It's the week before school starts for everyone at our house, which means a lot less time for our activities and blogging.  Back to school means not only shopping for clothes and school supplies for our daughters, but also for my husband and myself.  Teachers need the same things, especially when both of the teachers in this house recently lost weight and have no clothing that fits properly.  Our budget is just about busted, but hey, we look good!

I can tell it's back to school time because the ambient level of bickering in our house has intensified this week.  I know that this is actually a good thing, because both girls are ready for a change of scene.  Mom staying sane while putting up with it is another story.

K and I have a book recommendation:  Kindergarten Rocks by Katie Davis.  It's a cute tale of a boy who is a little nervous about the first day of kindergarten.  Luckily he has a big sister to explain things to him, reminding him that "Kindergarten Rocks!"  He eventually relaxes and has a good day, until he temporarily loses his favorite stuffed dog, Rufus.  Rufus is eventually located in the block area of the room, and Dex realizes that from now on Rufus needs to stay at home.  In the end, he is excited to return for more kindergarten fun.  Having the stuffed dog stay home was a good lesson for K:  she has carted a toy Woody Woodpecker around since birth, and we are constantly reminding her that Woody will need to stay at home.  I think she gets it now, and has been more willing to leave Woody at home or in the car when running errands. 

Today we also made our own ball and cup game using plastic cups, masking tape, string, and plastic knives.  You can find an instructional video at www.FlowCircus.com/srp2010.  I found this site in a roundabout way--our library was giving out free bookmarks, which had this site listed on them.  It's an extremely simple craft and time occupying toy all in one!  It doesn't get any better than this, folks.  If you want more fun, you can also make your own juggling balls, or go to www.fundama.com for more easy to make skill toys.  K got easily frustrated by the game, but I think will come around on it.  J was into it, but also needed a fair amount of practice before having repeated success.  Apparently, this game exists in some form in just about every part of the globe.  You can find out about more history at the Fundama site as well. 

PS--speaking of the library, our lovely state government has once again cut funding to public libraries.  Our library made the news since they are being asked to stay open this week (after planning to be closed the entire week) despite the fact that they are not being funded to do so.  Please, please, please contact Governor Rendell, your state senator and representative, and local government officials and let them know that our public libraries are vitally important to our children and our community members. 

On Thursday, we're scheduled for a trip to the Hershey Gardens, which will likely be our last blog activity for the summer.  Hope you are enjoying your remaining days of summer fun.  Thanks for reading.