Currently November

I'm not late to the party...I'm making an entrance! I'm partaying with lots of other bloggers at Farley's. She is the hostess with the mostess! Grab some snacks and join the party!

I think I am caught up with my laundry when this load finishes! It has been a long time since I've been able to say that! That is worth having a party over!

We are well on our way to owning one home. We had a secure offer this week and now just have to wait for all the closing dates to be set. That is worth having a party over!

Running the Santa Shuffle in Chicago in December will be one big party! I can hardly wait, but I suppose I should get a bit more serious about my running! Look what I'll get....free, unless you count the $40.00 registration fee!This race will be one big PARTY!

Cookies, Christmas music and running with my kids...I can hardly wait.

I am ready for a good hard snow to blanket the ground. I love snow and can't wait to watch it from the windows of my new house. I'm hoping for at least one snow day this year.

I caught a brief glimpse of a Carolina Wren out my window Sunday. They are such a beautiful warm cinnamon color. Their white eyebrow gives them such a surprised appearance. They are a little unusual up this far north and I would like to take his picture!

I played this CD so much for my kids when they were little that it is now scratched beyond playing. It's time to get it as MP3. I guarantee calm and thoughtful behavior will follow when you play this. At least it would be a way to calm down a party gone too wild. Ricardo's guitar playing is quite amazing and not just kids love to listen to this music at the end of the day!

Head over to Farley's and join the party...You won't be disappointed!

Treasures!...(Freebie!)

Waiting at the polls!

Some of my favorite places to read are in lines! 

Did you vote today? If you did you are a winner! The  rule about games in my room: "The winner is the person who had fun!" Of course I have heard my  sweet little  people say, "Yeah, but I'm the real winner!"  Today I felt like a "real" winner standing in line with my son who recently turned 18. He was so excited to be able to vote. I was so proud that he took his responsibility seriously. We don't agree on every issue and may have cancelled out each other's votes on some issues, but we do agree that voting is a treasure that we don't want to miss out on.

Casting his ballot!

That makes me think of other "treasures" that are mine. 2 Cor. 4:7 "Our bodies are made of clay, yet we have the treasure of the Good News in them. This shows that the superior power of this treasure belongs to God and doesn't come from us." I'm so thankful for the treasures God has given me and among them I count you! 

Another treasure I can't get enough of...Books! When I took my class to the polls we had books to read in case we had to wait for our turn or wait for our friends when we were done. I had taken the books from the shelves in the library where we voted. I was begged to bring the books back to our room, so they could read them all. These wonderful picture books are great for emergent readers. I love using photos to make books, too! I may have to make one about Pileated Woodpeckers! That treasure has been hanging out in my backyard! I was able to get pictures and
a video of this treasure!










I hope you can treasure this book! I hope making it isn't too confusing! Let me know if you need help!! There are some secret treasures
added, too! Leave a comment and your e-mail if you would like the rest of this unit I have for sale at my TPT store.

Vote! Registration Freebie!

Tomorrow is one of those days when I love being an American! What a great privilege it is to be able to vote. Of course we've been talking about voting in class for quite some time and tomorrow I will try to fill the day with different "proposals" to vote on. Laurie at Chickadee Jubilee inspired me to come up with a registration form for my owlets. (Click above if you'd like a copy! It's a Word document, so you should be able to alter it!) Which party would you pick to be in? I think I'd be in Mo Willem's party...He cracks me up!

My first proposal will be, which book should I read? These are all wonderful picture books. I'm celebrating picture book month by posting a different picture book each day this month and by writing down ideas I have for writing my own picture books. 

 or or

Sidle-Up for a Good Book!

I am LOVING the posts on Writing for Kids While Raising Them. Today's guest is Emma Ledbetter and she talked about the "Sidle-up effect".  I love the idea of the "Sidle-up Effect" because it happened to me over and over as a child. It started with picture books and continued through all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Today I try to attract my

My mom was a master book whisperer. She knew how to get all six of her children to sidle-up next to, around and draped over her...READ! There are some books that all six of us still can "Sidle-up" around. I would guess that all six of us could agree that The Story of Ferdinand is one of those books. Thank you, Mom! You were the best book whisperer ever! You and dad encouraged us to be great readers by example!

My favorite line from the book is this: "His mother saw that he was not lonesome, and because she was an understanding mother, even though she was a cow, she let him just sit there and be happy."

RANDOMNESS:
Today my daughter made my day. I had encouraged her to read "Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse. She told me she was up until 2:30 last night finishing that book and that she wished the characters were real people because she would like to talk to them in Heaven...I think she is hooked! Her love for reading started with picture books!

An Egg is Quiet...

I'm having a wonderful time with Pi Bo Id Mo! Each day I write a new idea I have for a picture book. I wish that I could illustrate, but I have first graders who can! I have always loved writing stories for my students and committing to writing each day this month has been a lot of fun! Of course, this is only day three!

To help with inspiration, I'm reading tons of picture books. Studying the way illustrators and authors work together to make the text come alive for young readers (or old readers!) is fascinating to me. Today I'm sharing a non-fiction text with you. It is such a beautiful book and one I treasure dearly. It does have birds in it, so how could I not love it!


An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long is a celebration of the beauty of eggs. It includes more than 60 different types of eggs. There is so much variation among eggs. Each egg has its own beauty, shape, and color! The book not only covers bird eggs, but includes fish, turtle and insect eggs, too. If you hatched out of an egg what would your shell look like? Mine would be green with brown squiggles all over it! I'll have my students write about eggs this week and find out what their shell would look like! Click the picture if you'd like a copy to use!

Snoozer and the Hairless Ones!

 Yes, I am a cat person. I loved our cat, Snoozer. She was a beautiful calico cat and before I had my first child I thought that if they didn't get along the child would go and I would keep the cat! The cat was actually quite protective over the baby and would bite my ankles every time she cried. . . Which was most of the time for eight months. They didn't get along very well, but they both stayed! I just had to keep them separated. I don't have a cat today because my son has allergies. He's going away to college next year...It may be time for a cat.

My story idea is to have a cat who longs to be set free outside. She spends hours looking out at the world and feeling jealous of the "tailless ones" who leave the house each day. One night the cat slips out into the dark night only to find that being outside isn't what she thought it would be. One day I'll see my idea in print! Until I do I'll read great books like this one...

Mother to Tigers tells the  true story of  Helen Frances Theresa Delaney Martini who was the first woman zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. It is a beautiful touching story of the love Helen had for young tigers and how she found fulfillment in starting a nursery at the zoo. Helen felt about her work as I feel about mine, "Every day is just like Christmas. Anything can happen."

Pi Bo Id Mo: Day 1

Ahhhh, November! You are too cold and damp to do much outside. You bring gifts of first snows, cloudy days, gale force winds and hot chocolate! November I love you because of your pumpkin pies and turkeys. I love you because you have a day set aside for us to spend being grateful for many blessings. I love you because I can spend long hours by the fireplace reading . . .picture books! There is no better way to spend November than reading picture books!
I recently made a promise to read and post about a picture book each day this month.

The first book I'm sharing has recently become a favorite of mine. I'm more of a cat person than dog person but I love the beautiful woodcut illustrations Stephen Huneck uses in  Sally Goes to the Farm. Subtle humor in this book makes me smile and "my boys" love the way Sally meets a new friend. If you love dogs or farms or even a book about friendship this is a great addition to your library.

Thank you Kimberly for sharing this idea with me! I love your blog because I love the way you communicate through it! You are one of the people I would love to meet in real life!