Practical & Conscientious Parenting
Anne
Anne is the mother of a 7 yr old, and works at a nature-based preschool and summer day camp. Her passions include multi-disciplinary learning, board games, and local ecology. She wants to be a carpenter when she grows up.
Posts by Anne
Fairies and other tiny animals
14 years
Yesterday was “Dress up like your favorite book character” day at Mehalia’s school, in honor of Dr. Suess’s birthday. Unfortunately she was home with headlice, but she had her costume all picked out and wore it for the day anyway. (The wings are of course now quarantined for two weeks in a plastic bag with the headband and necklace, next to another bag with all her stuffed animal friends that sleep with her.) Her character is Bella the Bunny Fairy, with her bunny Misty. I’m hoping she’ll wear it again for the Procession of the Species parade on Earth Day. 
Cameras and Memories
15 years
by Anne
in On Education
I was just checking some email messages, scanning past the local homeschool group posts I still subscribe to but rarely check anymore. (We homeschooled for Mehalia’s second year of preschool, and kindergarten, but switched to a public elementary in first grade.) I saw the name of one of my favorite friends, and noticed that she has been writing an unschooling blog.
It reminded me of all the fun experiences that we haven’t documented in any way, that now exist only in our minds. And I felt kind of sad and thought, “I need to get a good camera on my phone so I take more pictures and they’re easy to put on my computer and share with people.”
Then I remembered other times when I’ve been recording something and felt like I missed out on the real experience. Maybe I need a tripod and a timer too….
Homemade Playdough
15 years
I thought I had missed my chance for a treasured childhood memory, having never made playdough with Mehalia. Tonight I needed to make some for my preschool class, so I invited her to help. She was of course delighted, as she always is whenever there is mixing and pouring to be done.
The recipe we used was 4 cups each flour and water, 1 cup salt, and 4 tbls. oil. It was supposed to have 1/2 c. cream of tarter too, which I didn’t have, and then saw that I could substitute 1/4 c. each baking powder and baking soda. We’re in the middle of moving, and despite my attempts to clearly label boxes with detailed contents, I couldn’t find those ingredients either.
So we did without – it appears to be fine. It was so awesome to see, and smell, the gooey glop turn into playdough before my eyes. (After mixing the ingredients in a big pot, we just heated it up on low, stirring often until it thickened.) It didn’t make nearly as much as I thought it would, so I ended up making a second batch, this time doubled. It was so warm and soft when it finished. I’m really happy I finally tackled one of the things I considered an essential element of childhood.
PS – By the next morning, the second batch had “melted” into a sticky mess, so maybe those missing ingredients were important after all. I tried adding sand since I was using it to make shell prints, but it just got even grosser. Oh well, the treasured memory remains in the creation process, and I’m sure we’ll need some again at some point so I’ll get to perfect my recipe.
Favorite Kids Books – part one
15 years
One of my favorite parts of being a parent is finding new stories to share. At Bug’s baby shower, it was so much fun to see the books that the family and friends love and are wanting to share.
These have been a few of my favorites so far:
Why is the Sky Blue ~ I shared this with Mehalia on our first day of homeschooling as a reminder to myself that I am learning just as much from her as she is from me.
Somewhere in the Ocean & Somewhere in the Garden ~ A sweet mix of science, math, poetry, and music.
A Hat for Ivan & The Sneeches ~ On the importance of being yourself.
Rabbit’s Bedtime & Five Little Kittens ~ Two perfectly balanced days.