inspiring~ kids crafting

There has been a surge of crafting around here lately, more than usual and I have loved seeing the results of the children's creativity, how they find something and that can all of sudden light up the eyes and put their hands to work. I have been inspired to do some making myself and make sure that I feed this real need in my own life.
At times when I feel the inspiration is low for all of us I try to change an area , set up new crafting materials or provide some new project to breathe some fresh creativity into all of us.
A kitchen cupboard full of food package boxes, a bowl of cut up pieces of paper with glue handy , some new paints or clay and definitely glitter for the little one . The little things can be all we need to get that zing back & starseeing things afresh. For me the childrens making is inspiring enough to get making I just need to work on fitting it in.

sewing for Bella

A while ago when I was on a sewing buzz I made the children some place mats , Isabella was breast feeding so I decided I'd do hers later well last week she noticed that she didn't have a place mat and sweetly asked wheres mine?- that's about all it took to get me to sewing. She was so happy the next morning, she carried her place mat around all day showing anyone who was near. Now I'm thinking what next?

pure joy

Bella with one our baby guinea-pigs

weekend snapshots:: from Sydney

inside and out

meaningful learning

'As often as possible, we want to leave the work, the interest, the ideas, the solutions, the suggestions, the purpose, the guiding, the questioning, the excitement where it belongs — with the child.'

'They will work energetically to construct knowledge — to add bits of information and knowledge together and make something that is bound together with meaning.'

'But so often, we don’t give them something whole to work with. We give them broken bits and expect them to concentrate, memorize, repeat back — even though those bits don’t have meaning. They don’t make sense. (And I mean that in the deepest sense of the phrase — they do not create real understanding.) And they are swiftly forgotten.'
-inspiring words from Lori at Camp Creek Blog.

And so it was with Jett and his garden.

the love and determination of a 2 year old

One of our many guinea-pigs Stardust was brought inside recently as she was showing a very ready tummy and needed to be put into the 'birthing centre' as Jasi calls the inside hutch. It was only 2 days of waiting when we discovered  3 little babies joining her. Now I just need to keep them safe from little two year old hands which are desperate to show much love. I had told her when the babies are a little bigger she can hold them but right now they need to be with their Mama.  Two days later Bella declared 'the babies are older now!' which of course was true but not old enough. 

experimenting in the kitchen

Zach had been asking for to do some experimenting and make up his own recipe, so I let him at all those foods we haven't been using in our cooking the last month.

eggs, flour, water...
add LOTS of cocoa....

put in the oven and bake....hmm...'too much cocoa Mama'.

Oh well treats for the chickens, Missy got some too.

a day is...

full of questions-

- I am so tired how on earth am I going to get through to the end

-how am I going to be all they need today

-will I have what it takes to be cleaner, food preparer, dispute settler, negotiator, nurturer, rythym keeper and so on.

full of limitations-

-I haven't even got my feet to the floor and they need wheat free, egg free, sugar free, dairy free everything free breakfast, lunch and dinner and I don't feel like getting my head around it today. - First born son is ungrateful, unhappy with everything and everyone and if I see that snarl on his face one more time I'm going to send him to bed for the day without any books.

-The very thing I so desire to create here - a place of grace and warmth is something I never had and my dreams last night brought back memories of a childhood filled with pain, now I hear the banter between them, it has started early today-'you ugly pig how dare you pinch me!'
Oh Lord how to teach grace when I feel empty.

full of mistakes-

harsh words and lack of patience

a day is... also full of....

GRACE

his mercies are new every morning.

chickens and three more

I love seeing the chickens wander freely in our backyard and hearing them talk at the back door. I love giving all our scraps to those chickens knowing its not waste but going full circle. I love how Isabella comes to the kitchen with an egg in her hand saying 'look what Lou-lou made for me!'

It makes me feel like a piece of country is right here with us in suburbia.

And so it couldn't have been more perfect when at our weekly art classes the children made chicken baskets out of clay. They painted them in acrylic and we now have three more chickens making themselves at home- dracula , lou lou the 2nd, and silverwing.