Dream Big - READ! Alien Bulletin Board

Since this past fall, we have had much positive feedback concerning our interactive bulletin board.  Each month the theme changes, and for summer reading we decided to put up aliens. 

It is a simple matching  game - match the name of the alien with it's picture.  Velcro is attached to the back and all pieces are saved for future use!  Other themes we have used are dogs, cars, couples, muppets, and pigs  (I can't remember the others!).   We look at books, television and movies to find the themed characters.  It's a hoot to listen to parents and kids trying to work them out!  

Summer Boredom Busters

Summer is fast approaching, and with it a chorus from kids of all ages ringing out "I'M BORED!!!"  Be prepared!  

Decorate an old jar or box to hold all of your "Boredom Busters".  Think of things your family likes to do, and that also do not cost a whole lot of money.  Another idea is to just write random ideas on your monthly calendar, one per day, and make sure to do them!

If anything, just remember to chill, relax and have fun!  It's summer!!!   If you can't think of anything at all to do, here are a few ideas to get you started:

Blow bubbles

Play with sidewalk chalk

Walk to the park

 Pop a tent in your backyard

 Build a fort inside using chairs, couch cushions and blankets!

Go on a bike ride

Look at the clouds

Create a lemonade or kool-aid  stand

Play with a friend

Go to the beach

Go to the lake

Go swimming

Pick some flowers or make a paper flower bouquet

Have a water balloon fight

Have a squirt gun fight

Make a picnic lunch

Go fishing

Create a scavenger hunt

Hoola Hoop!

Hopscotch

Find some rocks outside and paint them

Create a nature collage

Build a fairy house

Play flashlight tag

Tell stories

Read a book

Dream Big - Read!

Frantically attempting to get ready for our summer reading program wit the theme of "Dream Big - READ!"   It's been fun going with sleeping and space type decorations.
Here are a few of the bulletin boards we pulled together after scouring the internet for ideas and brainstorming: 

At our local Meijer store, I found these fantastic Crystal Effect Window Markers by Crayola and they made the most awesome stars on our windows.    You draw whatever design you want on the window and then wait... within seconds the liquid marker begins to "crystalize".  It is so cool!    I had a fun drawing stars,  but  I think I actually enjoyed more watching them dry.  Try mixing colors too!  I got some neat results!

Best Sunscreens

Alright, I know this is a stretch, but when I read this article about sunscreens, I really felt the need to share it, and this blog is my only outlet.   Bare with me :)

Yahoo had an informative article about sunscreens and which are really the best to use.  Check out the full article HERE.  With the weather warming and the sun shining, it doesn't hurt to check the cupboard and update your sunscreen!

This is the list of the best:

Best affordable sunscreens
Based on its analysis of over 800 beach and sport sunscreens, the EWG provided Yahoo! Shine with its 15 most affordable, recommended products:
Coppertone Kids Pure & Simple Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50
BabyGanics Cover Up Baby Sunscreen for Face & Body, Fragrance Free, SPF 50+
Sunbow Dora the Explorer Sunscreen, Pink, SPF 30
Purple Prairie Botanicals SunStuff Mineral Lotion, SPF 30
Nature's Gate Aqua Block Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50
Solbar Shield Sunscreen, SPF 40
Caribbean Solutions Sol Kid Kare Biodegradable Sunscreen, SPF 25
Tropical Sands Broad Spectrum Sunscreen, SPF 30
KidsUV Natural Sunscreen, Blue, SPF 30
Color Me Pink Baby UV/ Kids UV 100% Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30
Alba Botanica Natural Very Emollient Sunblock, Kids Mineral Protection, SPF 30
Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen, Face, SPF 30+
Healing-Scents Live Long Mineral-Based Sunscreen, SPF 25
Hara Body Care Hara Sport Sunscreen, SPF 30
Vanicream Sport Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 35

The Duckling Gets a Cookie by Mo Willems

Yep, Mo Willems has done it again.  I wasn't even sure whether or not I should even bother to review this book because geeze, hasn't every parent of a 0-5 year old heard of Pigeon ?  If not, what about Elephant and Piggie ?!  Knuffle Bunny ?!?   My point is, generally Mo Willem's cast of characters are pretty much a staple at most schools, daycares, and libraries (not to mention home bookshelves)!

With that said.... I just reallyreallyreally have to mention this new book featuring Duckling!   Ok, I admit it, I love Duckling, and this time Duckling oh-so-sweetly asks for cookie and guess what happens?!?!?!  Duckling gets one!  This does NOT make Pigeon happy at all.  Pigeon points out that he has asked for things all the itme and never gets what he wants.  Not even a walrus!  "Do I ever get what I want?" he asks.  The two page spread for "Nooooooooooo" cracked me up .

If you love pigeons, ducklings and cookies, please check this book out now!  You'll laugh too - and will probably want a cookie.

I am a Pole (and so can you!) by Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
"I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)"
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

May 8th saw not only the release of Stephen Colbert's highly anticipated children's book that is not a children's book, and also the passing of one of the most beloved children's book authors, Maurice Sendak.  Coincidently Stephen Colbert talked with Maurice Sendak back in January about writing for children and Colbert even shared a bit of the rough copy of his book with Sendak to which he replied "The sad thing is, I like it."  That quote made the cover of the book!

Check it out at your local library or better yet, purchase one.... All profits are going to USVetsinc.org!

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

Zebra is absolutely certain he’ll be able to direct everyone to appear on the correct page, at the appropriate time, without any mishaps, unnecessary drama, or hurt feelings. It’s the ABCs, for goodness’ sake. How difficult can it be?    Oh, dear.   Zebra forgot about moose.

When I first saw this book, I thought "ohhh, another alphabet book."  You can't hear it, but I thought that in the most monotone mental voice ever.  Really - there just haven't been many exciting alphabet books to come out lately.  What can you do with the ABCs?!?!   Well, Kelly Bingham and Paul Zelinsky have come up with a fresh idea!

The book starts normal enough:  A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat, and then moose enters the picture.  He's impatiently waiting for his turn to come in the alphabet, so ends up on most every other letter's page; and THEN he discovers M is for MOUSE!!!   Oh no...
If you have a preschooler just learning their letters, or even a school age child looking for some fun, check out this new take on an ABC book.  Moose is a hoot and will have everyone laughing - and yes, there is even a good ending.

Goodbye Maurice Sendak

“But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go - we’ll eat you up - we love you so!”And Max said, “No!”The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye.” 

-Maurice Sendak, Where the Wilds Things Are

Maurice Sendak, speaker of truth and creator of works of art for young children, passed away today at the age of 83.  

"I cry a lot because I miss people.  They die and I can't stop them.  They leave me and I love them more."

- Maurice Sendak

Silly Goose's BIG Story by Keiko Kasza

Keiko Kasza has done it again, combining her adorable animal illustrations with such a wonderfully full story that has a good light lesson to boot.

In Silly Goose's Big Story , Goose loves to make himself the hero of all the stories he makes up.  Well, his three friends would like to take turns in being the hero sometimes!   Just when they were having this discussion, a big ole wolf pops out yelling "Lunch!".  Goose's friends get away, but he is captured by the wolf!  What will happen next?  Will his friends come and save him? 

Needing a real hero to help him out of this mess shows Goose how his friends can be real life heroes!  Check it out!

Children's Book Week 2012

Today marks the start of Children's Book Week 2012!  

According to their site:

Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running literacy initiative in the country. Each year, books for young people and the joy of reading are feted for a full week with author and illustrator appearances, storytelling, parties, and other book-related events at schools, libraries, bookstores, museums, and homes from coast to coast!

Check out your local libraries and bookstores for special events this week, and also stop by the CBW  website for some great book ideas.  Happy Reading!

Piggy Bunny by Rachel Vail

This is the story of Liam who's tale is told by Rachel Vail, the creator of the wonderful  Justin Case chapter books,  and who is brought to life by the awesomely talented Jeremy Tankard (think Grumpy Bird ).  Liam was just like all the other piglets except that all the other piglets want to be pigs when they grow up.  Liam wants to be the Easter Bunny.

Liam practices all the time - especially funny is the part where he really, really tries to learn to love to eat salads.  His dedication does not falter, though he does not appear to get much support from friends or family, until Grandma and Grandpa come along.

My son loves to don a cape and wreck havoc in the living room (he likes being bad guys once in a while) and my daughter loves to put on cat ears and a tail an wander around the mall (if she gets a bit older than her pre-teen years, I might start to worry).  It's all ok.  Really.  The point of the matter is that they are using their imagination and discovering who they are and how they fit into this great world of ours.

You probably know a Liam, and if so, let your Liam dream!  Let them believe in themselves and and gain the confidence to become who they choose to be!  And oh yeah, be sure to share this great story with them!

Paper Towel Roll Trumpet

Ok, we are having another musical program - this time a brass quartet - and I needed another craft!!!  I did find these directions for a Gideon's Trumpet but for the life of me, I could not get the bowl onto the paper towel roll without the bowl ripping all apart.  Perhaps it was the type of bowl I was using (styrofoam); maybe paper bowls would have worked better.  

In any case, I did have styrofoam cups and as you can see in the picture, the trumpets turned out fine!  To save money, I simply used Duct tape to attach everything and it worked great.   You could cover the entire thing in tin foil, but when doing this for a large group, that wasn't cost effective enough for me!

All you need to do is cut the bottom out of a styrofoam cup (mine were 9 oz) and tape it to the end of a paper towel roll.   To make the handle, I used a strip from a cut up paper towel roll and taped it on.  For added decoration, I glued 3 buttons onto the top as the valves. 

Add this to the rubber band guitar and have fun!  I'm sure you have some pots and pans with wooden spoons that could be used as drums!

Scary Mary by Paula Bowles

Mary is Scary.  In the barnyard, she rules the roost.  She fluffs her feathers in a flurry, squawks, and makes all the animals scurry, until she finally gets her wish.  She's alone.  All. Alone. 

At first of course she enjoys it, but then she realizes she misses everone else and asks the group if she can play with them.

This debut book by Paula Bowles begs to be shared aloud!    And be sure to check out her wildly fun, bold yet playful illustrations.  They really bring the barnyard, and Mary, to life!

Over in the Forest by Marianne Berkes

Written to the rhythm of the familiar "Over in the Meadow", Over in the Forest by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin brings forest animals alive to children as they scratch like a turkey, build like a beaver or dunk like a raccoon. 

Yes, this has been done before; there are many books written to the rhythm of "Over in the Meadow", but this book stands out!  The rhymes are fun and engaging, and the illustrations take up the full two page spreads and are simply delightful.   Berkes  and Dubin don't stop there however, they also include so much added information in the backpages about the animals mentioned in the book, extra hidden animals to look for on the pages, and tips from the author and illustrator to further the learning. 

Definitely check this book out!   Not only will your child enjoy pouring over the pages, you will too!

The House of 12 Bunnies

So many children enjoy a good "seek and find" picture puzzle book, such as I Spy or the Can You See What I See? set, all by Walter Wick.  There are many others by various authors, some focusing on popular characters, such as the much loved Where's Waldo? .  The House of 12 Bunnies by Carolin Stills and Sarcia Stills-Blott and illustrated by Judith Rossell joins this long list of entertaining puzzle books for young children.

Adorable, playful bunnies are almost ready for bed, but Sophia has lost something!  Each two page spread shows the bunnies in different situations, such as eating a snack, and invites the reading to find items, like 6 wooden chairs, 5 teddy bears or 4 trumpets.  All the while, Sophia keeps looking for the one thing she has lost.

A lovely counting as well as seek and find story to be shared with your little one, though if you choose this for bedtime, make sure you allow enough extra time for you both to find all the items hidden on the pages!

The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long

I needed a lively and fun book to read this week, and The Croaky Pokey! definitely fit the bill!   Ok, So I've already done a frog storytime for Leap Year Day ; there must be another way to work this jiving book into a weekly theme!  

Musical books?   Action books?   Fun books?  Pond books?  Books that show flies being eaten?!?  Simply fun, all around good books?  Yeah, that's the ticket.

The Croaky Pokey! written, as you would expect, to the tune of the Hokey Pokey, is a musical romp with some hilarious frogs who are trying and trying to catch a bug!  The lively beat will certainly get your kids up onto their feet repeating the actions, and the all important WHAP!

Lots of froggy fun here to be enjoyed by kids of all ages.  Coupling a book with some fun action, now that's a good idea.

Google by Reading Level

If you have young children in the house who need to search the internet for either school related research information or possibly for their own curiousity, then you need to know about Googles new search feature allowing you to set specific reading levels on search results.

To search Google by reading level, Google has published the following steps:

1. Click More search tools on the left side of the search results page.
2. Click Reading level. You’ll now see results annotated with reading levels as well as a percentage breakdown of results by reading level.
3. To filter your results by a specific reading level, select your desired level (Basic, Intermediate, orAdvanced).
4. At any time, you can click the X in the right corner of the blue bar beneath the search box to go back to seeing all results.

I tried searching on "titanic" and it was interesting to note the changes to the search results when clicking on the various reading levels.  Try it out!