another week in this unschooling life

Or week and a half, to be more precise.

Camille finished her first pair of mittens

U.S. map puzzle and chalk board

hand puppet tattoos

using a mortar and pestle to grind sorghum into flour

sprouting wheat grass / dreaming of spring

library book sale score (for $3)

and another bagful for another $3

glitter, face paint, and a magnifying glass

learning to use a sewing machine

engineering a ride-able 'horsey' from ropes and pillows

experimentin'

using breath to power straw gliders

with a variety of designs

mosaic art

We had fun flying 'balloon rockets' over and over.  We tied a string from one end of the living room to another after threading a straw onto it.  We taped a balloon (blown up, but not tied) to the straw and released it to watch it whoosh down the string.

balloon rocket

again

again

We do our best to bring in colorful fun in the middle of winter.  We also get out and about a bit.  We went to a Girl Scout cookie carnival where Sylvia won a Hearts for Hearts Doll, which she was thrilled about and absolutely adores.

polymer water 'marbles' 

wheat grass growth

iron-on patches

another visit from the tooth fairy

playing with 'gravity goo' (a combination of polyacrylamide and acrylic co-polymers)

 swingin'

'hippies'

'I do it myself'

Camille put a teaspoon of polymer 'water gel' powder into a styrofoam cup and had Sylvia pour 4 oz. of water into it while holding it up.  She stuck pencils through the cup and told Sylvia she wouldn't get wet until she pulled the pencils out.  When Sylvia pulled the pencils out she was surprised that she still didn't get wet. (from edu science Do & Discover Science Mega Kit)

The 'water gel' is basically the same stuff that they put in disposable diapers and it turned the 4 oz. of water into a firm mass.

glass beads (from the dollar store) design patterns on the wool rug

my current knitting projects

Camille's current knitting project

No life is all glitter and sunshine and pretty wool knittin'. There are times when I feel discouraged, drained, and in need of a reminder of why I live the way that I do.  This blog is as much that for me as anything else.  I dump the photos off of my camera periodically, sort them, and think, 'life looks pretty darn good from here'.  Even if we went over a month without a reliable vehicle in the middle of crazy-cold-rural-winter. Even if our well pump froze up in the so-cold-it-doesn't-matter-if-it's-Fahrenheit-or-Celsius and we had to melt snow on the woodstove to flush the toilets and water the chickens.  (By the way, a heaping full pot of snow yields much less water than one would think, just a couple of inches of H2O and a whole lotta air.) Even when sisters squabble, and the dishes (and laundry and messy toy bins) pile up, maybe especially then, I remember how grateful I am for the loving and learning, creativity and sweet ragamuffin smiles that I am surrounded with every day.

It's all about the priorities here. It's a joyful, messy (and sometimes challenging) life, and I am oh so grateful for running water again