Blueberries for Sal

The last two weeks little m and I have 'rowed' the book, "Blueberries for Sal". This is one of my favorite "Before Five in a Row" books. It brings back memories of picking wild blueberries when I was an exchange Student in Germany. Oh those were the best blueberries ever!! I wish I could get some more. I need to find a pick your own blueberry patch around here, so we can go this summer. Anyway we dropped blueberries in a pail to hear the sounds they make, ate blueberries, practicing counting with blueberries and also pretended to 'pick' blueberries. The best part of course was making blueberry scones!! yummy

M's book of the month

The CITY OF EMBER

My favorite book of the month is The City of Ember. It is about a city deep in the ground who's only light comes from electricity. Beyond Ember is the pitch black unknown regions. The book centers around two twelve year old children named Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow. The story begins when the graduating children of Ember get their jobs. Doon is worried about the blackouts and shortages of food and other supplies. Lina finds a ripped up piece of important looking paper in a box that may be the way out of Ember! They start working together to find a way out before the lights go out for good. Very exciting and the end is a real cliffhanger. I would also recommend the movie called "City of Ember"
M.

What I am reading

Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity & Courage in a World Gone Mad is a little book with a big message. Frances Moore Lappe--author of fifteen books, including three-million-copy bestseller Diet for a Small Planet--distills her world-spanning experience and wisdom in a conversational yet hard-hitting style to create a rare "aha" book. In nine short chapters, Lappe leaves readers feeling liberated and courageous. She flouts conventional right-versus-left divisions and affirms readers' basic sanity--their intuitive knowledge that it is possible to stop grasping at straws and grasp the real roots of today's crises, from hunger and poverty to climate change and terrorism. Because we are creatures of the mind, says Lappe, it is the power of "frame"--our core assumptions about how the world works--that determines outcomes. She pinpoints the dominant failing frame now driving out planet toward disaster. By interweaving fresh insights, startling facts, and stirring vignettes of ordinary people pursuing creative solutions to our most pressing global problems, Lappe uncovers a new, empowering "frame" through which real solutions are emerging worldwide.

She writes: "My book's intent is to enable us to see what is happening all around us but is still invisible to most of us. It is about people in all walks of life who are penetrating the spiral of despair and reversing it with new ideas, ingenious innovation--and courage."
review from : http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100101390

Godspell

Big M performed in the Godspell musical this weekend. She sang "Learn your Lessons Well" and did a great job on it. There are some very talented kids here and I am amazed how they can remember everything they need to do. Both shows were really good, but I wish the community would have supported the kids more. It is a shame that they work so hard and put a lot of time and effort into the shows and then have such low numbers attend the performances.

Aristocats!

K performed in the Aristocats this past weekend. The kids did a great job and the costumes were so cute. Here are a few pictures.

Earth Day 2009

We were able to squeeze in a little Earth Day fun during this busy week. We planted some flowers in our flower pots and flower beds. Still need to plant some more seeds sometime this week. The guy at our local garden center had some left over Easter lilies and gave the kids one today. We planted in our flower bed, so we will see if it survives.

End of Unit 3 Celebration

Little m hamming it up for the camera









Even though we are in week 2 of unit 4, we finally had some time tonight to celebrate the girls completing their Unit 3 Tapestry of Grace study on Ancient Greece. We had a fun evening of Greek food (eaten on pillows on the ground), acted out a Greek play and the girls put out all the crafts they worked on during this unit. After this week we will only have 7 more weeks of school for this year. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Now on to Ancient ROME!

Bird Watching

The kids and I found a killdeer nest with eggs on the ground in our front yard. We have been watching it to see when the babies hatch out. This afternoon little m and I watched the mama bird try to protect her eggs from us. She would let us have it and then try to lead us away from the nest by pretending to have a hurt wing. I hope we didn't stress her out to much, but it was neat to see the eggs up close.