Summer Reading Vol. 3: Setting Sail.... and Hoping not to Bail!

What do you get when you take an old plastic bottle, add some rice, a pencil and a piece of craft foam?? A super duper boat, of course? We greatly enjoyed reading My Blue Boat by Chris Demarist - another fantastic summertime tale of imagination and adventure. Told in short sentences but introducing such rich vocabulary as swells, fleet, and harbor, we read the story several times before we were able to imagine ourselves sailing away from home to a world of water wonder.

Both Gavin and Ivy enjoyed creating their own toy boats. Ivy loved dumping and pouring the rice and listening to the music as her bottle filled and was emptied again. Shortly after finishing her boat, she dunked the whole vessel under the pool water and it was clear that the making was much more interesting than the playing. She quickly abandoned her boat to pour and dump more rice and then fill up other deck toys with water. I love to see what interests her - such a beautiful season of exploration and engagement.






The boat was such a simple craft, and one with a strong purpose. I have found Gavin is a bit pragmatic - if he is going to invest time into something (like craft projects) he wants it to be something, or do something. Tying some fishing line onto the boat made it a sea worthy vessel, one that almost visited our pond out back... until Daddy had a better idea. Why not take the boy out for his first solo canoe trip?



With Grandpa and Daddy close at hand, Gavin boarded his own canoe. He listened to explicit directions being commanded - and followed them like a true mate. He paddled out alone, and when the wind caught the front of the vessel, he did his best to dig in and turn the craft around. With encouragement and praise, Gavin thrived in the independence - and it was a joy to behold. Watching Mike beam, Grandpa grow proud and Gavin's smile widen, I knew today was special. On one hand, I love that Gavin is mature and responsible and ready to take big boy steps... while on the other hand, I still want to cuddle and carry, and savor his tininess. Perhaps that is one reason why we read and re-read (and snuggle with) books like My Blue Boat. We are taking the plunge of life together - and are blessed each day as the Lord takes us to new places.

Summer Reading Vol. 2: Yellow Ball

We have a neighbor across the street. Her children are grown, she has many ailments that keep her inside this time of year, and she is a hugger. So we try to go spread a little love around as we can. Ivy loves the hugs, Gavin loves to control the leash of her dog, and our neighbor is happy to have her home filled with our noise. Anyway - it seems her basement is a wonderland. Every time we visit, we go home with something wonderful - old rubber stamps, waxy bendy sticky sticks to create whatever out of, and this one time... a big yellow ball.

Little did our neighbor know that we were reading Yellow Ball by Molly Bang. We had read and re-read the book all week. We looked at the struggling moments showing the boy loosing his ball at the beach as it slowly drifts out to sea. We watched it grow small as it appeared like a dot under a huge bridge... and watched it get tossed in the waves as a storm blew it high and low. We too took a journey as the ball made its way to a new beach and a new family. A lot like our new ball.... being loved on and played with with new little hands.

One nap time, Gavin and I discussed horizons, and took time to recreate Molly Bang's cover illustration. Gavin did a bit of a color study as he happily swirled white and blue... then black and blue. We made shade after shade of blue and more blue and then painted the sea and sky. It was lovely - and relaxing - and exactly what summer reading should be.

We spent some time talking and reading the account of Jesus calming the wind and the waves. Gavin loved that Jesus spoke right to the wind and water. He asked it they had ears - and I had to say yes! How else could the elements so quickly obey?? What kind of ears, Mom?? Obedient ones was my only reply - just like the kind of ears we all need to hear the voice of our Lord.

And who knows what types of games we will play with our new ball. Hopefully big games with high tosses and loud booms. I know one thing - Gavin would never let our ball blow out to sea - or in our case the pond. Each (and every) time we leave the deck to head out to the backyard, the gate is shut and locked so the wind does not snatch up anything that does not belong to him. We have learned by mistake here and I don't think it shall be repeated.

So thank you Ms. Nancy, Molly Bang, and my special blessings, Gavin and Ivy... for making motherhood so colorful, joyous, and fun!

Summer Reading Vol. 1B: It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas???

I know - it seems like a silly thing to say! Only in our world of make-believe can a small child want to create winter in the middle of a heat wave. It may be 88 degrees outside, but in our schoolroom playtime, Jesse Bear needed a hat, mittens, winter boots, and a chin muff.

Gavin was so deeply engaged in creating clothing for his own Jesse Bear after sharing the story again today, that I had to get in on the fun. While Ivy napped and probably dreamed about cooler days, we pretended Jesse was going out for an icy walk. Gavin asked me several times to help him cut out different parts or pieces for his bear. At first, I resisted, saying things in my head like - it is good for him to do it himself, and good for him to struggle a bit. And that may be true, but we are still working on fine motor skills, and those trick scissors just wouldn't cut through the felt very easily! So - with PLENTY of glue and lots of giggles - we created some Bears to share and cozy winter memories (in the middle of July!)

Later in the week - Gavin found some ragged old clothes on the top of the trash. He knew he could use that fabric for something! He spent the next few hours creating all kinds of clothes for an entire Jesse Bear family. Who knew costume design could be so much fun!

We had to play with our bear puzzle of course! How perfect to dress Mama, Daddy, and Baby Bear after reading all about Jesse!

Summer Reading Vol. 1A: Only in America

I love America... the freedoms of worship and education, the bounty of rich foods, and closeness with family. A super great library system...I'm sure others experience similar joys.... but as we begin summertime on the Leo Homestead, I am reminded to give thanks to our Father for His great blessings.

Yes - I threw the library in there. I am so thankful for a quality library... new books to read - old ones and hard to find ones are delivered without cost. And then we enjoy them over and over again. One such is Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? It is a lovely rhyming poem showing the love and care of Jesse and his parents... as he wears such things as sand on his hand and water to float. Jesse is an explorer and well loved. One wonderful toy Jesse has is a patriotic toy ball. After examining several American flags, the children happily found the stars and stripes on many of our homey decorations. Then we shared Jesse Bear... found his patriotic toy ball illustrated several times, and each child made a "flag" snack from cream cheese toast, cherries and blueberries. It was a lovely way to enjoy a new good book, introduce the fun Independence holiday to come, and rest with a healthy snack. Thank you God for your many blessings to us!

We had a super time cleaning our home today... the children were motivated by the understanding of guests coming over and the blessing of a newly decorated home to enjoy. Decorations are always a time for joy here... and I love the cute places that children think decorations should go. Left up to them, there would be one highly decorated, somewhat tacky pile of fun and the rest of the house would be sparse. Happy Fourth of July Weekend! Hooray for America!