random things

I've been a little sick with a cold...Isabela was sick today and slept most of the day...so we haven't been doing much lately. But here are a few of our obsessions lately:

1. Chalk pastels.
They're so beautiful.


Joaquin and Isabela learned this technique at their art class. You just color it in then rub with your finger. I know that's simple, but we've had these pastels for a year and they never used them until now.


Joaquin decided to make two books out of his works (eight pages each...so that's 16 pictures!).


2.Activity cup.
For a few days, I would set out a cup with little activities written on sticks for the kids to do, and when they were finished with it, they could take the stick out of the cup. I tried to include some kind of reading, writing, math, art or science activity for each day.


3. Write letters.
We've got penpals in Bolivia. Our own family, of course, but we'd never had the kids write to them before. Since we're trying talk in Spanish this summer, writing letters in spanish was a great idea. We got our first response in the mail last week and the kids were thrilled. These are ready to mail:


Getting Joaquin to write was no picnic at first. But yesterday, he volunteered to make a card for a Spanish-speaking friend who got hurt...I was impressed.


4. Craft books.
I have these laying around but sometimes overlook them. This one is great.


Salt dough was their choice. Always fun. I wanted them to make beads and paint them, but they did what they wanted.

These are Joaquin's pools:


Isabela's bowl:


And painted.


5. Farmer's markets.

We drove to the downtown farmer's market on an off day...actually it was probably a good time to go. Parking was easy and there weren't many people so we could ask questions. We came back with a squash we'd never tried, three crocheted washcloths, and some delicious, juicy peaches that we inhaled.


Downtown is always an adventure and full of new sights...like Henri Matisse paintings right on the street!


Summer is great for relaxing and trying new things...although there is that ever-present pressure of "what did you do in summer", some of the best activities are at home.