Tag: books

The First 3 Days of Homeschooling

Marie HaighLeave a comment

It wasn’t all rainbows and puppies, but it wasn’t tear inducing either. It feels like we are slipping into a routine. Mal is learning to hover around the girls and play with all the books they read and the tools they use.

Yes, that is a paintbrush in his mouth.

For the entire recap, Day 1 was met with excitement from Elly and Brooke. They were thrilled to see the stack of books and magnet letters I laid out the night before.

Thanks to our local Pottstown Regional Public Library, the books were all new to us. After an hour of homeschooling, we jumped in the car and traveled to Weavers Orchard for their storytime and fruit picking.

We listened to them read Blueberry Shoes.

Then armed with pint containers, we were directed to rows and rows of blueberry bushes.

We all had fun picking blueberries, even Malcolm who ate a mix of blueberries, mulch, hay and dirt.

The funny thing is that we read books everyday and we pick fruit at Weaver’s Orchard on a fairy regular basis, so it felt weird to call it homeschooling. May all school days be so easy.

Day 2 was met with some griping and whining, even though I started school off with a Froot Loop sort and count activity. I even let them eat the Fruit Loops and they still complained! I truly believe Elly thought that if she complained enough, then I would forget this whole homeschooling business and she could go back to riding her bike from sunrise to sunset. Thankfully, Elly hates being sent to her room more than she hates school, so she gritted her teeth and trudged through. Brooke tried a more passive approach of just not paying attention, so I took that into account when planning for future days.

Do you believe Elly griped the loudest over making an octopus craft? It involved pipe cleaners, pom poms, googly eyes and glue, all fun stuff.

Day 3 went smoother than the previous day. I pulled out a sand art craft and dangled it over their heads for half of the school time.

Though they were excited about practicing their handwriting in the sand and then making their sand craft, they were content to continue school even after the craft was over. We ended the day with a water color painting.

All in all, I am cautiously optimistic about Week 2.

Free Pizza

Marie HaighLeave a comment

The Pottstown Library has a reading program during the summer. The goal is to read at least 20 minutes a day for a total of 20 days. As a reward, Elly gets a free slice of pizza this afternoon.

Meeting that requirement was super easy. Elly is a voracious reader. Which is to say that I am a voracious reader and Elly is an avid listener, since Elly is only 3 and can’t read. Although she is starting to recognize some words.

This is a typical stack of books that we read on a daily basis.

Her favorites are anything by Dr. Seuss, almost anything by the Berenstains (though I donated the one about the moon because I hated it) and Fancy Nancy.

Gone are the days I can change the story up so I don’t end up reading the same text over and over and over again. Even a slip of the tongue draws a correction from Elly now.

Building a Pyramid

Marie HaighLeave a comment

I bought storage cubes from Just Cabinets last year.

It took 3 months of staining, sanding, and sealing before they were all finished and could be stacked up and formed into a pyramid.

I shouldn’t complain so much.

The effort was worth it because I got the exact wood grain I wanted for a fraction of the cost. The color matches all of our other dark furniture.

The storage space houses most of Elly’s books and games as well as a handful of our photo albums and coffee table books.

Besides, it didn’t take me years to construct like the great pyramids of Egypt. ha!

All Elly Wants for Christmas is a Ball

Marie HaighLeave a comment

It is true. Every time I ask Elly what she wants for Christmas, she tells me that she wants a ball. She also wants to buy everybody else a ball. Mind you, she has a collection of balls and we always have at least one balloon blown up for her. Yet, Elly is consistent; she wants another ball. They are great for playing catch, soccer, baseball and tennis.

Thankfully, Elly doesn’t want any toys that her friends have or that she has seen in the stores we frequent. I don’t think it has occurred to her that a toy she likes playing with elsewhere could be purchased and brought home. It’s a good thing because I imagine the first discussion we would have is why a train table could not fit into our small house. Oh how she loves to put the tracks together and run the trains along them.

I am actually surprised that another baby doll wasn’t on Elly’s Christmas list. She went through a phase just a few weeks ago where we couldn’t leave the house without a baby.

Even today we had to take Baby Pearl to the garden store. Her favorite thing to do with her baby dolls is to pile them all up on the couch or the chair and cuddle with them. So more is merrier.

Occasionally, Elly asks for wings to help fly around the house or to pretend she is a bird. She had a pair, but they were damaged several months ago. She hasn’t forgotten.

As mentioned on Monday, Elly’s love for books as increased lately. Even after unpacking all the books I had in storage for her, I didn’t feel that Elly had too many books. Is there such a thing? So naturally, I bought her a book for Christmas. It’s not your typical picture book. It’s a picture book about knitting called Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf. How perfect is that?

What else did I get Elly for Christmas? As you can guess, I didn’t get her a train table. I didn’t even get her a new pair of wings, mainly because she gnawed on the last pair. Perhaps when she outgrows her need to put inedible things in her mouth. Instead I got her a dollhouse, a Lite Brite, a toddler laptop with mouse, and stocking stuffers. Shopping for kids are so much fun. Basically, I buy them whatever I loved playing with as a kid. I adored my dollhouse and Lite Brite.

Explosion of Books

Marie HaighLeave a comment

Rarely does Elly gnaw on the cover of a book or tear pages out of a book anymore. Factor in her increased desire to read books and all of a sudden the two bookcase shelves that were dedicated to her no longer looked like a large enough children’s library.

Oddly enough, there was no need to buy more books. Even before Elly was no more than a twinkle in my eye, I collected children’s books. From Dr Seuss to Shel Silverstein, I loved them all and would buy them to read over and over again.

As a baby, Elly had an appetite for books. She literally tried to eat them. When one of my favorite children’s books was destroyed, I packed the rest away and put them in Elly’s closet.

On Sunday, I pulled several boxes out. Now Elly has 3 bookcase shelves jammed tight with books, two in the living room and one in her bedroom.

More boxes are still in her closet, but they are mostly chapter books and will likely stay there for another year or so until Elly learns the true beauty of books: words are far prettier than any hand drawn picture. I imagine that realization will come after she learns to read.

Of course, I don’t know for certain how to teach Elly to read. Dan and I read to her, spell words out to her (which seems mean when you realize that the only letters Elly knows are O and E), write words and encourage her natural curiosity about the alphabet.  I’m kinda hoping the ability to read will just click into place like a puzzle piece. Already Elly likes to “read” books all by herself, so perhaps we are doing something right. By “read”, I mean she has memorized the book and can retell it by heart. Although, the other day she surprised us by recognizing the names Elly, Mom and Dad, but I suppose she’s probably memorized those words too. Still, we’re proud parents.


Elly singing the words from “The Wheels on the Bus” book.

I myself read a ton every single day and yet I haven’t read a traditional novel since before Elly was born. Instead I read the news, a ridiculous amount of sewing and knitting blogs, recipes, emails, road signs, etc. The sooner Elly can read, the sooner she can enjoy the amazing written world all around her. I just know she’s going to love it.

This post is part of a community effort to raise awareness about YWCA’s literary program. An anonymous donor has agreed to contribute $1 for every valid name and email address entered into this Google Doc. There is no cap on the amount of money they are willing to donate. So, please hop over to the Google Doc and enter in your info; it will take you less than 1 minute of your time. Thank you!