We've Moved!

Thanks for those of you who have been following Craving Cursive while I work out what I want this blog to be. I've moved it to www.cravingcursive.com. Please see my new posts there and thanks for visiting!

Ballet-Themed Birthday Party

I can't believe that my baby, Lily, turned four this month. She's such a fun kid, with a sassy little streak that keeps me on my toes. She wanted to have a birthday party this year, so we opted to keep it small and have just a few of her girlfriends over on a Saturday afternoon.

Since the girls are so into ballet, and all take dance together, we went with a ballet-themed party. These sweeties came in the gear of their choice, whether that was their ballet practice clothes or full-out recital costumes from last year. They looked so adorable.

We played freeze dance, practiced our ballet positions with the help of this ballet card game, worked on some ballet-themed arts and crafts, and of course, indulged in some snacks and cupcakes. I think Lily had a great time. Happy birthday, big girl!

Rainbow Cookbooks

I love to cook, but even more, I love paging through my cookbooks. I've looked at some so many times the pages are ripping out. Before kids I cooked a lot. I remember reading a new Giada or Barefoot Contessa book, planning which recipes I would make that week. This is how I learned to cook, testing out so many different recipes during those days.

I have my little collection in the corner of our kitchen. The other day I glanced at it and saw all the beautiful cover colors. Cookbooks often come in bright, amazing colors like fuchsia and teal and orange. After looking at these books sitting in the corner, I walked over and almost frantically started reordering them in rainbow colors. I took a step back and was in awe of what a difference this made in my kitchen. So beautiful!! As my friend Jeremy commented on Instagram, "Oooh! Rainbow books!!!" Exactly, Jeremy. So there you have it. Rainbow + Cookbooks = Happy.

I Found the Library

I feel like such a goof right now. For years, I’ve been complaining that writing at home is too hard because of all the distractions. So I’d often go to a coffee shop, which really sucked because of all the distractions. And there I’ve been since I stopped working five years ago, going through phases of writing at home or a coffee shop, depending on which distractions bothered me more at the time.

Then recently there was a certain book I wanted to read, and in my quest to avoid the lure of Amazon because my husband says I spend money like a drunken sailor, I decided to go to the library. I turned to the left, toward the quiet, grown-up people, the side I always avoid since I’m with my loud children who don’ t understand what whispering really means. Especially when they are crying. It’s hard to whisper cry. And there they were – all the large, empty tables with great lighting and wonderful outlets. The people working on their laptops or reading a book, not distracted by the violent sound of the cappuccino maker or the ding of the dry laundry that should really be folded before school pick up.

The library isn’t perfect by any means. But it’s quiet and it’s free and it has books. I feel silly for not thinking of it sooner. Regardless, I found a new place to go, a new place to write. For now, it’s working for me.

Wish me luck that I get something done. Where do you go to work, read or create?

Writing Letters to Summer Camp

When I was a kid, I went to Birch Trail Camp for Girls eight weeks a summer for seven years up in Hayward, Wis. Recently, one of my cabin mates posted a picture of us on Facebook. Names and memories poured over the thread, with these lovely women recounting songs and chants that we used to practically say in our sleep. Discussion of a reunion sparked, along with many of my old friends saying they plan to send their daughters to Birch Trail someday.

One of the best parts of going to camp is getting letters from family and friends. Gabe Chernov, the director at Birch Trail, recently posted a video on You Tube with tips on writing your kids letters at camp, including how often to write and what to write so they see how interested you are in what they are doing without making them homesick or sad. With many friends who have kids just starting overnight camp, and many who may someday, I thought I'd share this video that has a ton of helpful tips.

Will your kids be campers someday? We are going to Birch Trail for family camp next week and I can't wait!

A Book Club that Survives the Busy Years

I’ve been in a book club for 11 years. While a few moved away or dropped off, most of the players have stayed the same since we started it in our mid 20s. Throughout these years, we’ve all been through a lot, celebrating marriages, babies, new jobs and promotions, but also comforting each other after death, divorce and a myriad of other personal struggles.

Our book club has read a lot some years and not so much other years. We used to have lengthy debates about the books hitting heated topics like politics and religion, but these were soon replaced by comparing notes on sleep training and bad bosses, and now discussions about our kids’ school and career plans.

In order for our book club to survive some of the busiest years of our lives with our kids and jobs, it needed to evolve. Based on this experience, I’ve put together some tips for keeping a book club alive:

Mix up the frequency – When you have a busy schedule due to kids and work, meeting every month doesn’t always work. The past two years of our book club we’ve started meeting every other month. Not only does this give you more time to read, it also ensures more of the group will try to make it to each ‘meeting’ since they occur less often.

Change the time/place - If you’ve always met the last Thursday of the month, check in every once in a while to make sure this day is still working for everyone. Also if you’ve been hosting at people’s homes, take a year to meet at restaurants or bars. When you work long hours it can be tough to pull off hosting duties or if you have three kids who will be wakened by a lively discussion, it can be best to stay out of the house.

Create a no pressure atmosphere – We all join book clubs because we like to read and want to read. But sometimes, life is simply too busy to get the chance to read. The last thing anyone needs is to feel bad or guilty about that. There’s still a lot the group can talk about related to the book without giving the ending away. If you’re the leader, think about the book’s themes that can be discussed by those who either read or not. As one of my friends said at the last book club who has a huge job and three little kids, “I love that this is a no pressure book club. That’s all I can handle right now.” Sometimes you’re in a reading groove and sometimes you’re not – but you should always feel welcome at your book club.

Don’t even pick a book! – For those crazy years when everyone is just doing their best to keep afloat, forgo the book altogether. My book club had a year when we just chose articles or short stories and talked about those. And these were some of the best conversations! Or, just get together, catch up and don’t sweat it. Once things calm down for everyone, you can revive the group’s book selections.

For me, even if I'm really busy, I love keeping the book club going. Sometimes I find the time to read even when I thought I couldn't, brainstorming titles keeps me updated on current books, and when we do talk about a book, I love hearing what others think. Based on our history, I know we have years of reading and discussions to come, so I'm glad we've been able to maintain it over these crazy years. Discussion or not, it's great getting together regularly and that may not have happened if it wasn't a regularly scheduled "book club." We've built some amazing friendships for more than a decade as a result of keeping it going.

I’d love to hear any other tips you have for staying in a book club even when your plate is full!

Are Books Here to Stay?

As I've mentioned, I'm a big fan of real books, and it seems independent bookstores, along with book sales, have seen a recent revival. This NPR story, "The Technology Of Books Has Changed, But Bookstores Are Hanging On," discusses the resurgence, crediting the benefits of printed books over digital. I agreed with so many points made in this story, especially how it really feels you can absorb more when reading a printed book. I also loved another comment, that they "just look better." It's true. Overall, it seems really positive that booksellers are starting to embrace what they describe as a book's "bookiness." Bookiness is good.

The one thing that made me really sad when I listened to this was how frequently I buy books from Amazon. Shame.

Thanks for passing this on, Allison!

Photo by Natalia Romay

My Recent 'Aha' Moment

Just as I sometimes doubt other projects, I've questioned why I've started this blog about my love for reading and writing. The vision hasn't been completely clear as I've worked through these first months of posts. Then I had an 'aha' moment which clarified the reason I've been marching forward. In the prologue of her memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, accomplished writer, Anna Quindlen, writes:

"That's what's so wonderful about reading, that books and poetry and essays make us feel as though we're connected, as though the thoughts and feelings we believe are singular and sometimes nutty are shared by others, that we are all more alike than different. It's the wonderful thing about writing, too. Sometimes I would think I was the only person alive concerned about some crazy cul-de-sac of human behavior. Then I would get letters from readers and realize that was not the case, that we were not alone, any of us."

Connection. Reading and writing connects us to ourselves, each other and our surroundings. By nurturing these pastimes even in the face of the more convenient activities constantly starting us in the face, we can more actively think about our dreams, our history or struggles.

It's easier than we sometimes think to bring reading and writing into the fold when we've got work, soccer practice, dishes, and the millions of other things that pull at our time. I hope to share those ideas and more right here.

Procrastinating the Writing Day Away

Lately I've been a world-class procrastinator whenever I sit down to write. I've gone through phases like this before, but this is a particularly bad one. It might be because summer is so close or maybe I've just been working on similar stuff for the past five years and need something fresh. Regardless, I hope it ends soon because I need to meet some serious deadlines!

Until I find a way to motivate, today's all ThursdayStyles....

...and Pinterest...

...and when all else fails, staring into space works.

Wish me luck. Any tips to stop a major procrastination phase?

Bookshelf Love

Once upon a time there was a pair of very sad and neglected bookshelves. As my friend Allison would say, they were very off brand.

After a long and painful home renovation, some new ones were built. They were happy, but still needed some love.

With some help from Fringe, I found some beautiful gray and white leopard Thibaut wallpaper to cover the backs of the bookshelves. And now: very Sara, very on brand. Still tweaking some accessories but it's looking good! I'm trying to stack my books by color, a big decor trend these days.

I love my wallpaper, but I just heard about a new line of removable wallpaper from Chasing Paper. Such a great idea for a project like this because you don't have to commit and can really have fun with color and pattern with no worries! I have a small bookshelf project in my front hall and I'm thinking about trying it out.

Bookshelves are a book and decor lover's dream, right?

Weekend Morning Reading Date

Before kids, weekend mornings consisted of breakfasts out, lots of coffee and reading. We'd sit with the Sunday New York Times or a book. We'd chat a bit, but mostly not. Still somehow, it felt like real quality time together. We hadn't done this in years - until this weekend. 

Our little one's preschool had a "Parent's Day Out" event that her sister could go to as well. Typically when we get to take advantage of something like this, we race around separately doing errands or buzz around the house tackling chores. But this time, due to an ill-timed soccer game for the big one, the girls could only go to the event for an hour. Rather than wasting time racing home and back, we decided to enjoy it, go to a nearby coffee shop and read. 

It was miraculous. We went to an adorable Parisian-style bakery, sipping on our coffee while reading the paper and our books. Chris is still into the political biographies, while I went with something lighter. It felt so fun to be out during the day doing something really relaxing. Hoping to lean on the grandparents or even get a sitter to do this again soon. 

Do you ever go on reading dates?

Learning to Read (at Home)

My daughter is in kindergarten this year. With an August birthday, she's one of the youngest in the class. She's a quick learner, and has always picked up on things like numbers, ABCs and letter sounds very easily.

When her senior kindergarten year began, she wasn't reading but was close on her way, knowing the letter sounds and beginning to read simple words. Throughout the year, they've worked at school on building up sight word knowledge, continuing letter sounds and sounding out words. She continued learning and improving, but she started getting frustrated when we would try to have her read to us. The year went by and although she'd made steady progress, she wasn't really reading and many others in her class were.

I know you're saying, it doesn't matter, everyone learns at their own pace. But it did bother me and I knew why. I wrongly assumed she'd learn it all in school, and that if we practiced at home a bit and read to her daily, she'd get it. Of course, in time, I'm sure that would work, but I am a huge resource to her and I wasn't helping the way I could. At school, while the teachers do an amazing job, she is one of 22 kids. Here at home, she is one of two. Clearly, we could do more to help her read at home if it wasn't coming to her easily. Why wouldn't we?

I talked to her teacher and learned about the different reading levels at school. Very few books at the bookstore use those same levels and understanding them helped me find more books that were right for her. Her teacher gave me a chart of Development Reading Assessment levels and how it correlated with guided reading levels. At her recommendation, I searched her DRA level on Amazon Google to found resources that helped me find books for her. Here is a similar chart on the Scholastic website that helps you find books by DRA level.

When I found the right books and dedicated 15 minutes a day to reading them, my daughter started making much more progress much more quickly. It's amazing what can happen when the books aren't too easy or too hard. She quickly began reading and it just took a little extra work at home. Now that I know what to look for, it feels easier to find books that are appropriate even if they don't show the reading level.

Whether through trial and error or matching the DRA level to guided reading level books, here are the books that I've found really helped when learning to read:

1. BOB Books - These are the first books we got that my daughter could read. They start with simple easy consonant vowel consonant (CVC) words and short vowel sounds. Repetition helps boost confidence.

2. Tug the Pup - These books I got once I found out her level at school and referred to the chart my teacher gave me. She was a DRA Level 4 which correlated to Level C. I started with the first set that is A-C, with reward stickers when she finished a book. She breezed through them, needing help on words here and there. I could seriously see her get better as we went through this set. We recently started working on set D-F. The stickers sound silly but they seriously motivate her to tackle book after book.

3. Biscuit - We've found the I Can Read and Step into Reading Series really inconsistent. Some "Level 1" books are easy and others impossible. When Charlotte starting to read we found the I Can Read Biscuit series. The Biscuit books are "My First I Can Read" level, which are fairly simple. My daughter likes that these are bigger books, rather than the small "easy reader" size. Biscuit Goes to School was the first "real book" she read on her own. While they don't teach her how to read in a way the early readers do, they build confidence and are consistent.

4. First Little Readers - These books from Scholastic are just like the ones the teacher sends home every week to practice. Here you get a huge pack of 25 books at their exact guided reading level. We are still working through our pack, but it is so nice knowing that she's working on the exact same thing she'd be working on at school. I think of these as perfect practice books. Once you master them, you move up to the next level.

It's easy to get anxious and want to move ahead when you see they are reading. What's worked for us is taking a step back and mastering the easy readers. Slowly we are starting to tackle some I Can Read Level 1 (again, not the same as guided reading levels - oy, so confusing with all these levels!).

Hope this helps anyone who has a kid who feels stuck. That's how we felt and it is slowly getting better. It takes the parents' hard work in addition to the kid's and I think that sunk in for me a little late. Just 15 minutes a day seems to be doing the trick!

Brushing Up My Vocab

I work from home as a part-time freelance writer. Most of my daily conversations take place with my 3-year-old, who often reverts to baby talk when she doesn't want to do what I say and begs to watch, as she puts it, "lots of Peppa Pigs." So you may understand why I don't always feel quite as sharp as I used to. I recently decided to brush up my vocabulary as a result, thinking it may at least fool me into feeling a little smarter.

I signed up for A.Word.A.Day on Wordsmith.org. Every morning a new word with its definition and usage is e-mailed to me. They've included colophon, frangible and expurgate. I haven't known one yet. Feeling smarter already. And now back to Peppa Pig.

P.S. Messy hair, don't care.

How Writing Helped Me Grieve

A couple weeks ago, my best friend from childhood's dad died. I practically lived at their house as a kid, so he was like a second dad to me for years. His death was unexpected and affected me a lot more than I would have thought.

I think one reason I'm writing this blog is because I can see how writing in my daily life helps me improve and connect to others. This became really clear when Jim died. My own and others' writing helped me grieve and heal. Here's how:

• I hadn't seen Jim much in years. The day after I heard the news that he died, I was trying to work but couldn't concentrate. I sat and wrote down a list of memories about him. It helped me remember wonderful things about him I hadn't thought of in years. Some were small, like that he ate peanuts in the shell while he watched baseball games. Others were bigger, like how he always made me feel like part of his family during a time when I really needed that stability.
• My friend's sister wrote a eulogy that reminded me about Jim's greatness and taught me even more about him. I think eulogies are such an important part of a funeral, both for the writers who can work though pain as they write about their loved ones, and the friends and family who need to hear these words to help them grieve.
• My friend's family did a great job displaying things about Jim at the visitation. One thing I especially loved was a display of letters he had written to one of the daughters over recent years. The letters gave her updates about his daily life and a real look into what was on his mind. I could hear his voice as I read a few of them, and felt comforted that they would have those letters forever.

Has anyone really important to you died? Has your own writing or someone else's ever helped you grieve?

National Poetry Month

Do you ever sit and read poetry? Do people do that? I so wish I did, but truthfully, I don't.

When I heard April is National Poetry Month, I Googled it and poets.org came up. Not only does it have information about the monthly event, it is such a great resource if you ever wanted to look up a certain poem, browse poetry in general or look for poetry events in your area. It also has a lot of resources for teaching kids about poetry.

I remember learning about poetry in school and certainly as a literature major, but it is not something I've kept up with one bit. Maybe just browsing the site this month will remind me about this genre that must certainly be at the top of the list when it comes to the lost art of writing. Hopefully it will lead to more.

What about you? Do you ever read poetry?

Date Your Letters

So, I'm going through all of the letters Chris and I have sent each other over the years. We saved a lot of them, which I'm so thankful for. It is so strange to think that writing those letters was so critical to communicating back in the day. Between summer camp (yes we've been together that long), trips abroad and the ridiculously high long distance chargers before cell phone days, we relied on these letters to keep our relationship going at times.

I've just started going through them and there is something that is really bothering me that I had to relay urgently, along with a strict order. If you ever write another letter, please please, put a date on the top. Chris was pretty good at putting a month and date, but not very good at adding the year. I was bad at it all. Granted, maybe at age 17 we didn't realize we'd be together this long, but I could kill our cute little letter writing selves right now. Sometimes I saved the envelop which has a postage date, but not often.

Were you good about this? What's wrong with me?

Kid Gift: Story Starters

My sister gave the girls a great gift recently called And Then...Story Starters. A box is filled with cards and each one has the beginning of a story that the girls can finish. The packaging is beautiful and the stories are really fun. The girls love them. I've been amazed to hear what's in their little minds when they finish the story. 

I know once they are older in school they will write and illustrate their own stories, but I've never thought much about doing that at home. Now that my older one is starting to write more I think that will be really fun. These story starters really help get their creative juices flowing.

I've started giving these as gifts too. One of my friends says she and her kids go around the breakfast table, each adding on to the same story. So cute.

Writing Wedding Vows

Did you write your own wedding vows? Chris and I didn’t. We were babies and a little scared of the whole wedding process, so I think it was the right choice for us at the time. But I think when done right, writing your own vows can show other people how you feel about your significant other in a way nothing else can. It’s also a way to exhibit your writing skills in front of your family and closest friends, which is pretty awesome.

But wow, writing your own vows seems a bit intimidating, doesn’t it? Writing vows should be simple, down to earth and personal. Super easy, right? 

I’m currently reading Amy Poehler’s Yes Please (I love this book!). In it she talks about Mike Schur, the creator of Parks and Recreation, writing Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt’s wedding vows. They are so well written and great inspiration for someone writing their own. They’re sentimental, but not too mushy:

BEN

In the ten years I worked for state government, my job sent me to more than fifty cities. I lived in villages with eight people, rural farming communities, college towns-I was sent to every corner of Indiana. And then I came here. And I realized that this whole time, that’s what I was doing-I was just wandering around, everywhere, looking for you.

[…after several funny lines…]

LESLIE

So I will just say this. The things you have done for me-to help me, support me, surprise me, and make me happy-go above and beyond what any person deserves. You are all I need. I love you and I like you.

BEN

I love you and I like you.

This makes me wish I had written vows. Maybe we'll write some for an anniversary and read them at dinner.

Did you write your vows? Was it tough or a piece of cake?