Camp Art

1985

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Summer Fun - Charts

You have probably noticed that many of my recent posts have had pictures but no words.

My phone is having technical difficulties with posting words, but it will do pictures just fine

I figure a picture is better than nothing, and when I sign into the computer I sometimes go back and add words.

If you saw my May books post without words, I have added some.

Now onto today's post.

Perhaps most people do not equate charts and fun.
But around here, we have been enjoying our sticker charts lately.
Caleb is showing off our spring charts that helped us get through the end of the school year.
Whenever the boys would get up and get dressed and make their bed first thing without being reminded (and without wrestling, crying, etc.) they would get a sticker.  Also whenever they would get through a piano lesson or practice session (without wrestling, crying, jumping ship, etc.) they might earn a sticker.  And any other time they did something helpful or cheerful or kind that I hoped would happen again, I might tell them to put a sticker on their chart.
I asked them what they wanted to have for a reward when they reached 25 stickers.
They asked to take their 'spend jars' to Walmart (their own spending money) to buy something.
Sounded good to me!
When the time came, Caleb bought himself a Lego set.  Josiah had bought so many little snacks and things at school throughout the year, that he was only able to buy a little Lego man dressed as an ear of corn.  Heh, heh.
Eleonora is pink.  I'm purple.
Looks like we need to take some notes on civilized behavior from the boys.  Ha!

We decided to make a 'Summer Fun' list for the first time ever.

Jennifer thinks it looks a bit like everything we would be doing anyways this summer.

We're enjoying it nonetheless!

Caleb says these are our "Named Charts" because they tell you what each column of stickers is for.  We have been doing these since school let out.

Caleb wants you to notice that he has biked a ton of miles.

That might be our favorite new thing this summer.  I have been taking the boys for rides (one at a time) on my bike with them behind me on their trail-a-bike.  I will have to show you a picture soon.

It's fun to see the boys enjoying my childhood sticker collection that I was always too stingy with to let myself use more than one at a time on the back flap of an envelope on a letter to a pen pal.  Anyone recognize the ones from the camp gift shop?

May Books

Hello, Friends! 

Here we are, a week and a half into the boys' summer break.

We have started the local library's summer reading program, enjoyed a brief jaunt to Kingsport,started to set the camp craft room in order, and much, much more!

I get a daily email from BookBub that gives me a list of Kindle books that are cheap or free that day.  If you know me very well, then you can probably guess that I pay the most attention to the free books.  Hence my second read by M. Louisa Locke.  Another historical fiction murder mystery.  Not my favorite genre, but a mildly pleasant read.  :)

Now plain old historical fiction is another story, that I like.

The boys and I enjoyed this All-of-a-Kind story just as much as the rest.

This popped out at me at our church library since I had read Florence's tips to nurses last month.

Another freebie.

Another mildly amusing read.

Ha.

Now an interesting historical book would be even cooler than a historical fiction book to me, especially if it told any stories that were actually strange or obscure.  Unfortunately, this book hardly lived up to its name, seeing as how, a month later, none of these stories were strange or obscure enough to retain a place in my memory.

Now this was a thrill. 

A book by Louisa May Alcott that I had never even heard of!

Rather than reminding me of Little Women or Little Men (which would be fabulous), 

it read exactly like one would imagine one of Jo March's early stories would read (a.k.a. humorous).

I checked this out for myself from our online public library while I was looking for books for the boys.

They say books for children back in the day were didactic.

This one was just about cracking me up it was so preachy.

This girl Katy is a good time, but she doesn't always stop to think.

So one day she is swinging (hence the cover of the book) when she isn't supposed to, 

so the swing breaks, she breaks her back (I presume, the medical information is a bit sketchy) and then she proceeds to lay about the house 'learning her lesson in the school of pain' or something to that effect for the rest of the book.  During this time, she learns to run the house (by bossing the servants) and endears herself to her younger brothers and sisters.  After several years, her back heals itself and she is able to go about her normal life.  There is a sequel, but I have not felt the need to see what happens next.  Yet.

The boys and I listened to an audio version of this book while I had a cold.  Good thing, because it has very long chapters!  The four siblings decide to pool their allowance each week and let one sibling use that week's money to go on a solo adventure.  All I know is, the lady who wrote this book in 1941 imagined an awful lot of individual traipsing about of children on the streets of New York City.

A lady from church gave me this book when she was cleaning out her house.  It was a good one, and Jennifer is reading it now.  It's not just about being a wise spender.  There were lots of great tips on setting goals, developing helpful habits, and just pulling yourself together in general.

Another freebie.

This time set in Greece.

Pretty good.

Oops, got the wrong cover.

The boys and I finally finished 101 Read-Aloud Classics, which we have been reading for over a year.  It features single chapters from all sorts of great children's literature.  In the table of contents, we put the date beside each one we read, and made special marks to remind us which books we wanted to read more of, and which ones we did not.

Happy June and happy reading to you!

Summer Fun