Happy Halloween

The boys this year went back and forth on what they wanted to be. They finally settled for SPIDERS! Boy were they thrilled with their costumes especially when they would knock on the doors and say "Trick or Treat" with their arms up high ;). I love homemade costumes. When the boys arrived home they put aside most of their candies to leave for the Sugar Fairy. She leaves them special gifts for sharing their candy with her in order to keep her warm in the winter ;)

You Have been Boo'd!

Today the boys spent time making 3 BOO baskets for our neighbors. I have to say they came out really cute. The boys are excited that they will deliver them at night. For all three baskets I spent about 10.00. I purchased 3 baskets, pencils, glow bracelets,Organic Yummy Earth lollipops ( I think the organic lollipops may give away who we are haha), a fall-time kitchen towel, 1 pack of cranberry scented candles and we still need to make some play dough that will smell like pumpkin pie. Kai traced the shapes, cut them and wrote them out. Once the boys arrive at the 3 houses we choose they will turn on the little battery operated candle that flickers and then knock and run hee hee. I will help to choose who I think will continue on with the fun. The cut out ghost we included has the instructions on back of what each family should do. They should then turn the ghost over and hang it on the door so others know they have already been Boo'd ;)
This is a great way to form some relationships/community on your block ;)

Love our Homeschooling thrifty finds

Just thought I would share what we found today while visiting the local thrift store. I have been wanting to get the Ana Banana Jump Rope book but always forget to order one as we have the basic rhymes one and love it. Well today i found one for 25cents! The paper bag puppet book is great as I can use the faces for many other crafts too. As for the tapes... 3 for 1.00. Good thing we have a cassette player. These tapes should be included with Enki haha. They have some great multicultural songs for rhythm sticks and circle .

Kai Turned 6 years old !

Why does this number give me such heartache when it is just a number? Is it the fact that I am aware of the Seven year change? Is it that I cry everytime I hear or the boys sing Puff the Magic Dragon? Time flies so fast. I feel like it was just yesterday that I gave birth to Kai. The struggle I had in the beginning nursing him BUT the determination that I had and continued nursing until he was almost 4 years old. He has grown into such a great loving kid.
The night before Kai turned 6 we read his special Birthday Story that Oma made for him when he was a baby.
This year he asked me if we can just have a few friends which honestly is what our yearly parties consist of. I have never been one for the parties of today with lots of kids, lots of sugar and renting facilities out. I like to keep things simple and in the home.
I notice Kai's senses do not like to much at once anyway. However, I think most of us Waldorf/Enki moms are aware of this with our children. I think it is simply because we are not constantly bombarding them with over the top stimulation like many children of today. I think I would actually say it is Natural and normal for a child's system to recognize when things get to be to much instead of their little bodies shutting down.
As for Kai's Special Day he did enjoy it very much. He asked for a raw birthday cake with a monster truck on it. While we usually do not do many plastic toys he did totally dig a Mighty World Set he had seen in the local toy store and hoped he would get it for his birthday. He also really wanted a Nerf Dart gun so he can join in with the neighbor kids. They do have a blast with them. One other thing he had hoped for was an Ishuffle. While electronic this was one item i was ok with but didnt get him. My parents however surprised him with one. I think the biggest reason for wanting one was to imitate Arly while cleaning and for those few times he just wants to quietly listen to some Jack Johnson ;) . With two kids its much easier to have two. Sage likes to keep Arlys in his "popket" and now Kai can have one that he can use sometimes without trying to beg Sage for the one he likes to hold onto in his pocket.
I think the highlight of Kai's little birthday party was the pinata. The 4 kids had a BLAST! Spinning + Blindfolded always equals fun especially when you include a big piece of driftwood to swing at an object with. They were thrilled with their treasures of stickers, pencils, bubbles ,organic lollipops and trick snap gum .
The day came to a close with two little boys that were sleepy and ready for bed. Kai was thrilled he received what he really had hoped for.
Happy Birthday Kai!

One & Two and Two & One......

A great verse for braiding. Kai really enjoys handwork and being able to braid for a few months however recently we have started adding it to our weekly crafts. Today he made a clown which he was very proud of. The craft board comes in so handy for these types of projects as the child does not have to struggle with stabilization . Kai says the best reason for being able to braid is that he can do my hair now. ;) And Mommy will proudly wear her hair do out and about .
I love my little dragon.

Autumn Days have arrived

though I am sure only temporarily ;( However, we took advantage of the beautiful crisp weather and Arly built the boys a see saw for all the children to enjoy. I think this was the best 20.00 we have spent in a long time. They spent HOURS on it with their friends. We invited their friends to stay for lunch and then they were back out for round 2 of the see saw.
By night fall Arly and I were ready for a turn.First however it was me and my lil monkeys.
While it looks like Sage wasn't ready to let us play in this picture he was really just slightly upset that he wanted his turn using the camera but mainly he was overtired.
I will say It was a wonderful day and I think they will be dreaming of going up and down Haha.
Thank you Arly for this cool homemade toy ;)

Btw I finally got to wear my cozy boots. Florida Cold Snap Style!

Sally Go Round and Round...

I planned on keeping that as our opening song for starting circle however I was afraid they would get bored with it. I guess I was wrong. They adore the song. We have been staying consistant with our flow however I am finding we usually do circle Tuesday-Friday as Mondays seem to be a good day for organizing, cleaning and cleaning the pets. I have to say I also thought at first that circle would be a little to formal for home schooling however I think the boys benefiting greatly from it and it has flowed well with our day. Some days we have waited to do it in the afternoon so two other home school children can participate with us. Here is what we have been doing the last several weeks.

Opening: Sally Go Round the Sun
Wild Goose Flight- (they enjoyed this so much they are not ready for a new one)

Midline: Far out to Sea-We are really enjoying this one as there are so many variations as to how fast and slow we can go. Shall we gallop in a circle or run fast through the kitchen and living room.

Base Sense: Frogs- lots of hopping going on here and we do this about 3 times.

Fingerplay- I added the traditional "5 little Speckled frog song"

Story: We started with the long version of Tiddelick the Frog however some days we do the comprehension verse of it since my boys are highly imaginative. I think when we do the comprehension verse we will save it for the afternoon.

Closing: Mother Earths Secrets.

I know some moms choose to adapt stories and movement verses to their climate however we enjoy following the traditional change in seasons. I do think though it was becoming quite frustrating to Kai because Arly would find him several mornings in the backyard sitting as though he was contemplating. Arly finally asked him what he does in the morning and he stated he is waiting for the Autumn Maiden to arrive ;). It has been incredibly hot here however thankfully some North Winds came for a visit.

The last couple of weeks we have not had many planned crafts as the boys have been immersed in just simply coloring and enjoyin the Wiki sticks Sage received for his birthday. We planned on having Kai build the craft boards with Arly however Arly decided to do one single heavier board instead of gluing boards together. I will be sure to post a picture when we use them for craft next week.
Kai is getting very creative with his Lyra Face pencils. (i wish i didn't use the camera phone for this pic) They crack me up.

Sage Turned 3!

I still can't believe that our little marshmallow just turned 3.





























We had a wonderful day together and he LOVED his Raw Birthday Cake that was filled with cherries.













The evening of the 9th we went to T-Rex cafe in Orlando. Don't get me wrong it was a neat place but a reminder why we try and avoid places like that with our little ones. I would recommend it more for those 8 and up unless your child is used to the bombardment of stimulation.














Sage is enjoying his diggers and new skateboard he received. Saturday morning some of the boys friends came over for a morning breakfast
and then an outing to the Open House @ the IHB Fire Station. Some parents asked where the boys got their costumes however I do not think they liked my answer when I simply replied SANTA!