Shell Collecting

We've been collecting shells this week.  The beach is full of them because of the sand replenishment project that occurred recently.  The beach on Long Beach Island , NJ was diminishing and recently sand was taken from the bottom of the ocean in order to add to the beach.  There are cool shells everywhere.  My nephew found 5 sand-dollars which is really unusual.  The rest of us found many small conch shells and snail shells in perfect condition.

Reading Partners

It was so terribly hot yesterday yet the kids ages: 9, 6, 5, 3, and 1.5 were a little wild or shall I say, very energetic: jumping around, running after one another.  It was my first day with the whole troop alone, I'm watching my nephew for a couple of weeks.  He is actually very mellow but my 4 girls can be quite a handful.  Anyway, I puzzled over how I would calm them down without TV. So I said, "Okay, now let's have reading time.  Everyone find a partner."  Amazingly, they all chose a partner, sat down and started to read to one another!!!  They were all suddenly very calm and very engaged in their books: "Where the Sidewalk Ends,"  "Captain Cat" by Syd Hoff, "Daisy says Coo."  It was a wonderful moment.  While they read, I made dinner.