"A Pocketful of Cricket"

I'm afraid linking up on Thursdays is going to get tricky because we have Classical Conversations on Thursdays!  I'm gonna try, though!

A Pocketful of Cricket is one of my favorites!  Especially for little boys and girls who love to pick up rocks, stop to look at spider webs and butterflies, and keep treasures in their pockets.  It's such a fun story of a country boy's adventures in nature just before his first day of school.  I think it's a great fit for  doing any sort of nature study at home.
This one probably requires a decent attention span to get through but there's plenty to engage in as you read.  

Enjoy!

Linking Up to Read Aloud Thursdays           

Wednesday Afternoon

The house is messier than usual.
The laundry is piling up.
The counter is covered in dishes.
My kids are crazier than usual today.
Clearly we are back to school and the days are filling up.  It's good, right?  I just need to adjust chores and schedules and figure out how to get on top of all this.
We'll be back to Classical Conversations tomorrow so I am spending the next couple of hours planning,  making sure backpacks are ready, etc...
But first, here's a quick update on life the past few days.

We took a trip to our "new" and "old" libraries this week.  I tell you, my heart beats a little faster when I start pulling good books off the shelves.   Per suggestions from a reading list I found, we are trying The Borrowers, The Happy Hollisters and the Castle Rock Mystery, several books on Ancient Egypt, and more.  Jack found some more books about Eleanor Estes's "Moffats."  Kayla found more Nancy Drew to listen to while she does puzzles.  I also found some picture books by Beverly Cleary for Sam and Lucy.  I didn't know she had picture books out.  Cute stories.

This has been a familiar scene after breakfast this week:  Kayla listening and doing a puzzle, Lucy sitting on the table with her playing with "shapes."  I don't know why I love this so much but I do.

This week's presentation topic at CC is to tell about something that's special to you.  The older kids are starting off easy!  At first Jack had a hard time coming up with an idea and then it came to him:  Lucy.  Here he is making a few notes about her.  It was fun to hear him laugh as he told stories about her.  So glad he loves his baby sister.

A Look Back at Summer

I don't know that I'm quite ready to say good-bye to summer.
I'm glad the days are just a little shorter and cooler but there's a lot to remember from summer 2012:
*the big wind-storm: people around here will be talking about it for years
*Jack helps mow the yard now and does a pretty good job of it
*the London Olympics: Kayla's into gymnastics now and Sammy is standing on his head every time I turn around
*Lucy's hair grew longer and blonder-I do love those shiny yellow locks
*she moved into a big girl bed
*Jack's good friend moved into the neighborhood so now he rides his bike back and forth
*Kayla and Jack got their names in the paper for reading 50 hours in less than a month for the library's summer reading program
*can't forget how Sammy and Lucy race down the driveway on big wheels
*Lucy and Kayla were flower girls in one of my favorite weddings ever
*one of Sammy's most common questions for me:  "Am I making you nervous Mommy?"  while he climbs on anything and everything and flips around.  All boy.
*we drank a lot of sun tea
*I discovered mint water
*the kids have mostly lived on lunches of fruit and yogurt smoothies
*that little thing called a church plant
*fireworks in Williamsburg
*a graduation in Ohio
*a new nephew in May
*all our cousins came to visit
*visits with friends on the back deck
*the kids and Brian's parents spent a night in a hotel with a pool so that...
*we could go to Brian's 20th reunion

What else?  I'm sure I'm forgetting something.  Many things.
Mr. Tovey at church is in his 80s and always tells me what a nice family we have.
Last Sunday, he asked me, "Do you know what a wonderful family you have?"
Of course I said yes, and I am thankful for another summer with them.

Pirates and Harmonicas (Read Alouds!)

I have always enjoyed our local library, especially the libriarians that work there.  Sometimes, though, the book selection has been disappointing.  Last week we joined another library, in the next town.  So far, we have been able to find lots of things that weren't available to us before.  Surely two libraries will be better than one!

I am not usually a fan of ABC books but I have to say, this one is a keeper.  It actually tells a story in rhyme as the "mateys" search for letters.  My young ones have asked for this one several times.  Sam says he loves this book!

"In the sand sat a cannonball carved with a C!

They dug for doubloons and scooped up a D!"

We read Lentil back when we lived in Charlotte but couldn't find it here.  It was a treat to finally find it last week at our "new" library.  In classic Robert McCloskey style, the big black and white pictures and simple story quickly draw you in.  It's fun to see how Lentil's love of playing the harmonica serves his whole Ohio town in the end.  We've read this one many times, too!

Happy Reading!

Linking Up to Read Aloud Thursdays          

Cinnamon Rolls and Lucy Stories

Kayla has been wanting to make these homemade cinnamon roles for a couple of weeks.
This morning we finally got around to it.  The recipe was pretty simple.
I wish I could bottle up the smell of those things baking.
Delicious!

I have a few stories about this little one.
They'll probably lose some of their humor since you couldn't hear her but just imagine a cute, confident little two-year old who was not being a bit quiet about any of what she had to say.
Last night the girls and I were out.
"Mom, what store is that?"
"Michaels."
"What???  Michael Phelps??"

Later we were leaving the bookstore and she made a look pretty much just like the one in this picture and hollered to the guy working, "Goodbye!  I am leaving you now!"
He laughed.  And laughed.

A Little from Today's School Morning

It was around 8:00 this morning when I pulled up the shades and opened the windows.  The bushes were covered in sparkling spider webs.
What else would I do but send everyone outside (with jackets!) and get to our first Nature Study Lesson?
It's times like this that I LOVE homeschooling.  (It's also times like this that I need to remind myself of when I don't love it so much.)  The world was our classroom this morning and all of us, from the youngest to the oldest, learned something new.

I grabbed our new copy of Handbook of Nature Study and turned to the section on spider webs.  It has quick facts about everything and so many good questions to ask that help guide the kids' observations.  It's fun to hear things like "Hey!  Look at this!" and "Mom, I read something about this once.  I'm going to get some paper."  I think I am really going to like using this book.

Something else I'm excited about is our new "Drill Kit for Multiplication Memorization" by Leigh Bortins.  (sounds like a lot of fun, right??)  It will  help with the squares, cubes, and the rest of the tables.  Kayla helped me put it together and wanted to get started on it.
Who am I to say no to practicing math facts??

And: a few books the kids are flying through this week:
Jack- Amos Fortune and The Bronze Bow
Kayla- Understood Betsy
Samuel- Lentil by Robert McCloskey  He really likes this one!

Day Out

We took some time on Friday and went out (and out and out) to a place called Dismal Falls- which was not dismal at all.
A short walk down from the road and we found rocks, waterfalls, and a little swimming hole.

I think they found some pretty big craw-dads.

Wading in the cool water.

Ready to get wet.

Enjoying the sun.

I'm glad these two enjoy each other most of the time.

Lucy, Jack's shoe, and the water.  

You do the math.