An Epic Post

  I knew I'd have to keep the kids busy to keep them from missing Scott and fighting, so this is some of what we did.  I'll try to divide it into sections.  First off was a craft because Caleb had binoculars and Garrison didn't...

The binoculars...

The explorer...

Next up was this:

No van=no trip to town=Opening up our own library.(click on pic to see what the small print says.)

Homemade library card.

One Happy Girl.

He he...I did this:).

The librarian signing the books out.

The book for Story Time.

Sitting on mats with their snack, waiting for me to read.

Elyssia has the globe so we can look up the location of the polar bears.

Next was lunch...

Full plate

Funny chair

No leftovers!

Nap time was super short and only the youngest two went to sleep.

Arts and Crafts time for me:

Barrettes I made for the girls.  I think the whole lot cost about $3, since I got all the clips for $1.00. It's hard to find the clips, since our $$ store was the only place I could find them.  The Salvation Army had one package the last time we were there, so I used those up today.  I like to keep making them, since they seem to get misplaced so easily. We're working on that:).  We also like to give them to Elyssia's friends as gifts.  I thought my younger nieces might like them too, so if anyone knows a good source for them, please let me know.  I should check online, but haven't done so yet...

Trying a bit of sketching.  See if clicking on the pic shows a better pic.

The crocodile tie clip.  I made one for each boy because the can't wear hair bows:).

Next up was supper and bath time- The supper was devoured, so here's a clean baby pic:

One freshly washed, super cute baby!

Then it was my turn to think up a creative devotion idea.  Scott has the van and had a meeting in between work and prayer meeting.  Since I often end up teaching the kids a Bible story downstairs anyway, it wasn't too much different.  Here is our re-enactment of Noah's ark...

Shem and Ham helping to build the ark.

Everyone is on the ark, including Noah and the rest of the family.  There were a LOT more animals than this, but we had to get through the story before baby went to bed.

 So that almost brings us to the end of the epic day.  Here are some bedtime stories for you, written by Garrison during school.

                                                       A Special Delivery
                                                  By: Garrison Holloway(age 4)

  In town there was a special delivery truck.  His driver's name was Pop Soda.  Whenever people asked for ice cream he would deliver it.  One day the work truck ran away from his driver(like Herbie).  A bad man, named Pop Can, came and stole the truck.  Pop Can tried to push the truck into the sea, but Pop Soda, the driver, came and hooked the bad man and the truck.  He saved the truck, but threw the bad man into the sea.  The police came and took Pop Can to jail.  The police opened his cell, gave him some juice and spaghetti, then closed the door again.  Pop Can learned his lesson and became a good man.  The truck didn't run away any more.

                                                               ~The End~

                                                           The Furry Cat
                                                     By: Garrison Holloway

  A long time ago there was a cat named Jack. He was looking for a friend because he was so lonely.  Jack found a friend in the barn.  It was a dog, named Benjamin.  He was black and white and very nice.  He asked Jack to come and live in his barn.  Jack said, "yes, I would love to".  I can catch mice for you so they won't bite your nose or pull my whiskers.  The played tug o' war with a rope.  Benjamin, the dog, won because he was the strongest.  Jack played dog pile on top of Benjamin, cause Benjamin was big and Jack was little.  They were best friends forever!
                                                          ~ The End~

                                                           
                                                             Butterflies
                                                      By: Caleb Holloway

   There were two "butterfies". They are Pink and Yellow.  They are friends.  They play with Jack, the cat, who lives in the barn.  They like to eat good food, not yucky food! The sleep in their beds in a tree.  When they wake up they are nice.  Sleepy butterflies are mean and cranky(just like Caleb, says the mama). Pink and Yellow help animals that are lost find home again.
                                                          ~ The End~

The questions I ask are, "How or where does it start", They pick the subject.  I ask what the name is.  What they like to do.  Did they get into any trouble and how did they get out of it?  The stories get better and better the more they do it.  We read a lot and I think that gives them a much greater vocabulary to draw from.  I do notice some similarities to books we've read sometimes and try to get them to change it a bit when that happens.  Reminding them that they shouldn't steal a story that someone else has written.  Caleb usually has to tell his story first to avoid confusion.  He'll pick characters and then try to add them to the story that Garrison has just made up.  Elyssia likes doing it a little bit, but it seems like Garrison is the one that LOVES doing it.  I hardly have to ask much anymore.  Just write it down as fast as I can so that I don't miss anything:).  This will be a way to keep track of their growth in reading, writing, drawing, etc... I wrote a story while the other two were doing their independent  work, but I'll save that one for another day, so that this doesn't turn into a double epic.  Now it's off for a tour of the Amazon with the Vision Forum crew...