Smashing, Saving and Sewing

Smashing: Eggshells.

I thrifted this mortar and pestal a little while back thinking it would be something Carmel would really enjoy working with.  I had seen one not long ago in a Montessori classroom laid out so beautifully on a small wooden tray with one bright white eggshell inside.  I was struck by what a simple, satisfying and meditative activity it was.  An egg.  Something we are normally so careful not to break, but here we can throw this on a tray with a mortar and pestal and essentially say," Don't be careful with this; pulverize it!"  That is fun.

Owen thought so too.  He worked on it with one hand and then two.  He stood above it and worked and then laid down next to it and worked.  He held it down with his hands and then held it with his feet.  He worked that egg over until it finally turned to dust.  

 It's such a pleasure to watch these little hands and minds at work.  I have been finding so much inspiration online lately for creating new learning opportunities for my little people.  Right now I am really enjoying what's on One Hook Wonder and Living Montessori Now.  They do a Montessori Monday post and I love going through it to see what sorts of things my babes might like to do.

Montessori?  Waldorf?  Oh my, lots to think about there.

Saving: Luffa Seeds

We aren't too sure how our seed saving is going to turn out here for our Luffa sponge.  Andy and the kids pulled the seeds before our first big frost but the seeds don't seem to be mature.  Apparently they need a really long growing season (140-200 days), which we didn't give them.  I would like to say that had we known they needed a long season we would have planted them earlier, but we wouldn't have.  We do, however, have at least one really great luffa sponge to play with in the bathtub.

Sewing:  Cape for an Aspiring Dentist Superhero

Cut, sewn and given away.  I feel a little bit sad that it's gone because I had really grown to like this cape.  Now I realize that aprons are historically the acceptable attire for the workin'-around-the-house-mama, but I think I would like to go with a cape from here on out.  I believe little would do more to wake me up in the morning, get me moving, and really signify the importance of the work that lays ahead of me than throwing on a nice cape.   Yeah, I'm pretty sure that parents need capes.

The balance beam

Yesterday was a dark rainy day.  No one was interested in going outside once the rain had set in but there was still so much energy in our tiny house there was no question that it needed to be channeled.  I have been pouring over Montessori catalogs lately as I try to wrap my head around homeschooling for real, which is different than the homeschooling for pretend that I have been doing up until now.  One of the things I came across in the Michael Olaf catalog (link above) that I really liked was the balance beam.  I have always loved that type of focused attention on the body and where it is in space. With children, it is especially amazing to be able to watch that skill set unfold and develop right in front of you.

Carmel was working on a nice beat for Owen here. 

Owen and Carmel both gave it a try but it really wasn't well suited for Carmel.  I think she may prefer that the plank be a bit wider and for the whole thing to be more stable, which it wasn't at all. Eventually she just gave up on the whole thing and retreated to the familiar comfort of reviewing her favorite bird book while intermittently instructing Addie on the ends and outs of birdsong playback.  Maybe next time we can try something like this or this.  At least for Owen though it was just right.  He spent a surprising amount of time with it trying to balance walking forwards, walking backwards,  eyes closed, holding something steady, and blind folded (same as eyes closed but cooler and more pirate-like apparently).

Then after all of that, there is the added challenge of trying to stay balanced while your papa is picking up the other end.