A Bloom for Baby

Pattern: Bloom by Georgie Hallam (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy worsted in "jalapeno" and some scrap purple from my stash

You can read more details on my Ravelry page for this project.

A sweet, easy pattern that is nice for keeping baby warm on a chilly February day.  I omitted the lace edging and just did five rows of garter stitch.  Easy, peasy.  If you can knit in the round, knit, and purl then you can make this tunic top for your little one.

Speaking of easy peasy, you should see the ease with which Miss Mia rolls her way around the living room now.  Never still, this little one of mine.  So determined to be on the move!  She's not crawling just yet, but she pulls herself up on her hands and knees often and I know it will only be a matter of time before she is scooting all over the place.

Which makes me want to snatch her up and not let her touch the ground for six more months at least. 

I'm not even going to let myself think about the day when these knitted baby things no longer fit her.

These precious, tender baby days are passing too quickly.

Sneak Peek of the Coming Week

Mom's work 

• I'm having a hard time keeping up with the daily decluttering calendar from My Simpler Life.  I think it is a terrific idea, and I'm keeping the site in mind for future reference, but for this season of life I've decided to let it go for now (and let go of the guilt I've been feeling from getting behind on the calendar).
• Continue reading for Mindful Parenting facebook virtual book club.  I'm not active on the facebook page, but the book is very thought provoking and I'm enjoying the observing the discussion going on.
• Planning for next year:  We'll be using A Little Garden Flower (fifth grade) and Oak Meadow (kindergarten). 
• March's gemstone is Aquamarine and I'm hoping to locate some to put in our Nature Corner.

 

Baby Love (Mia, who turns 7 months this week)

Mia continues to enjoy our discovery baskets, inspired by the ones at How We Montessori.  We've also been making the first tip toes into introducing table food.  So far she hasn't ingested much but she has had a good, messy time and has been practicing that teeny, tiny pincher grasp.

 

Preschool (Lucy, age 3)

  Fairies and Dragons with  Little Acorn Learning

Note:  Eileen has a sample page at Little Acorn Learning where you can take a look and compare the differences between her guides.

Kindergarten (Max, age 5)*

We're using A Little Garden Flower's new kindergarten program. Usually Max and Lucy are inseparable (a good thing overall), but as we prepare for Max turning six and the official start of kindergarten, I am working on getting them both used to him having  a little time with me each day.

Max also joins in with Little Acorn Learning. This is a fantastic week to cover fairies and dragons for Max, as something very special has happened to him recently ... he's toothless!   Max lost his bottom front tooth at the end of last week.  Such a wonderful milestone!  And, of course, we're full of excitement about the Tooth Fairy coming to visit our house.  

4th Grade Main Lesson (Jillian, age 10)

Jillian's current main lesson is on United States Geography.  I asked Jillian about sharing her main lesson work for US Geography on the blog and she asked me not to, so I'm going to respect that.  

Jillian and her Daddy are planning a very cool science experiment for this week, inspired by Pinterest.  (Dare I say, it will be groovy?) We'll be sharing that over on Simple Kids.  I'll be sure and share the link and let you know so you can go take a peek.


Jillian is also doing daily math review, language arts review, reading, and her Brain Food. She is currently reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief.


In the Book Basket  

• Winter board book - by Gerda Muller
• Fairy Houses by Tracy Kane
• Touchy Feely Fairies
• The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies
• How to Draw Fairies and Mermaids
• 1001 Things to Spot in Fairyland

I've noticed we're a little short on dragon books in this house.  Any recommendations?
 

Rhythm

Monday - Purple Day

• Nature Study, all - heading outside with our sketchbooks and colored pencils, building a fairy house (weather permitting)
• Enrichment, all - listening to Sparkle Stories (my kids love the Martin and Sylvia stories)
• Kindergarten - tell story, play together (A Little Garden Flower)
• Artist Study, fourth grade - Diego Rivera

Tuesday - Red Day

• Painting day, all - water coloring with reds, pinks
• Kindergarten - tell story, cook together (A Little Garden Flower)

Wednesday - Yellow Day, Leap Year

• Coloring, all - coloring with beeswax crayons
• Kindergarten - tell story, draw together (A Little Garden Flower)
• Enrichment -  dye and play with some red, orange, and yellow dragon's breath playsilks
• Holiday - making Leap Year time capsules

Thursday - Orange Day

• Science - a groovy experiment
  
• Handwork/Crafting, fourth grade - we're working on a felt map of the world
• Games, all - Blind Man's Walk (Little Acorn Learning)

Friday - Green Day

• Practical Life, all - practice our family fire drill
• Quaver Music, fourth grade
• Friday Night Nest - family movie and game night (last week's planned movie night ended up becoming a fantastic family dance party instead.  I can't wait to see what happens this week)

What will you be up to with your kids this week? 

images on this post from Country Patch Collections

Worthwhile Reads

• Memory in Motion ::: Counting Coconuts
• Pocketful of Pixies ::: FIMBY
• Books and Toys: Is it time to Downsize? ::: Simple Kids
• The Big Boys Room (ideas for big kids rooms) ::: Small Things
• Learning to Spell Contractions ::: TeachMama
• Mindfulness in Children ::: Shivaya Naturals

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Pattern by Max

Over the weekend my son Max decided that he wanted me to knit a doll for him.  Being so sweet in nature, he decided to make it easy for me by writing a pattern that I could follow. 

He worked very hard on this pattern and then patiently explained to me what it said.  Do you see those horizontal lines on the side?  That is the handy ruler he created for me so that I would know just how tall the doll needed to be. 

Then he picked out some yarn in his favorite color, orange.  He chose cotton dishcloth yarn in orange and white from my stash and for the hair he chose some fuzzy orange novelty yarn that a co-worker of Christopher's recently gave to me.

Next, my sweet boy had to wait so patiently while I worked on his pattern.  That isn't always easy for a five year old, you know.

By Sunday afternoon, Max's doll was finished.  He is so happy, which makes me very happy, and he has already started drafting ideas for another pattern for me to "kniddle" for him.


Keep them coming, sweet boy, keep them coming.