Levi's Favorite

He brings this book to me every day...many, many times.  Yesterday he woke up half an hour earlier than usual.  He lugged the book up and plopped it next to me while I was crocheting.  "Wead dis, Mama.  Wead it now."  I cringed and really didn't want to read it to him because sometimes I just want a few more minutes for me.  And, sometimes, in the morning I don't feel like figuring out how to pronounce words I've never laid eyes on before....like Greater Malay Chevrotain...I mean, really, they lost me at greater. 
So, yesterday, in an effort to keep crocheting, I said, "Bear, why don't you read it to mama?"  To my relief he consented, opened the book, and started talking.  "Dis is a rhinoceros beetle." (Which he says perfectly despite his general mispronunciation of r's.) "De hyenas need to be nice to dat antelope." (re: a picture of hyenas eating an antelope)  "Dese are marsupials."  On and on.  Stopping at a few to ask me about them. What he knew surprised me, and I was reminded how quickly and easily these little ones learn...without forcing or cajoling...just with interest, curiosity, and a whole lot of answered questions. 

I Think We've Got a Farmer On Our Hands

These are the belated Earth Day pictures. Unknowingly, I presented Levi with the perfect Earth Day present-his own shovel. I figured it would keep him from stealing mine which he is apt to do. In reality it just encouraged him to dig his own holes in exactly the wrong places. Sigh...I guess we all have to start somewhere.
Doesn't he look like such a little farmer? He just needs a straw hat and some hay stuck in his teeth.
If only he had been content to just dig up the grass.

A Good Book and a Hot Cup of Tea...

... are my two weaknesses. Most recently I've finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a beautifully written book detailing a year in the food life of Kingsolver and her family. It will make you rethink your eating habits--even if you already consider yourself to be a fairly conscientious eater. Her descriptions of food and gardening will make your mouth water and your hands feel the need to dig into dirt--even if you're not typically the dirt digging type. I must admit I'm terribly jealous of her heirloom tomatoes. The deer ate our not so heirloom but still homegrown tomato plants--I'm still stinging from that one. However, we have some very kind church friends who are passing some of their tomato abundance along to us. I LOVE homegrown tomatoes. Any others aren't worth the energy required to bite into them.
Another good book I recently read is The Unschooling Unmanual. Whether you homeschool, unschool, are considering it, or are just curious, it's a good read. It's a compilation of short but passionately well written essays on how children were created to learn.
So, now I've picked up The Kite Runner. I figured I needed to throw a novel into the summer mix. Plus it was on the buy one get one half off table where I also found Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. So far it's keeping my interest. We'll see. Let me know what your summer-or for that matter fall, winter, and spring--reading recommendations are. I always enjoy finding out what other people are reading.
Oh, and lets not forget the tea. I'm always up for a good cup of Earl Grey, but there's a lady at a not-as-local-as-I-wish-it-was farmers market who makes a fabulous blend of lavender chamomile herbal tea. So what I drink depends on how caffeinated I wish to be.