bribery

 I tried to bribe Seo with a lolipop (and Gita and Lil each got one too of course) while I cut his hair. It did not go over well. He still was unhappy with me as I tried to snip away, and then hair kept getting stuck on his lolipop. *sigh*
Once again I did quite a hack job due to the difficult working conditions. I am sad to say that the next time he needs a cut it might be with the shaver since there is no way I would subject a barber to what I went through!
(you can see what a gorgeous morning we had!)

this week

Seo and his best friend (and very occasionally worst enemy) Aziza

Monday:: Today was a great day for swinging and most of the kids spent a lot of time either on the swings or in the creek! We also learned about bats, ate some foods they help us have (mango, dates, and cashews - yum!), played an echolocation game, and painted a picture of the night sky. 
I hope you enjoy the beautiful weather this week! See you next Monday!

Wednesday:: Today, we journeyed to Great Britain and the National Art Museum, made our own tea, enjoyed tea and shortbread for snack, and heard the story of The Honest Woodman.  And...there is always time for play, creeks, and feeding animals!
Hope you have a great rest of the week and weekend!

This morning Alex let me sleep in a bit while he gave the kids breakfast, made lunch for Lili, nd coffee for the two of us. After I got up and dressed I braided Lili's hair (it's getting longer!). Seo naturally wanted his hair done too, so I gave him a small bun on the top of his head and bundled the kids into their carseats. On the 20 min drive to the farm school we came upon a blue heron on the side of the road who flew up and threatened to hit our car.  It swerved back and swooshed right by Lili's backseat window which thrilled her. When we pulled into the farm school driveway her friend Lily was getting their as well. She barely said goodbye to me as she and Lily-with-a-Y linked arms and walked up the road. A little boy commented that Seo's hairdo looked like a unicorn horn. Seo wasn't all that happy to get back in the car without saying hello to the goats or swinging on the swing, but there were no tears. It was a beautiful fall morning and it was sweet to get some alone time with him in the car. Lili isn't an overpowering child, but she is older and much more articulate, so she overshadows some of Seo's nuances. These small details show up much clearer when you have a chance to get him alone. He is really funny! And he is talking up a storm... you just have to be really paying attention to understand what he is talking about. 

When Seo and I got home I switched places with Alex who had been working on a wholesale order. He and Seo went for a walk and I began working on some silver earrings. I worked on them all day while Alex went and picked up Lili from school and then built us a new front gate (our old one came down when we plastered our house last month).  When I stopped working at 5:30 Alex made fried chicken, salad, and rice pilaf for dinner while I tidied up our house and did some lunch dishes. Then we sat down to a family dinner. The kids were silly. After dinner Alex got the kids all riled up wrestling, making farting noises, and roaring like dinosaurs at the top of their voices.  Awesome. Then books and teeth brushing and off to bed. That about sums up our day! 

bedtime story

Nature Studies and Seasonal Celebrations, Monday:
"Today we explored the world of goats through the story of Blue Cheese (quite a funny one!), a visit to the goats, a milk science experiment, and milk painting. Of course, since it was such an amazingly beautiful day, we had to play in the creek, too!"

Around the World ABCs, Wednesday:

"Today we continued with our Aesop's fables and enjoyed the story of The Goose and the Golden Egg. We also visited India - which seems like an unlikely location for our fable to take us, but did you know that there are many similarities between Aesop's fables and the Jakata tales? No one is sure how the stories could have gotten between Greece and India, but there is speculation that they did. While in India we visited the Taj Mahal, played two games - chidiya ud and phugadi - and enjoyed Indian spiced rice for snack.

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather - we certainly are!" ~Lili's teacher Kimberly
This photo is from NH. The kids playing in Micah and Camden's sandbox. Lili and Camden got along amazingly well. I haven't heard her giggle so much in one hour in a long time!

apple hats

I simply LOVE this video of Alice and Seo at the apple orchard. 

apple picking with old and very new friends

Lili's Wednesday Around the World ABC Class / Seo on a woodsy walk

"Today, we enjoyed the story of The Fox and the Crow, ate cheese for snack, and journeyed to a country famous for its cheese - France.  We we amazed by the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed a lively game of Petanque.  We improvised by using baseballs to throw and a base for our throwing circle.  The kids loved it and it would be a fun family yard game!"