@@@@@@@@@@@@ WissahicksatHome

Happy Birthday, Maxie Rose!

2010-01-16T22:07:00.001-05:00

Max is Four!, originally uploaded by wissahicks.

Maxie turned four on Thursday and what a week! Lots of celebrating with family, friends, cake, candles,ice cream, costumes, quilts, painting, hiking,classes and just loads of fun had by all, but especially the birthday girl! Happy birthday,Big Girl! We Love You!!!

HAPPY 2010!!!

2010-01-15T17:53:00.006-05:00

Hope everyone is having a fabulous start to this new decade. And yes, WissahicksAtHome are still here (no, we're not on a permanent ice-fishing expidition, as the photo above seems to alude to;) and 2010 has been a blast so far! Maxie Rose is now FOUR (more on that to come)!!! You can check out all the birthday and home schooling fun on our Twitter page lately, (and my newest favorite thing- twitgoo;) so check out our latest pics/posts there...http://twitter.com/WissahixAtHome!

(And you can follow us on Twitter via our sidebar buttons.)

HAPPY, HAPPY!!!

Frankie’s Woven Wonders

2009-02-20T08:23:00.006-05:00

Hey,Everyone! Check out Frankie's new bag, for sale at her new Etsy Shop!

Oolala! This bag might not be perfect for a grown up, but to kids this is a 'bring-your-doll-on-a-play-date' kind of bag. Or, if you're on a hike with your paints, this is the kind of bag for that. You're the person who needs this bag, and I know it. One glance at this bag and it's on the way to your house. I know you need it, and that's why it's on Etsy.

Read more about it here.

Edited to add:

*As of 2/21/2009, 100% of the potholder profits at Frankie's Woven Wonders will be donated to 'BreadForThread,' my online project to help the people of Zimbabwe.

For more information about BreadForThread (or to make a secure PAYPAL donation) please visit here.

MyNewBlog

2009-01-18T11:01:00.003-05:00

Hi, Everyone! I have a new blog of my very own! You can check it out here:

http://inmyworldbyfjm.wordpress.com/

Stop by and don't forget to leave a comment!

Bye, Frankie!

At The Beach

2008-07-19T11:40:00.013-04:00

My name is Frankie. My mom is letting me have this blog. I am eight years old. We are going to have a lot of fun this year! A few weeks ago we went to Cape May Point. We went to the beach almost every day. The beach was very fun. We took a few long bike rides, and were in a bike parade on the Fourth of July. We visited the Cape May Nature Center. We took some walks. We saw gigantic jellyfish, dolphins, horseshoe crabs and brought home an anemone. We also saw a small bridge and a big castle and went up in the Cape May Lighthouse. We could see as far as the beach! And we took a class about snakes, and lizards and turtles(Maxie's favorite!). And my mom found a pretty crab leg with blue and orange, and lots of cool seashells! We also saw ghost crabs and mole crabs (in the wet sand) on our walks. The ghost crabs were pretty cool because they were clear and we could see through them. And we saw fireworks the day before the Fourth of July! We went to Sunset Beach and saw horseshoe crabs mating, and a flag ceremony, and sang the National Anthem with Kate Smith. We also saw about 100 geese from Canada in the Circle pond.

This is Zoe, Frankie's sister. I am 5. I found a crab leg with my dad, and brought it home. We also went to Sunset Beach and saw a girl horseshoe crab. And we saw rabbits, and a duck! (I found it!) And we stayed in a little Cottage, and we made a puzzle.

We had a great vacation, and our year is going fine!

Our Summer Vacation

2007-10-05T00:49:00.000-04:00

Well, looks like we took another not-so-little blog break there;) Seeing as I can't possibly catch up, here's just a little synopsis of Our Summer Vacation. Enjoy!:

What we did last summer (not in any particular order and definitely not a complete list)...
Wissahickon Walking::stream hiking::Zoo visiting::butterfly watching::dead bird finding::dance recitals::summer concerts::fireworks::garden digging:: playgroup::playdates::playgrounds::sprayground::Spanish Camp::wave jumping::sand digging::Hogwarts Expressing::kiddie rides::Peter Pan:: Nature Camp::Camp Zoe::Fairy-House building::dress up::make-believe::making new friends::2-wheel biking::Flag Day celebrating::Free Movies::Phlash-Riding::Sunroom building/Daddy watching::Puzzles::Painting:: Scrabble::Swimming::Hummingbird Feeding::Stink-Bug studying::pinwheel twirling::Peace Day Celebrating

Whew! We've been busy, but we had a great summer! Hope your summer was a blast, too!

Happy Fall to All!!!

Look What Flew Over From Across The Pond!

2007-06-12T08:08:00.000-04:00

All the way from this tree in Stroud, to be exact. A lovely package full of goodies from dear Simmy & Family at Echoes of a Dream.

As you can see, the girls couldn't have been more pleased with their little owlets, not to mention the 3 bags of yummy British sweets, which were immediately consumed whilst reading their new favorite book: Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories (Frankie's new favorite book , of course, since it features a little English girls in a quaint little village who is the only child in a household of very doting elderly relatives ;)

And there was more: Three beautiful and perfect English beach pebbles, some lovely paper flower bouquets, and some very British stamps (guess whose face was on them?) And there was even a little something in there for Mama, as well :) Some very beautiful home-dyed yarn in my most favorite shade of green. If this doesn't get me knitting, I don't know what will! Oh, and no need to be 'green' with envy, either. You can get your very own personal stash of green gold here.

Thank you, SO MUCH, Simmy for our fabulous package!

We can't wait to meet you guys and thank you in person!

Our Saturday Morning

2007-04-28T11:12:00.000-04:00

First, we made & ate some Thundercake, in honor of yesterday's thunderstorm. YUM!

Next, having eaten our fill, we did a little 'world traveling' to some of our favorite people (homeschooling and otherwise) and places on the web. We visited Zambia, England, Montana and Holland, who- alas-were not at home, but off on holiday themselves to France.

And finally, back at home and safely snuggled into the family bed, we enjoyed an impromptu (and very silly) puppet show by our own Zoe May.

Hope your morning was full of fun stuff, too!

[Addendum: And here's some more 'fun stuff.' Print it, paste on cardboard, cut it out (good luck) and ENJOY!]:

SEVEN!?*&?!

2007-04-27T07:07:00.000-04:00

Well, who can believe this? Frankie Joy is 7. SEVEN! A beautiful young lady who can be a demure Ophelia one moment, and a tree-scrambling cowgirl the next, strong and dramatic and bright as all get-out. The force of her emotions can overwhelm both of us at times (7 going on 17, you see) but I am both awed and grateful that she is mine (for the moment) and I think 7 is going to fit her just right.

Oh yeah- And always ready to have some fun:)!

Happy Birthday, Frankie Joy! We love you SOOO much!

ZOE MAY Turns 4FOUR!!!!

2007-04-14T00:14:00.001-04:00

Well, it's hard to believe, but Zoe May recently turned four. The day started with some fabulous and thoughtful presents from Big Sis Frankie, chocolate crepes at our favorite creperie, and finally lots of fun with friends and family at our wonderful 'Tree House.'
It was a very special day, for a VERY special little girl.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Zoe May.

We love you SOOOOO much :))!

'First Snow' An Original Video by Frankie

2007-02-14T08:21:00.001-05:00

HAPPY 2007!

2006-12-29T11:25:00.000-05:00

We've been on a break from 'blog-land' for a bit now,

but we'll be back in the New Year.

In the meantime, just wanted to stop by and say...

"HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!"

We hope your New Year is rich in

JOY, PEACE, LOVE & LAUGHTER:)!

~from all of us at WissahicksatHome

Introducing Our Newest Addition: Magdalena Mae*

2006-11-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

Meet Magdalena Mae, aka 'Maggie Mae.' The newest member of the family 'Wissahicks' (and yes, ANOTHER female :)

About a week ago we realized that there was just one tiny thing missing from our lives. And apparently, although we didn't know it yet, it was Maggie Mae. We found her at the Camden County Animal Shelter (in Blackwood, NJ,) a fabulous place to find our perfect pet due to the amazinglydedicated volunteers (Thanks again, Heather:). She is a 3 year-old Spaniel/Beagle mix who had once belonged to what must have been a VERY loving, doting
older family. She is truly a wonderful dog- really just the PERFECT dog for us. She's SO sweet and gentle, very 'low-key,' a great lap dog, and (I think) already feeling comfortable (especially in my special 'boppy'd' computer chair ;) and like part of the family already. And the family just LOVES her! Maxie thinks she is a blast, Frankie just adores her (and is doing a FANTASTIC job of helping care for her,) and even Zoe is experiencing many unguarded and relaxed moments around her (which is saying a lot) and has been very generously donating 'babies' to Maggie Mae from her unlimited supply of dolls and stuffed animals. We took our first walk around the 'hood this morning, and Maggie Mae has already made her first friend, Zushie, of course (and wonderful Marion had a treat bag ready on our way home) and got her very first taste (well, SMELL, really) of the 'Doggie Park,' which she had all to herself! We made a little JPEG movie, which you can view below. The first of many, I am sure. SO,... let me say:

WELCOME! to our wonderful Maggie Mae who we love so much already,

THANK YOU to Heather, and Everyone at the Camden County Animal Shelter (a great place to adopt a loving dog or cat in need of a 'forever home,')

and last, but not least:

SURPRISE! to Saftah (and Sabah)! You are really going to love her, too :)

*Addendum: We've now had our new 'baby' one week, and she continues to be wonderful! Her name, however, does NOT continue to be Maggie. While I loved that name for her, it became very confusing to have a Maggie AND a Maxie. And since it's probably too late to change Max's name (that would probably be even MORE confusing) we opted to change the pup's. So far, she's had a bevy of perfect names, all of which she has somehow responded to: Lil, Mae, Mabel, and (for the moment, at least) Ruby (as in 'Max & Ruby' (sorry, Sarah) for all you Rosemary Wells fans.) Oh, yeah, and Zoe is calling her 'Tree.' We'll see if this latest sticks. More pics to come...

HAWK WATCH

2006-10-27T17:05:00.002-04:00

Well, it's almost November, and so 'Hawk Season' is upon us. Today we went for a wonderful lesson on Raptor migration and identification at the Fort Washington State Park Militia Hill Hawk Observation Deck (whew!) led by fabulous volunteer ornithologist Ruth Pfeffer (rpfeffer@comcast.net) of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and 'Birding With Ruth' fame. She was SO knowledgable, and wonderful with the kiddies, who were VERY into it! They helped with the raptor count (which I believe was one Sharp Shinned Hawk- slow day due to low clouds) and took a lovely walk where we got to meet lots of wonderful songbirds (not to mention a fun freight train 'spotting.') Despite the overcast skies and chilled air, it was a really nice day made all the nicer with good company, fun frolicking amongst the fall leaves, and some singing to boot!
Thanks so much, Ruth!

FREE HUGS

2006-10-09T09:01:00.000-04:00

The girls and I can't stop watching this video on YOUTUBE, and thought our blog would be a good place to pass the love on.

FREE HUGS: the world could definitely use more of these!

{ENJOY!}

~Poem & drawing by Shel Silverstein, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS (1974)

Truly inspired, the girls made this great sign, with which they are planning to use to solicit FREE HUGS of their own from all of our neighbors. Maybe we'll even make our own FREE HUG video ;)

ADDENDUM:
We've all been feeling a bit 'under the weather' lately (despite the beautiful day) and decided we needed a little boost via our favorite 'feel good' YOUTUBE video 'Free Hugs.' It seems that Juan has made a 'Thank You' video, and has also launched both FREE HUGS and FREE HELP websites. It really goes to show you the good that one person really CAN do. And how powerful something as simple as a hug can be in getting people to reach out an connect with each other. WAY TO GO, JUAN! JUST AMAZING!

YUCKY WORM STEW

2006-08-18T10:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, in the Inquirer, there was a shout-out for kids to submit their most disgusting recipe, and get 4 free tickets to see 'HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS'- the movie (and a very cute book, as well.) Never one to pass up a fun freebie, this was what the girls came up with. BON APPETIT;)!

YUCKY WORM STEW
by Frankie (6) & Zoe (3)

Ingredients:
- 1 Dozen Smashed-Up Worms
- 1 Gallon of Baby Spit-Up
- 2 Extra Runny Poopy Diapers (like from a newborn)
- 1 Dozen Moldy, Mushy Red Grapes
- 1 Quart of Starling Bird Poop
- 5 Egg Shells
- 1 Cup of Dog Slime
- 1/2 a Chicken
- 1 Giant Cat Hairball
- 1/2 Cup of Dead Fleas

First, get a big soup pot. Put in a dozen smashed up worms. Then add a gallon of baby spit-up. Next, stir in 2 very poopy newborn diapers. Add 1 dozen moldy, mushy red grapes. Blend together and add 1 quart of Starling poop, and 5 smashed-up egg shells. Then add 1 cup of dog slime and a 1/2 sliced chicken. Finally, add one giant cat hairball and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of dead fleas. Cook for 8 minutes, uncovered, & eat up! YUM!

The Entertainer

2006-08-16T22:20:00.000-04:00

Today Frankie decided that she wanted to play piano. Inspired by her friend Zack's arrangement of the Olympic Theme, she not only learned the notes and rhythm, but also practiced 'scales' using only her right hand (she's a lefty.) Already a dedicated musician ;)!

Here she is warming up with notes 'C, D, and E.':

And now, for the 'piece de resistance!'...

The OLYMPIC THEME, as arranged by ZACK:)

Frankie Gets a Visit from the Tooth Fairy

2006-08-13T21:26:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been crazy here the past few weeks, and we were having keyboard issues, so as a result, 'the blog' has been neglected. However, things are slowly getting back to normal, and we're going to sit down, peruse our thoughts and photos, and catch up as we can.

Meanwhile...Frankie has been having A LOT of excitement lately. In addition to having a FABULOUS time at nature camp, Friday she LOST HER VERY FIRST TOOTH! She was SO excited, and relieved, as it was really bothering her a lot. I have mixed feelings. I remember when that tooth came in- and I can't believe it's gone now:(! The 'Tooth Fairy' came and compensated Frankie quite nicely for her troubles, but still...Where is the time going?

"WELCOME, WORLD:)!"

2006-07-29T08:39:00.000-04:00

We recently added a ClustrMap to the blog (bottom right.) It keeps track of how many visits we get,and (even cooler yet) WHERE everyone is visiting from! It's been an exciting addition to the blog, not to mention an educational one! Since July 5th, 2006 we've had over 330 visits from 6 states, and 28 different countries!

So...WELCOME WORLD, and THANK YOU FOR VISITING! (Please, stop back often :))!

Oh, yeah- Don't forget to sign Frankie and Zoe's guestbook:)!

LIFE'S A BEACH!

2006-07-18T14:05:00.000-04:00

We're back from the beach, and will be back on the blog with lots of great pics just as soon as we dig out! (Meanwhile, you can check out some highlights on our slideshow page.)

HAPPY4th,2006!

2006-07-05T23:27:00.000-04:00

CIRCLE WEEK Continues

2006-06-28T16:07:00.000-04:00

Zoe is having fun looking for all things circular. She also made a VERY scary circle sculpture with some of the circles she found;)!

CIRCLE Week

2006-06-26T23:43:00.000-04:00

Well, it rained ALL DAY today. We got bored, and decided to play around with our newcamera. Inspired by little birds' 'Color Week,' and our favorite Tana Hoban books (in other words; all of them) we decided to do 'Circle Week.' Here's what we found so far:

Artistic Genius at Work ;)!

2006-06-24T19:56:00.000-04:00

Ok, so the girls were "cleaning up" the classroom in preparation for our 'end-of-the-year/kindergarten graduation' celebration, and they decided to decorate a little and created what, IMHO, is a very cool piece of pop art, ala Red Grooms, no?

Melinda's 4th Birthday at Silk City

2006-06-24T12:41:00.000-04:00

This is an old clip of a little birthday celebration that we had at Silk City (following 'Mumpuppet') for Melinda's 4th birthday:

"The Windigo" A Play Starring Zoe May & Frankie Joy

2006-06-24T00:40:00.000-04:00

Last Friday we went down to Penn's Landing to visit the 'Godspeed,' a replica of one of 3 ships which originally brought the colonists who settled Jamestown, Virginia almost 4oo years ago. It was a very cool experience, and the girls were especially tickled to participate in this play which was VERY loosely based on the events of that time, and the story of Pocahontas, which Frankie just recently read.

Zoe's Haircut

2006-06-23T15:38:00.000-04:00

Zoe got her haircut today. She really likes it! We really like it, too:)!

This is what it looked like before her haircut:

Fishy Fun

2006-06-21T10:55:00.000-04:00

'
Yesterday the girls participated in the last Tree House Tots of the year at the Wissahickon Environmental Center 'Tree House.' They learned about fish, and made these very cool 'fish-prints.

A Postcard from the GRAND CANYON!

2006-06-19T17:40:00.000-04:00

Our next door neighbors, Kenneth and Matthew, went to the Grand Canyon, and they sent us this great postcard!(I wonder if they went on the new Grand Canyon SKYWALK?!)

DADDY's PICTURE by Zoe

2006-06-18T00:37:00.000-04:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY!
Love,
Zoe May, Frankie Joy and Maxie Rose

FRANKIE's FOREST by Frankie

2006-06-18T00:35:00.000-04:00

Making Music

2006-06-09T14:48:00.000-04:00

I made a song a few days ago. It's called "THE BANJO," because it sounds like a banjo. I made it on the computer on the 'Pattern Player' at the 'CYBERCHASE' website. It was really fun, and I LOVED the tune. Bye, Frankie!

"THE BANJO" (An origional song by Frankie)

2006-06-09T14:40:00.000-04:00

Frankie's 'KIDSCORNER' Debut :)!

2006-06-07T20:50:00.000-04:00

Frankie's 'KIDSCORNER' Night

2006-06-06T18:05:00.000-04:00

That was me, Frankie, on KIDSCORNER, 14 days ago.They were doing a show about homeschooling. It was pretty cool being on the radio. Bye, Frankie!

Pilobolus

2006-05-24T20:11:00.000-04:00

Last Friday we went to see the dance group Pilobolus. They were really funny. They spinned around a lot, and it looked like so much fun that I wanted to do it. I loved the WHOLE show! by Frankie Joy

2006-05-24T17:18:00.000-04:00

What is 'PILOBOLUS?'

LOL!

2006-05-17T22:29:00.000-04:00

Learning to Read!

2006-05-16T09:12:00.000-04:00

Frankie is really starting to read! She's been reading tons of books, and also loves to visit the Starfall.com reading website for extra practice. We are starting a 'Books We've Read (2006)' list on the side of our blog to help keep track of books Frankie and Zoe have read, or love to read over and over again! Here is a list of some of the favorite books we have read so far this past year:

BEN AND ME by Robert Lawson (Frankie Joy)
ISLAND LIGHT by Rosemary Wells (Zoe May)
STUART LITTLE by E.B White (FJ)
JULIUS, THE BABY OF THE WORLD by Kevin Henkies (FJ & ZM)
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE by Laura Ingalls Wilder (FJ)
CINDERELLA by The Brothers Grimm (ZM)

Zoe's Rainbow and the Colors

2006-05-15T20:15:00.000-04:00

Frankie's Rainbow Day

2006-05-15T19:58:00.000-04:00

Today was Monday, May 15, 2006. We went to Tree House Tots. We unwrapped our pumpkin seeds from last week. They germinated. We looked at them under the microscope, and it looked like they had porcupine hair. After that we went to my friend Zack's place and looked at a slide of his blood under his microscope. We played hospital, and after that it stopped raining and so we went on his swingset and made funny machines with Zoe and Leah. Then we saw one of Zack's friends and we went home and watched Clifford and Arthur on Channel 12. Then we ate an apple and had dinner. It was a yummy dinner. Later we saw a rainbow. It was amazing! Bye, Frankie!

Frankie's Rainbow Wish

2006-05-15T19:50:00.000-04:00

The Discovery Day

2006-05-10T17:02:00.000-04:00

Today is Wednesday, May 10, 2006. Today we saw a snake. It was grey and brown. We think it was a Garder snake, but we have to look it up to be sure. Here is a list of some other things we did today: We went to Lanoce playground, we gardened and discovered an ant colony and saw ant eggs (and made an ant house), we ate chocolate chip bars for snack, we rode our scooters, we wrote with charcoal, we made a birdbath, we read CLIFFORD LOVES ME, and now Frankie is writing a book for Phoenix about seahorses (for his birthday.)

It was a very nice, and warm day today.

Getting Started

2005-08-04T23:59:00.000-04:00

Well, I can't believe it, but my oldest is ready to start 'kindergarten,' homeschool-style, of course. As a way to make things a little more special and exciting for her, we promised to transform my 'office' to a 'kindergarten classroom' ala Frankie. She wants to design it to look like the classroom in the 'Word Bird' books. Although my particular slant on homeschooling would probably be less structured than this, I can't really argue with her- she has memories of my classroom from my teaching days- good memories, and therefore I can't really pretend that classrooms don't exist, or make her not want to be somewhere that she remembers as fun and bright and inviting. So, a small allowance to make to help ease the transition into homeschooling 'the school years.'