Apple Mother Giveaway!

Apple Mother Giveaway from Little Acorn Learning and Love in the Suburbs!

 

 

Wouldn't you just LOVE to have this beautiful Apple Mother on your autumn nature table this season?  One lucky winner of this giveaway will receive the original doll above created and published (with tutorial) for our Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas Festival E-Book! 

 

How to enter to win:

 

1.  Become a fan on both the Little Acorn Learning and Love in the Suburbs Facebook Pages.

2.  Tell us in the comments below about a childhood memory you have of autumn. 

3.  Share our new E-Book link on your Facebook, Email and Twitter accounts and let us know you did by sharing the link to it in comments.

3.  Come back here on September 18th (just in time to get her for Michaelmas?) to see if you won!

 

The winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator and announced here on our blog! 

Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas Festival E-Book

Celebrate the Beautiful Early Autumn Festivals of the Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas with Your Children!

133 PAGES of Verses, Fingerplays, Poems, Song, Crafts, Meditations, Book Recommendations,
Circle Times, Recipes and Much More to Guide You in Celebrating the Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas
in Your Home or School!

Only $24.99

Authors:
~ Eileen Straiton, Little Acorn Learning~ Sara Wilson, Love in the SuburbsWith Guest Contribution from Jennifer Tan, Syrendell*Needle Felt a Beautiful Apple Mother Doll

*Go on an Apple Picking Field Trip and Learn
About Different Varieties of Apples

*Design a Breathtaking Early Autumn Nature Table

*Read Books with the Children Celebrating
Autumn and Michaelmas

*Make Your Own Apple Stamps

*Enjoy Homemade Applesauce Together

*Crochet an Apple for Your Nature Table or Play Kitchen

*Create a Beautiful Autumn Candle Holder Centerpiece

*Make an Archangel Michael Mobile

*Harvest Natural Dye Materials from Outdoors and
Make Capes of Light Playsilks

*Hold a Michaelmas Family Feast

*Create Dragons out of Nature Items

*Bake Dragon Bread with the Children

*Make a Dragon Tree Block Checker Set

*Sculpt Dragons out of Modeling Material

*Cut Out Paper Flying Dragons to
Display on Your Wall

*Make a Michaelmas Felt Play Set

*Paint an Autumn Leaf Stencil
Painting with Watercolors

*Crochet Beautiful Autumn Leaves
for Your Nature Table

*Paint Your Own Interpretation of
Michael and the Dragon

*Look Inward and Face Your Own Dragons
with our Caregiver Meditation

*Share Verses and Songs About
Autumn and Michaelmas

*Meditate on Quotes from Steiner and
Other Inspirational Individuals

*Enjoy Pinecone Weaving

*Share Circle Time Together

*Make Michael Sword Napkin Holders

*Sculpt Michaelmas Worry Beads

*Craft an Autumn Equinox Wreath


And Much, Much More!

Flying the Nest

"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid."  ~Frederick Buechner

The day is here that every mother thinks about.  It always seems so far away when you are raising children.  When things are so busy and crazy... when the meals need to be made, the house cleaned, the bedtime stories read, the night time bubble baths drawn, family vacations planned.  It seems so far away when we are living and loving our children through childhood.   

 The day that they will leave home.  The day that your day-to-day job of caring for them and mothering them will change.  The day that you are no longer the navigator in their life.  The day that they take over the wheel. 

 It sneaks up on you. This day.  It grabs you and shakes you into believing it is really here.  It confuses you.. as you ask yourself where the time went?  How it all went so quickly?  As you ask yourself if you did it good enough?  If you spent the special gift of time you were given well enough?  If you made more memories than mistakes?

This day.  This day... it is hypocritical.  It fills you with sadness and grief in the same intensity that it fills you with joy and pride.  Sadness and grief for the beautiful moments that will tug at your heart as you move into old age without your children.  Joy and pride for the amazing souls you were blessed to guide and for a job hopefully well done on your part.  It gives you a pat on the back and a lump in your throat.  At once.

 A new home.  A new place.  Away.  Far away.  Without you there.  Physically. 

 Freedom.  Independence.  Space.  This day now gives into those demands... those words... those protests you've been hearing throughout the teen years... This day now gives those things truth and leaves you behind as you wave goodbye with courage and love.  As you let go.  Trying to accept what is.

 Little pieces of childhood follow them into this new day to keep them warm and tuck them in when you are not there.  Little pieces that symbolize security, childhood, warmth and love.  That remind them of you.  

 And a new view is in the distance.  Filled with many new days... some you will share together but many you will share apart.  

 And the people who love them.  Who have chosen to be their guides.  Who chose consciously, steady and unconditionally to be there through the long haul.  Thick or thin.  Will still be there to put things back together if they ever fall apart.  To offer support and advice when it is asked for.

But because of this day... this new day.... the truth is - that in the end, they will need to stand on their own.  They will need to learn how to put things back together themselves at times.  They will need to learn to do for themselves many of the things you have done for them for so long.

And as I process it all... I will remind myself that this day is not really an end... but a beginning.  Something new.  I will try.

Giveaway: FREE Threadfollower Hand-Stitching Pattern

Enter to win one FREE threadfollower hand-stitching pattern of your choice
by leaving a comment below sharing with us a craft project you or your child are currently working on.

We will choose a winner randomly from the comments section here on Sept 24th and announce it here on the Little Acorn Learning blog!  For a second chance to win, sign up for our newsletters: threadfollower Newsletter and Little Acorn Learning Newsletter! 

big or small,

spring or fall,

anytime at all...

threadfollower kits

can be the start

for hand-stitchers

who are young at heart!

Hatched

This morning as we were getting dressed one of our dog's started to growl and bark at the windowsill.  When I looked over I saw that our green chrysalis had hatched into a beautiful BLACK swallowtail butterfly! 

It must have came out of its chrysalis either the evening before or during the very early morning hours as, by the time we got to it, its wings were no longer wet and it was ready to fly. 

This was such a wonderful science learning experience for the girls.  They watched and kept record each day of the chrysalises and any changes they noticed.  It was so exciting to see that this one was a black swallowtail butterfly and we are still waiting to see if the two other chrysalises which are brownish black in color, rather than fluorescent green like this one, will be yellow swallowtails or black as well. 

The empty chrysalis is on our nature table and we wait patiently to see if we can catch one of the others as they start hatching so we can take a video to share. 

Metamorphosis

"There is nothing permanent except change."  ~Heraclitus

I believe that the universe is always speaking to us through nature and it is our job to pay close attention and listen. Over the past few months, we have been noticing many dragonflies and butterflies around us. Both symbolize change and transformation and there is plenty of that going on around our lives right now which I cannot talk about yet but it requires a lot of trust, faith and patience from all of us. 

"Caterpillar asks what stage of metamorphosis are you in. A symbol of the beginning stages of transformation. Preparation for growth, natural harvest. All things come in nature's time. A caterpillars's movement is not fast, it is slow and shows us that patience is required."

 Two weeks ago, Brian's great-grandmother passed away. More transition, more change.  She was 97 years old and lived an amazing life... but still, we all loved her so and it was very painful to say goodbye. Brian and I went to visit her with the girls when she was ill and unfortunately we were the ones to find she had already passed on.  This was extremely difficult to experience with my four children in the room but I also knew intuitively that they will not be protected from the truths of life and death during their time on earth and it was my job to be with them and guide them through understanding, feeling and accepting the reality of death and reinforcing our faith in an afterlife. 

The day after she died, we found three Swallowtail caterpillars on our dill weed in the garden. The girls were so interested in them as they are truly so beautiful and we decided to take them inside and raise them into butterflies together - learning as we watch the amazing metamorphosis take place first hand.

Every morning the girls checked on the caterpillars and brought them more dill and parsley to eat. 

 Then one day in our driveway we found a single butterfly that had passed on and left its beautiful body behind.  It was a good opportunity to explain the changes that occur in all living things and that even though the butterfly's wings are still here - its 'being' is not... and it has moved on to a new beautiful place that we cannot yet see.  Again, my belief is that these are all symbols being sent to us to assist us in what we are going through in life right now and I am so grateful to help my girls be mindful and aware of the messages they are being sent each day as well.

 Our caterpillars were very active and very... HUNGRY!  They eat quite a lot and poop even more!!!!

 Not long after, we saw the caterpillars get into position to turn into a chrysalis.  They stayed like this for quite some time hanging by just a thread they created to attach to their body to the stick.

 Our first chrysalis was so beautiful - a green transparent color that was truly amazing.  We were so surprised to see the caterpillars 'skin' had shed and that the chrysalis actually happened from the inside out not the other way around.  Change should occur from the inside out I guess... so it makes sense.

 The next two were brown with black.  We didn't think they were still alive but when touched they  moved!  Now we patiently wait to see what they look like when they turn into butterflies and if the dark ones will be different than the green one.

 What signs are being presented to you lately?  Have you been paying attention? 

Maia's 8th Birthday!

 My little Maia turned 8 years old on Tuesday.  As a tradition, whoever has a birthday gets to decide where we go to dinner that night.  Maia chose a local Mexican restaurant (likely because you get to wear a cool hat as they all sing to you).  I was happy because I love the fried ice cream.

 A few days later she had her friend party.  She has been waiting and waiting to be old enough to do what her big sisters usually do and invite a few girlfriends out for a dinner and movie.  She was super excited to get the chance this year. 

 The girls all met at our house and we went for a fun dinner at Friendly's.  The girls felt so grown up out on the town all dressed up and it was so sweet to watch them enjoying this special night together.

 After ice cream, it was time to head out to a movie...

 As you can see they were so very excited and had a great time together.

 We lucked out and got the movie theater to ourselves!  A private showing! 

After, we drove each of the girls home and laughed and talked in the car on the way.  It was a night to remember and Maia's face was full of happiness all the way to the pillow.  We don't go out to the movies often but on a special occasion like this it was the perfect treat.