Lately Bethany has been sick with a bad cold which flares up her asthma. I've spent extra time curled up in blankets reading to her and cuddling her. Trenton is healthy and busy. He's the first of the kids out of bed and ready to tackle the day. Marissa is continuing to be diligent in her school work. She also is a huge help around the house. Today we are hosting our monthly middle school literature club.
This month the book was Redwall by Brian Jacques. Very long book, but good. Marissa did a combination of reading and listening to a dramatized audio of the book. Her recent eye exam showed that she needed reading glasses again. She is also having eye muscle issues--which makes it difficult for her to read and comprehend. Her glasses have been ordered and we are paying them off little by little. (We had to order Bethany glasses too. She looks so cute in hers! We are hoping to get both glasses really soon. They both have similar eye focusing issues. Glasses might help, however the eye doctor said the vision therapy will also help tremendously.)
Back to Redwall, I really enjoy 'theme parties' and literature club for me has been a once-a-month theme party. Very fun! The main setting for Redwall is a castle. So I've got small cardboard parts that make up a small castle. I'm going to light candles everywhere and a friend gave me this great wall piece that looks like an old church or castle window. I can't explain it, but when my camera is working again, I'll take a picture of it.
The girls have different roles--Connector, Geographer, Quote Master, Vocabulary Expert, Literary Chef, Illustrator, etc. This time Marissa is the Literary Chef. We could have gone all out as this website shows, however we opted for simple...cheese and crackers, apples dipped in caramel, and ginger ale.
Here are some other sites pertaining to Redwall
Redwall Official Website
Coloring pages for Redwall characters
Discussion Guide by Carol Hurst
So, today I'm thankful to have these days and times with my kids. If I looked at all the things that are not going well, I'd just crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head. Instead I'm choosing to be thankful and focus on the positive.
Share what you are thankful for, would you?
Dear Heather,
ReplyDeleteI have just spent 30 minutes searching on-line for a review of Redwall.. and coming up dry. I gave up and decided to see what you guys have been up to, and there was my answer. I'm thinking this will be our next read-aloud. Thank you. And thanks be to our Father Who providentially guides us. Much love, from us to all of you.
~~Susan
Susan!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting that my blog post helped you! Yes, thanks to God.
I was really impressed with the discussion that came from our literature club. The villian in this book is evil and Matthias is an unlikely hero. All good discussion points. :)
Let me know what you think of it after you read it.