Rest time

I love me some rest time.

For a long time, I used nap time for the littles as prime school time for the big kids.  When Gracie, my oldest, was in kindergarten, I didn't even bother doing school in the morning.  We just cranked it out in the afternoon and filled our mornings with park days, library times, and other outings.

But a few weeks ago we were hit with the flu.  Rest time forced itself upon us.  We were all wiped out.  After seeing how glorious it was to have a bit of time to decompress and be alone, I reinstated rest time.

And I've never been happier.

Dickens Festival 2013

Meeting the Queen of England




 The girls and I had such a fun time last weekend visiting a local Dickens festival.  It has been around for 20 years, but for some reason this was the first time we got around to attending.  So glad we did! 

There were so many many people dressed in beautiful costumes from the era.  Some were even specific characters such as Tiny Tim, Ebeneezer Scrooge,  Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry, and Mr. Dickens himself.  Other authors from the era, such as H.G. Wells and Mark Twain also made an appearance.  Next we year we plan to attend some of the lectures given by these "authors" and other enlightened speakers. 



This year we were too busy in Oliver's Alley where we got to try on some costumes ourselves and get our photograph taken (for free!), learn how wool gets made into yarn, and try out some old-fashioned toys.  The girls were able to attend a tea party where they learned proper etiquette for tea-time.  I wrongly assumed that the reservations for the tea party would all be filled up by the day of the event, but at the urging of my oldest we asked (never hurts to ask) and got a spot at the very next tea.

My daughters' love of Dickens (as with so many other things) began when reading American Girl books.  In the Molly books, she and her best friend, Emily, read some of Dickens' novels.  I came across the Usborne Illustrated Stories from Dickens which has simple versions of five of his novels including A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations and knew it would be a great addition to our library.  These stories are a great way to introduce young children to Dickens.  A basic knowledge of the plot and characters can help them avoid fear and intimidation later on when reading the full novels.