hi

There are seasons of life that beg more living and less blogging, if you know what I mean. This summer is finding me in that season again. All is well…just enjoying more of the sun and less of this screen!

resting

I apologize for the silence this week but the stomach virus has descended upon us here. Will be back when all is well…

free children’s audio books: a directory

We love snuggling on the couch with a good book but there are times when we simply aren’t able to do that and audio books are a wonderful alternative. We use them in the car, during afternoon rest times, and occasionally at bedtime. I was surprised to discover how many wonderful classic tales available for FREE DOWNLOAD online. You can burn them to audio cds to take with you wherever you go. I’ll be updating this directory regularly with new titles as I stumble upon them. I hope you enjoy.

NOTE TO PARENTS: Many of the beloved fairy tales we read to our children are adaptions from the original versions and have been revised to be a bit less frightening. I advise listening to the classic fairy tales BEFORE your child listens to them to ensure age appropriateness.

The following titles are available at Books Should Be Free and The Story. Please note that all of the stories at The Story Home must be downloaded to iTunes before you can burn them to CD.

A Child’s Garden of Verses (Books Should Be Free)

Anne of Green Gables (Books Should Be Free)

Casey at the Bat (The Story Home)

The Frog Prince (The Story Home)

The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter (Books Should Be Free)

Gulliver’s Travels (Books Should Be Free)

Heidi (Books Should Be Free)

Jabberwocky (Books Should Be Free)

Jack & the Beanstalk (The Story Home)

The Little Red Hen (The Story Home)

Peter Pan (Books Should Be Free)

Pinocchio (Books Should Be Free)

The Princess & the Pea (The Story Home)

Puss in Boots (The Story Home)

Raggedy Ann (Books Should Be Free)

Rapunzel (The Story Home)

Snow White (The Story Home)

The Steadfast Tin Soldier (The Story Home)

Swiss Family Robinson (Books Should Be Free)

Three Bears (Books Should Be Free)

Thumbelina (The Story Home)

Tom Thumb (The Story Home)

Treasure Island (Books Should Be Free)

this moment

Joining Amanda for this Friday ritual.

 

___________________ A L S O   T O D A Y… __________________

 
FREE CHILDREN’S AUDIO BOOK DIRECTORY: I’ll be updating this directory regularly with new titles as I stumble across them. Hope you enjoy!

 

 

M A Y * G U E S T S: Some very creative people have dropped in already this month and introduced themselves. Check out the guest list in the sidebar. You might discover a new favorite read, or better yet, a new friend!

 

P O E T I C * P L A Y: You’ll find a copy of this week’s play guide HERE with suggestions for exploring, crafting, additions to your book basket, and ideas for your sensory bin and nature table. Look for a new poem Monday!

 

L I S T *  L O V E R S: Each Thursday, I post a fun list and you’re welcome to play along by linking up with one of your own. All of the details are HERE.

60 Feet

Today in Uganda, hundreds of children will yawn and stretch and greet the morning on urine soaked mattresses and filthy concrete floors.  They will wake to another day of wondering…Will I have food? Will I have clothes? Will anyone come for me? Does anyone even know I am here? Does anyone love me. These are the forgotten, the forsaken, the imprisoned. Yes, you read that correctly. Imprisoned.

Scattered throughout the continent of Africa, are facilities called remand centers. These facilities were built decades ago and were meant to house teenage delinquents. What they have morphed into is unthinkable: filthy concrete prisons for children as young as the toddler sitting at your breakfast table.  Most of the children are NOT criminals. They were picked up off the streets and dumped here by the truckload…street beggars, or even more unfathomable, children with special needs, disabilities, or little ones whose parents have remarried and they are unwanted by the new step-parent and deposited here like garbage. Click here for the story of how the first facility, “M” was discovered.

Thankfully, these children are now seeing glimmers of hope and the chance at life outside these walls because of the work of 60 Feet. In February, I had the chance to attend a showing of the documentary, Bereaved, detailing the plight of these precious little ones and the work of 60 Feet in Uganda. You can see some clips from the film here (and you must see this. It truly is unbelievable.) But after you dry your tears of sorrow, watch THIS VIDEO, (read the story and then scroll to the bottom of the post for the video) which will have you drowning in tears of unspeakable joy. The Bereaved documentary actually ends with this part of the story and it is one of the most beautiful pictures of redemption I have ever witnessed. I’ve watched it so many times that I’ve lost count.

And finally, if you want to get involved it is SO unbelievably simple. All you have to do is bake some cupcakes and sell them. Yep! It’s that simple. Don’t set a price! Ask people for donations. Educate them about what is happening in Uganda and what 60 Feet is doing to help. We just teamed up with a group of families in our town and did a two-day sale that raised over A THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! We set up a booth at a local music festival and one at our church on Sunday morning and we really raised over $1,000!!! All glory to God for blessing the work of our hands. Visit Cupcake Kids for information on how to host your own sale. And if you have any questions about getting involved, don’t hesitate to ask!

a list lover’s meme

There is something about the very essence of spring that stirs creativity and breathes newness into the mundane, don’t you think? After returning from my blogging break, I’ve been pondering what I’d like to do with this space in this new season and the idea of another meme kept coming back to me. I’ve toyed with a number of ideas but THIS one just wouldn’t let me go. I am so excited. As the name of this space suggests, I am a maker and lover of lists and the more I thought about it, the more I thought that making and sharing lists would be a unique way to link up each week. The best part is, it allows for endless creativity on your part as most weeks, your lists can be whatever you’d like them to be. Once a month I may choose a theme. We’ll see how it goes. Interested? Keep reading. Here’s how we’ll play:

Each Thursday morning, my post will be in the format of a list of some sort {4 great newly discovered blog reads…5 simple desserts…3 tips for organizing your pantry….10 spring kid’s crafts}. Here’s how YOU can play along:

(1) Add to MY list by commenting to my post with additional items applicable to my list. For example, if I listed 5 simple desserts and you have a three ingredient fudge recipe that you’d like to share, just add it (either  a link or the full recipe in the comment section.)

(2) Make Your Own List (on a different topic from the one I’ve started). Just make a list on your blog, and add the link to your post in the Mr. Linky at the bottom of my post. Then we can all read and add to YOUR list in the comment section of YOUR post.

You don’t have to do both, but you can if you’d like. Was that confusing? I hope not! We’ll give it a go on Thursday and see how it goes. I know it will take several weeks to catch on and for everyone to get the hang of it. I’ll remind you each day between now and then so you can begin preparing your lists. I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Happy listing!

this moment

Joining Amanda for this Friday ritual…

p.s. Today I’m sharing how we put together our outdoor family field guide with links to many of the FREE resources we used. It’s a perfect project to welcome spring. Hope you enjoy!