Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Joy of Reading.....

Whenever we are around kids who attend school, I am always amazed at how reading for them is often a chore, part of their homework, instead of the joyful pursuit that it is for my children (and me!). I will hear parents say things like, "Did you do your 15 minutes of reading yet?" or I will hear children complaining that they have to read! And, I remember being in school.....the books that I didn't chose to read, passages in a reading book that didn't interest me but were supposed to teach me some or another important skill, the books that were required. I still loved to read, but only when I could choose my own book (of course!).

What a different scene in our house! My kids LOVE to read, hear me (or Mike, Maddie, or Amelia) read, and even listen to books on tape in the car. They literally beg me to go to the library! And you should see the scene if I say no. :) Books are a huge part of every day in our lives. So, here are a few pictures of us reading and enjoying books. I once saw this saying,
"So Many Books, So Little Time." I couldn't agree more!

Happy Reading!

Leah has been LOVING dogs lately. She takes out so many dog books each week and has been learning about different breeds and other cool stuff about dogs!

Amelia is enjoying Highlights magazine, which we get each month. It is such a wonderful day when this magazine arrives.

Here are SOME of our returns last week. Maddie and Amelia take out tons of books each week (sometimes biweekly) and they read each and every one.

Some of my favorite books are cookbooks. I love to read them while I am in the kitchen. I also LOVE the day that Mother Earth News comes in the mail!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Snowy Day....


I got this random e-mail yesterday titled, "What to do with your kids so that they won't become bored at home in all of this snow." Are you kidding me??? Bored? At home? Home is where my kids long to be....all of the time. In fact, sometimes, I have trouble getting them out the door.
Here is a glimpse of what our home was like during our blizzard yesterday.

While the snow piled up outside, (just look at our gate buried in the snow!)


Amelia had to do the hourly measurement with the yardstick (20+ inches on top of 25 inches!),

while Leah took some self portraits with my camera,

Ben played on his favorite, Club Penguin,

and I tried a new recipe from a favorite cookbook.

Meanwhile, Mike and Amelia worked on her snap circuit kit,

and we found lots of time to play games (Monopoly, Monopoly Jr., Cooties, etc.).


I just love when Leah and Ben take these amazing photographs! Their perspective is perfect!

Ben took some time to create a truck for his dog. I love how he used empty ribbon spools to create the wheels!

And Maddie decided to create a bag to hold all of her tap essentials (after not having a brush and holder with her this week).


And I continuously watch my little lettuce plants grow and dream of the spring day when I am harvesting them for a fresh salad!

Hope your day was filled with passion chasing too! :)