Yarn Along :: Socks and Mary Poppins

Yarn Along it's a day of the week to share what you are knitting and reading created by Ginny, you can add your post here every Wed. or to the flickr group any day.

I'm still working on the socks, link here, I feel that I'm progressing too slow.
We saw this documentary the other day and we got interested on Mary Poppins, so we are reading it now, I had no idea that P.L. Travers had such an interesting life.

What are you up to this week?

A History Time Line

We are starting our third week of homeschooling and I fell I that we are not doing enough while at same time I'm amazed about what we actually do, specially the great conversations we have and the feeling of that I'm almost obsolete to my kid's learning process, since he is such an avid reader and beats me at learning by getting information by himself while I'm busy preparing a class.

But it's all okay, I understood we just need more books, and about I can't complain because I do love books.

I spend a few nights making this time line of Human History. I finally got it ready and it is on our wall now. Also I made it into a PDF file if anyone is interested, right now only in Spanish, but I will make it in English too. I think it's great to have it like this, so we can get an idea of what happened when.

One thing I love very much about homeschooling is the much I get to learn.

What about you?, what's your favorite part?

Sewing :: Organizing bin

Joining Nicole today at KCCO 

I guess all mamas have the same situation of toys and little papers all around the house.

I'm always trying to find easy ways to keep things together, while letting my boy explore and play.

In a attempt of this I made this fabric bin the other day, I love the nature inspired fabric.

There is so much more to do, but slowly we go.

Book recomendation :: King Kong by Anthony Browne

If you don't know Anthony Browne books you are missing a lot.

He makes beautiful drawings and stories.

It's very fun because often he plays with the images and you find silly thing in the clouds shapes or so.

One of our recent purchases it's King Kong (affiliate link).

We found the movie and enjoyed it too.

I recommend it.

Yarn Along :: Egyptians, Greeks, Science and Socks

Yarn Along it's a day of the week to share what you are knitting and reading created by Ginny, you can add your post here every Wed. or to the flickr group any day.

Recently I read in some blog I don't remember something that a parent said,  it was something like: Those first weeks of homeschooling, when you don't sleep planning lessons and stay up late reading.

 By the time my kid still had a few days left from school and I thought that this would never happen to me, I was just wishing for rest and sleep, after all the horrible rush that schooling means, but guess what, he was right.

I haven't went to bed early almost any night since we started, and I'm so excited, reading and studying and planning activities and so on. Plus I'm starting to give English classes to kids this week, and I'm getting ready to that too. And all of this means a lot reading, and it's a shame that the updated App of Kindle Reader is not working well in tablets, so I'm force to do all my reading on screen these days.

I'm still on the socks that are by order for a 10 year old boy. but I made some progress here and there, This week has been very busy on rehearsals and violin classes, since my kid has a recital tomorrow, we are very excited, it's his first time as a soloist.

How is you week developing?

Just a little project, an oven mitt

Today as I was preparing the clothes to put them on the washer, I found the oven mitt I did a few months ago and even used it without haven't finished, because I didn't has any bias tape at the time.

I decided to finish it up to get it clean and back in use, because I found myself always grabbing hot pot with my bare hands.

I love the color combination and The Day of the Day, so I don't care to have it around all year round.

I printed the skulls with some foamy cuts I made to make some skeleton dolls that I didn't like in the end last October.

Joining Nicole today at KCCO

Saturdays :: Baby classes

On Saturdays I go to work in a Pedagogic Center, in there I teach baby classes and birth preparation classes.

I really enjoy it.

Also, we pass by The science tunnel to get there, a part of the subway were there are exhibits and of course, my boy's favorite, neon colored constellations, really cool, I love it when I was little too.

Vasconcelos Library :: Castles

We have one of the biggest Libraries in Mexico City very close from home, so close that we can go walking, only 1.3 miles.

It is a great place. Is not very well designed because books are hard to find and it's impossible to know if the are on the west or east wing, but it has beautiful gardens and lots of children's books.

There is also Braille room, music room with piano, guitars and violins available, and movie room.

We go there almost every week.

I particularly love the lavender paths, and today we watched rosemary blooming, that are a rare thing to see, at least here.

Since we don't have wood near this makes a good substitution for nature time.

Last week we got this beautiful book about Castles. It shows one in different times of History as they were in Spain and in each page you supposed to look for the couple in love.

I recommend it.

This would be the American version, same author.

My cake business

I haven't share here that I have a cake business, I started it out of desperation for trying to get some money for food a month or so after I got fired from my Internet job.

I went well, I sold them at in and out of the school of my boy, now I'm trying to place them in coffee shops or something.

It's called Cakes on Wheels, and I carved my logo to print the paper bags. We use the city public bikes.

I started with a win-win, brownie, and went adding new flavors.

First orange with yougurt, then caramel with nuts, also one of amaranth flour with blue berries, banana, integral with sunflower seeds and rice flour with coconut oil.

I would carry them around in little basket. And with time I started to make chocolates, granola and nut mixes.

I hope to find a way to continue selling them because even without paying the private school we still need the income.

I do everything in a little electrical oven and I was considering the idea of making a little e-book, they are all easy and delicious, and I have a few gluten free options, since I have celiac disease.

Any thoughts?

On the third day of homeschooling

I'm sorry if homeschooling is all I talk about in these days, we are so excited, I'll try to mix it with recipes and knitting on the other things I usually talk about. Thanks for visit me.

We started on Monday with the cleaning and then on Tuesday I gave him some exercises from text books and then we planned our schedule, my kid wanted to include things from his own school schedule, and so we planned that, I also wanted to include at least 45 minutes sessions of outside time for some kind of nature contact and body exercise. We both wanted to include History, which is not part of the Mexican plan of study for second grade. We got the free school government books which other than the History issue are great resources and you download online free here, I think they would be great for learning Spanish.

And then I woke up a little late and we made breakfast, and as we were having it, he reed the bag of the dry fuits and nut mix and asked what lipids meant. I was not sure, but thought that maybe in the How the body works book we could find an answer. This took us to atoms, molecules and other things, he even asked me if gods could have sex, as in to have kids, and we talked about the Egypt gods and the Greek.

And everything rolled so naturaly, that you can imagine what happened with the schedule plans.

It was beautiful and I'm so happy and excited to work on the next study unit for tomorrow and also to reinforce the atomic lesson.

It's just so beautiful to see him florish.

Yarn Along :: Socks and Holt

Yarn Along it's a day of the week to share what you are knitting and reading created by Ginny, you can add your post here every Wed. or to the flickr group any day.

I've been knitting socks by order, someone asked me to knit socks for her kids, so  I'm starting the second pair and reading John Holt because we are back on the homeschooling life (such a bless).

 
Also I was creating a pair of gloves specially for when I took my kid to school in mornings by bike, but since I 'm no taking him anymore and the cold seams to have ended here in Mexico City I think I'll finish them but I will not use them until next fall.

So, what you are up to?

Back to HM

Home School, such a happy thought.

We are back!

I can't still jump on happiness so much, because I'm a little nervous, but actually, deep inside, I can tell you, I know it's right, it's the right thing for us.

So I pulled my kid from school... for the third time.

Yes, this is the third time we do to all of this, just that this time it was not the wrong school, in the way that this one didn't really made my kid feel bad, but still, it just wasn't what we wanted for him as a family, plus is very expensive. Even so, I was willing to take a full job to keep him there, he said he just didn't want to leave it. And then, when I finally inform him about my job interview he told me: ¨But mama, I will see even less of you then, I rather to be homeschool if it comes to see you less¨. And that was it. I have always believe in listening to my kid wishes, interests, and feelings.

So today we started.

One thing I was worry that schooling was stealing from us is the simple house chores. I try not to let myself say that my kid or my partner are "helping me" on this area, I try to promote the concept of participation, even when I do most of it, is not my responsibility, it's all of us, and, in a way, is a joy for all, because is our home we are taking care of, it's for ourselves.

But the rush of the school schedule would not let us time to learn slowly, to enjoy the meals, to have the patience to wait for my kid to chop the apples and count the pieces to make sure everyone gets the same amount.

My son talked to me yesterday about the importance of having a nice home, clean and organized, as a classroom.

And we did that all morning, and then he had a friend that came to the house to play, he had a great time, and the very end of the day the vibe was so different, because there was no rush, there was only calm, love, it was new, and I felt so good.

I'm so happy!

(I even wrote him a little love letter for when he wakes up).