Once Upon a Woodland School: A Visual Blast from the Past of Co-op Days Gone By...

Enjoy these photos from The Woodland School back in January 2012...Has this really only been a year ago? Back then we met in a church building and met weekly. This past year we met monthly in a city park. This coming year we are meeting in a member's home. Each year things change to accommodate the organic nature of our co-op.




   

Making Fairy Houses

Giving Thanks

It has been quite awhile since I have taken the time to add an entry here. These days, my facebook page is quick, easy, and to the point and I have sadly neglected my blog. This past year has been a time of upheavel and challenges with health again. These peg people date back to November, when I spent a long weekend with all of the cousins in North Carolina. From age 2 to age 13, they are eight of the sweetest childen ever (I am not biased at all). We had a great time making crafts, playing outside, and enjoying the special time with cousins only. This is the special time known as, "Camp Nanapapa". I was the special guest program director this year. My son was having some health issues and I needed to attend if he was going to. Nana and Papa gather the cousins for several days of memory making once or twice a year. This year Auntie Laura got to attend as well. Looking back to Thanksgiving - which was a brief weekend of fun in the midst of a difficult time, I am thankful. I really felt the blessing of having a wonderful support system this past year. I am going to spend some time posting snapshots of the past months. I don't want to forget the special times with family and friends that were so encouraging and brought so much joy and thankfulness to my life.

Meal Planning, Homeschooling, and Allergen Free Recipes

If there is one hill I find I hard to scale in my homeschooling journey, it is meal time. I have a child with celiac disease and severe allergies to wheat, oats, peanuts, tree nuts, and seeds. I have another child who is gluten intolerant and my husband has celiac disease and is allergic to dairy. Yikes! What is a Mom to do? It takes time and budgeting to make sure safe meals appear on the table. We can't stop by the local fast food drive-thru or order pizza delivered - even on days when I would love to have an easy option. I remind myself that the children will probably be much healthier over all without eating out much and then I dive into planning our meals. Right now I have a three week system for each season. This means I make three weeks of meal plans for summer, fall, winter, and spring. Then we rotate through the three weeks of menu's for the summer months and then switch to the fall menu's and so on. This seems to work pretty well and I keep an open mind for special circumstances. For instance, my son's birthday is this coming week. I printed out a blank summer menu plan and revised this week to include his favorite snacks and his birthday meal picks on his special day. You can also plug in festivals and special events this way. I highly suggest coming up with a three (or four) week meal plan and then rotating them. A little work at the beginning can save a lot of sitting around wondering what to fix for dinner. I also shop sales by picking up doubles or triple of items we use a lot and saving them for the right week.  I am working on putting my grocery lists in the file with my menu's, so I can just print them out. Right now I am still just looking at the meal plan and jotting down what I need for the week. This isn't a brilliant and complicated meal planning idea, but it is a little something in my tool box of organizing my year. Bon Appetit! 

The Good Ole' Summertime

Here is the children's seasonal corner for summer. We have done some cleaning out and organizing and now we are putting things in order for the new school year. Some lessons have resumed to keep skills fresh, but "school proper" is set to officially start in August. Today Addie and I went over all of her classes and planned out her course of study. We both love school supplies and organizing. Things are moving quickly to a new school year, but some summer fun still remains. We celebrate Whit's birthday this month! Plans are coming together for a day of fun and frolic summer style. We are going to the summer movies tomorrow with friends. The theater has movies for a dollar on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the summer. Whit still has camp to look forward to at the end of the month. Plenty of summer remains, but we take time to get things ready for a great new year of homeschool.

Literary Cupcakes

My daughter and I made these cupcakes for a recent end of the school year party. We printed out book covers (in miniature form) and made tiny books on sticks to put in the cupcakes. They were a big hit at the literary themed party for our homeschool group. I used the Namaste vanilla cake mix (allergen free) and marshmallow cream and cream cheese icing. They had a wonderful light texture and noone seemed to notice they were gluten and nut free.

Whit is Published in Kids In Print!

Whit was published in the yearly Kids In Print publication put out by our local library. His story about Talgres the Squirrel and how he saved his animal friends made page four!  Needless to say we are very proud of our budding author. Here he is at the book signing and reception with the graphic novelist/cartoonist, Chris Schweizer. He is also pictured here with some friends from our homeschooling group. Pictured from left to right is Blake (published for his photography work), Whit (my favorite author of wildlife fiction), Haylee (a budding poet), and Shelby (published for her artwork).  I would say he has a great circle of friends! Congratulations Whitman, on a fantastic literary beginning!

Watercolor Recipe Cards (aka What to do with all that artwork)

My children are prolific artists. They turn out quite a few masterpieces. We hang them on the walls, the refrigerator, and wherever else we can find a space. Here is the latest idea I had on how to use their art in the everyday and preserve it for years to come.

I cut their watercolor paper into half pages and used them for recipe cards! They are lovely and unique and perfect for perking up my kitchen. I am having them laminated. I will punch a hole in the corner and put then on a ring for easy access. I plan to hang them on a hook over my counter. The laminating will ensure they stay safe from splatters and stains.

These wet on wet paintings were done using the method described in Painting with Children by Brunhild Muller.
I always recommend real art supplies for children. A few real supplies and quality paper are better than flaky paint and cheap paper. There really is a big difference. Invest in a few good items and watch the art unfold!

*This would make a great gift for grandparents, etc.!*

Walking the road of life is easier with good friends...

Dawson, Dahlia, Addie and Whit