Our school on Fridays

This is my friday, or should I say our Friday. I don't need to say much as the pictures say it all. This is OUR classroom. There are no boundaries, no chairs, no time to be somewhere, no time to eat,  no time to work. It simply is our place to play, eat, wander, sing, dance, play games, river walk, rock climb and most of all have a similiar happy, loving community. I AM SPOILED to share each frinday with 2 other Enki families. We, the mamas have time to catch up, hear kid concerns, food topics, relax, laugh. Our kids have time to be kids, play, make-believe, jump, talk, create, imagine all in a safe and beautiful place. In the end we celebrate the wild in all of us. We celebrate community. We celebrate this life for which we have chosen.



The end of another week!!

We finished off week three of our LA block with Rodopis a Fairy Tale from the first grade Enki curriculum. It was another great week for Cedar. Always excited to write many a letters and verses. He was busy with this story many say is the original ' Cinderella.' A girl born a princess, sold as a slave, and in the end marries a prince with her special red shoes.

We also enjoyed celebrating the fall equinox on Thursday. Turning the calendar to fall, making gluten free pumpkin muffins, a roast for dinner and some apple cobbler. As well as wandering into the forest to read the K nature story Autumn Duchess.  Here is Cedars Friday journal on the nature story. The colors are the leaves falling to the ground. ( I love the happy sun)

Cedars led drawing if Rodopis. He added flare to his shoes and the flowers around the tree.

Cedar writing his R and r for the week

Cedar also writing his P and p

The first half of Cedars verse

the second half of the verse ( he was very motivated to write that day)



Our fiber homeschool class Wednesday

A little story into our rhythm at the Eamonn home! We are enjoying our daily and weekly rhythms that have been added since we started our 1st grade year! We try to keep the same rhythm at home the same Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays those days are "school days at home" and so they look like this. We wake early! Well earlier then I would between 6 and 7! I make the hot breakfast while the kids play or listen to books on tape. We all gather for our morning blessing, sit together and eat. On Mondays and Thursday we also use this family time to recall the story Cedar is listening to that week. After breakfast Cedar cleans the table while Orien and Truth get dressed. Then Cedar dresses and heads outside for the chicken coop chores. We gather 'come follow me' and head out on our bike/walk adventure! returning to a circle of movements. The kids then have a little time while I prepare snacks, lesson work, stories, and then we gather for snack. We also read our monthly poem, do a soft calendar, and a finger play!

Once we finish our snack Cedar begins his practice work at the table while Orien, Truth and I read a Enki K story. Then Orien heads off with Truth to play or listen to more books on tape while I join Cedar for his morning lesson. When we finish everyone goes outside to play while I prepare lunch.

After lunch we all rest. Our afternoons are busy with soccer and dance right now. We end the night with a family dinner. Cedar has time to listen to his chapter book while Orien and Truth bath. And then Orien and Truth have some time to read before we all gather together for a couple family books!

Now on Wednesdays we leave the morning open to crafts, classes, and hiking. Fridays we join two other Enki families for our Forest School.

Here is our first art class. We are lucky to have such great resources in our community. We visited a fiber  school where the kids we taught about animals, wool, texture and then learned basic needle felting skills. They all loved it. 7 kids aging from 4-7. We cant wait to go back in 2 weeks and do a needle felt pumpkin to celebrate the season.

Here are the Kids with their teacher Liz doing some 'brain yoga'

Orien and Chase work on their needle felt bears

Kahill, Cedar, and Benjamin enjoying their felting

All the kids showing off their work

the 'Little White Dove,' and the snail has babies...!

The day had barley begun Monday when I heard Cedar..." Mom the snail had babies!!!" "Their are 16 so far.." and so we are excited to learn that our friendly garden snail is a hermaphrodite. We are the lucky family to have such an animal that needs no mate to produce endless babies. So for now we watch them grow, but what to do we are not sure??? suggestions!
Cedars first story for is LA week is 'Little White dove' from the Enki grade one fairy tales. A story of a young girl who is going to marry a King, But a witch comes along, sticks a needle in her neck and she becomes a white bird. As the story goes on the white dove visits the kins palace garden. singing her most beautiful voice and is waiting to see the King. The King, always inside, depressed that he married a witch refuses to come to the garden. In the end he does, hears her voice, strokes the bird finding the needle, pulls it out and marries the girl!

Here is Cedars Monday practice work: Journal about the weekend.

he says this is a picture at Fox Creek when he and Jody were building up a damn. apparently it is myself on one side and Truth on the other. He loves that creek day.

Here is Cedars led drawing picture of 'Little White Dove.' The witch, dove up in the tree, sun shining and witch carrying her vessel for water.

Cedar writing the letter N and n. In my led drawing there was a N in the tree branch!

And Cedar writing the verse to 'Little White Dove'

Nestled in her nest in the highest nook,

The little white dove hides.

Needle in her neck, she sings sweet notes,

To call the king by night.

same paints different outcome!

3 little people to water color paint!

we are still following Enki K idea of

wet on wet! We soak our paper and have fun with 2 colors

Today I choose autumn colors.

RED and YELLOW= Orange!

I thought it was so fun to see just how different a 2, 4, and 6 paint!!

This first picture is Truthys!

She is now at the age where she want to color, paint, be apart of the gang from time to time.

She isn't interested in anything more then mess and color!!! And of course she is always the first one done!

This second painting is Orien (4). He LOVES to see the colors dance. He simply enjoys letting us know the colors he has made! He is usually attentive in switching colors with water first and at times gets frustrated with work but always comes around to liking it!

Here is Cedars. He is slow to start. Usually takes one side going up and down with one color. he then usually starts in another spot and I have a feeling by about half way through has a story...well see.
This week he is there much longer then his siblings. By the end he describes it as planet Earth in the center red...the sun all around and on the bottom right corner the North Pole!!
I believe soon enough I need to do my homework on led/story based paintings with him..another part of the Enki grade 1 curriculum I am still piecing together.

Soccer and Sunday afternoons

It seems with all the fun new schooling I have forgotten about my family time! And we are in full swing right now. Each fall we gear up for 6 weeks of unpredictable weather to hit the soccer field. This year Cedar plays on a K/1st grade team and Orien is playing "little kickers" aka a mommy and me soccer day each Saturday. So to give an perspective of just how excited Cedar and Orien are about soccer by 6:30 AM both boys were bouncing in or bed with their soccer shorts and shirts asking me to help them with cleats and shin guards! It is going to be an entertaining 6 weeks...in the past we have snow, wind, hot summer air, and all of the in between! Cedar and his buddy Benjamin are playing defense! Cedar seems to like it there best. Not too fast, not too intense, just a few passes to the team and they are back off into offense land! He is still a bit timid..not thinking falling over, being kicked, or getting in the way sounds all too much fun!
Orien all ready for his first day! He played last year but never was EXCITED to do much of anything! Things have changed he LOVES dribbling, passing, going through cones, goalie and being with his Mom and friends! I cant wait to watch him bloom this year!

Sundays are family. Between schooling, working, sports, it seems we truly need this time with each other. We wandered to a dear old love of a trail Fox Creek. The same place Cedar wandered in the womb a million times, the place his placenta was buried. It is a magical , moss, fall aspen, creek, fairy forest. Cedar and dad are into damn building and spent plenty of time playing in the creek while Orien, Truth and I snacked and wandered in the crunchy leaves!

Cedar wanted to take a picture..here it is Truthy and her mama and papa! And of course her baby doll with bottle!

To top off a great week..Jody got the new hammock up and we relaxed!

Dragon and D's

we ended our week with a fairy tale names 'Vasily and the Dragon' An adventure about a boy named Vasily the Lucky and his adopted father Marco the rich. Here is Cedars led drawing of the Dragon and Vasily.

To put it into perspective here is my led drawing . The secret letter this time was a D. Cedar found it quite quickly!

Cedar worked on his D and d later in the week. He loves his morning lesson time. It seems to really ground him.

As for the verse this week he choose to write the entire verse. He is very patient and precise with his letters! He catches differences I make on my verse!

That ended week 2 of Enki Grade 1 LA block! We are officially half way through our first block. I am excited and a bit stressed to get our 2nd block all planned out and ready it will be a mathematics block.

weekends followed by weeks!

weekends roll in and in Estes that means

there is always a festival or weekend celebration

This week it was the Scottish Festival which means

PARADE and CANDY time.

here is Orien the way I see him most the times these days!!

A happy guy in his boots and chocolate face!~

Our dear friend April with her daughter Stella and Truthy watching the bands!

Our second week of school is going great. These are a bit out of our weekly order. Our first grade on fairy tale this week is 'Jumping Mouse' the whole family heard this light, story of a magical frog who assists a mouse in his yearning to head to the far-off land. Along his journey he helps other animals in need...the kids really enjoyed this story. Below is a free drawing of Cedars in his journal about our 2nd story 'Vasily and the Dragon' We have chosen to read each story two times during our first block. I was shocked at the details Cedar remembered after just one reading and no-recall.
Here is Cedars Verse writing of Jumping Mouse. He loves to write.

Here is his letter J and j in his good book.

And here is his led drawing of the story Jumping Mouse.

We have also been walking a form walk every morning as part of our "movement circle" we have walked this form for a week. Then we brought it to the chalk board, sand and finally his form drawing book. It represents a straight line and a curve. It seemed to be easy for him. We have started a castle form walk that we will draw on in another week. This

The first week of First Grade!

First grade has begun with a Language Arts Block! We are on an adventure to learn our letter consonants. Our first Fairy Tale is 'Little Falcon' A story of a noble family,a King and Queen who yearn for a child. Eventually are granted their dream to have a child but must promise that when he turns 7 they will send him into the might mountains and forest to learn the ways of the world. Within the story he enters the Golden Oak Gates, finds magic in the mountains from a Falcon, spends many days playing with creatures, learning the way of the land, animals, and all things. He is always kept safe a special crystal that holds light in times of storms and darkness. In the end his true test is to care for an injured noble falcon and after having helped out he runs home, back through the golden gates, to the castle and rules the kingdom through patience and prosperity.

With in the week Cedar drew his first 'led drawing' meaning I draw part of the story, take breaks for him to copy at best that he can/wants and then I carry on adding more detail to the story

By the end there are magical letters within the drawing. Cedar was able to spy one of them There is the letter G and M.

By the end of the week after reading, and reading the story and verse. Cedar learned the correct way to write a G, g, M, and m. His last table time was spent writing as much or as little as he please from the verse. I was amazed at how much he wanted to write. He was very patient, and wanted to keep adding more words to his page.

The full Verse of little falcon.

Cedars M and m

Cedars G and g

He was really proud of his work and week! It is going to be a great year!!

Back home again

We have made it full circle. From summer adventures, travels, music a plenty, going going going..and Finally home feels good again. We are quite happy doing chores, biking around the mountain, movements, and school practice, table time, craft time, fairy tales and folk alike, resting, game playing...pond wandering... The ease of staying home is something I have never quite understood until recently. I have always been one to run out the door, and now I am finding it more difficult to leave and much easier to enjoy my family right here at home. And the kids feel good. We are just simply simplifying our lives and digging into our roots here, first.

Felting beads in the sunshine.
Drying out on the truck until we make our necklaces, bracelets, or cars as Orien has requested!

3 Eamonns on our new porch, making felt into beads..... Chores feel good, normal, family like..and always adventerous! Cedar found our smalled egg ever in the coop!!

Everyone joined in for some water color painting...and what a joy it is to watch Truth find her goove in all that we do!

And this is my family. With a fresh start, fresh fall winds, fresh days to dance the way we dance. I am so thankful to spend all this time with my little people..and I thankful for our school curriculum, Enki, for helping me find a rhythm that feels..full and good!!