Michaelmas

In autumn St. Michael, with sword and with shield

Passes over meadow, through orchard and field.

He's on his way to battle with darkness and strife

He's the Heavenly Warrior, Protector of Life.

In honor of Michaelmas, we read The Devil's Scythe from Cristopherus' third grade curriculum, Room on the Broom, and Tomie da Paola's The Knight and the Dragon. We gathered beautiful leaves on our morning walk, and we packed up acorns to send to our friends in Alaska. We didn't bake dragon cookies or decorate candles. I did make us candles, but then couldn't get them out of the jars. The children were none-too-happy with me, so after they were in bed I posted my quandary on Facebook. I had greased the jars, but they narrowed the teensiest bit just above center, so.....my resourceful friends to the rescue. Dip them in hot water. I dipped, C pulled on the wick with pliers, and out popped these really cool-looking layered candles!

Tradition is saved. Today we turn them into dragon candles! Each night at dinner, between now and Advent, the light of the flame will devour the darkness of our dragons.

 

Which is what Michaelmas is about: slaying our inner dragons. Bravery, friendship, light. Next year we will read St. George and the Dragon and Li Chi Slays the Serpant. I didn't feel the children were quite ready for those this year. E is very sensitive to stories of children being put in unsafe situations, and e is just young. No getting around it.

 

Today we add a new tradition: making and flying kites! The wind and sun here in Virginia are glorious this time of year, and the hill at Mt. Trashmore will allow the cross in the kite to rise to the heavens.

 

Year-by-year, festivals and holidays take on more meaning and carry us through. Happy Michaelmas!

 

O14

Today we got up bright and early. Well, it wasn't bright yet. Let's just say early. Smoothie and cold bacon and pressed clothes and into the car, all before sunrise. Today was the day my dear C has waited for! Promotion. He's been promotable for over 2 long years. It's a numbers game, and somewhere in there the rules changed as the Army began to downsize. He just kept on and made sure his numbers stayed up. Today I buttoned his new shoulder boards onto his Class B, and he looked so... Happy. Content. Back in his element. He likes it here; the job, the people, the climate. I saw familiar faces in the audience, faces from our time in Virginia prior to Alaska. This really does feel like home.

 

On the way home, E tucked both old shoulder boards between the buttons on his shirt and declared himself an E10. Until he found out that officers are above enlisted.... He became an O14, which must be above a 5-star general. Maybe even above the commander-in-chief.

e's fawn and bear, and the concerned sound 'ooooo' (U) when the prince was worried the bear cub would drown. Thankfully mama bear was able to swoop in and save her cub from the raging water.

For a few days now, E has been building with balloons. Cars, tractors, animals, but most of all costumes! Astronaut, diver, clown, knight in purple armor... He has amassed quite a collection.

e has been building a paper chain for over a week. Today we looped it around and around her room.

Today I traded out toys. When we moved in, I filled four tubs with games, books, and toys for rotation. I decided it was time to switch, as the current toys have not been played with, not even once. The Legos appeared, and the cat. Such sweet memories I have of that cat. He's been with us since E was tiny, a gift from Nana. Also in that tub were four of e's who-knows-how-many teeny purple bunnies, and the husky named Poodle.

St. George and e's shining crystal took their place at the table, as it is nearly Michaelmas. Most Waldorf families have a nature table. We have a nature....plate. It keeps my little treasure-finder from piling it on. We are all quite allergic, after all. She has shelves and shelves outside on the deck, full of wonderful leaves, seeds, pinecones, gum balls, shells, sticks, rocks, and (from Alaska) a moose jaw. And every day, she beings home something new. My sweet naturalist.

 

Distractions

Yes, my fourth grader still leaves out letters and reverses S and 5. I'm not worried, because he reads well, understands math, has a wonderful imagination, loves art and music, and is an athlete. And if he's like me, while he is copying the words, his brain has 350 other thoughts going on at the same time. That can be a bit distracting.

For instance, while doing this page, he was thinking about how amazing swamps are,with trees and plants that grow IN the water, and how the people must have dealt with the insects. He wondered about malaria, about body paint as a skin protectant, and where they grew their veggies. He wondered if the water is muddy or clear, and what shade of blue or brown or even yellow it might be. Just for starters. So he was a bit distracted. I harp on him to stay on task, but really I love his curiosity. I love that he wants to learn.

 

Chalk and Rope

Gymnastics has taken over. Our children are head-over-heels in love with the rush that comes from working their bodies hard and seeing results. They come out with words and phrases I've never heard before, and they relish teaching me what a muscle-up or a kip or a layout might be. They come out with chalk everywhere, sweaty and proud.

boys waiting in line for parallel bars

That is E up on the rings, but the muscle-up he's practicing with help is old news; he counts it as a solid skill now, just days later. 16 hours a week has been good for him. He craves the motion, the joint compression, and the challenge. In two months he has moved from not-quite-level 5 to performing a few level 5 bonus moves.

Then there's e in the pale pink (shiny!) leo. She does 3 hours a week and loves every. single. minute! Top of the rope? No problem. She has a strong body and an even stronger mind. Very determined, that one.

I am so thankful that with careful budgeting we can afford this opportunity. C works very hard to support us, and God has provided at every turn.

 

Continuing On

We got sidetracked with acorn-hunting and the absolutely gorgeous weather last week, but today the kids wanted back into the school routine. e's prince heard the wise woman tell the story of The Six Swans and felt (ahhhh) A, a sense of wonder.

They traveled through a valley and saw a lot of trees. Slowly, the prince is learning to stop whining.

E used all his efforts on the birch tree and igloos and had nothing left for the writing, so we skipped it. All last week was full of frustration and trouble over his birch tree not coming out as he thought it should. I wasn't sure we would actually even get this drawing into his main lesson book. Thus this is not a failure to meet the standard of copywork, this is total and complete success! He is so pleased with his tree. See the exclamation point? :)

Guinea is back to her cheerful Netflix-watching self. It is such a relief to see her returning to her old habits!

Nature has gifted us with many, many treasures! e's shelf outside is overflowing.

I don't know where September has gone! The children are so excited for Michaelmas. This will be our third year celebrating it, so they have many ideas for this year's festival activities. So far on their list this year: dragon cookies, decorating dragon candles, listening to The Devil's Scythe, capes and swords, blackberries, and (new this year) making and flying kites! What do you have planned for Michaelmas?

 

Friends!!!!

Yesterday we spent the day at the botanical gardens with new friends.  It was lovely to see the kids run, play, talk, and create for hours!  We have so very much in common with this family.  Their boys are J (8) and S (11).  e was worried she'd get left out as the youngest, but these boys have big hearts for including everyone.  Above is one of the houses they built using magnetic blocks in the children's garden. We also spent quite a bit of time in the enchanted forest, where e collected acorns and everyone kept an eye out for fairies and elves.  K (the boys' mom) and I managed long conversations out of earshot of the children, which was lovely and did me so much good- hopefully her also.  Homeschooling can be a lonely endeavor in a new place. 

Wonderful Weather

People of the Rice! E is back into block crayons and their ability to cover a page quickly.

One of the stories from the people of the rice is about a vain, bushy-tailed bear who is tricked by a fox into sitting by an icy fishing hole. His tail freezes into the ice and when he jumps up, -snap- the tail comes right off. Ever since, bears have had short, stubby tails and do not like fox.

 

e was taken by this story and HAD to draw it somewhere. But where? It wasn't her lesson, so not her main lesson book. It wasn't weather, so not her weather journal. Plain paper wouldn't do, though. She finally decided her weather journal is her catch-all. She's been using the same book for 3 years now, and its only been a weather journal since last year. So into her journal went a picture of fox and bear, with bear's tail stuck in the ice. I do love this girl!

We went for our morning walk (bike) down a different street this morning and came upon an OAK TREE! This is exciting because oak trees make acorns and we had just lived three years in Alaska, where oak trees do not grow. We had looked at pictures and read stories about acorns, but that just isn't the same. e and I put as many as we could find into her bike basket and brought them home. I took the acorns inside while the kids put their bikes away. Or at least that's what I thought they were doing. After a while I got worried and went to find them.

 

Turns out they were playing on their swing set! The one that has been played on exactly 9 times in the past 2 months. They played for 2 whole hours. My arctic children finally had weather they considered nice: 64 degrees, bright sun, and wind. Oh, the wind! It is a beautiful day.