Get it? Big owlet just did. She's loving playing with words at the moment. So when I popped on Aretha for our wreath decorating activity this afternoon, as per our cheesy family tradition, she was delighted. I'm guessing there's only another year or so where we'll get away with that without too much eye rolling... We opted for a quick and easy revamp of last year's wreath, adding a few eucalypt leaves, flowers and fruits.
Day 10 :: Make decorations for the tree. Day 9 :: Watch a family movie - we watched Fantastic Mr. Fox. Brilliant!!
PS. Thanks for the gorgeous comments on Thursday's post. Its so lovely to know we're not alone sometimes, huh?
Tough parenting day. They do happen here, despite the sunny, happy photos and words you often see and read. I don't usually write about them because I like to look back and remember the positive stuff if I can. In the interests of keeping it real though, I'm willing to share that today was one of those days. Laundry piling up. Crumbs and crunchy bits sticking to my feet. Sour milk smell in my clothes, my bed, everything! Two feverishly sick owlets to nurse and a newborn who went from mellow to cranky in the blink of an eye and stayed that way all day... Certainly a tricky hiccup in our first full week with Huz back at work. Of course, the minute he walked through the door, I handed the screaming baby to him, she fell asleep immediately and calm fell upon the house for a moment or two. I do rather wish we really did live in a village at times like this, but right now I'm happy for a quiet house, a big bowl of ice cream, Huz beside me and a comfy bed to collapse into. Here's to a good night's sleep and a fresh start for tomorrow!
A very surprising gift arrived for tiny owlet last week. It came in an enormous box and is larger than life size. It's standing on top of the speaker in the lounge room, keeping an eye on proceedings...
Activity advent update :: day 2 - eat fish and chips by the water day 3 - make ice cream sundaes day 4 - go garage sailing day 5 - put up the christmas lights day 6 - have breakfast for dinner - this may need to happen more than once ;) day 7 - write a christmas song day 8 - crazy hairstyles at dinnertime
Ever try and follow the patterns of thought and conversations that flow, in your family, during a day? On those days where we have been too busy to think much about what the owlets are up to as we go along, I'll sometimes sit and ponder... what did they learn today? Recounting the conversations from breakfast to bedtime, I'm often surprised to find that they've learned a whole lot and grasped some new concepts.
On this particular morning, we dressed tiny owlet in a new outfit given to us by Jacquie. Big owlet commented on how many balloons were on the onesie, which led to a discussion about Nena and eighties music... we commented on how Nena's film clip reminded us of Feist's. We talked about inspiration and how one artist can be inspired by another... then as the owlets danced, they realised that the song was sung in german. Interesting...
Huz went to work and a short while later big owlet was looking at Poisson Rouge and speaking chinese and french. "Mum, I want to learn to speak some more languages!" she yelled out while little owlet and I buzzed around the kitchen as part of our daily baking ritual. "Mhmm, ok..." I replied. We've been incorporating some languages where we can, but its time to get serious now. I love that she tells me when she's ready. Later on, big owlet and little owlet played for hours in a made up language, stopping to translate for us occasionally. Then big owlet asked Huz to record an impromptu song in said language, complete with translation... apparently language affects melody too which I found quite interesting... So there you have it. Something as simple as dressing the baby leads to new concepts, new skills and new creative pursuits. Unschooling in action.
What does natural learning look like at your house? Please join in and share your unschool monday.
A couple of orders have rolled in this week, so I'm digging out the sewing machine for a last blast for the year. I'm hoping to make a couple of bits and pieces for gifts too, but that will have to wait until the last minute... as usual...
Summer is here!! So is advent! Although we're not religious types, we look forward to this time of year with much enthusiasm. The owlets love waking on December 1 and finding our activity advent calendar hanging from the mantlepiece. They love the tradition of finding their favourite activities and sometimes new ones inside each envelope. It does help the days pass and we manage to get lots of stuff done in the lead-up to christmas too, whilst reminding us all to have a bit of fun amongst the busy-ness of this time of year. It also takes a little focus off christmas day, but rather helps us focus on spending time as a family. So here's our calendar this year with origami paper cups made by big owlet.
And here's today's activity. Its one of our favourites each year... makes for interesting conversation for Huz too. He rather likes challenging gender stereotypes I suspect.
PS. yes, we considered painting tiny owlet's teeny toes, but got the guilts about all the nasties in nail polish. We did think she'd look pretty cool with tiny black toenails though ;)
The last day of spring. The last day of a super busy and exciting season in the owlet nest. The last day of Huz's leave and the last day of our babymoon... so naturally we decided to do a complete declutter and spring clean of all things belonging to the owlets! They seem to have accumulated a vast array of stuff... spilling over from their bedrooms and into the rest of the house on a daily basis. Too many boxes of random...Huz and I were feeling a little overrun. The mess of a day's play and learning was becoming a little too much. Then there was the thought that Christmas is on the way and there might be more stuff to cram into those rooms. Impossible!! So we tipped out all the boxes of random, found homes for everything, threw out the homeless bits, the broken bits, the things we didn't love. The owlets rummaged in their rooms for things they had finished playing with so they could donate them to charity in time for Christmas. Next we moved some furniture around and set up the little kitchen in the lounge room again, complete with a reading nook. Then I tackled the craft cupboard... It took all day. Now I'm exhausted. But its clean and we can think clearly again. And the owlets have rediscovered so many things. A perfect way to end our little time of renewal. Bring on summer!!
