In These Hills: June 2007

Summer Revels

>> Monday, June 25, 2007 – solstice

Just before I flew to Montana, the girls performed in the summer Revels. It was a beautiful (cold) evening that began with a parade and included crafts, dancing, singing, and a final song in the dark with puppets glowing in the sky. It had a nautical theme--thus the fish on the girls' heads.

Here is E skipping with joy in the parade.

This is one of the amazing butterfly puppets. They lit up after dark and floated over the chorus.

Among Strangers in a Strange Land

>> Sunday, June 24, 2007 – History

I have once more resumed my pen, though far away among strangers in a strange land, to let you know that I am well and have not forgotten you, Sarah Town, 1846.

I am off to the West for a week tracing the paths of Vermonters as they made their ways across the country in search of gold, adventure, or new homes. I must have one of the best jobs ever for a historian--I provide professional development to American History teachers leading book discussion groups, workshops, and summer institutes. This year has been all about Westward Expansion. My trip west is with 30 teachers to Montana. We'll first visit with elders of the Crow Nation including Alma Snell, grandaughter of Pretty-Shield. We'll then travel to Nevada City, MT, to experience pioneer life--we'll pan for gold, cook outdoors, and do a little construction.

In preparation for the trip, we made beautiful journals with book artist Susan Bonthron. Journaling on these trips is something I require as it forces everyone to slow down and connect with the surroundings in a deeper way. Our journals are designed after the journals some Vermonters kept as they traveled.

It's going to be fun, exhausting, and exhilarating.

Happy Summer Solstice

>> Thursday, June 21, 2007 – solstice, Summer

Unite and Unite
Now let us unite
Summer is a comin' today....

We've had a great first day of summer. We froze strawberries picked on the summer solstice, not to be opened until the winter solstice. We had a great time imagining what it will be like on that cold dark night, remembering this hot sunny day.

H and I then took a walk on our road gathering ferns and wildflowers.

It resulted in this beautiful table.

After dinner the girls made a fairy house and left the fairies strawberries and a newly painted sun. Who knows if they'll come out to celebrate tonight. We'll have to wait and see in the morning.

H and I ended the evening with a lantern walk back down our road to watch the fireflies come out. The end of a long summer day.

Update---the fairies came. There's glitter everywhere out there!

Summer Reading

>> Tuesday, June 19, 2007 – Books

I have been compiling a list of books for 8-year-old E. I'm not a homeschooler who has done a lot of research and I don't have a list of characteristics that make a book "good." Instead, I've been watching to see which picture books and chapter books seem to "feed her." If I could make any generalizations, it would be the books which feature loving families. When she pulls out a picture book for me to read, it's often "The Rainbabies", "Emma's Story" (about an adopted child), "The Quiltmaker's Gift" as well as many fairytales. The chapter books which she has adored include all the "Little House" books, "All of a Kind Family" books, and "B is for Betsy" books (we read every single Betsy book last summer).

In addition to looking for books which have similar qualities to the books above, I've been searching for chapter books featuring main characters who are her age and who have the sorts of adventures and childhoods I want my children to have. Here's my list. Most I've read, but some I haven't--I don't know how to get those neat little links to book covers at Amazon, so this is just a straight list:

Understood Betsy, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Five Little Peppers and How they Grew by Margaret Sydney (H listened to this and loved it on tape)
Twig by Elizabeth Orton Jones
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
The Secret Language by Nordstrom
Baby Island by Carol Brink
Ballet Shoes by Streatfield
Thimble Summer by Enright
Poppy by Avi (and the others--H loved "Ereth's Birthday")
Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
Children of Noisy Village by Lindgren
The Golden Name Day, The Crystal Tree, the Little Silver House by Lindquest (I loved these as a child)
The Wind in the Willows
Rabbit HIll by Lawson--this is next

It's hard to find chapter books or easy readers with 8 or 9-year olds as main characters. So often, the characters are older and have emotions or situations that my child just doesn't relate to. For instance, she loves "The Pony Pals" books because of the horses. They are pretty easy to read, but the characters are 11 or 12 and have lots of girl relationship angst that my daughter is oblivious to. Why expose her to it?

Our favorite book this summer so far has been "No Flying in the House." I read her the first two chapters and stopped at the question as to whether the main character was a fairy. A few hours later, E came up to me and said "Mom, I've been really thinking about that book. I don't think she is a fairy because she can't fly." I loved it. We were so into the book that we ended up reading it all that afternoon--I even caught H and her very cool 12-year-old buddy around the corner listening :-). I just wish I could have restrained myself and doled it out over a couple of days. E would have had it living in her a little longer. This has made me realize that while I have a long list of potential books to read, slower and fewer is probably better.

Now, I have a confession. We are reading "Anne of Green Gables" at night right now. E loves it. I HATE IT!!! For some reason, I just can't stand the writing. But I am reading with energy and enthusiasm (and am relieved when it is DH's night to read to her).

I'm always up for other suggestions.

Breezy Days

It's Monday, the beginning of what will be a great week as it ends with lots of solstice celebrations. Summertime is such a breezy, loose time and yet my children still need me to be present for them and to establish some sort of predictable rhythm for their days. It's an interesting mix of being airy, yet grounded.

Over the years, I've learned that they are happiest when I am up and about cooking, doing housework, gardening, etc. They will either join in my work or head off to do their own thing. There's a distinct "hum" of busyness. When I sit down to read or be on the computer, things begin to fall apart. So, in the summer when I'm with them more, I find it takes some inner work on my part to be present for them--not always playing with them or entertaining them, but being actively in the home (rather than my yummy books, blog, or work!).

I also find that some predictablity in how the days go is helpful. Right now, our days work as such--I do my job until 10:00 a.m. and then for about an hour in the afternoon--that gets me 20 hours. They are to get themselves up, brush their teeth, make some breakfast, and find something quiet to do each morning. Later in the afternoon, we'll read out loud (I've got quite a list of books I want to read to them this summer) or play a game, then practice violin before visiting and dinner. This rhythm allows for a lot of expansive, fun, outdoor time with quiet times at the beginning and end of the day. *Of course* it doesn't always work. In fact, this week with some fun solstice activities planned and some very late nights ahead of us, things will change.

--the photo above was taken out our bedroom window. There was a balloon festival this weekend.

my projects

>> Saturday, June 16, 2007 – Crafts

I am E. I am age 8 and I am a excellent at sewing on my great grandmother's sewing machine. I made a quilt on it.

I made a ton of headbands. H helped.

Here I am wearing one.

This bag was the first thing I ever made on the sewing machine. I carry my scrapbook in it because it is so special.
The little heart-shaped doll is named "Hearty" because I made her on Valentine's Day. She also has a magnet in her body so I can put her on the frig.

This bigger doll is named "Blue Baby." One day when I was bored I made the pink dress she is wearing. It has pins stuck into her because the dress is too small.

This kitten is knitted and purled. It has a bell around its neck. I made it at school. She is very special because I made her.

Yard Sale to Porch

>> Friday, June 15, 2007 – Crafts

Last weekend H and I went out to cruise the yard sales.We stumbled upon someone selling large swatches of decorator fabric. We bought it all for $2. One batch had a paisley theme in a rainbow of colors which we have many plans for. This batch was all in stripes.

While I was working this morning, H and E got out the fabric to make pillows for the hard, plastic adirondack chairs on our porch. The girls always divide up sewing projects:

H does the cutting and finish work. E works the sewing machine.

I love it when a craft project yields something we really need!

Summer Mornings on the Porch

DH has just finished building our porch. With school out, we've begun our summer morning routine--I work from 6:00 - 10:00 a.m. while the kids find quiet things to do. Today it was warm enough for our morning to begin on the porch. E designed a bookmark for her current book "No Flying in the House" and joined me for yummy strawberry muffins. I'm going to love this porch!

Corner of My Home

Welcome to "Squeakity Squeak Square-House."

Doesn't every home need a little corner for this sort of construction? E has spent quite a bit of time in here over the past few days. See the fire ring? And the magnifying glass for lighting the fire? Everything in there has become a tool for keeping up Squeakity Squeak Square-house.

When asked who "Squeakity Squeak" is, she replied "ME!" The very fun part? She even got H to make another house for the neighborhood. It isn't so often that H goes into that imaginary world any more. I'm glad she has a little sister to draw her in.

Building our Not So Big House

Building a house has been something we've wanted to do since before we got married. We have notebooks of ideas and sketches. At first we wanted to build a post and beam house, and even got so far as designing one. Unfortunately our bank could not make the numbers work. Over the years, we became acquainted with Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big House" books. We loved some of the ideas she had about doing more with less, simplicity, and beauty. We wanted to build a home.

We ended up building the house featured on the cover of her book "Creating the Not So Big House." While 2400 square feet, it feels very spacious (especially since we moved from an old Vermont cape). We use every room in the house, every day. We have views and light streaming into every window. It's cozy in the winter and breezy in the summer. The best part about it, for us, is the central core of bookcases surrounding all three sides of the fireplace.

Our housebuilding saga, however, was not simple or beautiful. The saga includes a contractor who mismanaged his and our money, began to do shoddy work, and had to be fired. We're now finishing the house on our own--a long process with stress on all of us.

Would we do it again? Maybe. Ask us again when we've finally finished!