( I'm pretty sure our computer is free from the you-know-what....but in the event that it is still lingering, I feel for some reason like I should whipser! I just wanted to say quickly that I'm happy to be back :)

Our alphabet stamps get frequent use around the kitchen table. They are one of those toys that we all stumble across occasionally. One with limitless uses, and which can be enjoyed by children (and adults) of a wide variety of ages. (One that makes you feel like maybe this time you didn't waste your money!)

At the moment, Baby Bird enjoys picking any ol' letter, and stamping wildly with it! She seems to understand that each one of them has a name, and occasionally asks "dat one? dat one?" and points at a letter. When I answer with the name of the letter, she seems satisfied, so I guess I'm not too far off ;)

Lately Big Bird has been "writing" stories with the stamps. He stamps away with furrowed brow for a few minutes and then calls me over to read his story. Sometimes I see him sounding out words as he stamps, which of course makes this former teachers' heart SING!

If you have creative aspirations, look here for another great idea.

Seeing as tomorrow is the BIG DAY, the stamps will be seeing some use in the thank-you card arena as well. Big Bird wanted me to be sure to mention that today is only his Practice Birthday. He's just gearing up for the real deal tomorrow. I'm happy to play along, but I had to draw the line at a Practice Cake ;)

We've been having fun lately writing stories in Big Birds "special book". This book started out as his Nature journal, but has evolved into something more general over time. It is a great reflection of the things that interest him at any given moment.

The kids recieve Ladybug magazine, a gift from my parents. After each issue has been loved to pieces (literally), I hide them away in the craft closet, to be resurrected at a later date. One use we've discovered for the back issues is to cut out many of the beautiful illustrations, which we then use as inspiration for our stories.

Big Bird dictates and I write. Occasionally I ask questions to get the process moving along, but once he started to understand that really, anything goes....Big Bird was off and running!

Recently, Baby Bird has caught on to the fun, and solved the age-old homeschooling dilemma of "what do you do with your toddler when you are working on a project with the older child?" Yesterday she disappeared for a few minutes while Big Bird and I were working on his latest story. She returned with this book (an empty sketch book) and sat back down at the table. I wasn't quite sure where she was headed, and so just watched while she did her thing. She chose a picture from the pile of cut out illustrations, and then asked for the glue. With my help she glued it into what was now obviously HER special book, and then set to 'writing' her story on the page above it. Problem solved. Now we can all work on our stories together :)


Have I mentioned how much I love homeschooling?!