More Postcards....

Some more postcards have been received by us, so fantastic to receive them in our mailbox. The kids have been very excited to collect the post recently.

The first is from a family in Ohio, USA. They have sent this lovely postcard of Roozengaarde Garden, Mt Vernon, Washington. Postcard says how cut flowers from Washington's Skagit Valley are shipped overnight across the United States almost year-round. In Canterbury we have lifestyle blocks which also grow these beautiful Tulip flowers for export. I have never managed to grow them successfully myself, but will perhaps have to consider this an opportunity for this coming spring.

The book recommendation is "Are You My Mother?", which is fantastic as we have this book! The author is P. D. Eastman. I have really enjoyed reading it to both my kids, and as the story text is written clearly and simply, Benjamin is able to read it to Olivia also. I believe there is a great deal of value in giving children the opportunity to become the 'teacher' to another child as a way of empowering and building their self-confidence.

More recently we received the following two postcards.

The first from a family in Richmond, California, who are all musicians! Their postcard with the musical notes and birds will resonate with Olivia in particular, as she greatly enjoys listening and singing to music.

Their book recommendations are Guardians of Ga'hoole series by Kathryn Lasky for Benjamin, and Dont Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, by Mo Willems. We will be looking up the Guardians book series as we havent read any of that series before, it looks like a really great series, but I may have to read it before Benjamin as, though he is 8, he still finds the intensity of these types of stories to be too scary.

We have a copy of the pigeon book at home! The kids have always loved this book, I think its particularly because its one of the only books that the kids can reply to the pigeon with 'No!', and they feel empowered as its the 'correct word' for them to use in the story.

The last postcard is from a family in Sutton Coldfield in the UK. The post card is of the Union Jack, a very patriotic card, which is so great to see. It is very important for our kids to understand the basis for our countries origin and in particular to be inspired by the love for one's own country. The flag can also be a symbol of hope in the midst of disaster, bringing together those who share the same love and loyalty to their country, friends and Family.

Their book recommendations are the Sir Gadabout series by Martyn Beardsley, as they state "all about a funny knight" which is recommended for Benjamin. The book recommended for Olivia is the Little Miss series by Roger Hargreaves.

We havent read the Sir Gadabout series, but I think it will be a good series for Benjamin and will try and get a copy from the library. I think he will enjoy this series, from the description it sounds really fun.

I have never been a big fan of the Little Miss and Mr Men series, mainly because I often find the message to be a little shallow, but Olivia really likes the bright pictures and happy faces.

Thank you to all the families who sent us postcards. We really appreciate receiving these and look forward to reading more good books!