Little & Big

gathering for the winter

Hunting for hickory nuts and acorns, gathering mint and apples.

And when they were done, every hole in the tree was filled with food.

(Some squirrel is going to be terribly happy come winter.)

kitty joins in

and so little brother makes a pie too

This time it's pumpkin.

(With the Daddy's help.)

big brother makes a pie

                  from the last tart heirloom apples in the yard

The Daddy made the gluten-free crust, but big brother made the entire filling himself.  Honest!  (Inspired by this week's Martin & Sylvia story!).  And it was goo-ood.  And he was pleased.  Which makes the whole thing even tastier.

and then there were guns

Just so you don't think all we do is knit.  (Which we don't.)  Or bake pies.  Or play classical instruments and dance in fairy rings.  I have to post about the guns.

These are the blow guns my boys made out of PVC pipes and duct tape.   They use nerf bullets, and their breath, to fire across the yard.  In the last few weeks, they've been entranced by all the possiblities for gun design.  And we now have quite an arsenal.  (And buddies up the street that like to play war.)

These photos look just like pictures of young hunters with true guns, don't they?  How do they know how to hold guns like that?  I can't imagine they've seen many images of gun use -- what with our limited media use.  All that's missing from this picture is the deer. 

As for the question of WHY I let my kids build and shoot guns, even blow guns?  That's a whole other post.  Suffice it to say, they turn just about anything into a gun (or a sword or a dagger or a bow and arrow).  This has been the safest (and most fun and engaging) version yet. 

The real question is "what's with boys and weapons and war?"  I've been thinking about this for the last 6 months with no real ah-has.  I need to write an entire essay around all of my ponderings and concerns.  Because it's really something.

boys who knit (and engineer)

Today little brother learned how to "cast on" at school.

And he had to come home and show us.

They had finished making their knitting needles on Friday, after sanding and sanding and sanding little wooden dowels until they had rounded points.  And then (I believe) they waxed them.  Today began the first knitting lesson: how to cast on the first loops.  He sat in the yard this afternoon and cast on until the needle was full of orange woolen stitches.

Flash forward 3 years.  This is what becomes of the knitting:

                                                            squirrel

                                                            gorilla

These were big brother's creations from last year.  A squirrel and a gorilla that he designed.  Or really, I should say, he engineered, as he figured out how to shape the stitches so that they formed the animal exactly to his imagining.

The handwork teacher remarked on big brother's squirrel -- most notably the leg, which he not only designed but he engineered: how to make that curved leg shape. 

Impressive, right?

I say all this not to brag about my children's handworks skills, but to praise Waldorf education and its dedication to nurturing all aspects of the child's being: "head, hands and heart". Knitting is only a portion of what they  offer in the education, but it's a really rich part.  Knitting is immensely grounding and calming; it invites the knitter into her body and to being present with a simple, repetitive act.  I say she because I love it too, and use it in my own life. 

"I really like handwork class," said big brother the other day, totally unsolicited.  And for a kid who isn't thrilled about going to school, I could tell he really meant it.  What does he like about it?  The experience of being quiet and focused, and creating something with his hands.

And the boys are proud.  Proud of what they fashion from their own imaginations and hands.  Proud that they can make something beautiful and real with simple loops within loops.  And I think that's really really great.

the things I find

Bird's nest and hickory nuts in the potted plants by the back door.

fall day (getting chilly)

"hey what happened to my dog?"

On Friday we invited friends over for an impromtu kick-the-can and pizza party.  (Which I highly recommend doing: three large pizzas, three apple pies, and 12 friends running around the yard until it's dark trying to "kick the can".)

Anyhoo, after it was too dark to play and everyone had had pie and ice-cream, the kids all disappeared upstairs to create and costume a play.  And it was so adorable and funny I just have to describe it.

Here's the story:

A terrible tiger is terrorizing the land. (Imagine little brother in big brother's home-made saber-toothed tiger costume with a fluffy stuffed cat-toy mouse in his jaws.)

A great knight (played by big brother in full knight regalia) and his trusty dog (played by the darling H. in a sheepskin) set forth into the forest to slay the tiger.

A great battle ensues.  The knight is terribly injured, as is his trusty dog.

As a mecidine woman makes her way thorugh the forest to them, we learn that once-upon-time there was a beautiful princess that had been cursed by an evil witch and turned into a dog.

So when the medicine woman gives the potion to both the knight and his devoted dog, two miraculous things happen.  The knight is completely healed!  He stands as if stronger than before!  And -- to everyone's surprise -- the dog is transformed into a beautiful princess!

The knight, with this beautiful princess now standing before him, blinks at her and says, "Hey what happened to my dog?"

the Halloween box comes out

                                    and the Halloween books too.