the first half of July

After running the Boston Marathon in April, Shane ran two 5K races in July trying to best his previous times. Here he is crossing the finish line on Canada Day in a town about 40 minutes from us. 

A friend sent me a small list of books she needed for this coming school year. Thankful to have found these to share with her!

We hosted some of our friends for a day of play: 4 sisters, aged 10 to 2.5 years.

They loved the swing under the deck.

The baby sister, 'calling' everyone she knew. ♥

Loose Parts Play gift ideas

Last year as I contemplated the little gifts I wanted to give to the children in my Sunday School class, I specifically focused on finding items that fit into what is often called loose parts play. 
It usually consists of items that allow for open-ended creative play for both indoors and outdoors. My focus was for mostly indoor play as the items I selected were little and for small hands. (Years ago, I discovered and ordered many items for my children from the Montessori site: For Small Hands. I still browse their site from time to time because it's so sweet!)
I tried to be very selective as with the rise of dollar stores, an abundance of inexpensive items fill every home. Dover makes lovely little books of all kinds of activities for various interests and abilities and I usually get a good selection and price from Amazon. I forgot to take a picture of all the little books I gave them last year so these two are the only ones I can show.

Then Laura found the posable dog and cat erasers at our local dollar store and we bought several bags because they are just so fun. I then added some wooden items of all kinds and uses, cut some colorful string and added a small amount of clay (not pictured). I packaged each kind of item in its own tiny paper bag so that even the fun of opening small packages was enjoyed as much as possible.

One of the moms later sent me this picture of her preschool aged son playing with the items later in the week. And others have sent videos of their children using the items as well. 

This past June, for the end-of-year gift, I gave different Dover activity books, different wooden pieces, more clay, peg people and play scarves. 

Gift bags packed, tagged and ready to hand out.

And here they are with their gift bags on our last Sunday School class this past June.

We are slated to restart class in the next few weeks.

I enjoy this time with them so much.

the start of summer

Once Seth was done with his exams, job interviews and graduation preparation, he was free to join us on some trail walks and other adventures farther from home. We visited a local Catholic retreat area complete with a trail in the woods with the stations of the cross. While some of the displays are showing some wear from being outdoors, they are full of beauty and dignity.
The next day we headed to the coast to go the marine museum and coastal town of St. Andrew's. Laura loves the seals, especially the mascot seal, Snorkel. She calmly handled all sorts of sea creatures in the 'touch' displays, while I just handled my camera and Kate. 

A flowering horse chestnut tree up close. 

After a picnic lunch at a local park area, we crossed the road and went down the steps the ocean floor as the tide was way out. It was beautiful, warm and sunny. I could have stayed much longer, but we still wanted to show Seth the town so we left the tidal pools and shells and headed to the other tourist areas.

Later that week, I finished prepping for our provincial homeschool conference by packing up my books both to sell and give away at the Used Curriculum Sale. 

Boxes on the floor were marked Free! 

Sale items arranged on the table for quick perusal.

The table was quite crowded for most of the sale and I was kept busy until the last few minutes when I could take a quick look at the other tables.

The aftermath waiting for a turn at the elevator.

Seth prepping for his first day of his new corporate job in town.

For our third year in a row, we enjoyed family homeschool camp for three nights with friends on an island in the river where we are ferried over and our luggage is brought to our cabin.  It's a relaxing time with meals served in the dining room and plenty of time to visit with friends or explore the island.