Outside Inside

Today clouds are rolling in and the forecast is predicting rain for the next few days. I do enjoy a good rainy day, but we've had a lot lately! And I'm ready for the soil to dry out so I can start planting some flowers and possibly tackle a small vegetable garden. As I fell asleep last night I was planning out where I would plant a few pansies and whether or not our budget could allow us to buy a few bigger trees for our backyard.



One thing I do enjoy about rainy days is the chance to snuggle up and read. The girls and I just went through a stack of our favorite books. One of my absolute favorites is a book called Outside Inside by Carolyn Crimi.

The story follows a little girl named Molly as she wakes up to a rainy, stormy day. "Outside, black clouds sink down to the bottom of the sky. Inside, Molly stretches and yawns in her red flannel robe. Outside, tree leaves flap in the crying wind. Inside, Molly's slippers whisper down the hall." Back and forth it goes from outside to inside. This is such a good teaching book too. You can work on comparing and contrasting as well as many types of figurative language: personification, onomatopoeia, etc. I love the way the wind cries or her slippers whisper.
Later lightning scratches the sky and maple syrup slips down a pancake mountain.


So if I were writing my own "Outside Inside" book today, here's what I'd say....


Outside, gray clouds shift and swirl over the horizon.
Inside, Hannah and Leah build a wooden block castle.
Outside, the wind moans as it whips around my front porch.
Inside, the washing machine gurgles and churns as it washes a full load of clothes.
Outside, a small oak tree opens up its early spring leaves to the sky.
Inside, Mama enjoys a quiet moment to type out her thoughts.


What would your "Outside Inside" look like today?