We ended off our last day of spring break with our special friends at Big Dam.
I love this time of year, when every little detail comes alive with bright colours of the season. This also means that it is fishing season for my boys. Well mostly for Rob and Garren. Almost every weekend will be spent beside a water filled dam or lake. And with Danika being a little older we may join in on a few of those days playing along the shore line.
I hope your break was restful and rejuvenating and that the next few months of the long haul of term 4 treats you well. Good luck to all our big children who start their last term of exams. I know our home is always quiet and serious (for our eldest children) this time of the year.
As well as the last days of the 3rd term of homeschooling which now means we are on Spring break. A much needed break this week for not only the small children but for this Mamma too - my house needs urgent spring cleaning attention. All the nitty gritty of house work always gets shelved during the school term.
It also bared a much needed break from social media. Not intentional I might add but it was needed - thank you cloud covered sky and stormy echos from the heavens for ever knowing just what my soul needs.
It was the long weekend and it rained, rained and rained some more. In fact the whole long weekend was spent watching tiny droplets splatter against the window panes and listening to grumblings echo from the sky.
It rained out our god daughter's 4 birthday party and it rained out Heritage day. Heritage day also known as National Braai day around these parts was celebrated with homemade pie instead.
If you follow along on my Instagram account you would have noticed how I have been waiting ever so patiently (well not really) for this batch of soap to finally cure. And they have! I was also blessed with such lovely comments and feedback on the post update and that always means the world to a crafter. Thank you!
I have just listed these bars on our Shop + Offerings and already there are only 6 left!
These 100% all natural handcrafted artisan soaps are made with Olive Oil, Coconut Oil and Sunflower Oil. I added Bentonite Clay and Activated Charcoal for their cleansing and healing properties and then infused them with the beautiful scents from the Essential Oils of Ylang Ylang and Rose Geranium for cleansing and uplifting the spirits.
I felt this epitomised all that is the Spring Equinox.
Our Orange tree is in bloom. The scent of the blossoms linger in the evening air and at times mingle with that of the Jasmine growing just outside our fence line aside the bamboo thicket.
This morning for the first time it was hard to ignore the light peeping through the slit in the kitchen curtains while preparing lunch boxes for Rob and Josh for the day. It is funny how suddenly and all in one moment you realise the change of season is not just words or about to happen - it is happening. I feel a little cheated this year. I am always aware of the slightest change, especially when Winter turns to Spring and then Summer to Winter. These moments are always so very profound for me. But not this year, not this turning of the wheel. I seem to have been lost in the last few weeks of trying to juggle the emotions that came with Danika's hospital stay and all the things that come with homeschooling and this new life of being a stay at home mamma. All those little things that you thought you would have time for do not always come to be. And I am absolutely fine with that. New paths do that, they sometimes (even if slightly) change the way you perceived it would all be.
Danika is faring well. She is back to singing (literally) through her day. Thank you all again for all your gentle healing vibes sent from all over the world. Those vibes made their way here and are helping more than you know.
The confirmation email arrived yesterday afternoon while she was napping and I was adding rows to a knit project. I am somewhat relieved but still anxious and I so really need that feeling to go away. So, this mornings tasks to keep me focused will be to get our small cooler box packed with snacks for breakfast and lunch for tomorrow as hospital cafeteria food is way overpriced and not pleasant at all. I will need to pack her bag too and add an array of books and puzzles to keep her distracted from the fact that she will not be able to nurse from me from mid night tonight. I know there is reason for this but it really will be a little traumatic considering she is a feed and cuddle on demand child. But, we will prevail and we will see the light at the end of this very dark and daunting tunnel.
And Oh Yes.. I will need to pack my knitting to ride out the nerves when she is in theater - right?
I know I haven't done a homeschooling update for a couple of weeks now. But we are still marching forward with lessons in the morning. It has been a slow two weeks were we have dragged our heels somewhat. With the end of the third term looming in the next couple of weeks. I do feel that we will be right on check for that. In the meantime we just do as much as we can without any tension and catch up next week when we will hopefully be back in some sort of routine again. The joys of homeschooling - you get to choose your times and days!
Josh is on the last week and a bit of school too. He has been quiet of late. This time of the year they write their common tests which will prepare them for the fourth and final term and exams. The pressure is scary for all the grade 11s. I feel for them, really I do.
Both Rob and I want to thank each and everyone of you for your kind messages through email, whatsapp, instagram and here on our blog in our comments. We feel very blessed to have you watching over us and giving us a little more strength with all your gentle healing vibes.
The weather forecast for this weekend - rain!
Have a blessed weekend my friends and I look forward to catching up with you all again in the new week.
lots and lots of love as always
Angela ♥
ps - the photos :
last nights sky showing the first star of the evening and the witch's moon.
danika's new dress made with love by Oumie for when she gets out of hospital.
our new favourite breakfast - Coconut flour + Cinnamon Waffles.
Thank you again for all the well wishes for our Danika. Although we are still waiting for a hospital bed for her, she is absolutely fine. She has no pain and the swelling in her mouth were her teeth broke has gone down too. It is as if it never happened, well except for the missing places in her mouth where they broke. I almost feel compelled to cancel this whole surgery. Rob seems to think otherwise and feels that it still needs to be done or there will be another flare up. I'm sure he is right - I am still just apprehensive about it all.
The sky changed late Friday afternoon to the darkest shade of grey that it has been in quite a long while. We took a chance and wrapped up warmly and made our way to soccer practice. Only to find when we got there that Garren had forgotten to pack his togs in his bag. So we excused ourselves, as he wouldn't be allowed on the field without them AND we knew that by the time we should return from collecting them practice would be over with, so made our way home. We arrived home just as the clouds began to open and gift us a fine drizzle.
It came down softly all through the night and when we woke on Saturday morning it was cold. The cold that freezes to the bone. Snow had landed on the mountains and the winds that swept of that range howled through our pines and brought back a Winter that we hadn't actually had this year at all. The sky grumbled through most of the day and with it a downpour of rain that we all gazed out the windows at. It was beautiful - but cold. Rob left mid morning to help a friend install lighting into his warehouse. When he arrived home he was drenched and battered and bruised from falling off a ladder. He is better today with a little swelling left and achy muscles. Much of the day was spent cooking up a curry in the kitchen for dinner and being curled up on the couch adding a few rows to my knitting and reading The Gruffalo's Child on repeat.
➖ watching the rain fall from my kitchen window 💦 ... all the kids have cabin fever! If there wasn't a cold wind blowing off the snow on the mountains I'd let them out to play 🌬❄️
Sunday the clouds cleared but that icy wind kept up it's dance through the forest. We decided it best not to venture out but rather catch up with each other around the table for Sunday Roast and then movies of Peter Rabbit (Danika's favourite) and Marley and Me ('cause who doesn't like the Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston comedy).
I am hoping for a bit more routine this week and a little more warmth to warm up these bones of mine. I could do with a little of both. How was your weekend? Did you get out or stay in?
Thank you for the well wishes and emails sent for our Danika.
The dentist appointment went well yesterday although sadly she will have to go in for surgery to have those two broken teeth removed. We are just waiting on confirmation for a bed and hospital for her. Sometimes the paperwork regarding anything medically orientated takes more time than one would think. But, she is fine and thanks to the course of antibiotics is doing well and is now pain free.
I wont lie, my nerves are slightly shattered this week with the thought of her heading on into hospital and undergoing this procedure but I am assured that this is all the norm and that all will be well. I do know this deep down but... still.
Our weekend was far from angelic as pictured in these few moments from the days gone by.
Friday saw us calling all the dentists in our town for an appointment for Danika. Not one could fit her in that day. It was such a worry and I could see that she was beginning to get utterly miserable. Finally Rob found one in Hilton who slotted her in on Saturday morning. We managed through the evening by taking her mind off of it all at Garren's soccer practice and allowing her to feed from me on demand.
Saturday morning we headed off to the Dentist and of course, as predicted, she refused to oblige in any means or form. It was rather traumatic. But what was able to be seen amidst all the attempts is that it best to medicate and revisit on Wednesday for a final decision. I do fear there might be dental surgery to remove these two teeth. I am not sure that I am handling this news very well. I haven't had any of my older ones in surgery or hospital at this age.
Much of the rest of Saturday she napped and Rob stood the sidelines of the Soccer field cheering on Garren. In the evening we had a braai and let the kids run until late in the evening. Danika's meds had started to work so she was feeling a little better. It is strange to watch a child never medicated react on it. I messaged Tristan, who is back in China, to wish him for his 22nd birthday. They were in the middle of being filmed. He had not had a good morning with his small students and was hoping that the next classes that were being filmed would go better. His friends were going to be taking him out for supper and movie later. It feels very strange not to be baking a cake for his day. I felt a little out of place not seeing him on his birthday too. They say it does get easier.
Sunday the weather was lovely, as it had been the whole weekend. Rob and Garren were at soccer again in the afternoon. Sadly Garren's team lost both matches this weekend so he was feeling down in the dumps - his only consolation was that they have made it into the semi finals for the season. I am not a very competitive person and try on all accounts to teach the children that it is not about winning or loosing but more about that they have participated and have had fun. This always seems to fall on deaf ears with this boy child.
We checked in on our growings and again let the small ones play until late in the evening.
Monday did not fare well in my attempt to get online. Danika fussed a bit and was a little demanding of attention which I always love to give but then nothing much else gets done.
I am just thankful that it's Tuesday and that it feels like we are in some form of routine again, well for now - who knows what Wednesday's Dentist appointment will bring.
How was your weekend? I hope it was relaxing and spent with all the ones you love.
It has been a slow week for us here at Our Barefoot School House. I say slow because I think know we are tired. It has been a long school year and with three weeks left of our third term - a break from it all seems so very inviting.
English, Afrikaans and the Learning subjects seem to pass without too much fuss, we actually enjoyed the themes, but Mathematics seemed to carry on for way too long. The usual unit a week that is expected from the curriculum doubled to two for this week. That in itself seem to rattle Garren's confidence. It is not that he struggles with the subject, no not at all. What I think has happened is that he has heard from his peers, from the schoolyard last year and the soccer field as well as others talk about how tedious it all is and he has got it into his head that this is how it should be. We are working on showing him that it really isn't that way at all and that a slight change of attitude will alter the mood of the subject. Today went a little smoother and he seemed to focus more at the task at hand than that of the whole week. He may also be excited and trying to get the tasks done so that he can start on his Science project 😉.
For Science we have been learning about Movement and Energy - Input & Output Energy. This week we focused on Movement and Energy found in Musical Instruments. He will have to design and construct a homemade musical instrument with recycled materials. I'll let you know how that goes in the week ahead.
Themes For Week 27:
English - Caring For Our World. This theme is carried over two weeks. We have touched on the topic of poverty and global warming. Focusing on reading and interpreting text with visuals. Writing information text and translating and organising graphic information. Our Core Reader is "Working Children" with spelling learnt from the theme itself. Language practice is on Stems, Verb Clauses, Colons, and simple and complex sentences.
Afrikaans - Waarheen Gaan Jy? (Where Are You Going?) This theme is carried over two weeks. We have touched on Directions and placing sentences in the correct order as per text read. Our core reader for the week was "Liewe Heksie en die roomys" (The Little Witch and The Ice cream). Our poem was "Die Apie"(The Monkey) with spelling practice about "Die Kombuis"(The Kitchen).
Mathematics - Number Patterns and Adding & Subtracting. Plenty of revision on what has been learnt through the year so far.
Geography - Processed and Unprocessed Foods. This week the theme learnt more on Agriculture and Farming but focusing on Unprocessed and Processed Foods. Subject touched on the meaning of processing food and a few ways on how food can be processed.
History - Transport on Water. This week we moved forward with the general theme of Transport and focused on Modern forms of water transport.
Science - Movement and Energy in a System (Musical Instruments). Moving forward with Movement and Energy - we were focusing this week on Musical Instruments. We covered many African handmade stringed and wind instruments such as the Uguhu (a stringed bow) and the Gorah (a reed pipe). Through the next week Garren will work on making his own musical energy while focusing on the design and solution. He has to use recycled material.
Danika and I built puzzle after puzzle. I think it is time to invest in new ones. The ones we have are of no challenge to her anymore. She is deliberately placing the pieces in the wrong holes and sighing "Oh No!..." then I have to find the correct place for her. How my nearly two year old is testing me to ensure that I am paying attention to her next moves astounds me. There has been ample outside free play too. The weather has been beautiful, all for one day, this week. I have let the younger two play for a little longer in the backyard after sunset before calling them in. We have also replaced the sand in her sandpit in the hope that the transition from my herb garden to her raised pit will go smoothly. I have seeds sprouting that will need to be planted in there soon. We also constructed a very rustic obstacle course to keep her busy on. It is now put away and plans for new wooden pallets to be used are in the works. A little safer than the ones used here as they are really old and weak.
There wasn't in the way of much extramural activities this past week. Garren was recovering from a bout of flu so we thought it best to keep him away from the rest of his soccer mates. But he does have a couple of matches this weekend that he will be playing.
So that's a wrap for our week in homeschooling. How did your week go? What are you working on on your school desk?
We had family friends come over for Sunday Lunch this weekend.
How is it that it has been just over three months since we last caught up with them? We used to never go a week without some form of visit. Our conversation kept coming back to this and our conclusion to it all is that life is just so much more busier than it was all those years ago when our older boys were small and we were younger and our men weren't out "hunting and gathering" to ensure that we had enough on our table for our bellies and in our home to keep us warm and safe. Times are a little more difficult now and we all have to work a little harder to keep our homes and families just as they are.
Life happens and it happens so very quickly.
We sat in awe of our young girls, who I swear, were sent to us from the same star. We also paused in deep thought as we watched the older boys play about the garden. In the next year all will change. Both will be finishing off high school and both have plans to venture out into the world.. Continents away from each other... Continents away from us!
The day was perfect. It could have past for a Summers Day. We ate well, they played well and when the goodbyes came there as always were promises of intentions of more time spent together in the days and months to come.
