Bridlington

We finally took Lil Isaac to the beach! We met up with all of our church friends and had a great time! We went last year, but Isaac was just too little to enjoy the sand and sun! We went to Bridlington, a town on the eastern coast of England. English sea side towns definitely have a different feel than the tiny towns I visited on the Oregon coast growing up. Obviously, the buildings are much older...there aren't as many nooks and crannies to explore--just a wide open beach! I actually love both for different reasons. I love getting fish 'n' chips and donuts from the street shops in England, looking at the Victorian buildings that have seen better days but are still so beautiful. I love searching for  whole sand dollars, shells, chasing tiny crabs, stopping at fresh fruit stands (for raspberries or blackberries) and eating an elephant ear in Seaside when I visit all of my family's spots on the Oregon coast--AND eating fresh crab (of course)! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

Eric Carle

When I was a child I absolutely loved Eric Carle books. When I taught first grade, he was still my favorite children's book author and the inspiration for my favorite art project of the year. Now, I am a mother and my little boy's favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear...I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree there!  I was looking at amazon.uk tonight and found that I MISSED the launching of a new Eric Carle book last fall. Has anyone read it? I just ordered it for Lil Isaac and me and I can't wait to get it!  I quit teaching when school ended in May 2011, I can't believe I am out of the loop already when it comes to new picture books!

Click here to watch a video of Eric Carle talking about this book! He is amazing!

I've been thinking a lot about teaching over the past few weeks. I absolutely LOVE staying home with my little boy-it's always been my dream to be a stay at home mom, but my husband and I have been considering the possibility of moving back to America and if we decide to go that route, I would definitely need to teach again at least until Isaac's business got going. When I was teaching, I loved the start of the school year--Fall is the best season! In first grade, we always started the year with our color unit. Colors and Eric Carle go so well together! We talked about warm and cool colors and how Eric Carle used the contrasts to make his creatures and animals come to life. After reading MANY of his books, and studying how he made his collages, the kids would follow his process, step by step. This took many days, but the outcome always amazed me! Here are a few pictures from some of my past groups of first graders. If you would like a lesson plan on the process we used, email me, I'd love to share but didn't want to take the time to type it out for family/friends not interested (really the only people that view my blog). :D I was just remembering and having a good time looking at the my students' lovely creations!