February!!

February is the month of quiet(ish) coziness, a crackling fire, warm soup on the stove and busy hands. For me, that means spinning Turnip's black wool into yarn, and for the boys this means hours - literally - of drawing, drawing, drawing. Jude likes to create elaborate scenes in which superheroes are battling bad guys, including lots of wind and motion marks, inanimate objects flying through the air and amazingly intricate outfits. Ollie likes to make comic books, and will artfully cover at least 10 pages of paper - both sides! - with his own version of superheroes versus bad guys, and then I will staple them all together before he runs off to start another one.

The homeschooling 'block' usually happens late morning, after breakfast, a shower for me, and barn chores have been completed. We are all thriving due to this daily routine, and once learning time is finished (usually around 2 pm), we have lunch and then the boys play happily together for the rest of the afternoon. I love the play of winter, which seems to me more imaginative than that of the warmer months because there are no extreme variables really, just the same toy props and same inside space. It is wondrous to me how wrapped up and carried away the boys get by their play, and I make sure there is tons of time in any given day for this sacred growth.

And of course, every day the kiddos make use of our wonderful hill!

The top starts just behind the house and is quite steep, ending at the line of farm fencing enclosing the pasture. Jude has learned how to ride his sled down and curve around so that he doesn't crash into the fence, but instead carry on beside it. Ollie, not. But they sure do have fun!