Katia's Healthy Homeschooling Blog

Lessons from Brazil, land of Music and Dance!

2012-01-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize we are all wearing the same colors, we love purple and orange!

Hello! Its almost the end of January- my brothers and I have been having fun at the University of Michigan, we are taking Portuguese, Brazilian music and Capoiera. It is so much fun. My older brother has joined us, he is learning to play the Binemboa, we always do our Capoeira to live music. My mom says we will make a video this spring. Above is a picture of us in our band, our Mestre, Consado, is very nice to us and gave us all Special Poruguese names, I am Maiagea which is mother eagle, my little brother is Fihoche which is puppy and my older brother is Cordeiro, which mean lamb. We like to practice every day at home and are really getting into Brazilian music. I hope you are all having a wonderful winter! Love,

Katia

Reading Wilde Fairy Tales For Homeschool!

2012-01-06T12:30:00.000-05:00

My brother and I took a break after reading "To Kill a Mockingbird." My mom pulled out this old book published in 1867! She said she found it in her aunts basement after she died. It is Oscar Wilde's poems and Fairy Tales. We are reading a fairy tale right now and we both really like it. The poems are very nice too as I have been still working on William Blake. Since today is Khalil Ghibrains birthday my mom is having us work on his poetry this weekend and make paintings to go along with it. I am already looking through my mom's hardcover that has some of Ghibrains sketches- I am very excited.

My brother noticed that Oscar Wilde wrote this book and dedicated it to someone in the prison he was in. This prompted a whole new discussion on Oscar Wilde. My mom has his book "The Portrait of Dorian Grey" but she does not want us to read it until next year.

Yesterday my brother and I checked out "Oliver Twist" at the library, they had two copies! We will start on these next week!
Hope you are enjoying your January as much as us- Michigan is all blue skies, warm and sunny today! Very unusual for this time of year! We are going outside to walk our dogs and play tag outside in a few minutes!

Love,
Katia

Wool Felted Couch Christmas Gnomes or Gnomes for Any Occasion

2012-01-02T00:32:00.000-05:00

My brothers and I laid the first few layers of wool batting

My lil brother put the inside stuffing in an old nylon and felted it on a washboard
He also placed a rock in the middle

My mom helped us by felting the color wool under a silk drape

Voila! We love him, he is ready for our couch!

I thought this picture was funny with his beard and eyebrows!

Happy New Years!
My family and I have been working on this Christmas Gnome for a week! We didn't get it done in time for Christmas because the wool took so long to dry. Today on New Years Day we all finished it, and he is so cute! Here are the steps to make the wool
1. One pound of plain bulk wool
2. 1/4 lb each red or black (any colors for body)
3. Soap
4. Hot water
5. A rock
6. a washboard
7. Needle and thread
8. Angel roving for beard and brows

This makes a perfect coach buddy, for the holidays or whenever!

Follow our instructions on how to make a wet wool picture on youtube,
we have a complete video that shows you how to wet felt the bottom layers, video is below.
We also chose to felt the inside wool too, to make in more compact and to
keep the rock we felted inside from slipping around,
Let dry
Sew the colored wool batting around the core, up the back,
Felt in the angel roving beard and brows,
Use a twisted piece of black roving for the eyes
and a Angel puff of white felted into the top,

Hope you enjoy your beautiful wool waldorf gift, check out our video below

How to Write an Essay 7th and 8th Grade, Waldorf Homeschooling

2011-12-27T11:32:00.001-05:00

My brother and I love Tea clothes, my parents got us some for Christmas

This is the outline my mom made my older brother and I

This week we are finishing our first big novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." My older brother and I will write a character summary on each of the characters and how they changed through out the story. Then we will start on "Oliver Twist" by Dickens. After that, "Great Expectations" my mom says Dicken's created the most important literary works for teens. We will probably read the "Christmas Carol" some time in the fall 2012. My brother and I had a hard time writing our chapter essays. We had to read four chapters a week, look up 40 vocabulary words from the chapter and then write an essay about what we read. Week after week my brother and I had a very difficult time forming our intro paragraphs. My mom had to sit with us for hours helping each one of us, then she wrote up this outline paper for us. It really helped us! We basically need to make four broad statement sentences in the intro and then in the paragraphs we look at the symbols and match them up to the intro, this helps us stay on track. This is my first week using the outline by myself, our lesson time went much easier, all my mom had to do with us is read it outloud and correct our grammar errors. I hope this outline will help give you a good idea about how to write an essay with your kids!

Love,
Katia!

A Waldorf Christmas!

2011-12-25T22:07:00.000-05:00

My new pajamas, I made a bunch of angels for our tree this year

Merry Christmas to all of our friends!
I am just getting ready for bed and wanted to share our magical Christmas with you!
My brothers and I got a new Steinbaukasten set from Germany, these are blocks we have been collecting from childhood made out of quartz, stone, etc, they feel like real bricks. We were so excited we worked on this bridge most of the day and when we were finished we placed our wood Ostheimer collectors pieces on there- we put a fairy, fish, princess and prince. My mom dyed some silk for us different shades of blue for the water. This was our best gift! My mom also got me these Tyrolean pajamas from Austria, they are warm cotton flannel and remind me of the Sound of Music, my favorite movie. My mom said she had the same pair of pajamas when she was little and showed me a picture. Tonight my Dad made us a special dinner while my mom read us stories by the fire and tree. Last night our family came over for a party. My parents let us open our gifts last night-it made sleeping alot easier!! : )
Have a great New Year too,
Much Love,
Katia!

Musical Christmas with My Family and Friends!

2011-12-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

I got to sing in a Choir, Carol of the Bells, MY FAVORITE

My Big Brother, he is such a show off! But I love him so much!

This is a table my mom rented out for me at a craft show, I sold my angels!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you friends!
We have been very busy, finishing up our homeschooling for our first semester as my mom calls it,
I am doing a character study on all of the characters in my book "To Kill a Mockingbird"

My brother and I have been doing alot of musical Chrismas performances, I love being apart of a choir at Christmas, my mom and dad sing Christmas carols with us starting the day after halloween- and we learn them on piano. I think my favorites are "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "Carol of the Bells"

My brother got to play solo xylophone on Carol of the Bells, while I sang! It was so cool and sounded so beautiful- my mom started crying~! She always cries, ~! I got to wear her dress that was hers when she was my age! She saved it for me after all these years, I just tried on her dress that she wore for her confirmation when she was 14, I think I have one more year left to go before I can wear it.

Last weekend I went to my first craft show to sell my angels, I took the money I made and put it in a saving acount, some I will have to use to put towards more angel orders. We are having fun right now,
I hope you are too!

Ho Ho Ho~!
Katia : )

Guadalupe Day, a Romanian Monastery and Homeschooling!

2011-12-12T22:36:00.001-05:00

My brother says a prayer, this is my moms Guadalupe she painted!

At the monastery, Manchester Michigan

A bubbling brook and waterfall

These are the Polish Clothes my mother bought me for Christmas last year

Working on a new song out of my Beethoven book

Today is the Virgin Guadalupe day, my mother painted a seven foot Guadalupe in our yoga studio a couple years ago. We lit candles we bought from Meijers! The traditional Mexican ones. My moms friend took us to the South of Michigan to a Romanian Monastery. It was beautiful and in the woods. We didn't understand Romanian but the ceremony was magical and we bought blessed candles. Romanian is based on Latin, we recognized some words from French and Spanish, but we thought it sounded a bit like Italian because many words had the chee sound at the end. We made some snow flake crafts out of silver, gold and blue glass beads afterward. Pheww, its been a busy holiday season.

My older brother and I are working out of a book about composers and a book out health. We finished all of our science, geology, social studies, etc for the year! We worked on three books a day. My mother has us write reports and draw pictures of each chapter we read. I woke up very early in the morning to do my reports so that I could play the rest of the day! My friend took me to a basketball game up at a local school. She is a cheerleader and my brothers swing dance partner. Yes, I forgot, my brother and I are taking swing but he is really into it and wants to go to competitions! LOL,
The rest of the year should be a bit easier, we are finishing the book "To Kill a Mockingbird." We have to read four chapters a week and then write a two page essay. My mom checks it at the end of the week. I really like this book. After this we are starting on Dickens. My mom says we will be reading Great Expectations and Oliver Twist the rest of the year. I asked for a beautiful cloth covered Great Expectations book for Christmas- I think I got it-because I am looking at a rectangle present under the tree now~!
Happy Holidays,
Katia : )
lumea este mea - Romanian for "The World is Mine!"

Making a Nativity Set, Chocolate Mousse and Enjoying My Puppy

2011-12-06T22:21:00.001-05:00

Our Home made nativity set

Fighting over chocolate mousse!

My baby puppy and I

Boots out for St. Nick!

At my friends house being silly!

So, I am enjoying the Christmas season with my family! We are making lots of crafts and working on lots of Christmas music. We go and sing at retirement homes every year for Christmas. This year I have been working on Oh Holy Night, but the key is too high for me and I sing in a lower F, so my mom is transposing it for me. Look for our new Christmas video soon! We have been listening to the song Elysium from the Gladiator soundtrack, my mom says she wanted to name me Elysee after the Elysium Fields or the Champs Elysee. We make art projects to it, but I work on my William Blake reproductions when I hear it, it inspires me. My brothers and I are loving our new puppy! We have so much fun with our two dogs. When we get all of our homeschooling done we take him out to play. We had so much fun watching him hope through the snow, I cant wait for it to snow again.
Happy St. Nicks Day!
Katia

William Blake Block Crayon Pictures by Katia

2011-10-08T22:43:00.000-04:00

My Block crayon picture for Michaelmas

Hello, my name is Katia,
I am 13 years old. I have taken over this Waldorf homeschooling blog from my mom Dr. Aurore. I hope you like it! Today I want to share with you some of the block crayon pictures I made in September and October. My mom has us work on calligraphy with calligraphy pens and also has us draw a picture. We get to choose our poems. I found a poetry book on William Blake in my mom's bookcase. I really like it because he uses beautiful poems with paintings. So, I have been using the pieces of the poems I like and making pictures to go along with it.
Talk to you soon,
Love,
Katia
beyondnaturalmedicine.com

Painting from the Core: Accessing Etheric Concepts of Art

2011-07-16T11:56:00.000-04:00

My Daughter schooled in Waldorf and Orgonomy 9 years

Me- 18 years of forced compulsive education- Mechanical- rigid...

Someone with No exposure to Waldorf

So, my daughter and I have been working on paintings for my new spa. We had an interesting experience.
I told her to take two colors and bring them together to spiral in the middle...except I described it as Red and Blue coming to get to make love in the center. The idea was to get purple-and an etheric pattern of emotion on canvas. Well, it was easy for her- with all of her freedom schooling and Waldorf influence- she tapped into the source and within minutes she completed a flowing product of color and feeling- a true masterpiece in my opinion. She added just a bit of green at the end and yellow- because my office is green.
But then there was me, as much as I taught my children concepts of Waldorf art- I have yet to grasp the pure magic of Waldorf painting. Mine, the middle was just a perfect spiral, with perfect colors- and it was vibrant-but it lacked the etheric and free concepts. Then the last painting, I just had someone paint a spiral in rainbow and wanted to see the result- this is also a mechancical representation- color on top of color, a rigid spiral- almost compass like. Well, I hope I have inspired you and have not discouraged you to get those feelings out on paper and make contact with the world through art...its never too late, and I am going to keep trying!

If you like this blog check out Dr. Aurores book and blog "Beyond Natural Cures"

Our Michigan Easter: Perfect and Magical

2011-04-25T00:59:00.001-04:00

Snow 2 days before easter!

Waldorf Easter Basket, Healthy and Organic...

Easter egg hunt on our 3 acres!

St. Joes Church, Detroit, my childhood church

Very emotional and moving...

So, this was the best Easter yet. With my husband and I's anniversary the day before, it has been a busy weekend. The morning started out with my hubby and I drinking chai and listening to a mix CD he made me with all of our junior high and high school songs on it. We were listening to The Return to Innocence over and over by Enigma-and watching the kids go through their Easter goodies. Then he made us nalishnikis (Polish crepes). A trip downtown Detroit to my childhood church, was very wonderful. We finished our day with a bbq- my husband got us organic steaks from Whole Foods. It was pure magic. I hope you had a beautiful magical Easter too! Hope you enjoy our Easter video...to give you a taste of life here in the States.

To quote Enigma "That's not the beginning of the end, thats the return to yourself, a return to innocence.".......

How to Dye Polish Easter Eggs- Pysanki

2011-04-21T00:14:00.000-04:00

Blow out the eggs

Rinse the eggs

Mama's first 2011 pysanka in creation...

Drawing out the designs

Melting beeswax over the design

adding blue over yellow and green

Finish by melting the wax off

DD's Egg- GREAT JOB- it only took two hours!

My egg, after 4 years, it finally comes together...

Another awesome egg...

DS adds it to our Easter tree

More goodies for our waldorf nature table, I made the big wool egg last year!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter season. It has been unseasonably cold here in Michigan. My hubby keeps the fires warm and toasty until May! Passing our time making easter creations. Every year we make pysanki, my husband is Polish and this is something I do as a tribute to his ancestry. It has taken us four years of painstaking broken eggs, ruined eggs, -you name it. We finally turned out some decent eggs this year and how rewarding it was! The children were completely illuminated by the project. We listened to some big band CDs- and Judy Garlands easter parade. It takes two days. The first day we blow out the eggs, wash them and let them dry. The second we draw, dip, wax, dip, wax, dip, melt- et=voila. This Friday is Good Friday so we will spend the afternoon being silent and going to church. On Easter Sunday we will do our yearly tradition of going to the German Catholic church I attended as a child in downtown Detroit. This is always a magical experience and we hear the mass in Latin. The church looks like a European cathedral and the sound of bells and the smell of easter lilies and frankincense fills the air. This is an extra special Easter as it lands on ur 16 year wedding anniversary! We go every year to our FAVORITE restaurant in Ann Arbor, called Cafe Zola, a zesty modern gallery of organic filet mignon and hand pummeled drinks...with an Argentinian chimichurri to die for! Hope I inspire you to do something wonderful for your Easter this year!
Heart, Aurore

Harpsichord Lessons at UofM 2011, Magic in the Making!

2011-04-11T22:48:00.000-04:00

Thought you would enjoy the new Harpsichord lesson from the University of Michigan. We had some very impressive video of Prof. Parmentier playing some very moving and difficult pieces-but those were some how lost. But, we still have these endearing pieces of musical magic in the making- ENJOY- un morceau de Joie de Vie : )
Aurore

Draw a Waldorf Tree-Block Crayons and Calligraphy Pen

2011-04-07T00:10:00.000-04:00

A quick sketch with a pen

Today was a day of art. With spring coming, my children have been busy drawing and writing poems-dancing....we are all in a joyous spirit. We have been studying Botany by Charles Kovacs and New Eyes for Plants for over a year. The subject of trees came up today and the kids were saying how difficult it was- I told them to use their minds eye and the less detail the better. In the typical waldorf tradition I took my calligraphy pens and three simple beeswax block crayon colors- red, blue and yellow- et voila-
The hope of spring is revealed in der Baum- Wunderbar! Hope this inspires you to get outdoors-and if you cannot in this radioactive fallout at this time. Use your minds eye to make that tree of life, L'arbre de la vie- that inspires you to live and keep living. We are also starting on the resurrection stories of Christ right now, we do this every year. We also set up a cave with Jesus and then I remove the Jesus on Easter. Will post pics soon!
Happy Spring!

ELO Dance Off with Dr. Aurore

2011-03-20T10:58:00.001-04:00

Another Saturday night at the Adamkiewicz household. My kids recently discovered ELO. This has totally expanded their musical horizons- the thought of putting electrical music together with orchestra- they think it is the greatest thing ever! Hope you enjoy-
Dance with and love your kiddies today! Love, Aurore

Kids Salsa, Homeschooling is Fun!

2011-02-11T22:40:00.000-05:00

Here is another update-and music and dance. The kids and I taking a break to put some of all old videos together. This is sweet, they are only 9, 8, and 3- I hope to have a salsa video of my husband and I soon!

Salsa for Kids Video! Dr. Aurore and Her Son Demonstrate Fun Homeschooling Lessons

2011-02-07T14:13:00.001-05:00

As apart of our homeschooling, I made a very strong effort to teach them salsa. We have alot of salsa videos of the kids dancing on youtube-at around 9 years old. But yesterday I found this 2008 video of my son and I practicing some salsa moves. Its hard to believe he is only 11 years old here- he is now bigger than me! I hope you enjoy it and it inspires you to teach your children to love, dance, sing- and live!

My Daughter, The Amazing Artist...Picasso

2011-01-21T00:23:00.001-05:00

So, this is what happens when my 12 year old daughter gets into my $100 French pastels! Industrius as she is, she managed to get into some matte boards- the ones I used for frames- I had cut 11 x14 pieces. My daughter has now graduated from Waldorf block crayons to a magical box of pastels-this marks a huge leap in her artistic development and I think she is doing a great job! She is now making this repros as gifts for people. I have several up framed in the home and she has some in her room. She is still loving Picasso. If you haven't become a fan of her work on facebook- I urge you to do so right now : ) She is still working on singing her 1940s music, but surprise surprise she has added some 1970s pop- a little Stevie Nicks and the Carpenters. She is doing some beautiful renditions of Rhiannon and We've only Just Begun- two of my favorite 70s pieces! Hope to post it soon. Until then, keep creating magic with your children.

Sending love,

Aurore

My Amazing Daughters Wonderful Voice

2011-01-08T22:35:00.000-05:00

Many of you know my daughter is an amazing musician and singer- she works tirelessly. Three years ago my children published their first music program, now things have really taken off. She is writing music and singing. The story behind her singing is a very interesting story. She started out as an extremely shy and temperamental baby and child. She would never talk to or go to anyone but me. People were so hard on me about her, they would say I needed to leave her in daycare. I used to do Irish dance shows and would end up holding her half the way through-as she would scream and crawl onto the stage. I am proud to say I have never left my children with anybody but their Grandparents, and even then it was only a few times a year. I never gave up on my daughter and knew the only way to conquer her extreme distrust with strangers is with love and attachment. She is so funny- she used to call everyone "humans" until she was 9. So, with an intense melancholy child like this, I followed the Waldorf prescription for melancholia which is singing lessons. I didn't have money to do piano lessons and Irish dance, so- I bought an Idiot guide to singing and taught my children. I kept a separate blog called the singing project and I started singing and then within a few months my daughter started singing. My older son a choleric/sanguine- came easy to him. But once my daughter developed her voice- I couldn't believe the power within that small shy child. WIthin one year-she dropped that shy fearful demeanor and was singing in front of everyone. Now today she pursues her dream on being a singer. She experience the sheer joy of singing just to sing. I am proud to post her 13th Judy Garland video. Hope you enjoy.

Knitting, Skiing and Sledding: Enjoy Winter

2011-01-06T23:29:00.002-05:00

Michigan is a great place to be in the winter. We cannot wait for the first snow. Here are some pictures I took from around the house-we live on a very high hill and all the kids in the neighborhood love it. I was glad two years ago we invested in the Swedish dog sled- this is hands down the kids favorite thing to do. They even put me on it but it is too scary! I have a hard time going down the hill with my skis. The one picture is a view of the winter wonderland from my husband and I's bedroom- one of our favorite things to do is to lie in bed and look at the quiet life in the woods. All of this is fun-as we do not have a TV and so-snow falling, roaring fires and candle light are all part of our "show time." Right now I am working on a hat to go with my husbands scarf for Valentines Day. People were emailing me and asking for pics of the scarf. Here is the one I made my husband underneath mine (the one I made for myself)- it is chunky wool in the seed stitch-he loves it and wears it with everything! We were taking dinner at a small French bistro and I snapped this photo of him when he was looking dapper in it! Well, wishing you a wonderful warm and exciting winter- get out there and enjoy the beauty the earth has to offer.

Warmly,

Aurore

Homemade Dresses- the Joy of Creating! Happy New Year

2011-01-03T19:24:00.001-05:00

Here is the muslin cotton dress I made my daughter. Her and I worked on it together, princess sleeves, simple pearl buttons and floral embroidery along the collar. It was a basic pattern that I borrowed from a friend her and I decided to add the buttons and emroidery to make it more interesting. She loves it- she has been wearing it day and night. It is ankle length, she says it reminds her of "Little House on the Prairie." This was my last big project of 2010- right now we are working on a black cashmere and silk hat for my husband and a merino wool scarf and hat for my 13 year old son. After this I would really like to get back to my dream of knitting animals- toys- however, my family always needs wool mittens, hats and scarves- year after year. The good news is, my daughter got a job- a woman from a boutique store saw our angels and asked if she could carry them in her store- I gave the torch to my daughter and asked her if she was ready to make some money and she was up for the challenge. So, looks like we will be making some more angels for stores around our metro Detroit area. Wishing you a wonderful 2011- even though the year equals 13- a bad luck karmic year- this should make us all work harder to bring in love and goodness-and peace on earth.
Happy New Year,
Aurore

Crystal Stars: Beads, Wire, Ribbon and a Needle-Nose Plier!

2010-12-26T23:01:00.000-05:00

Just recovering from our magical Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve making these crystal snowflakes- however, my eight year old made a few- non fatal mistakes and his became the Star of Bethlehem. We make a few of these every year. I always imagine us filling our entire tree with these but each one takes about two hours to make. My husband loved his scarf- and I am so proud to have finished it in time, we worked day and night on it. We had lots of snow here so the kids played outside on their Swedish dog sled (kick sled) we had it imported and they love it- I have to say I do as well. My husband and I went cross country skiing around the yard- we live on several acres plus on a very large hill so there are always a myriad of winter activities to do. It was a dreamy Christmas, lots to be thankful for-especially for such a beautiful, wonderful husband that does so much for us everyday. Anyway- wishing you a Happy New Year! Keep crafting for love : )
Aurore

Waldorf Science Project: Plant Cell

2010-12-16T17:09:00.000-05:00

One requirement I make for my children is to drink alot of chlorophyll-or eat it. Green leafy vegetables or a healthy green drink like wheat grass or barley grass. This science project I did with my 13 year old, we created a plant cell and for the green chloroplasts we used actual chlorophyll drops that I put in their water. It was very exciting for them to make that connection. Natural Waldorf clay and watercolor paints from Germany, copper pipe cleaner, wool yarn for the golgi body and a wood ball in the center of the nucleus. I hope you are enjoying your science projects with your children!
Happy Holidays, Aurore

Christmas Pictures... A Time to Love

2010-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend we had our annual Fete de Noel, or Christmas Party-
We had my husbands parents take some of these pictures of us. If you received a Christmas card from us-you might be surprised to know that we take pictures the year before. This way I can order 300 cards in October at a good price. I prefer to do a traditional card with a beautiful quote- I don't like the picture greetings- which I resort to if I can't get them done in time. So many of you continue to write me and send me cards and pictures-we have all of your photos up in our kitchen. Which is making me think that my husband needs to build some type of photo tree or photo hanger-as I cherish everyone one of you so much. This week we will be back on track making real gemstone and crystal snowflakes for our tree and I will be sure to post some pictures of the dress I made for my daughter. Today was a winter snow storm- my husband and I cuddled by the fire and drank my homemade egg nog and ate my Gingerbread custard pie. If you want the recipe be sure to search back blogs from last year. This continues to be a necessity of life!! I am making him a merino wool scarf and hat with divine Rown wool-is is just magical- it is grey and black tweed and I am doing the tedious seed stitch- he loves it, sadly- he sees me working on it day and night- sometimes the kids do to but I am afraid because of the the knit one purl one pattern- they might make a mistake...so I carry on until Christmas- me and my elves! My husband has been building me something special in his workshop- I can hear him and my sons hammering and sawing away in there- he has been very careful to hide it. Will let you know what it is! Wishing you soo much love this holiday season! Aurore

Pan's Labyrinth: A Beautiful Song and Careful Waldorf Choice for Adolescent Movie

2010-12-11T00:00:00.001-05:00

This is my amazing wonderful daughter-
She just started working on Pan's Labyrinth- not a horribly difficult song but she put it together with just a few simple chords I downloaded from the internet. She developed both the bass clef and treble clef sides nicely. Her favorite movie is Pan's Labyrinth- it took me a long time to agree to let her see it because she doesn't watch TV and has never seen a movie that is scary or with violence...so my husband and I watched it first (like we do with every movie our children watch) and decided to pause and forward the few violent parts. I was shocked to find out that so many parents my children's age let their children watch movies that they themselves have never seen before-even rated R films. Or, sometimes the parent will watch the film with the child at the same time-both together for the first time and what an uncomfortable situation when there is a questionable sex scene or too much violence. Protecting our children is the Waldorf way. Please see my health blog for the rest of this article....

Waldorf Christmas Craft: Pinecone Trees

2010-12-09T22:50:00.001-05:00

Today we worked on making giant pinecone Christmas trees for table decorations for our Christmas party. We go see my parents in Florida and always bring back these mammoth, magical pinecones. My lil guy and I had a great time decorating his- he felted the wool balls, added green fairy roving and ribbon-and glued glitter to the tips...he even felted the star on top. I helped him glue in the bulbs and then he added some of the gold tinsel we used for the angels-it was a fun day indeed- listening to Christmas music and sitting by our wood burning stove felting. This next pic is my daughters Christmas dress this year-she is wearing a size fourteen now- she is already sad about growing out of Hanna Anderson and Garnet Hill- she loves wearing long dresses and this will be her last year for these old fashioned Christmas dresses she adores so much. We also made a video tonight- will be posting that tomorrow. Happy Christmas- Aurore

Angels and Stockings-Making a Waldorf Christmas

2010-12-08T23:32:00.000-05:00

Its no secret-a Waldorf holiday is all about the crafts. This year we returned to the merino angel theme-but this time-instead of making 20 for family and friends!! We opted to make some for ourselves. Originally we planned to make them for our tree but alas, as we temporarily hung them in our cuisine above our table-we could not transfer them to the tree. These are a simple joy to make and this year my older children made some by themselves and my little guy worked on them easily with my guided help. I also opted to making them rainbow colors of the chakras and also add a few white feathers to spruce them up. Our last picture here is the good old stocking advent calendar. This goes along nicely with our stories of Mary and Joseph and the road they took to Bethlehem. We made this three years ago and it took us a month and a half to make!! We worke on it daily and took a month off of homeschooling-but well worth it as we enjoy it year after year. Right now I am making a dress for my daughter- she loves little house on the prairie so I am sewing an old fashioned creme muslin colored dress for her with Princess sleeves-it is very plain but my daughter is extremely conservative. I am almost done and she is so excited-will post pictures of that next!
Hope you are all having a wonderful loving Holiday season!

Much Love,

Aurore

Michigan Christmas Trees

2010-12-03T10:52:00.001-05:00

Enjoying Christmas with my family! This week we went to a tree farm by our home and took a hay ride and cut a tree. It is a family tradition that we started when our children were little. I made a special dinner with my husband's favorite homemade green bean casserole with filet mignon from Whole Foods-all organic! The french green bean casserole I made with sauteed shitake mushrooms and shallots in a white bechamel sauce. This is a favorite of my husbands family too, they always appreciate the hard work I put into this one dish. The filet's were actually easy-as it takes almost two hours to make the casserole. It is well worth it as you will not find a soup can (especially Campbells!) in my home- I don't even like to buy broth as it contains hidden MSG. The most enjoyable part of the season right now is watching my oldest son with his father. He is as big as his dad now and the two are working together- making things and bonding like men. My husband and I always work out together at the gym, but now we switched it so that I go twice a week with him and my son goes twice a week with him. Watching my sweet son become a strong and powerful man like his father is a Christmas gift in and of itself!

Ribbed Knit Cashmerino Hat...Life is but a Dream!

2010-11-22T21:05:00.001-05:00

Two days before Thanksgiving and I finished my eight year olds wonderful cashmerino hat. Debbie Bliss como- super chunky...delight to touch and feel. I had to rework this and develop my own pattern as I wanted chunky ribbing and to use smaller 16 in circular needs. Since my son made the scarf- I gave him a break and made the hat. Wanted to save it for his Christmas stocking, but I was too excited!! It fits my husband too- who has now requested one for himself in a black and grey marl. I hand sewn the roman numerals on his hat, as we use them for an abbreviation for his name. Onto make some pumpkin muffins....I have to grind the wheat and millet. More soon.
love, Aurore

Busy Christmas Elves!!

2010-11-21T12:35:00.001-05:00

Rocky Road to Bethlehem, First Story in ":Light in the Lantern"

We have been silent on-line. As you know, each year from Halloween until Christmas we are busy busy busy! Taking a whole month of studies to make gifts for loved ones. I started the Wynstone press stories for Christmas early. They are correlated to advent weeks-the first week being elemental-which is earth such as stones. The second week is plants and the third week is animals..and finally humans. After I read the story my eight year old was inspired to put out Ostheimer nativity set out early and make the "rocky" road to Bethlehem. This is the first story of the book. We are also needing to get ready for St. Nicks day-and this is why I started this other book early. A great family project was this Christmas wreath, my husband brought us home a wreath and he provided the electrical lights to it (always handy to have an electrician for a husband!) and the kids and I collected pinecones outside and various other goodies around the house and added it. We had great fun. Right now we are busy knitting Christmas winter hats for gifts and making angels for our own tree. I will be posting those next! Thought you would enjoy the picture of my baby boy fallen asleep in my daughters arms-this was after a hard day of knitting and crafts. We are also preparing for our big annual Christmas party, coming up fast. My children always have many Christmas songs prepared to sing and play at the piano and around the fire with the guitars. By the way, dear friends, Happy Thanksgiving to you- I know I have ALOT to be thankful for. On Thanksgiving we will be thanking the Guadalupe for bringing my husband and father of my children home. We had split up for a short time but through much prayers...magic...and the support of our friends at church-he came back as the best and most wonderful husband ever....he was already the best father! You may have seen the 7 foot Guadalupe I painted in the yoga studio that my husband designed and made for me. We continue to be blessed by this loving presence in our lives and home. Hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving! Aurore

Coldplay Kids- Homeschool 2009

2010-11-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Big Feat- My eight year old Knits a Scarf!!

2010-11-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

YAY! I want to share this with you!
My 8 year old son and I have been working on this for a year- it is a merino wool and cashmere scarf- wool from Ireland (Maggie's knits). He picked out this yarn last year and really wanted to do a stockinette knit- he was proficient at the garter knit,but I was a bit apprehensive about teaching him to purl at 7 years old. He worked hard at it every day-and since we take a break from knitting and wool in the summer- I am quite impressed that it is now finished. We are now starting on a hat- with ribbing- knitting it in the round! He picked out a glorious grey cashmere/merino blend from Debbie Bliss yarns. I hope this inspires you to get your little ones left and right brain working!! On a side note- has left his medieval flute and has been working hard at piano with me. He can do left and right hand scales proficiently up until D scale which has two flats- I have the Waldorf knitting, flute and glockenspiel to thank for this accomplishment!

Excellent Nordic Folktales

2010-11-07T22:52:00.005-05:00

So we have made it through the Viking-Nordic reading block. We bought quite a few different books. Besides the Charles Kovacs "Age of Discovery" we also read "Sticks Across the Chimney." For Viking tales we read, "Thorkill of Iceland" but I must say my favorite "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" is a collection of Norse alternatives to Grimm fairytales. Having read the "real" Grimm's fairytale for years and years-these fairytales are a clever and pleasant surprise. My husband and I are reading them to our eight year old now. Every night, he cannot wait to hear more. I try to alternate with Grimms-but he says- "No, this one, pleeeeez!!!" I have been meaning to start our Wynstone Christmas stories with him. We get started in November to make sure we get all of the stories in, especially because I want to leave enough time for their Tasha Tudor and St. Nick favorites. After the winter we will start on the "Lives of the Saints" following the Waldorf way and the same path I took with the older children. Happy Reading, Dear Friends : ) Aurore

Halloween Fun in Michigan

2010-11-01T10:12:00.001-04:00

Fun at Hucklberry Railroad, a yearly Michigan tradition

The Switch Witch comes every Halloween, taking all the poison candy with artificial colors and flavors and leaving healthy organic treats and toys

Our Family met us out for the fun

An unseasonably warm day in October

Halloween Night- too chilly for us adults to wear our costumes- !

Cider Mill-another fun tradition!

they cant eat the candy-but they do find other uses for it, LOL

Happy Halloween, I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday- this day is important to us as we are Irish. We light a candle the night before Halloween and put pictures of our ancestors and those who have passed on, much like Dias de los Muertos. It is the Celtic new year- so we smudge the house and welcome good spirits into our home. Then on Halloween- we do the typical American traditions. This year we went out with our friends who just moved here from Germany- it was lots of fun using our German language and showing them this fun American custom! It was pretty cold this year, so next year we are planning a big Halloween party- early in October. I hope some of you can come! Please see my halloween blog from last year for craft ideas-the wool Waldorf witch!

Heart, Aurore

The task of Reading

2010-10-07T11:55:00.000-04:00

Well, now that my little one is at Waldorf approved age to read-has all his adult teeth in, my husband and I have set to the important task of teaching him. Only problem is, my older children are reading at French 6th grade level and German 3rd level and Spanish is still only first grade- their English is at high school level now...

This is no small task indeed for me! I have been working in semesters for foreign language. They have been at the longest stretch for French right now- as they have made some important gains in grammar and comprehension and I don't want to break their stride. To help with this my husband has been teaching our 8 year old and it has been a great experience thus far-as he is ready and willing. He is working in the Waldorf first readers from Bob and Nancys.com

Will keep you updated on the progression- video coming soon : )
Kindly,

Aurore

Story time in French with Dr. Aurore and Son

2010-09-17T22:22:00.000-04:00

So here is one of our French stories- it is called "Il etait un fois" and it is the same book as "Es War Einmal." I hope you enjoy this rendition of a classic folk story : )

French Nursery Rhyme "A La Claire Fontaine"

2010-09-15T22:53:00.000-04:00

Here is one of the French nursery rhymes I have been singing to the children since they were babies.
We have been playing around with rounds and singing in different octaves and taking turns. My oldest sons voice is changing- so it is sometimes challenging to encourage him to sing along. I hope you enjoy the video : ) Viva la France

Story time in German with Dr. Aurore and Her Son

2010-09-11T22:59:00.001-04:00

This is one of my childrens favorite books "Es War Einmal"
I have been reading it to them for over 10 years first to my older two children and now to my eight year
old. This story Goldie Locks and the Bears is one of his favorites! I encourage you to take up a foreign language and read to your children today~ hope you enjoy!
Dr. Aurore

Renaissance Festival Fun- With Shamrock Shore

2010-09-05T23:20:00.000-04:00

It was celtic weekend last week at the Michigan Ren. Fest. So my husband and I took the kids and made our yearly voyage. We danced and sang with the band Shamrock Shore for most part of the day and then we ate turkey drumsticks and played some games. In case you missed our youtube video- here is a recap : ) below.

My Daughters Waldorf Picasso Reproductions....

2010-08-21T01:12:00.001-04:00

Well, as usual- Waldorf education pays off. I thought it would be a fun homeschooling project this summer- to have the older children pick an artist and work on reproductions. I had made some block crayon reproductions myself- several years ago with Cezanne's work. I thought now was the time to put their knowledge and training to the test. We have been studying the art of beeswax block crayon drawing for four years now. It has been enlightening and surprising. These pictures here I posted are only a few of my magical one and only daughter- soon to be 12- reproductions. I invite you to look her work up on facebook under the page "Picasso Reproductions by Katia" and become a fan. On that page I will be updated all of her newest accomplishments. My son is working on Matisse and when he is finished with his gallery set, his work will be up next! Hope you are having a wonderful waldorf summer. Aurore

Drawing the body with Block Crayons

2010-06-28T12:30:00.000-04:00

So, Along with making flowers this summer- in charcoal and pen, we are developing our techniques of drawing the face and human body-this is harder than you think with block crayons....I will be putting some of the flower pictures together and posting them soon-so many interesting developments- from sprout, to bud, to flower and fade....

Kindly, Aurore

My 8 year old artist

2010-06-14T11:54:00.000-04:00

So proud of my soon to be 8 year old- he will be turning 8 on the summer solstice. I picked him these flowers for his birthday-and he put them in a vase and drew them with his block crayons- I am just really impressed with his eye for color and form already. He is starting to understand concepts of darkness, light and shadow...had to share this masterpiece with you : ) Aurore

Waldorf Block Crayon Flowers

2010-06-06T21:25:00.000-04:00

Here are some new pictures we have been working on for block crayons- this spring we are focused on sketching and flowers- I will start posting some of their geometry work and their ink sketchings.....Draw a flower with your kids today!

Unschooling in Portland: Multnomah and Bridal Veil Falls....

2010-05-30T11:12:00.000-04:00

What can be more therapeutic- or educational-then spending the day at some of Portlands many, many waterfalls in the shadows of Mount Hood. My dear friend who, picked us up and took care of us most of the week- loaned me her beautiful volvo for the day and night so that I could take my daughter to the falls. My daughter loved Bridal Veil more than Multnomah! I love them all- but she did not want to leave- she wanted to touch the water, touch the earth- and breath in the magic. We spent quite some time at both falls-but at Multnomah- we only climbed up to the 1/4 way bridge. I will post the video my son made last time him and I went below and be sure to check out the video a few blogs back that has footage from the falls in May. Get to the falls : )
Aurore

Unschooling in Portland: Shopping!

2010-05-29T08:23:00.000-04:00

Fifth Ave

I must say, we learned alot about shopping in downtown Portland. So many boutiques unlike anything we have in Michigan. This store right here was Betsey Johnson-and while I could not afford to buy the clothes- I had fun dressing up and my daughter took pictures. When I got back into town I actually sent these pictures to a fashion designer in Detroit and landed a fashion show job because of them! So-stay tuned for those pictures.... What did we learn- that clothes are fun and beautiful-but not always worth the price tag-and besides we are Waldorfers- we CAN make these if we really want to!

More tomorrow.

Aurore

Unschooling in Portland: C-Section Eye Opening Truths....

2010-05-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

This is the most informative birth exhibit- at OMSI. As I posted in the previous blog about the beautiful vaginal birth exhibit they had and about how they had a room of all embryos and fetuses in their various stages. Well, equally compelling was the C-Section exhibit. They described c-section as a very serious surgery and also showed how there has been a dramatic increase in the USA-and not for a good reason. Then this picture exhibit- was like the house of horrors- I saw children standing around it gasping. Invigorated- I thought one day these children will grow up and think twice when presented with the "fun and fashionable" c-section! More pics tomorrow.

Aurore

Unschooling in Portland: Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood

2010-05-22T14:21:00.001-04:00

Mount Hood from Downtown Portland

Mount St. Helens- Blew on my birthday 20 years ago

About to go on the sky tram-or the time capsule as we called it!

Magical Mount Hood

My precious daughter and I on top of Portland!

The zoo is up on that hill somewhere

Me being my typical taurus spontaneous self- jumped off the bus with my daughter and rode this sky tram across and above Portland- you can see the video of it on a few blogs back. What a wonderful breathtaking experience- a clear day- we could "SEE" the world- it was just awesome. For as many times as I have been to Portland-I had never rode this. Now I will make it a point, every time!

Unschooling in Portland: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

2010-05-20T10:14:00.000-04:00

Our trip to OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry- was fun and educational. We spent most of the day there. You can see the video of it on the previous blog. We had a good time until my daughter and I tried the age progression machine- this was so shocking- and when my daughter saw what she was going to look like at 60 years old, she started crying! and cried throughout the day.. it was very sad and I had taken a picture of the picture but she made me erase it. I am still depressed thinking of my picture as well! This is hands down the best museum I have ever been to. The birth exhibit is no less then completely amazing and worth it to fly out and take your preteen there to learn about birth. More on the birth exhibit tomorrow : )
Aurore

Unschooling in Portland: The Chinese Garden

2010-05-19T10:31:00.001-04:00

These are some of the fun pics we took at the Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. It was a beautiful day-and the Garden was one of my most treasured moments. Not shown is our visit to the tea room-drinking Pu-erh with moon cakes and listening to live chinese music. If you would like to see that- please check out our Portland video a few blogs back. More updates tomorrow... Aurore

Second Day in Portland: Food, Shopping , Friends and Fun.....

2010-05-17T10:25:00.000-04:00

Dear Portland Friends!

Pioneer Place Sky Walk Downtown Portland

Outdoor Farmers Market

These are some pictures of our second day in Portland. We had an adventure. Eating dinner and spending time with our dear Portland friends-who were kind enough to pick us up and drop us off at the airport. The farmers market there was like none I have ever seen. Lots of innovative organic foods. Pickled asparagus and home-made organic fruit soda with chunks of fruit- were two of my favs! We spent a good amount of the day at Pioneer Place mall- a huge mall that is connected on four corners of streets-through sky walk tubes. Still dreaming of it....

Day One of Unschooling in Portland Oregon

2010-05-14T11:23:00.002-04:00

So, this is the first day of our trip to Portland. I had class on the weekend and my daughter and I stayed for a week-so we had plenty of time to "unschool" in the world of the West Coast. The first thing we did is wake up in the morning to a beautiful sunrise on the Willamette river at our condo- it was breath taking. We did yoga and left for downtown Portland. Taking the bus. We then made our way to my favorite place Cacao- a magical little drinking chocolate cafe that is straight out of the movie Chocolat with Juliette Binoche. I go there every time I am in town. Several times. My favorite is the spicy which has cayenne, coconut cream and cinnamon. I feel soo happy as I drink it. My daughter had the cinnamon milk chocolate- she also loved it. Another thing that was breathtaking was the rhododendrons which were all over the city- white and pink- just wonderful...and of course, the fountains all over the city were beautiful as well. You can see my daughter is wearing her little house on the prairie outfit-and her hat is a special gift from our dear friend Kristie Burns- naturopath and waldorf homeschool adviser- Katia wears it everywhere! It is so awesome that she is 11 and can still live in her own realm. Lastly, I was very impressed at the recycling available throughout the city- restaurants and airports- almost all of them have separate receptacles for paper and plastic! More coming tomorrow.

Aurore

Homeschooling on the West Coast-Video

2010-05-13T12:45:00.000-04:00

What a homeschooling week in Portland, Oregon. I took my precious daughter with me this time to go study out west. Last time I took my son. My daughter and I had a great time-taking in art, music, scenery, dancing in the streets..the zoo- singing in the car together. It was fun, fun, fun-just trying to adjust to life in the midwest again, which feels so claustrophobic. This week I will be posting pictures and anecdotes of some of the wonderful experiences we had this time.

Mothers Day Gifts of Music

2010-05-03T09:47:00.001-04:00

So I have been a bit silent this last week or so- things are speeding up here for spring. In the spring we spend alot of time on video taping the music we have been working on.
I have been working on the intro for hearts Crazy on You on guitar and my son has just finished these two AMAZING pieces. He is so sweet to perform the music from the movie The Piano, as he knows that is my favorite movie and also the music from the soundtrack is my favorite as well. Last year he broke my beloved CD-and my angel worked on it tirelessly all winter long to present this to me for mothers day. I hope you enjoy it and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY- to all of you amazing women who make magic in your childrens lives every day!

Spring Yoga- Get Outside!

2010-04-21T10:03:00.000-04:00

Here are our yoga photos for the month of May. We love to get outside with our mats and just breath and stretch. I know yoga is looked down upon in some Waldorf circles, but we focus on breathing and treat it orgonomically (see my book "Beyond Natural Cures"). I recently made the investment in all natural rubber mats for my family. This was very important to me as I am a no plastic household-and as you know-PVC is the worst! Many people have been asking me when the video is coming out. I am leaving for Portland soon and when I get back we will start working on a kids version which I will upload to Lulu and make it available off of my website. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather!

If you like this blog please please read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and check out her pentatonic music program "The AMHC"

Switching from Plastic to Wood- It's Worth It!

2010-04-18T11:02:00.000-04:00

Ostheimer play world- my son and daughter- now 13 and 12- still love

and play with their Ostheimer toys. They set up a wonderland of worlds-and spend hours playing by themselves and with eachother. The Ostheimer castle, I bought at Nova Natural Toys and it was my best investment. They now have the Native American set, the medieval set, the fairytale set and the farm set. We spend a whole day twice a year washing them down and resealing them with beeswax. I look forward to wrapping these pieces up for them and presenting them to their children one day!

If you like this blog please read Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Needle Felted Bees....

2010-04-10T19:18:00.000-04:00

These are the bees we put on our Easter tree for summer- They are easy to make, we roll white wool into an egg shape and then we needle felt it. Wrap it in yellow black thick yarn and needle felt wings- and there they are, wonderful little bees. These we made for my son last year who has a birthday on the solstice.

I call him Xavier (zah vee aye) Xav'abeille...

If you like this blog, check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Magical Children's Rooms: Every Child Needs a Kingdom

2010-04-09T09:38:00.000-04:00

I am posting this painting I made for my daughter last year. She saw St. Basil's Cathedral in a book. So I recreated it to her liking. It was very important that she had two door on it! You can see to the right she has a small scale wood SBC- she has been playing with this for years- a source of inspiration. This is very sad as we are moving this year, but in her tears and sadness about losing her magical kingdom- I assured her that I am coming with her and can make her a kingdom where ever we are! Tommorow I will post the universe that I painted on my sons' ceiling.

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

How to Make a Wet Wool Picture: Spring Has Sprung

2010-04-08T10:10:00.000-04:00

This is our Waldorf wool spring picture we made last year. I have been getting many emails requesting more videos. We have a channel on youtube-Aurore33- and we have about 60 videos on there to watch ranging from homeschooling, crafts, music and dance. I will slowly post them to the blog here. We are starting our spring sketch books today- will post the results : ) Aurore

If you like this blog check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and her music program the "AMHC"

Spring Flowers with Block Crayons

2010-04-07T08:55:00.000-04:00

Wonderful Easter the children and I had, my seven year old brought me these first spring flowers-so I sat down in the sun on Easter morning and immortalized them with my Waldorf block crayons. It never ceases to amaze me what you can do with only red, blue and yellow! Our crab apple tree is budding- per the book "New Eyes for Plants" the children and I are going to get out our sketch books and record the growth of spring! Wishing you a wonderful April : )
Aurore

Dr. Aurore invites you to check out her book "Beyond Natural Cures" and her music method for children "The AMHC"

Needle Felted Wool Painting: Trees and Planets

2010-04-06T10:16:00.000-04:00

This week We worked on the wool painting for my new baby nephew. My dear friend Linda Dawkins from South Africa sent me the handmade rainbow wool background. I saw it as a canvas and saw so many different possibilities. We decided to write

the year of his birth in roman numerals in the corner- and to add a planet mars to the left because he is a baby aries. This was a needle felted picture, in which I actually stabbed myself to the bone of my finger! It is still black and blue, but well worth it as I am pleased with the resultsSpring has sprung- we are working on our flower pictures and a study on drawing from "New Eyes from Plants"

If you like this blog check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" or her music and foreign language program "The AMHC"

A Happy and a Healthy Easter

2010-04-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

Have a Happy Healthy Easter!

These are the handmade easter baskets I bought from Whole Foods last year. They set me back $100 for all three-but it was really bringing me forward, as they are made in Africa by women who are a part of a fair trade program. These blessing baskets even came with a DVD-so the children and I could see how they are made and how the community in Africa benefits from it. This has been our 13th year shunning all non-organic sweets. The Easter Bunny only brings the children wool felted goodies that mom makes and fair trade chocolate. Because my children love pop so much-they also all get a Virgils root beer. There are no peeps or hollow wax-pesticide faux chocolate bunnies. But thankfully- Whole Foods offers an array of fun interesting shapes of sweets-both chocolate and candy- with no food coloring! This year bunny is bringing choc. carrots, gummy pastel bunnies and big choc. bunny easter ears.

Hope you have a beautiful Easter/Ostara : ) Aurore

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and her music foreign language program for kids "The AMHC"

The Easter Parade Video is Here

2010-04-02T19:14:00.001-04:00

The Easter Parade! Happy Easter/ Ostara!

My children love this movie and song-this is a favorite at the retirement homes that we travel around to. Everyone really enjoys when the kids sing together- I hope you enjoy it too! It was a "great" friday here in Michigan- almost 80, the kids and I did yoga on the terrace and greated the spring sun with surya namaskars : )

If you like this blog check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

or her music and foreign language program "The AMHC"

Waldorf Woodworking Projects: The Cow

2010-04-01T10:23:00.000-04:00

These are the boys cows that they made out of a birch tree. This is their first wood project it cost me about $100 for all of the equipment- small saw, vice, sanding block, tool box (which they made), gloves, glasses and a hand drill.

I have to admit it was intimidating-but my older son just got into it on his own for the most part and led my younger one. My daughter was not interested in this project-

We got the idea and instructions from one of the Waldorf Craft books we bought off of amazon. I might need some help to keep this going- as it was more difficult and stressful than I had originally imagined!

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book and blog "Beyond Natural Cures"

The Block Crayon Easter Tree....

2010-03-31T09:40:00.000-04:00

This is my easter tree I made- for a little boy who came to my office this week suffering from a tooth/earache. He was in excruciating pain-but color, homeopathy and craniosacral therapy- relieved all of his symptoms and he is now back in school-pain free. This picture brightened his day....I will be posting our wet wool spring tree picture soon. We are winding down Easter week with Tasha Tudor books, the Flower Children book and stories of Christ. Hope you have a wonderful Easter week!

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's music/foreign language program the "AMHC" and her book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Wax Eggs: More Scenes from the Easter Tree

2010-03-30T09:33:00.000-04:00

More scenes from the Easter Tree- what you see here are the pysanki that the older children made and my lil guy made these wax eggs. We bought them from Hearth Song about four years ago and they are awesome. Basically all you do is warm four different colors of wax and dip your empty blown out eggs into them. It is very easy and rewarding for little ones-and the nice thing is, every year he drops one, and guess what-

the coushy wax coating- protects it from breaking! The best easter tree will be filled with all different types of eggs...wool, wax, dyed.....

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and check out her music program "The AMHC"

Wet Felted Wool Easter Eggs: No Coconut Required....

2010-03-29T11:41:00.001-04:00

This is our video we made in 2009 about how to make wet felted wool easter eggs. Lil Xavi was only 6 at the time-it was great fun and I hope it inspires you to get some soap out and create something Waldorf, Wooly and Wonderful : )

If you like this blog please see Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" or her music program "The AMHC"

Dry Felted Easter Eggs: Stories from the "Easter Tree"

2010-03-28T10:58:00.000-04:00

The Easter Tree- it is on our kitchen table- year after year- we start with hearts for valentines day and then Easter eggs-and then flowers and bees for the solstice. This year we added dry felted wool eggs- it was interesting and I am trying to decide if I like it better than wet felted eggs. You get more freedom and predictability of the design. My seven year old made the black egg with the dragon- he did a pretty good job-although this is the first time he used the felting needle and I had planned to start him at around 9 or 10 on it, however- it becomes difficult when he sees the older children doing what he wants to do! Next up- I will post our wet felting easter egg video. Fun for all : )

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" or check out her music program the "AMHC"

Easter Island in Block Crayons....Always Something New

2010-03-24T10:33:00.000-04:00

In preparation for Easter- I made this block crayon picture of the mammoth Easter Stone Easter Island statues! My favorite thing to do is keep a journal with me and a red, blue and yellow block crayon set- to be able to quickly put my ideas to paper. The kids are still working on making block crayon animals-we start plants- next week!

If you like this blog, check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Wool Bunnies for Easter Baskets: Another Waldorf Adventure

2010-03-23T16:41:00.000-04:00

The children and I worked on these wool bunnies for their baskets. I couldn't find any natural grass around here-so I just used a lime green Walorf silk. This is a nice compliment to our animal studies- in which we are reading the book by Charles Kovaks, making clay animals and also drawing them with block crayons. We start our plant series within the next week or so! Happy Spring!

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

St. Patricks Day 2010 Video is Here

2010-03-22T10:24:00.001-04:00

I thought you might enjoy our 2010 St. Patricks day video! It was warm and wonderful here in Michigan-the boys were not up to dancing this time-so it was just me and my one and only magical Irish Lassie. As usual- in true American style- we stopped at our favorite sushi resturant to finish up a cultural day....We are working on felted wool eggs- coming soon!

If you enjoy Dr. Aurore's blog, check out her book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Wool Spring Fertility Goddess for Nature Table

2010-03-20T12:57:00.000-04:00

So this is our spring table- we have slowly added to-year after year. These are visual directions on how to make a spring fertility Goddess- we had alot of fun making her, we put time and took turns picking out the colors and needle felting. The only thing is we used carded wool for the wings and we should have used angel wool- we will probably re-make these....Happy Spring to you- Michigan has been warm and lovely : )

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures

The Seven Year Old Year of Magic: Waldorf Paintings

2010-03-15T19:30:00.000-04:00

Wind, Rainbows and Rain....these are my seven year old's marvelous artistic creations. I am so amazed at this- I have worked for years with my older two children-but the ease that the youngest one has been able to create with the Waldorf block crayons-is really awe inspiring. I did start with him last year- just a year of blending colors with watercolors and block crayons- not too many pics-but just color exercises- but these are his first real pictures and I am very impressed. Anyway- if you haven't got the block crayon book yet- GET IT NOW : )

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's Book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Block Crayons for First Graders

2010-03-11T20:29:00.001-05:00

These are the landscaping pictures that I work on with my seven year old-he is learning about light and color. These are the begininning exercises in Sigi de Francesca's book. If you haven't bought it by now- I highly suggest it- it's wonderful!

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Wood Haba Playsets: Endless Possibilities

2010-03-08T18:01:00.000-05:00

My seven year old inherited the older two siblings Haba pyramid and St. Basil's Cathedral set. He has been busy as a day making all types of prayer houses and sacred spaces of interest. In the morning he has one hour to work with puzzles or to build something. Today he chose to build- it was very warm here in Michigan-so we took the rest of the day of to just sit in the sun and enjoy the fresh air. We were greeted by several blue birds. I had a feeling of wellness and peace- and it is womens day-nontheless!

If you like this blog check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Sharing Celtic Culture with Your Children

2010-03-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

These are just a few pics of how we celebrate our celtic heritage. The band that we travel with is Shamrock Shore, my dear friend plays the fiddle. They let me join in with bodhran and my son with the flute. It is a great time-one of our favorite things to do. My son wanted a tartan from our family name Flynn- but it was too expensive- so I bought this cheaper cotton version and the vest for him. My little one, is wearing my wool red kilt and my daughter is wearing another black watch plaid kilt of mine. It is so amazing to be able to pass the wonderful gifts of culture to your children. This is another precious part of St. Paddy's day...

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Our Irish Homeschool Band: The Celtic Knots

2010-03-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

Irish music- it is in our blood- I know waldorf doesn't start drums until puberty so my little one just comes in when he wants- I don't push him on the Irish Bodhran- but he loves to be apart of the group. One thing we like to do is sit on the terrase in the summer and make music together-my bodhran shown here is a Waltons- I had it imported from Ireland-it has been since painted by my son and I. If you want to see how wonderful it is now, check out my previous blog on painting drums. I hope this inspires you to make some Irish music yourself!

We now have it where my older son plays the tin whistle and the other children and I dance.....stay tuned for a posting of that video.

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" or check out her music program "The AMHC"

St. Patricks Day: Waldorf Ideas....

2010-03-05T10:22:00.000-05:00

As you probably already know- with us being Irish dancers, we LIVE for St. Paddy's day! Every year we read Tommy De Paola's St. Patrick book or pull out our Waldorf book of saints- and read a story from that. The wonderful stories of St. Patrick inspired my son to choose Patrick for his confirmation name. For food, I make a simple Irish soda bread, as I am not keen on most Irish cuisine. Listening to Irish music is already a staple in our household and one of my best friends is in an Irish band- so, it is a delightful connection for us. For Waldorf crafts, we made a simple shamrock-then we wrapped it around cotton pipe cleaners and changed out our Ostheimer St. Nick's staff for the clover. This is our make shift St. Patrick- but making a felted St. Patrick is on my list of priorities- along with King Winter.

Happy St. Patricks day to you : )

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and her music program for children "The AMHC"

Singing Lessons for the Melancholic Child

2010-03-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

This weekend my daughter got a chance to sing at the local opera house-
I am very proud because the story of her singing is interesting- she was a melancholic waldorf child. So, I tried to follow the advice to get her singing as a remedial measure. However- it would not work- she was just too shy and melancholic. So last year I started something called the singing project- I took the kids around to retirement homes and I sang and they played. We also made some videos with me singing-and decorated a myspace page together- for fun. Soon, my daughters interest in singing sparked and she wanted to sing and me to sit down. The hard part was singing lessons- as I had no money for singing lessons and piano- so, I taught her myself, I bought a book from Barnes and Noble and then we sang for an entire month-tapering off now to where they do it themselves-
Thus a star was born,
Now my daughter has her own genre, she prefers Judy Garland- 1940s music- and show tunes- she has a big voice and a strong vibrato- I can't help but to be proud of myself-for coaxing and developing this force that laid dorment within.

If you like this blog, read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and check out her music program for kids- the AMHC.

Rome in Block Crayons: The Saga Continues

2010-03-02T21:35:00.003-05:00

So we are a few chapters into our Waldorf study of Ancient Rome. This is exciting and more political then the Ancient Greek. However, I appreciate the fact that government is being taught along side of both books- as a preparation. This is showing the children what worked and didn't work-and what needs improvement. My children especially loved the stories of Romulus and Remus-and the first King of Rome. It was mixed with myth, greed and adventure. They made these pictures to describe what I read. As usual- I am pleasantly surprised-and pleased at Charles Kovacs study books. Highly recommended!

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book, "Beyond Natural Cures" or check out her Waldorf music program the "AMHC"

History with Block Crayons

2010-03-01T12:03:00.000-05:00

This is an Egyptian Priest that I made with my children today. I enjoy using the block crayons very much and although I was an avid painter a few years ago- I have sinced stopped painting and have been concentrating on the the block crayons with the kids. This has been enlightening for me as I have never had an art class-beyond 8th grade. I never formally knew how to draw outside of what I have taught myself. The block crayons are inspiring- I look at the simple Red, Blue and Yellow- and so many things come to mind. I know I can move on to more colors now-but I really enjoy using the six primary colors. The children and I are now studying Rome. I will post their Roman pictures tomorrow. Happy March Monday : ) Aurore

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and her Waldorf inspired music program the "AMHC"

Adults That Make Children Laugh....

2010-02-25T14:38:00.000-05:00

Well, This is a funny story I thought I'd share with you- this summer at a concert, my children saw a woman wearing this type of gypsy hat. At first they laughed and laughed- and said she looked ridiculous-and carried on. A week later they were still talking about the woman with the gypsy hat. But then, while at a store-guess what they wanted to buy! The gypsy hat. I told my children not to judge people so harshly-sometimes adults can look ridiculous-but it is more or less the children picking up on the adults insecurity or even the adult trying too hard to be something they are not and so children sense that. But I couldn't help but laugh myself at lifes small joys and serendipitous revelations!

I used this to point out to the children that life is a theatre and that what actually happened is that the woman taught them a lesson about freedom to be and look how you want- even if it is ridiculous! I really believe, had the woman in the hat looked more self-confident and not scared and depressive-that my children would have not noticed or had liked it right away....

Boys and Dolls-the Waldorf Way

2010-02-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

So, today I was doing the dishes and I looked over and saw my seven year old playing so sweetly with his little "man-ikin" waldorf doll I made him when he was a baby. I quickly snatched a picture-trying to preserve the moment. He really loves this doll, dresses him, cares about his welfare, talks to him- he was the slowest to warm up to dolls. For a long time he would just let my other son play with it and proclaim he doesn't play with dolls, but alas the bonding has begun and it is very rewarding to see. I invite you to read my other blog on making waldorf dolls and make your doll today : )

If you like this blog please check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and her music/foreign language program the AMHC.

Teaching Theater to Children: It Should be Natural

2010-02-18T22:09:00.000-05:00

The kids and I have taken some time to study theatre- my daughter especially wants to be in some plays and musicals-and so they have moved into a new realm of performing and art. One of their favorite Judy films is "The Pirate" with Gene Kelly-this is a show they put on many times-I was lucky to have caught it on film. They can be very funny and clever when they are all working together. I hope you enjoy our homeschooling snipet....

If you like this blog read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and try her music/foreign language program "The AMHC"

2010 Music Summary

2010-02-15T23:03:00.002-05:00

As you know, music is the halmark of our home education. Last year after the children went to the AGT auditions in Chicago they decided to form a band. After much thinking and processing- over the course of three months- three bands were formed-
One for my older son-which is pop music and ballads, one for my daughter which is primarily 1940s and Judy Garland and Irish-to go along with our Irish dance. Every year I make a three minute video of clips about what they worked on throughout the year musically-I find I have to leave quite a bit out-but try to choose the best pieces. There is no classical on these, as those are saved as recitals.

Here are my daughters 2010 music montage and my son's I hope you enjoy them! As always-more can be seen on youtube and you can look them up on facebook under Coldplay kids and become a fan-to the right here- Thanks!

Musical Valentines Day: The Gift of Love

2010-02-15T11:35:00.003-05:00

These were my Valentines Day Gifts yesterday-the kids were very sweet at cheering me up and showing me some love. I hope all of my dear homeschooling friends found the love they needed and deserved on this special day! You can see more of our videos on youtube under aurore33, come check them out...

If you like this blog read her health blog and book "Beyond Natural Cures" check out her music program "The AMHC"

Wood Color Sudoku- Simple, Important Game for Children

2010-02-10T09:45:00.004-05:00

You might be thinking I am talking about that tiny Chinese marble color sudoku-well, I am not. This one is beautifully handcarved and from Germany. It is beautiful enough to just leave out-and no one can help to play with it. With only 16 balls and four colors-it is simple enough to work out in as little as 5 to ten minutes. It also helps with math concepts- multiplication up to four and other skills. I love this game and even though my son is almost 8 it is still a challenge. The older kids can do it quickly but enjoy the challenge as well. This game and shut the box are two math wood games that were an important part of our math foundation in the early years-and you know as Waldorfers I am talking about 6-7 ; )

The German Color Sudoku is available at my favorite store the woodenwagontoys.com

Have fun learning...Aurore

If you like this blog check out my book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Pentatonic Music and Foreign Language: Children Are Left Behind Without Them!

2010-02-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

This is a cover for the children and I's music and foreign language program. I have learned many things about foreign language over the years- taking an entire year in college of just French and German, healing my son of autism, sending my children to "L'Ecole de Francaise," and finally studying Waldorf philosophy with Tara McKnight, a Waldorf teacher-it has been a journey of trial, error and enlightenment.

You can read more about the research and importance of music and foreign language in my book "Beyond Natural Cures," in which I interviewed a professor of music from UofM. Clearly, as you Waldorfers already know, health in education is of primary importance. On a health scale of constitionality- I rate therapeutic education such as Waldorf methods-as fourth, coming after conception and birth and the importance of attachment in the first years of life. Education and wellness, truly coincide.

My mistakes, such as starting piano too early with my older children and my triumphs such as spending a year re-establishing their missing music "keys" by using pentatonic scales and Waldorf instruments-choroi flutes, auris glockenspiels and lyres- is all apart of the story.

This is how the "AMHC" program was born. Initially my children and I just made it for themselves and then the need to share it became more obvious as I found the pentatonic music selection to be incomplete. You can watch the movie trailer for the AMHC on my website and youtube.com. This year I will be moving the AMHC to Lulu and Amazon-until then visit my website beyondnaturalmedicine.com to learn more and purchase.

Foreign Language: Spanish

2010-02-09T12:06:00.001-05:00

I am not a big fan of workbooks-but I have relied on them some what for foreign language. This is where I deviate from traditional Waldorf. My seven year old has been working out of Spanish and French workbooks. I have been very happy with School Zones big bilingual books. He just finished the preschool book and is now starting on the kindergarten. I am not pushing him in these areas- and we work on the slowly-mostly to develop conversations about foreign language. As I am just learning spanish myself- I need it more than he does! Today's lesson we talked about placement- encima-which is on, debajo- under, junto- by and adentro which is in. Then we added a few new vocab words- flores, perros and gatos. We also learned- Cuantros/Cuantras-with this we formed simple questions- example: Cuantros perros hay debajo de la mesa....
Right now we only work out of those books once a week. The only thing we do everyday is me reading stories, art, music and forms. My son is getting better with his writing and it is simple enough because we made our Waldorf letters last year with the book "The Waldorf Alphabet" above. We took block crayons- made the earth, grass and sky- and formed pictures- slowly. It took us about two months but he enjoyed it.
I especially enjoy the wonderful availability we have in the States for Spanish resources. All of my french I have to pay in euros and have it imported from the FNAC. For German, I have hardly anything- mostly odds and ends books I picked up from used book stores and muzzy workbooks.
More on language coming soon- and of course, check out my Waldorf Pentatonic Music and Foreign Language program the AMHC : )
If you like this blog please check out my book "Beyond Natural Cures"

Happy Healthy Valentines Day: The Whole Lotta Love Kapha Cake

2010-02-09T10:15:00.002-05:00

Whole Lotta Love Cake- and it really is,

Because it is still kapha season- we make this non-traditional pumpkin-molasses cake.

I usually don't add icing to the cakes-but the kids were feeling icing deprived. Most of the time, I make up plain whip cream and add it to the top of the cake when I serve it. I am contemplating writing a cookbook sometime next year after I am finished promoting my book "Beyond Natural Cures" - this will definitely be apart of it. Here is the recipe for those who need it now : )

All Ingredients- farm fresh, organic and homemade....the sugar value is slightly sweet

1.5 cups white bread flour

1 cup freshly ground red winter wheat, barley and millet mix

1 Tsp baking powder

3/4 Tsp baking soda

1/2 cp mashed pumpkin

1/4 cp coconut oil

1/4 cp softened butter

1/4 cp black strap molasses

2 eggs

1 tsp orange peel or orange water

3/4 cup of yogurt, or buttermilk or sour milk

3/4 Cup sucanat sugar

Kapha spice churna:

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp of cardamom

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp clove

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine dry ingredients-

Add everything else, except eggs-

Beat on medium until combined-then beat on high for 2 minutes

Add eggs and beat two minutes more.

Pour into greased pan bake at 350 for 30 minutes-

Enjoy- and Happy Valentines Day : )

If you enjoy this blog check out Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" available through Amazon.com, Lulu and beyondnaturalmedicine.com.

Ancient Greece: Mythology and History Perfect for Preteens

2010-02-08T13:22:00.000-05:00

The Greek Myths have been a recurring theme of joy in our household. The book by Charles Kovac's Ancient Greece-with myths and history for preteens-is no less then outstanding. My children were glued to their seats and couldn't wait to see what happens next. They made beautiful block crayon pictures of different scenes in the book. Hercules, Perseus, Artemis and Athena- are all there. We just finished up reading about Alexander. I learned more myself about history than my many years at public and private American schools. The children are sad that the stories are over but I bought them some individual stories for them to read on their own- Odysseus and a few more. In the spring we will start on Roman history- they are already excited. I have to take some time off to work on some fairy tales with my seven year old-I divide up my time-focusing more on one subject than another- and with two different age groups it can be difficult.

If you like this blog read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" or purchase her music /foreign language program the AMHC.

Simple Waldorf Wool Roving Dolls and Angels

2010-02-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

These are very simple wool roving Waldorf dolls we have made for ourselves and other people. The top doll is actually a root/flower doll we made for spring last year. The different types of angels are hanging from the ceiling of my daughters room. They are also a traditional Christmas and Easter craft. These are a first step in dollmaking (see my blog on making Waldorf dolls). With a few snips and a couple knots-a beautiful etheric doll is made. This gives children a sense of confidence as they realize they can "make" something themselves. We bought this wool from Weir Crafts in Ann Arbor- a wonderful store and Susan the owner is very helpful and accomodating with all your needs.

If you like this blog please read Dr. Aurore's book "Beyond Natural Cures" and check out her Waldorf music/foreign language program the "AMHC"

Waldorf Writing Skills and Foreign Language: Uncial Calligraphy, Block crayons and Spanish

2010-02-04T11:13:00.000-05:00

The AMHC Music and Foreign Language Program: Pentatonic

Click here for more information on my program

Many of you know I teach my children three languages from my music/language program the AMHC. My children are most fluent in French and can read and write in French at about a third grade level. Following that is German which they are at a first grade level and Spanish is mostly about prononuciation and vocabulary right now. We have been getting into our local Spanish culture and attending a Spanish mass for the local Mexican community. My daughter especially loves the Guadalupe so I painted this 7 foot Guadalupe in my yoga studio.

Last year while working on our penmanship skills- I decided to work on some Spanish poems and prayers. The kids liked this idea and some clips of them saying it can be seen on my other blog with the homeschooling video. Above you see a traditional Waldorf writing tablet. One side my daughter made a block crayon picture of Mary the Queen of Heaven and then on the opposite side is the prayer she wrote in uncial. We did this all of last year until the two older children had developed their writing styles. My daughter prefers copperplate and my son prefers uncial. I will post some more blogs on writing styles. The book Confetti above is a wonderful Spanish poetry book for kids. De Colores is a BEAUTIFUL music CD and song book.

If you like this blog please check out my book "Beyond Natural Cures" or my music/foreign language program the "AMHC"

Form Drawing for Pre-teens: Years of Experience and Wonder

2010-02-02T16:07:00.000-05:00

So, here are some examples of my 12 and 13 year olds advanced form drawings. They have been doing form drawing for five years. This is the last part of our lesson as we are now taking a break to merge our form drawing, clay modeling and block crayons with the drawing of animals. The foundation of form drawing-as I said before, is to develop penmanship, drawing skills, hand eye coordination and to bridge right and left brain concepts. It also helps to develop concepts in geometry. Forms are always done with right and left hand. Not shown here is their circles, straight lines and wavy lines which are done before the new form is assimilated. First done on the chalkboard and then the second time in their waldorf drawing books. Only one new form is completed each day.....

If you like this blog check out my music program "The AMHC" and book "Beyond Natural Cures" available through my website.

Valentines Day Craft: Beaded Hearts

2010-01-30T13:08:00.000-05:00

What can be more important than Valentines day? These beaded hearts were just the magical thing to make for our loved ones- what started out as a simple craft with wire and glass beads (not plastic)-became a year long expression of love to people we cared about. This is really a gallery of all the beautiful hearts we made and we named them after the people we made them for. The kids thought about setting up a heart etsy shop that should be coming soon.

Dry Wool Waldorf Paintings: Layers of Life and Warmth

2010-01-26T10:59:00.000-05:00

Rumplestilskin-

This was our first dry wool picture we made-two years ago. It was a two week project and really-I did most of it and the kids watched and helped with the wool. At first they were not interested but then as the magical picture began to unfold-they became more and more excited....waking up everyday wanting to finish it. These are not pictures that can be hurried through. Layering the wool took me about an hour a day for a week. Then there was the process of sealing it with steam and heat. However, it is beautiful and wonderful and hangs in our lower level in their homeschooling project area. We got this project idea and instructions from the Magic Wool book- which every page is filled with inspiration and warmth. I encourage to start a dry wool picture with your children. This blue flannel board I bought from waldorfsupplies.com and my children still use it to hang their wool on and play.

If you like this blog read my book "Beyond Natural Cures" or check out my therapeutic Waldorf music program for children "The AMHC."

Knitted Animals: Not as Hard as You think!

2010-01-22T08:17:00.000-05:00

Here is the little lamb I made for my seven year old's birthday this summer-the instructions were easy to follow and I got them from Freya Jaffke's book above. I used a mixture of silk yarn with cream mohair, and by using the garter stitch I created a delightfully bushy lamb look. My son loved it and now my older children are knitting their own. My daughter says it looks more like a polar bear-so call it what you want, LOL. This is a great and easy project and makes a nice gift. My friend Linda Dawkins has an etsy shop and makes and sells these animals-if you would still like one but not quite ready to make one your self. Please visit Linda's shop to see all the wonderful animals and knitted crafts she has to offer:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mamma4earth

If you like this blog check out my book "Beyond Natural Cures" and my music program for children "The AMHC"