I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of the Magic of MudPies & Butterflies!
And I would like to both Honor and Thank You for the following,
which I feel incredibly fortunate to have witnessed and shared:
Your Love for Family,
Your Care & Consideration to Community
and Your Belief in Learning (and Observing) Alongside Each Other
Thank you & Happy New Year to you all!
Aam Saiid (Arabic), Urte Berri On (Basque), sun lin fi lok (cantonese), šťastný nový rok (Czech), godt nytår(Danish), head uut aastat (Estonian), bonne année (French), prost Neujahr (German), kali chronia (Greek), shana tova (Hebrew), sal mubarak (gujaurti), nav varsh ki subhkamna (hindi), nave saal deeyan vadhaiyaan(Punjabi), subho nababarsho (bengali), hauoli makahiki hou (Hawai’in), nyob zoo xyoo tshiab (Hmong), boldog új évet (Hungarian), Oshagatsu (japanese), seh heh bok mani bat uh seyo (Korean), kia hari te tau hou (Maori), shine jiliin bayariin mend hurgeye (Mongolian), sâle no mobârak (Persian), szczęśliwego nowego roku (Polish), feliz ano novo (Porteguese), un an nou fericit (Romanian)S novim godom (Russian), sanad wanagsan (Somali), feliz año nuevo (Spanish), mwaka mzuri (Swahili), sawatdii pimaï (Thai), tashi delek (Tibetan), yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun (Turkish), naya saal mubarik (Urdu), Chúc Mừng Nǎm Mới (Vietnamese), blwyddyn newydd dda (Welsh),
As we jettison into a new Decade… I thought i would highlight some of our clever children during clever Parkdays that didn’t previously make it to Blog Status.
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2nd Park day on August 6th, 2009 Wind, Earth & Rocks (w/ a little Roll).

The craft for the day was making wire jewelry with our favorite rocks. I brought alot of rocks, some children found their own at the park. Not only did they get turned into rings, bracelets and necklaces, but the really flat ones become memory touch stones by writing words upon them: Peace, Reclaim, Calm, Nature and more.

The little Roll tacked onto the day’s theme, turned into a Great Big Drum Circle hosted by our Spirited~Friend Emilia (who now lives in Texas)!

The Drum Circle was a wonderful way to dance and connect to our environment and forge a tighter bond with the new and well-acquainted families!

Thanks again Emilia we hope you are all Happy and have found your own villages to grace.
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September 10th, 2009 the Park Theme was Fairies & Dragons Oh MY!!!
Thank you Wendy, Chloe, Connar & Sebastian for your love and creativity!

We all learned about the fun art of miniature fairy making from Wendy & Chloe! There are indeed Boy and Girl fairies. Even mermaid and mermen fairies. And for the architects and engineers, some fairy houses were designed up the sides of our happy park trees.

And Connar took the kids on a quest for Dragons’s Eggs after a game of Dragon’s Tail. What a fun day (and how great for me to get to just participate in all of the fun and not lead!) Thanks again!
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October 8th, Making Mummies and other fun things before Halloween. Any day in OCtober is a great day to dress up too!

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Making Music & Homemade Instruments : Investigating Rhythm, Song & Sounds!
october 22nd, 2009

Alot of emphasis is put on REUSING materials and RECYCLING, as we are rearing environmentally conscious kids (really families as actions speak louder than words).

With all of the boxes, containers and other REUSABLE items the kids creativity soared. I showed them how to make a paper towel tube, cereal box and rubber bands into a Guitar and before you know it they are also making Banjo’s and Violins with intricate bows.
“The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” - Marcel Proust
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OCTOBER 29th, 2009 Mask Making & Halloween outfits.

With Halloween only two days away… the Craziness came out. Even though I was home taking care of sick kids, I sent my craft of cut out masks and supplies with another mom.

And the fun was had by all.

There is something about this season of dress up that just fills everyone up.
Cultural Costume & Cuisine Day!November 19, 2009
This was an idea requested by Diego, who wished everyone would dress up as a person from a different culture.

We chose to make it on our Third Thursday of the Month which is a Potluck day. In colder weather, the potluck occurs at lunchtime. But during the warmer weather the potluck extends the park day to dinnertime - so that spouses, mates, aunties, uncles and other family and friends who work during the day can fully participate in the Village they are a part of. Part of the intent of creating this park day was to also let Non-Homeschooling families who are interested in what it can look like join in and ask questions and find the normalcy and the unique nature on their own.

For my family, Homeschooling only happens successfully in the presence of other families with similar interests. The greatest common interest is that they all love being with their kids or with their parents.

Anyhow, this Parkday was on Potluck and many wore traditional outfits, some even paired their potluck dishes with the outfits.
i was home schooled when i was still very young and i have to stay that it is also a great way to educate your kids ~-;