Bits, Bobs & Mitten Strings ... ❤

Hello my friends, and Happy Monday Tuesday! I'm popping in today to share some Mitten Strings for God book study scheduling news, as well as a few other bits and bobs. :) I had meant to do this over the weekend, but alas ... life! And in particular, special needs parenting life. I won't get into the details of all that right now, but if I may ask for your prayers/good thoughts for Earlybird, who's having a rough time at the moment, I'd be sincerely grateful. ❤

But on with the good stuff! First I'd like to share this quote from our next chapter in MSfG, "One-on-One Time" ...

That is Little Bear of course, but the picture's a couple of years old. (It's weird that I can say that about his pictures now. Wasn't he JUST a couple of years old himself?!) It was taken during a woodsy winter solstice walk, and technically, it wasn't a "one-on-one" outing - because Bill was there, too! But I feel like this kind of picture represents the quiet times I spend connecting with LB apart from the bustle of everyday life. For this outing, we had left the noise and demands of the household behind us for a bit and it was a wonderful thing - to just focus on LB and his dear developing personality, to watch his funny expressions and listen to his very interesting thoughts. Young children have such a wonderful perspective on life, don't you think? And that's not to say I don't enjoy time spent with each of my boys, but I find myself alone with Little Bear most often these days. Spending one-on-one time definitely comes with more conscious effort as the kids grow older ... they get busy, and seem less enthralled with what their parents might have to say ... but more thoughts on all this at our next MSfG Tea!

And speaking of! Our next Mitten Strings for God study/tea will take place on Friday, February 16th. It's a bit later than I originally proposed, but I am trying to be very honest with myself about my free time - eg. how much I do and don't have! (Not nearly as much as I'd like but that's just the season of life that I'm in!) So please join me a week from this Friday for a wee chat and a winter's tea here at the blog. Let's talk about chapter 12, and the importance of making time for each of our children - while appreciating each of them for who they are. (As the mother of four sons I can honestly say that children are all just SO different, even same gender siblings raised in the very same way!)

Now, this might be a tricky chapter for me, because I don't think we (as in, Bill and I) do exceptionally well with this concept. As homeschoolers I think there's a bit of the feeling that "well, we spend tons of time together, anyway!" And special needs parenting comes into this, too - the demands it places on family life and the effects it has on maintaining balance - not to mention, sibling relationships. So I have some deep reading and thinking to do ...

As always, I'll be very eager to hear all of your thoughts on this, too! I invite you to send me those thoughts (with or without photo) or just chime in at the post itself. All are welcome to join this ongoing book study! (And at this rate we'll be talking about Mitten Strings all year!)

Now, while I'm here, I thought I'd share some photos from the past couple of weeks, beginning with Little Bear's first visit to the Lego Store ...

Can you even believe how big he's getting? Granted, we're all crouched down around him, but he's truly getting quite tall. And the way he's talking has changed, you know? Even the way he walks is different now. It's a little heartbreaking how quickly time flies when our children are small ...

Well, about those Legos ...

Last fall, Little Bear - already a huge Duplo fan - discovered the extra-special magic of building with REAL Legos. Like the ones that BIG boys (and girls) build with. He's just four, so he's a bit young for such Lego building - they can be frustrating for little hands - but he's handling it pretty well and just loving all the creating and getting his biggest brothers (longtime Lego fans themselves) to help him out. I love this picture above because it's me with my Lego kids, big and small. And not to keep harping on the "time-flying" thing, but I swear those older boys were just the "little" Lego kids in my house. I certainly have the zillions of Legos to prove it - stashed in the attic AND the basement - not to mention the scars on my feet!

So since I'm now a bonafide 18 years + Lego Mom, I bought myself a minifig for my key ring ...

That's "Rey" from Star Wars, in case you were wondering! :)

Now, here are some books from my "Deep Winter" basket ...

Books that had gone MISSING because  - well, I'm not sure why they went missing. It's a bit of a mystery! Usually I'm very careful about our seasonal book collections, but somehow last year our Deep Winter and Early Spring bin got divvied up and the books ended up here and there in our basement. *GASP* Thankfully though, I found them all on Candlemas morning (Feb. 2nd) just in the nick of time to celebrate Groundhog Day!

But to back up a day, here are some pics from our February 1st, also known as "St. Brigid's Day," a lovely feast we enjoy celebrating each year ...

Firstly, by making our own butter! (St. Brigid, is patroness of Ireland and dairymaids.) This is that ol' marble-and-cream-in-a-ball-jar trick - the one the children think is SO cool until they realize just how hard and how long they have to shake that dang jar! (Mama gets quite an arm-workout on Brigid's Day, let me tell you!) We like to serve the smidgen of butter we end up making with our bread rolls at supper. Daddy always makes sure to be suitably impressed!

We also like to make a Brigid's Cross for this feast, a craft I've only in recent years gotten the hang of ...

We started with "rushes" from our yard. (Actually, dried ornamental grass, but they work!) Because the material was rather stiff though, we soaked them in snowmelt for about an hour before attempting to weave our cross.

(And note I said, "cross," not "crosses." Clearly we gathered enough grass to make several crosses, but in truth I overestimated the interest and energy levels of my children and their mama!)

Here's the end result:

Now this was Brigid's Day morning ...

Muddy, melty and the ground still smattered with snow ...

Not to mention ice once the temperature dropped! February can be a fickle month in New England, but mostly it's just cold and snowy ... and cold.

And YET ...

Our hens have started laying again!! To me that's a sure sign spring is in the air ... or at least, in the amount of light we are getting every day. (Which has been increasing every day since the winter solstice.) I try to keep my senses very keen to the nuances of each season and I can tell you - the light is changing, and the bird song is different ... and yes, the air smells a little different on those drippy days. I feel certain that spring is stirring in the woods, underneath the half-frozen ground, deep inside those tough yet tender branches ...

Meanwhile, back inside ...

Archie is purrfectly content (sorry, had to) soaking up the afternoon sun, spending his winter days in a cozy basket. Even when said basket is not meant for him (but rather, my books) Archie considers it fair game.

But really, how could I move him?

So instead I set up at the kitchen table a little to the left ... 

And worked in my homemade planner to iron out some lesson plans for the week ahead. The current week's seasonal theme? Winter citrus ... :)

Last shot:

My kitchen window yesterday morning. It was so bright and beautiful and the air was a balmy 40° ... I allowed myself to focus on these delightful daffs and those fresh eggs from my hens. It made washing dishes a little less of a chore and a bit more of a blessing ... I was home, I had my family to care for, and that sunshine was so good for my soul ...

Oh, and by the way - the first picture in this post is a shot of my writing desk, with a teacup candle I made for Candlemas. Very easy to do with a bit of beeswax and a simple wick ... I think I have a post that explains how this works somewhere here, hang on ...

Yup! Here it is. Same method, just a different vessel this year! :)

Well, my friends, I'd best be off now ... but I wish you all well and thank you, as always, for joining me! I hope you enjoyed these rambling thoughts and photos and I look forward to chatting once again in the not so distant future! For now though, enjoy these lingering winter days, and please take care of yourselves and your loved ones ...

I'll see you here again very soon!

A Close-Up Look at My September Planning ... 🍂

Hello my friends, and Happy Thursday! I hope your week is going well. :)

Today I thought I'd share my September planner pages with you all. These are part of the seasonal planner I made up for myself some time ago, and if you'd like to read more about these sheets (and access the free & printable PDFs), here are links to a few very detailed posts:

My 2017 (Printable) Planner

I Made My Own Planner (and Here's How)!

My Seasonal Planning Sheets for 2018 

For most of this past year I kept these sheets in my three-ring "homekeeping" binder, but last month I decided to have them made into a spiral-bound planner ... and boy, am I so glad I did! I find using my planning sheets consistently and thoroughly is much easier in this format! Mostly because they're just so much more portable this way. I like to take my planner upstairs with me at night (as well as my Day Designer) and leave it by my bedroom chair to review when I wake up. (I usually have a good 2-3 hours to nurse coffee and plan before my youngest is up for the day.) Throughout the day I keep my planners parked on my kitchen counter so I can quickly check in and see "what's what" as we move through the rhythm of our day ... sometimes I scoop them up and bring them with me to the kitchen table or my family room desk ... or lately, the learning room table. :)

So to begin with, here is the lovely paper that serves as my September divider page ...

This kind of paper just makes me SO happy. Every day when I thumb to my September calendar to start my day's planning I pause at this page and just soak it all in. :) 

Next comes my own monthly title page ...

And then the next turn brings me to my two-page monthly calendar spread ...

As you can see on the left side of the page, I'm using a very simple tool for marking this oft-viewed calendar - the humble paper clip! You can also see that I've added some stickers, washi tape and seasonal quotes to make the spread "sparkle" a bit. :)

Bold alphabet stickers along the edge announce the month ...

And here's the opposite corner with a little more seasonal goodness sprinkled here and there!

(Truth be told, I took the above pictures before I had the calendar completely filled out - in fact, our whole ABA schedule has changed! - but you probably get the gist of how I'm using it.)

Now, moving on to the next spread ...

On the left is the one-page monthly calendar I made for my original planning sheets ... before I decided I REALLY needed a two-page spread! I tried recording nature notes here in August, which was fun, but then I decided my planner needed a little more flexibility when it came to meal planning. So from now on this is where I'll work out a little seasonally-inspired meal planning!

I started by brainstorming seasonal key words on little sticky notes. These are foods I yearn for in September, but I'm sure everyone has their own idea of what foods say "early autumn" to them! Then I began planning special suppers (Michaelmas, Autumn Equinox, Full Corn Moon), then all the Sunday dinners ... and the busy nights that need to be super easy ... and then I checked a collection of recipes I've been wanting to try, and finally a list of old standbys ... before I knew it I had the whole month filled out!

Best of all - it's all written in erasable ink because you know - the best laid plans and all that. Have I stuck with it so far? Well, for the most part, yes. (So said on the SIXTH day of the month, lol.) Tonight though, instead of American Chop Suey (which for some reason is true Patriots game day food), I decided to go with crescent dogs, crockpot mac-and-cheese, tossed salad and tater tots. (All boy-friendly, comfort food and "football foodstuffs" as well! Tonight is the NFL Kickoff in case you didn't know ... hosted by our beloved Pats, aka Superbowl Champs!)

I didn't make the molasses bar cookies though ... I brought the boys shopping with me over the weekend so we had enough "desserts" on hand as it was. I hope to do some baking this weekend, though - with local fruit, hopefully!

(Also shown in that photo - see two above - on the right-hand side of the spread is the monthly Overview page, and it's pretty self-explanatory I think. I try to check in with these ideas each weekend to see what still needs addressing, or fitting in! Then I tweak the upcoming week's plan accordingly.)

Ok, next up are the weekly spreads and here is the first week of the month before I had written anything down ...

In my September section there are five weekly planning spreads, ending on Sunday, October 1st. My weeks run Monday through Sunday because that's just how I see things! 

Here is this week's planning spread "in action" ...

To be completely honest I am still figuring out how best to "work" this planning spread ... but so far I am loving it! The left side is for more general weekly planning: days of note, our seasonal theme, nightly suppers, house & garden notes, weekly to-dos and a special spot for listing out what I like to call ... "crafts and comforts."

So what are "crafts and comforts" you might be wondering? Well, that's a whole 'nother post but - briefly - in this space I jot down things I'd like to do with the boys in keeping with our weekly theme (in this case, "crows and corn,") as well as a few ideas for enjoying the season myself. I find tuning into the season in simple ways really nourishes my spirit and fills my heart with gratitude. I've been doing this kind of "planning" since I was a young girl, but as a busy mom of four boys, it can be easy to let "seasonal awareness" slide. Since I feel this is an important habit to cultivate, I try to make room for it in my everyday life - via my planner! This was the primary reason I decided to make my own planner ... I couldn't find one that made room for these kinds of plans! (At least not with the colors, quotes and vintage images!)

So yes, there is also a quote for the week on this page, and each one mirrors the season itself. This week's (an old children's song) works perfectly - the goldenrod is, in fact, vivid yellow ... and just about everywhere you look, the cornstalks are drying out and turning brown ... and the apple orchards are busily bearing fruit!

The right side is for a week-at-a-glance agenda and homeschooling notes ... 

I added a pretty Susan Branch note sheet here for general notes for each of my boys this month as well as a seasonal study (based on an old Celtic tree calendar I came across on Pinterest). The note sheet was not adhesive so I used a bit of washi-tape to hold it down and it is easily moved from week to week.

Beneath the note sheet I have sticky notes that let me write down pre-k activities each day that tie in with the rhythm of the day and the theme of the week. So, for example, Wednesdays are "storytelling" days and this week is all about "crows and corn." So I used our black crow finger puppet to weave a little tale involving crows, ravens and cornfields. And on Monday, nature study day, we took a crow walk to listen for crows cawing. These kinds of activities are the foundation for Little Bear's early learning and I have such a lovely time brainstorming these ideas. But even when I have LOTS of ideas, I try to keep things as simple as possible ... you can't fit too much on a post-it! :)

Beneath the sticky notes are more lesson plan notes with little checkboxes and all. This is another area I'm still figuring out how to use (hence the pre-k post-its!) so I'll do a follow-up post with a closer look at this column. :)

(I will also do a follow-up post on how we do preschool ... which hasn't changed much since my older boys were little! What a gift it is to get to do this one more time ... ❤)

Last picture, and a preview of yet another post-to-come ... 

How do I use my Day Designer WITH my homemade seasonal planner? What do I write where? Which planner goes where? Where is there overlap - and does it matter? Ah ... so much to say on that subject! So it will have to be a post for another time. For now I will wrap up and let you all go. But I thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my post! In a few days I will be back with a FULL tour of our learning room, all revamped and ready to go for the  new year! (You may have seen peeks on Facebook and Instagram ... I've had such fun getting this room ready!)

So goodnight my friends, and take care ... I will see you here again very soon!

My August Planner ~ with printable links! ❤

Hello my friends - I'm here again! And my goodness - two posts in two days? I'm blogging like it's 2006! ;-)

Well, since July is nearing its end (gasp!) and since I happen to have my August planning sheet "extras" all ready to print, I thought I'd pop in and post some PDF links! I hope you enjoy them and please let me know if any of the links are not working properly or if you notice any typos. And if you're using these sheets I'd love to hear how you like them! :)

Now, I'm making a little change with my planning sheets starting this month ... I've decided to print them up fresh and have them spiral-bound at the copy shop! Up till now I've been keeping them in a three-ring binder that sits on my kitchen counter, filed behind my tabbed monthly calendars. But as much as I love my binder - and I really, really love my binder - it's a bit awkward to write in, and/or tote around, and I find myself not using the sheets as consistently as I'd like simply because I can't work on them comfortably in said beloved binder. Longtime readers know how much I enjoy making up my own planners, so I decided to give it a go! And this one has been SO fun to put together ... I'm attempting to combine my housekeeping and homeschooling and seasonal living needs all in one place. So it's been taking me a bit to pull it all together, but I'm nearly there (hope to hit Staples on Saturday) and I WILL blog ALL about it in an upcoming post!

But for now, on to August ...

***

My August Planner:

August Cover Page

August 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

August Overview

7/31-8/6 2017

8/7-8/13 2017

8/14-8/20 2017

8/21-8/27 2017

August Home Learning Worksheet

August Review

***

August Extras:

August Planning Sheet (blank)

Back-to-School Notepage

Savoring Summer's End

In Season: Late Summer Goodness

August Meal Planning

August Dinners at a Glance

Special Days in August

August Nature Notes

 ***

Oh and by the way, along with my planning sheets (which I made up myself using the Pages application on my Mac) I am using some very lovely, vintage-look scrapbooking paper, a different design for each month ...

Above is a preview of several pages in "Children's Hour," a decorative paper pad published by a company called "Graphic 45." I buy them in 12 x 12 pads and cut them down to fit my planner. They're sturdy and thick and so make wonderful dividers. And I have little monthly adhesive tabs to apply to the edges as well ...

But more on all that in an upcoming post!

For now I will let you all go and thank you, as always, for stopping by ... enjoy the rest of your July, everyone!

I'll see you here again very soon ...

My July Planner - with printable links! ❤

Hello my friends, and Happy July! I hope your summer is going swimmingly so far ... :)

I am here today tonight - late as usual, sigh - on the first day of our new month, to share a few printables that hopefully will facilitate some happy July planning! I am also including the original July planning sheets from my January post, and they are followed by several new "extra" sheets which I'm adding to my binder this month. (Fyi, my plan for 2018 is to have ALL the monthly extras ready to go along with the general planning sheets - which, by the way, are also being tweaked! I am toying with the idea of having them bound and so obviously, having all the extras ready at the start of the year would be ideal!)

Anyhoo ... I am going to get on with it now. Here are the PDF links for my July planner - please let me know if you have any trouble opening them or if you spot any glaring typos! I will see you at the bottom of the links for a quick word before I let you go ... :)

***

My July Planner:

July Cover Page

July 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

July Overview

6/26-7/2 2017

7/3-7/9 2017

7/10-7/16 2017

7/17-7/23 2017

7/24-7/30 2017

July Home Learning Worksheet

July Review

***

July Extras:

July Meal Planning Ideas

July Dinners at a Glance

In Season this Month

July Holidays

July Feast Days

July Fun: Beach Days!

July Fun: Road Trips!

Exploring July Nature

July Nature Notes

July Planning Sheet (blank)

***

(All the above "extra" links were supposed to be in ocean blue and poppy red - but clearly that didn't happen, lol. Why this is so, I just don't know ... but in the interest of time - and my sanity - I'm not going to try to figure out what's wrong or re-do all the links to make them match. I've gotten this far, I'm just going to keep moving!)

Ok, well. I hope you enjoy all these planning sheets and that your July will be a wonderful month! I am also hoping - so much - to get back to a more frequent posting schedule this summer. Please believe me when I say, I am doing my best to find time to draft and reply and edit and post. Life these days is so full, and SO blessed, and very often, quite tiring! I hope though, to carve out more time in this season of slowness and simplicity for mama's needs. And I DO need to be here and touch base and catch up. I am hoping to do an overhaul of my blog template, for one thing. Those sidelists are ridiculously out of date! I also have in queue a post for early this week - a review of my new Katie Daisy planner. It is - without a doubt - the PRETTIEST planner I've ever seen! So naturally, I couldn't pass it up. ;-) I'll share pics and thoughts and fill you in on how I'll weave this new planner into my overall routine ...

For now though, I wish you all a lovely evening and a refreshing holiday weekend ...

See you all here again soon!

Seasonal Homeschooling: June's Weekly Themes!

Hello my friends, and Happy Friday Saturday Sunday Monday! 🌞

(Whew, it's taken me a while to get this post done!)

Lots going on at the moment - homeschool dances, a year-end party, an ice cream social, the SAT, the last week of classes, doctors appointments, job changes ... phew! We're not usually this busy and I must admit, I'm looking forward to life slowing down again, but before that happens, we have a graduation party coming up this weekend! So the weekend was spent picking up party goods and getting the yard in order, and this week I'm cleaning the house room-by-room - but right now I'm indulging in some computer time. For one thing I really want to put up this post - and for another, it feels good to sit in the air conditioned room! (We're in the midst of a heatwave this week!)

Anyhoo, today I'd like to share some of my seasonal planning with you all. :) As I've blogged about before, I have a year's worth of weekly themes planned out, mostly based on the seasons and natural events. I use these themes as a springboard for weaving simple seasonal joys and awareness into our family life - via our home, food, education, activities, etc. Some weeks we do a lot with the theme and others not as much - it really depends on available time/energy/interest/mood/ and the weather, etc. I try to be very flexible and keep my expectations realistic.

For example, this week's seasonal theme is "butterflies," but with the big shindig planned for this weekend, any extra time and energy is focused on party prep these days ... so I know we won't delve into the theme as deeply as we might another year. And that's OK. I'm still sneaking in some butterfly goodness where I can. :)

So below I've written about my current themes for the month of June and why I chose them - as well as a few ideas for each week. I always have a LOT of ideas but that's not to say we do all those things! Some ideas work well while others might get left for next year. (Because I do recycle the themes, generally speaking ... part of the joy of the seasons for me is in the way they return to us every year, always seeming new and fresh but comfortingly familiar.)

You can read more about this idea and see my list of 52 themes here in this post but here's what I've planned for this month ...

5/29-6/4 "home garden"

    * Memorial Day is the traditional planting time in New England! We'll work together to plan and prepare our garden bed, concentrating on a sunny spot behind the sunroom. Keeping it very simple - something the boys can tend and enjoy. I have some books set aside for the younger two: This Year's Garden, Let's Grow a Garden, A Year in Our New Garden - and these will be woven into our home lessons this week. I also ordered two new books I think Little Bear, in particular, will love: The Vegetables We Eat and The Fruits We Eat. We just love those Gail Gibbons books! We'll also take a trip to the local farm to buy the plants we've noted on our list, and plant the seedlings at home. We'll take stock of our gardening tools and come up with a routine (chart?) for taking care of our garden. (Who will be responsible for which tasks and when?)

*True confession - we didn't get our plants planted that week! We talked about the gardens we already have (home orchard, herb patch) and the one we'd like to create (kitchen garden), and we readied a new garden bed ... but have yet to purchase seedlings! That's something I hope to do next week when we're all on a quiet, "home" vacation. :)

6/5-6/11 "strawberries"

    * The time is "ripe" to think about and enjoy strawberries - and for several reasons! This is the week of the Full Strawberry Moon as well as a local strawberry festival AND the berries themselves are just coming into their season. As you can see in the picture at the top of my post, our wild strawberries are blooming well - and all over the yard! Our local farms are advertising that their berries will be in the stands and ready for picking this coming weekend. We'll be reading The First Strawberries, and we'll spend time observing the wild strawberries growing in our yard. We'll take photos and/or make sketches for the nature journals. When they turn red, we'll try some in our morning cereal. We'll moon gaze, of course, and we'll head to our local farm to purchase strawberries in bulk. Back home we'll try making some strawberry-rhubarb jam (using our own homegrown rhubarb!). After we've hulled our berries we'll bring the tops out to our hens - they'll love them! I have a terry-cloth tablecloth with a strawberry print that belonged to my grandmother - that will grace our kitchen table this week. :)

* True confession - We didn't make it to the farm, and we didn't make jam, but I did bring home a big package of organic berries that the boys snacked on all week. I am hoping to make jam next week, once things have quieted down. We do have PLENTY of rhubarb stalks in the fridge, awaiting their sweeter counterpart!

6/12-6/18 "butterflies"

     * Now that warmer weather is here and flowers are blooming brightly, it's a perfect time for watching butterflies! We see them for sure, but don't get a whole lot in our yard, so I'm trying to remedy that with more butterfly-friendly plantings. One thing we'll do in our homeschooling this week is to research what plants attract butterflies. (I have lots of resources in our nature cabinet, and have already flagged the pages that refer to this topic.) I'd like to do a page in our nature journal for listing these plants and keeping notes on butterfly sightings this summer. (Bookworm already caught a lovely winged friend on his phone camera last week - a blue and black beauty that didn't linger long before heading to the skies.) There are all kinds of butterfly crafts we could do (a quick Pinterest search confirms that!) but I'll keep things very simple this year. I would love however, to make a butterfly bath and plan to pick up the materials at the craft store and set them aside for a slow summer's day project. The younger boys will read A Butterfly is Patient, and we'll use photocopies of this butterfly coloring book as we learn about different species. (Fyi, I absolutely LOVE using Dover coloring books with our homeschooling!)

*True confession - as noted above - it's a busy week here, there's not a lot of time for butterflies! Happily, butterflies will be around all summer - and hopefully we'll remember to keep our eyes open for them!

6/19-6/25 "sunshine"

    * The Summer Solstice arrives this week (Wednesday at 12:24 a.m., to be exact!) and so begins the season of SUN! Indeed, the longest day of the year is the Solstice itself so what better week to celebrate the glory of sunshine? We'll learn about the science and folklore of the Solstice, using several books. (Two of our favorites: The Longest Day: Celebrating the Summer Solstice and The Summer Solstice.) Like last year, we will choose a solstice branch from the yard (and/or the wood pile) and hang it in our south-facing, sunny kitchen nook window. How we'll decorate it this year I'm not entirely sure - I'm hoping a trip to the craft store will spark an idea! We will also have a bonfire next week, depending on weather ... and naturally we'll be singing "You are My Sunshine" and "Sunshine on My Shoulder." Or, I should say, Little Bear and I will be singing sunny songs during our morning music time. (EB has sensory issues about singing singing and yet LB absolutely loves it! So in the very early mornings, LB and I sit by the open bedroom window, and sing in our rocking chair. We also sing while potty training - but that's a whole different story!) As a family we'll enjoy some barbecue and sun tea; we'll also make fresh lemonade and homemade Sun bread this week. :)

6/26-7/2 "herbs at home"

    * My hope is during the week previous to this one (our quiet, home-vacation week) we will have a chance to visit my favorite herb farm and come home with some new plants for my herb garden. I LOVE herbs and though my herb garden (or patch, really) is on the small side, I try to expand it a little each year. This week I'd like to use herbs as much as possible at home - in our cooking and cleaning, and maybe even in our health and hygiene. (I have lots of recipes and resources, and am combing through them now to pick out some ideas.) In our home learning we'll be investigating the history of herbalism and I have a couple of great coloring books for the boys to use (Medicinal Plants and Herbs, both by Dover). As we learn about common herbs, we'll make species pages, and note how they were used in the past - by native Americans, early settlers, colonial cooks and physicans. I also have my eye on a game called Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure - the price is a bit steep so I'll see just how interested my kids seem in the concept of herbal knowledge before I splurge!

Ok, so that's a look at the seasonal themes we'll be exploring this month, and some thoughts on how we might do this - given the time and inclination! I always follow my kids' leads - setting things up for them, inviting them to join me - but it they're not so interested, that's all right, too. Obviously I try to include lots of child-friendly activities, and over the years I think they absorb a sense of the seasons, and the rhythm of the year. I just try to model a constant awareness of and enthusiasm for a season and expose my kids to ideas and interesting activities. I think just being aware of such simple but meaningful concepts - gardening, strawberries, butterflies, sunshine and herbs - can be a little blessing for my family. Kind of a soft balm against a hard world that prefers fast and frenzied over slow and simple. The seasons take their time, and despite what the stores say, they always arrive when they're good and ready. ❤

Well my friends, I'm going to wrap up now because as usual, this post went on longer than I intended! But I hope this was fun for you to read or maybe there was an idea or two here that sounded interesting to you. I will be back as soon as I can with a new post - a party recap perhaps, or a review of my new Day Designer (12 days in and still loving it!) as well as some thoughts on revamping my household routines ...

But for now I will say goodbye and wish you well ... hope to see you here again very soon! 

My June Planner - with printable links! ❤

Hello my friends, and Happy Sunday! :)

Can you believe it's June already?! We're nearly to the midpoint of 2017 and the weeks are just flying by - too fast for me to keep up it would seem, since this planner post is several days late!! 😳

Nevertheless, I'm here today to share some "extras" to go along with my June planner pages. (My original post can be found here, with the basic sheets for every week of the year.) I apologize for their tardiness - especially since I know many of you like to plan things ahead. Something I like to do, when I can keep my act together!

Anyhoo, here are my June planning pages as well as some extras, and I do hope you enjoy them! Please let me know if you have any trouble with the PDF links or if you spot any ahem typos ... ;)

***

My June Planner:

June Cover Page

June 2017 at-a-glance calendar (liturgical version here)

June Overview

5/29-6/4 2017

6/5-6/11 2017

6/12-6/18 2017

6/19-6/25 2017

June Home Learning Worksheet

June Review

June Extras:

June Holidays A

June Holidays B

June Nature Explorations

June Nature Notes

In Season: Strawberries

In Season: (blank)

Celebrating the Solstice/Summer Plans 

June Planning Sheet (blank)

 ***

So these are all the pages I have in my binder behind the June monthly tab. May's pages have now been retired and June's are now up front in my monthly planning section. (Sandwiched between my domestic journal and housekeeping tabs.) These pages are somewhat personalized in that, these are the events, activities and themes I'll be weaving into our family's life this month (things that make sense for us in June), but I hope they might be of interest (and/or use) to someone else. I have also included blank planning sheets, in June's seasonal colors, for random events/projects that might come up. I have one with "Bookworm's Graduation Party" written across the top (filled in with RSVPs, a menu plus a cleaning tasks "hit list") and I just used another "blank" sheet this morning to start a note page for "End-of-Year Teacher Gifts." :)

Well my friends, I hope you are all doing well and that we can catch up here again soon! Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to read ... I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful new month and many happy days ahead!

See you here again sometime soon ...

My May Planner - with printable links! ❤

Hello my friends, and Happy Weekend! I am popping in today to share some "extras" to go along with my May planner pages. (Original post found here, with the basic sheets for every week of the year.) I'm a little behind this month with my month-ahead planning ... May really came up fast! (Or so it seemed.) So I'm just now getting the May calendar filled out, as well as the overview page, and looking over the upcoming weeks ...

What are my seasonal themes?

What topics are we studying?

What special events are coming up for our family? 

Thankfully I already had the basic May planning sheets printed and stored in my binder. But now I'm adding in these extra pages - providing myself space for a little seasonal joy and event planning. The trick of course it to remember to USE the sheets once they're all printed out and filled in and stashed so neatly behind that May calendar tab ... I confess I have varying degrees of success with that endeavor, depending on how well I stick to my panning routine!

So I hope you enjoy them ... and please let me know if you have any trouble with the PDF links or - heaven forbid! - you spot any typos. 😉

My May Planner:

May Cover Page

May 2017 Month-at-a-Glance (here's the liturgical version)

May Overview

5/1-5/7/2017

5/8-5/14/2017

5/15-5/21/2017

5/22-5/28/2017

May Home Learning Worksheet

May Review

May Extras:

May is for Mothers

Planning This Year's Garden (general notes)

Planning This Year's Garden (projects, plans)

May Nature

In Season: Rhubarb

In Season: (blank)

May Holidays

May Faith & Family

May Planning (blank page)

A couple of notes:

I included my "rhubarb" page above because that's what is "in season" this month for us in New England - but because it might be different for you, I shared an "In Season" page with space for you to write in your own fruit/herb/vegetable. I also included a blank planning page done in May's seasonal colors so you can add sheets for any of your own special events this month. I have a few myself:

Bookworm's Commencement

Little Bear's 4th Birthday

Crackerjack's Prom

I just printed out the blank pages and wrote these titles at the top. It will be a busy month ahead, for sure! My hope is that by keeping all these planning pages in my binder - and my binder on my kitchen counter (aka command center) - then I will have a more reasonable hope of keeping on top of all the things I NEED to get done while still including all the things I WANT to do ... those special joys that only May has to offer!

Well everyone, I will be off now, but I do hope you are all having a nice weekend and enjoying these last days of April. What is like where you live today? Here in Massachusetts it is sunny and quite warm - 81° at 4 p.m.! Everything is popping - the flowering shrubs and trees, the lawn, the leaves ...

It's such a special time of year!

So take care of yourselves and your loved ones, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

My April Planner - with printable links! ❤

Hello my friends, and Happy Friday! Well, as usual I'm here with but a few hours to spare, sharing some "extras" for your April planning! These pages can certainly be used on their own, but I've color-coordinated them with my monthly planning sheets linked below. (You can find all the planning sheets for 2017 here in this post. I'm adding extra pages as I can - a little additional planning for all those seasonal comforts and joys ... and challenges!)

Ok, so here we go - but while we're at it, we're going to completely IGNORE the white stuff falling steadily - and rather annoyingly - outside my window. It's time to turn our thoughts to spring things ...

April Cover Page

April Month at a Glance (liturgical version here)

April Overview

4/3-4/9

4/10-4/16

4/17-4/23

4/24-4/30

April Home Learning Sheet

April Review

April Extras:

Natural Spring Cleaning

Spring Yard Work

April's Special Days

April's Seasonal Themes

Easter Prep A

Easter Prep B

Easter Sunday: Planning

Easter Sunday: Remembering

Blank April Planning Page

❤

I'll be working on filling out these pages during my weekend office hours and in a future post will share my own notes and ideas on the above topics. But speaking of "office hours," that PDF should be coming next ...

Sorry I couldn't have that ready to share in this post, but the good news is, it IS all done and ready to print so it should only be another couple of days. I'm trying to add some notes on each "agenda item" so the post is taking me a bit longer than I originally anticipated. (Doesn't everything though, lol?)

Spring might be off to a slow start around here, but I just love the shades of April...

Sooner or later we'll see some of that color around here, I have faith. ❤ The trees are bursting with buds and the forsythia is ready to bloom and the daffodils are poking up through the ground - hopefully though they'll be wise enough to wait until this latest bout of snow melts under the spring sunshine. If and when that sunshine ever returns! (Looking like Sunday according to my weather app!)

Well my friends, I will let you go now, but as always I thank you for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend and I will see you here again very soon!

My March Planner ... with printable links! ❤

Hello and Happy Monday my friends!

Are you as shocked as I am by how quickly February went by? Honestly, it seems like we were just making butter for St. Brigid and now we're buying daffodils for St. David! Ah well, such is the nature of time ... it marches right along whether we've made the most of it or not!

So on that note, I'm here today to share my March printables with you! These are the seasonal planning sheets I keep in my homekeeping binder, and while some of them I've shared before, I've since added a few fun "extras" for the new month ahead. I hope you enjoy!

March Cover Page

March Month at a Glance Calendar (liturgical version here)

March Overview

Weekly Planning Sheets:

    2/27-3/5 

    3/6-3/12

    3/13-3/19

    3/20-3/26

    3/27-4/2

March Home Learning Worksheet

March Review

Spring Term Student Goals; Spring Term Notes

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Celebrating St. Joseph's Day

Celebrating The Vernal Equinox

Spring Cleaning: Week-by-Week; Spring Cleaning Notes

Our Lenten Journey A; Our Lenten Journey B

Nature Notes: Early Spring A; Nature Notes: Early Spring B

Nature Notes: Week-by-Week A; Nature Notes: Week-by-Week B

Blank March Planning Page

That last link is for a general (lined) planning page in March's theme colors. This way you can add complimentary pages to your planner for planning your own special projects and events in the month ahead. Our you could use it for general notes/journal pages or possibly if you need more writing space for one of the above events/projects.

(Note: ALL the monthly printable planning sheets can be found in this post here. And here is my post with February's extras. I will try to be better about getting the "extras" to you well before the new month begins! And if you have a request or suggestion for a particular monthly planning page let me know. They are very easy for me to make up.)

I do hope you like these pages, but if you're having trouble fitting them into your planning "repertoire," let me know. I think it's easy enough to fill a binder with all these pretty pages - even fill those pages up with notes - but USING them in such a way they make a real difference in your life is a whole 'nother thing. ;) I speak from experience! :) I have really great intentions but it's the routines that get us where we need to be.

I use these sheets so as to fill my family's seasons with the comforts and joys we look forward to each year and I also have pages for planning certain projects and events. For example, April will have some Easter entertaining sheets and Bookworm's graduation party will be one of my June project pages. In May there will be a page for Little Bear's 4th birthday as well as a few sheets revolving around planting our garden.

Another quick note - I like using my planning pages in my homekeeping binder, but as we all know, 3-ring binders are not always the easiest platform for writing out notes. What I usually do is remove the page I'm working on and place it on a clipboard. After I've made my notes I return it to the binder for reference.

Well my friends, thanks so much for stopping by! I'd love to hear if you're using my pages and if so, how they are working for you! Are you storing them in a binder like I am or perhaps in file folders? On a clipboard or having them bound at the copy shop, perhaps? What are you doing with the pages once their week (or month) has gone by? (I keep mine in seasonal storage binders right now.) Let me know if I can clarify anything for you or if any of the links above are wonky. Also, would it help if I did another post showing how I'm using them myself? Let me know in the comments below!

Enjoy the rest of your Monday my friends ... I will see you here again very soon!

My 2017 {Printable} Planner ... ❤

Hello my friends and Happy New Year! I hope your 2017 is off to a great start! ❤

I hope to have my "New Year's Tea" up soon, but today - without a moment to spare! - I'm getting my planning sheets posted in case anyone is interested in using them. A bit of a caveat though - while I do have ALL the sheets finished, it's taking me a bit of time to upload them as PDF files here at the blog. So this post will have to be a work in progress! Today I will post all the January planning sheets and then, as I can - and as quickly as I can - I will upload the rest of the months. :)

(Design notes at the bottom of the post!)

January:

January Cover Page

January 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

January Overview

1/2-1/8 2017

1/9-/15 2017

1/16-1/22 2017

1/23-1/29 2017

January Home Learning Worksheet

January Review

***

February:

February Cover Page

February 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

February Overview

1/30-2/5 2017

2/6-2/12 2017

2/13-2/19 2017

2/20-2/26 2017

February Home Learning Worksheet

February Review

***

March:

March Cover Page

March 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

March Overview

2/27-3/5 2017

3/6-3/12 2017

3/13-3/19 2017

3/20-3/26 2017

3/27-4/2 2017

March Home Learning Worksheet

March Review

***

April: 

April Cover Page

April 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

April Overview

4/3-4/9 2017

4/10-4/16 2017

4/17-4/23 2017

4/24-4/30 2017

April Home Learning Worksheet

April Review

***

May: 

May Cover Page

May 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

May Overview

5/1-5/7 2017

5/8-5/14 2017

5/15-5/21 2017

5/22-5/28 2017

May Home Learning Worksheet

May Review

***

June:

June Cover Page

June 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

June Overview

5/29-6/4 2017

6/5-6/11 2017

6/12-6/18 2017

6/19-6/25 2017

June Home Learning Worksheet

June Review

***

July:

July Cover Page

July 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

July Overview

6/26-7/2 2017

7/3-7/9 2017

7/10-7/16 2017

7/17-7/23 2017

7/24-7/30 2017

July Home Learning Worksheet

July Review

***

August:

August Cover Page

August 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

August Overview

7/31-8/6 2017

8/7-8/13 2017

8/14-8/20 2017

8/21-8/27 2017

August Home Learning Worksheet

August Review

***

September:

September Cover Page

September 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

September Overview

8/28-9/3 2017

9/4-9/10 2017

9/11-9/17 2017

9/18-9/24 2017

9/25-10/1 2017

September Home Learning Worksheet

September Review

***

October:

October Cover Page

October 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

October Overview

10/2-10/8 2017

10/9-10/15 2017

10/16-10/22 2017

10/23-10/29 2017

10/30-11/5 2017

October Home Learning Worksheet

October Review

***

November:

November Cover Page

November 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

November Overview

11/6-11/12 2017

11/13-11/19 2017

11/20-11/26 2017

11/27-12/3 2017

November Home Learning Worksheet

November Review

***

December:

December Cover Page

December 2017 Month-at-a-Glance; (liturgical version)

December Overview

12/4-12/10 2017

12/11-12/17 2017

12/18-12/24 2017

12/25-12/31 2017

December Home Learning Worksheet

December Review

***

A few notes about this year's planning sheets:

❤ They're pretty much the same as last year's sheets (with corrected dates of course) but without any graphics. That vintage clipart was pretty, but it really bogged down the creative process - and printing time!

❤ That said, I do have a Cover Page for each month with a bit of vintage calendar clipart found on Pinterest. (Which is, to the best of my knowledge, free for personal use.)

❤ I've added soft lines to the planning sections! Woohoo - I LOVE writing on lined paper!

❤ I increased the Meal Planning section - a friendly suggestion from a dear reader that made perfect sense!

❤ I added a few new pages:

° a Monthly Overview page (To-Dos, House & Garden, Seasonal Ideas, Monthly Goals) ...

° a Monthly Review page (open, lined space) ...

° AND a one page Month-at-a-Glance Calendar, too! Now, in the version I'm sharing here, in order to keep it as user-friendly as possible, I took out my family birthdays (graduations, anniversaries, etc.) as well as notes related to my Catholic faith. (If there is interest, I could create an additional set of calendars that includes feast days. I used lavender for that particular text.)

Note: I'm adding a liturgical version of the monthly calendar but please understand, this is in no way a complete representation of the Catholic calendar! Just reflective of the events and feasts we note/observe/celebrate in our family - these are marked in purple text. (Natural phenomena are in green, holidays and other events are in blue.)

OH! And also, on three of the monthly calendars I had to double up on a block. For example, in April, a sixth row would have been needed for the last day of the month - Sunday, April 30th - so I just added the date to the block for the 23rd. I meant to divide that block in half with a diagonal line but couldn't figure out how to do it! Time ran out and I left it as is. I just used a ruler after printing to make the line myself! This issue crops up in July and December as well.

❤ In my own Home Learning Worksheet, I have three separate boxes for my current students' goals. Three of my boys are homeschooling - one is a senior in college! For the sheet I shared, I kept it to one column since you all have various numbers of children! :) *Apologies - there is a second blank page attached to this PDF and I just realized it now! I will try to tweak the original and delete that extraneous sheet!)

❤ Instead of the aforementioned clipart and "grace notes" I chose a seasonal quote to reflect each week's place in the year.

❤ The colors are pretty subtle, but do change with each month. I coordinated them with my favorite scrapbooking paper which I use as dividers in my planner.

Now, in a separate post I will describe how I transform these sheets into an actual planner, and what my maintenance process looks like. But right now I'm trying to decide between keeping them in a three-ring binder or having them spiral-bound at the copy shop. I'm leaning toward the binder since I don't really plan to take this planner out of the house. But I'll get into those decisions and my planner "management" in a future post!

(Oh, and the spiral-bound notebook you see to the right in the photo above is a companion "agenda" to my weekly planning sheets. Something with time slots for appointments and such. That too is still very much a work in progress but will probably turn out something like the one I used last year. But with tweaks! Always with the tweaks ...)

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying their New Year's Day and I thank you all for stopping by. Please let me know if you have any questions about my planning sheets or if for some reason the links don't work for you. I'm really excited to share these sheets and hope they are helpful to some of you!

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones and I will see you here again very soon!

Late Autumn Planning Sheets + Thanksgiving Printables!

Hello my friends and Happy Thursday!

Today I'd like to share another set of my seasonal planning sheets with you - and this time we're heading into Late Autumn, as hard as that is to believe! The end of the year already? How the weeks have flown ...

So this is my last set of seasonal sheets since I began this series back in January, but this time around I'm very happy to share an extra set of sheets for Thanksgiving planning! My family hosts this annual holiday, and there's a lot that goes into planning such an event. Every year I make up a planner of some sort for myself but this year I decided to go beyond loose-leaf and make something more streamlined and printable. I had such fun putting this planner together, so naturally I wanted to share it with you all! (There are just four weeks till Thanksgiving, fyi!)

I am also working on a set of planning sheets for Advent and Christmas, and was really hoping to have them ready to share today, too - but alas - time got away from me! I will aim to post that set sometime next week ... :)

And not to get ahead of myself but, I will be tweaking ALL the seasonal sets from the past year to coordinate with next year's dates. (You can find them all in my Printables archive.) But more on all that in a moment! Here now are my Late Autumn planning sheets - eight weeks in all, running from Monday, November 7th through Sunday, January 1st (2017!).

Late Autumn Overview (Clean)

Late Autumn Overview (Dawn's)

Late Autumn Planning Sheets

Home Learning this Week (Late Autumn)

Thanksgiving Planner

Please let me know if you have any trouble opening these PDF files or if you notice any errors. (I looked them over and over but inevitably something escapes me!) Also, I'd love to hear if you're using these sheets and how you like them! :) As I mentioned above, I'm going to update all of last year's sheets so they can be used in 2017 and I'm changing things a bit to make them (hopefully) more efficient and easier to use. One thing you'll notice straight away (starting with this last seasonal set) is I'm using photos instead of clipart. I really loved the vintage clipart but going forward it will be easier to use my own "artwork," if you will - especially when it comes to copyright issues and such. Also, as you'll see in the Thanksgiving planning sheets, I've finally learned how to add lines to my boxes! Hooray for Bill who figured this out! I really love planners with lined spaces (I'm a stickler for neat handwriting - it just works better with my brain!) and so next year's set of planning sheets will also feature more soft lines for guiding lists and notes. 

Before I go, here is a picture of this week's sheet "in action."

As I grow more and more fond of my printable planning sheets, I've been thinking about how to use them along with my current systems. I would like to discuss this further in a future post but for now, briefly ...

I keep the current week's sheet in my homekeeping binder - opposite the current month-at-a-glance (a neat printable found here). I have this binder open like this all day so I can refer to it as needed. To the right (not seen in this picture) is my Day Designer which organizes all the hourly nitty-gritty details of my day! 

So, there you have it - and I hope you enjoyed it! As I said, I really had a lot of fun creating these pages and I'm eager to get the Advent-Christmas planner pulled together as well. I will share that with you just as soon as I can, but for now, I wish you all well and thank you, sincerely, for stopping by ...

Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones, and I will see you here again very soon!

Our Seasonal Homeschooling Schedule!

Hello my friends, and Happy Tuesday! :)

I hope you are all enjoying your September! We're having very nice weather here, if perhaps a bit warm for this time of year. Muggy, I guess you'd say. But I'm relishing the "late summer" feel to these days ... it will be so cold before we know it ... and it will stay cold for AGES.

Anyhoo, what I have here is my (long promised) outline of this year's weekly themes. I refer to this concept as "seasonal homeschooling," but really, these themes are woven into all areas of our family and home life. I'll be expanding on these themes in a future project but for now, I thought you might enjoy seeing what we'll be focusing on in the seasons ahead.

Now, some themes are pretty self explanatory, while others might seem more obscure. The goal for me is to highlight a simple hallmark of the season and weave it into our family's life experience. Some weeks it's just a general awareness of something - pointing things out, encouraging observation and discussion - while at other times we really dive in! It all depends on how busy we are and how appealing the theme might be! In the notebook where I keep this schedule, I also list any days of note, so I've included them here as well - they make sense for my family but they might not yours! I share them in case they may help you fill in your own calendar. :)

Mostly our themes connect with the natural rhythm of the year - this is something I've observed and enjoyed since I was very young - but there are also liturgical feasts listed here, as well as national holidays and family events.

Ok, onward we go ...

 

September

5 - autumn seeds (Labor Day, Back to School, Nativity of Mary, NFL Season begins, Patriot Day)

12 - at the autumn orchard (Holy Cross Day, Apple Picking field trip, Full Harvest Moon, Apple Festival)

19 - crows & corn (International Peace Day, Autumn Equinox)

26 - along the autumn hedgerow/dragons in the air (Johnny Appleseed Day, Michaelmas, St. Therese, Guardian Angels)  

 

October

3 - changing leaves (Fair Week, St. Francis, Blessing of the Pets, OL Rosary)

10 - in the autumn woods (Columbus Day, Full Hunters Moon, First Frost?)

17 - pumpkins on the vine (St. Luke's Little Summer, Our 23rd Wedding Anniversary)

24 - goodnight garden (Pre-Halloween Week)

31 - fading light (All Hallow's Eve, Gratitude Project, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Daylight Savings Time ends)

 

November

7 - cozy nests (Election Day, Martinmas, Veterans' Day, Taurids)

14 - in the autumn bog (Full Frost Moon, Leonids, Fantastic Beasts, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Christ the King)

21 - a thankful heart (Thanksgiving Day, Nana's Birthday, Advent begins)

28 - stone walls & rock gardens (Advent Week One, St. Andrew of Scotland, St. Barbara's Branches)

 

December 

5 - from the forest: evergreens (Advent Week Two, St. Nicholas, Uncle Eric's Birthday, Immaculate Conception, St. Juan Diego)

12 - the animals of Christmas (Advent Week Three, OL Guadalupe, St. Lucy, Full Cold Moon, Earlybird's & Papa's Birthday)

19 - gingerbread folk (Advent Week Four, Winter Solstice, Christmas)

26 - winter birds & bells (Boxing Day, St. Stephen, New Year's Eve/Day, Mary Mother of God, 1st Bird of the Year)

 

January

2 - winter stars (Epiphany)

9 - winter comforts (Full Wolf Moon, My Birthday, Baptism of the Lord)

16 - snowflakes in the air (MLK Jr. Day, Benjamin Franklin's Birthday, Inauguration Day, St. Agnes)

23 - icy days, frosty nights (Handwriting Day, Burns Night, Grandma's Birthday, Chinese Year of the Rooster, Days of the Blackbird begin ...)

30 - candles aglow (Days of the Blackbird, St. Brigid, Candlemas, Groundhog Day, St. Blaise, Superbowl Sunday)

 

February

6 - by the hearthside (Full Snow Moon, OL Lourdes, Abraham Lincoln's Birthday)

13 - Valentines (St. Valentine's Day)

20 - winter citrus (Presidents' Day, Chair of St. Peter)

27 - potted plants (Ash Wednesday/Lent begins, St. David's Day, March comes in like a lion ...)

 

March

6 - thaw (Full Sap Moon, Daylight Savings Time begins)

13 - returning light (St. Patrick's Day)

20 - pussy willows (St. Joseph, Vernal Equinox, The Annunciation, Laetare (Rose) Sunday/Mothering Sunday, Uncle Greg's Birthday)

27 - spring wind (March goes out like a lamb ...)

 

April

3 - at the spring pond (Palm Sunday)

10 - eggs at Eastertide (Holy Week, Full Pink Moon, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday)

17 - April showers (Earth Day, St. George's Day, Shakespeare's Birthday, Divine Mercy Sunday)

24 - faeries in our garden (St. Mark, Walpurgisnacht/May Eve)

 

May

1 - spring fire (May Day, Cinco de Mayo)

8 - in the meadow (Full Flower Moon, OL Fatima, The Freezing Saints, Mother's Day)

15 - milk & honey (St. Isadore the Farmer)

22 - fresh air (BC Commencement, Ascension Day, Little Bear's Birthday)

29 - a family garden (Memorial Day, The Visitation, Uncle Matt's Birthday, Pentecost Sunday)

 

June

5 - strawberries (Whit Monday, Full Strawberry Moon, Trinity Sunday)

12 - butterflies (Flag Day, Father's Day, Corpus Christi)

19 - the summer sun (Summer Solstice, Bookworm's Birthday, St. John's Eve/Day, Midsummer)

26 - medicinal herbs (Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Junipero Sierra)

 

July

3 - God Bless America (Grandpa's & Aunt Ami's Birthday, Independence Day, Full Thunder Moon)

10 - thunderstorms (Bill's Birthday, St. Kateri Tekawitha)

17 - farmstand (St. Mary Magdalene)

24 - seashells (St. James, Sts. Joachim and Anne)

 

August

31 - little harvest (St. Ignatius Loyola, Lammas Day, The Transfiguration)

7 - mermaid tales & tears (Full Green Corn Moon, Crackerjack's Birthday)

14 - blueberries (Assumption Day, Blueberry Festival)

21 - bats (Queenship of Mary, St. Rose of Lima)

28 - sunflowers (Labor Day Weekend, World Day of Prayer for Creation, Sunflower Field)

 

************

 

Well, there you have it! I will be adding to the list of events as the year goes along ... field trips and social gatherings come up as they do! And sometimes I switch themes up or continue one theme into the next ... I try not to sweat it too much! For instance, we are still looking around for autumn seeds (it was drizzly that week) and I switched up autumn orchard and crows/corn as they were originally scheduled - an apple picking opportunity came up and it just made more sense!

Now, as I've mentioned - once, twice, a thousand times before, lol - what I'm doing right now is building a book around these themes, something I'll most likely self-publish - and hopefully a planner as well. (Something along the lines of the seasonal planning sheets I've been sharing this year.) I am truly sorry I have not been able to finish up this project and make it available to you as I'd hoped to earlier in the year. All I can promise at this point is to keep writing and blogging and sharing and the very moment I have something (really) ready to go - I will let you know! Thank you for all your support and encouragement - I appreciate every bit of it, every kind word, thoughtful suggestion, and friendly "wave" across the Internet. :)

But for now, I will wrap this up because dinner prep has started in the kitchen and - from the sounds of it - clearly Mama's help is required!

Enjoy the rest of your evening my friends ... I hope to be back here again very soon!

My Early Autumn Planning Sheets (Printables!)

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! :)

Here in America we are celebrating Labor Day weekend, which means tomorrow is a holiday for most of us. It is also considered the unofficial "end of summer" since most children have returned to school by now. (We return to lessons Tuesday!) We're still summery though, weather-wise - after some rain and wind from Hurricane Hermine tomorrow, we are expecting a return to the 90s for the balance of the week! But this is how it goes at this time of year ...

The mornings and evenings ARE cooler and the light is different now, too. The signs of seasonal change are subtle, but -  if you pay attention - then over time instinctually you can tell when these little shifts are taking place. It feels good to be connected with the rhythm of the year. Like being privy to some vital (though often overlooked) information ...

But anyhoo - I am very happy to FINALLY present my next set of seasonal planning sheets to you ... once again with my sincere apologies to be so VERY last minute. sigh My computer crash definitely slowed me down this summer, but honestly, it just took me a while to get around to ironing out all the details! (Not just the plans themselves, but the colors and the clipart!) I have such fun, thinking about these kinds of things, though ... I have always maintained that if we don't plan for joy as carefully as we plan for work, then we might just miss out on a lot. Too much. There are way too many things I LOVE about autumn that I want to share with my children. And I now have a good idea just how fast the years fly ... my oldest "baby" is 21, while my newest is a very busy and delightful THREE. How did that happen?

I may not ever do everything in my plans but I am grateful for what we can do and glad I have made myself (and my family) aware of these kinds of things. These are the things that enrich the ordinary ... make the everyday special ... set one day apart from the next ... and remind us just how BLESSED we are to get to do it again, year after year ... as long as God allows.

Well, ok - time to get down to the nitty gritty! Here are the planning sheets for the next season ahead, which I call "Early Autumn" (September and October). I have my "themes and plans" overview first - one with my notes and one that is blank for you to fill up with your own ideas (though you're welcome to try mine!). Then there are the multi-week planning sheets - an overview that allows for space for you to plan a weekly theme, days of note, home & garden tasks, comforts & joys, meal plans and to-do's ... along with a little vintage clipart and a snippet of an idea from me. :) These go from this coming week (9/5-9/11) through the last week of Early Autumn (10/31-11/6).

And finally, there is a home learning planning sheet in complementary colors. You might use this differently if you don't homeschool - maybe just notes for each of your kids. Goodness knows our kids always have a lot going on! I myself have three boys I'm currently homeschooling so there is room for their lesson notes as well as a day-by-day overview. And if you need a different number of boxes, let me know - I can tweak my original and email you a new copy. :)

Early Autumn Overview (Dawn's)

Early Autumn Overview (clean)

Early Autumn Planning Sheets

Home Learning this Week (Early Autumn) 

I do hope these are of some use to you - I'd love to hear feedback if you have a minute! And please let me know if the links are wonky - I check on my end, but who knows what glitches might come to pass in cyberspace!

I will be back next - PROMISE - with the 52 seasonal themes. (I think that's the third time I've promised them!) And in another month or so - hopefully sooner than later! - I will be back with my last set of seasonal sheets, Late Autumn (November and December). It is my fond hope to publish these on the early side and include some holidays sheets in there too. But we shall see. So please stay tuned,  and thanks so much for stopping by! 

I will see you here again very soon ...

Themes & Plans for May (Updated!)

(Note: This is a post originally composed in 2008. I have fixed any broken links and updated the content to correspond with the current year, 2016. Hope you enjoy!)

May brings flocks of pretty lambs, skipping by their fleecy dams ... 

It's no wonder it's called the merriest month of the year - there is just so much to love about May! And it's no surprise this post is a day or two late - the call of "the wild" gets stronger every day. :) I hardly ever find myself at my desk anymore - and boy, does my inbox show it!

So, what follows is just a sampling - of things to do, things to notice, and things to remember this month. I hope you might find something useful in my ...

~ Themes & Plans for May ~ 

Nature

• Flowering trees at their peak.
• Lilacs bloom around Mother's Day.
• Tulips are up now.
• Violets and wild pansies in the grass.
• Warblers in the tops of the trees.
• Orioles passing through.
• Goldfinches are brilliant yellow.
• Cool rainy days are possible ...
• ... but so are 80 degree days!
• The lawn might need mowing ...
• ... but watch for toads in the yard!
• The orchard is frothy and white.
• Wood ducks are returning.
• Nests spotted at the pond.
• Tent caterpillars in the trees.
• Morel mushrooms sprouting.
• Spring butterflies are here.
• Watch for hummingbirds.
• Jack-in-the-pulpit in the woods.
• Last frost occurs this month.
• The Full Flower Moon rises on the 21st.

Folklore

• Birthstone: emerald
• Flower: lily-of-the-valley
• "A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay ..."

Food

• sweet onions
• rhubarb
• early strawberries
• new potatoes
• radishes
• artichokes
• asparagus
• baby lettuces
• morels
• peas
• spinach
• mint juleps
• pecan pies
• edible flowers
• spring herb soup
• first barbecue of the year

Faith

• May Devotion ~ The Blessed Mother
• Season: Easter; Ordinary Time (Summer) begins
• St. Joseph the Worker (1)
• Minor Rogation Days (2-4)
• Ascension Thursday (5)
• Our Lady of Fatima (13)
• Pentecost Sunday (15)
• St. Isidore the Farmer (15)
• Trinity Sunday (22)
• Corpus Christi (29)
• The Visitation (31)

Household (& Garden)

• Mow lawn; leave grass clippings down as mulch.
• Clean and arrange deck/porch furniture.
• Clean the grill; fill the propane tank.
• Inventory/organize the kids' backyard toys.
• Hang hummingbird window feeder.
• Visit the family graves on Memorial Day ~
  • Tidy and add new flowers.
• Purchase citronella candles or torches.
• Famly physicals this month.
• Launder spring linens and hang in the sun to dry.
• Make travel plans for summer.
• Clean car and organize for summer activities:
  • Beach
  • Picnic
  • Road trips
• Plant garden on Memorial Day weekend.
• Hang the American flag.

Life

• American Bike Month
• National Duckling Month
• National Salsa Month
• National Strawberry Month
• National Egg Month
• Be Kind to Animals Week (1-7)
• National Postcard Week (1-7)
• National Wildflower Week (2-8)
• National Nurses Week (6-12)
• National Herb Week (1-7)
• National Police Week (8-15)
• May Day (1)
• Mother Goose Day (1)
• Star Wars Day (4)
• Cinco de Mayo (5)
• Midwives Day (5)
• The Kentucky Derby (7)
• Mother Ocean Day (7)
• Village Plant Sale (7)
• Mother's Day (8)
• National Apron Day (12)
• Leprechaun Day (13)
• Tulip Day (13)
• Letter Carrier Food Drive (14)
• National Train Day (14)
• World Fair Trade Day (14)
• Chocolate Chip Day (15)
• Hug Your Cat Day (27)
• Indianapolis 500 (29)
• Memorial Day (30)

Book Basket

• The Ugly Duckling
• My Little Book of Wood Ducks
• Pond (One Small Square)
• What's in the Pond?
• Pond Life
• Near One Cattail
• An Egg is Quiet
• Mother Goose
• Mama, Do You Love Me?
• Love You Forever
• Mama, Mama
• A Ride on Mother's Back
• Mary, The Mother of Jesus
• Mother Earth's Children
• My Backyard Garden
• The Victory Garden
• The Reason for a Flower
• Plants that Never Ever Bloom
• Mushroom in the Rain
• How a Seed Grows
• The Flowers' Festival
• Flower Fairies of the Wayside
• The Flower Garden
• A Kids' Herb Book
• Herbs Coloring Book
• Jack's Garden
• Planting a Rainbow
• The Sunflower House
• Eating the Alphabet
• Growing Vegetable Soup
• The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree
• Our Apple Tree
• Herb the Vegetarian Dragon
• The Story of the Kind Wolf
• Rachel Carson: Pioneer of Ecology

Field Trips & Outings

• Visit the apple orchard to sketch trees in bloom.
• Nature walk to the pond.
• Visit the cows at a nearby dairy farm.
• Purchase herbs at the garden store.
• Lilacs walk at the arboretum.

Crafts & Activities

• Make homemade bread and butter
• Decorate fresh butter with clover.
• Look for 4-leaf clovers in the yard.
• Find a special spot in your yard for a Mary Garden.
• Celebrate Derby Day:
  • Read the papers and choose a horse to cheer for.
  • Make "Juleps" for Derby Day (herbal iced tea)
  • Wear big fancy hats while watching the race.
• Make a paper bag piñata on Cinco de Mayo.
• Decorate a canvas (field) bag with leaf prints.
• Decorate a plain canvas apron (smock) on Apron Day.
• Make nature playdough.
• Collect and press wildflowers; begin a herbarium.
• Plant a sunflower house.
• Make a toad home.
• Attract orioles passing through.
• Spend an afternoon coudwatching.
• Learn about waterfowl: ducks, geese, gulls.
• Visit a duck pond and observe nesting behavior.
• Play Duck, Duck, Goose!
• Make a feather collage.
• Make wind chimes with flower pots.
• Go on a mushroom walk after a few damp days.
• Make a catnip toy (with real catnip!) for the cats.
• Eat rhubarb stalks with dixie cups of sugar for dipping.
• Paint and fill herb pots for Mother's Day gifts.
• Mix up some herbal mosquito repellant.
• Make a handloom; weave it with rainbow yarn.
• Fill a box with food for the letter carrier on the 10th.
• Work ahead on handcrafted Father's day gifts.

Whew! As posts go (and mine can go long) that was a big one! ;) Thanks for reading through, and thanks, as always, for stopping by. I hope you'll enjoy the lovely new month which begins in but a few days ... and I hope you'll let me know what you love the most about May!

See you all again very soon ... :)

"What is so sweet and dear
As a prosperous morn in May,
The confident prime of the day,
And the dauntless youth of the year,
When nothing that asks for bliss,
Asking aright, is denied,
And half of the world a bridegroom is,
And half of the world a bride?"
~ William Watson, "Ode in May," 1880

Themes & Plans for April (Updated!)

(Note: This is an updated version of a post I wrote back in 2008 - I added a bit of content, fixed broken links and revised event dates for the current year, 2016. I hope you enjoy - I've had such fun with this series!)

April brings the primrose sweet, scatters daisies at our feet ...

April also brings us (at long, long last), the first true Spring days: mild, soft, fresh and alive with sound and color. Nature is finally shrugging off its Winter shawl, and showering us with a warm and friendly welcome.

It feels so good to open the windows again, and to leave the house with just a sweater - or none at all! There are so many joys to expore with our children this month, and what follows is but a sampling, just my own thoughts for the season. As always, I'd love to hear yours! But for now, please join me as I consider ...

~ Themes and Plans for April (PDF) ~

Nature

• Crocus are now in full bloom.
• Skunk cabbage grows in marshy areas.
• Bears are waking in the (deep) woods.
• Daffodils are in their full glory.
• The skies are gray one minute, blue the next ...
• ... and so rainbows are quite possible.
• Forsythia is bursting all over.
• At night we hear the spring peepers.
• Mourning cloaks are the first butterflies we'll see.
• Returning ~ thrush, phoebe, mockingbird and catbird.
• The smell of wild onions is in the air.
• There could be a light flurry or two.
• We'll have rainy days; the rivers will swell.
• Warm days are more frequent now.
• Juncos leave; chipmunks re-appear.
• Humpbacks are migrating back north.
• Time to check for ticks again.
• Dandelions are plentiful underfoot.
• The Full Pink Moon rises on April 22nd.
• There are buds on the cherry tree ...
• ... which the sparrows love to nibble.
• Bluebells appear along the wood's edge.
• The grass is greening.
• The goldfinches are brightening.

Folklore

• Gem: diamond
• Flower: sweet pea
• Saying: April showers bring May flowers.

Food

• chives
• new potatoes
• asparagus
• fiddlehead ferns
• dandelions
• radishes
• spring lamb
• pasta primavera
• snap peas
• artichokes
• spinach
• sorrel
• goat cheese tart
• rhubarb grunt

Faith

• April Devotion ~ The Blessed Sacrament
• Liturgical Season: Easter (Paschaltide)
• Divine Mercy Sunday (3)
• The Annunciation (4)
• St. George, Patron of England (23)
• St. Mark (25)
• St. Catherine of Siena (29)
• Walpurgisnacht (30)

Household (& Garden)

• Take outdoor furniture out of storage.
• Rent de-thatcher; aerate lawn.
• Harden tender seedlings.
• Plant trees and/or shrubs.
• Clean out potting shed.
• Establish new garden beds.
• Prepare containers; purchase new ones.
• Purchase summer blooming bulbs.
• Organize garden tools.
• Prune flowering bushes after blooming.
• Visit the nursery for spring plants, garden structures.
• Rake and compost leaf litter/debris.
• Spread fresh mulch.
• Spring cleaning (if not done before Easter).
• Have lawnmower serviced if necessary.
• Family meeting re ~ summer plans.
• Turn off fireplace.
• Turn on outside faucet.
• File taxes by 4/15.
• Organize financial files.
• Clean dryer vents and hoses.
• Spiff up the bikes.

Life

• National Autism Awareness Month
• National Poetry Month
• National Keep America Beautiful Month
• National Aquarium Month
• Soccer Season!
• April Fools Day (1)
• Light it Up Blue! Autism Awareness Day (2)
• Hans Christian Anderson (2)
• National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (2)
• Washington Irving (3)
• Find a Rainbow Day (3)
• No Housework Day (7)
• National Siblings Day (10)
• Red Sox Home Opener (11)
• 100th Day of the Year (9)
• Thomas Jefferson (13)
• Tax Day (15)
• The Jungle Book opens (15)
• National Librarian's Day (16)
• National Animal Crackers Day (18)
• Swan Boats return to Boston (16)
• Patriot's Day (18)
• Boston Marathon (18)
• Earth Day (22)
• William Shakespeare's 400th Anniversary (23)
• William and Kate's Anniversary (29)
• Arbor Day (29)

Book Basket 

• The Secret Garden
• The Wind in the Willows
• Old Turtle
• Days with Frog and Toad
• St. George and the Dragon
• Make Way for Ducklings
• The Story of the Root Children
• Our Big Home: An Earth Poem
• The Whole Green World
• Compost!
• The Tale of Jeremy Fisher
• The Tale of Jemimah Puddle Duck
• The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow
• Down Comes the Rain
• From Tadpole to Frog
• Spring Story
• The Brook Book
• Humpback Goes North
• On Noah's Ark
• The Flower Fairies of the Wayside
• Sky Tree: Seeing Science through Art
• Franklin Plants a Tree
• My Favorite Tree: Terrific Trees of North America
• Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat
• From Caterpillar to Butterfly
• Sam the Minuteman

Field Trips & Outings

• A Spring Woods Hike
• A Vernal Pool Visit
• Butterfly Place
• Minuteman Park
• The Boston Public Garden (Make Way for Ducklings)

Crafts & Activities

• Make wilding sticks and nature bracelets.
• Clean up litter in a local park.
• Prepare field bags for spring.
• Begin new nature journals.
• Hang a hummingbird feeder.
• Paint a butterfly house.
• Catch tadpoles at the pond.
• Conduct a rainbow experiment.
• Paint rocks for garden markers.
• Dig in the dirt.
• Set up a nature table at home.
• Make tissue paper butterflies.
• Color a butterfly guide.
• Befriend a tree; start a notebook.
• Re-enact St. George & The Dragon.
• Build a bluebird house.
• Look for nests before leaves come in.
• Update our Bird List.
• Prepare May baskets.

Well, I think I'd better stop there, as my lists are getting rather lengthy! I do hope this post gives you some ideas for the month of April, though. I keep this outline in my home keeping binder, (alongside the other months) and hope that I remember to notice, savor or do some of these things - but I never expect to get to them all!

April is fleeting - so let's make the most of it, my friends! Happy Spring!

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March."
-  Robert Frost

Themes & Plans for March (updated!)

{Happy Monday, my friends - and Happy Leap Year, too! I have started the process of updating my old Themes & Plans series (eight years old and in need of some pruning!) and I thought I would start with March since that month begins TOMORROW! So I'm fixing broken links, adding new ones, and correcting dates to correspond to 2016 ... I hope you find these posts useful or at the very least provide something happy to read. 😊} 

March brings breezes loud and shrill, stirs the dancing daffodil ...

So tell me friends, how will March greet you this year? As a LION or a LAMB? Or perhaps somewhere in between? 

Here in New England we've enjoyed a relatively mild Winter and this week looks to follow a similar pattern. Tomorrow (March 1st) is forecast to be sunny and 50° - not too lion-ish I'd say!

Though Old March can be fickle - chilly and gray one day, mild and bright the next - he brings with him Spring's first tender tidings - a soft breeze, a few bits of green, and the stirring of hope in our hearts. And so, with faith in Spring's return, I offer you some ...

~ Themes and Plans for March (PDF) ~ 

Nature

• a quiet gray landscape, awaiting its green garb
• the old March wind arrives to blow winter away
• blackbirds returning (that squeaky gate sound)
• drip, drip, drip - melting underway
• pussywillows along the riverbank
• mud, mud and more mud!
• potholes that will eat your car in one gulp
• forsythia blushing yellow
• little pots of shamrocks at the grocer's
• The Full Sap (or Worm) Moon (23)
• migrating salamanders on mild, wet nights
• robins hopping in the yard
• maple sugaring in the woods
• the first colorful crocus, tiny jonquils, too ...
• the sun gains warmth; the days lengthen
• skunk cabbage in wetland areas
• fox sparrows passing through
• lambing time at the farm
• a surprise snowstorm is not out of the question ... ?

Folklore

• March gem: aquamarine
• March flower: jonquil
• March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.

Food

• potatoes
• carrots
• turnip
• radishes
• spring onions
• early rhubarb
• leeks
• meatless Lenten Fridays
• egg custards
• maple syrup
• shamrock shakes
• Girl Scout cookies
• corned beef and cabbage
• Irish soda bread
• Irish coffee
• oatmeal scones
• sloppy joes
• donuts for St. Joseph
• fig tarts on Palm Sunday
• Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday
• cheesecake
• ricotta pie
• lamb cake
• baked ham

Faith

• Month of St. Joseph
• Liturgical seasons:
  • Lent
  • Eastertide
• St. David (1)
• Laetare Sunday (6)
• St. Patrick (17)
• St. Joseph (19) 
• Holy Week:
  • Palm Sunday (20)
  • Holy Monday (21)
  • Holy Tuesday (22)
  • Spy Wednesday (23)
  • Holy Thursday (24)
  • Good Friday (25)
  • Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil (26)
  • Easter Sunday (27)

Household

• Rake winter debris from yard.
• Sweep porches, doorsteps, decks and driveways.
• Inspect yard and home exterior for winter damage.
• Clean birdfeeders thoroughly.
• Plan garden plots.
• Start seeds indoors.
• Arrange for mulch delivery.
• Purchase fresh sandbox sand.
• Put windowboxes up; fill with hardy pansies!
• Launder spring bedding.
• Plan Easter dinner.
• Order ham.
• Order basket goodies.
• Buy Easter lilies at the nursery.
• Organize Easter clothes.
• Shampoo rugs.
• Take down storms; hang screens.
• Wash windows
• Polish woodwork with beeswax.
• Re-stock craft supplies for the spring.
• Organize rainy day play gear.
• Start planning summer vacation time.

Life

• National Craft Month
• National Hobby Month
• American Red Cross Month
• National Nutrition Month
• Irish-American Heritage Month
• National Umbrella Month
• March Madness
• Peanut Butter Lovers Day (1)
• Dr. Seuss's birthday (2)
• Alexander Graham Bell's birthday (3)
• Antonio Vivaldi's birthday (4)
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning's birthday (6)
• National Mario Day (10)
• Daylight Savings Time begins (13)
• Uranus discovered (13)
• National Pi Day (14)
• Albert Einstein's birthday (14)
• The Ides of March (15)
• Return of the Swallows to San Juan Capistrano (19)
• National Agriculture Day (20)
• First Day of Spring (20)
• National Waffle Day (25)
• Make up Your Own Holiday Day (26)

Book Basket

• The Story of the Wind Children
• Feel the Wind
• Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka
• Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato
• Song of the Swallows
• The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh
• Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara
• Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
• Jack and the Leprechaun
• Clever Tom and the Leprechaun
• A Child's Book of Celtic Prayers
• St. Patrick's Day
• St. Patrick's Day in the Morning
• St. Patrick's Day Alphabet
• M is for Maple Syrup: a Vermont Alphabet
• Sugaring
• Sugarbush Spring
• The Sugaring-Off Party
• The Maple Syrup Book
• My Spring Robin
• Spring is Here
• Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic
• That's What Happens When it's Spring
• Pelle's New Suit
• Charlie Needs a Cloak
• Weaving the Rainbow
• The Year at Maple Hill Farm
• Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm
• The Little Lamb
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Red Berry Wool
• The Very First Easter
• The Easter Story
• Petook: An Easter Story
• The Jesus Garden
• The Easter Swallows
• The Story of the Cross
• The Story of Easter
• A Tale for Easter
• Celebrate Easter with Colored Eggs, Flowers and Prayer

Field Trips & Outings

• Maple sugaring demonstration
• Visit new lambs & fresh eggs at farm
• Children's Passion Play at church
• Museum of Science: Planetarium

Crafts & Activities

• Fly kites at the park.
• Make a toad home.
• Make pinwheels.
• Hang a windsock.
• Make a palm weaving.
• Watch Darby O'Gill and the Little People.
• Listen to Irish music.
• Listen to Irish legends.
• Make shamrock prayer bouquets.
• Work with sheep's wool; make felt crafts.
• Make beeswax egg candles.
• Paint an umbrella.
• Blow bubbles on a windy day.
• Make a wind guage or a rain gauge.
• Learn weather folkore.
• Organize a Palm Sunday procession for the kids.
• Make homemade chocolates for Easter treats.
• Make Easter cards for family and friends.
• Dye and/or decorate eggs.
• Put out nesting materials for birds.
• Go on an early spring nature walk:
  • Search for signs of spring.
  • How many shades of green can you find?
  • Bring home spring branches to force.
• Make lion and lamb cupcakes.

Now, I'd like to clarify that my family will not be observing each and every one of these March ideas! (Who ever could?!) But having them in mind - and even better, on paper - is a big help when I'm trying to weave a little seasonal awareness, organization and fun into our family life! I like to sit down once a month (usually the second to last weekend) to do a little planning ahead on the seasonal front. I make it part of my weekend "office hours." :) It might seem silly to work "seasonal planning" into an already busy family schedule, but honestly - if I didn't, it's unlikely I'd remember or even try to fit it in!

Well my friends, I've rambled long enough ... thanks so much for stopping by and I hope your March is just lovely, whether wild or mild!

P.S. I wasn't on Pinterest back when I first wrote this post in 2008 - maybe it didn't even exist yet? - but I now have boards for "storing" seasonal ideas such as the ones linked above. I will go through these links to be sure the are still valid and then add them to my March & April board.)

A Fresh Start: Early Spring Planning (Printables!)

My friends, I am very sorry it has taken me so long to get these planning sheets posted! I've had them in "draft" mode for so long, and I thought I'd be able to just whip them up quickly during one good sit-down session - but that's not how it played out! So here we are on the very doorstep of Early Spring - four days left! - and I have only just finished them up. Once I post this, I will print out a fresh set for my binder. :)

So I hope the PDF links work for you, and please let me know if they don't. Here's a quick glance at the shades I chose for this season: buttery yellow, robin's egg blue and spring green. :)

A quick note on the format of the sheets ... I have provided "clean copies" so you may use them for yourself, but naturally my own sheets are personalized to match my own seasonal plans! If you look at "Dawn's Overview" you'll notice that in each weekly box I've listed several "ideas" as well as days of note. These are little writing assignments for myself - things I've blogged about before or hope to write more about this year - but I'm sharing them in case they might be of interest to you. ❤

Well, without further ado, here are the links - there's a planning sheet for each week of March and April as well as an Early Spring Overview and a color-coordinated sheet for "Home Learning this Week." I hope you enjoy them, and I'd love to hear what you think!

*Note: As I mentioned in my first planning printables post, the vintage images I used were found on Pinterest and to the best of my knowledge, are free for any personal use. So please keep it personal ... :)

Early Spring Overview (Dawn's)

Early Spring Overview (clean copy)

Home Learning this Week (Early Spring)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 10 (2/29-3/6)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 11 (3/7-3/13)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 12 (3/14-3/20)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 13 (3/21-3/27)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 14 (3/28-4/3)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 15 (4/4-4/10)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 16 (4/11-4/17)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 17 (4/18-4/25)

Early Spring Planning Sheet: Week 18 (4/26-5/1)

*❤*

Also, here's a link to my first set of printable planning sheets: Deep Winter, 2016. I will be happy to share my Late Spring sheets (for May and June) once they're ready and hopefully that won't be quite as last minute! :)

Well my friends, that's all for now, but as always I thank you for stopping by and I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day. I appreciate that you spent a bit of it here!

See you again very soon ...

Seasonal Planning: Why the Moon?

During the Planning Chat Workshop this morning, someone asked why I write the moon phases in my planner ... and it's a very good question! Because it got me thinking about why I enjoy seasonal planning so much ... and in the case of the moon's phases, while we may not be amateur astronomers or anything, I still find it useful information to have on hand ... and here's why. :)

 

For one thing, the full moons, as named by the Native Americans, are tied in with the season in which they fall (Sap Moon, Pink Moon, Flower Moon, Thunder Moon, etc.) and sometimes I include them in our nature study plans. So for example, we might schedule a maple sugaring field trip (a popular local tradition), during the week of the Full Sap Moon ... and that week might be assigned the theme, "melting/sap/thaw." Actually, there's a lot of science and history to be tied in with this topic! We could investigate what conditions are needed for the sap to start running (freezing nights, but day temps above 50) and what it signals to the trees (and the rest of us): Spring is truly on its way! Or maybe we'd learn how the early colonists "discovered" maple syrup (thanks to the Native Americans) and I might even plan a maple-based dinner one night. The younger boys have such fun with all of this, but I think the older boys enjoy these family activities as well.

 

It's also helpful to know when a new moon will occur (which means, no moonshine) because it's easier to see the stars on a "moonless" night. And perhaps that's something I would like to do with the boys as part of our home learning that week or as one of our family "adventures." There are also several meteor showers that occur throughout the year and some are easier to view than others - especially when they take place during the darker sky of a new moon! So it's handy to know whether the moon is waxing or waning when scheduling these kinds of seasonal activities in my planner.

 

Beyond all that though, I like the idea of my planner serving as an old-fashioned "almanac" of sorts, so I include weather notes and simple observations of the nature around us. (Two deer in the yard just now ... heard a raven in the woods ... spotted a fisher cat on Main Street this morning!) I even check the Weather Channel app on my iPhone when doing my weekly "look ahead" planning!

 

Another example of seasonal planning, and this one applies to both nature's seasons as well as those of the Church ... this week we'll be celebrating the Feast of St. Agnes, and our weekly theme is "snowflakes." For years now I've tied snowflakes with this saint's day (because of the tradition of St. Agnes's "flowers") and there are certain crafts and comforts I like to weave into our week. Snowflake science, baking and stories, so many options! Not must-dos, but may-dos. And as it appears we may be in for some snow here late next week, I'll make a point to get the boys outside to really experience the season, this depth of winter ... does it smell like snow? Feel like snow? Look like snow? What signs are telling us snow is on the way?

 

(Now, I was just writing these very notes in my planner for next week and that reminded me I have a half-written post in which I show you how I'm using my printable planning sheets. (In other words, with the spaces filled in!) I am also going to make the monthly calendars I showed you in my planner tour available as PDFs this week in case you'd like to use those as well ... so stay tuned!)

 

So anyhow, this question really made me smile and think for a bit about why I spend so much time finding out about nature and then working it into our family plans. It's something that brings me a lot of personal joy - tying my energy and inspiration to the season - but it's created a lot of fun traditions with my children as well! :)

 

So if your family, like mine, enjoys checking out the night sky from time to time, here's a great calendar for 2016 astronomical events, including full moons and shooting stars, etc. And as of today (or tonight) we are on the way towards the January full moon WHICH -  according to my planner - takes place next Saturday. It's the Full "Wolf" Moon this month and there is some very interesting history tied into that ... but I'll stop there because as usual, I'm getting carried away!

 

But speaking of the Planning Chat Workshop this morning - it was such fun! I hope you could join us, but there is still a way you can listen in - click HERE to sign up for the replay as well as the links Mystie, Jen and I shared from our blogs. I would love to follow up on some of the points and questions that came up during the talk, so please leave me a note or zip me an email (bysunandcandle AT gmail DOT come) if there's something you'd like to see in a future post!

 

For now though, I am going to sign off and enjoy the rest of this slow, snowy Saturday ... I hope you do the same! But thanks so much for stopping by! I will see you all here again very soon ...

 

🌛 🌝 🌜🌚

My Advent Tea Journal ~ Welcome Winter!

Happy Monday, my friends ~ and Happy Winter Solstice, too!

I'm getting a late start on Tea, because it's been a busy one today! And mostly it's been a "working tea," so if you've just stepped into the kitchen to join me, please excuse the mess! There are, however, some good smells in the air and soft music in the background ... the kids are all occupied (bigs watching littles), so I'm ready to sit ...

Please grab yourself a cup (there are plenty in the cupboard) and let's chat! :)

Now as you're probably aware, today we begin a new season: around midnight tonight the seasons will change guard, as Autumn retires and Winter makes its triumphant return. Though to be honest, I don't know how triumphant Old Man Winter is in these parts - we hit 50° earlier today! And not a speck of snow to be seen, which is quite late in the game for New England ...

But snow or no, Winter is arriving at our doortsteps and I think it's a wonderful thing to prepare our hearts and home for all it has to offer. I take joy in all the seasons as they turn (and return) - and I love all of them equally. Each one has its unique pleasures and promises to offer, and I've been taking notes for years on how to make the best of each season of the year. It's such a passion of mine! I will spend more time discussing the new season in upcoming posts, but here are a few questions for us to ponder as we Welcome Winter on this dark, chilly night. I've added my own answers, but I'd love to hear yours, too!

What is Winter like where you live? Is it true to form this year?

Here in New England it's unseasonably mild, and has been for some time. They're predicting near 70° on Christmas Eve! This is just unheard of ... although, after last year's epic snowfall, I should probably be counting our blessings! Things will turn around before long, I am sure ...

What are your favorite things about Winter?

I love SNOW! From gentle flurries to snowstorms - big old Nor'easters thrill me! I just love it. And nothing beats a Winter sunset stretching across a clear, frosty sky. Vivid and breathtaking - God's perfect artistry! I also love watching birds at the feeders at this time of year, and savoring the warmth of home on cold days and nights ... with extra blankets, cozy slippers, and nourishing foods like hot cocoa, baked apples and hearty beef stew.

What are some hobbies you might try over these long winter days?

I'm going to recommit to my journal-keeping this Winter, and get more organized about seasonal crafts.

What foods do you like to serve during the Winter? Are there seasonal meals you return to every year?

I love seasonal meals ... so in Winter, that means potatoes and root vegetables, pot pies, stews and soups, oatmeal, citrus fruits, molasses cookies and hot beverages of all kinds.

*☀️*

And now, for my Tea Journal Notes this week, our fourth week of Advent, just a handful of days from that holiest of nights ...

What refreshments are you enjoying this week?

We are so grateful to have received a wonderful selection of citrus fruits from Bill's aunt who now lives in Florida. Because I know I'll be "indulging" quite a bit later this week I'm trying to eat as healthy as possible these days, so my "snack" today is hot tea and a very simple (but sweet) clementine. I find oranges and clementines very Christmasy, don't you?

Now, if you're "game," maybe you'd care to join me in some last-minute Christmas crafting? :)

As I work, the cider is simmering on the stove and the boys are all busy with their own affairs - Earlybird is working with his therapist and my older boys are taking turns playing with Little Bear. I don't always have my kids at the craft table with me, but I like that they see me here ... being calm and thoughtful and taking joy in the season with my hands and my heart. It's one of those pre-Christmas days when the home atmosphere is so important ... one of quiet anticipation and joyful preparation. I try to model this mindset for my children, and hope that their memories of these days will be dear ones.

 What are you reading this week?

I'm not doing much "personal reading" this week, but that's to be expected. I do love all those holiday picture books, though! Our book basket is full of "Winter Welcome" this week, and here is a list of some of our favorites:

Winter is Coming

The Shortest Day

Wintertime

Grandmother Winter

Winter Waits

Winter Lullaby

Dear Rebecca, Winter Is Here

Waiting for Winter

Winter

When Winter Comes

The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits

 Also by my side is Winter: A Collection of Poems, Songs and Stories for Young Children, as I look for little verses to journal or share or write into curriculum plans.

What are you listening to this week?

And Winter Came ... by Enya. It is just so lovely, and an early Christmas present for me! :)

When Bill and I were first dating (in the late 80s/early 90s) then engaged ('91) and then married ('93), Northern Exposure was our favorite tv show ... for its quirky plotlines and lovable characters as well as the very cool soundtrack. Several Enya songs were used throughout the series and we just fell in love with her music. To listen to this or this just takes me right back to those sweet, early days! We're actually re-watching this series with the boys over vacation, and loving it all over again. :)

What are you working on this week?

Setting up a Blessings Jar for the New Year, organizing a family meeting, and finishing my monthly calendar for the file crate ... as well as my 2016 planner. The notebook above is - potentially - my new daybook for 2016. I found it at Paper Source (while Christmas shopping with Bill!) and not only did I love the cover, but the pages are gorgeous. It's a nice size, too. I have to play around with it a bit - but of course, I will let you all know how it turns out!

 In addition, this week is all about readying ourselves for Christmas ... a bit more in the practical sense than the pensive, but I'm trying desperately to keep things in perspective. To keep the peace we've cultivated ... in me and around me. 

A couple of projects:

Sun and moon ornaments I made for the tree ... :) I have a plan to make "nature" ornaments throughout next year - a couple each month to reflect the changing seasons and natural phenomena. I found some plain, kraft-brown, round ornaments at AC Moore that are very easy to paint up and decorate. On the back of each ornament will be a quote or sentiment I wish to pass on to my children ...

I also made this ornament, a mama robin on her nest ...

(The eggs are painted whole nutmeg!) 

What's happening in nature this week?

 Mostly, we've been taking advantage of dry, mild weather and enjoying the last sunsets of Autumn ...

Any projects with the children this week?

We set up a Solstice Tree for our little furred and feathered friends ...

And this week in our Advent plans we're focusing on "Friends, Family and Fellow Man," so it was time to move our Holy Family into the manger where the rocks, plants and animals have gathered to welcome them ...

Shepherds wait on the windowsill amongst the nativity-themed books ...

While the wise men began their journey in the bookcase across the room. :)

(and finally)

Any quotations to share, some words to inspire?

For my friends who are not quite as pleased to see Winter makes its appearance:

*❤*

Now, speaking of Winter, I am so pleased to tell you all that there will be ANOTHER Live Planing Chat between Jen, Mystie and myself sometime next month! Details to come, (and of course I'll share them as soon as I can) but I do know we'll talk further about planning strategies (nitty-gritty stuff!) and brainstorm ideas for the first couple of months of the year. If you have any suggestions please drop me a note! I will be picking up speed with my Fresh Start series starting next week, and I will address the "mind map" I mentioned in the talk last week as a couple of you have asked about it. I think it's a great tool for anyone thinking about their responsibilities and routines or perhaps beginning a new planner. A timely topic for sure!

As always, I would LOVE to hear from you, my friends, about your own Tea this week and/or your thoughts on welcoming Winter. If you have a moment, please drop me a note below or send me an email here:

>> bysunandcandle AT gmail DOT com <<

(Pics are always welcome!)

I look forward to hearing from you and chatting more about all these fun topics! Thank you so much for joining me today and letting me prattle on about this and that ... I appreciate your time and kind attention! :)

See you here again very soon ...

November Nightfall

It comes so early now ... the night. And some might say too early, but it's all just part of that rhythm. Outside there's a fading of color and a sharpness to the air ... while inside we have our lights burning and there are extra blankets on the beds. At this time of year the comforts of home seem all the more comforting, but the outside is still welcoming too, especially on evenings like these ...

Sunset, 4:20 p.m. Sunday. Just before the Patriots Game.

:)

How wonderful for a little one to get all rosy-cheeked and leaf-littered on a cool autumn evening ... then to come inside for a warm bath and a good supper before bed. I love teaching my children to appreciate our days in ALL seasons and by "teaching" I mean, sharing my own joy right alongside them. That's the best lesson, I think - what we show them. Because those little eyes watch us so closely! Little Bear might not read his mama's blog yet, but I know he can read my moods ...

You know, I've been working on that book of mine, and trying to figure out just where I'm going with it ... getting distracted sometimes, or maybe even a little defeated ... but when I look back at this post, I can see it. This is what makes me tick, and this is where I zoom in: on the simple, little joys ... the easy, homey comforts. Every week brings something new to learn and share ...

As organic as it seems it should be to just follow the seasons and accept nature's rhythm, I find that Life As We Know It often gets in the way. So I create a little structure - weekly themes and file folders - and hope that by planning ahead we'll make more of the moment. The seasons pass so quickly - not to mention the years! So this week we're watching our world get sleepy and dark and we're feeling grateful for things like light and warmth (and peace) ... in nature we're observing a fallen log and exploring the tart curiosity of cranberries, while baking breads to bring to neighbors across town ... 

November days - are they dark? Yes, they can be. But dull? No, they don't have to be. There's much to be thankful for and so many ways to explore this big, blessed world. It is my hope to highlight these joys in each week of the year ... to work them into my "plans" so they become more than just ideas, but actions ... and then to share them all with my family, and you!

So anyhow ... that's where I'm at right now. I mostly just wanted to share all these happy photos and then I got carried away. (You all know how I get.) And now I'm watching another (early) sunset, lighting a candle on our seasons shelf, and conjuring some good smells in the kitchen ...

And putting the laptop down, for now. But I'll be back here again sometime soon ...

(Good Night!)