The Saturdays

after reading Thimble Summer, B wanted to read another book by elizabeth enright. she picked The Saturdays off the shelf. i tried to talk her into another book, not that i didn't want to read this one, but i have plans of doing the Beyond Five in a Row lessons with this book. i did not want to spoil the freshness of the story by reading it ahead of time. but she persisted and i gave in. and it is such a wonderfully rich story, full of inspiration to explore the world of arts, theater and music. i am looking forward now, more than ever, to pursuing the lessons that accompany this book!

it is the story of the 4 melendy children who decide to pool their allowances and take turns doing special things with their saturday afternoons. the adventures they have are so exciting! it makes me long for the days when a child would be safe alone in new york city and $1.50 would pay their entrance to a concert and buy an ice cream cone, too! B has been plotting a special saturday to the american girl store in chicago ever since we began. unfortunately, it may run a bit more than $1.50. ;o)





inspired by the descriptive details of the story and by "the year of the doll house" over at a mother's journal, we decided to make a diorama of the melendy children's playroom in a shoebox. we read the details of the playroom over and over adding things like the trapeze that randy was so fond of swinging on, the red linoleum floor, the big fireplace in the middle of the room, a skylight, the piano for rush, and isaac the dog adopted half way into the book. play mobil people were just the right size. B braided yarn and wound it around to make a braided rug and drew the faces on the masks displayed over the mantle. yes, it was hours of fun creating and playing. what a joy to be at home, loving, learning, and exploring possibilities!

B with a friend playing with her diorama

everyday gift: enchanted with a miniature world