Thanksgiving

We celebrated our first family Thanksgiving this year, trying to teach our children the value of giving thanks for everything we enjoy without noticing it.

I prepared a turkey with lovely pistachio and cranberry stuffing, along with potatoes, carrots, brussel sprouts, gravy and cranberry sauce.

There was also pumpkin pie with maple syrup whipped cream.

The whole family loved it all, and we have several frozen servings of turkey for the months ahead.

DS2 prepared a Thanksgiving card, gluing feathers on a turkey I had drawn, and we had jolly turkeys on our napkins that day.

A Gingerbread crib

We decided not to display our traditional, fragile Italian-made crib in our home this year, for fear of having to replace most of its figures by the end of the year.

Instead, we opted for an ephemeral version.

I designed patterns for two stables, as well as a manger and a couple of fences. We prepared the gingerbread house dough and cut it following the patterns (the rest was used to make St. Nicholas figures). Assembling the lot was a little testing, but the stables are still holding strong (the fences were discreetly nibbled on, I'm afraid).

The hay in the manger is marzipan coloured with yellow food colouring and pressed in a garlic press. The figure of Mary is also made in marzipan, coloured in blue mainly. I have not had a chance to help make other figures, as the children happily contributed their Schleich animals to the scene (and of course oats and water for more realism!).

Advent, the Steiner way

It's been a long time, and we have been very busy since my last blog.
Fast-forward to the time of Advent.

Here are some of the things we have been doing with the Acorns, a toddler group linked to the Greenwich Steiner school:

folding kite waxed paper to make Christmas stars
decorating a plain candle with crimson and golden wax

pinning cloves into an orange for a lovely Christmas scent

Leeks pie

23-months-old DS2 was up before the rest of the family this morning, so we had an intimate breakfast and started to prepare lunch: a leek-based dish from Northern France called "flamique picarde". You need to thinly slice, wash and drain the white parts of 10 leeks. DS2 was clearly up for the challenge: in good Montessori fashion, we organized our space to work neatly from left to right. DS2 focused on the self-imposed task of separating the leek rings from each other and placing them in the colander.

After one leek, he decided to turn his attention to the salt dispenser. For the first time, he managed to turn the lid so that a pinch of salt was sprinkled on the kitchen floor when he shook it. No worries: our little Montessori boy headed for the dustpan and brush and cleaned up his mess. In truth, I struggle to pick up fine salt with the dustpan myself, and DS2 actually spread the salt towards the sides of the kitchen. Never mind, the intention was there!

DS2 was playing when I prepared the dough and mixed the cooked leeks with creme fraiche and egg yolks. I used mostly wholegrain wheat flour instead of white (I need to re-stock). 30 minutes in the oven, and...

Voila!

Heidi

As we are soon heading off to the Austrian mountains, I borrowed the classical Swiss story of Heidi from the library. I found it in a lovely abridged edition from Usborne, illustrated with watercolours by Alan Marks and a simple, accessible text from Susanna Davidson. It is based on the story by Johanna Spyri. The book is in a nice large hardback format, with two sentences per page. Perfect for 4-year-old DS1.

Here is a photo from the book, where Heidi spends her first night at her grandfather's.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Story-Heidi-Picture-Book-Classics/dp/0794517161/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248603003&sr=8-1 The Amazon feature mentions a CD, which we do not have in the library's version of the book: this suits me, as I am not rushed by the pace of the CD and can add extra explanations where needed. For instance, the book does not explain why Heidi's parents are dead. I could not remember precisely, so I said: I think they very ill and since in those days they did not have as much good medication as now, Heidi's parents died from their illness. DS1 was satisfied with this explanation.

DS1 liked the book so much after we first read it this morning, he said he wants to read it after breakfast every day from now on! We will see... There are always many interesting things to do after breakfast.

In any case, I am even keener than before to breathe in fresh mountain air next week!

Bible stories

DS1 is increasingly keen to have at least two or three Bible stories read to him every evening.

We have been reading stories from "La Bible des petits enfants" (editor Mame Fleurus, 2002, ISBN 2-215-04288-5) for some time. A nice feature is that it is illustrated by four different artists, so that if one style does not appeal, the others may well do. The text is accessible but not bland or childish.
http://www.amazon.fr/Bible-petits-enfants-Karine-Marie-Amiot/dp/2215042885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247256837&sr=8-1

Then I found a board book, "Lift the flap Bible", published by Candle Books, illustrated by Tracey Moroney, at our local Exchange Project for nearly new clothes and other items for children aged 0 to 5. I thought it would suit DS2 perfectly, which it does, but DS1 is also very happy with it, and likes to follow the action by lifting the flap exactly at the right moment while I read the story. The text is short, as, indeed, the book is recommended for ages 10 months and older. A good way to have an introduction to a complex biblical episode or parable.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lift-Flap-Bible-Book/dp/1575844036/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247256761&sr=1-1

I am currently borrowing "My First Book of Bible Stories" (Caxton Editions, 1999) from the library. Both sons like this book very much, too. The stories are somewhat longer, typically on four pages, but abundantly illustrated. I may be tempted to order a used copy for a symbolic 1p (+postage) through Amazon...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1840670622/sr=8-1/qid=1247256675/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1247256675&sr=8-1&seller=

Gingerbread men

Our boys are starting to have a decent summer tan. Our neighbours call them "gingerbread men". This reminds me of a baking session a few days ago. We prepared a gingerbread dough together (I measured the ingredients, DS2 poured them into the mixing bowl and DS1 stirred as much as he could). DS2 played happily with the dough, pouncing it, making crumbs, gathering crumbs, etc. DS1 carefully rolled out his share of dough and cut little men and circles. Here is the result...