Summer Vacation and New Traditions

Yes, summer vacation!  It's here, not quite in full gear, but still here none-the-less.

We're in full pre-Boy Scout camp mode!  Talking Vacation Bible School (VBS)! Lazy mornings!

One of the best parts, so far, is happening now as I type.  Boys got a bit of t.v. this morning, couldn't figure out breakfast, and were about to grumble.  I'd wanted to listen to Pandora as I prepped breakfast, but youngest asked to listen to Huckleberry Finn.  They've been happily listening to it for about 45 minutes so far.  During this I was able to fix pancakes for breakfast, get them fed, and start the dishwasher.  They seemed to enjoy that as well.  This may have to be a new tradition and carried into the new school year.  Listen to an audio book and have breakfast.  The schedule will need to be tweaked, once school starts, but hopefully this will be a good memory for the boys.

What traditions do you enjoy?  Summer related or school related!  Ones your kids just love and keep coming back too!

 For now, loving summer!
 

My Summer Reading

Summer vacation is officially three weeks away (after school today). Three weeks until leisurely mornings, books, pool, visiting family, water parks, water balloon fights, slip and slides, popsicles, fire flies, camp, fresh homegrown veggies, and on it goes.

Not sure what all will get on my list for my summer reading list, but am thinking I'll get to:

• more Nicholas Sparks' books until they become to predictable
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Siri Mitchell's books, a recommendation from a friend
• some of the boys books, along with them (we love our audiobooks and read alouds!)

Leave me a comment if there is anything you've loved reading.   Not looking for long books like Les Miserable (read the 1,000 page one for a college class).
 

Book Lists ~ Why so many??????

In the last few months, I have seen MANY, many, MaNy lists of books "You need to read to your kid by this age or grade"! Some of the lists I've looked for, some have come across my screen via Facebook, Pinterest, or the like. Following are the most common books across those lists (and it's a much shorter list too):

• Wind in the Willow by Kenneth Grahame
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and others in the series
• Laura Ingalls Wilder series
• Shel Stevenstein's books ~ Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, The Giving Tree, etc.
• Charlottes Web  by E.B. White (throw in Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little if you want another series)
• Phantom Tollboth by Norton Jester
• Dr. Suess' highlights ~ Green Eggs and Ham seems to be the most common book with a sprinkling of others (our favorite is still "Go Dog Go" to quote and read)

Many include the Harry Potter Series, among other books.  However, for me, the books I've mentioned seem more classics I want to expose my kids too.  We have not been big readers in our household (parent driven here - I am still a recovering Dyslexic and it gets hard to read any book at times), but with the upcoming school year I'm hoping to add more time for parent lead reading time.  These books I've posted are ones I don't feel by boys will be "too old" to sit and listen too".

With this, I bid you adu and happy reading!

 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Just finished reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett yesterday.

I really enjoyed the book, it was a fairly easy read,  and easy to "get into" the characters and their lives.  I enjoyed how it was written from different women's point of view, that I really felt like I was getting to know the character.  The Help had me reading more each day as I wanted to know what was going to happen.  Not sure how well a second book would do, but I'd be interested in "reading" what happened to all the characters after a period of time.
 

More on Summer Reading

Thanks to a homeschooling friend, I've had my eye out for lists of good reads for our boys!  Found another today on Pinterest and thought I'd link it here.

Without further adu ~ the list.
 


P.S. This list goes through High School and has some duplicate to what I've already post, but a broader range!

40 books this summer?

Well, if the boys get to have a fun summer reading list, why shouldn't I get one too! Over on Pinterest, found this link. Some of these books, I remember reading in high school or with the boys recently. Will get started soon on these books.  Care to join me?  Which have you already read?  Which do plan to read?  Should be a good summer!

 

Summer School

Can you just see reading a big stack of fun books on the hammock? What about a tent pitched on the deck? It's giving me a lot of ideas of what I'd love to get accomplished this summer. Would you believe, of all things, school related. Already moved beyond the chores and onto reading and more reading and more reading.  There are just so many books I've wanted to get to and haven't yet.  Here's the list that is growing in my head:

• Hardy Boys #48 -#58 (may work through these more slowly, we've only been reading them for about 4 years, what's one more)
• Farmer Boy from the Laura Ingall's Series
• Treasure Island
• Huckleberry Fin
• Finish up "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" Series; believe I would need to start over on Silver Chair and then read The Last Battle.
• Island of the Blue Dolphin
• The Secret Garden
• Tom Sawyer

Not sure, as of right now, what else I would add.  Would love to see this be a morning thing, reading to our boys for an hour or so over a good breakfast, still in their pj's, in sleeping bags or blankets.  Learn to make it a habit before school starts in the fall.

There are so many things I can see being a benefit of this.  First, continued exposure to good literature.  Second, a way to help teach reading comprehension with fun ways of remembering the story through narration and coloring pages (really good idea for those needing a good hand workout).  Third, time spent together.  Also shared memories of "the reading summer".

Both have already mentioned that they want to continue on with their math "workbooks" and be able to start a fresh book in September.  This really isn't a whole of work on my part.  The desire is there, for both kids, so it is really just gentle encouragement.

 Will probably through in some penmanship through various forms.  Thank you notes, letters to friends who have moved, and tracing of math facts (yes, their numbers still look bad and why not work on math facts).

They're looking forward to doing some American History next school year and want to finish up the current History book too.  Another easy thing to do as we haven't stressed over memorization of facts yet.  It's been sheer exposure right now.

So, for now, this is our tentative summer outline.  I'll get around to looking for other cool things too and possibly blog about those ideas on another day.
 

More Planning!

Planning for this coming school year has begun; a tentative schedule for when we'll school, titles for unit studies, coming up with fun things to do.

I love finding books that both boys can be engaged in, have loved reading (or being read to), and the ability to take it a bit deeper.  With all the planning thus far and knowing that our summer weeks are a bit scattered over June, July, and August, I wasn't so sure that I wanted our boys using different books for the summer session.  This reminded me how much they enjoyed "The Magician's Nephew" last summer.

Now, I am off on a gathering expedition for "Voyage of the Dawn Treader".  So far, I've found a few sites that have some good things and have a few resources at home.  Part of our study will be to cover the discrepancies from the book to the movie.

Ideas so far:

• listen to Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version
• read the book
• build some boats
• go to creek to see how boats float
• visit some real boats

Sunday Afternoons

This has been a Sunday afternoon that I truly like. I've spent the better part of the afternoon working on a couple quilt squares. Over at "Five in a Row", when there is a lose of a friend from the boards (or a member of their family), the ladies pull together several quilt squares to make a larger quilt. Our friend, Fran, lost her battle with breast cancer almost two weeks ago, so I've been working on a square for her husband's quilt and one for one of her daughters.

My picture taking is a bit off today, but this is
the panel for one of Fran's daughters.

This panel will be going into the
quilt for Ed, her husband.

Also enjoyable today, has been cooking and baking. Granted there isn't much special about grilled cheese for lunch, but no one seemed to complain about having lunch fixed for them. It was also the easiest thing to fix given that I wanted to roast a chicken for dinner. HHHmmm the house has smelled wonderful this afternoon. Who cares that it feels horribly hot outside.


Other odd things that have made today day enjoyable (pictures below the statements now):

~ being able to maintain a newly sodded front lawn
~ a quick trip to the library to pick up a new book for the boys (sssshhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell the homeschool police that I only picked up one book!!) and their summer reading packages
~ a quick trip to Starbucks for their iced tea (only $0.53 when bringing in one of their cups to reuse)
~ finishing up a baby blanket; I like how the edges turned out looking a bit like lace!
Off now, to enjoy the family!

Summer Reading List

Have you ever felt the tug of the Holy Spirit, leading toward a particular book. That's how I feel about this book: The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie OMartian. Below is the description from Amazon. We're almost finished with our school year, just a couple more days of testing, and summer will begin. This will be first on my list. Here's the description of the book, from Amazon:

After decades of raising her own children along with her husband, Michael, Stormie looks back at the trials and joys of parenting and the power found in praying for her kids. In 30 easy–to–read chapters, she shares from personal experience as to how parents can pray for their children’s

• safety
• character development
• school experiences
• marriage
• and so much more

Featured in this edition, Stormie’s grown–up children, Amanda and Christopher, reflect on the way their praying parents raised them—and what a difference it made.

Perfect for new moms and dads as well as those a little further along in the journey, The Power of a Praying® Parent is a must–have for anyone caring for a child.

So, what is on your reading list this summer?