Polly is Paul

We heard the crowing yesterday - loud and clear.  Not once but three times during the day.

Still not sure how we are going to navigate having a pet meat bird that gets

beat up by the hens.

One day at a time I guess.

A Beautiful Afternoon

Yesterday was a gift.

Well, everyday is really.  

But the sunshine and warmth on November 6, I call extra special.

A perfect day to clean the chicken coop - not a beautiful job, but satisfying when done.

These are pictures of our four ducks.  They are bantam mallards (I think...).  

 Glad to have two pairs and really hoping for babies next spring.

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Tonya

(P.S.  Several people asked me yesterday about the Lego magazine.  It is free from here.)

Learning Naturally

Just this morning...

Abraham made a Lego creation following instructions from the magazine that arrived yesterday.

Sarah read aloud about how our paper money is made after asking me to print out the information for her while I was at the library yesterday.

Abby made a recipe she found online yesterday at the library.  She had to look up some conversions such as grams to cups.

I am working harder at being a better observer of my children.  Making notes of what they are learning each day.  Working my way one step at a time toward what my heart tells me, that unschooling is right for our family.

Making Pizza

Isaac offered to make pizza for dinner last night. 

His first time making dough on his own.

He made the dough from scratch, used canned sauce and shredded the cheese.

He kept asking me if we really eat so much flour, not quite believing how few ingredients there are in dough. 

(Even though I make bread nearly everyday but usually at 7:00 am when he is still in bed.)

In no rush at all and so in tune with what he was doing (where I sometimes think of it as another task that needs to get completed), enjoying the process.  The kneading, the rolling and the spreading.

So now he has two things he can make mostly from scratch - pizza and apple pie.  

Grateful

I appreciate  how when I spend a couple of days under the weather, that my perspective changes.  I see the beauty all around me, appreciate those around me, and am so grateful for what I am able to do when my health returns.

Knitting and Reading

I know I've said here many times before that I do not like knitting in the round with double pointed needles... but

I really want to knit socks.

and

After selling several vests and sweaters recently (meaning I could now justify buying more yarn), I made a trip to our local yarn shop on Saturday.

I saw this yarn, Patons, and bought some size 7 double pointed needles.

Success.  I love how sometimes when at first things seem impossible and frustrating that you just drop it for awhile and then come back and attempt it again, and then it works. 

In addition to visiting the yarn shop, we stopped at the library and I borrowed The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley.

This is an interesting book.  It looks at the educational methods and cultures of the top performing countries, of which the US is not one, through the eyes of three exchange students.

I am not so sure, however, of what is being measured, in terms of the exams, really equals how smart one is and from what I have read so far, success seems to be measured in test scores, college admissions, and the ability to find what is considered in one's country to be a "good job." 

I am just getting to the section about Finland and am hoping that their educational methods are a bit less traditional and rigorous than South Korea.

Joining in with Ginny today.

Outside and Inside

There was a fairly thick layer of ice on the pond this morning.

The girls and the young buck were happy to see the sun again today after missing it for several days. 

Inside I have been busy playing with greens and browns.

I finished another simply sweet sweater.  I made an error on the arm size.  Writing patterns

is no easy task let me tell you.  I am not so sure I have the stick-to-it to keep knitting samples and working 

through different sizes.  It really makes me appreciate those that do sell their patterns.  The writers/designers deserve to be paid well.

I have dyed two wool/silk scarves.  One a soft sage and the other a shade of brown.

They lack some originality, however, and I am looking for ideas to embellish them - to make them each 

a bit more artsy.  The fabric is delicate so whatever I add needs to take that into account.  Any ideas?