Friday, December 31, 2010

The Flat Lady Takes Flight

Yesterday the Flat Lady got shipped. Literally. She's currently winging her way to our friends Sabrina, Kia, Rasmus, and Ilmi in Finland. We can't wait to see what she gets to do there in the winter. I'm sure it will be awesome. Safe travels, Flat Lady!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A Busy Past Month

We are moved in and enjoying our new house. It has a hot tub, and we have had our unschooler friends and now neighbors over often to use it.

Homeschool Hot Tubbing Rocks
We made a long driving trip (2 days each way) to and from Kansas City just prior to the holidays to visit our family and friends there. It was good to see everyone, and enjoy some holiday time with them.

Skating in shoes on Papa Gary's frozen pond.

And then had a good and quiet Christmas here in our new house.


Zhara got an archery set for Christmas, and is loving it.

Thankfully, Adam taught archery at a summer camp for many years and is helping Zhara to learn more about the art.

Angus got a lot of tinker toys, and for a boy who loves him some building of all kind, it's been a good gift. Winnie got some new baby dolls, including some made by me, and a pram, and has enjoyed taking care of her babies. Most of our gifts were homemade this year, and that has been a nice touch.

We're currently planning for the new year. We are still planning on doing our fun day activities. The kids and I sat down yesterday and filled out the calendar for January with something different and cool each day. We had a couple of days we hadn't filled in at the end, so I suggested the kids go over to the large world map we have on the wall, close their eyes, and point. Angus got Australia. Zhara got Bolivia -- so we have Australia and Bolivia Day this coming month, too.

The other thing we're really excited about is our Flat Lady Experiment. It's similar to Flat Stanley, but with a twist. You can find our facebook page here. We made a flatish sewn doll (Zhara helped):



Then we put out a call to all of mama's mama friends worldwide to volunteer to host the Flat Lady for a visit. We asked the volunteers to take a photo of the Flat Lady in their town, near a landmark they live near, or just by a scenic byway, and then to include the photos either in the package or on the facebook page. Finally, they are to gather some information, souvenir, or other photos from their location, and then to include those within the manila envelope that the Flat Lady travels in, and send them on.

So far we have volunters from Finland, Canada, Florida, North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas. We're so excited. If you're interested in hosting the Flat Lady, send your address to my e-mail: jerritthooper@gmail.com , and I will put your name on the list. Eventually the Flat Lady will make her way back to us, with lots of photos and interesting information for us to peruse. And until then, the kids can follow along with her progress on the facebook page.

The Flat Lady herself