The Cottage is Dressed for Autumn

It is no secret that I love decorating for Fall.  

It is one of our most vibrantly colorful seasons,

 

so I begin

 

dressing up the Cottage room by room

 

on the First of

 

September. . 

The first room to be adorned is always

The Living Room.

I started with this Hutch, a Gift to my sister and I

for our bedroom years ago from my Aunt June.

I love using Plates, Cloth, and Ribbon to bring in the

vibrant colors of the Fall Season.




 

I'll be sharing some peeks at ways

 in which I have spruced up our home

for the Autumn in the following pages

 

 of this post...



I love to place twinkling white lights outside on the front porch to greet my visitors and guests on these dark evenings.   Mums and yellow marigolds are abundant in pots on the porch, with smatterings of Scarecrow figures and a Pumpkin here and there. 

      I save seeds of chia, alyssum, and flax to scatter when the frost kills

the hotter thriving plants in my pots, so I still have a green,

lush backdrop into which I place

more jewel toned blooms, pumpkins,

wooden signs, and articles of the season.

To the Right of the Hearth is a vignette of fall. 

                               

 

 

 

I place messages on the

 

plaid message board,

such as

 

"Welcome, Friends,"







A simple vignette with pumpkins,
books, a bird, and teapot

This is one of the first places

 upon which

 the eye rests entering the

Living Room.  I love to make

little vignettes for the shelves.

Outside are all the signs of

the Harvest Season

The  back porch garden has a Scarecrow
So cute!

Scarecrow  Face made entirely of items for the Birds to eat!

Three Tall Scarecrows stand guard out front in the yard

Reader, Have you

 

started decorating yet ?

I would love to hear from you how you have

 

spruced up your home

 

for the Autumn in the

 

 comment pages

 

 of this post...

Fortune Cookies for Breakfast... or "how we start a random day off school"

 

 

 

A Breakfast for Champions includes the all important Fortune Cookie!

I love how these snippets of fortune stir up appropriate, interesting conversations among the family around the table...     couldn't even plan for these life lessons if I tried!

Autumn at The Blue Willow

Pops of Autumn fill the Cottage today.

Last Year's Birthday Bouquet from My Man





I love to add old photos of my nieces and son from Halloweens gone by...



Pumpkins from the garden... for Pumpkin Bread!

Need a Pick Me Up??

Accentuate the Positive

Latch onto the affirmative

Re-gain Peace of mind

I Have a little index card with the above three points

written on it in my silverware drawer

for when I have "one of THOSE" days.

Sometimes I need to be reminded how to

"Set My Affections on Things Above"

(Colossians 3:2and 3).

Just thought it might bless others,

& wanted to share this!

Pointing Them to the Lord through Reading

As parents, Papa and I are committed to providing encouraging, uplifting resources that continually point to the Lord. We’ve focused our efforts on children's books which we loved as children ourselves, but occasionally we will require our son to read some new material, such as the book above. 

This summer we have discovered a marvelous pastime... the Quiet Hour.  All persons in the house must quietly remain in their bedrooms for one hour, and may choose any quiet activity to spend the hour doing.  I often find I need a quick nap, but more and more, Kimba is choosing to read. 


Here are a few more suggestions for a 4th Grade Reader to enjoy:

Anselm

Anselm is one of the greatest theologians who lived during the time between Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas. His compelling yearning to know and love God as He is revealed to us in Scriptures shaped his life and permeates all of his writings. He found the greatest joy in communion with God, but was thrusted into the difficult political scene of the 11th-12th centuries.

What can Anselm teach our children? To be inquisitive and use their minds as God’s gifts to discover and understand what He has revealed in His Word (Deut.29:29).  In reading this book, my son was challenged to consider and explore Anselm’s question: Why a God-man?

What is the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross?

In The Lightlings, Dr. R.C. Sproul weaves an allegorical tale that captures the essence of the biblical story of redemption in a manner that will fascinate and delight children.

A race of tiny beings known as lightlings are a picture of humanity as they pass through all the stages of the biblical drama - creation, fall, and redemption.

In the end, children will understand why some people fear light more than darkness, but why they need never fear darkness again.

When Children Love to Learn

At Blue Willow Cottage, we love to have LOTS of children running in the backyard, playing croquet, making fairy gardens, building forts, and just playing.  Our goal as homeschooling parents is to nurture our son's love for learning.  In the summer, we trust our child and those who visit us to know when they are ready to learn, and what they are interested in learning.  I love this relaxed method of educating, and while I am not comfortable using it year round, in the summertime it is a refreshing break from the scheduled schooling we do 5 days a week. 

I have noticed that children are naturally curious, and have a intrinsic desire to learn first hand about the world in which they live:
               

John Holt, in his book How Children Learn, describes the natural learning style of young children: 

"The child is curious. He wants to make sense out of things, find out how things work, gain competence and control over himself and his environment, and do what he can see other people doing. He is open, perceptive, and experimental. He does not merely observe the world around him. He does not shut himself off from the strange, complicated world around him, but tastes it, touches it, hefts it, bends it, breaks it. To find out how reality works, he works on it. He is bold. He is not afraid of making mistakes. And he is patient. He can tolerate an extraordinary amount of uncertainty, confusion, ignorance, and suspense. ... Traditional school is not a place that gives much time, or opportunity, or reward, for this kind of thinking and learning."¹

 In the summertime, there is no need to motivate children through the use of rewards, such as high grades or stars, which suggest to the child that the activity itself must be difficult or even possibly unpleasant.   

The wise parent says, "I think you'll enjoy this book",

not "If you read this book, you'll get a cookie."

I love to provide lots of projects and materials,  plus gobs of free time to allow the creative juices to flow.

Shrinkie Dink made from
a picture off the internet
for a key chain

Summer Bliss Introducing a Theme




Summer Bliss is Having Time to Cook with Cousins
("Sugar Plum" with "Kimba")

Summer has its own kind of elegance -- in this "Summer Bliss" series, I hope to demonstrate times exquisite, yet simple.    Here I will document stories and images so arresting that readers will want to press them into their own books of memories. 

 I am savoring all the free and extra time we are experiencing this summer. 

Since I worked as the School Nurse this past School Year, I receive the reward of the summer off (kind of). 

I am babysitting and doing other odd jobs such as House Cleaning for a few families now and again, but I still have the thrill of long summer hours on most days. 

Amish Bread: a favorite of many (bread machine recipe)

Some may laugh and say amish bread should not be made in an electric bread machine... But do not judge me until you have tried this delicious recipe!

Amish Bread

 INGREDIENTS

2 3/4 cups bread flour

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

18 tablespoons warm water

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine

in the order recommended by the manufacturer.

Select White Bread cycle; press Start.

2. When the dough has raised once and second cycle

of kneading begins, turn machine off.

Reset by pressing Start once again.

This gives the dough two full raising cycles

before the final raising cycle prior to baking

Enjoy!

Science Rules! Birthday Party at Blue Willow

Setting the Scene:
Science Tools and Literature

The Security Area

All guests First had to scan in at the Security Area before
joining us in the Lab for the fun!

The Scientist waits for his Birthday Guests to arrive:
He could hardly contain the excitement!

Military Science Expert Uncle Ken at the Security Checkpoint

PD scans in successfully



As the first guests wait for the Security proceedings to
be completed, they were ushered into the
Physical Science area of the "Lab"
and
given a tray of "Molecules"
The Challenge:  Build a Sound, Stable Molecular Structure



Welcome to the Physical Science area

Guest Scientists build their Molecular Structures

More guests scanned in

AG finished with her structure



Another Engineer joins in the fun



VG's looks like a Tent Molecule

Cathedral Molecule by LB



Volcano Cake

for the chemical reactions



Hydrophobic Sand:  this area was a big hit, one in which the
guests spend much time experimenting.

LN finds this experiment fascinating...



The Explosive Reaction Table

Oobelec:
one of our favorite chemical reactions
A liquid/solid substance sure to amaze everyone

More fun than a barrel of monkeys!



The Cake Table

Atomic Party Favors



Cheap Trick: 
Diet Coke and a Pack of Mentos!