Books of Substance

One of my pet peeves, is the lack of good quality children's books.  I mean books with substance and depth!  And they are getting really hard to find!   If I am going to read my kids a story be it at bed-time or at any other time during the day then I want it to be engaging and encourage imagination.  I have almost given up taking the kids to the library because if I am not careful I end up bringing home a bag full of books that are mostly rubbish stories, they look at them once (if I am lucky) and that's the end of that and they sit there for 3 weeks until I have to return them. I have found that I need to go by myself and where I can take my time looking at and reading each book and then carefully making my choice before they can come home with me.

I do not like books based on TV characters, as the reader has already been told among other things, what to think of the character.  I know I know you are probably thinking "Gee man lighten up, they are just books"  but I believe that they are more than that.  We all have been told that reading to your children is very beneficial and encourages a life long love of books and learning.   But not only that it has numerous other benefits including better communication skills and mastery of language. It also increases their ability to grasp abstract concepts, think logically, and learn about cause and effect. It helps them to learn empathy and insight and utilize good judgment.   All these can not be learnt by watching TV/DVDs nor by reading poorly written and illustrated children's books.

My apologies for my ramblings, but I did say it was one of my 'pet peeves'! And don't even get me started on books for eight year olds and older!!

Quality books that are available to buy in your local bookshops can be over-priced and make them out of reach for the average parent/grandparent to buy.  So in order to help me over-haul the children's bookshelf I have been turning to the online book stores. Their books are usually cheaper and sometimes you can get free postage.

Our latest purchase was an oldie but a goodie.  Does anyone remember this one?

 

My girls looooove this story and its already been read over and over again, even though the illustration is all in black and white!

 

 

and much to the excitement of them, look what we found in the paddock next door to our house yesterday?

 

  Our very own

"Ferdinand"

 

Isn't he awesome!

 

That morning we saw a similar sight out our bedroom window but very far away and Sophie asked me if it was a 'cork' tree that he was sitting under!

I had to tell her that even though I didn't know what tree it was, I certainly knew it wasn't a 'cork' tree!

 

That book cost me $5.00 postage included.

You can't really go wrong with that, can you?

 

Also this week...

As we enter just the second month of Spring, my children have taken it upon themselves to 'officially' start the swimming season now that our pool is finally clean and full.

 

 But judging by the look on Kaitlyns face it is still flippin cold!

 

This isn't the best photo but Kaitlyn and her friend Rico had climbed this tree and had been decorating the high-rise home of a spider.  I am not entirely sure that 'Miss Spider' wanted or needed her home decorated with buttercups and daisies BUT it looked really cool.

 

Can you see the yellow buttercups that look to be floating in mid-air?

 

Thomas and Sophie had been begging me to make play-doh.

Purple for Sophie and Orange for Thomas.

  Here is some of their creations!

Thomas got these play-doh toys for a birthday years ago. I just love them!  They create their own unique characters all the time.   Kaitlyn is at the stage where she has to mother everything and anything.  The bottom left was a creation of hers and it became a personality and he went everything with her for the next few hours, even out to the trampoline for a bounce.

 

 

Our chickens are really friendly around here. 

 You just need to walk up to them and they sit down for a pat!

 

 

Dressing up is STILL a big thing in our house.  

 You never know who might turn up in the kitchen!

If you hadn't noticed I love taking photos of what goes on in our daily living.  Looking for photo opportunities forces me to look for beauty and uniqueness all the time.  It makes me cherish the precious moments that happen every day. It reminds me that days and moments are but fleeting and that they are indeed a gift.



We indeed are very blessed to have 'Ferdinand' bulls next door, chickens to pat, trees to climb, water to have fun with, time and space to create and play.

Very very blessed indeed!