Leprechaun Trap

So this year we set out a Leprechaun trap in the garden. We made it from a cardboard box. My son painted on glue and then we covered it with shamrock fabric. Then my son drew a rainbow with his beeswax crayons and we cut it out and glued it on as well. For bait, we put a very glittery gold paper underneath and since we were already planning on making NT Macaroons, we decided to dye one green and leave it out there as well. We also planted shamrock seeds . This is a Poem my son really enjoys.

The Dear Little Shamrock

by Andrew Cherry There's a dear little plant that grows in Ireland. 'Twas Saint Patrick himself sure that set it. And the sun on his labor with pleasure did smile. And a tear from his eyes oft-times wet it. It grows thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland, And it's called the dear little Shamrock of Ireland. That dear little plant still grows in our land, Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin, Whose smiles can bewitch, and whose eyes can command, In each climate they ever appear in: For they shine thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland, Just like their own dear little Shamrock of Ireland. That dear little plant that springs from our soil, When its three little leaves are extended, Denotes from the stalk we together should toil, And ourselves by ourselves be befriended. And still thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland, From one root should branch, like the Shamrock of Ireland.

Then we made Irish Soda bread ,from the Baking Bread with Children book, to have with our dinner (corned beef and cabbage. Yeah yeah, I know, not truly traditional but a tradition in my family growing up :) yum). Our fortune was not made, we did not catch a Leprechaun but did find some of gold! He tricked us!!! It was really chocolate that LOOKED like gold!! Better luck next time! It was a very enjoyable day.

Mason Bees

It is time to get ready to host mason bees in the North West! We have read two stories recently that had bees in them. The first was From Grimm's called 'The Queen bee" and the second is " The little Girl who would not work" from the book For the children's hour. This last story was a good choice considering we have had a slow start, since moving cross the country, at getting back (full swing) into our rhythm. But we are on our way! If you do not have one of these hand drills, it is a really great thing to get! My son thoroughly enjoyed drilling holes in that block of wood for the mason bees! Mason bees are gentle pollinators and we are hoping they help us grow some yummy blueberries! For more info on mason bees, check out this website.

Valentines Gold

Our story for the week of Valentines was "A Million Valentines" by Suzanne Downs from the Juniper tree. You can sign up for her monthly news letter. It is a great resource! In the story an old man is watching the sun rise over the snow topped mountains and the Golden hue reminds him of the golden finches he usually feeds. He finds his supplies ( net bags and thistle) and sets it out it out as a Valentine gift for the birds. They in turn leave him a surprise Valentines as well! We visited our local Birding store and found the bags and the thistle. The next day we had attracted golden finches to our yard! The story came to life!

Valentines

For Valentines making, I pull out all my old funky craft supplies from the olden days when I would stay up all night making art. My Son just loves to dig through all my stuff, the old clippings from falling apart books, calendars, and what not. There is also a great assortment of stickers and sparkles in there. He chooses what strikes his fancy and then the very cutest part is that he really considers what the person he is making the card for might like. Then he composes a little saying to go with each card. For example: On the back of the sun Valentine ( upper right corner) He had me write on the back: "It's cold here today, I hope your Valentines shines bright" Watching him create these card is MY Valentine's gift!

Candlemas

Last week we celebrated Candlemas and our story was a slightly modified version of "The Well and the Flame" from the book Circle Round. We observed Candlemas by tidying up all the pine boughs that blew into the yard from our trees, picking out our seeds for our garden, lighting candles in the ground to"warm up" mother Earth so we can then plant our seeds and she can help them grow. We also "plant" our own intentions (what we want to do, change, accomplish) in a clay pot with soil, light a candle in the pot and share our intentions with each other. Then we will add this soil to our garden when we do plant our seeds so that our intentions "grow as well". We also lit a fire in the fireplace using our fire starters that we made the week before ( for our"Shingebiss" story). They worked GREAT!

The Well and the Flame

In our Story, titled "The Well and the Flame" from the book Circle Round, a brother and sister are wondering when the long winter will end. Saint Bridget gives them the message that Spring will come when "clean water rises in the sacred well and bright flame burns in every hearth". The children are not sure what it means. But they decide to go and make sure there is a fire in the hearth of every villager and ask them if they know of a holy well. They end up at Old Man Mad-dog's house. He is a grumpy man who is not kind to children. In fact, he usually shakes a stick at them as they run past. But the children realize that Old Man Mad-dog does not have a fire in his hearth and that he is in need of help. He tells them that there is an old well in the forest. After helping the old man, they find the old well, which has been littered with sticks and garbage and start to clear it out. They find out that "inside the heart of every girl and boy is a holy well, full of the waters of love and joy and new ideas. This is the well you must keep clean, because it can easily be choked by hatred, greed, and selfishness, And inside you also is a sacred flame, the flame of life. This is the fire you must tend and feed and keep burning, so that you grow to be strong and wise and brave" During our walk in our the nature area in our new neighborhood what do you suppose we stumbled upon? Needless to say this is now a project for us to keep clear and clean! Homeschooling can be so magical and inspiring at times!

Fire Starters ( help brave Cold North WInds)

Last week our story was Shingebiss from Wynstones WINTER. In this story a little brown duck, named Shingebiss, cheerily goes about his daily chores of pulling up reeds in the ice to make fishing holes and taking his fish home to cook upon his warm fire. Even though the North wind is raging, he continues to brave the weather! This story explains why ducks are not frozen and seem unaware of the cold, winter weather! Seems they can even laugh "quack, quack ,quack" at the North wind's cold and frost! We made fire starters out of paper egg cartons, dryer lint and melted wax because , unlike Shingebiss, We need help staying warm when the North wind blows!!

Other ideas:
*Bundle up and visit ducks at a wetlands or pond. See how they do not seem to mind the cold!
(We saw Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks, American Coots, Buffle Heads, and Northern Shovelers ) you don't need to identify ducks with children in Kindergarten. My son is in his last year of Kindergarten and birding has become his new passion and hobby!
*Act out the story. White and blue play silks make a fine North Wind!
*Sing Shingbiss' song and add the rythym by clapping or rhythm sticks, or Native American drums.