In November...

Things are finally settling into a nice rhythmn here at Sweetness and Light and I thought I'd share some of the different things we are enjoying this time of year.  We have had many opportunities to get out and do activities that were previously unaccessable for us, so that has been a true pleasure. 

Montessori type activities and learning continues to be the focus of the younger boy's learning day as well as lots of outdoor playtime and building Legos!  Sean-Paul has finally discovered that he can actually build some stuff on his own and he's more than thrilled!!

His brothers are pretty happy about it as well because he is now less inclined to smash their creations out of frustration and impatience!  Aaah, we love progress! 

Sean-Paul has also discovered a love of watercolor painting and chooses this activity on most days.  Time to put up an art gallery!!  By the way I am loving all  the wonderful craft ideas at Let's Explore Creativity and of course The Crafty Crow always has the best links!  I'm thinking about doing a special sharing side bar such as Lissa recently posted about for all the awesome Handicraft resources on the web, so many creative things to do, so little time... And I'm so sorry that our Threads of Love blog that Violet and I are sharing has been so sadly neglected, she has been knitting, creating, sewing and basically going to town with handcrafts all summer and now since we've been settled and I promise a new post soon!!!  I have been knitting up a few things as well, so stay tuned!

Matthias and Violet are reading up a storm and are totally thrilled that our new library is a six minute walk from our house, OH YEAH baby, we're there almost every day (shhhh!)  I have given up on trying to keep their reading lists on my sidebars, alas, they go through a minimum of 5 books a week, at least Violet does.  Matthias is on a Jean Craighead George kick right now and has recently enjoyed: 

There's an Owl in the Shower, Tree Castle Island, Sign of the Beaver, and he's just about to start Dipper of Copper Creek!  He usually always has a Hardy Boys going and a Star Wars novel or two in the queue! 

Seamus is on to Alligators and has enjoyed numerous books by our favorite Jim Arnosky:  Wild and Swampy, All About Alligators, Babies in the Bayou, Wild Tracks.  Some others include:  Fun Facts About Alligators, Everglades, Who Lives in an Alligator Hole, and Fearsome Alligators, and An Extraordinary Egg!  He has been having fun learning about reptiles and his favorite read aloud so far has been The Moon of the Alligators by Jean Graighead George, we can't get enough of her wonderful books!

Sean-Paul is delighted that our library system has big huge baskets of board books available for him to peruse and "borrow" without even checking them out, how cool is that! 

Well I'll update again soon with more of our goings on and doings!  Here's a little picture thought for and very wordy Wednesday:

Have a blessed rest of the week with your sweeties!

Love,

Comments

[Marcia]

I have missed hearing about all the learning in your home! So glad to read this post! Glad your family is settling in and enjoying your new home.
Take care.

[nina]

Glad to see you are settling in as well. I think Cate might be the right age to start playing with Legos. I know my dh would love it.

I was thinking about that art gallery from Let's Explore just this morning but I think a wire and clips are all I will probably be able to manage. I'm sorry to say that I just recently introduced watercolor painting to Cate. I should have done it much sooner. She loves it too!

As always, I enjoy the reading lists. Love the little mushroom graphic.

[Betty]

I'm so proud that you and your precious family are in a place that is so accessable to fun activities! A six minute walk to the library is such a blessing!!! Hugs to you and your 'bunch'!

[Amber]

Oh, I am so happy things are going well for you and your family!

Hugs & Blessings!

[Joyce]

Wow, what a great blog! It's exciting and inspiring to see all the things that your children have done! I have a question, though, if you don't mind answering . . . how do you find such wonderful books? Do you just peruse the stacks at your library, or do you have a magic list as your starting point? I have been so disappointed with many of the books at the library for my young students, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something . . .