A Day Trip to the North

A couple of Saturdays ago, there was a wonderful heat wave that hit England. We thought it would probably be our last chance to get out and enjoy the sun before the rainy fall weather took over! And we were right-the Monday that followed was rainy and windy! Anyway, when I was little, I read the series of books by James Herriot about his life as a veterinarian in North Yorkshire. I absolutely adored these books as a child-he described Yorkshire so beautifully, I could picture the green hills so perfectly.  I loved his stories about the people he met and the animals he helped--sometimes sad but usually funny. I read so many stories as a young girl about Yorkshire or by authors from Yorkshire--maybe I was always destined to come here. :) 

I love this book! AND the others that followed :) .

My baby and I in front of the REAL James Herriot's (Alfie Wight) home and office

My husband and baby with a car similar to the one James Herriot would have used

The gardens and home

Autumn Crafts for Kids

When I was teaching, I absolutely LOVED making art projects and crafts with my students. Fall is my favorite season--I love the feeling of change in the air, the vibrant colors, the crisp smoky smells, wearing sweaters and scarves, pumpkins and the excitement and anticipation of Halloween and Thanksgiving! The season inspires crafts! Here are just a few that my former first graders enjoyed creating.

Autumn Trees

This is a quick and easy project. First, I have the children choose a background color and then they do a quick watercolor wash. After it dries, I paint a thick layer of brown paint on their hand, wrist and arm. Then, the child firmly presses their hand and arm on paper (card stock or heavy construction paper works best). After the hand print dries, the children use their finger tips to paint on the leaves. I have also made this project by tracing the child's hand and arm on brown paper and I have had the children tear red, orange and yellow paper for the leaves--it just depended on the materials available and my mood! :)  To add a literacy link, I would have the kids write a sentence about fall and attach it to the bottom of their page.

Shiny/Crackling Leaves

This is another quick and easy project! I used a template and had the kids trace the leaf on to card stock and cut the shape out. Then, using just a drop of heavy, clear syrup (Karo is my favorite) and two or three drops of food coloring, the kids swirled and swooshed the syrup and food coloring all over the leaf shape, I always tell them to use only one or two fingers-just for easy behavior management and a quick clean up! It takes about 24 hours for the leaves to dry. Make sure to only use about a quarter sized drop of the syrup or they will never dry! :) Then, hang and enjoy! 

Fall Rainbow

The Fall Rainbow is obviously easy to make. Just collect varying colors of leaves, or better yet, have the KIDS find and collect them. Have the kids use lots of glue to stick them on to a large piece of paper and Voila! you will have a Fall Rainbow! :)

fall watercolors and poetry

The Beginning...

This is a picture of my husband and I when we were in the "engaged" stage. We met in September 2009, were engaged by January 2010 and married in March. We found out we were expecting in May of 2010, had our baby in January 2011 and moved back to England at the end of May-our lives have changed SO much in such a short amount of time. Looking at this picture reminds me of a very brief and exciting time when life was a little simpler!