easter finery

Several months ago, Mom offered me a pair of ruffled yellow gingham pillowcases, and I was happy to say yes!  I had given them to her for Christmas probably 15 years ago, back when her bedroom was yellow and hunter green.  She had repainted since, was cleaning out, and I was having visions of making matching little girl night gowns, like the one I made for Gemma last year.  It's a darling little pattern!  So, I started them a few weeks ago, fully intending for them to be nightgowns . . . go ahead and laugh, but as I finished them up, John and I agreed that they could pass for dresses!

We aren't usually the type to get new dresses for Easter every year, mostly because we've been so blessed with hand-me-downs that I usually pick out something special and spring-like for each girl and that's that.  There's something quite sweet about matching, though.  It was when I settled on the Beatrix Potter buttons from my button jar that my mind was made up, I think.  

Back when Mom and I were fabric-shopping for our wedding, we bought a yard of lovely lace (or is it embroidered netting?) without any concrete plans for it.  It ended up saving the day on the morning of the wedding when my dress was too low-cut in front, so a piece of it is still in my wedding gown.  Then, I took out two more little cuts to fill in the necklines of the bridesmaid dresses Heidi and I wore for Derek and Liz's wedding.  I'm not sure what brought it to mind again, but I decided to put the remaining bits to some use.  First I cut strips from the plain netting end and stitched some simple puff rosettes for our girlies' shoes.  (We're slowly transitioning to minimal shoes for our children, and I decided that leather ballet slippers would be preferable to anything with a heel for this summer!)  Then, on Saturday night, I cut some more strips, this time including the embroidered edge, and zig-zagged them together on my machine until they were long enough to make into bows.  Somehow my finicky hot glue gun cooperated, the zig-zag seams hid just perfectly and they are just the sweetest bows I've ever made!  Gemma had already "made" a bow with her friends for Easter, though, so I wasn't about to deny her the pleasure of wearing her own handiwork.

This may be the best photo of the two of them together . . . Ruthie had a little Easter Basket to take home from her Sunday School class, and Gemma did not, so she was very very interested in sister's.

And what's an Easter photo without Thumper, our new pet, enjoying his Sunday carrot?  :)

So, nightgown dresses, haha!  One more thing!  Since the original tutorial is only written as a size 4, I had to draw up my own pattern pieces for size 2, and I'm more than happy to share them if there's interest.  Let me know!

favorite books for preschoolers

One of the reasons Charlotte Mason's ideas about homeschooling appeal to me so strongly so far is because of her emphasis on "living books."  I (think I) have always shared this desire to enrich our little ones' lives with quality literature, vibrantly illustrated and full of ideas!  Anyway, a few years ago I shared some of our favorite baby/toddler books, and we've certainly found new favorites as our children have gotten bigger.  I figured it was about time for an update.  :)   Here are our top 5 titles/authors/series:

1.  Robert McCloskey

We love his award-winning stories, written in the 1940's and thereabouts.  In my limited understanding--because apparently I need to read Charlotte Mason's 6 volumes on education, *gulp*--in my limited understanding, McCloskey's works are quintessential Charlotte Mason books.  They are full of ideas, no fluff, no twaddle.  And somehow he brilliantly illustrated them with just pencil/charcoal and paper!  You learn science through a story without even meaning to.  :)   The best thing is that these are all at the library, too.  Our favorites are Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine (Gemma's current favorite), and Make Way for Ducklings (we've been to see the duck monument in Boston's public gardens!).

2.  The Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik

Gemma loved the Little Bear books so much that we had her three-year-old birthday was all about Little Bear.  :)  Now, Ruthie has taken a fancy to them, which just tickles my heart!  We love the sweet, simple illustrations and precious stories.  Although they are actually written as early readers, the stories are fully accessible even to two and three year olds, so I'm glad we didn't wait.  Our favorites of the series are the original Little Bear and Little Bear's Friend, but there are three or four others that we've found at the library, too!

3.  The Little Black Pony books by Walter Farley

Along the same lines, this series is also an early reader series, with simple short sentences and big type.  But Gemma just loves these books, and I'm happy to see her interest branching out beyond princesses now and then.  :)  My mom introduced these to her, because they were her own favorites as a child.  The boy and his pony have a real back-and-forth friendship, and these books are full of ideas and great, realistic illustrations.

4.  Little Red Riding Hood by Trina Schart Hyman

I look for classic fairy tales at our local library somewhat regularly, as part of our little ones' cultural education, I guess!  This one takes the cake.  Every page is an artistic masterpiece in my opinion (and I do believe illustrations are what Hyman is most known for).  We also appreciated that the story seemed pretty original.  I haven't read "the" original Little Red Riding Hood, but we've found that some retellings soften the story line a bit for modern readers.  In this version, Little Red does get eaten by the wolf, yet rescued alive by the woodcutter, and the story closes declaring that she learned an important lesson about obedience.

5.  The Jonathan Mark books by Jacqueline Sibley

Of all this list, these books will probably be the hardest to find.  They were published in Britain in the 1970's and are now out of print!  We were introduced to them on a Lord's Day in Northern Ireland, and once we started reading, Gemma wanted to read all six or eight that our hostess had in one sitting!  After some ebay-watching, John managed to find three for her for Christmas that weren't insanely expensive, as most are.  So, what we love about them:  the sweet narrative of four-year-old Jonathan Mark as he goes about his normal days, asking big questions and learning about the greatness of God.  He does normal four-year-old things, like going to the doctor and the park, and spending a week at Granny's house.  Although they're full of child-level theology, they're much richer  in story than simple moral tales, which is why we like them so much.

Honorable mentions:  The Very Fairy Princess series by Julie Andrews (yes, that one) and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.  Disney stands ready to saturate our little girls with stories of grown-up princesses dressed in alluring ball gowns with a strong tendency toward falling in love at first sight--or first kiss, or first dance.  This series, on the other hand, gives our princess-crazed daughters (i.e. Gemma) a relatable princess-crazed little girl who deals with little girl "problems" in the context of a healthy family.  Gerry's enthusiasm and honesty are winsome, and Gemma loves these books.  My only complaint is that the illustrations are sketchy almost to the point of being sloppy, and the talk of "a sparkly feeling inside telling me it's true" is a bit mystical and silly, so I usually edit that as I read.

As far as Bible stories go, we now also have a copy of the ever-popular Jesus Storybook Bible . . . but the Big Picture Story Bible is still our favorite, and still the only one we just read straight through without modifying words or editorializing.   It's still the most freshly illustrated story Bible I've encountered, too.

That about does it! As I read more on Ambleside online and Simply Charlotte Mason, it's great to compare their extensive reading lists for preschoolers. Any favorites of yours that I'm missing?