Here comes the sun

I love how a simple thing like swinging on the swings shows the children's different personalities.

My eldest girl, if I'm out there, will spend the entire time describing characters in the book she is reading. Without pause. I'm serious. And she's checking up on me too: "Are you listening, mum? What did I just say? Tell me what I just said." Otherwise she will be thinking of possibilities: what if we sit on the swings this way? What if we hold on to each other's swings? What if? Or organising the others: "you put your hand here on this swing, and you get the swings going this way.."

My boy will quietly ponder questions like: can I still leap off when I am swinging this high? How far will my shoe fly if I fling it off from this height? And generally just enjoying every moment of swinging.

My littlest one will quietly go about her own investigations. Will mum notice if I bring my soft toy outside? Will I flatten big dog if I sit on him while I swing?

And me? I'm trying to photograph small things in the grass. Go figure.

I love a good sunset

And there was a brilliant one this evening. :)

And back to winter again...

The weather has turned chilly again, but it's raining which is wonderful. We have been doing a few indoor projects - one of which is this world map on canvas. I can't remember which blog I saw this on first, but it looked really good! In reality it's really difficult to stick the map on without any creases, and it's tricky to get it all sitting nicely when you've used cheap canvases like I have which are a little shy of square.... But it was good enough for our wall, I think. And will prevent that nasty curled corners look which all our other maps get eventually - probably from children constantly brushing past them.

The map also had an array of flags from around the world, so I decided to stick them up on some canvas too. See, I really am addicted to canvases at the moment!

Feels like Spring

It's so gorgeous and warm outside today. The windows have been flung open to let the fresh air in again. Books have been tossed aside in favour of swings and gardening. And I'm anticipating my lunch of left-over corned beef with my friend's most amazing home-made beetroot chutney, and some asparagus I just picked from the garden. Bliss...

Time flies

Where should I start? We have had the birthday run for the children. Don and I have both been on an Emmaus Walk. There's been prophetic schools, conferences... and lots of peace and quiet in amongst all that too. This last week has mostly consisted of tidying the house, so that I have the space to be creative again.

This is what I made today for a little baby girl that was born recently (I hope her mother isn't peeking at the blog!). It's from the latest Oliver & S book, and I found the bear ears too cute to pass by!

And here's some birthday shots. In order: my eldest girl turned 9, my boy turned 7, and my littlest chicken turned 5!

Little Red Riding Hood

There have been a few capes made around here lately. Good for this wave of cold weather. I picked up this remnant of red velvety material in a remnants bin and it just screamed Little Red Riding Hood at me! So here she is. The girl herself. And what's that in your basket, little girl? A lovely surprise for Granny? Oh, beetles. Of course.

I love canvas

It was chicken no.1's birthday on Saturday. Nine years old! Oh, how time flies... (I want to write about how cute and lovely she is, but I can't - I'd get in trouble...) She is still very much into puzzles. Funnily enough, she hasn't really been interested in reading much lately, unless it was a quick book she could read in 1/2 an hour. And I bought so many lovely books this year for our curriculum! (*sob*!) I was repeating lots of calming thoughts to myself about seasons of learning, etc, etc. Then she picked up Lord of the Rings to read. Ok then. The longer I do this homeschooling thing, the more I realise that when I just step back and let them direct their own learning they get a whole lot more out of it.



Chicken no.2, our boy, has discovered the Deltora Quest books now. He's a good reader too, but not really interested in sitting down and reading a book, unless it's non-fiction. He has really been enjoying this series, though, so it's on our recommended reading list for boys (and girls).

Littlest chicken and I have been painting lots of canvases. Lots. We made this butterfly art today. Very fun! She painted on sturdy paper with watercolours, then we cut it into strips and punched butterflies out of it. The leftover strips we then laminated to make bookmarks.