Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The Quiet Way Home & The Red Carpet

Again, I am lumping two weeks into one post - I wonder sometimes if this is boring to some - so figure I will only post it every two weeks.

Anyway, two weeks ago we read The Quiet Way Home.

We finger-painted with red, yellow and blue paint (a first for my ladies):

We played hopscotch:
We tried to go for a quiet walk (it wasn't very quiet!) and collected dandelions so I could make necklaces for them!

Last week, we read The Red Carpet! This was such a delightfully charming book and I may even say it was my favorite that we have read thus far. We had a lot of fun with this one, as usual!

I found a local hotel that had a long green awning like the Hotel Bellevue of the book:

We enjoyed a "red carpet" snack in the courtyard next to the hotel and while they ate their snack, I read the book to them again. I thought it was fun that it was sprinkling as the book mentions the benefit of the awning is to keep the people out of the showers!

We planned a "red carpet" dinner for Daddy! Both ladies helped shine up the doorknobs just as the doorman at the Bellevue did:

We made a "red carpet" table runner out of construction paper and the ladies colored and decorated it with stickers:

We made Daddy's favorite meal including Brisket, Baked Beans, Cheese Muffins, my first attempt at Collard Greens (a success!), Watermelon and Pumpkin Pie! Emily helped roll out the red carpet and we put out all the red towels we had clean on the porch:

Then, she helped me cut flowers for the table and mix up some of the things we were serving! She even washed quite a few dishes! She set the table with our china to make everything look beautiful! This event was a big hit with everyone!!

We talked about telegrams, imagined where we'd go if we were a red carpet and more from the book - but these were our highlights!

31 comments:

Ginger said...

How darling~~what a lot of preparation. I'm sure the girls, and Samuel will later, get so much out of these books. I don't even have little ones, but I love reading about your lessons, so I don't get bored at all.

Wendi said...

Not boring at all. I love to see what you are doing to bring the books alive. I have gathered so many great ideas. Keep them coming!

Unknown said...

I love this, Monica! I am going to be doing FIAR next fall so I LOVE seeing all the things you do...great job!!!

Jen said...

You are just the cutest! How creative and wonderful for your kiddos! I have an 8 month old and can't wait to start doing activities like this with her. When did you start with your girls and guy?

P.S. I love reading your blog - so refreshing!

Willys and Elizabeth (Lizzie) said...

you do such great and fun things with your children!

Mom said...

Oh my goodness -- what fun learning is at your house! I love these reports of the books you are reading with the littles and all the associated activities (including photos!). :) Love to all, Mom

Mike Marcil said...

Monica, trust me these posts are not boring. These are actually my fave type of posts that keeps me coming back. It gives me ideas!!! LOL

angie said...

These posts are enjoyable. Even though my kiddos are older, you give me ideas/springboards for how to tie daily activities into what we are learning.
Last night my son and I studied adverbs in prep for a test today. We are still sondering why adjectives are not called "adnouns."

Anonymous said...

Not boring to me! Wonderful in fact. Thank you for sharing~tammyp

Heather said...

Wow! I'm impressed with all the activities you do with the girls to extend the book. They look like they're having a lot of fun!

gemma said...

You are so amazing! Your days have to be more than 24 hours long. What lucky little ones and you as well - they are adorable.

Cheryl said...

Monica,
I frequent your blog daily and these posts are not boring at all. You have great ideas and I am sure there are ladies out there that will benefit from them. My kids are teens now, but I love reading about how you are homeschooling your kids.
We loved to read bunches too when we homeschooled. There is nothing more fun than making a book come to life for the kids. I bet your husband felt like a king then night he came home to the red carpet.

Lee said...

Monica,
I love these posts! I have BFIAR and want to start next fall with Gabriella. But how did you find all of the books. Did you purchase them? Can you give me some insight? Thanks!

Barbie @ Mamaology said...

What fun!:) I'm going to see if my library has the Red Carpet...you've got me curious to read it!

Mary said...

These posts are not the least bit boring! Oh how I wish I'd been at home and able to do these types of activities for my son. Your kiddos are so fortunate!

Anonymous said...

Monica, I agree with everyone who has said they LOVE your posts! I do too! I taught at a Preschool years ago, and now have the joy of having granddaughters...so I love to read about your homeschooling, and get ideas for gramma and grandones time :-) You are a light to so many...keep on posting!

Lesley said...

I LOVE all your ideas....it is a great way to really get them involved....fabulous....as usual

Anna said...

I agree with everyone else - your school posts are delightful, not boring! I have the BFIAR book because I bought it to use with my oldest. We never did use it, but you've inspired me to use it with my two littler ones as they get old enough!

Anonymous said...

Love it all!!

Monica Wilkinson said...

Hi Lee,

The books are hard to find! I did not buy a single one though.

I got all I could from our library and asked friends for any they had (got two that way) - the rest I requested through Inter-Library Loan.

At my library this service is free, but I know some libraries charge. It is worth checking in to.

I've also seen BFIAR lots of books on ebay so that may be another good option for you!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we have!! : )

Monica

Monica Wilkinson said...

Jen,

This is our first year - so we started in the fall of 2008. Emily was four in November and Rachel was two last July. Samuel is just 15 months - so he is along for the ride!

Have fun!
Monica

MamaDuck76 said...

You do some of the NEATEST things with your kids! This is just one reader's opinion, but posts like this are not boring at all! I actually end up bookmarking a lot of your family activity posts, saving them for when my kiddos are big enough for projects/activities like these!

What neat activities in this post - are these all in BFIAR? If so, I think it's worth the investment...maybe I will ask for that as a Mother's Day present :)

Mrs. K said...

Monica~

I love your Family Fun night posts and your BFIAR posts - they keep me coming back.

Just one teeny request though...when you list the title of the book, could you include the author too? I know you include the link and maybe I'm lazy but I leave my library page open all the time so I can just click and reserve (I've never heard of a consortium (sp?) that charges! What a misfortune!). my library had 7-8 books with the title The Red Carpet. Thanks in advance!

Bessers said...

I agree with all those who said they enjoy these posts. I have 2 littles just a bit behind your girls. Someone gave me a copy of FIAR, and I flipped through it, but didn't plan on doing it. Your posts help me see what good things your kids are learning. I love how the four year old is being inspired to help in real life! I personally would enjoy seeing these posts every week again!

Anonymous said...

so cute!! :) I love all of these ideas!

Mary Ann said...

I enjoy these posts, Monica. I've discovered a number of books that I had never heard of before such as "Katy No-Pocket which quickly became a favorite with my childcare boys when I got it from the library.

Whenever I've used inter-library loan, they ask if and what I'm willing to pay if the place they get it from charges to loan the book. Apparently it's quite rare that you would have to pay for this service but it does happen on occasion. It's always been free for me!

Amanda said...

How wonderfully fun! I will have to look into BFIAR. Thank you for sharing!

Blissful & Domestic said...

thank you for all your cute ideas. my kids actually look with me and then they will tell me if they want to try out some of your cute ideas.

Jenny said...

These updates never bore me! In fact, I look forward to them. Your ideas inspire me. I only wish I was half as creative as you are. Your little ladies are very blessed to have you as a mama!

Katey said...

Count me in as another reader who REALLY enjoys the homeschool posts. Not only are your activities fun, but I like getting good book recommendations!

Susan Lemons said...

I just found your blog, and I love it! It's obvious you are having a great time!
I blog about homepreschool too at www.susanlemons.wordpress.com
I hope you'll visit!
Blessings,
Susan