Our Next Spring Project! A Tree Tree Tree House

This fantastic little igloo-style tree-house was created by two wonderful shopkeepers at the Des Moines Renassaince Faire. When I spoke to the owner of the shop she said that they had planted the trees last year (the Faire has a permanant spot here in DM) and when they came back this year it was like this. So this picture represents a year of growth. Imagine what it would be like in 5 years! My children and I are already very excited about planning this for a project next spring. Or perhaps even now...we can't wait! It is very simple. You have to choose a tree with flexible branches and trunk. Plant it when young, but no so young that it takes "forever" to grow. I would recommend starting with 5 foot high trees at the very least. Once you plant the trees in a circle you can build up the bricks around them in a circle or you can choose just to surround the based of each one to protect it. Of course choose trees that grow quickly (your local nursery can help you with this) and notice how they planted vines around the bottom of each tree? This is to fill in the spaces that the leaves and branches don't for the tree house. Choose something appropriate for your area but not something that will grow faster and take over the tree.

A Winter Walk

We had a gift this week - a day of 60-degree weather sandwiched bewteen endless days of below-zero chilling winds and today's raging blizzard. Sofi didn't waste a minute of that day. The minute she discovered it was warm she grabbed me and said, "let's go for a walk". I had not heard those words for so long! It seemed like forever since she had said that. "Mama, let's go for a walk."

Sometimes the winters can seem like forever here - it makes me so thankful for the spring and summer! This walk was particularly magical because there was still (rapidly melting) snow on the ground, puddles of ice and snow and all sorts of wonderful things you usually don't see on a spring walk - and yet it was warm! Additionally, we were warm enough to be able to enjoy all the bare winter trees and bushes - their wonderful shapes and features. On any normal winter day we would have just rushed by them and not noticed how beautiful they were.

My favorite part was telling Sofi - "Sofi! Make sure you walk in the puddles!"
LOL. Usually we tell the kids to make sure they stay out of the puddles if they don't have boots on and we are going somewhere (Sofi and I were headed to a Mexican restaurant) but this day it was actually dangerous to stay out of the puddles because everything else was still ice. Sofi thought it was so funny that I kept saying "Sofi - be sure to walk in the puddles!"

We have been on this walk so many times, but it was never like today. I don't know if we will ever have a walk like this again. It was such a rare moment I wanted to share it with everyone.

Science Through Herbs & Healing

Dear Members,

For Sunday Sharing I would like to share a curriculum I have had available for some time but have not had listed on the main EarthSchooling website. It has been tucked away at the new (and thus not many visitors yet) www.TheNaturalLivingChannel.com for some months now so I am trying to get the word out to more people. I have now placed descriptions about this curriclum on the Earthschooling site at:

Kids Can Heal

These classes provide you and your child with a unique way to explore science. I want to share two reasons why this curriculum is so close to my heart:

1. I was never interested in science until I started studying herbs and natural healing. I was always an A student, and did well in class but I always thought of science as a chore until I was given an opportunity to study it in a new way - through herbs, energy healing, iridology, reflexology, health, natural living and more.

2. One reason I teach my children at home is because I feel that the school system leaves out a lot of important scientific facts and information. There is an entire field of science that has just emerged as legitimate science in the past ten years (see the book "The Field" by Lynne McTaggart") but the schools are still teaching our understanding of science from 10-20 years ago and leaving out a lot of the new science!

These lesson blocks help you to explore these areas with your children and to provide more opportunities for them to become interested in science.

I would like to share with you a wonderful poem/excerpt by Sigurd Olson:

Listening Point
While we are born with curiosity and wodner and our early years full of the adventure they bring,
I know such inherent joys are often lost,
I also know, that being deep within us,
their latent glow can be fanned to flame again
by awareness and an open mind.

Counting in Nature

This post can now be found on our new blog at www.BEarthBLOG.com

Snow Squirrels and Andy Goldsworthy Lesson

One of Sunii's favorite artists is Andy Goldsworthy (see website: Andy Goldsworthy). So when we got our first snow today we were busy thinking of ways we could create art "beyond the snowman". Well, the snow didn't last too long and we didn't have much to work with but we had fun. We can't wait to try again next snow! Sunii's goal was to cover the entire side of the tree in Andy Goldsworthy style. I would then take pictures of the progression to creation and the progression of what happened over a few days as the "art" became part of nature once again (just as Goldsworthy does).

You can check back for more photos...these are just the initial shots. Of course we are nowhere near the masters that Goldsworthy is but the "feel" was still there - the process of working WITH nature to create something, the process of watching the art unfold in harmony with nature, working with what nature offers (in our case the snow was not as clean as we would have liked) and the process of watching nature claim it back.

And the squirrels? Uhh...not very Andy Goldsworthy...my excuse is just that I am a little "nuts"....When I saw the tree Sunii was working on my mind said "squirrels" and I went from there. If we had more snow I wanted to mold a barking dog out of snow and have him chase the squirrels up the tree...but alas...the snow stopped.

Can't wait for the next snow!

Sunii's Hawk

Sunii had a close-encounter with a hawk today and took this photo with my cell phone. We were out biking at the time. He got within one foot of the hawk and stood there with it for about 5 minutes. Way cool! I didn't get very close because I didn't want to scare it away for Sunii. He has this "magic" with animals and I figured he had more chance to get close to the hawk than I did :)

Nature Walk Ideas - It's a Small World

Today we went for a nature walk and decided our theme would be "small things". We don't always have a theme. At least half of the time we just walk. However, many times we do have a theme...something to guide us and to focus our walk so we are not scattered and running all over the place - LOL! Our theme today was "What do the Fairies See?" . We brought our magnifying glasses and looked at the world as if we were about 4 inches tall! The girls loved it and look what we found! What are some of your favorite nature walk themes?

Blessings & Health,

Kristie

http://www.earthschooling.com/

Nature Walk Adventures

Our newest series on The Waldorf Channel is a series of nature walk adventures and you are welcome to share your own! Have you seen a deer, fox or other animal while walking? Did you make something beautiful in the woods? Videos in this series will be focused on the unusual, inspirational and/or educational. I will not be including videos of people walking in the woods and doing nothing. Although these kinds of videos may be beautiful I am aiming to create a series that is more educational and unusual. If you have anything to contribute please contact Kristie at: herbnhome@yahoo.com

I do have many clips to share, but I decided to start small. This one is a very short clip of a chipmunk chirping. Did you know that chipmunks chirp? I never knew...I always thought it was the birds...until one day the sound was driving me crazy so I went outside to see what the ruckus was and I found something like this little guy...tune in and see. Your kids will be watching those chipmonks very closely after seeing THIS 30-second clip!

Chipmunk Chirp at The Waldorf Channel

Blessings & Health,
Kristie
http://www.earthschooling.com/

Even Birds Build in the "Flood Zone"

Remember the other day when I was asking myself WHY to people continue to build in flood zones? There are so many reasons we thought of but I didn't think of the most basic reason - instinct. Is there something about us that causes us to just want to stay in a familiar place no matter how dangerous it is? If we are anything like the birds that live in my Gazebo then the answer is YES! We have lived in this house for 3 summers now and this is the THIRD summer that these birds have built a nest in the gazebo roof. A cozy place...

...see the baby bird peeking out of the nest?

The only problem is that every year we find dead baby birds on the floor of the gazebo. So I was sure they would not build there AGAIN! But they did. So when Sofi and I were having our tea party this morning we decided that they needed some help. We took some scrap fabric and made a baby bird hammock! We could hear the little babies chirping as we hung it up. Hopefully they are safe now! Mama has a couple little openings she can get into. I'll check on them later and make sure mama is coming back...

The Un-Planned Waldorf Enrichment Day

I had so many plans for today but the best parts of the day turned out to be the things I had not planned at all!

We took a nature walk on the drippy muddy trail and discovered patches of clover, a tulip getting ready to bloom and some daffodils by the creek. We discovered that the water sounded gentle in one area of the creek but it sounded much louder in the area where it was running faster. We all had a pair of binoculars and we saw a Goldfinch, a Robin and a Bluejay! G said, "I can always tell what a bird is before I see it because they always say their names. Like a hawk says "haaaawk! haaaaawk! and a blue jay says "Jaaaay! Jaaaaay!" I thought that was wonderful!

When we came home from the walk we got out the block crayons and colored pencils to draw and color. However, we ended up spending just as much time reading the German names of the colors on the Lyra pencil set and enjoying the different sounds of the language...

After lunch we were going to do some theater and storytelling but then the kids saw my "magic trunk" in the corner (a trunk where I keep a bunch of wooden magic set props that I have collected over the years) and we ended up learning how to use all the tricks in the box and giving shows to each other for 2 hours! Towards the end Sweetie Pie (the bunny) got a little too curious and almost ended up in a magic trick but she was too quick for the magician's hat - LOL! So she ate some leftover apple peels from snack time instead...

So I end the day feeling like I've just been 7-years-old again :) What fun!

Hope you all your schedule changes were joyful surprises today too!

Blessings & Health,

Kristie

http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/

http://www.waldorfschoolonline.com/

Cheeto Flames

So what do you do when you have one of those nutty health-freak moms that tells you not to eat Cheetoes? And your friend brings a bag over to snack on? And then you have free time to play so you build a fort and of course your fort needs a FIRE! Right? And the FIRE needs flames. Right?

I just went out to take pics of the kids forts and had to share this. It was just too funny!

Kristie

www.TheWaldorfChannel.com

NATURE WALK: What ever happened to Cloud Gazing?

Has it been dreary and cold in your town too? We sometimes forget that along with those dreary days come some gorgeous clouds! Take a look at this society online that makes it their job to appreciate clouds and share that appreciation with others - you will be inspired to take a nature walk and do some cloud gazing. Does anyone have any good cloud-gazing stories?

Link here:

CLOUD APPRECIATION SOCIETY