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Two Saturdays ago was a day of great deals! I started my morning off with Shade Clothing’s half yearly sale at 8:00. I’m a tall woman (6′2″) and I need longer shirts than are sold in most stores. […]
Filed under: Shopping | 2 Comments »
I really have a hard time decorating my house because I have all these ideas, but when I have the money to get everything I freeze up or change my mind.
For example, we just sold a piece of furniture and all this time I’ve been wanting to sell that thing and use the money to […]
Filed under: Around the House | 3 Comments »
At the last library book sale I bought a children’s book by Alison Jay, my favorite illustrator, called Picture This. It’s a simple book with a picture and a single word on each page, for very young children.
I love this book because of the beautiful artwork, and as I was reading it to my […]
Filed under: Around the House | No Comments »
Reading Series Part I: Reading TO Children
Reading Series Part II: Reading WITH Children
Reading BY Children
This stage of reading development comes after your child is a successful and frequent reader. Set a time once a day or week that you sit down as a family and have a family reading time or […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | No Comments »
I am not an animal lover by any means, but I do like children’s books about animals, especially books about animal sounds or how animals live and behave. Hello, Hello!, written by Miriam Schlein and illustrated by Daniel Kirk, is a great book that teaches how different animals greet each other.
Learn how lions, […]
Filed under: Book Talk | No Comments »
Reading Series Part I: Reading TO Children
Reading Series Part III: Reading BY Children
Reading WITH Children
As a child is learning to read, reading to him is still vital but reading with him is also essential. Take turns and listen to each other read. A benefit of reading together is that you’re […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | No Comments »
Reading Series Part II: Reading WITH Children
Reading Series Part III: Reading BY Children
Last summer our family went to a lecture by Dr. Brad Wilcox at our library to learn about reading. He taught us some really interesting things about why reading to kids is important and also how to get kids to […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | 2 Comments »
The other night I was at my monthly dinner group and a few friends were talking about goodreads.com. Apparently there is a website where you can open an account and invite friends and share book recommendations. Have you ever heard of a more brilliant idea?!?
As soon as I got home I signed up […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | 1 Comment »
Radio West is a radio talk show that I sometimes listen to while I’m out and about, and on Wednesday (1/30) they had writer Caleb Crain on to talk about an article he wrote for the New Yorker Magazine on literacy and books. I only caught the last 15 minutes or so of the […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | No Comments »
This is a great lift-the-flap book by Durga Bernhard called In the Fiddle Is a Song that talks about how things often have hidden potential, and that almost everything has the opportunity to become something different and better. This book teaches that everything great started out as something small and normal, a great lesson […]
Filed under: Book Talk | 1 Comment »
While I am concerned about the environment, I would not call myself an environmentalist. I believe that the resources on the earth are meant for our use, but that we must be conservative and wise in our consumption. As in all things, moderation is the key.
I do consider myself to be a resourceful […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | 1 Comment »
George Eliot wrote, “Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with […]
Filed under: Celebrations, Routines, & Traditions | No Comments »
I think food is my favorite part of any holiday. Since Valentine’s Day is on a Thursday this year, we’re going to have a nice dinner at home, and I’m going to a delicious Warm Winter Lemon Cake. Hmm-Hmmmm!!! (Recipe below)
So that’s for dessert, which I absolutely must have every day at […]
Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Apparently the true origin behind Valentine’s Day is not known for sure. One idea suggests that Valentine was a priest in Rome, and when Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than married ones, he declared it illegal for young men to get married. St. Valentine continued performing marriages in […]
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I’m working on coming up with some ideas for Valentine’s Day on Thursday. Check back a little later!!!
[photo from jupiterimages.com]
Filed under: Celebrations, Routines, & Traditions | No Comments »
Alison Jay is my favorite illustrator. She’s amazing and her work is absolutely beautiful. I wish she could come to my house and paint murals on my walls. If Kisses Were Colors was written by Janet Lawler and illustrated by Alison Jay. These two did an incredible job together!
This short children’s […]
Filed under: Book Talk | No Comments »
If you don’t know how to play Sudoku, it’s time to learn. It really is a fun way to pass the time while waiting for kids or any other time. Here’s a quick run down:
The object of the game is to get numbers 1-9 just once in each of the 9 mini squares and […]
Filed under: Family Fun | No Comments »
Isn’t Sudoku addicting? I guess I do have a bit of a compulsive nature about me… anyway, I just recently went through a series Sudoku phase playing every night before bed, while waiting in the car, and even during my work as a transcriber for the deaf (not while I was transcribing, of course)!
So […]
Filed under: Family Fun | No Comments »
I found a diagram and a chart about buying and cooking meat while looking through my old class notes from my college days. One summer I audited a cooking class and it was that class that really gave me the confidence to try new recipes and experiment a bit.
I still struggle with buying and […]
Filed under: Food | No Comments »
I found this great idea for crock pot baked potatoes on crockpot365.blogspot.com.
I like the taste of oven baked potatoes rather than microwaved ones, but it takes longer. Doing it in the crock pot is a brilliant idea!
The Crock Pot Lady’s name is Stephanie and I think she is going to post a […]
Filed under: Food | 3 Comments »
Many aspects of the public school system concern me and have encouraged me to search for educational alternatives for my children. I have one son who is not yet of school age, but the time to research and discover alternatives is now so I can prepare for whatever my decision happens to be.
Our home […]
Filed under: Education, Media, & Literacy | 7 Comments »
In the last two nights I’ve read the first two books (The Field Guide and The Seeing Stone) in the five part series, The Spiderwick Chronicles, by Tony DeTerlizzi and Holly Black. I’ve got the third one on reserve at the library, so that’s what I’ll be reading tonight!
These books are quick and fun […]
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I finished several more quilts to donate and since they’re off to wherever they’re going, I kind of miss them. Blankets and quilts are one of my favorite things; I know I feel more secure and content when I’m wrapped up in a soft and warm blanket. I hope these quilts bring some […]
Filed under: Crafts | 3 Comments »
