Quietly, and sometimes impatiently, there was a life lesson taking place last evening on the floor of the local library in the children's section. Creed loves to play with the wooden dollhouse, he especially loves to play with the dollhouse when there's someone else playing along with him. First Creed and I played and when he lost interest he moved over to the computer. He only gained interest again, when a young girl started playing with the dollhouse. From his seat, with his headphones on half-looking at the computer he was telling her how to "play" with the dollhouse. Finally, he got up and joined her and she immediately left. He came over to me asking why she left and I said you'll have to share. Why don't you take one of these dolls over to her and ask if she'd like to play with you. There was only one computer working that night so she had taken his place and the above conversation began. She gracefully accepted the wooden figure and they started to play together. With a watchful eye, also studying my lesson, I listened as Creed tried to tell her how she was going to play with the dollhouse. She tired of the direction and joined her sister at a nearby table. Once again, Creed came to me asking why she left. "You were being bossy," I replied. "What does that mean?" he asked. "That means you were telling her what to do. How to play with the dollhouse." I said. "You must be kind." He went to her table watching her playing with the puzzle and said, "Excuse me. I have something to tell you." She didn't respond and ignored him completely. "Excuse me" he said again, "I have something to tell you. I'm going to be kind." Just then a voice came over the intercom stating the library was closed and patrons were to make their way to the exists. Creed gasped so loudly both her sister and her looked up from their puzzle. "The library is closed!" he said. We made our way to the counter to pick up one last book.
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| Pages from "Over and Under the Snow," by Kate Messner |
"No Two Alike," by Keith Baker. Are two snowflakes just alike? Almost, almost … but not quite. Join a pair of curious birds as they explore how everything everywhere is unique - from leaves and trees to forest friends of all shapes and sizes. It's an affirmation of how we're all one of a kind.
"It's Snowing!" by Gail Gibbons. A story of snow flakes falling and people enjoying skiing on it, but what exactly is snow and how does it form? This book is an introduction to one of winter's wonders - snow. The author describes how it's formed in beautiful illustrations. Snowflakes have either six sides or six points and falls on all seven continents. The last page shows some pretty neat facts and history of biggest snowstorms.
"Tracks in the Snow," by Wong Herbert Yee. There's a mysterious set of tracks through the snow, but who do they belong to - a rabbit, a duck or perhaps a woodchuck? You'll follow one little girl as the mystery unravels. "Tracks in the snow. Tracks in the snow. Who made the tacks? Where do they go?"
"Over and Under the Snow," by Kate Messner with art by Christopher Silas Neal. This book is so beautifully illustrated I want to buy two just to frame the pages. Over the snow, the world is hushed and white, but under the snow is a secret world of squirrels, snow hares, bears, bullfrogs and many other animals who live through the winter safe and warm.
"Winter Trees," by Carole Gerber. A boy and his dog take a walk through a wintery forest, using their senses of sight and touch to identify seven common trees. Wonderfully expressed through poetry and art, there's additional information about trees and their life cycles in the back.
"The Snow Tree," by Caroline Repchuk. About a bear cub celebrating the splendor of nature comes a story in the joy of friendship and sharing. The woodland scenes are wonderfully embossed as well as colorfully illustrated by Josephine Martin.
"Where Fish Go in Winter and Other Great Mysteries," by Amy Goldman Koss. This book asks 14 great questions and answers them in funny, interesting poems that you'll want to read again and again. Learning is much more fun when there's rhyming involved - I think. An excerpt from the book, for example:
When lakes turn to ice
And are covered in snow,
What becomes of the fish
Who are living below?
It's not so exciting
Down under the ice,
But fish find it restful
And really quite nice.
It's dark and it's cold,
But the water's not frozen.
In fact, it's just perfect
For fish to repose in.
They breathe very little.
Their swimming gets slower.
Each fish makes his heart rate
Go lower and lower.
And except for occasional
Lake bottom treats,
The whole winter long
The fish hardly eats.
"Not a Buzz to Be Found Insects in Winter," by Linda Glaser. When the weather is warm, insects are everywhere, but in the winter, where do they go? This book shows 12 different insects and how they survive in winter's chill.
My house couldn't contain all the books I'd love to own, so I'll have to settle for the library. If I could live anywhere it'd be in the majestic library shown on Beauty and the Beast. Oh the joy of the written word, especially the words of my Savior, Lord Jesus Christ. I find that I'm coming to know him more and more or he's revealing a little more and a little more. Either way, it's a beautiful relationship - a romance, quite sure.
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| Creed's job: "salting the snowflakes" |
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| nicely salted "snowflake" |
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| Let the magic begin using pipette to drip different colors |
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| Raised Salt Painting http://www.oneperfectdayblog.net/2012/04/27/kids-art-raised-salt-painting/ |
To take our newfound fascination with snowflakes even further we tried our hand at raised salt painting. Here's the basic instruction if you're interested in this neat arty project: http://www.oneperfectdayblog.net/2012/04/27/kids-art-raised-salt-painting/
Basically I drew snowflakes with pencil and traced with glue, but Creed and I did some free-style as well. It was Creed's job to cover the glue with the salt. Although we used a tray for the salt sprinkling it proved to be a grainy mess, fun nonetheless. After the papers were glued and salted next we mixed some colors again using the fizzy tub colors first making the primary colors and then mixing the secondary colors. Next Creed practiced using an itty bitty pipette he received in one of our Kiwi Crate boxes, and I carefully used a dropper from the medicine cabinet. (For more information on Kiwi Crate, visit http://www.kiwicrate.com/our-crates/)
Creed told me how much fun he was having and it really warmed my heart. Making art and spending time together is so precious to me. Being artistic is something we share and connect on a different level. After our beautiful masterpieces were made, along with our beautiful messes, it was tub time where we dumped the rest at bath time. The leftover salt was a large bowl size and I brought it into the bath. Pouring some in the bowl I asked Creed if he wanted to feel it. At first it was like wet sand and with more added water it was a slightly different result. Finally all of it was dumped in the tub and I told him it was salt water like in the ocean. He said it was sad water. :-( Not really sure what that was all about. Sometimes he stumps me like they say on Cat in a Hat, I'll stump you next time!
If you're interested in some handmade educational wooden games and toys visit www.TreeHopperToys.com. I recently received an envelope with a preview of fun homeschool curriculum, books, offers, magazines, etc. and this was one of the fliers. I was pretty impressed when I went online. Non-toxic, handmade in America using sustainable American hardwood, 100% safe, 100% wind powered workshop - these are the things this mama loves to read. I ended up getting a set of Match Stacks, in Woodland Animals, one of the 11 themed sets. For 25% off use coupon code: CFS214, which expires 3/30/14. This is a $5 off coupon, that basically pays for shipping which is $4.99.
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