Summer reading & other fun challenges

Summer is an opportune time to model for my kids that reading is not only to be done during the school year. As summer approaches I encourage them to read independently.  We will set aside 20 minutes at some point each day to silently read, of course I will model this for them. (Ulterior motive here?  How else will I fit in my trashy summer reads?)


Along with sharpening reading skills, we will also pick a new skill to learn.  The girls want to learn to sew. I want to learn how to master yeast breads.
Here's our plan:
Mya:
LOVES the Fudge series by Judy Blume.  This is above her level so I will read this aloud to her.  We will discuss open ended questions and of course, comprehension. Also, this is a great opportunity to point out what is NOT appropriate behavior in public ;)

Book 2 in the Fudge series

*Spoiler alert:  Be sure to preread & edit the chapter "Santa Who?" in Superfudge.  The Hatchers do not believe in Santa and blatantly point that out.


Mya will also learn the basic reading skills in the Bob Books.  The Montessori lover in me cannot recommend these books highly enough.  Check them out if you have a budding reader.

Mya's fine motor skills are still developing.  She will use this plastic grid, over sized buttons, yarn, and yarn needle to sew buttons.  This also will help sharpen skills for learning to write. Win-Win.

Marlee:
Marlee has shown interest in series books as well.  We are going to try the Judy Moody series.  I hope this Judy chick does not have a bad attitude like that Junie B. Jones. Sheesh!

Marlee is also going to try a hand at embroidery and basic sewing machine skills. I found this book at a used book store.  It looks fun and easy for a 7 year old.

Me:
Of course I will be perusing the shelves of the local library for trashy novels, but when I choose to feed my mind with useful info, I will read the following books:

I found about Amanda's books from my friend Erin who also grew up in Maine.  Amanda Soule also has a blog called Soule Mama  This nourishes the wanna be homesteader in me.


I found this little number at my parents' house.  My mom gave it to me when I transformed into a domestic diva goddess. Dave is 100% Slovak so I thought I'd try to master some (or at least one) of the beautiful yeast bread recipes and show the girls their roots in this world.

And lastly, our old rainy day stand by:

The recipes in these books never get old.  The directions are both in picture and text which makes it fun for preschool and elementary school kids. The recipes are also extremely healthy. Mollie Katzen (books on the left) is also the author of the Moosewood cookbook series.


I guess I have high hopes for the summer.  I suppose I can revisit these ideas at summer's end to see what we have accomplished.
What plans do you have for the summer?

Extreme makeover: Playroom edition

I remember the satisfaction I had when I first set up the girls' playroom.  Except for the dress-up area, it looked like a Montessori classroom:  works area, dramatic play, art area, sensory table, etc....  It was such a peaceful room to play. Right off the kitchen, the girls could even be left while I was preparing dinner.

Well, times have changed since then.  We went through many phases (Disney Princess being my least favorite) and I felt that our once neatly organized room fell all out of sorts. So I packed up all the educational, wooden, non-battery toys that were the first to lose their interest and consigned them, probably to some other naive mom thinking that if they too buy these toys, the Disney Princesses will not invade their playroom ;)

It took a little bit of thinking on how to reorganize the room since we hardly have any of the bigger toddler toys that divide it up into parts. I also noticed that the girls have been neglecting the clutter of the playroom in favor of writing and drawing at the kitchen table.

I have decided to turn the playroom into an office/classroom since they play office and school most of the time. My daily practice has been to recycle and up cycle many of our objects. This came easy since I needed to just use old mugs, cans, baskets and other things along that line to organize all of their office supplies.  I went into the attic and pulled out some calendars and maps from my old teaching days. We also kept the train table and turned in into a writing area or if we needed to have an impromptu board meeting at the office.



Marlee's office:  She uses the top shelf for her desk



Mya's office:  She uses our old table from the play kitchen, we also have some other toys mixed in with our office supplies.



Thankfully, I have saved everything from my teaching days!




Crusive wall, and we just couldn't let the dress up corner go yet.



The old train table is great for crafts, writing, or dramatic play in the office.

Mother's Day

'The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.
She never existed before.
The woman existed, but the mother, never.
A mother is something absolutely new.'

Thanks for posting this Carolyn.  Also, thanks for opening my eyes to a holistic way of thinking and exposing me to Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emelia.  I learned how we can connect the natural world with every aspect in our lives, and most importantly, our education.  It is no wonder Tara is a successful young lady attending a great college in Oregon.

As I become a more seasoned mom, my Mother's Day expectations have changed.  Entitled pampering has been replaced by gratitude.  I reflect on the family Dave and I created, the way we choose to live our lives, and the community in which we chose to live. I am both honored and humbled to be the backbone of my family.

Mother's Day in the park. Dads cooked for moms.

My city by the bay

Recently, my husband surprised me with a wonderful gift--a plane ticket visit my sister in Berkeley!  He thought perhaps I could use a little vacation from this crazy mountain we live on.  At first, I wasn't sure what he meant by "vacation".  When he clarified that he purchased 1 plane ticket and not 3, I immediately packed my bags to hop on the next plane to SFO. 


At first I thought I would not what to do with myself for 5 days without kids.  But alas, that was a crazy thought!  I knew exactly what I wanted to do with myself:  uninterrupted conversation with Angie & Ryan, walk for hours in San Fran and Berkeley, go to little quaint shops where children are frowned upon...ditto for restaurants, spend hours in thrift and fabric shops...I am sure you get the idea.

Some of our highlights were: Herbivore Restaurant, Cafe Colucci and Cafe Gratitude for great food and Stone Mountain Fabric for one of the best fabric stores I have ever visited.
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There are no Ethipoian restaurants in Asheville, so this was a treat!

Angie and I got to catch up in person instead of on the phone. I got a glimpse of her daily life, which is so quiet and peaceful compared to my own.  We also got to act silly and have many crazy capers as we did in the past.

The time flew quickly and my visit seemed to end with a blink of an eye. As I flew over the Easy Bay, I reflected on the new person I became since living on the West Coast over a decade ago.  There are some things I really miss because let's face it, there is nowhere in the world like the coast of California.  But as I boarded my connector to Asheville in Charlotte,  my wistful nostalgia was replaced by excitement to see Dave and the gals, and returning to my favorite place on earth--my house in a town I love.


I have changed a lot since I lived in California and I am happy to say that I've grown and learned a lot, and I still have much more to experience.
However, what really made my homecoming fantastic was the fact that all the laundry and dishes were done!  Dave also mentioned that it is tough staying home with the gals with all the business in our every day lives....it is nice to be appreciated :)

The Writing on the Wall

Marlee and her friend practicing the letters

Lately, the girls have been very interested in cursive writing. I began to wonder if they even teach this in school anymore.  I rarely see it in people's writing, heck, with 95% of my communication via email and text, I really don't ever see people print! I've decided to take matters into my own hands and teach this lost art to my kids. 

Since we are in the midst of a playroom overhaul, I decided it is time to add new decor to the walls anyway.  I found these awesome Around the World Cursive Cards, which is a win-win for me since we love geography and travel.

Marlee does a great job learning the loops and lines of the letters. Mya's fine motor skills are not quite there yet, but she does enjoy pointing out the letters.

I am not sure if writing cursive is really the wave of the future, but it is fun to learn.