AUTUMN
DECEMBER 2012

October 31, 2010

EMBRACING HALLOWEEN



My daughter loves Halloween. I am not a huge fan.
Talk of Halloween starts in the summer around here and my insides start to groan, although I smile and listen. And sure, I have helped the children with costumes, went trick or treating, even hosted parties over many years, but never really embraced the holiday. 

One year I left all the Halloween decorations in the box in the basement... oops! Noone commented until afterwards. But that happened in our new house, so in all fairness, maybe we didn't know where the box was.

This year was different for me. Halloween still isn't my favorite but it IS to my daughter. It matters a great deal to HER.  Her eyes light up while she tells of her plans and how she will decorate for her annual party. And then it hit me...like a ton of bricks, it is said. 
When you love someone you support them and their passions, and as a mindful and unschooling parent you most certainly do.

I started looking at it in a new way. . .  Halloween as her passion, as her interest, and like everything else, I encourage and support and help when needed. 
In simple terms I embraced Halloween.

We talked non-stop of her plans and she made many lists. We went to the library and poured over books and put bookmarks in all the crafts and recipes we were going to make for her party. It became exciting.
She took complete control and went to task and I was there as her sidekick to help with whatever needed to be done. Her energy was contagious and I began to enjoy myself, not so much because I love Halloween but because I love my child.

She insisted on a graveyard in the front yard which looked pretty spooky come nightfall. The graves did have to be supported a bit extra with dowels hammered into the ground and wire
around the gravestones to stand up to the wind, and it worked.

She hosted a pumpkin carving gathering the week before so the pumpkins were all ready to be lit and some party goers got to know one another a bit more.


She LOVES to decorate with streamers, no matter the occasion, and with a ladder and some duct tape she went to work. It looked terrific!

She is a huge fan of spider webs and webbed up everything. . . 
                           mirrors

bookshelves

                                   mantels

                                       walls

and lampshades.

She painted paper mache skeleton heads from a craft store and added them to the mantel.

Other touches were added around the room . . .the cat, of course, jumping into the pictures :)


We made large ghosts for the six front windows looking out onto the graveyard, inspiration from theMartha Stewart Halloween book.



She made Owl Cupcakes ! Directions here.

She got dressed . . . 


and was ready to greet her guests.

A spooky time was had by all!

Our week was so busy. We didn't make and do all the recipes and crafts we had bookmarked but it was fun looking and deciding. We didn't buy everything we wanted but it was fun browsing and shopping. 
We were two people with a common goal who were excited and interested. . . my daughter because she absolutely loves Halloween, and me mostly because I love my daughter. But I have to admit, I think I am already looking forward to next year. I'm  thinking about a candy hunt in the woodlands along a path lit with jack o lanterns.

When we, as parents, allow ourselves to be open to our children, to embrace what they are interested in, it enriches both our lives. We become closer to our children and they begin to share more of themselves, their wishes, hopes and dreams, and when we listen and become actively involved in their passions we show them they are valued, every single bit of them.
It is love in action.

                            happy Halloween!



October 30, 2010

FARM SIGN

We have never had a farm sign at the end of our long driveway. I think it's because I value my privacy and didn't want to have to entertain the curious who happen down the drive.


But all of a sudden, I want one. Perhaps it is partly because I am passionate and proud of the business I have created here. "Oh, so that is where Harmony Woods Farm is ! , people might say as they pass. Some of our neighbors don't even know we exist.


But the sign will have to be casual and unassuming and homemade on wood like this.


We have a homemade sign in our kitchen on top of the wall of windows on the same type of wood.
The farm sign will have a more 0f a block type font though. Perhaps I should get started so I
can show you the results.


See more signs here. . .
Saturday night special #54 SIGNS 
Scroll to the bottom to SIGNS




                     happy day!

OWL CUPCAKES



My daughter made some adorable Owl Cupcakes for her party.




To make:
- Make the cupcakes and frost them. 
-Open up an Oreo cookie for the eyes and stick them on the frosting.
-Add an M&M for the center of the eye ( you might need to use some frosting to make it stay)
~Add an M&M for the nose.
-Tip the cucakes on their side and enJOY your OWLS !  Yumm!


( Some owl cupcakes use Reese's pieces, but in light of peanut allergies, we opted for M&M's. I'm sure many other candies can be used as well)




happy day!




COLOR SONG



I have known this song since the age of seven and I still hum it to this day, especially when I am in awe of the glorious colors of Autumn . . . in New England.


RED 

and ORANGE

GREEN

and BLUE,

                                         shining YELLOW


                       PURPLE too.


All the colors that we know, 

live up in the RAINBOW


( the notes to the song)
CCCC  FGA
CCCC  FAG
CCCC  FGA
CCCA  G  F


Teach it to a child you know and go exploring in nature to find the COLORS!


   happy happy day!

October 29, 2010

{this moment}





Following  inspiration from SouleMama:
"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."


                                   happy day!

October 27, 2010

LEARNING FROM THE CHILDREN



I have learned quite a bit from the children. 

Did you know you can make cool whistling *music* with an acorn cap? 
You hold it like this . . .
and blow ! It's really COOL!


And did you know you can very easily start fire with the sun, a magnifying glass and dried leaves? I never thought it was so easy.





Did you know the best and long lasting campfires start with a bed of kindling,hay,and logs set in teepee fashion in the stonework they built themselves ?




Did you know Children experience immense joy in having the TIME. . . 


                to throw rocks into the water. . . 

to observe the pond



 to climb trees


and to explore all parts of the land?



Did you know children have a very special connection, showing love and reverence for every being they touch, no matter how big or how small?







It is so very precious to be with them

We learn from every experience we have, all of us.
But the children have enriched my world beyond measure.



What have you learned from a child lately ?

happy day!