Preschooler

Over 30 Christmas Picture Books

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O star of wonder, star of light,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

— “We Three Kings”, John H. Hopkins Jr., 1857

Here in England, the evenings are ever darker, the warm glow of Christmas lights are emerging in the windows along our street, and the question I keep getting is, “what are you doing for Christmas this year?”. For families with young children, it is a busy month ahead, but in the midst of the preparations and plans, we need to take time to stop and pick up a book or two. I need this encouragement just as much as the next person. Reading stories makes us slow down and points us to bigger truths outside of the now. Continue reading →

Read Alouds for 5 year olds

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“…the voice that tells us a story aloud is always more than a carrier wave bringing us the meaning; it’s a companion through the events of the story, ensuring that the feelings it stirs in us are held within the circle of attachment connecting the adult reading, and the child listening. To hear a story is a social act.” — Francis Spufford, The Child that Books Built

I love Francis Spufford’s reminder that “to hear a story is a social act.” Continue reading →

Spring Picture Books

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A Light Exists in Spring

A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad
On Solitary Fields
That Science cannot overtake
But Human Nature feels.

It waits upon the Lawn,
It shows the furthest Tree
Upon the furthest Slope you know
It almost speaks to you.

Then as Horizons step
Or Noons report away
Without the Formula of sound
It passes and we stay —

A quality of loss
Affecting our Content
As Trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a Sacrament.

— Emily Dickinson

Continue reading →

Winter Picture Books

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The Snowdrop Fairy

Deep sleeps the Winter,
Cold, wet, and grey;
Surely all the world is dead;
Spring is far away.
Wait! the world shall waken;
It is not dead, for lo,
The Fair Maids of February
Stand in the snow!

— Cicely Mary Barker

Continue reading →

An Abundance of Christmas Stories

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“Always winter and never Christmas;
think of that!”
“How awful!” said Lucy.

— The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis

Lucy is right. It would be awful!  Christmas is most definitely the light in the darkness. Such joy amidst the long winter months. Continue reading →

What do you do with your preschooler?

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Homeschooling is always a great conversation starter. I am pretty good at anticipating people thinking that I’m mad, so I normally preempt the look of surprise by saying, “Yes I know – I’m crazy aren’t I?!”

The questions very quickly come to, “How can you teach your older two with your little toddler around?”, or often more bluntly phrased as, “What do you do with her when you are teaching?”  Continue reading →