Working with Wood

Rooted deep, reaching high, trees live and breathe and bridge the elemental world with the animal world. They are integral to the cycle of respiration and hence, to life itself. With conscious purpose, we cut a mature tree to serve us in other ways. Our ingenuity and need for survival and comfort lead us to transform wood to meet our everyday needs. A house, a table, chair, ladder, crate, barrel.

Working with wood is a communion with the tree. It is acknowledging that the wood, once a living organism, is a material rich in beauty, strength, and function. Craftspeople have long discovered the art of woodworking. For those whose livelihoods depend on a close relationship with wood, they understand that the process of transforming the wood is a meditation as satisfying as the product rendered from their handiwork.

When children work with wood, they too experience the process of transformation. And as they develop their senses of self-worth and self-esteem, working with wood is really working with the will. Developing will in the right way with children is brought about in how we present and model for them our relationship with things around us. Woodworking is respecting what the tree brings and our use of the wood must be economical, meaningful, and beautiful.

In a twelve week program with Wholistic Learning Resources, I guided homeschool students in the process of crafting wood. They cut, drilled, filed, rasped, sanded, assembled, hammered, glued, decorated, and stained. Wood became objects of purpose that serve us. A pencil holder, signage, flower press, and hand loom, among other items we built, demonstrate for the children how their will forces transform the rough and raw wood into functional and beautiful things.

The work itself is a means unto itself. The motion of the arms in sanding, the use of the fingertips to determine the smoothness of the wood's surface, the visual analysis of angles and planes - all teach something to the child. Whether it is in a woodworking class or an opportunity to cut firewood or even a chance to help assemble an IKEA cabinet, working with wood is a learning experience.

Knights in the Kingdom of Caid

Digging through some of our activity archives, we found these pics taken in 2006 from a Renaissance Fair event sponsored by the Society for Creative Anachronism. We were invited by Bjo Trimble, the owner of Griffin Dyeworks & Fiber Arts, who is also a member of SCA. We displayed some of our spinning products, and had fun dressing up in medieval garments.




Sir Ricky and Sir Wilson were dressed as knights and Lady Joey, a princess of the Royal Court. Ricky's and Wilson's costumes were easy to create, using very basic materials and a simple design that allowed for speedy assembly.





The event was held in southern CA, where SCA's Kingdom of Caid presided. The men donned armor, and with padded swords, lances, and maces, they fought bravely in mock battles. Not to be left out, the young knights also were given the opportunity to try their skills in combat, wearing helmets, and knee pads, and using foam weapons and shields. Should we encounter any orcs from Middle-Earth, we're covered! Huzzah!

Light, Energy, and Mysterious Fowl

refracting laser light

Our kids may be on spring break but opportunities for learning never cease! We decided to spend an afternoon at the Explorit Science Center in Davis, CA. Our first order of business was to enjoy a lunch buffet in the dorm dining commons at University of California at Davis (UCD). Jennifer and I both graduated from there and have always enjoyed delicious meals when we were residents on campus. So we keep coming back for more to share the culinary joy with our kids, along with lots of hungry college students!

On the way to the dining halls, we spotted this mysterious wild fowl near one of the dorms. We discovered that it was a guinea hen. We have never seen one on campus before and now knowing they are native to Africa, we could only wonder as to how they got there. UCD has a top-notch veterinary school and the campus is surrounded by farmland, wetlands, and other natural habitats, so maybe the guinea hens were in fact residents of the area.

a guinea hen running fast

Just a mile or two from campus is the Explorit Science Center. This small non-profit science center rotates exhibits on the biological sciences and the physical sciences, and we enjoy periodic visits to learn from their fun, child-friendly, interactive displays. Ricky has been studying about the properties of light, so the timing was perfect to see their most current exhibit on light and energy.

a magnifying glass and prism at home

A curtained display allowed for the manipulation of a a beam of laser light as it traveled through prisms and bounced off mirrors. Another display called Newton's Cradle demonstrated the law of the conservation of energy, and the difference between kinetic and potential energy. A series of light bulbs, LEDs, compact fluorescent, incandescent, and halogen, compared the electrical usage of each of these household items. (LEDs - light-emitting diode bulbs, were the most energy efficient, using only 4 watts of energy compared with an incandescent at about 60 watts.) A cool kit on circuits enabled us to create some simple devices that turned on bulbs, played music, and sounded a police siren. Other displays allowed us to figure out which materials were good conductors of heat and electricity, and which materials were good insulators. Along with the rotating exhibits, the center maintains fixed exhibits as well that the kids enjoy returning to.

hmm, which light is most efficient?

setting up a circuit board

a camera that views object up close

static electricity

viewing animation on a zoetrope

We had a pleasant afternoon learning about light and energy. Lunch was yummy and filling. Now I am wondering, what are those guinea hens up to at this very moment?

Eco Twig House

The magic folk at Syrendell have long been advocates of sustainable building design. When us humans were experimenting with straw bale homes, rammed earth, cob, FSC-certified lumber, or the more eco-luxurious materials such as soapstone, quartz, concrete, or Vetrazzo, the Syrendell Sprites were living in mushrooms and other natural shelters. The black and white picture is of pioneer syrendell sprites from over 1000 years ago!

The Eco Twig House exemplifies Syrendell's commitment to resource conservation and natural materials. We can't create Nature's habitats like mushrooms, but the sprites are nevertheless appreciative of our eco-awareness! The base of the house is made from a reclaimed fence plank that had aged over time and fallen in a recent storm. The posts, trusses, and beams are made from dried branches and twigs. Non-toxic wood glue and natural fiber yarn secure the pieces together. To finish the surfaces, after light sanding, we used a natural beeswax and organic jojoba oil polish.

Making the house takes a bit of time, but it is a rewarding project. We are selling the Eco Twig House in our Etsy shop (the one pictured in this blog is sold), but we encourage you to try to make your own from found materials around your yard. Enjoy the pictures of our Eco Twig House, and it might inspire your next building project to be eco-friendly and sustainable.

Thanks to all our blog friends for all the nice comments on our Twig House!

Here are two:

Jimana Diaz said: I want to live in that house!!!

Joy said: That's excellent! I just showed my 8 year old who thinks she might build one today.

The Dell

dell: n. A small secluded wooded valley. A vale.

Our homelearning space is known to us as the "dell". Because we call ourselves "Syrendell", dell is a nickname of sorts. The word "dell" brings up images of a beautiful, magical, wooded vale, full of fairies, sprites and gnomes!

We love our homelearning space...small, secluded and at times, full of wood! The changing seasons are honored by hanging colorful mobiles, and attaching window stars, mosaics or snowflakes to the glass. When the weather is warm, we open the sliding glass door and paint on the deck, extending the dell into the natural world.

We create a wreath for each season. The circle is woven out of wire by Ricky. All three children decide which type of leaf or other bits of nature to include in the wreath. We gather real leaves and make patterns to use later when we cut with felt. In the winter, holly berries are needlefelting. Spring is coming soon, and we will be needlefelting tiny eggs, birds and nests starting this week.

Our "Seasonal Spot" (aka, nature table) is a shelter built by Daddy with twigs from our backyard and reclaimed wood. A wooden tree puzzle shows us the season by the color of leaves (or lack of color). Our friend Gnomy likes to hang out in the Seasonal Spot. Seasonal fairies, finger puppet children, Syrendell Sprites, acorn families or other creatures often visit. Special stones, geodes, acorns, pine cones also can be found in the Seasonal Spot.

The dell features small chalkboards, a space for featuring books and projects that relate to the stories, holidays, S.S. block or science explorations of the week. Daddy's wood puzzles, wood stove, and tree blocks are found under a table, easy to reach for everyone! Our naturally-dyed silks, handmade crowns, play cloths and wooden clothespins are available whenever the mood strikes us. A large basket, full of percussion instruments sits near the foot of the dell, by the piano, as a nice transition space to wear we have our circle time.

Each person in the family has a frame on the wall made from twigs, featuring a watercolor, drawing, or crayon exploration. Baskets of crayons, finger puppets, geometric shapes and wool fibers with a drum carder, hand carders and needlefelters can be found throughout the dell.

We love the dell and try to tidy up when we can! It's our special place to learn, love and grow....

Syrendell

Welcome to Syrendell!

We are the Tan Family: Jennifer (mother), Rick (father), Ricky (son 11), Joey (daughter 9), and Wilson (son 5). As a home-learning (homeschooling) family, we share our experiences with others...always teaching, and forever learning.

Our motto is, "LAPHH". Yes, it sounds like "laugh", which is something we do a lot of as a family!

L = Love
A = Abundance
P = Peace
H = Health
H = Happiness

Whether we are learning at home, traveling, attending lessons, visiting relatives, or walking our labyrinth, we do our best to stay true to our motto.

We are inspired by a variety of teaching and learning techniques and philosophies, including Waldorf education, Montessori, and Earthschooling. Music, art, nature and stories are part of our daily rhythms. Holistic pregnancy, home waterbirthing, attachment parenting, and natural healing are some of the many pathways that we explore. Come join us and follow our blog so that we may learn from each other!