First up! We finished The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. I really enjoyed the writing style and tone of this book. Being the first in a series, the ending was rather unsatisfying, but still a great read. I like how there's just a hint of gore - I can see my son loving this one day. Two thumbs up.
We are in the middle of The Mysterious Benedict Society. It's a page turner, no doubt. My daughter is enjoying it but it doesn't really suit me. There's nothing wrong with it exactly, I just don't think it will become one of my favorites.
I am reading Heidi by myself. How have I missed this book? It's so me. When Heidi went to Frankfurt, I became quite anxious and had to skip ahead and then have my daughter reassure me that Heidi makes it back to the mountains.
We are, very happily, in a Frog and Toad phase with my son. I just love these stories. They never get old. I laughed yesterday as I tried on my new mom suit for the pool, remembering Toad who won't get out of the water until everyone goes away.
OK, that's it in brief, with a whole bunch left out. I'm hitting the office supply store this morning to gear up for a new school year. Our summer has gone on longer than I expected because we've been so busy. Inspiration finally arrived, though, and I think I'm ready to start gathering everything together. The plan this year: Design the day before I order one single thing. We'll see how this works!
Happy weekend!
My dd really enjoyed the Ashton Place books. She said the sequel was better than the first. She also loved the Benedict Society books when she was younger - the homeschool kids here had a little bit of a craze for them for a while.
I myself have never much liked Heidi, and I wonder about how much our introduction to certain books influences how we feel about them, because I recall being read Heidi in school by a very boring teacher. I bought my dd a video of it when she was little - an old German thing with dubbed voices. It was so quaint. (Didn't make me like the story though!)
Posted by: adie | July 16, 2011 at 02:07 PM
My littlest SP is constantly asking if we can make "Tear Water Tea" lol!
The audios are also super duper, read by the author if I recollect correctly!
Enjoy your pool time :)
Posted by: Meredith | July 16, 2011 at 03:20 PM
I keep seeing the Ashton book all over the place. Maybe I'll read it to Isaiah. I'm stuck on what to read for our next read aloud. I AM Heidi. Sigh. I miss my Switzerland, a lot. Oh well. It's all in my memories.
Posted by: Elisa | July 16, 2011 at 04:29 PM
My daughter has been listening to the Frog and Toad audio CD every night for the last week, and it's lovely. Those stories never get old.
Posted by: Sara | July 16, 2011 at 07:21 PM
Love Frog and Toad. Such great stories. And yes, I also understand how Toad feels about getting out of the water in his bathing suit.
Posted by: tara | July 17, 2011 at 07:17 AM
"Plan the day first" - I have been pondering your words all week! That's the best homeschooling advice ever.
I just put Frog & Toad in storage until my next oldest is ready. We have the little stuffed animals and everything. Glad I found a little time this year for my 3rd child to read these to me out loud. I didn't want to miss it for the world!
Posted by: tracy | July 27, 2011 at 12:09 PM