This and That

Tucker has taught himself cursive writing.  I think he just saw Julia's handwriting book and got inspired.  He and his magnadoodle are always busy.  He goes to bed with it at night- usually drawing planets or who knows what. 

Lowercase-

Uppercase-

I saw this and asked what it was- he said it was the VeggieTales song on the piano.  It is! :)

He apparently really wants roller skates-




Speaking of roller skates and things he wants- yesterday he  made a Christmas list for us.  :)

Translation:
1. Hammock
2.  Planet Mobile
3.  Planet Sponges (he just thought that was a good idea- he's never seen them.  He said, "that way I could be cleaning the house with Uranus.")
4.  Telescope
5.  Space suit
6.  Swiss Army knife
7.  Solar system model
8.  Notebook
9.  Rollar Skates
10.  Uranus Teddy (they call all their stuffed animals 'teddys').

He loves Uranus so much- he wrote it a letter today-

 
And one good turn deserves another, right Charlie?

A few Sunday pics-

 

 

 This fall we are reading, "The Story-book of Science," by Jean Henri-Fabre (France 1823 - 1915).  It was originally published in 1917.  I just LOVE it.  We have only just started and we have learned about the age of trees and animals, the different metals and how they rust and which rust is dangerous to humans.  We have learned about plant lice and their apparently fascinating life cycle as well as the life of ants told in amazing detail.   It is told from the perspective of an interesting uncle talking to children.   And because it was written before religion was taken out of education there are beautiful reflections of God interspersed throughout.  For instance when learning about the life-spans of the different animals the author writes, 

"And besides, for man, my dear children, length of life is not measured exactly according to the number of years.  He lives most who works most.  When God calls us to Him, let us take with us the sincere esteem of others and the consciousness of having done our duty to the end; and whatever our age, we shall have lived long enough."

And in another part he writes,

"I want to inform you that to take up a great deal of room in this world is not the way to live in peace and to enjoy a long life.  There are people who take up a lot of space, not in the body- they are no bigger than we- but in their pretensions and their ambitious maneuvers.  Do they live in peace, are they preparing themselves for a venerable old age?  It is very doubtful.  Let us remain small; that is to say, let us content ourselves with the little that God has given us; let us beware of the temptations of envy, the foolish counsels of pride; let us be full of activity, of work, and not of ambition."

We have also read this summer "Christians Courageous," originally published in 1955.  It is WONDERFUL!!!  (Caveat:  it is definitely for older children- the language is very advanced, even for Marc and definitely for Julia- but I believe in reading "up" from a child's level).   I have been so inspired by the lives of heroic saints of antiquity.  

 

Awesome puzzles

Sorry for the blogging break- my sister-in-law and niece were with us for eight days!  And then on Saturday I hosted a big baby shower for Shana- so we have been busy!  All that will come.  I want to make sure to get on here these awesome puzzles and tell you I think you should buy them for your little ones!

They are called Flipzles and on one side they are just a wooden jigsaw puzzle, but when you flip the pieces out- each puzzle piece is a toy in itself that children love to play with in the scene left behind on the empty puzzle.  Charlie and Tucker LOVE these and work with these for long periods of time.  I have the castle, farm and rescue station, but plan to get a few more- I'm definitely going to get the Nativity.   

This morning as I did laundry Charlie sat on the floor playing with his castle.

The flip sides of the pieces-

You did it!

Also, now when it's hot I say, "who wants to wash the car?" and everyone cheers and runs outside.  :)
The most diligent washer is definitely Charlie, with Julia a close second.  I heard him yelling at Julia, "I need to keep scwubbing- don't winse this off!!"  :) 

Books I love

Okay here's another thing I love: Read Aloud Bible Stories. These are soooooo much better than any other Bible story books we have (and we have tons). We have volumes 1 and 2 now. One of my favorite stories is about blind Bartemeus- he couldn't see the sun, the trees, the houses or the people..... until he met Jesus....then Jesus healed him and he could see the sun, the trees, the houses and the people, but best of all Bartemeus saw Jesus. Okay that's a paraphrase- but I almost cry everytime I read the thing. The illustrations are huge and beautiful. Marky loves the books and I think I'm going to start giving it as birthday presents. My in-laws are here all weekend and the computer is in the guest room so I have been soooo disconnected. I plan to post about the visit tomorrow!