And then there are times when I've over-scheduled everyone, including myself, to the point of ridiculousness, and my house is so messy I could be arrested, and everyone is exhausted by all the fun/educational activities we're participating in. And no one wants to make dinner. Or do laundry.
No one.
It's at times like these when I have to change things up. Erase things. Erase great ideas like our Battle of the Books plan.
Oh, we read all the books. Most of us did. A few kids voted in a few of the brackets. But enthusiasm was waning. Mostly mine. And suddenly, I didn't care enough to force them to vote. I didn't care enough to make a big deal out of it.
So the black contact paper was erased and replaced by a list of things I want Sam to do. (Not nearly as inspiring) Goodbye summer reading plan. Welcome to the good ol' standby of going to library during the summer and shoving books at my kids every other day or so and seeing what happens.
Oh well.
It's at discouraging times like these (I know, I know—first-world problems), I have to go back to some of my favorite picture books to feel happy inside. So today we are going to celebrate one of my favorite illustrators ever:
Trina Schart Hyman
Here is a library list of books she has illustrated. You really cannot get better than this. These are classics. These are perfect. Check them out! (When someone else is the author, it is noted.)
Little Red Riding Hood
Tight Times by Barbara Hazen
Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel (I love this book!!!)
Sleeping Beauty
Iron John by Eric Kimmel
The Man Who Loved Books by Jean Fritz
The Kitchen Knight by Margaret Hodges
Snow White
Merlin and the Making of the King
The Fortune Tellers by Lloyd Alexander
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
This is a really great post. I think every mom--every person--has grand ideas that sometimes, for any number of reasons, just don't work out. And that's okay. The challenge is accepting that as part of life and not holding ourselves to unreasonable expectations! My husband (aka my voice of reason) reminds me of this often.
ReplyDeleteI love this list of books. I happened upon two of these books (The Kitchen Knight and The Fortune Tellers) just the other day while browsing at a bookstore, and I was smitten. I don't know how I've overlooked this illustrator for so long! I'm excited to check out all the other titles listed here. Thanks!
(Oh, and also, I'm sorry I couldn't help you with your vole problem. My backyard visitors are mainly deer. They're no fun either, but they might be easier to get rid of, maybe?)