Welcome to the new blog, { With eager hands } !

I am so glad you made it here!  Did you come by way of Adventures in Living & Learning, my old blog?  Perhaps you found us through another blog you enjoy with your tea or coffee?
Either way, I am so glad you are here!  I have already begun posting, so mill around and see what all is here!  I plan to add a smidge more over the next few months, so I do hope that you will stop in often!
To welcome you, I will have 3 giveaways through the end of April – hooray!
But let’s not wait another minute for the giveaways to begin!

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Today I celebrate { with eager hands } as well as the budding business of one of my dearest friends. 
Have you yet been to Homegrown and Beeyoutiful? 

No?!  Oh, you should!  You MUST! 
     This beautiful woman has a testimony that has only deepened my respect for her.  She has a real gift for hospitality – The Lord has used her in our homeschool group in a mighty way because she followed His leading.  What’s more, she is a hoot and a holler, ya’ll, a Hoot and a HOLLA!  She keeps us all in stitches!
     And yet, she has a deep passion for Christ and this passion pervades every part of her life.  From her decision to homeschool using Charlotte Mason methods, to her hobby of photography, (which isn’t really a hobby!) to starting her own soap making business, she always sought FIRST God’s will. 
Homegrown & Beeyoutiful began as a way to nourish her son’s skin.  Says Amanda,
“Our oldest son Levi has suffered with eczema since he was an infant. Real soap is the only soap he can use that is safe and non-toxic for his sensitive skin. Since we began making soap for him, our entire family has been greatly blessed by the benefits of real soap.”

I remember when Amanda began her soap making work, so excited about every new thing she learned, testing out new things, learning from her mistakes.  It has been a thrill to see her learn her craft!  Here is what she has to say about her product:

“Long ago soap companies began removing natural soap ingredients to increase profits. This required them to add many harsh chemicals to soap. This process makes soap more detergent than soap.
Real soap cannot be made without Lye. Lye when mixed with oils goes through a chemical change that turns the oils into "Real Soap" without any added chemicals.
Levi's Lye Soap is safe for all skin types. Our soap is handmade here at our home with our homegrown herbs. Because each bar is handcut, you will not find a bar that is exactly the same. Each bar is around 3.5-4.5 ounces. It is a vegetarian based soap that contains no animal products and only natural ingredients.”
I have used all her soap and love it.  I am partial to the rosemary mint, as I love the scent and the slight exfoliant action it brings.  The kids prefer the honey oatmeal, as it mild and relaxing in scent and wonderful for our two who struggle with skin issues as well.

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Amanda is graciously giving away 4 bars of her Homegrown & Beeyoutiful soap one of my readers!  The giveaway will last until March 31.  Here’s how you can maximize your  chances to win!
(Note: you will need to return to add a comment for each entry, please!)

1st chance: head to Amanda’s Etsy shop, Homegrown and Beeyoutiful and see what her offerings are.  Return here to share which bar of soap you might like best!
2nd chance: “Follow” this blog using the Google Followers in the top right section of the sidebar
3rd chance: Subscribe to the RSS feed
4th chance: Share about the giveaway on Facebook!
5th chance: Tweet about the giveaway, or email your friends!
6th chance: Share this giveaway on your own blog!
At the end of the giveaway, I will announce the winners – good luck, and I look forward to meeting you!

entrepreneurs

Shop.

It’s what the girls play. 
I remember anytime I played Shop it involved anything but real money.
Apparently our girls found that form of Shop too childish.
Everything has been in this Shop, from
drawings
to handmade jewelry
to bits and bobs
to shells and stones.
(I haven’t heard of either of them have put their brother on the market.  I’ll let you know.)

What you see here is a lighter day of commerce in the Shop – these hands are eager, that’s for sure!

Are you seeing any of your childhood games be reborn in your own home?

Mama, Can We Go to the Creek?

Such a Simple Question.
Not really.  Not for me. 
Room to learn, explore,
discover,
depend on one another without Mama hovering around… or,
well…
Children + water = 1 Anxious Mama!
When MG was about 4-ish, we were at a small playground with our playgroup.  On one side of the playground was a road.
The other? A smallish creek.  (SC locals, this is Ashley Dearing park, our favorite for the small crowd) Anyhoo, for all of 5 minutes, I didn’t breath – I couldn’t find MG.  All the moms helped look in all the places she might be, the places we really want to find her, and everywhere in between.  Another mom checked the bathroom – there she was! 
She was completely obvious to what had just gone on on the other side of that door.  She looked at her crying mother like she was a piece of walking fruitcake.  Who cares – she was ok!
Fast forward 6+ years. (yikes! has it been that long?)
Daddy had been letting the girls and HR go to the creek, and I had finally been ok with it.  They got the Lecture every time they went out.
Note: not sure why I am using past tense.  After this story, you will know why I STILL give them all the Lecture before they go down there.
Short story made long:
The two girls go down, I check on them through the window , frequently have the other two kids in the house with me. I need them after a while, so I go out to call them.  No answer.  I don’t panic, because the water and the distance make it hard to hear me.  I have to scream really really LOUD.  So I do.  Nothing.  I move to the other side of the house, turn my head more, scream louder. 
Nothing.  Starting to get  a little antsy. 
Scream, scream, scream, scream, scream.  For a loooooong time.
And REALLY loud.  Like, Folks-on-the-Other-Side-of-the-Mountain-Call-Me-Up-Curious kinda loud. 
Early-Stages-of-Mama-Freakout sort of screaming.
Nothing.
>>>> Panic Button had been SLAMMED!!<<<<
I am near tears, shaking, praying in head to God that of the 3 nasty things that were in my head that could have happened to them, let it not be any of them, and they were just out of earshot. (where the heck can THAT be, as loud and long as I was screaming!?!?! Oh – Florida, perhaps!)
A neighbor saw me yelling as drove by and stayed with HR and SA, so that I could go look.  I won’t share with you all that I did, but it was a total of 20 minutes that I couldn’t find those girls.  TWENTY MINUTES! 
And they were out of earshot, which, I suppose ISN’T limited to Florida.  Seems that all you have to do is do out yonder near Ms. Carole’s house and you’re there. 
Sigh…..I hugged.  and cried.  And then caterwauled about not going to the creek for a long time – So don’t ask! 
For them, they were just out collecting rocks, and just weren’t in any hurry when they heard me towards the very end.  It wasn’t until they got close enough to see my face that (oh, heavens, what I must have looked like!) something wasn’t right.
EK was super sweet all night, pictures and all
And they are MUCH better about staying close and being quick to come when I call :)
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The Lecture goes a little something like this:

Mama, can we go to the creek?

Yes, but you have to take care of each other.

And watch out for other critters.

Make sure any moss you take you leave plenty behind.

Don’t get far off the path.

Watch where you climb – lower your center of gravity (yes, this is part of the Lecture)

Notice something new.

Don’t forget to hold hands in slick spots.

Imagine something new.
(this, for instance, would be perfect as a gnome’s couch, according to MG, Resident Expert on All Things Fantasy)

Keep up with your brother.  All the time, please.

And whatever you do, be safe and come home safe and sound to share your discoveries!

Garden 2011 -- a quick list

Here in the South, planting time is almost here -- and here on the Creek, these eager hands are getting ready - all 6 sets of them!
We like to think that we are learning as we go, so we try to embrace all the challenges and failures setbacks that come with the learning process.

Last year's garden included:
<> several types of squash -- lesson?  Squash bugs take alot of time being squashed. Alot of squash bugs take a whole lotta time to be squashed.
<> sweet peas -- plant a ton, because you will eat most of them right there on the spot.
<> black-eyed peas -- we ARE in the South, but like the peas, you have to plant alot.  Alot.
<> corn -- it matters how many rows, friends.  I had no idea!  Our crop didn't fully germinate.
<> tomatoes -- Need. More. Space.  We love tomatoes here, or at least 4/6 of us do.  Which reduces to 2/3 of us.  And there is your Practical Math lesson for the day :)  Our 'mater spot was a cage, and we planted too many for the space, and get those guys made it!  We plan to put out tommy toes, roma tomatoes, and the big boys.  Does anything say summer better than a 'mater sammich?
<> carrots -- fun and easy!
<> cucumbers -- we had a bit of a dud crop, and need to read up on this more.  We had the pickling variety and the standard shot, but they never tasted right, and the bugs.  Ooooh, the bugs!
<> lettuce -- winner, winner, winner!
<> parsley and cilantro -- praise be, something I can't kill!  :)

This year's garden is going to be super simple.  We will be using seed from last year, from Foster's (a local market) and Southern Exposure, based out of Virginia as well.  We want:
<> green beans -- Blue Lake, just like Grandma's (my paternal grandmother, who always blesses us with canned beans on our visits home.  Our girls are green bean snobs -- they will only eat Grandma's Green Beans.  She should label those guys!)
<> tomatoes -- like I said above, we want the li'l guys, the romas, and the canning and sammich-making 'maters.  We will not overload the cage this year, but we are deciding where more will go.
<> lettuces
<> cucumbers
<> squashes
<> parsley and cilantro

We plan to sit down with pencil and paper soon and make our finals plans.  When we do that, you folks will get up to speed.  Until then, what is going in your garden?

Our 2010-11 Homeschool Check-In -- a mish-mash!

The school year, in the public school sense of the phrase, stated out with a fairly heavy list of programs and curriculum sources.  You can read about that over at my old blog, Adventures in Living & Learning. I soon learned that what I had projected for the 2010-11 school year was, shall we say, a little much.

Here is what we have been consistently doing:

MG has kept up her very healthy reading habit -- read anything she can get hands on!  She has also been consistent with working on 1-2 lessons on Teaching Textbooks 4. 

EK has only recently expressed any interest in learning to read, but it mostly comes from what she wants to write.  And for her, it's been names and phone numbers and party planning lists.  I have been spotty at using the Waldorf-style approach to letters and sentence writing, because I thought she would really respond to that.

the picture for H: Mother Holle, Grimms Fairy Tales

 While she does like to hear stories, she doesn't seem to be the least bit interested in the rest of it.  I am strongly leaning towards waiting a little longer before beginning any more formal academics, even at the ripe age of 7 and 2 weeks.  I did order Miquon Math, and will begin that with her in the next week or so.

HR is a busy 4 year old boy, and I am still trying to figure out how he figures into the day.  I seem to be opposite him, however.  I plan simple activities, games, you name it, and he would rather do anything but those things.  Then I plan nothing, and let him be free...and you can imagine how that turns out 9 times out of 10.  I have a few more ideas I have read from other fantastic homeschool mothers of many, which I will post separately.

Nature Club with Lecia's little lady -- they were slowing down from a run to catch up with us...but then they got behind again!

SA is 1.5 years old and as full of herself and any toddler can be!  She wants to be right in the thick of it all, which all you mothers of preschoolers knows keeps me super busy!  I am exhausted by Quiet Time!

Together, We are   s  l  o  w  l  y   working through Story of the World, Volume 1.  And for the second time, I am finding myself completely losing interest, and at the exact same place.  The kids like it well enough, but I think we need to find a different method of delivery.

We have done a bit of Artist Study, and some light Composer Study, seasonal crafts, and informal nature studies.  Presently, my energy is on taking back my home and teaching the girls to care for our space.  And that's a lot of energy, let me tell you.  I like how my preacher's wife put it just the other night -- we are focusing on practical skills right now!

We are using Ambleside Online as a booklist, and what a wonderful tool AO is!  It was one of the first homeschool "curriculum" sites I ever visited, when I was first reading on Charlotte Mason and her ideas.  I don't look at only one Year list, but draw from Years 0-4.  Really, if you haven't been to Ambleside Online, you are missing out on a real treasure!  And best of all, it's free!

Reading D'Aulaire's Abraham Lincoln while making (and consuming) log cabins

As you can see from this very "skimmy" type post, and the link to the last Adventures in Living & Learning post above, I have moved away from the Waldorf education model that I started out with several years ago.  There are good-to-me reasons for this, and I hope to share my experience with Waldorf education and the gradual shift to a more Charlotte Mason sort of education soon.

Until then!

Early Spring Flowers

Spring is not far away, but her colors are already starting to dot the landscape of our yard.

 

Following Barb’s cue at Handbook of Nature Study, we found our boots and jackets, nature journals and writing utensils, and headed outdoors!

I spent most of my time keeping the puddle jumper going, while HR spent his time doodling and fixing up a spot to work on said doodling.
 
The girls were slow to get into the challenge, but there was fair reason: as EK was heading out of the house with MG’s nature journal and colored pencils, her finger was caught in the door – ouch!  All is well, but it did put a bit of a damper on her writing (it was on her writing hand, as well).

Looking at their sketches, and hearing them talk, I am reminded of how different my two oldest children are.

 

EK is so dreamy and light, and her sketches reflect that – the child doesn’t let her fairy feet touch the ground long enough (or slow enough) to focus on the task at hand.  She would rather flit (or fly?) from spot to spot, keeping in close proximity to me.  She is so cute when she runs up to me with something, calling, “Look, mama, I found Nature!”

MG is quite the opposite.  She finds one artifact and sits down in her "nature spot” and sketches.  I can tell that she wants to work on her drawing skills, but is easily put off when her sketches don’t match what she is actually seeing. 

She is, however, focused, and her writing (when she does it) moves between scientific notation and a naturalist’s notes.  I should post some of her writing here – you should read her cinquains.
For this study, I wanted to get onto the blog and see what Barb has us do, and I wanted to pull out my Handbook of Nature Study book, but that would be been done me in, so I just went with it. 

We went out, after all the finger-in-the-door drama, and all I asked them to do, was to take in early spring flowers.  I left the rest up to them.  It went ok, but after about 10 minutes, they had moved onto other things (namely, SA got into the horse pasture and started towards the creek.  Below you can see that our Early Spring Flowers Nature Study was over, and became Investigate the Creek time).

puddle jumper

This is the cutest puddlejumper I have ever seen!