Eleanor's Art Show

A couple of weeks ago, Eleanor had her first art show. Her beloved teacher, Paula, is putting her studio for toddlers and preschoolers on hold while she works as an art teacher in a school. We will miss her and her wonderful classes dearly. We did thoroughly enjoy the "gallery show" that she put together as a sort of send-off party. Work by all of the students, inspired in color and form by Salvadorian artist Fernando Llort, was displayed in the nave of a church along with some collaborative pieces that were silent auctioned for a charity to benefit the people of El Salvador. In addition, there were snacks, space for coloring and painting, face painting, and a great slide show of the children creating in Paula's classes. Eleanor enjoyed the party, mostly running up and down the church aisles and eating chips right out of the bowl.


Eleanor's work in the show.


Eleanor and her friend Ella from class.


Running.

Library Books -- August 2008

Finally, a few book updates. We have been to the library several times so these books are a compilation of the past few visits.

What? Cried Granny by Katie Lum, illustrated by Adrian Johnson
This book is hilarious. A little boy goes to his grandmother's house but at bedtime, it turns out he is lacking a bed, pillow, etc., which his grandmother tries to rectify by whipping up the missing components. Best done in a completely exaggerated voice.

A Very Young Skater by Jill Krementz
This was much more for me than for Eleanor, though I think she enjoyed it too. A biography in words and photos of a young skater in New York, which details everything from where she gets her skates, to her training on ice and in the dance studio, to her favorite skaters. I remember reading it as a little girl and loving it, though I did not remember quite how long it was!

The Farmer in the Dell by Diane Zuromskis
Lovely illustrations to the traditional song. My favorite page (can't speak for Eleanor though), was the page where "the farmer takes a wife" -- he is giving a sweet little wink as he whisks her away. This book got a lot of read time, most likely because we would sing it.

Lets Go Riding in Our Strollers by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Benrei Huang
Eleanor really enjoyed this book with its charming rhyme about a couple of kids going out for a big long walk with their mommies. I am sure it is because she herself loves going for walks.

The Bear's Bicycle by Emilie W McLeod, illustrated by David McPhail
Another hilarious book -- this one got the most read time of all. This one is a perfect pairing of a simple straightforward story and wild and imaginative illustrations to make it a really interesting and fun read. The basic storyline -- a boy goes out for a responsible ride on his bike and his bear tags along breaking all the rules. The page that transfixed Eleanor contained a picture of the bear with a Band-Aid.

Eleanor's Photography - Volume 2

Eleanor has been busy as a bee with her camera lately. She is really getting the hang of taking pictures, though she still captures her fingers in the frame from time to time. I went to download her images yesterday and realized there were 364 pictures on the camera! After sorting through all of them, I put up a select few (my selection, not hers) in the Flickr set dedicated to her work. Here are some of my favorites:


(I love this picture. You can see a bit of the red of her finger at the bottom and she captured the best smile I've seen on Henry's face.)


(From the car window.)


(We didn't have any documentation of the act of toenail clipping before this shot.)

School!

Eleanor is going to school in September! We found a space for her at a lovely place just up the road from us. Though she will likely be the youngest one in her 3s class, the director seemed to think she will fit right in. I am not sure why there are so many kids trying to enroll in the 2 year old classes around here but we are happy to have found a spot for her at a school that seems really warm and friendly.

The school is a cooperative nursery school, which will be such fun for me because ever other week I will get to go to school with her. Not to worry about Henry, he will be safe and sound in the toddler sitting room. I get giddy just thinking about it, back to school time was always one of my favorite times of year. We always knew when school was coming growing up, the weather would cool, the MSU band could be heard practicing, and the town seemed to swell with students. Plus, there is nothing more fun than having brand new pencils, erasers, backpacks, and notebooks. Eleanor is probably not quite at that stage yet, but nursery school is certainly an exciting first step.

These Babies Love Books

I haven't done a library book post lately, though I have been meaning to. I think I'll just start doing a monthly roundup of our favorites. But not right now. This is just to say that these sweet babies love books.

Eleanor and Henry reading together:



Henry trying to get a glimpse of what his sister is reading:



And, finally, this one is my favorite. When I put her to bed there were only two books in her bed. She does have a book box by her bed full of books and I know she often reads after I close the door but I was in hysterics when I came in and saw this. You probably can't even tell from the picture that there are more books under the covers. What a bookworm.

The Mini

Mini (Cooper) convertibles are fun. We borrowed Beth's for a bit while she used our mini (van) for a move. Two car seats CAN fit in the back, though I don't imagine the kids would have liked riding with the top up. Oh, and it helps to be short, which I am not, if you do plan to use car seats in this particular type of vehicle.

Quote of the Day

Henry: Gock, gock, gock!

This is his work for cup, truck (sometimes "truck" is a bit more like "guck"), clock, book (sometimes "book" is a bit more like "gook"), and possibly some others. The only way, at this point, for me to tell which one he means is to look at what he is pointing at.