Saying goodbye to summer

The seasons will formally change at the end of the week, even though it felt as though the fall weather came quite awhile ago. With this change we have been talking about the days we enjoyed during the summer; beach days, Ontario Place, golfing, swimming in outdoor pools, barefeet, nakedness, icecream, backyard pool, sand, late nights.

Harvest Season

There is no greater joy then harvesting vegetables you have planted, cared for and watched grow. This is the last of the green peppers and our onions. The kids thought it was a blast pulling them up- like hidden treasure. The Italian squash are still extremely small....who knows what they will do, to be honest squash baffle me.

Indian Summer Festival

Crawford Lake, a reconstructed 5th century Iroquian village, is one of our local favorite treasures. This weekend they held an Indian Summer Festival. As well as the village, interactive long houses, hiking trails and lake, there was also story telling, displays, dancing, hemlock tea, corn doll and necklace making.
One of the stories in particular drew the kids in, it was about why the corn doll never has a face. It was about vanity and outward beauty, not a topic they really get (yeah) but the story teller was quiet, speaking intensely, with only them as her audience, which completely engaged them.
We all enjoyed the day.

Dancing

I am not sure which was enjoyed more; the dancing or the costumes. There were five dancers, each from a different region, each dancing a different story, each with a different costume with a different significance. Aria was thrilled at the opportunity to dance with the two women who were wearing the ribbon shawls telling the story of the butterfly emerging. Elias and Ben were awed by the decorations, feathers, eagle head and leather of the traditional dancer.

A new perspective

During my studies at university many of my classes dealt with contemporary Native issues, decoding years of oppression and layers of injustices. This time in my life was very passionate and emotional, having had the opportunity to work and live with different peoples for whom these issues are their lives. I am very aware of these layers and the impact on today's culture (both native and non) when my kids are asking questions about traditional cultures, when they are playing Hurons collecting cranberries canoeing on the playgym. It has been a long time since I could be in the moment, the magic of history without intermingling those layers. Being with the kids today, I got to enjoy the smell of the hemlock tea, be in awe of the time and effort it would take to create beautiful moccasins, imagine what bedtime would be like in a long house. Not that I will be forgetting the layers because they are part of the picturem, but it was great to be in the moment.

The Season Opener

Chris picked up a free hockey net from a neighbour this morning. The kids now have 2 nets, allowing them to have a 'full rink'. The weather broke this afternoon and out the equipment came. Road hockey is one of the many ways the kids love to spend time with Chris, he even bought them all their own jersey's from the village...it's very cute!
And if you are going to pull out some of the hockey stuff you can't ignore pieces to build a ???? train? cargo carrier? rocketship? it doesn't really matter, its a fun machine and mum even got a ride!

Let the classes begin

For me, Autumn wins hands down for the best season. The smells of falling leaves, apple butter, pear crisp, the sunshine, the gorgeous colours, the slight breeze...the classes beginning! I love the excitement of trying new things. Today Ben and Aria started their dance class and on the first and last parent can watch. It was a small class with a few students away. Aria loves the movement, the dance outfit she got from her Nana for her birthday, the songs, the concept of dane, the social aspect. She exudes joy while she moves. Ben doesn't love it the same why she does, but he does enjoy moving his body in the way you do through dance. He really is a natural; flexibility, rhythm, strength all are innate for him. It was wonderful watching them both, very different, very much being themselves.

Long awaited

Aria has asked numerous times over the summer about when she would return to the preschool she attended last year. She has written her 'teacher' notes, visited, drew her pictures that she mailed. Today was the long awaited day-her first day back. She has grown so much over the past year, physically yes, but emotionally and intellectually an incredible amount. She was so happy to be back, see her friends, organize everyone and show them her fancy outfit!

A tour of the Universe

...the solar system acutally. The kids- Ben in particular- have shown a huge interest in learning about the solar system. This is one of those topics that I don't remember learning about in school, I am not sure I could have told you the planets in correct order or much about any planet. We have some awesome resources, lent to use, borrowed from the library and gathered over the summer, many from the discard sale the children's library had. We have posters, activities, experiments, crafts and games. We are all pretty excited.
We decided to start with the sun; being the center of the solar system, and have been reading about how it was formed, we made a sun out of clay with it's different layers, made our own eclipse and used a flash light to show on the sun shines on the earth. Today the kids worked on painting a sun for their own mobile. Without any discussion on what it might their sun might look like, they commented about where the corona was and on the size of the sun spots they were painting. They enjoyed adding the sun spots! It was one of those times I know they absorbed the information because they were interested, not because they needed to get the answer right on a test or answer the teacher correctly. Next week we will start talking about Mercury (I now know that it's next!!!) .

So much more than teeth

Elias lost his second tooth over the past two days, the top middle two. He has that super cute toothless smile (of which this picture doesn't show very well). It feels like a big marker of his growing up. I remember loosing those two teeth, rubbing my tounge against the funny feeling gum. The days we share together, the events that happen in his life are ones he will remember, he will call on these as he recollects his childhood. It will be interesting to hear him retell these times with his perspective. I wonder if he will remember waking everyone in the house at 2 am to let them know the tooth fairy had been and left him a tooney. I wonder if he will remember being sad to see his small tooth leave and a little nervous about what the adult ones would look like (commenting that his friends teeth that had come in were huge!). Will he remember loosing the first wrestling with Dadda and his brother? I wonder if he will still feel uncomfortable seeing and talking about blood or if this is incidental for him and won't remember much about it. While I don't wish the time to pass, I am intrigued to hear his stories.

Story Time

I have such fond memories of read aloud time. I remember being tucked into bed sometimes on my own, sometimes with my sister, listening to my mum or dad read alound chapter books before bed. Each night we would anticipate hearing the next chapter, finding out if the little white horse was spotted or whether the mystery was solved. Being read to seems to free your mind to fully imagine what's going on, to paint the pictures. I have a warm connection with those stories still, excited to share them with my own kids.
When Chris and I travelled we often read outloud to each other, taking turns until we fell asleep or finished the book. There was one time in London England while we waited for the train station to open, it was 2 am ish and we were spending the night on the street. Chris began reading out loud (on tribal cannibalism-lol-anthropology major!), within minutes other people who were waiting and homeless people gathered around to listen. A story connects people, sharing in an imaginary world, a person's life, possibilities.
The Eden Mills' Writer's Festival was today. This was the first year we were able to attend. We were excited to have one of our favorite author's in attendance; Aubrey Dasvis, who wrote Bone Button Borsch, Enormous Potatoe and Bagels from Benny. The later is one of the stories he told for the the group, a story that touches my heart. The festival takes place in a small town, some stories read along the river, another in someone's backyard, one amongst the trees. The sun shone brightly, we relaxed on a blanket, climbed trees, swung on a swing set while enjoying being read too. There is something wonderful about being read to.

Here a Crayfish...There a Crayfish...

We met friends this afternoon for some playtime near the river. They enjoyed snacking on trail mix and searching for crayfish among the many rocks in the water. There were squeals of excitement as they found some, turning rocks over and prodding with sticks. I agreed to keep one dead crayfish and bring it home wrapped in a paper bag. The crayfish rode the bus with us, which the kids thought was hilarious...It didn't even have to pay! As soon as we got home the kids rushed in to show dad - who also loves to go crayfish catching. The whirlwind of the evening started; dinner, clean up, baths, stories, more stories, snuggles, bed, and I lost track of the crayfish. When I went to brush my teeth there it was sitting in the sink! I wrapped it in toilet paper and in the morning asked the kids to put it outside or in a container with a lid. A little while later I find it sitting beside my coffee cup staring at me! Later that afternoon our friend has joined my stack of papers beside the computer- its everywhere!....The joy of nature study at home.

Ah Sunflower

We have enjoyed growing sunflowers every year, and each year it is a unique experience. When you we watched as squirrils came at bit the heads of the stalk and ran clumsily away trying to balance the weight of the seed filled flower. We have had more successful years than others. This year we decided to pluck out the seeds off this one head, the plant we chose only grew about 12 inches high but with a huge flower at the top! It was interesting seeing how they were held tightly in, we appreciated the diffficult challenge for animals trying to pluck them out, we tasted the raw seeds, examined the fine hairs that grow on the outside of the seed. This is the first year we will keep seeds to plant next year...a second generation.

Ah Sunflower
by William Blake

Ah Sunflower, weary of time
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done

Where the youth pined away with desire;
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves , and aspire
Where my sunflower wishes to go!

Happy New Year

I have always loved back to school. It isn't so much the school part necessarily, although I enjoyed the majority of that time, it was more the fresh start. It was like a new years celebration, full of hope and promise. All three of my kids could be attending public school this year; ELias in grade 2, Ben in grade 1 and Aria in JK. There have been a few 'back to school' seasons during which I felt as though I needed a marker to show the change of the season. There was also feelings of concern or questioning our family's choices of going against the grain. This year there is none of that, with my whole being I know we are doing what is best for our family. I love spending time with them, exploring the world. My life is so interesting, adventuresome and I get to share it with the people I hold dearest. To celebrate this awesomeness we started our day reading stories in bed (30 no less!) and eating cake for breakfast! Here is to a new year!

the big day

After having a sleep over with her brothers in their room, everyone crawled into bed with us to sing happy birthday to our birthday girl and have a snuggle. Chris and I went through our memories of her birth, amazed it was four years ago.
The day happened in Aria fashion, a bit of a whirlwind. We went out for breakfast for chocochip pancakes (some in their pj's). We had Grammy, Grampy, Louise, Aidan, Zoe and Grandma over for cake and play time. We ended with rides on the train and carosel, as they close for the season after today.

On Butterfly Wings

The time finally arrived, greeted with little squeals of delight, little girls dressed in party dresses and a room filled with excitement. Aria celebrated turning four as a butterfly (a suiting metaphor!). Her friends and her decorated butterfly wings, used later to dance with. We read a story every three and four year old loves; The Hungry Caterpillar , followed with a search for pictures of the food hidden in the basement. A family favorite game is a version of the hot potato. Today's let everyone unwrap a layer of paper ending with a fancy straw proboscis to drink fruit nectar with. It was a joy to watch them dance, pretend to be caterpillars and butterflies. At Ben's cowboy party the cake was "stolen" by Black Bart....Aria loved that and wanted to find the cake at her party. Chris created a maze of string through the house for the kids to follow, eventually leading to the cake, which of course was a butterfly. I felt giddy just being a part of the sweet smiling faces. When everyone went home, she snuggled between Chris and I, to quietly sing "today was the perfect party, I loved it, I loved it ......Thanks Mama and Dada" .

Dreaming of 4

Since September 5th, 2005; a day after Aria's birthday, she has been planning, dreaming, organizing this coming 4th birthday party. She has soaked up the details of the parties her brothers have had and committed them to memory. Aria knew what games she wanted to play, the theme, the shape of the cake (down to the icing colors), and friends she wanted to share her celebration with. While we were making cookies to give as thank you gifts Aria turned to me quite dramatically, took hold of my hand and looked deep into my eyes;
"Mama, this is so great, its going to be the best party ever!". Me with teary eyes says "Oh sweet heart I hope so!". I have been a little worried that if something isn't has she expects it too be that she will be disappointed or worse heart broken. I wish for her the magic she dreams of.