My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized17 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hey all! So last week was a pretty good one, we had a week of getting back to our normal rhythm and routine, and kicked off our school studies again by venturing to the Arctic. I made lots of bread and soup, and got two new plants! So, a pretty low key week for us at home, although we all know that it wasn’t such a low key week for any American.

My friend Kelly took a trip to the nursery and shopped for herself and also for my sister-in-law Chrissy and me. It was hilarious – she was posting photos in a group chat and we were all chatting about them at the same time. It was cracking me up. I jokingly told her next time to just live stream it all for us, so we could choose our plants that way. She is a trooper for doing that for us and I love my new Rattlesnake plant and Baby Fiddle Leaf.

Read Last Week:

I am not quite finished with this but hope to be done soon (maybe even today if I get some good reading time in!) I am in disbelief that this 17 year old was taking a 42 day canoe trip (or some insane number like that) through the Canadian Tundra with some friends. I certainly was not doing anything like that at 17! Lol. It is a pretty fascinating book, and I keep reminding myself as I read that this is a kid doing this stuff! It is pretty amazing.

Reading this Week:

After I finish The Twenty-Ninth Day I am planning to start Murder on the Orient Express. My mom and I are reading this together this month as part of our own Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. (I had signed up for the official one but we opted to pick and choose off the list of challenges instead of going in order. We are rebels)

Posted Last Week:

Homeschool: The Arctic!

Winter Hikes

Currently..January

Watching and Listening:

Billy and I are currently watching His Dark Materials season 2 and it is so good! We want to binge it but make ourselves wait. We are also watching This Farming Life on Britbox, which I also enjoy – although we just finished the newest season! I am still listening to bunches of podcasts, all that I have mentioned here before – Ologies with Alie Ward, Redhanded, Morbid, and two new ones, What’s Her Name (the Tasha Tudor one was excellent!) and The Naturalist Kids Podcast. I am also listening to Taylor Swift’s albums Folklore and Evermore on repeat some days. I have never really listened to her before and I am enjoying this new more mellow sound she has going on.

And that is about it from my little corner! Stay safe everyone.

Homeschool: The Arctic!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling8 Comments

This week we finished week 1 of our month long Arctic unit! We are venturing far north, learning about the different animals that live there, how they survive, how they live, why they are white, and all sorts of cool things. Unfortunately, it seems like the Arctic heard about our plans and decided to bring the Arctic weather to us, with a possible polar vortex on the horizon. We don’t really need that much authenticity, thank you.

To get back into the swing of school after our holiday break, I began with narwhals, because narwhals are just fun. I knew the kids would be excited about these unicorns of the sea, and they were! We read some cute books (although the kids (my son and niece) did think that narwhals were born in clam shells after reading the book Not Quite Narwhal – whoops! Lol.) We learned about their tusks, which is really a front left tooth that protrudes from their lip, not a tusk at all. We also learned that the tusks are like inside out teeth, with the nerves on the outside, so they definitely don’t use them for fighting. That would be a big ouch! I have to admit I was fascinated by these creatures as well!

We also painted the Northern Lights, using frozen paint cubes. This was actually hilarious – it was fun and then as it started to warm up, changed how the paint flowed onto the paper. But then when it finally thawed it just plunk! fell right off. It also became very messy. It was still a fun activity!

The kids also created salt dough narhwals, and narwhals out of spoons. My niece also made a unicorn spoon, but Wyatt wanted to just make two narwhals, which is fine. I like to do some directed art but also let them feel free to be expressive. Today we are finishing up the narwhals, painting them. I am betting we will end up with another set of blue and yellow narwhals over here…

It was a fun first week back! Next week we learn about Polar Bears, and a really interesting experiment about blubber is in the plans.. and some arctic animal yoga!

Resource Round Up!

Note: If printables include penguins, save those for a separate unit, as they live in the South Pole, not North

Little Spark Arctic Animals

Preschool Mom Arctic Animals

Arctic Animal Fun Pack

Arctic Animals Like Cold book

Arctic Animals Learning Pack

Books We Read

(This section contains Amazon affiliate links)

Wendell the Narwhal || Not Quite Narwhal (about a unicorn but still adorable)

Arts and Crafts

Clay Narwhal (we shaped them using the dough from this recipe)

Narwhal Spoon

Videos and Other Resources Used

(This section contains Amazon affiliate links)

Wild Republic Polar Animals Nature Tube (just don’t use the penguins, they are South Pole inhabitants!)

The Girl Who Went to the Arctic

A Walk in the Arctic

Narwhal: Unicorns of the Sea

As always we also use Blossom and Root for our regular curriculum as well.

Winter Hikes

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn day in the life, family, nature11 Comments

We are winter hikers; we wait all year to get back out there in the cold and snow. There is just something so invigorating about being in a winter wood, the chill temps, the quiet. On New Years Day, I walked the woods alone; Wyatt had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the trail, and Billy offered to stay back so that I could wander. The only sounds I heard were those of the birds, tweeting and chirping, birds of all kinds. Robins and cardinals and blue jays, various woodpeckers – a chipmunk ran in front of me, scampering into the undergrowth. I had my eyes scanning the trees, looking for the long – eared owl that has been spotted there, but didn’t see it unfortunately. When I headed back to the car, Billy told me that he had been watching all the birds as well, from his warm cozy seat. They were simply everywhere.

We took two more hikes that week, one at our favorite trail system, just to get outside and stretch our legs, get some fresh air. The woods were quiet that day, we didn’t see a single soul, nor see any signs of life at all. The birds and the animals must have been huddled up against the cold, wondering just what we were thinking, hiking around out there.

We also trekked out to Belle Isle one morning, and took a walk around the half frozen pond. It was like being in the Arctic, but not as cold and minus the polar bears. Although I did spy some tracks in the snow on the ice; can anyone identify them? I am thinking maybe fox, but identifying tracks is something I haven’t mastered.

It was a beautiful walk, almost magical near the marshy spots and the cattails.

And what better way to end a cold walk in the snow and ice than with hot chocolate and car snacks?

Currently…January

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family26 Comments

It is not just a new month, it is a new year! Here we go, 2021! It is time for Anne In Residence’s monthly Currently post where we answer one word prompts about different things we are doing and feeling. I always love the insight I gain from these, taking inventory of my own life.

First up – Beginning: Ugh so much! I am one one of those people who like a firecracker starts the new year off with a bang, off and running. I start out strong every year, and last year I was doing great but then we all know what happened. Lol. We are starting the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge, and also the Kids Moon Club again. I am also starting to plan our garden for the spring, and I am starting my “houseplant journey” as well, adding plants around my house, and I am loving it. I even bought a moisture meter, so I am feeling pretty committed. We also have a list of house projects we want to accomplish, wish us luck!

Feeling: Recommitted to our goals and values as a family. Hopeful. Slightly introspective. Inspired.

Organizing: Books, so many books. I just bought a new bookcase with a bench for Wyatt’s room, and happily spent time going through his books and organizing them all. I am also trying to organize our homeschooling supplies a little better.

Resolving: To be more patient. I am not the most patient person in the world, and I am working on that this year. I have infinite patience with children and animals, but in other areas of my life, not so much. And in fact, we always play a little game on New Years Day where we draw an animal and adjective from a hat and that is our word and animal for the year – this year I got patient bobcat. Not sure what that all means, but I can definitely work on patience. Wyatt and Billy got similar adjectives and the same animal – and they already embody them. Fearless Bear (Billy) and Courageous Bear (Wyatt). I am also resolving to try more new recipes this year. Last night I made foccacia bread and a Smoky bacon potato corn chowder, and they were amazing so I am off to a good start!

Wondering: Probably the same as everyone. Aside from the big wonder, I was also wondering the other day if we were ever going to have a non-cloudy night for skywatching events this year. Lol. Maybe this is our year!

My Sunday-Monday Post!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized30 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hi all!! And Happy Belated New Year! We have had a nice two weeks, my husband was off for quite a bit of it, and we put aside a lot of everyday work and projects so that the three of us could just hang out together, whether it was hiking or playing games (Wyatt is enjoying Go Fish these days) or binging television. We also each had a virtual friend’s night, which was much needed as well. I miss my crew! But this week we will back at the normal routine, with some changes. I am recommitted to actually cooking more – I think last year I fell into a huge rut and when grocery shopping became harder in the spring, relied more on easily gotten items then we just sort of kept on with those. And I miss making good meals. So, meal planning begins again this week. I am looking forward to it actually.

Read last week:

I really enjoyed Ash’s book about fishing in Cornwall. It gave me a whole different perspective, and it was beautifully written. And I absolutely love John Lewis-Stempel and was super excited about receiving two books of his for Christmas.

Reading This Week:

I am all about nonfiction right now. I am still finding it difficult to read much fiction but I am finding great joy in nonfiction.

Posted Recently:

A Quiet Holiday

My Favorite Reads of 2020

One Word and First Read of the Year

Watching:

We finished The Witcher, which I loved. We started This Farming Life on BritBox, and we watched one episode of Bridgerton. We also watched the new Rebecca which we both really enjoyed, Death to 2020 which cracked us up, and I hope we can watch Midnight Sky tonight. I’ve also been listening to the podcast Ologies with Alie Ward, and I love it. I highly recommend it if you are into science at all.

And that is it from my little house in the mitten! Stay safe everyone.

One Word and First Book of the Year

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized22 Comments

I was lucky enough to receive two John Lewis-Stempel books for Christmas to add to my collection! I got The Wild Life of the Fox, which I read immediately, and then saved The Private Life of the Hare for today. Rabbits and foxes, my favorite! Wyatt wanted me to take his photo with the book too, so of course I did, because he’s cute.

I have never done the word of the year before, but I thought I would try it out this year. After much thought, I have decided on Connection. I really felt disconnected in 2020, with all the changes in our life and routine. No breakfast or coffee dates with friends, no book club, no taking Wyatt to therapy twice a week and seeing those people that we saw twice a week for five years. No work. Just lots of not seeing anyone. And I have a personality that tends to be solitary anyway honestly – and once I am home, I can really dig in. I feel like I really sort of lost my mojo as well – I didn’t feel as connected to nature as I have in the past, and I want to rebuild that feeling. We were outside but I didn’t feel as in tune with it as I normally do. So this year, I am going to connect. With myself, my circle, nature, my home even, adding in more warmth as we are minimalists and I needed to add in some warmer elements (like lots of plants! I am loving all of the green in our house!) So, this year is about connection, and trying to find ways to connect even with what is happening in our world.

A Quiet Holiday

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

It was a different Christmas for us this year, as I am sure it was for a lot of people. For the first time ever in my life, I woke up on Christmas and stayed home. Wyatt stayed in his pajamas all day, playing with his presents, which were considerable (looking at you family….lol). We had multiple video chats to open gifts together virtually with Wyatt’s grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles; we ate leftovers and drank lots of tea and coffee. We left the mess. My dad and stepmom drove two hours in the snow to deliver gifts in their Santa hats and stand outside and wave to Wyatt. It snowed all day, quiet and peaceful outside, warm and a bit nuts inside.

We missed our big family shenanigans, missed our family. But despite it all, the kids had a fun happy Christmas and that is what our goal was, for all the kids to feel the magic still this year.

The next day we began the task of putting our house back together, and even went through Wyatt’s older clothes and toys and were able to put together two bags of items to donate that he had outgrown. I ordered a new bookcase with a bench for his room, for his collection of books has also outgrown their shelves. We organized and cleaned and played with the kiddo, taking another slow day for ourselves. I read one of my new books while Wyatt and Billy watched a cartoon in another room, and I looked out at the snow, with a glass of wine and a cat either on my lap or next to me. And a random windowsill crayon, because don’t we all have those?

We spent the following two days outdoors, but those are adventures for another day.

I hope you all had a good Christmas, that still had some magic this year.

My Favorite Reads of 2020

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review24 Comments

It was the year of nonfiction for me this year! For the first time ever, my list has more nonfiction than fiction. I did read some great fiction books though as well! I narrowed my list to my top seven. Let me know if you have read any and what you thought!

Let’s begin, shall we?

These were the three standout fiction books that I read this year, and my most recommended to people throughout the year.

Mexican Gothic is hands down my favorite book of the year – it was just so much everything. Plot, characters, quirk, atmosphere, twisty and scary and horrifying. And this cover is amazingly beautiful. Have any of you seen the Instagram posts where people are recreating this cover? I can understand why, it is so rich and warm and lovely.

My Sister the Serial Killer was a surprisingly amazing read for me. I thought I would enjoy it, but not necessarily love it as much as I did. I think it is such a unique take on family relationships and love, and of course, a bit of creep factor as well.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts was such a fun fantastic read! I loved it so much. It reminded me of a Westing Game for adults.

The Call of the Wild and Free was a book that really changed our lives! If you are a regular reader here, you may have seen my posts where I talk about how it really spoke to me and about how to frame our homeschooling experience. It is not the right experience for everyone, but it is perfect for us right now.

The Creative Family Manifesto is another book that heavily influenced our lives this year. Because of this book, we were inspired to take drawing books with us on picnics and have lazy days drawing away. I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination but I am enjoying what I am creating and that is the most important thing…right? Wyatt loves drawing and painting and that is something I want to encourage, and we have art supplies always available to him for when he feels like making or creating. Most nights now he will sit quietly happily drawing away.

The Cider Revival. I just really enjoyed this book! It was a fascinating look at apple orchards and the cider industry, especially all those small cideries out there. Plus, we had a fantastic night of cider tasting after I read this book.

The Salt Path was amazing. I have never read a book like this before. I have read many memoirs of people hiking and walking long distances, but never for these reasons. I loved the journey start to finish, and I am looking forward to reading Winn’s follow up. I am a person who underlines and makes notes in their books and this passage from The Salt Path was just so powerful.

I was a part of the whole. I didn’t need to own a patch of land to make that so. I could stand in the wind and I was the wind, the rain, the sea; it was all me, and I was nothing within it.

What did you read that you loved this year?

Our Favorite Picture Books This Year

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review3 Comments

A week or two ago, Wyatt mailed a letter to Santa from the big Santa Mail Box in our city – and to be honest, I had no idea that he was going to get a letter back when we did it, but wow did it bring a smile to my boy’s face! And, we found out that Santa loves books too! We have read some fantastic books this year, and I wanted to share some of our top favorites with you.

(this post contains Amazon Affiliate Links)

Wyatt’s current favorite holiday book is the Llama Llama Holiday Drama. I read this a billion times a day, and when I am not, he is looking at it himself half the time. Thanksgiving in the Woods is a fun one that we actually won in a giveaway on Instagram this year- and while we both love it, I think it would be so fun to actually have a Thanksgiving in the Woods one year! I included Ohana Means Family, but it was more my favorite than Wyatt’s. I just loved the illustrations and the introduction to Hawaiian culture to Wyatt. Scout and the Gumboot Kids were a big favorite of Wyatt’s this year, whether on television or reading the books. He really loved The Case of the Wooden Timekeeper. Then finally, all the way back in January, we read Little Wolf’s Song and Winter Walk, and Wyatt loved all the howling in Little Wolf’s Song, and then surprised me by really loving Winter Walk.

Leo the Lightning Bug! This book also came with a CD, and Wyatt still listens to it and flips through the book, reciting parts out loud with it. It reminds me of me when I was his age, listening to books on tape and record and looking through the books. (For Christmas I bought him The Thousand Star Hotel by the Okee Dokee Brothers, which he can flip through while he listens to the story streaming..ah technology.) Nightsong was really cool, and Honey, adorable. Wyatt is a fan of David Ezra Stein. He is also a giant fan of the Little Blue Truck, and he loved this Springtime book. Which reminds me I never bought him The Little Blue Truck’s Christmas! Then finally we found two new to us owl books that we really enjoyed, Tanna’s Owl and Otto the Owl who Loved Poetry.

The Giraffe That Walked to Paris is my favorite picture book that we read this year. I liked it way more than Wyatt, so it is definitely my favorite, not his. I had never heard of this event before and it was sort of sad but neat to learn about it. Anatole was an old favorite of mine that I enjoyed sharing with Wyatt, who also liked it. And then finally, The Salamander Room – this book made me commit to adopting our leopard gecko Harry, which I realize is two different species entirely but it was still a fun way to segue to Harry for Wyatt.

I did miss the library so much this year, browsing the shelves and all the new books. If there are two places I miss going, it is the library with Wyatt and then Ikea with Billy. We would drop the boy off to my mom then head to Ikea and have lunch and shop. We are exciting.

I am looking forward to reading more with Wyatt in the months ahead, especially now as he is picking up letters and can read some of the words himself more and more! He loves reading, and I love that he loves reading!