Reading Roundup #4 - My Young Readers and Me

So here is just a few books the big kids and I have been reading lately. This is a very partial list, the highlights mainly.

I got several books in the mail a couple of weeks ago from Amazon. The one below, is a fast moving, fun story about an average son of a superhero dad. Quin's dad is set on trying to "encourage" his sons powers to manifest themselves, while Quin is on a mission to survive adolescence and get his dad to accept him as he is. I read through it first and enjoyed it, now Zak is making his way through it and seems to be enjoying it as well.

Zak made his way through a few more Amelia books recently. Both he and Grace really enjoy these.

They are both also big fans of the Dork Diaries series.

While I was out of town on retreat, I was able to dedicate some serious time to pleasure reading. In the evenings I enjoyed slowly reading out loud some of these. I love how he describes nature as a character in his poems.

I also had time to finish the Divergent series. I really like the story, but Divergent was a little intense, especially several scenes that take place during training, so it was more violent than I prefer. The other three were less violent however, so aside from that complaint, I enjoyed the entire series. But I won't be handing them over to my twelve year old for a good long while.

Happy Reading!

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Le Petite Chef: Mud Pie

Here it is, as promised, Grace's Mud Pie recipe! She did all the work, I helped explain terms and measurements, stirred at the very end to make sure everything was evenly coated (at her request), and helped hold the pot. She let one of her friends spread the Nutella and add the "dirt" to one of the pies while she did the other. This is a very kid friendly recipe, I highly recommend it for ages 8 and up! The original recipe is in the book The Cooking Book, by Jane Bull. But we modified it just a bit. Here are our supplies: 3/4 c butter 1 tbsp cocoa powder 1/2 c sugar 1 c graham cracker crumbs 1/2 c dried fruit 1 chocolate bar (we used Nutella spread instead) We added: Heath chocolate and toffee bits Black Sixletts (found in the party aisle) These are the original measurements, we doubled the recipe though. Step 1: Crush graham crackers. We used a gallon size zipper bag and a coffee mug (I don't own

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For the entire month of August, I just didn't let myself think about it beyond the facts. For the last two weeks, I just focused on anything else that took my mind off of it. Over the weekend I was busy getting things ready, so I was too busy to think about it. Tuesday came. Miss V came. It was a good visit, with laughing and smiling, and questions asked and answered, and Kit played with her, and smiled and made us laugh like usual. But it was different, and we felt it. I didn't let myself go there, because I didn't want to break down, not that it would have been the first time in front of her (nor the second, or third, or even fourth probably.) And then it was time for her to go, and we took some pictures, and all the kids hugged her, and I held Kit on my shoulder on the steps so she could wave goodbye until Miss V is out of sight like she has every week for at least five months. And then we closed the door, and Kit went on with business as usual, beca

Preschool at Home! Chalkboard Painting

Here is another treasure from the backfiles. This started as an act of desperation on my part, I just needed her to be occupied so I could finish something, but it quickly became one of her favorite activities. If you have a chalkboard (we made ours on a half wall with chalkboard paint), all you need is a paintbrush, sponge, or washcloth, and a cup of water. Dip the brush in the water and have at it! Kit LOVES how the water turns the board black. So often, she will be at this so long that by the time she gets across the board, the first area she painted will be dry and a fresh pallet once again. You can get creative with the things you use as paintbrushes, but she has been completely happy with our basic art brushes from Walmart. I love watching her do this.

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