or pegs for hanging things in my house, I will simply hang some antlers.

This scene was awe-inspiring, as it exactly resembled one of the pages in the book we had just read that morning in preparation for our maple sugaring outing.

Sophia was asked to hang the pail and to place the hats on top of them. Again, just like in the book!

Nicolas was asked to place the spout into the tree so that the sap could drain. He tried to push it in at first, but just couldn't get it to stay. He was thrilled beyond belief when he was given a hammer to pound the spout in. Hammering is a hobby for this child, so this brought him nothing but joy and pride to show off his hammering skills!

My children can now tell all about the three grades of maple syrup and everything you ever watned to know about sugar maple trees, sap and sugarhouses.

Indeed an afternoon to remember.

a penny saved: part II

One of the most significant choices that we have made as a family to help keep our spending down is something that I do not only because it makes sense financially, but is also a passion of mine.

Thrifting. Buying used. Repurposing. Shopping consignment. Saturday mornings spent at tag sales. Making it a point to poke around estate sales.

Call it what you will, but choosing not to buy brand new when it comes to everything from clothing to furniture to books has been a lifestyle choice that has come easily and has been a joyous journey to continue.

There is something completely freeing when one chooses not to need a new item. There is a certain pressure that is lifted. The pressure to buy the newest, cutest, trendiest and priciest clothing, especially for our children, can be crushing.

After all, they are children, not dolls that we are dressing up to look their finest and to sit nicely while we show them off. They are children; children that require movement in order to thrive and survie and an innate desire to explore the world around them.

This type of living requres clothing that can move easily with their little bodies and won't devastate a mother when they become soiled or even ruined!

I have written about buying used clothing before here . Recently I bought seven outfits for my 2 year old and 9-month old nieces that totaled less than $7. Seriously. This clothing was bought at a local GoodWill store in a bin that took some time to search through. But in the end, I was so content with what I found.

Some other items that I have bought at thrift stores are my winter coat, wool mittens, two Olive Juice dresses, wool sweaters, home decor including hand embroidered items, wooden step stools, old quilts, chalk boards and many other treasures.

Items that I have purchased at tag sales and estate sales include an iron bed from the 1860s, a side table with slots for magazines from the 1940s, costume jewelry, vintage fabric, solids wood folding chairs, yard toys, games, books and one very interesting rubbing of a saint (this is another story for another day).

As homeschoolers we pay out of pocket for every book, art supply, ballet class, workbook and the numerous other resources needed to give our children a generous and liberal education. It may not seem like much at first glance, but just this year alone, I was in need of nearly 15 books for our school year.

Most of the books that we read from for literature, natural science, history biography, poetry and geography are either out of print or hard to find at a conventional bookstore. I have relied heavily on Powells for most of our books. Those that I have not purchased, I have been able to find at the library. This part often involves an inter-library loan and a bit of leg work, but is so worth it.

Something else I belive strongly in is bartering and borrowing. I have begun to trade books with friends and fellow homeschoolers recently and simply keep a running loan list of what I have borrowed from whom and who has borrowed which books from me. At the end of the school year we simply will trade back.

As far as bartering goes, I have traded numerous services form everything from childcare to doula services. This type of trade is as good as gold in my book and I am always looking for opportunities to sharetime, gifts, talents and services.

What about you?

Do you ever buy used?
What is your best tag sale find?
How have you repurposed something recently?

a penny saved

I don't often write about my time spent working outside of my home. Mainly because it is never on the forefront of my mind when I sit down at night to write on this blog and reflect on what I'd like to share with the rest of the world.

Also because in my heart, I am always at home. Even when I am away from my children, I am constantly thinking about how they are doing- if they've been outside and breathed in enough fresh air or finished their math lessons or had enough fruit to eat (I think about their fruit and vegetable consumption quite a bit even when I am at home with them and often equate this to a day of good eating or a day of horribly rotten eating!

It's not that my work is not important work, because I believe it is. The subject of what people are eating and how it is affecting their health is indeed important and worthwhile. I find it extremely fascinating tosit down with the individuals I meet at work and listen to them talk about what they are feeding themselves, their children and their babies and why they have chosen these foods.

It's just that the reason I am there in the first place is because of my family and my desire to help provide some of the income needed by our family of five living in CT during tough economic times.

Food is a passion of mine and I find it terribly intriguing to learn about what and how people are eating their food. Lucky me to be fortunate enough to get paid for this interest of mine!

One of the greatest parts of my job is that I am given the amazing opportunity to meet people from all over the world. I have recently been inspired by this fact and have begun to keep a list of who I meet and where they are from.

Just this week alone, I have been able to speak with families from Tibet, Iraq, Afghanistan and China. Just amazing. I am completely humbled by the willingness of these people to share with me some of the most personal aspects of family life- what foods they have chosen to purchase, store and prepare for their families.

And even after these incredible encounters with these families, there is always a gentle tug at my heart reminding me of my own family- of my husband who is at home with our children taking part in their education, nourishment and recreational choices for that day- of the little faces that will run to the door to greet me with kisses, squeezes and the day's finds (often including drawings, rocks and presents for me).

It is a daily decision to choose gratefulness and contentment that I have the skills and ability to be able to partner with my husband in providing for our family during these tough economic times over the ever-tempting pity party or cloud of resentment that would most certainly rain on my family's parade should I choose such negative responses to our situation.

I often think of my Nana who lived during the Great Depression and had to to quit school in eighth grade to work in her aunt's dress shop pinning dresses in order to help pitch in financially for her family. She later went on to work in a factory during the 1940s during the early years of her marriage to my grandfather once again to help make a positive contribution to their finances. It was a case of seeing a need and meeting it. This, in my opinion, is the true meaning of missions. I am so inspired by her and often think that if she could work six days a week in a factory then I can most certainly dig deep to find the strength and generosity needed to put in two days a week to help my family out.

There are countless stories of families who are struggling financially right now and an equal amount of stories about how these families are making it through tough times.

I was completely inspired by Eren's post from the Vintage Chica about the ways she is helping to make a positive contribution to her family's economic situation and also by this post from Buttons Magee that talks about thrifting as an extremely useful way to impact a family's finances. I never really got the old adage a penny saved, is a penny earned until I had a family of my own and chose to buy used or shop sales!

Over the next few weeks I am choosing to share ways that our family is continuing to live a full, simple, creative and prosperous home-centered life during these times of economic hardship.

{I hope that you will share this journey and your thoughts with me!}