no-sew reupholstery & decluttering tutes

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Haven of Home has a nice tutorial on how to recover your couch without a sewing machine. Fact is, the cover wears out long before the frame. This is one thrifty skill worth learning!

I have mentioned before if you don't feel up to doing the whole job yourself you can customize ready made slipcovers by buying an extra cover to make pillowcase-like covers to slip over loose cushions.

While you are there you might enjoy following her pictorial de-cluttering.

On Grace

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"What a character test adversity is. It can either destroy or build up, depending on our chosen response. Pain can either make us better or bitter.

It does appear as though I'm learning Grace the hard way. But, I am slowly learning – and for what I've discovered the price may be worth it. Good education, but the tuition is high.

Each morning, new hope. Life is more difficult, and at times strangely more delicious than it's ever been. I will continue to choose to make it so.

Perhaps this is the ultimate realization – when we recognize that all the questions have the same answer that comes from You, O Lord, from you."

– Tim Hansel, You Gotta Keep Dancing

cobalt blue

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Loving these…..

notebooks from textbooks

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

We found ourselves with a bit of a curricular dilemma in recent years. The rationale behind Waldorf main lesson books was compelling to me. What was less appealing was constructing an entire curriculum from scratch and then figuring out which/how many lessons to notebook.. Actually it wasn't so much that it didn't appeal to me. In truth it appealed to me so much I knew how easily I get drawn into lesson plan creation and how little time that leaves me for actual teaching and follow up (and chores and hobbies and so on). There are choices to be made when dividing our time and we had to be realistic when we made them. At this stage in our family life, this was how best to allocate that time to assure there was plenty leftover for games and stories and crafting and praying and the countless delightful things that I wanted to fill their childhood.

Another problem was finding a suitable source for the initial information. There is no shortage of picture books and fiction books for various topics. My storage space and budget however, are definitely finite. To replicate the information found in one classic text required dozens of single topic titles. This was not easily reconciled with the space left on the shelves and tables. Additionally I had a deep desire to impart Christian content to my kids. Most books listed for topical studies were secular.

I have also considered the arguments Waldorf authors have shared for the merits of creating images from words. Purist Waldorf teachers (though admittedly I am not that!) tend to eschew glossy, photo rich books for those with rich text coupled with lots of discussion. The idea behind the main lesson books is not to study someone else's images, lovely as they may be, but to really assimilate the information and to share the pictures it planted in your own mind.

Ironically some of my old Catholic school books seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Unlike contemporary texts written by committees, these – as is the case with the Ambleside and Old Fashioned Education titles – were written by individual authors. They were often written in story form and addressed the student directly. They can be shy on illustration but are full of solid Christian content. For these reasons, they won out in the end.

Here is what we did for our middle school level daughter. We took a 10 by 10 scrapbook album. ($6 at WM) She decorated the front for history. We flipped the book over and she made a science cover on the backside. She then began at the front making history pages and from the back to the center she made science pages. (an idea we got from Oak Meadow School) This solved the problem of loose pages and also of having to fill a large notebook.

She read the text selection, then answered the questions on a notebook page. She drew pictures to correspond to the text. Yes, sometimes she uses a text illustration or chart for a starting point. Other times she creates from imagination or from field books (in the case of science). Sometimes she will use the essay questions as a writing prompt. Other times she will just answer the comprehension questions right in the notebooks.

We are both happy with the results. She has learned a great deal with very little prep on my part. It has been exceptionally user friendly that regard. I have been able to focus on discussion and helping to make connections when we are at museums or reading chapter books. She has a beautiful notebook as a great keepsake. I will be sharing what we have done for other students in the coming days.

front cover (photographs badly with the lamination):

back cover:

science pages:

It is nice to illustrate right over your text and fill the whole page. The discoloration on the page above is from a moon reflection page she made on the other side. We discovered marker bleeds through. Test your pages before deciding if you can use both sides.

history page:

Charts and graphs make excellent additions to the notebook. They are great for review and retention!

Simple Woman’s Daybook May 19th

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

(visit Peggy's for more Daybook entries)

For Today…

Outside my window… Hens scratching in the paddock. White blossoms peeking out of the pasture grass. A pair of doves visited this week.

I am thinking… about surrender. I think it's all about surrender. This line is running through my head this week:

"You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go."

- Benjamin Button (not to be taken as a ringing endorsement of the source however)

From the learning rooms… Diligence. We are working on excellence in the core subjects. Math mastery in particular. For my part, it means lots of listening to people read, going over math errors with children, and working on proper paragraph construction. There have been some very nice notebook entries I hope to share soon.

I am thankful for… sons who finished their colleges terms successfully, children who giggle with each other late into the night, a daughter who turns to me to discuss her first makeup purchases, a husband to wake up to

From the kitchen… Oatmeal and cantaloupe this morning. Recipes for potluck dishes to be added to the grocery list.

I am wearing… sage green tee-shirt, denim skirt, tan mesh sandals, silver earrings. Top is already splashed. Note to self – wear an apron, wear an apron….

I am reading… 1000 Recordings toHear Before You Die Asher's book and music stash is always fascinating. He finds things I would never run across. I picked this off the van floor while waiting for piano lessons to let out yesterday. It is a wildly eclectic collection of reviews of everything from Beethoven to Talking Heads. I keep picking it up and browsing.

I am hoping… to get to the mountains before next week this time and to find one daughter the perfect formal before Friday

I am hearing… Larksong wafting up to the bedroom window as I ironed early. Kitchen sink filling. Piano practice.

I am creating… summer dresses and skirts for Tess

I am praying… for peace for a friend

One of my favorite things… Abbie in the morning

A few plans for the rest of the week… First Communion for Kieran, Cub Scout crossover picnic, an afternoon at friends'

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you…

extraordinarily ordinary

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

This whole being responsible thing takes a lot of time, let me tell ya. <g> We had a whirlwind first week of Allen home last week. We are working hard to tighten up routines and schedules which got a little loose over the last two months. It is a necessity if we hope to get in all the hiking and camping we have planned and still stay on top of school and chores and home repairs.

Friday evening saw lots of food and fun at The Dog and Duck birthday bash. Coincidentally several of us friends have birthdays within a couple weeks so it was a good excuse get together – especially when Karen's clan is cooking.

6a00d8341c08b153ef011570908627970b-800wi

Thanks to Becki for the picture. My camera stayed home Friday. I think I have the same outfit on as in my Ohio pictures. I do actually own others lol!

Saturday we took the little ones on a field trip field trip to the Aquarium. Moira and Abbie and I packed up Colin for a visit home. We spent the rest of the day window shopping. Actually, there was a bit of real shopping as well. I brought home a guide to the state's trails so we can plan our summer.

I was torn about going along this day. There was a loooong to-do list at home. But Allen was right and it was important to take a break and enjoy each other and the children. I am so glad we did. We had a pow wow last night to coordinate schedules, school assignments, and errands with the plan to regroup each evening this week and knock some of this out. Hopefully there will be a long hike at some point next weekend as reward!

Meantime it's a lot of the same old – math drills, piano practice, baking bread, babies to nurse, diapers to change, and a puppy to potty train – the stuff of life around here. I wouldn't change a bit of it. It is the extraordinary ordinary. Not sure it makes for 'extraordinary' blogging, but its as real as it gets. : )

I hope you had an extra-ordinary weekend as well!

and the ride home:

From the rose….

Image | Posted on May 17, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

nature and nurture pt 2

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The wind was sharp the day we visited Lake Erie but it was worth weathering the cold. The little ones had never seen such a vast expanse of water before. I had also not considered that Tess had never walked on sand before. I realized that when she first stepped off the path onto the beach and looked so bewildered as the sand moved out from under her steps.

The big kids were thrilled though and shouted to each other over the roar of the waves and the engines of the tractors combing the beach. The section nearby which we walked had not yet been cleared of the debris accumulated over the winter but that left lots to explore too.

Did I mention it was cold?

Rebecca has a special knack for finding sea glass:

Kieran following Ben:

the beach grew on her as we went along. Sitting went better than walking however…

Brendan brought his "light saver" 'cause you never know when you may be called upon to do battle with the dark side – even if you are in Ohio ; )

afterwards we trudged back up the path for lunch at a local hot dog shack. I love this picture of Rebecca's Mary in the back of my van. She is a funny, funny girl. : )

Then before we knew it we were back to the caravan and packing up to go home again. This would be me with Rebecca at the end of that day. A little wind-blown but happy. : )

child-centered vs child-directed education

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"The authors believe wholeheartedly in the child-centered school, but only if that term is properly understood. The child is necessarily the center of the school's activity, for everything that the school undertakes, every activity in which it engages, has for its immediate object the doing of something (to or) for the child; nor can the school afford to forget, in any of its planning, what the child needs to achieve and what the child is capable of achieving. The school should be child-centered in the sense that it accepts child growth as something to be sought in everything that it does. But this growth need not be undirected; rather it should be planned by those whose broad experience has given them a vision of the heights to which children can rise when guided wisely and lovingly. This direction is something which children need, something that they desire, and something that they willingly accept if nothing has ever occurred to destroy their confidence." - Voyages in English 1951 (preface)

nature and nurture pt 1

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Charlotte Mason would have smiled to have seen our kids sloshing around the creek at the caravan complete with galoshes and nets and then later braving the windy shore of Lake Erie. Though no one uttered "nature study" to them they were certainly doing just that. They thrilled to find sea glass and shells and even an animal tooth during these treks. It always makes me happy to see them so enthralled with their world but even more to be able to explore a new place with people who know it well.

off they go:

Rebecca's Annie:

creekside:

Kieran:

I have never seen a tree man til I looked out Rebecca's kitchen window. I am told they are not all that uncommon but it was another 'wonder'-full thing to me. I think I must have one. Maybe one on every tree lol! No doubt the caravan children were puzzled over the crazy lady taking pictures of their trees but I had to get a picture of him:

Aidan

tomorrow – the shore…..

Starry Sky Journal

Reflections from Starry Sky Ranch