Yarn Along - Homeschool Reading and Cold Weather Wear

 

I seem to start too many blog posts with "Well, it's been a while since I've written..." I just don't seem to be able to push through and post when life gets busy.  And living by all of my family as I do, life gets super busy around Christmas time.  We are now into the lull and deep freeze of January here in Minnesota a great time for reading and knitting as far as I'm concerned.  January is also my month "off" from knitting for my Etsy shop Simply Playing.  So, I am knitting things for myself after all the gift knitting of December.  A new hat and mittens seemed the perfect project with the ultra cold temps we've had here as of late.  I used some bulky Icelandic Yarn from Lopi called Alafosslopi in teal heather.  It is a bit scratchy but very hard wearing which is a good quality when knitting a pair of mittens.  I used the pattern Spruce Tree Mittens.  It was very easy to follow and was knit at a dense gauge for the yarn I used making the fabric nice and thick and warm.  For the hat (please excuse the pic as it is my first "selfie") I picked this pattern modifying it only slightly by jumping up two needle sizes after the ribbing to make it more slouchy. 

As for my current book,  I am reading Leadership Education - The Phases of Learning by Oliver and Rachel DeMille.  It's about the phases of learning in the Thomas Jefferson Leadership model of education.  A good read, but I'm not totally sold on the theory.  Coming from a Waldorf beginning, which focuses on educating the whole child, head, heart, hands as they say, it comes across as too 'head" for my kinesthetic learning son.  I think there are very valuable elements to the philosophy which we will integrate into Sams' homeschooling, especially reading aloud classic literature, but it will be just that an "element" and not a "foundation" for his schooling.  Do any of you have thoughts on TJed or are using it with your children?

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along.