Read Aloud Week, Day 3

Today's reading:

We read this today for Abby's history. It's new at our house and worth finding for yours - the text is a bouncy poem with pretty illustrations.

Go-along for The Door in the Wall


Go-alongs for Gramma's Walk

The chapters for Little House on the Prairie and Snow Dog were especially exciting today, too! But we're going to be very busy for the next couple of days and may have to finish our books next week.

Read Aloud Week, Day 2

Here are some books we've read today:

We're well into Snow Dog, which is very exciting, and, after several weeks, we've finished Adam of the Road. Great book, especially with Robert Lawson's illustrations!


Both to go along with our FIAR book

After I'd read for several hours, Abby read this one to me as a go-along for Gramma's Walk.

We read this for Abby's history today. It's a wonderful story-within-a-story.

And, finally, we read this to go with Abby's history and are, at this minute, in the process of making the Goody O'Grumpity bread recipe in the back of the book: a dense ww loaf with lots of spices, raisins, and dates. Mmmm!

Let's Read!

Here's what we're reading today:

During read aloud week, we usually try to read a nature book of some sort.


Thomas is reading this book (all by himself, a great achievement!).

Abby's FIAR book for the week.


A go-along for our FIAR book.


Abby looked at this book while we were having our FIAR lessons.


This is Carrie's independent reading.


Abby and I are about half-way through one of my favorite books of all time.


This book is part of Thomas' The Door in the Wall unit study.


Abby's history reading for today.

For Today (August 10, 2009)

Outside my window...
It's hot, hot, hot. No rain in that big blue sky.

I am thinking....
About fall clothes for myself and the girls.

I am thankful for...
Some days at home.

From the learning rooms....
It's read-aloud week! We're excited!

From the kitchen....
Abby's 7th birthday is this week. For her birthday lunch she's requested:
fish sticks, chicken nuggets, fried okra and grits. Odd combination, huh? lol

I am creating....
A new arrangement for the top of the TV cabinet: dried hydrangea blooms in a white pitcher, a butter-yellow platter which has purple grapes and red apples around the edges (looks sort of Italian), 3 dark red candles in brass candlesticks and 2 large bunches of purple grapes.

I am reading...
We're all avidly reading Earl Stanley Gardner books (Perry Mason mysteries). Can't get wait to start another one, but I really need to get some things done around the house before I let myself read!

I am hoping....
For a fairly quiet week.

I am hearing....
Rachel, washing the breakfast dishes. Emily, playing with the kitty outside. Abby and Carrie talking in the bedroom.

Around the house....
Just the usual chores. I have one broken washing machine (we have two) and I'm hoping it will get fixed this week so laundry takes less time. The garden has slowed down considerably, but I'll need to pick butterbeans tomorrow.

One of my favorite things....
To read aloud to my children. I love it, they love it; we learn so much together.

A few plans for the rest of the week....
Emily to the eye doctor for the third time, to see if we can get these glasses right at last. Company over the weekend. Abby's birthday in little bits over the whole weekend. Some prep to get ready for her birthday, a house to clean one morning, plus schoolwork every day.

Here is a picture I'm sharing....


Thomas, chopping rosemary for herb bread.

Arts Week, Saturday

Today is our last day for Arts Week. We've had a great time away from the usual school books!

Besides working on unit studies with Thomas and Carrie today, Carrie helped with lunch. We made our own recipe, which is a layer of shredded beef or pork roast in a baking dish with a layer of BBQ sauce, a layer of cheese, and on top, a layer of cornbread batter, which is then baked until the cornbread is done. The kids like this a lot!

Abby and I had fun reading The Thanksgiving Story. We made Snickerdoodles, which I understood were made during colonial times until I consulted foodtimeline.org and learned I was wrong. Oh, well, we had a good time making them and will enjoy having them for lunch tomorrow.

And for our last day of Mirette on the High Wire, we did the science lesson on copper and cleaned some pennies.

Next week: Read Aloud Week, our very favorite school time together!

Arts Week, Thursday and Friday

We're having such a good time this week!

On Thursday afternoon, Thomas and I made ww herb bread to go with his DITW unit study. He had a good time mixing and kneading and everyone enjoyed eating the hot bread with butter. It was gone in a matter of minutes!


I helped Carrie made another notebook cover and Abby and I read The Happy Lion, which is such a cute book, to go with Mirette.

Abby (We decided she should be a French girl, Abbee') and I made a boardinghouse on Friday. She helped with our weekly cleaning and helped prepare French food for lunch: bacon quiche, French onion soup, baguette, and chocolates.


We went out to the local mission to stock the pantry, leaving the sign on the front door. When we got back, the bug man had been here and left the bill in the door. Wonder what he thought of Abby's sign??


Thomas and I worked on The Door in the Wall and Carrie worked on Around the World in 80 Days.

The week is going well!

Arts Week Project #2

Today's artist was Henri Rousseau. We made jungle prints by painting the backs of leaves, laying them on the paper, covering the paper with another piece, and going over it with a rolling pin. Then the kids added flowers or drawings.


Abby made muffins, Anna helped make chicken pies for lunch, Abby and I read Old Bet and the Start of the American Circus to go with Mirette and talked about compound words and vocab words. We listened to our Mozart CD and Thomas listened to some chants. I helped Anna make a new dresser scarf and we shelled butterbeans.

A pretty good day!