tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30328266497836828682024-03-05T07:05:40.054-08:00Bookworm FunI like to create story themes for my kids. We'll pick a theme and read books, make crafts, sing songs, play games, and find other fun activities that fit with the theme. This blog follows some of our fun times... the messes and the masterpieces.Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-64748342182652812032013-10-02T03:03:00.001-07:002013-10-02T03:03:41.215-07:00Hansel and Gretel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1q1YE5ZMgMGdefV8cdMAOl-Kc8JODaF3gSLq6tcMd-8_abM6Fuh-WWucRhMUgZmp4JYooqMJR22mnb9fdYfGwbs1rJ9dOTH_tYu3b1yzrWxyqoWHT8hJzDBiqDbMGWRSXwZlhRnkdUr0/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1q1YE5ZMgMGdefV8cdMAOl-Kc8JODaF3gSLq6tcMd-8_abM6Fuh-WWucRhMUgZmp4JYooqMJR22mnb9fdYfGwbs1rJ9dOTH_tYu3b1yzrWxyqoWHT8hJzDBiqDbMGWRSXwZlhRnkdUr0/s200/index.jpg" width="134" /></a>A.'s favorite story these days is Hansel and Gretel, so we decided to spend a week getting more involved with the story. Her preferred version is the Usborne Books one, which takes a humorously modern approach. I grew up with the Golden Books version-- also fun. Any library worth its salt will have at least five different picture books of Hansel and Gretel, though, and we certainly had fun with the pile we found at ours!<br />
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<a href="http://www.guidecraft.com/dimg/thm/t354_3234809bbe448563f51854108af408bb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.guidecraft.com/dimg/thm/t354_3234809bbe448563f51854108af408bb.jpg" width="200" /></a>A. loves the story so much that I splurged on her birthday and bought her the <a href="http://www.guidecraft.com/product/506808/G6501/_/Hansel_%26_Gretel">Story Box from Steve Light.</a> She loves playing with it, and we reenact the story together, but I'm not exactly sure why the plot needed so much revamping. Without the stepmother, the whole moral of the story changes and Hansel loses his opportunity to show his cleverness, but the kids like it anyway.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZpqdfeXfAt46RZMcdQbSsC8YoIXZ9b9yg07du1r82uKgnzCtUhNzL0YlSMYjQEEXoYG6GmaPKGM_jvgXjoBWfgwoVGQo42HhTjEoVKhveWz76AYFylUloOOp2jnK_1yK8xpN9HlpZ3c/s1600/DSCF4189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZpqdfeXfAt46RZMcdQbSsC8YoIXZ9b9yg07du1r82uKgnzCtUhNzL0YlSMYjQEEXoYG6GmaPKGM_jvgXjoBWfgwoVGQo42HhTjEoVKhveWz76AYFylUloOOp2jnK_1yK8xpN9HlpZ3c/s200/DSCF4189.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhxePxYQuPokSxpqs0h2xrxafmQlcVzoDHHzEtsHCBFvZITJFKvkzhCP64fDMqS8L02bMhsArGi2OvrLj5BjkKbr9We9OyjWwlpDLXWOS10YsoOlVg8p16DsU0qJAIFRkNZDV2okL08M/s1600/DSCF4190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMhxePxYQuPokSxpqs0h2xrxafmQlcVzoDHHzEtsHCBFvZITJFKvkzhCP64fDMqS8L02bMhsArGi2OvrLj5BjkKbr9We9OyjWwlpDLXWOS10YsoOlVg8p16DsU0qJAIFRkNZDV2okL08M/s200/DSCF4190.JPG" width="200" /></a>A fun, sweet activity that went well with this theme was making sugar cookies in the shapes of the gingerbread house and Hansel and Gretel. <br />
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I liked <a href="http://manelleoliphant.com/10-fun-and-free-hansel-and-gretel-activities-for-kids/">this website</a> with 10 free activities to go along with Hansel and Gretel. The finger puppets are fun! </div>
Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-89638483710689886272013-09-16T10:00:00.000-07:002013-09-16T10:00:23.261-07:00Mozart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A recent road trip to Salzburg inspired me to return to our History of Music series. Mozart is up next!<br />
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My chapter book readers loved the Magic Treehouse <u>Moonlight on the Magic Flute,</u> which gave them an opportunity to get to know "little Wolfie" as a child. <u>Who was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart</u> is a very informative picture book, though a little harder for the little ones to stay focused on. My personal favorite is the hard-to-find <u>Mozart Finds a Melody</u>, by Costanza. Check your local library!<br />
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<a href="http://bks0.books.google.de/books?id=SKDDxuELA1QC&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&imgtk=AFLRE73ijmgWrut6E53SnqbO9clKXrCcGBdOL2nTzHt8whsRZiJ9jD0hNXonGdiTOxjgA1CoQ5des5VEmxCkAhKpasMEj6QuhwgQt7V_Z0BkRwo7iqJmgebSOHqVpXCJl9VN1GVqRKdT" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://bks0.books.google.de/books?id=SKDDxuELA1QC&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&imgtk=AFLRE73ijmgWrut6E53SnqbO9clKXrCcGBdOL2nTzHt8whsRZiJ9jD0hNXonGdiTOxjgA1CoQ5des5VEmxCkAhKpasMEj6QuhwgQt7V_Z0BkRwo7iqJmgebSOHqVpXCJl9VN1GVqRKdT" /></a><a href="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1317792511l/610258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1317792511l/610258.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://bks8.books.google.de/books?id=4fQCPwAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE73sQBu-d3J6QxBZeiyNacncZ0-SSUwWO82w3gZY4S3QzvF59_TEke_tH4NhPcyDlJRBllfIMPr4SHUAeqyvRiAuomA1b-vJdBo4Zu5bi9J9pHP57VGgZtkeEmvrRVyh-SqI5cc6" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://bks8.books.google.de/books?id=4fQCPwAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE73sQBu-d3J6QxBZeiyNacncZ0-SSUwWO82w3gZY4S3QzvF59_TEke_tH4NhPcyDlJRBllfIMPr4SHUAeqyvRiAuomA1b-vJdBo4Zu5bi9J9pHP57VGgZtkeEmvrRVyh-SqI5cc6" /></a></div>
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While in Salzburg we made sure to tour the <a href="http://www.salzburg.info/en/sights/museums/mozarts_residence">Mozart Residence</a> as well as <a href="http://www.salzburg.info/en/sights/museums/mozarts_birthplace">Mozart's Birthplace</a>. The latter was the more informative and better for kids, as it included Mozarts childhood violin, period furniture and kitchen, and dioramas of opera scenes as well as a room dedicated to listening to his music.<br />
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I've gone on and on about the Classical Kids CDs before, but <i>Mozart's Manificent Voyage</i> deserves its own day in the spotlight. We love listening to the young opera stars as they travel through time to see major events from the composer's life. I'm a huge fan of audio adventures anyway, and it's a fantastic format for including musical masterpieces in the narrative.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BY7HME5JL._SY300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BY7HME5JL._SY300_.jpg" width="155" /></a>For more audible fun on Mozart, check out the <a href="http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showview.asp?ID=27">Classics for Kids</a> radio show's five different episodes on him and his works. They're short, sweet, to-the-point and informative. <br />
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How does Mom celebrate the end of Mozart Week after the kids are in bed? Why, whip out the ol' Oscar-winning <i>Amadeus</i> movie, of course! It's only rated PG, though, so it won't be long until I can share it with my eldest.<br />
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Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-70845410712821879312013-09-08T11:29:00.003-07:002013-09-08T11:29:28.808-07:00Monsters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://helenketteman.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Goodnight-Little-Monster-coversmall1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://helenketteman.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Goodnight-Little-Monster-coversmall1.JPG" width="191" /></a>Monsters! Not just for nightmares anymore. This week's bookworm fun centered on the fun, loveable monsters that have become popular in books like Laura Numeroff's <u>10-Step Guide to Living with Your Monster</u> and Helen Ketteman's <u>Goodnight, Little Monster.</u> <u>Monster Math</u>, by Anne Miranda, is a fun way to sneak the kindergarten number work in, too.<br />
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We did two art projects this week because monsters are a great creative inspiration. Anything goes! </div>
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This first project explores symmetry and the mixing of colors. We blobbed red, yellow, and blue paint onto one half of a folded sheet of paper and gently mixed them together in the spaces between the blobs. Fold the paper, squish, open and add eyes/ legs as desired. Voila! This project also fulfilled several requirements for the <a href="http://usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/academics/art.asp">Cub Scout Art Belt Loop.</a><br />
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Our second craft consisted of making paper bag monsters. I really gave the kids free reign with this one. </div>
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Our monster music playlist includes favorites such as <i>Maybe the Monster</i> (The Wiggles), <i>Monster Boogie</i> (Laurie Berkner), <i>Monster Mash</i> (<i>Pickett</i>), and <i>If You're Scary and You Know It</i> (from the CD "Spooky Favorites"). Check them out, they're lots of fun!</div>
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For Pizza, Popcorn and a Movie Night we plan to expand on the monster theme by finally watching <i>Monsters, Inc. </i>Just have to wait for our hold at the library.</div>
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Cheerio!<br /><br />
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Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-59966604252496269612013-03-08T09:36:00.000-08:002013-03-08T09:36:01.812-08:00Baroque Music: Handel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This week we're continuing our exploration of baroque music with Georg Friederic Handel, famous German composer who wrote for the British Royal Court. The "Getting to Know the World's Composers" book <i>George Handel</i> tells his biography in an entertaining, kid-friendly manner.<br />
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKFVDmcQ0WpEBopIrc1F_lPMIggmjjK6JEHiTSVezmMk3X01fpNw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKFVDmcQ0WpEBopIrc1F_lPMIggmjjK6JEHiTSVezmMk3X01fpNw" /></a>My kids also loved the audio adventure by Classical Kids called <i>Hallelujah, Handel, </i>which we checked out from our local library. Bonus: all of the background music is his work!<i> </i><br />
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Here are a few more internet resources related to Handel:<br />
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<a href="http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showview.asp?ID=23">Classics for Kids</a> has some lovely short episodes about Handel and his music.<br />
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<a href="http://www.makingmusicfun.net/htm/mmf_great_composer_worksheets_index.htm">Making Music Fun</a> has a free printable Handel word search for early elementary kids, and <a href="http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/george-handel/">Super Coloring</a> has a bust-style coloring page. <a href="http://www.artsalive.ca/pdf/mus/handel_all_e.pdf">This PDF from Arts Alive CA</a> includes a biography, interesting cultural references for the period, and a great guide to Handel's major works. <br />
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This unit would be fun to do around Christmas, in conjunction with listening to Handel's <i>Messiah</i>.<br />
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Have a great weekend, bookworms!</div>
Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-5043753122627559232013-02-25T08:32:00.001-08:002013-02-25T08:35:54.213-08:00Penguins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I know I promised a sequel to our intro to baroque music, but the skies opened up and dumped snow on us and I couldn't resist spending some time on penguins! See our sensory table fun below to see why I'm stoked by the snow.<br />
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Our favorite penguin picture book is Usborne's <i>How Big is a Million</i>. Great help with visual math skills!<br />
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To get our youngest readers up and moving on a snowy day, the scanimation <i>Waddle</i> and Eric Carle's <i>From Head to Toe</i> feature penguins getting their groove on.<br />
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My chapter book reader loves the Magic Treehouse <i>Eve of the Emperor Penguin, </i>and my pre-k son loves to listen to it read on CD. We'll be cracking that one out at bedtime tonight to round off our penguin playtime.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLOzxd0DD05y_ppllFD4_J4aJfhZ8hXPfMqBnxo70ibVYB9hCQcW4a-5rfCZfy2_QquJTVUBjdc86AKmI9tdypypnsothf2UyT7gxXaOTnqxv6vG9HQIXTs5G_v7e30mdkueskMEuohQ/s1600/DSCF0658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLOzxd0DD05y_ppllFD4_J4aJfhZ8hXPfMqBnxo70ibVYB9hCQcW4a-5rfCZfy2_QquJTVUBjdc86AKmI9tdypypnsothf2UyT7gxXaOTnqxv6vG9HQIXTs5G_v7e30mdkueskMEuohQ/s400/DSCF0658.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEias4XdoFuVDptsE3d7KIm6DFvICN6KvFHNsNO_97CbJeaonEX7Xsx1sSXJsCVGsd_vB6deacN6gvSafxL1v9v-zWl7y2DwEUJsjszWgazJaaN4sCzAf9KkzmHwj9tRsX-Va4vx6_Tw/s1600/DSCF0660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnEias4XdoFuVDptsE3d7KIm6DFvICN6KvFHNsNO_97CbJeaonEX7Xsx1sSXJsCVGsd_vB6deacN6gvSafxL1v9v-zWl7y2DwEUJsjszWgazJaaN4sCzAf9KkzmHwj9tRsX-Va4vx6_Tw/s200/DSCF0660.JPG" width="200" /></a>Here's our fun sensory activity with snow: I put a towel on the table, get a bin full of snow from outside the back door, set out a bowl of plastic "ice" and a bowl of penguins, and voila! Snowy indoor penguin fun. Nicole inspired this play set-- check out her version <a href="http://www.playtrays.com/p/icy-penguins_21.html">of Icy Penguins</a>, to include a link to kid-safe instant fake snow (not for those who put things in their mouths).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTO3Hq5CGdyHPgiu23hUQMUEFDnS0_c5Siu7LwWlQQT_lUHKDXOQZnmgTVnpt_YRjPuUbIR-UAnXw4EIyl6NUmWLqqLWMBl7AxA9WPaVKtMngI_tbOLFWJ6f-kUO01nMZf_h5_DWYvTg/s1600/DSCF0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTO3Hq5CGdyHPgiu23hUQMUEFDnS0_c5Siu7LwWlQQT_lUHKDXOQZnmgTVnpt_YRjPuUbIR-UAnXw4EIyl6NUmWLqqLWMBl7AxA9WPaVKtMngI_tbOLFWJ6f-kUO01nMZf_h5_DWYvTg/s200/DSCF0666.JPG" width="200" /></a>Our art project was to make penguins out of our shoe prints and handprints. I think they turned out pretty cute! We used oil pastels for the snowflakes and other details.</div>
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Storytime Katie has some other great penguin story ideas, to include this cute fingerplay that my kids insisted on doing over and over again:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966; line-height: 20px;"><i>Fingerplay: “Two Little Penguins”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966; line-height: 20px;"><i>Two little penguins sitting on the ice (hold up two fingers)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966; line-height: 20px;"><i>Waddle little penguins. Waddle away. (put fingers behind back)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966; line-height: 20px;"><i>Come back penguins. Time to play! (bring fingers to the front)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif;"><span style="color: #ffd966; line-height: 20px;"><i>Credit: King County Library System</i></span></span></div>
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Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-67470712778082303702013-02-19T04:50:00.000-08:002013-02-19T04:50:00.298-08:00Baroque Music: Vivaldi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRISkIo7CLG163uqYhRBbBfD1rWv9OiuRwSJjNBI7luGCACtC0F" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRISkIo7CLG163uqYhRBbBfD1rWv9OiuRwSJjNBI7luGCACtC0F" /></a><br />
This year I've been devising a History of Music curriculum that started with Gregorian Chant and will end... with ZZ Top? Who knows. At any rate, the first period in which I've found significant resources for kids has been the Baroque, so that's where I'll begin blog posts.<br />
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I chose Vivaldi first, not only because his was the first violin concerto I learned, but also because the Four Seasons is such an easy song to use for visualization. See the book, <i>Vivaldi's Four Seasons, </i>which conveniently includes the CD. It's long, and was better suited for my first grader than my itty bitties.<br />
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Another book my kids enjoyed was the slightly less wordy <i>I, Vivaldi.</i><br />
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For listening pleasure, check out these short but sweet <a href="http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showview.asp?ID=1">Classics for Kids episodes</a><br />
on Vivaldi. I wish they were available in podcast form, but we just played them via the computer and everyone in the family learned something new.<br />
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Finally, and I've saved the best for last, the <i>Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery</i> CD was available at our local library, and it's a non-stop auditory adventure rich with original music recordings and suspense. Suitable for all ages and fun enough to hear over and over!<br />
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I decided to keep the art project simple this week and just played some Vivaldi music in the background while the kids drew what they heard or felt.<br />
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A wonderful way to augment this topic would be a trip to Venice, which has long been on my to-do list while we're stationed abroad. Hopefully we'll make it to the <a href="http://www.pietavenezia.org/it/istituto/cultura/piccolo_museo_antonio_vivaldi/">Vivaldi Museum</a>!<br />
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On the topic of Venice, the Magic Treehouse book <i>Carnival at Candlelight</i> does not include mention of Vivaldi, but is a wonderful source of information on his hometown for chapter readers.<br />
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Come back next week as we continue or our inquiry into Baroque music by exploring the life and music of Handel!</div>
Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-72180808096479896592013-02-10T10:50:00.002-08:002013-02-10T10:50:45.929-08:00Castles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/patzietlowmiller.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Over_At_The_Castle.jpg?resize=150%2C150" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i2.wp.com/patzietlowmiller.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Over_At_The_Castle.jpg?resize=150%2C150" /></a>I'm back after a long hiatus! We moved to Germany and I took 2 semesters each of biology and organic chemistry, so blogging took a backseat for a while. Nothing like celebrating our return to bookworm fun with a post about castles, especially since you can't throw a cat without hitting some ruin or other here in Europe.<br />
All three of my kids love this picture book, <i>Over at the Castle</i>, reminiscent of the old folk song, "Over in the Meadow." Great illustrations; the dragon lovers in my family rejoiced.<br />
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<a href="http://cb.pbsstatic.com/l/02/6602/9780756606602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://cb.pbsstatic.com/l/02/6602/9780756606602.jpg" width="154" /></a>For non-fiction we enjoyed the Ultimate Explorer <i>Castles</i> and the eye-popping DK <i>Castle</i>. <br />
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Finally, my chapter-book reader has been entranced by <i>The Castle in the Attic, </i>by Elizabeth Winthrop. A classic coming-of-age adventure story.<br />
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For this week's art project we found a gorgeous oil pastel/
watercolor castle project from our favorite art teacher over at <a href="http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2012/01/06/watercolor-castle-art-project/">Deep Space Sparkle</a>. I thought cutting it out to put on colored paper would help it stand out even more.</div>
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Here's a fun fingerplay from a teacher compilation over at <a href="http://home.comcast.net/~teacherprehfs/fingerplays/castle%20fingerplays.htm">Mrs. Steele's Super Kids</a>:<br />
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Here is the Prince with the feathered cap (Boys take off caps and bow) </div>
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Here are his boots that go tap, tap. (Boys march around) </div>
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Here is the Princess with a crown. (Girls touch crowns with both hands) </div>
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Here is her lovely velvet gown. (Girls hold out imaginary skirt and curtsy) </div>
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Here is the castle tall and wide. (Lift arms for tall and wide) </div>
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Here they can play safely inside! (Wraps arms around self and hug self)</div>
Here is her lovely velvet gown. (Girls hold out imaginary skirt and curtsy)<br />Here is the castle tall and wide. (Lift arms for tall and wide)<br />Here they can play safely inside! (Wraps arms around self and hug self)<br />
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Finally, I couldn't resist augmenting this activity with a little field trip to a <a href="http://www.burgenstrasse.de/showpage.php?SiteID=20&lang=2&sel=u&sid=32">local castle</a> outfitted with a youth hostel within its very walls. The place was enormous, the town perfectly charming, and the accommodations perfect for my family. Three bunk beds, ya can't beat that!<br />
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I'll try to be back in another week with something out of my new music history project. Stay tuned!</div>
Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-21801002103623465492011-10-03T17:55:00.000-07:002011-10-03T17:55:49.089-07:00Archaeology<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This week we dug for clues in the past here at Bookworm fun. Theme: archaeology!</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/37260000/37268668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/37260000/37268668.JPG" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/18940000/18944350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/18940000/18944350.JPG" /></a>A lot of the archaeology books in the juvenile section of the library were for upper elementary age kids, and we just paraphrased or read only the interesting portions. Here are a few that were more geared toward my little guys: <i>Archaeologists Dig for Clues, Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: A Book About Archaeology</i><i> </i>and, if you don't mind cheating by straying into paleontology, <i>Digging up Dinosaurs.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/20700000/20700987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/20700000/20700987.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i> </i> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">T. was very excited about the idea of digging up artifacts and immediately drew a picture of his imaginary finds:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQj6KyGwZE1rOcH5nOHdj3iglIHxMqLD8TEyGQzChR7nPHxxrbd0oMGLL1ayy2cf3_19Kz1kw9pEfboAgo-uJNKFGzWwMjTmOz3hC5pMmeB5TIhWd5r60dtD18azMThWT_4eLrXfHbFNU/s1600/DSCF1099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQj6KyGwZE1rOcH5nOHdj3iglIHxMqLD8TEyGQzChR7nPHxxrbd0oMGLL1ayy2cf3_19Kz1kw9pEfboAgo-uJNKFGzWwMjTmOz3hC5pMmeB5TIhWd5r60dtD18azMThWT_4eLrXfHbFNU/s200/DSCF1099.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For our activity this week I took an idea straight out of the <i>Activity Book for the Story of the World</i> and created an archaeological "dig" in our backyard. I buried everyday objects and then had the boys come dig them up, annotating which quadrant they found them in and everything. With each item we talked about what it told us about the people who "once lived here." I used all sorts of things, from a CD to a hair tie, a vitamin bottle to a bottle of nail polish. It was a lot of good, messy fun.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4f8DnmGQ19AQjekBEHaX61ZPmz8GSnbxTO9uf7pcJljTcI4qCDpUdJEH7P9I4QUi54sMGtC0NhWo5BJm5ozN5VLGZtmC2D0_ZQcZSWJUdMAuiP7gO0N0wyhXwyJa7LQEvZ36oaXxmwgo/s1600/DSCF1079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4f8DnmGQ19AQjekBEHaX61ZPmz8GSnbxTO9uf7pcJljTcI4qCDpUdJEH7P9I4QUi54sMGtC0NhWo5BJm5ozN5VLGZtmC2D0_ZQcZSWJUdMAuiP7gO0N0wyhXwyJa7LQEvZ36oaXxmwgo/s200/DSCF1079.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Come back next week and see what we do for ancient Greek Mythology, one I've been wanting to do for a super long time!</div></div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-43562142652799762892011-09-21T08:56:00.000-07:002011-09-21T08:56:50.147-07:00Chicken Little/ Henny Penny<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I took a long break since the return of our deployed soldier, and am finally back in the saddle again. School is in session and the household has settled down enough to focus on our beloved bookworm fun! This week we had adventures with Chicken Little.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS4y1womDAwZyjBh21IvXVrvtFG9H0aHXTDd9sIrlvQlACdxb9VgiYwrHOjbptgop1WYgyR_uFUAT-W4pH36PinqsxKXUy6suPEW0aA7J32e85zJHzPCTn_egKoxFye_SKvoymd36yUE/s1600/DSCF1174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS4y1womDAwZyjBh21IvXVrvtFG9H0aHXTDd9sIrlvQlACdxb9VgiYwrHOjbptgop1WYgyR_uFUAT-W4pH36PinqsxKXUy6suPEW0aA7J32e85zJHzPCTn_egKoxFye_SKvoymd36yUE/s200/DSCF1174.JPG" width="183" /></a> We love folk tales around here, and <i>Chicken Little</i> (sometimes called Henny Penny) is a classic. Here are four different versions, each more creative than the other, that we enjoyed reading: <i>Henny Penny</i> by Vivian French, <i>Henny Penny</i> by Jane Wattenburg, <i>Chicken Little</i> by Steven Kellogg, and <i>Chicken Little</i> by Rebecca and Ed Emberley. Some end in tragedy while others surprise you with a twist or two-- I especially like Kellogg's addition of a fat hippo.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XjI8MSl0al0qJXbDNSc2cIJJitFnwLDvSwx71IAx7vx6KwuQpanXAFzTmErDiaBi665QdtK1CWU0ziYzc5syQvgpHpNhHnLL4hMHDl6KEhY1QysrtVz71BCOhEfiHXXL46u91S0caBU/s1600/DSCF1179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XjI8MSl0al0qJXbDNSc2cIJJitFnwLDvSwx71IAx7vx6KwuQpanXAFzTmErDiaBi665QdtK1CWU0ziYzc5syQvgpHpNhHnLL4hMHDl6KEhY1QysrtVz71BCOhEfiHXXL46u91S0caBU/s200/DSCF1179.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc0th-RKu2_-XKjF0bzSonmrzKuVttW_OmaOjJC_IWhkaLJEaP0Kt_zILHeawHj9fuWW2vbMlaY22JJ3xUsiDxj0qHXQCbtpatWILTd980z2UAk9K1TXcw8wo0w_F5yz0ARljcA_EM_Q/s1600/DSCF1180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHc0th-RKu2_-XKjF0bzSonmrzKuVttW_OmaOjJC_IWhkaLJEaP0Kt_zILHeawHj9fuWW2vbMlaY22JJ3xUsiDxj0qHXQCbtpatWILTd980z2UAk9K1TXcw8wo0w_F5yz0ARljcA_EM_Q/s200/DSCF1180.JPG" width="200" /></a>Our craft was simple but glorious: Take a sheet of cardboard, cut out the shape of an acorn, and glue items (in this case acorns from our yard and popcorn) to the cardboard. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUnsYNtEMGAhbv5DfV9SzxUN4B66H5MqD9tscLhTBQ9052Lgyzw4qn2gUGGka99MpEfgyzAnTO9vm5HA3yjltRS5ofnihncwTtmimiegEbrMcos7rk1nI6M08c8wlKo0HRloZen_F6iA/s1600/DSCF1177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUnsYNtEMGAhbv5DfV9SzxUN4B66H5MqD9tscLhTBQ9052Lgyzw4qn2gUGGka99MpEfgyzAnTO9vm5HA3yjltRS5ofnihncwTtmimiegEbrMcos7rk1nI6M08c8wlKo0HRloZen_F6iA/s200/DSCF1177.JPG" width="150" /></a>We played out two different versions for dramatic play. First, we used creatures from our felt board and Castle Grayskull (a leftover from Dad's childhood that served well as the fox's lair). We improvised a little-- the peacock and ostrich took the place of Henny Penny and Goosey Loosey. Next we used dinosaur puppets, with Rexy Lexy being the villain. Loads of fun!<br />
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Incidentally, I do not recommend the movie of <i>Chicken Little</i> as an extension of this activity. It's fine as a movie, but is so far from the original plot of the story that I don't think it enhances the lesson. Aliens play a big role... enough said.<br />
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Come back around next week for some fun with archaeology! <br />
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</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-15069255672130895672011-06-24T18:32:00.000-07:002011-06-24T18:32:41.641-07:00Deployments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Daddy's coming home from Iraq! This week's post is about books and activities that helped our family survive the long year.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G1UObi0rL._AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G1UObi0rL._AA115_.jpg" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/41980000/41988798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/41980000/41988798.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>The Invisible String</i> is not specific to deployments, but it's a great read for anyone dealing with separation, even just during the school day or sleeping in a separate bedroom. It's lovingly reassuring without any cheesiness. Perfect.<br />
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<i>A Paper Hug</i> gave us a great craft idea that doubled as a nice present for Dad (see below). I edited the first line from "Daddy went to war" to "Daddy went to Iraq," for reading in our house. The paper hug craft is one I recommend to anyone who is separated by distance, and could be a great gift for grandparents and other relatives.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61BKJ6F7C8L._SL160_AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61BKJ6F7C8L._SL160_AA160_.jpg" /></a><i>Daddy's in Iraq, But I Want Him Back</i> had a catchy title, which my kids sometimes spontaneously repeated in odd places (like the grocery store). It was one I had to practice a few times, though, to get through it without choking up. Tough stuff, children's lit.<br />
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<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/71770000/71770078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/71770000/71770078.JPG" /></a><i>Hero Dad </i>is an uplifting read, and even though the book dad does soldierly stuff like driving a tank and using night vision goggles, while our dad is more of a scholarly type, the boys didn't seem to care.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgUD0ryQRVRpDjzxFMvtr8zON0sTmEfyaAqBO5mjEmexJXQU8uq2FKJWwneeS_dFGWjAmPijlLtnkPyzaaiPyL-6adiVp8bxbgutrPj6W2QRq5qECE4_mI4YCBY91lYkCMyT8QZdLb0U/s1600/DSCF0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgUD0ryQRVRpDjzxFMvtr8zON0sTmEfyaAqBO5mjEmexJXQU8uq2FKJWwneeS_dFGWjAmPijlLtnkPyzaaiPyL-6adiVp8bxbgutrPj6W2QRq5qECE4_mI4YCBY91lYkCMyT8QZdLb0U/s200/DSCF0196.JPG" width="200" /></a>One activity we did during the deployment came from the book mentioned earlier, <i>A Paper Hug.</i> Here is T's paper hug, with the one change being that we used thick red ribbon instead of yarn to measure the distance between his hands. The kids were excited to send their "hugs" to Daddy.<br />
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Another thing we always enjoyed was decorating boxes to Daddy. Sometimes we painted them or put handprints on; other times we used stickers. Most of these boxes were chock full of artwork and snacks-- whatever will I do with all the art after he gets back...?<br />
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No fingerplay this week, but I DO have something for "dramatic play." :) The kids made up this game, I swear, but pretty often they'd make me pretend to be Dad. Then they'd show me around the house as if I'd never been there before, introducing me to the new baby, the guinea pig, the bedrooms, etc. I felt a little weird about it, and they always made me do a low Daddy voice (sometimes for very long periods), but it kept them happy so I did. Thank goodness real Daddy can come back and fill in for his part now.<br />
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The Sesame Street <a href="http://www.sesameworkshop.org/initiatives/emotion/tlc">Talk, Listen, Connect</a> website has some great videos and printables for families going through a deployment. We got our free copy of the video where Elmo's dad "has to go away for a while" and that helped give the boys words to express what was happening to our family. It also gave them ideas about how to celebrate the homecoming and made them feel more comfortable with the circus of emotions that happen. I thought it was good, but we didn't watch it <i>tons</i>. Just enough. Sometimes the boys didn't want to be reminded of the whole issue, either, so we took breaks from all these books and videos. A year is a long time.<br />
<a href="https://www.daddydolls.com/images/home_page/dd_home_page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://www.daddydolls.com/images/home_page/dd_home_page.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
We also have a Daddy Doll from <a href="https://www.daddydolls.com/">Hug A Hero</a>. To be honest, the voice clip device that goes inside it with Daddy's voice on it is the best part as far as my kids are concerned.<br />
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Something else I did that might sound weird or gross but seemed cool to me at the time was to freeze bits of holiday meals for my husband. So at Christmas I took a partitioned freezer container and put a bit of each item (duck, cranberries, roll, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc.) into the sections. When he came home on R&R I defrosted his Christmas dinner, along with a slice of "Welcome, New Baby" cake and some pieces of the boys' birthday cakes. I don't know if these things tasted very good, but he ate them dutifully and at least he knows we were thinking about him.<br />
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We got our welcome home sign from <a href="http://www.buildasign.com/">Build A Sign</a>. (Shh, don't tell him. It's a secret! I don't think he'll read my blog while he's flying back from Kuwait. Cross your fingers.) They had a special going on, free banners for military homecomings, so I only paid for the shipping. The banner is truly awesome! Be forewarned, though, it takes a very long time to get here. Bank on 3 months.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/72720000/72726254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/72720000/72726254.JPG" width="132" /></a></div>My favorite book for grown-ups is <i>You Know When the Men are Gone,</i> a book of short stories that was truly fantastic. I read it in a weekend. I get almost all of my books from the library, but this one I bought-- it's that good.<br />
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That's it for this week. We have to go to the airport with our cool sign! See ya next week for more bookworm fun.</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-22017662295847505182011-06-21T17:27:00.000-07:002011-06-21T17:27:46.602-07:00Summer Solstice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/54370000/54378012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/54370000/54378012.JPG" /></a></div>The summer solstice is almost upon us, and I'm happy to say that I've found a few good books and activities to help kids understand the science and cultural heritage of solstice celebrations. Weny Pfeffer's <i>The Longest Day: Celebrating the Summer Solstice</i> is a detailed yet pleasant exploration of Midsummer that T and I both like.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TYBI8vjUL._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TYBI8vjUL._SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA115_.jpg" /></a>On the opposite end of the spectrum, <i>Mermaid Dance</i> is a fantasy tale with pretty illustrations of mermaids having a party.<br />
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<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/15770000/15775606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/15770000/15775606.JPG" /></a><i>Under Alaska's Midnight Sun</i> is a cute rhyming book about a girl who wants to stay up until midnight on the solstice in Alaska. It's a pleasant read, and the best solstice pick for younger picture book readers in my opinion.<br />
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<i>The Summer Solstice</i> by Ellen Jackson is the most detailed (and wordy) picture book I found. Best suited for elementary age kids.<br />
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Both the first and last books mentioned had great scientific explanations of the earth's tilting, descriptions of historical celebrations, and art and craft activities at the end. Making sun tea or smores, for example, or painting rocks to look like the sun and creating a home-made sun dial are some of the ideas I found.<br />
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I also like the <a href="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/paperplate/sun/">paper plate and handprint sun at Enchanted Learning</a> .<br />
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Here's a sunshine fingerplay I found at <a href="http://stepbystepcc.com/sunshine.html">Step by Step</a> along with a number of other sun-related pre-school activities:<br />
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<ul><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: small;"><u>Sunshine Fingerplay</u> - by Terry H.The sun makes the outside a warm place to play (arms above head in circle) It makes the flowers grow each day (holding up hands wiggling fingers) The sun hides its face during the night (cover face with hands) But during the daytime it shines - oh so bright (arms above head in circle)</span></ul><br />
<a href="http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/earths-rotation-coloring-page/">Crayola</a> has a nice coloring page with the earth and sun on it. I'm still trying to find one that shows the whole earth rotation, with tilting for the seasons. Do let me know if you find something like that!<br />
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Feeling extra motivated? Try <a href="http://fun.familyeducation.com/outdoor-games/ancient-world/35028.html">building your own stonehenge</a> with your older child.<br />
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I hope to get pictures up soon, but we've been traveling and it's tough. Come back again next week for some Daddy Deployment stories, crafts and activities! </div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-73555262204185898732011-06-11T19:10:00.000-07:002011-06-11T19:10:44.075-07:00Circus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51A5Fr2eH6L._SL160_AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51A5Fr2eH6L._SL160_AA160_.jpg" /></a>This week we're reading books about the circus! We enjoyed <i>Sidewalk Circus</i>, but like many picture books the story is subtle and takes a bit of active discussion on each page in order to discover the mysteries.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Z-wEi6ZhL._AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Z-wEi6ZhL._AA115_.jpg" /></a><i>Olivia Saves the Circus</i> is another good one in Ian Falconer's Olivia series and a celebration of the imagination.<br />
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Lois Ehlert's distinctive illustrations are, as always, a hit in her book titled <i>Circus. </i>We also like <i>The Secret Circus</i>, which is particularly useful for a budding reader because the phrase "Only the mice know..." repeats itself every page. See below for some bonus circus books after our activities.<br />
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<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/34630000/34631984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/34630000/34631984.JPG" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14860000/14862946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14860000/14862946.JPG" /></a><br />
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Our fingerplay this week came from mom's old book again, <i>Ring A Ring O' Roses:</i><br />
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<u>I Wish I were a Circus Clown</u><br />
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I wish I were a circus clown <i>(point to self)</i><br />
Wish smile so wide and eyes so round, <i>(Make wide smile with hands and place around mouth)</i><br />
With pointed hat and funny nose, <i>(Make a tent of hands and place on head)</i><br />
And polka dots upon my clothes, <i>(Point to clothes)</i><br />
To hospitals and homes I'd go<br />
Where children cried when they felt low, <i>(Rub eyes with clenched fists)</i><br />
I'd make them dry their salty tears <i>(Dry eyes with hands)</i><br />
By wiggling my floppy ears. <i>(place hands on ears and wiggle them)</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyybvn2w0zl82wMf_t03ZvEefKqH6SH_4hgO_Z29Rkk3Aav5E7ShI8C1JzNJOhY8jkWvxhlsISpLBZn-FdIftAWjwCGDRwQrl6SzBAOppWZHP6h3C1QmOhWxjAXOmHChWkiJc73bdMuU/s1600/DSCF0415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyybvn2w0zl82wMf_t03ZvEefKqH6SH_4hgO_Z29Rkk3Aav5E7ShI8C1JzNJOhY8jkWvxhlsISpLBZn-FdIftAWjwCGDRwQrl6SzBAOppWZHP6h3C1QmOhWxjAXOmHChWkiJc73bdMuU/s200/DSCF0415.JPG" width="150" /></a>Next up is our art project, and I found an absolutely glorious one (painting a clown) at my favorite art website, <a href="http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2009/04/colorful-clowns-for-first-grade/">Deep Space Sparkle</a>. I am away from home still this week, so my chaotic heap o' art supplies is not available. We used markers instead of paint, and haven't glued it to black paper yet, but it's still pretty neat.<br />
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For those interested in a more directed drawing of a clown, there's another nice one <a href="http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/2010/08/how-to-draw-clown.html">Art Projects for Kids</a>.<br />
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My Itunes is surprisingly sparse in terms of circus music. There's a Kindermusik song on there called "Circus Movements," but without any lyrics I'm left guessing what we're supposed to do during it. Does anyone know? The next song that comes up is Madonna and Antonio Banderas, "Oh What a Circus" from Evita. Awesome! But not quite what I was looking for in our bookworm fun this week.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC82ZSTFdMRK5eCDwArKmUziAnEycLHentvXcj1s-9n_4R9e4vK8hxMuNtSFgXMTZjshKwD7SpaTzfR2Ds9V28TMgBtpXALwYVNXkEQ1Zm6g_lVPuwZtt_GkFZXGVFwOOg02OBCCHd8s/s1600/DSCF0414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkC82ZSTFdMRK5eCDwArKmUziAnEycLHentvXcj1s-9n_4R9e4vK8hxMuNtSFgXMTZjshKwD7SpaTzfR2Ds9V28TMgBtpXALwYVNXkEQ1Zm6g_lVPuwZtt_GkFZXGVFwOOg02OBCCHd8s/s200/DSCF0414.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
Fortunately I have a CD of <i>Little Thinker Circus </i>that my dad burned off our old (20 years!) cassette tape from when I was a kid. The <i>Little Thinker</i> series was so awesome! I spent hours listening to the tapes-- they were a great blend of narration and music, with time set aside for drawing the wonderful things we "saw" (heard about) on our adventures. In fact, I've decided that for my very first giveaway, I'm going to send a copy of this fantastic CD to one lucky follower. :) To enter, become a follower and leave a comment!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WFfcK6iJ551M7oH5JZpfj2kx8oGUAgQTK_PSiYfj50K-bJHAKKo0Es8xWlLM5du7RX4Z-Or9U40Yt40E4a8x4oTq-oub3-2yoDLVHB0taJai11xVeEhbvfHwZLJEXHQud2J6nGPrwmw/s1600/DSCF0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-WFfcK6iJ551M7oH5JZpfj2kx8oGUAgQTK_PSiYfj50K-bJHAKKo0Es8xWlLM5du7RX4Z-Or9U40Yt40E4a8x4oTq-oub3-2yoDLVHB0taJai11xVeEhbvfHwZLJEXHQud2J6nGPrwmw/s200/DSCF0419.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
Since we're visiting my parents, our dramatic play activity was to dig out an old wooden circus playset that came from East Germany when I was a kid. Ah, nostalgia! If you want your own circus playset, <a href="http://www.fao.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3557954">Plan Toys</a> has a very nice one, or check out the more expensive <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Playmobil-4230-Circus-Playset/dp/B002RSFIP0">Playmobil version.</a> <br />
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One final note: Ringling Brothers has a link to <a href="http://www.ringling.com/TextContent.aspx?id=11762&parentID=390&assetFolderID=420">Educational Activities</a> on their website. What I saw were geared toward older kids, at least grade school. However, this <a href="http://www.ringling.com/uploadedFiles/Ringling/TextContent/FunZone/Circus_Works_Education_Center_Details/BALANCING.pdf">balancing activity</a> seemed like something we could have fun with and adapt for my younger guys.<br />
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For some free circus coloring pages, check <a href="http://www.coloring.ws/circus.htm">Coloring.ws</a>.<br />
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Bonus Circus books:<br />
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- Nancy Drew series # 31, <i>The Ringmaster's Secret</i><br />
<i>- Circus Girl</i> (picture book for elementary school)<br />
- <i>Clown Child </i>(also a picture book geared toward elementary ages)<br />
- <i>Adding with Sebastian Pig and Friends at the Circus</i> (a good one for learning to add)<br />
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See you next week, when I think I'm going to try for some summer solstice bookworm fun. Let's see what we can come up with!</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-89096311460712471062011-06-04T19:52:00.000-07:002011-06-05T20:00:23.964-07:00Trains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We're visiting grandparents in Colorado and we're going for a <a href="http://www.georgetownlooprr.com/">train ride!</a> S is a fiend for trains, so even though we did <a href="http://bookwormfun.blogspot.com/2011/02/little-engine-that-could.html">the Little Engine that Could</a> just a few months ago, this week is dedicated to train books and activities once again. Fun times!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13740000/13741082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13740000/13741082.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/28550000/28558790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/28550000/28558790.JPG" /></a>Our favorite train books for babies and toddlers are the Usborne <i>That's Not my Train </i>(great sensory experience), Donald Crews fantastically simple <i>Freight Train, </i>and the rhythmic <i>Chugga Chugga Choo Choo.</i> The last one was the first book S memorized from cover to cover.<br />
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By far my favorite kids' train book is <i>Trouble on the Tracks</i>. So clever! "Trouble" is the name of the cat, and you can see the 'monstrous' thing lurking in the shadows of toy train illustrations throughout the book. Fun for reader and child alike.<br />
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My kids also enjoy an old classic, <i>The Little Red Caboose,</i> and though it's not my idea of great children's literature, the pictures are engaging and it's fun enough. The Native American scenes of teepees on the mountainside aren't exactly PC, but for the older pre-k/ kindergarten set it makes for a cultural talking point.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/72510000/72511481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/72510000/72511481.JPG" /></a></div>T recently became a huge fan of <i>The Boxcar Children, </i>which is our current chapter book series. Book One features the boxcar most prominently.<br />
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Wow, that was a lot of books this week already, but I would be remiss if I didn't include at least one nonfiction train book. After all, the kids are like little sponges for information. Stephanie Turnbull's Internet Linked book called <i>Trains</i> appeals to the kids in our house and is quite educational.<br />
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This week's craft was fairly simple but could be adapted to meet any number of desired educational goals. We cut out an engine and some freight cars (artist's choice on the color), then glued them onto a sheet and picked out some freight for them. Our freight was raisins, peanuts, oats and red sprinkles. Add some cotton for smoke and you're done!<br />
You can use this craft for talking about colors (making each car a different one), shapes (make the engine out of basic shapes, and use rectangles and circles for the cars and wheels, respectively), counting (different numbers of items in the cars), etc. The sky's the limit.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f3hi_BgrZg5QBp3ZaMyBHCNWK0Vse5XBx8L8Np6Z4g7HFFrZdHejRZEdnUxTC2ZNI-goG9SJSYNCTE6iU6gIT9VP0lgd_Rus38XGtlqXQCQQ4Uj90hInBrEI7AG8mTotyuC8w2cG2AU/s1600/DSCF0198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f3hi_BgrZg5QBp3ZaMyBHCNWK0Vse5XBx8L8Np6Z4g7HFFrZdHejRZEdnUxTC2ZNI-goG9SJSYNCTE6iU6gIT9VP0lgd_Rus38XGtlqXQCQQ4Uj90hInBrEI7AG8mTotyuC8w2cG2AU/s320/DSCF0198.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
T is wearing a Thomas pajama shirt sewed by my old ma.<br />
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Now I'll share a fun train fingerplay from the book <u>Ring a Ring of Roses</u> (an old book from my mom's time as a nursery teacher a thousand years ago):<br />
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<u>Here is the Engine <i>(hold up fingers in order, starting with thumb)</i></u><br />
Here is the engine on the track;<br />
Here is the coal car, just in back;<br />
Here is the boxcar to carry freight;<br />
Here is the mailcar. Don't be late!<br />
Way back here at the end of the train<br />
Rides the caboose through the sun and the rain.<br />
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We even had a train birthday a few years ago, I'll upload some pictures of that after we get home from traveling... simple train birthday cake and a pinata made out of a cereal box.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJjK9YdD8U0Z7vhSvv_KzMv9Nc2INJ8XWYsVAZYtiA1BrfAmQu-JnnB57FPSDLmGjsI1YozY3wkNveg6S2MUIsBhgx_ca5mQJ77eJAMnEHW5z95ABynDT05azARPCHmoOX1Qpyi2Byts/s1600/DSCF0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJjK9YdD8U0Z7vhSvv_KzMv9Nc2INJ8XWYsVAZYtiA1BrfAmQu-JnnB57FPSDLmGjsI1YozY3wkNveg6S2MUIsBhgx_ca5mQJ77eJAMnEHW5z95ABynDT05azARPCHmoOX1Qpyi2Byts/s200/DSCF0241.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>A while back, my mom used a fabric panel to sew this playmat and my dad cut and painted wooden train play pieces as well as die. They created some simple rules and a stack of cards with extra directions on them and voila! A do-it-yourself train game. T really enjoys it, but S prefers to just play with the engines. If anyone is interested in the word document with the card instructions on it, leave a comment with your e-mail and I can forward it to you. The fabric panel is still available at generic fabric stores like Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIFjj0I3w6Ad_c-ek6wRU4zpoaEfRZdwEp7b8bEBvMR-aj7V8zDUmLAHhL4UGn0qrZIymwnCQ-WIh9JJtrlPkq5kcMJCUBQ_KjK-MiDXY3X3HgtTX_MyqJurqkviW8HTOcqyaE_S71u8/s1600/DSCF0272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIFjj0I3w6Ad_c-ek6wRU4zpoaEfRZdwEp7b8bEBvMR-aj7V8zDUmLAHhL4UGn0qrZIymwnCQ-WIh9JJtrlPkq5kcMJCUBQ_KjK-MiDXY3X3HgtTX_MyqJurqkviW8HTOcqyaE_S71u8/s200/DSCF0272.JPG" width="200" /></a>For dramatic play we have a few train conductor outfits with toy pocket watches that the kids get out occasionally. They wore them on the train ride this weekend!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51duinFH16L._AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51duinFH16L._AA115_.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512FNDDMADL._AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512FNDDMADL._AA115_.jpg" /></a>The Persuasions sang a train song medley that encompasses many of the great kids' train songs. It's on their album "The Good Ship Lollipop." I also enjoy Johnny Cash's version of the Orange Blossom Special.<br />
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To finish off I'll list the train museums we've enjoyed so far, with the hope of many more in our future. Tell me about your favorite train museum in the comments section, if you have one!<br />
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- <a href="http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/443">Korea Railroad Museum</a> (South Korea)<br />
- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1247010414886&set=a.1247009614866.39092.1218186631&type=1">Beijing Railway Museum</a> (China)<br />
- <a href="http://www.thetrainmuseum.com/">Laupahoehoe Train Museum</a> (Hawaii)<br />
- <a href="http://www.mrym.org/history.html">Monticello Railway Museum</a> (Illinois)<br />
- <a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512FNDDMADL._AA115_.jpg">Colorado Railroad Museum</a> (Colorado)<br />
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Want some more train activities? Check out this great patterning one at <a href="http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/TrainPatterning.htm">Making Learning Fun</a>, or a cool cork train at <a href="http://www.mantoncork.com/cork-crafts-toys/">Cork Crafts</a>. If you have lots of time and energy on your hands, try making a <a href="http://www.highlightskids.com/Express/Crafts/Toys/C1297_boxcar.asp">train out of milk cartons from Highlights.</a> I saved the best for last, though: This <a href="http://toddlerapproved.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-of-week-freight-train-by-donald.html">Love Train</a> is super cute, and a possible Valentine activity to boot, with a few more train crafts rolled in for fun at the toddler approved website.</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-91255390059993698352011-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:002011-06-05T20:00:40.885-07:00Zoo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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Last weekend we went to the <a href="http://nationalzoo.si.edu/">National Zoo!</a> In conjunction with our field trip we did zoo-themed bookworm activities this week.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_649591980" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19600000/19609751.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13720000/13722233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13720000/13722233.JPG" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">Baby likes <i>Dear Zoo: A Lift-The-Flap Book,</i> </span>a cute rhyming tale that helps teach adjectives.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><br />
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Eric Carle's <i>1-2-3 to the Zoo</i> is great counting fun for toddlers.<br />
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<i>Class Two at the Zoo </i>is always good for a laugh-- the students and teacher get eaten, one by one, by an anaconda. Of course they're saved in the end, but the clever rhymes for anaconda are worth the read by themselves. <br />
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We have a great recurring dramatic play game wherein we build a giant train track and put a zoo in the middle and sometimes all around it. There may be zookeepers and visitors and train passengers, and occasionally escapees or animal dramas, but always there is a lot of fun. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14ZQa8TOUB7MC5AyHANaqfUVw1by12APOH8IWDDW3lu3u9v7NNoczn9cp1cEcenMmYfDaHqH9OQyMWg_oqUlWOsqzC07-d6RlXPlEcc9R1hPen3Pk36B7_UysEV4a5Lsk3SRyAg7E_HU/s1600/DSCF0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14ZQa8TOUB7MC5AyHANaqfUVw1by12APOH8IWDDW3lu3u9v7NNoczn9cp1cEcenMmYfDaHqH9OQyMWg_oqUlWOsqzC07-d6RlXPlEcc9R1hPen3Pk36B7_UysEV4a5Lsk3SRyAg7E_HU/s200/DSCF0124.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
My favorite zoo action rhyme came from <a href="http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/animal-rhymes.htm">Preschool Rainbow:</a><br />
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<u><span style="font-size: large;">The Zoo</span></u><br />
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At the zoo we saw a bear, he had long, dark fuzzy hair (Pretend to walk like a bear)<br />
We saw a lion in a cage, he was in an awful rage. (pretend to be an angry lion)<br />
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We saw the big, long-necked giraffe, and the silly monkeys made us laugh. (everybody laugh)<br />
But my favorite animal at the zoo is the elephant-- how about you?<br />
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</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: black; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/615OD-q48GL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
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The Wee Sing CD, <i>Animals, Animals, Animals</i> has two zoo songs on it, "At the Zoo," and "Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo." Well, technically the first one is a poem, but who's keeping track.<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51dVdNNI5qL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51dVdNNI5qL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" /></a>Another good activity is the Usborne spotter cards, <i>100 Animals to Spot at the Zoo</i>. I learned the hard way that this is not a good one to do during an actual trip, since there are signs and live animals there and the text on the cards is pretty detailed. However, it's great for before (look up the zoo online to see what animals you might see there) and after (find some of your favorites from the trip and read about them). These cards are full of great information about the animals.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qpQ98h-KL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qpQ98h-KL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" /></a></div>I also found a cute sticker book on <a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qpQ98h-KL._SL160_AA160_.jpg">Amazon</a> that might be useful for our next long car trip, but at $7 is a tad pricey for my tastes.<br />
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A much cheaper (though more labor-intensive) option was our craft project for the week: cutting out animals from magazines and gluing them onto large sheets of colored paper to make our own individual zoos. The kids really got a kick out of this one, and T was able to do his own cutting, which always makes it easier. Using foam sticky animals would make it an even easier activity for the tiniest crafters.<br />
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T made a "Night Zoo" because he still remembers when we went to the very cool <a href="http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/">Night Safari in Singapore</a> last year. "Only animals that come out at night will be in my zoo, Mama," he said. <br />
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If you're up for a more involved project, check out this <a href="http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/shoe-box-zoo-box-craft/">Shoebox Zoo you can make using instructions at Crayola.com.</a><br />
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We had lots of fun with our zoo theme. Please share your other ideas for zoo fun, and be sure to come back next week for train madness!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19600000/19609751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><i><br />
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</i></span></div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-85851121285660969212011-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:002011-06-05T20:00:40.885-07:00Dinosaurs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/93700000/93700830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/93700000/93700830.JPG" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13730000/13739287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13730000/13739287.JPG" /></a>This week I have some catching up to do, so I'll post on a continuing theme at our house: Dinosaurs! Some of our favorite dino books include the "How do Dinosaurs..." series, especially <i>How do Dinosaurs Eat their Food</i>. We also very much like <i>When Dinosaurs Came with Everything.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/77350000/77351502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/77350000/77351502.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14860000/14862666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14860000/14862666.JPG" /></a>When I asked S what his favorite dino book was, he said <i>Ten Terrible Dinosaurs</i>. T, my budding reader, answered with the gruesome <i>Day the Dinosaurs Died</i>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19610000/19611786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19610000/19611786.JPG" /></a></div>Baby likes the Usborne book, <i>That's not my Dinosaur</i>, because it's so touchy-feely.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://www.borders.com/ProductImages/products/00/59/12/b/59128986_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.borders.com/ProductImages/products/00/59/12/b/59128986_b.jpg" width="134" /></a>Bonus chapter book for young readers or for read-aloud: Magic Treehouse number 1, Dinosaurs before Dusk! <br />
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I know there are tons of awesome dinosaur books out there, and we've barely scratched the surface with this selection. Do share your own favorites in the comments section.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeC7_4x1CRalE0zs94tjYMq7dlCNj0QkDpAgN-MihetsTZ9vwjQbTCpsnUaSu7EPUWdYcXA1aKnwQZgIgZVxiPSJLeSM6djbtqlFigjd4OGdiBfhfgLtki6cNMStrAasmQKr5Qhy1tR-M/s1600/DSC03110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeC7_4x1CRalE0zs94tjYMq7dlCNj0QkDpAgN-MihetsTZ9vwjQbTCpsnUaSu7EPUWdYcXA1aKnwQZgIgZVxiPSJLeSM6djbtqlFigjd4OGdiBfhfgLtki6cNMStrAasmQKr5Qhy1tR-M/s200/DSC03110.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Since the boys are such huge dinosaur enthusiasts, I looked into getting a playmat for their plastic toys. The prices were enough to blow a meteor-sized hole in my budget, so T helped me make a felt one instead. It was lots of fun, except that he had lots of demands to include mountains, dinosaur bones, a lake, and something called the "mysterious beyond." The whole project was challenging at first, when I was trying to sew it, but when I discovered wonder under and ironed all the stuff on instead, it became a breeze. Next on tap is a car playmat!<br />
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My favorite dinosaur fingerplay came from <a href="http://rhymes.yakaberry.com/dinosaurs.html">Yakaberry:</a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">Dinosaurs</span></span></b> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Dinosaurs lived long ago.</span></div><div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Some walked (stomp in place)</span></div><div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Some swam (pretend to swim)</span></div><div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Some flew, you know! (flap arms at sides)</span></div><div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Some were big (hold hands high)</span></div><div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Some were small (hold hands low)</span></div><div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">Some were gigantic--(stretch arms out wide)</span></div><div style="margin-left: 15;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: large;">V-e-r-y tall! (stretch arms up high)</span></div><br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gkD0aQwCL._AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gkD0aQwCL._AA115_.jpg" /></a>We also enjoy Laurie Berkner's song, <i>We Are the Dinosaurs</i>, which lends itself well to dancing. Buy the album or just the MP3 at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=we+are+the+dinosaurs&x=0&y=0">Amazon.</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y1GT36PHL._AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y1GT36PHL._AA115_.jpg" /></a></div> There's also a cute song called <i>Dinosaur Round</i> on Sandra Boynton's album, "Rhinoceros Tap."<br />
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Last year we even had a dino birthday party. I'll share a few of our activities.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIHvzGq5807lHV4QMtUxwA_Hs4nKVSXWWxdyfI6EVN5g8zwRUlVyqwmJVopwDNL1bm8Ni2JFUeER6Bd3AcYuZNOqUo9bH2wM5C2CJ_AX9UsALtZNo_myLrFArpRLHypbalInVavaadVI/s1600/DSC03105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIHvzGq5807lHV4QMtUxwA_Hs4nKVSXWWxdyfI6EVN5g8zwRUlVyqwmJVopwDNL1bm8Ni2JFUeER6Bd3AcYuZNOqUo9bH2wM5C2CJ_AX9UsALtZNo_myLrFArpRLHypbalInVavaadVI/s200/DSC03105.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Painting wooden dinosaurs from Oriental Trading:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iLxVlrloAbH8lysgBYEJp7dKjZoa4EkZhtiKfLY2MJMvjHztprqW8mDgDQwzi18rQ-xEujIHMY_CAW5BcHP74sV9O8BRcObuB2ZJ13htcxihR_03KfhxkLTpe_lEnwIvNm-vru30FNY/s1600/DSC03104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iLxVlrloAbH8lysgBYEJp7dKjZoa4EkZhtiKfLY2MJMvjHztprqW8mDgDQwzi18rQ-xEujIHMY_CAW5BcHP74sV9O8BRcObuB2ZJ13htcxihR_03KfhxkLTpe_lEnwIvNm-vru30FNY/s200/DSC03104.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
Digging for dinosaurs in the colored-rice sensory bin (you could use a sandbox for this, too). Got the dinos from <a href="http://www.orientaltrading.com/dino-mite-dinosaur-assortment-a2-58_10-12-1.fltr?Ntt=dinosaur">Oriental Trading</a>, too.<br />
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And this was my T-rex cake. It will come as no surprise that I'm no cake decorator, but with the help of some laffy taffy, candy corn and gummy life savers I did what I could.<br />
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I have lots of other dinosaur activities and books and fun times, but they'll have to wait for a later post because it's time to get cracking on this week's theme: Zoo! See you in a few days...</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-18485552855915027822011-05-14T11:41:00.000-07:002011-06-05T20:01:04.372-07:00Strawberries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvFM1Ru8IyZuFjAl-u9ZYLsmLpLlI5TRLAI_y7io5DkzdXenGeiw8D-n69HZQeTgqbbIKjMuwZKyNBtQQkmYd7WoOXpWi0CIZFjayoQU1lbx-ptUUFC3fZnP5GwlNH_-nYDSJibo3q5M/s1600/DSC03963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvFM1Ru8IyZuFjAl-u9ZYLsmLpLlI5TRLAI_y7io5DkzdXenGeiw8D-n69HZQeTgqbbIKjMuwZKyNBtQQkmYd7WoOXpWi0CIZFjayoQU1lbx-ptUUFC3fZnP5GwlNH_-nYDSJibo3q5M/s200/DSC03963.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19310000/19314469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19310000/19314469.JPG" /></a>It's strawberry picking time here in central Virginia, and even though taking young kids to the berry patch is not quite as romantic as it sounds, we braved it. I'm glad of it, too. The boys had a blast, and they were even pretty good and picking mostly ripe ones. <br />
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We found some good books at the library to go along with our strawberry theme. <i>The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story</i> introduces kids to Native American mythology and warns them of how powerfully angry women can become. <br />
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<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/2160000/2168128.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/2160000/2168128.gif" /></a>An older book (1989), <i>Strawberry</i>, was nonetheless extremely informative on the growth of strawberry plants. I learned a few things from it, anyway. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/55000000/55002914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/55000000/55002914.JPG" width="178" /></a></div><i>Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher </i>is a wordless Caldecott Honor book by Molly Bang that received great editorial reviews. I find the pictures very creepy-- frightening, in fact, but my boys are not so disturbed by them. In fact, they like the book. Kids.<br />
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<i>Jamberry</i> and <i>The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear</i> were fun even for Baby.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/101430000/101433089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/101430000/101433089.JPG" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19380000/19386804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/19380000/19386804.JPG" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvI2En6idwW03UXU-ZsdVN9LVFMZkGIzU-eQ4p56pB4C_usBP-qzDq6Fex4ZMuYa8D6uKMb1m-iC8Woay9QIPYGJ36R9MVFgAgdqN0OF-BrAxkt0xq4SOF9WaxzfzuIL8Tal2pGr2oJzs/s1600/DSCF0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvI2En6idwW03UXU-ZsdVN9LVFMZkGIzU-eQ4p56pB4C_usBP-qzDq6Fex4ZMuYa8D6uKMb1m-iC8Woay9QIPYGJ36R9MVFgAgdqN0OF-BrAxkt0xq4SOF9WaxzfzuIL8Tal2pGr2oJzs/s200/DSCF0036.JPG" width="200" /></a>In addition to the strawberry picking, I found an awesome sensory experience in <a href="http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/608/Strawberry_Play_Dough58892.shtml">this recipe</a> for strawberry-scented play dough. In the past I've struggled to make good play dough, so I was extra careful this time, using the whisk in the beginning to avoid sticking and, later, the silicone spatula. One neat facet of this was the possibility of using the dough while it was still warm-- very soothing for overstimulated kids <i>and </i>adults. <br />
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Our art project came from <a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/handprint_strawberry.htm">activity village</a> and is a cute handprint strawberry. I love handprint art! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v2cdtnp2GoCrSGgxbYoWDxWJ77GW0HQv1q4q7iZ0RIKgPu2H2sqBA5RX_8G2ybd9kx6gfChK937HIgBwrq2YLMvvL1Z0O5a8gw5s-uSyx75PVzRBj8SKCYT7JtjuF4Gj3cy14AWq4AY/s1600/DSCF0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v2cdtnp2GoCrSGgxbYoWDxWJ77GW0HQv1q4q7iZ0RIKgPu2H2sqBA5RX_8G2ybd9kx6gfChK937HIgBwrq2YLMvvL1Z0O5a8gw5s-uSyx75PVzRBj8SKCYT7JtjuF4Gj3cy14AWq4AY/s200/DSCF0054.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91XZgSEhpccxLVZZMiIWKUx-jbo8RZ4UnCqig2xBvP_RYELbty53QK9zn6_VSPKKF3f7ms-wa9P2y057ltefI-Y4WBpnVAy-fgVZundD7vetgyJvDHONBF3XKLwSDZ_gbsMN0a9Axl8g/s1600/DSCF0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91XZgSEhpccxLVZZMiIWKUx-jbo8RZ4UnCqig2xBvP_RYELbty53QK9zn6_VSPKKF3f7ms-wa9P2y057ltefI-Y4WBpnVAy-fgVZundD7vetgyJvDHONBF3XKLwSDZ_gbsMN0a9Axl8g/s200/DSCF0055.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MJic9rhyMehsCk7wf0-QZuuVhXVf8A4mdZyTMQJ_AnVkQz7xAQRiyZ3d5Y3h1frHDqIvWE_W4s9tHaXSZdW0jNdq9889U3lYHdhjHb2YtNDxbRtsOjbeTPqkqrcEhqlv3Osi-coBJV0/s1600/DSCF0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MJic9rhyMehsCk7wf0-QZuuVhXVf8A4mdZyTMQJ_AnVkQz7xAQRiyZ3d5Y3h1frHDqIvWE_W4s9tHaXSZdW0jNdq9889U3lYHdhjHb2YtNDxbRtsOjbeTPqkqrcEhqlv3Osi-coBJV0/s200/DSCF0056.JPG" width="150" /></a></div> The leaves are pinky fingers painted green, and the black dots are fingerprints.<br />
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One of my artists was unsatisfied with the resulting strawberry and painted over it to get a "better" product. The black dots outside are bugs.<br />
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At the u-pick strawberry farm we bought a coloring book for 50 cents that told the tale of strawberry plant life cycles. T colored it almost obsessively for two days.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-6RBxQDaSb7kvktLU42-gUdfffI3_LY-rvCBMahlGPJUaofgjYkdRVr1ly86H00LsSwyXZD80uj_oKkk9oQ_vXW5ZnhZjtEjdZieg289go7cLD35XHpE4kcqoQ1EFIa1yq6UStiOJ0A/s1600/DSCF0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-6RBxQDaSb7kvktLU42-gUdfffI3_LY-rvCBMahlGPJUaofgjYkdRVr1ly86H00LsSwyXZD80uj_oKkk9oQ_vXW5ZnhZjtEjdZieg289go7cLD35XHpE4kcqoQ1EFIa1yq6UStiOJ0A/s200/DSCF0058.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkjQiLdSbpIG0QGZuclZbfKkFhzoyRcru9OiT2vuuRdhQ4eFeK1RtXjrTHTlMQAC-5QTU5c4PBKoA94yIm25z8ATLM0k292vbEb18Rm18q6qMENKNm1mVFrDD2WIZHcOdJFHH9QNtVIo/s1600/DSCF0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkjQiLdSbpIG0QGZuclZbfKkFhzoyRcru9OiT2vuuRdhQ4eFeK1RtXjrTHTlMQAC-5QTU5c4PBKoA94yIm25z8ATLM0k292vbEb18Rm18q6qMENKNm1mVFrDD2WIZHcOdJFHH9QNtVIo/s200/DSCF0059.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Below is my favorite strawberry song, which I found at <a href="http://stepbystepcc.com/foods/strawberries.html">Step by Step. </a> They have tons of other strawberry snacks, songs, and activities there for further exploration. <br />
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Anyway, I sang this so many times this week that I started dreaming with it as a soundtrack.<br />
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<div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms; font-size: small;"><u>Picked a Strawberry</u> - sung to "Clementine"</span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms; font-size: small;">Picked a strawberry,<br />
Picked a strawberry<br />
That was growing<br />
In the sun.<br />
Then I washed it,<br />
And I ate it,<br />
And I picked another one.</span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: comic sans ms; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Like felt food and have some time on your hands? You can make your own felt food strawberry following this <a href="http://fairyfox.blog.co.uk/2010/05/28/step-by-step-diy-felt-strawberry-8687639/%29">free tutorial</a></span>. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We love felt food around here but it'll take me a while to get around to the strawberry pattern. Maybe in time for T's graduation from high school. </span></span></span></div></div><br />
Check out what I <i>did</i> make time for, though. Strawberry shortcake and strawberry milkshakes. Yummy! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzElIefaLzCL9kQec97DL6Fh9MmN5iXstYWlHdzM3U4bkuydQ7cmVVMsGPj2VW3Jnjdz-0E756RBZk0j_wVjOazRq5kUSbk0mB_xKx_BHXqFWinwo21XkQ9EwuwMEcKbkHrB8ohT-7D1Y/s1600/DSC03969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzElIefaLzCL9kQec97DL6Fh9MmN5iXstYWlHdzM3U4bkuydQ7cmVVMsGPj2VW3Jnjdz-0E756RBZk0j_wVjOazRq5kUSbk0mB_xKx_BHXqFWinwo21XkQ9EwuwMEcKbkHrB8ohT-7D1Y/s200/DSC03969.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO14ZnfIxHRbmmFJ9gyfydX0KjTaYgi-YI8l8my6mFx221-zV9Ch89dmb5noE4VMnA-l-c8e9Tbm0C2WqeDpomYkhFGfzWwdBBSybjyuSFVy_ncs-MVb1ZYyhYVpdALlBg7sHKKgkiSmw/s1600/DSCF0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO14ZnfIxHRbmmFJ9gyfydX0KjTaYgi-YI8l8my6mFx221-zV9Ch89dmb5noE4VMnA-l-c8e9Tbm0C2WqeDpomYkhFGfzWwdBBSybjyuSFVy_ncs-MVb1ZYyhYVpdALlBg7sHKKgkiSmw/s200/DSCF0010.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-52423146751119771872011-05-07T11:54:00.000-07:002011-05-28T12:23:06.912-07:00Salamanders and Newts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I thought this week we would read books about Mamas, make flowers and cards, and do other sweet Mother's Day stuff. Instead, though, I couldn't resist indulging my son's latest craze: salamanders. He's been finding baby salamanders under various rocks in our yard, and though they creep me out a little (think black earthworm-like creature with four tiny legs) I try not to show it. Maybe next year we'll do the mushy mother's day projects.<br />
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Surprisingly, picture books on salamanders are not too abundant at our library, so I've done a 2-for-1 combo of salamanders and their close cousins, newts.<br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41l9Pmlqn1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41l9Pmlqn1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="200" /></a><i></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/2060000/2060619.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/2060000/2060619.gif" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>The Salamander Room</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> is my boys' dream come true. They find the idea of bringing all sorts of critters inside and turning their room into a miniature forest captivating.</span></i><br />
<i>Newt</i> was good for my developing reader, with 3 small chapters of easy words (Reading level 2).<br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Finally, a sweet story about friendship in the swamp, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>What Newt Could Do for Turtle</i> had everyone holding their breath when the critters found themselves in all manner of mortal peril.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">I include DK's <i>Amazing Poisonous Animals</i> here because of this great 2-page spread on salamanders. T was riveted. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1SWV25Dwwg5iubIxPRxcUONR3NdYrdyxlvuxcynPguqMQ5yJ1Tvy_Pr0g8iXOA6PHzzcYN4y30sf72eWqRN6-oKhd20TM1LvFlxu_SUBKO-asqQbTd4yWVv39I4GSK0PLqEzlBP-5Ms/s1600/DSC03965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1SWV25Dwwg5iubIxPRxcUONR3NdYrdyxlvuxcynPguqMQ5yJ1Tvy_Pr0g8iXOA6PHzzcYN4y30sf72eWqRN6-oKhd20TM1LvFlxu_SUBKO-asqQbTd4yWVv39I4GSK0PLqEzlBP-5Ms/s200/DSC03965.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61M3TRRJDDL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61M3TRRJDDL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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For our craft this week I did a variation on a fish project from my childhood. Using our new watercolor paper from <a href="http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/">Discount School Supply</a>, I had T draw a salamander while I drew S's for him. Then (and I ALWAYS do this) I forgot to cut them out first, so we had trouble later finding the lines. Cut it out before painting! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfOACBD2aWJ8HubkJv6k8X6Ko5wZFKUO2-tHMTdMe_I_ZbAXGNqDJwzN4HAVOODsqP8Bjz3WRG5cA8uz7GxbwiZVaNyFykPmtXSnP4zUCwkF9pNu32vL4xBIFWPj7hWvqmXHVYMgkBiM/s1600/DSC03955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfOACBD2aWJ8HubkJv6k8X6Ko5wZFKUO2-tHMTdMe_I_ZbAXGNqDJwzN4HAVOODsqP8Bjz3WRG5cA8uz7GxbwiZVaNyFykPmtXSnP4zUCwkF9pNu32vL4xBIFWPj7hWvqmXHVYMgkBiM/s200/DSC03955.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>They were supposed to paint the salamanders yellow, but T preferred to use crayon. I tried not to be cranky about the wasted watercolor paper.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0GgZe2RcnqTdYowmVTtTn37b9lMN9wQs3Lf04VlZRe2Y6hIiHaWHIWXRzQbNRd46_-xLtzrBFQtd57GJhOQXQagiWp76b4iX_jGywbWr-PTebn52NqGIRz_4d2AMV7NYhNCvI0vy0Dw/s1600/DSC03956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0GgZe2RcnqTdYowmVTtTn37b9lMN9wQs3Lf04VlZRe2Y6hIiHaWHIWXRzQbNRd46_-xLtzrBFQtd57GJhOQXQagiWp76b4iX_jGywbWr-PTebn52NqGIRz_4d2AMV7NYhNCvI0vy0Dw/s200/DSC03956.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Then S and I dripped wax from a candle onto the yellow salamander, and when it was dry I encouraged S to repaint the salamander orange. He preferred to make it black, though.<br />
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Then I put a few paper towels over the critter and, using a very low temp, ironed up the wax bits. Voila! Spotted Salamander.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfseTmewXypSw_NzhbkbJ2N99i7fR1IYmWBWmRcSdTgFg3Cr0adR_SspgAWvUtp4ly1hP87MmNaq2oF7Bjpuf8yrSvkqNyCj-pb4TBK8Vz0A0fknypcynwg3ygSiJ4XokYo5IEpsNLxI/s1600/DSC03967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizfseTmewXypSw_NzhbkbJ2N99i7fR1IYmWBWmRcSdTgFg3Cr0adR_SspgAWvUtp4ly1hP87MmNaq2oF7Bjpuf8yrSvkqNyCj-pb4TBK8Vz0A0fknypcynwg3ygSiJ4XokYo5IEpsNLxI/s200/DSC03967.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
In retrospect, I wonder if the iron was necessary. See the spots on the neck? for those I just picked the wax off by hand. The others kind of bled with the iron, so... maybe it would have been better without. Anyway, we'll be adding a googly eye and maybe a mouth or something later, but he's run off to other endeavors for now.<br />
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Listen to this great song, "The Forest is a Wonderful Place" by Steve Schuch at his website: <a href="http://www.nightheron.com/trees_activityguidetheforestis.html">Night Heron</a><br />
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<span class="treebody" style="color: #333333; font-family: Garamond,'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">(to the tune of “Heaven is a Wonderful Place”)<br />
</span><span class="treebody" style="color: #333333; font-family: Garamond,'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">The forest is a wonderful place<br />
Filled with frogs and snakes<br />
I want to see a salamander’s face<br />
The forest is a wonderful place (I want to go there...)</span><br />
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Unbelievably, I also found an easy salamander poem at <a href="http://www.childfun.com/index.php/alphabet/185-the-letter-s-activity-theme.html?start=4">Child Fun</a>:<br />
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<b>A Salamander </b><br />
I saw a little creature that was slimy, smooth, and wet.<br />
I thought it was the oddest thing that I had ever met.<br />
It was something like a lizard, but it had no scales at all.<br />
It was something like a frog, but it didn't hop- it crawled.<br />
So I took it to my teacher and she told me right away,<br />
" I see you brought a salamander into class today."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoXrcpdQLG1a-WsQdydj2dcBRBOee36j3Sbk0aYxMQJGKT6j0_iNmI6zBMevFe1goNY1408kIAOtEinH_NKSDkaGH3MCxRaLcLwjrIj5wiALti4GG5ckSiBp04C4bXEkyGsL6u5FV9E0/s1600/DSCF0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoXrcpdQLG1a-WsQdydj2dcBRBOee36j3Sbk0aYxMQJGKT6j0_iNmI6zBMevFe1goNY1408kIAOtEinH_NKSDkaGH3MCxRaLcLwjrIj5wiALti4GG5ckSiBp04C4bXEkyGsL6u5FV9E0/s320/DSCF0060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>There are a ton of free coloring sheets online; google "Salamander color sheet," and use the image search for best results. <a href="http://coloringpages101.com/printable_page/3742/Reptiles/Salamander_13.aspx">Here</a> is one of our favorites. T LOVES to color salamanders and dinosaurs, so we use lots of free coloring sheets.<br />
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Another cool find were the Kindergarten math worksheets and dot-to-dots at <a href="http://www.math-salamanders.com/free-printable-dot-to-dot.html">Math Salamanders . </a><br />
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All in all I was surprised and delighted at all the newt/ salamander books, activities, music and poetry I found. Please share if you have others! I hope you enjoyed our Mother's Day activities. :) It looks like we're mighty close to 50 followers... come back and see next week if we hit the goal, because I'll have a give-away! Until then, friends.<br />
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</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-61871173173500975402011-04-29T18:08:00.000-07:002011-04-29T18:12:29.799-07:00Fish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Join us this week for Fun with Fish!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/24250000/24253958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/24250000/24253958.JPG" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/24850000/24857959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/24850000/24857959.JPG" /></a></div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></span></i><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">I like <i>Fabulous Fishes</i> because it's full of real fish and well illustrated. And even though it's mainly nonsense, Lisa Cousins's <i>Hooray for Fish</i> is worth a read for the colorful pictures, plus the kids get a kick out of it. <i> </i><br />
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<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/40170000/40172317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/40170000/40172317.JPG" /></a><i> </i><br />
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Leo Lionni's <i>Swimmy </i>is another classic, a Caldecott honor book with a lesson about overcoming adversity. <br />
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I always love Lois Ehlert's illustrations, and <i>Fish Eyes </i>is no exception. Bonus: it's a counting book.<br />
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You may wonder why I left out the ever-popular <i>Rainbow Fish</i> this week. I do love the watercolor pictures, but the not-so-subtle take-home message of the story itself makes me pause. Sure, sharing is great, but do we really have to give away that which makes us special, in order to be liked? Does everyone have to be exactly the same? I haven't completely decided how I interpret <i>Rainbow Fish</i>, so I avoid it altogether for the time being. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it; please comment below.<br />
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</i></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Moving on, there are so many great activities for a fish theme. I made some fish out of craft foam to put in the sensory table, and cleaned out an old aquarium net for S. to use in scooping them up. I read online about someone putting actual goldfish in the water table, but that seemed just a step too far... At any rate, we talked about size (big fish and little fish) and color during this activity.</div><i><i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchlkpjxAT2md9PPUIER_jiOIrOqy6_DonLcCMdiUbftnasxNCm_3_I90cpKD24gnFnbO6gC0XkfISKBppj7wsVoFPbiH9FQJj0SkvYxi6htF6pEqBZgL1jBOEgYmQmv3CHhRwSUwUnM8/s1600/DSC03883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchlkpjxAT2md9PPUIER_jiOIrOqy6_DonLcCMdiUbftnasxNCm_3_I90cpKD24gnFnbO6gC0XkfISKBppj7wsVoFPbiH9FQJj0SkvYxi6htF6pEqBZgL1jBOEgYmQmv3CHhRwSUwUnM8/s200/DSC03883.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4aPmJkeKKzMcbPUgXV2s6-sgG17cn4iV0TXgx8t-orvExqGkmN9Yi4whs9p9Fdnb_yHvVl-DUt6iR44WkxWLmcCL0F0KIz4Sx6hf8syeO3DKKj-YENBBsTtl90oRGnZriflJ-ob6Xqo/s1600/DSC03871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv4aPmJkeKKzMcbPUgXV2s6-sgG17cn4iV0TXgx8t-orvExqGkmN9Yi4whs9p9Fdnb_yHvVl-DUt6iR44WkxWLmcCL0F0KIz4Sx6hf8syeO3DKKj-YENBBsTtl90oRGnZriflJ-ob6Xqo/s200/DSC03871.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Here's a clever craft I read about on another blog. It originally came from the <i>Usborne Book of Art, </i>except that they used markers to color the fish. That would been a better idea, since the paint detracted from the scale effect of the netting.<br />
Anyway, here's how it works. Cut some fish from aluminum foil. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwLGyfOdwiikZu6v4w7KGkw3iYh8zyj6Fjjj1v02UmmBhsblAvEBH1kCq_mXjMk_hCM_WLSd5QTL-11UewV72cTJUFtr8E9wZF_jXvebS9TZcxKS7aw75WhvQMWZ071GxC9IpJ5M1-yI/s1600/IMG_1882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwLGyfOdwiikZu6v4w7KGkw3iYh8zyj6Fjjj1v02UmmBhsblAvEBH1kCq_mXjMk_hCM_WLSd5QTL-11UewV72cTJUFtr8E9wZF_jXvebS9TZcxKS7aw75WhvQMWZ071GxC9IpJ5M1-yI/s200/IMG_1882.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Use a net (this one originally held oranges and came from our local grocery store) to create scales by pressing the foil fish into it. I was lucky and had a bit of special "golden" foil left over from a nice chocolate bar. In the future I will remember to eat more chocolate, so that we have enough golden foil for special projects like this.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></div><div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOr5go18aS01tm_xUwDfmaakA9kp4fc8O888u-FzcwjEVreuKMT-bhrztkhfRxdzcWH0mO_qJs8JGdWcoSjRRcuJQo7z_HfuYQ6NOuo1L6xa3mU_A_CcZzl7_M83-7HXw4-kdUysc2yM/s1600/IMG_1885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOr5go18aS01tm_xUwDfmaakA9kp4fc8O888u-FzcwjEVreuKMT-bhrztkhfRxdzcWH0mO_qJs8JGdWcoSjRRcuJQo7z_HfuYQ6NOuo1L6xa3mU_A_CcZzl7_M83-7HXw4-kdUysc2yM/s200/IMG_1885.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFbkDJlOav0QcqTJTZKAqxicrqbS9C1XxQi7mcfc1YjOkr_OK1BZEtGprxuAYukos36-fyPV3A4XhyphenhyphenRpISlk6WGha8klza-d32ExFnLsoF9vTElHNFKUE8q0hbs_cTYXJX2IzZcLc9ZI/s200/IMG_1887.JPG" width="200" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Paint (or use markers). You can then mount the fish onto a blue sheet of paper or paint an ocean, if you like.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmpC7JcCNoK1Az_z5qg1pwdmv6QshlfiR6CTsf5dQmXquDG3vdOvc6eDPUp9YpO6wVYvXMDVFYZU7QrjiAB70xowy_DSZeLH31fpNypQBxoznM0GA2CnHOTyP0-YmJDPhjogOpVrT-2Y/s1600/IMG_1881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkmpC7JcCNoK1Az_z5qg1pwdmv6QshlfiR6CTsf5dQmXquDG3vdOvc6eDPUp9YpO6wVYvXMDVFYZU7QrjiAB70xowy_DSZeLH31fpNypQBxoznM0GA2CnHOTyP0-YmJDPhjogOpVrT-2Y/s200/IMG_1881.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ywOW0DbZ3Z4wPgfBsq6MKuav6hgtOt0oSY_2lBOUYFbKhwrv3LCbx5j_ex3ZGaBOS7oG1x784VchjJM0zexBTmAUmLjAcLxrSHG70pgYX3sAVR0OGOmAUmWdfWZlKB2eAlEmqx6VRtM/s1600/IMG_1889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ywOW0DbZ3Z4wPgfBsq6MKuav6hgtOt0oSY_2lBOUYFbKhwrv3LCbx5j_ex3ZGaBOS7oG1x784VchjJM0zexBTmAUmLjAcLxrSHG70pgYX3sAVR0OGOmAUmWdfWZlKB2eAlEmqx6VRtM/s400/IMG_1889.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div><br />
I love the way the scales turned out!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAFTlaZqvlebphiNZtTTKN7XaSdC9MjhBfn1NvNE4LbVbuPO21GJhvBhcBNJNlcdvf9HLxSEGBU2oK_a6Mb8ZLa-BLVebAjlZYMFzE91n1z7KUMIsX3BiqnYj4h4JKvfgyZpoc8JXFZI/s1600/DSC03897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAFTlaZqvlebphiNZtTTKN7XaSdC9MjhBfn1NvNE4LbVbuPO21GJhvBhcBNJNlcdvf9HLxSEGBU2oK_a6Mb8ZLa-BLVebAjlZYMFzE91n1z7KUMIsX3BiqnYj4h4JKvfgyZpoc8JXFZI/s200/DSC03897.JPG" width="200" /></a>A while back I also sewed a magnetic fishing game. Several other bloggers shared their easy patterns, and while I can't find the specific one I followed, many of them are similar. Here's one like what I did, only mine has a layer of batting: <a href="http://sewlikemymom.com/go-fish/">Go Fish</a> . Without the batting the magnets might work a little better, but the fish seem more limp. Note: use good, strong magnets-- this is not a time to skimp.<br />
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Wanna see something way cool but tons more work? check out this one: <a href="http://www.purlbee.com/felt-aquarium-magnets/">Felt Aquarium Magnets</a> . You could even use these in a fishing game if you were so inclined.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Then again, you could just buy a plastic game on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Gone-Fishin-Bath-Toy/dp/B000SEVCRI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1304125411&sr=8-3">Amazon</a>. <br />
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When I did a quick search for "fish" in my itunes, a melodious playlist emerged. <i>Flying Fish</i> from Alphabet Action Songs; <i>Baby Fish </i>and <i>Five Fish Swimming in the Sea </i>by Dr. Jean (Sings Silly Songs)<i>, Three Little Fishes </i>by Maria Muldaur (Swingin' in the Rain), <i>I Caught a Fish</i> and <i>Five Little Fishies</i> by Pamela Conn (Wee Sing Animals, Animals, Animals) and <i>I Caught a Fish Alive </i>from Variations on Traditional Pattern songs. <br />
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Heather Forest's song-story <i>The Fisherman and the Magic Fish</i> on her Sing Me a Story album is another gem.<br />
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Here's a fingerplay to conclude the post on fish. Find a ton more <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/la/kinderthemes/ofingerplays.html">HERE</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Five little fishes swimming in a pool.(wiggle five fingers, move arm) <br />
The first fish said, "This pool is cool!" (Shiver and hug yourself) <br />
The second fish said, "This pool is deep." (Use a low voice) <br />
The third fish said, "I want to sleep." (yawn and stretch) <br />
The fourth fish said, "I spy a ship." (hand shading eyes) <br />
Fishing boat comes, line goes kersplash! (throw in line) <br />
Away the five little fishies dash. (fingers "swim" away quickly) </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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See you next week!<br />
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</i></i></div></div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-61632165982136096032011-04-22T17:16:00.000-07:002011-04-23T06:25:38.387-07:00Eggs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Happy Easter! This week's bookworm fun was all about eggs. My very favorite egg book in the whole world is <i>Chickens Aren't The Only Ones</i>, a great science book on oviparous animals complete with fun rhymes and illustrations. Keeping with the science theme, <i>Guess What is Growing Inside This Egg</i> has nice actual-size egg comparisons.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">The classic <i>Horton Hatches the Egg</i> comes with a subtle moral about responsibility, and <i>The Egg</i> meets all the needs of young fantasy lovers. All in all, the selection of egg books isn't too bad once you eliminate the fluffy Easter bunny ones.<br />
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</div><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/15850000/15851300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/15850000/15851300.JPG" width="172" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13700000/13702806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13700000/13702806.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One fun activity we did this week came from my mom-- she picked up a kit at a museum gift shop. It's called "Hatch'em" and has a mystery dinosaur inside an egg. Put the egg in water and the dinosaur begins to "grow," cracking its egg and eventually (sometimes with the help of little fingers) emerging.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNZ9jPZObl1AxNvD-APdSIFFx5o0KXET48rEoimoSm9N2yN8M5GQlRXMiTX2L0UMMiuSeoJSAVe0UH1IxtnxYU7YoW3NqrnFPoMxAnOceZpXOmUpHxGoBd_DMIeVuFhQuPdpvO4KsSPs/s1600/DSC03826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNZ9jPZObl1AxNvD-APdSIFFx5o0KXET48rEoimoSm9N2yN8M5GQlRXMiTX2L0UMMiuSeoJSAVe0UH1IxtnxYU7YoW3NqrnFPoMxAnOceZpXOmUpHxGoBd_DMIeVuFhQuPdpvO4KsSPs/s200/DSC03826.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51+6+aiKVIL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51+6+aiKVIL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixxDu-4WgyEh94UmKfQoBrH1O57aLfi_jbDDQ6X304OFPxTsd72rwRnVViaCgY8G2x3Uix62SWoGBdohrhR9fJqW-AjUxWMjl17ejz0Zqg0FOfY321haH2hI8MGAZb1TnVjz3Jr5d70pw/s1600/DSC03829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixxDu-4WgyEh94UmKfQoBrH1O57aLfi_jbDDQ6X304OFPxTsd72rwRnVViaCgY8G2x3Uix62SWoGBdohrhR9fJqW-AjUxWMjl17ejz0Zqg0FOfY321haH2hI8MGAZb1TnVjz3Jr5d70pw/s200/DSC03829.JPG" width="200" /></a>Ours was a stegosaurus.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found a cool sensory table activity in an older book at the library, <i>2s Experience: Sensory Play</i>. You fill plastic Easter eggs with colored water (using food coloring). I filled each half separately and froze them, then added a little water before closing the egg, in an attempt to make the two halves stick together. This worked pretty well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then we brought the plastic eggs out to the water table and talked about how cold they felt. I used warm water in the table so the ice eventually popped out of the eggs, coloring the water and giving the kids something interesting to feel. We also talked a little about the way the colors blended. It was a success, and next time I might do a few more eggs.</div><br />
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Of course we dyed some boiled eggs-- how can you not. To some we added stickers, and on others we used white crayon for resistance art. I like the way that turned out.<br />
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The other art project this week was to decorate eggs with crayons, markers, fingerpaints, etc. I picked up a pack of cardboard eggs at Michaels, and T also drew and cut some out himself. <br />
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I would have loved to make a paper mache Easter Egg (using a balloon and newspaper) and cut it in half to make a unique type of Easter basket, but we ran out of time. A friend of mine did that one year and it was fabulous.<br />
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We recited Humpty Dumpty this week, and here is one nice fingerplay for eggs:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: green;">Ten Fluffy Chickens</span></b><br />
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</i>Five eggs and five eggs<br />
that makes ten<br />
(hold up ten fingers)<br />
Sitting on top is Mother Hen<br />
(place one hand on top of the other)<br />
Cackle, cackle, cackle<br />
(clap three times)<br />
What do I see?<br />
Ten fluffy chickens,<br />
(hold up ten fingers)<br />
As yellow as can be</span><br />
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Want to watch a bald eagle hatch? Check out the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/06/eagle-cam-decorah-iowa_n_845635.html">eagle cam</a>. My kids were thrilled by this.<br />
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Still hungry for more egg fun? Check out <a href="http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com/storydetails.cfm?TopicID=66">The Best Kids Books</a>. Also, make your own cascarones like they did at <a href="http://nirvanahomeschooling.blogspot.com/2011/04/cascarones.html#comment-form">Nirvana Homeschooling</a>. Happy Easter, and come back next week!<br />
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</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-20812519804128493032011-04-16T14:29:00.000-07:002011-05-06T17:51:54.582-07:00Rain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">April Showers bring May Flowers! This week we read books on rain, rain, rain. Ironically, the weather was as beautiful as you could ask for up until today, when it rained all day to culminate the weeks' activities.<br />
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I found gobs of fun rain books. Here are our top four picks, but I list more at the bottom of this post because there were so many good ones:<br />
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I loved the breathtaking verse in <i>Waiting out the Storm. Chicky Chicky Chook Chook</i> is rollicking fun for even the littlest readers, with great use of onomatopoeia. <i>Lila and the Secret of Rain</i> is a heart-warming tale about a girl who saved her village by telling the sky her woes, thereby causing it to weep and end the long drought. Finally,<i> </i>the wordless <i>Rainstorm</i> is fun to explore because the kids can do it all just by looking at the pictures. It encourages that pre-literacy skill of learning context clues from the visuals.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/81960000/81967706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/81960000/81967706.JPG" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/86160000/86163470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/86160000/86163470.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwdrq1PuG0BcBiWYz3u3NLwqUHlvEkLiAc5Fv8wSdXAkrU2D6ReM6m6mJXjnliVa-K569DnBIJCbpjRoMzEVlic4jNxYPW1eNnlNUnJrY_RybU8YIURSByJwUO0yTjLEwRK4NhZv_1NY/s1600/DSC03806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIwdrq1PuG0BcBiWYz3u3NLwqUHlvEkLiAc5Fv8wSdXAkrU2D6ReM6m6mJXjnliVa-K569DnBIJCbpjRoMzEVlic4jNxYPW1eNnlNUnJrY_RybU8YIURSByJwUO0yTjLEwRK4NhZv_1NY/s200/DSC03806.JPG" width="150" /></a>Theo's teacher did a fun art project for rain. They used glitter glue for the lightning, blue colored rice for the rain, and cotton balls dipped in black powdered tempera for the clouds. The clouds continue to be a little messy, but it's still a cool project.<br />
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We did something similar at home, with a 3-d umbrella made using an octagon (my mom used a glass as a pattern and we enlarged it). Notice that it folds up into all triangles. I cut S's out for him, but T could do his own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj465z9bO1sFElA1KBi30TLC7V443L_UPAECB2t5UNOqiiN1azcuiyd7B7_ldPODjV1dSmp279jx0Wy3UUAkpNnHbyo7X7ioXXm1WfDq-BRkBTKFG-Jt1Nedl-emPz14WBBc03AxP5Ot74/s1600/DSC03811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj465z9bO1sFElA1KBi30TLC7V443L_UPAECB2t5UNOqiiN1azcuiyd7B7_ldPODjV1dSmp279jx0Wy3UUAkpNnHbyo7X7ioXXm1WfDq-BRkBTKFG-Jt1Nedl-emPz14WBBc03AxP5Ot74/s200/DSC03811.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3J2kmsPAxaEbxDBfDwgUmtrclLg5IG9svLO_vy5nCR0GXJSodEsBaAmo4UgW0gm9TXYYuAwV0yJw5JFzGg_-GLJwsCUuJh-jz7iZxqJQxDyzaIWIrYD4IDS0TV1WoEPBi5UeJhlXi_I/s1600/DSC03809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv3J2kmsPAxaEbxDBfDwgUmtrclLg5IG9svLO_vy5nCR0GXJSodEsBaAmo4UgW0gm9TXYYuAwV0yJw5JFzGg_-GLJwsCUuJh-jz7iZxqJQxDyzaIWIrYD4IDS0TV1WoEPBi5UeJhlXi_I/s200/DSC03809.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Q-tips in paint for the rain, and I thought newsprint would make cool clouds, so I cut them out in advance. The kids drew themselves under the umbrellas.<br />
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I thought it was done, but the artist was unsatisfied. He painted the clouds black and added some lightning.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYg45rWmn-g2oNVj0Hhe2BuizItXriBTe4uGRPlGveS2rA5fe4vEHOt4lK7S0FECWuM_rZS825hWle9jnWb2o9oxh2Ui4kPpkEhmH_MhjaC4NDhEX9o-546iFAXa1mYh5G-c8x6Jkq-Y/s1600/DSC03815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKYg45rWmn-g2oNVj0Hhe2BuizItXriBTe4uGRPlGveS2rA5fe4vEHOt4lK7S0FECWuM_rZS825hWle9jnWb2o9oxh2Ui4kPpkEhmH_MhjaC4NDhEX9o-546iFAXa1mYh5G-c8x6Jkq-Y/s200/DSC03815.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AX_lF9vVs07MqxHfPzwUS-rADzJjQcoKMNmFE1XqPFyDIRQ22RqxVQyQA5-fiSWHHe0f_cqOHTExglpRgeEKfx7sD4mMDYt2c_vb2wlTQtnGn_s35Wu9q8nsHp89I7bJlCNTeqFAOos/s1600/DSC03816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5AX_lF9vVs07MqxHfPzwUS-rADzJjQcoKMNmFE1XqPFyDIRQ22RqxVQyQA5-fiSWHHe0f_cqOHTExglpRgeEKfx7sD4mMDYt2c_vb2wlTQtnGn_s35Wu9q8nsHp89I7bJlCNTeqFAOos/s200/DSC03816.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mom helped him do one with a gingerbread man cookie cutter for himself, which was good cutting practice and helped get the head under the umbrella.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/1892/937/f56fbb0e0e3d5f/www.discountschoolsupply.com/images/Products/16802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://a248.e.akamai.net/7/1892/937/f56fbb0e0e3d5f/www.discountschoolsupply.com/images/Products/16802.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Once upon a time we made a neat rainstick at a friend's house. They used a packing tube (for mailing maps and such), pounded nails into it, and threw in some beans. After the kids decorated it with stickers and markers, we covered them up with clear packing tape to reduce risk of the nails coming out. It was fun! Here's another version using paper towel tubes at <a href="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/music/rainstick/">Enchanted Learning</a>. Or you can buy a kit at <a href="http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=16802&es=237530000ESC&utm_source=CSE&utm_medium=weblink&utm_ca">Discount School Supply</a>.<br />
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Fingerplays for the week:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">I thought this one was really cute:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;">Pitter Pat, pitter pat (drum fingers on floor), the rain goes on for hours. And though it keeps me in the house, it's very (hold hands palms up and closed into fists in front of you) good for (open fists) flowers (lift hands imitating flowers growing up).</span><br />
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And here are some oldie-but-goodies, followed by a funny (?!) one that cracks me up:<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><u><br />
</u> </span>Rain, rain, go away;<br />
Come again another day;<br />
Little Johnny wants to play.<br />
(You can replace each child name in this song.)<br />
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It's raining, it's pouring;<br />
The old man is snoring.<br />
Bumped his head<br />
And he went to bed<br />
And he couldn't get up in the morning.<br />
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It ain't gonna rain no more, no more.<br />
It ain't gonna rain no more,<br />
How in the heck will I wash the my neck<br />
If it ain't gonna rain no more<br />
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For more rain fingerplay fun go <a href="http://stepbystepcc.com/rain2.html">here</a>.<br />
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A great soundtrack for today's activities is the title track to Maria Muldaur's <i>Swingin' in the Rain</i>. Love it!<br />
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My favorite beverage for cold rainy days is cocoa from scratch. Here's my fairly kid-friendly, Scratch Cocoa in a Jiffy recipe:<br />
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- Get out your 1/4 measuring cup. Use it once in the cocoa and twice in the sugar (for a half cup). Then fill it part way twice with hot water. All of this goes in a pot with a dash of salt-- bring just to a boil. Add four cups of milk and pour some vanilla in the vanilla lid once or twice (adding it to the pot). Heat. Add marshmallows as desired.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAMjKrpePlnl-fPDb18ycIXhaKA2GXD_Lx53X1d2zPs4xBv8sCvZGhyphenhyphenSojNNu01dkJJUauSFZZAkjuyZm8kabkJh4fJsJekP8yLBaSFW9lG-rENRry-MeXFut_1hcIn5uN1P_9HEF-42Q/s1600/DSC03808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAMjKrpePlnl-fPDb18ycIXhaKA2GXD_Lx53X1d2zPs4xBv8sCvZGhyphenhyphenSojNNu01dkJJUauSFZZAkjuyZm8kabkJh4fJsJekP8yLBaSFW9lG-rENRry-MeXFut_1hcIn5uN1P_9HEF-42Q/s200/DSC03808.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Finally, these are the other rain books we enjoyed. It's a multi-cultural list:<br />
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<i>Rain Play</i> by Cynthia Cotten<br />
<i>The Rain Stomper </i>by Addie Boswell<br />
<i>Monsoon Afternoon </i>by Kashmira Sheth<br />
<i>Rain School </i>by James Rumford (try to read it without crying)<br />
<i>What Makes it Rain? The Story of a Raindrop</i> by Keith Brandt<br />
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** Addendum. Have a Middle Grade reader? Check out the book <i>Drizzle</i> by Kathleen van Cleve. It was a good read-- kept me interested, anyway. It features a magic rhubarb farm, who can resist?<br />
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See you next week for a celebration of eggs!<br />
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</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-87715025268532096072011-04-08T17:36:00.000-07:002011-04-08T19:50:05.298-07:00Chincoteague<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13790000/13796266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13790000/13796266.JPG" width="132" /></a>Time for a Bookworm Roadtrip! This week we took a trip to <a href="http://www.chincoteague.com/">Chincoteague, VA</a> in order to explore the home of Misty and see the legendary wild ponies on Assateague. T and my mom excitedly read <i>Misty of Chincoteague </i>in preparation. T is a tad young (5) for the book, but I picked up a copy of it on CD at the library so he could re-listen to it a few times for greater comprehension and vocabulary development.</div><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/26130000/26132347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/26130000/26132347.JPG" width="173" /></a><br />
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S (3) is definitely too young for <i>Misty</i>, so we found this wonderful picture book at the library for him instead: Susan Jeffers's <i>My Chincoteague Pony</i>. S fell in love with the featured pony, Painted Dream.<br />
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<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/1740000/1742235.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/1740000/1742235.gif" /></a>We also found a couple of non-fiction picture books that everyone enjoyed: <i>Assateague: Island of Wild Ponies,</i> by Larry Points, and <i>Wild Ponies of Assateague</i> by Donna Grosvenor.<br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51+jAWM4qsL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51+jAWM4qsL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" width="200" /></a>All of my babies have loved the Usborne <i>That's Not My...</i> series, and A is no exception. <i>That's Not My Pony</i> goes well with the Chincoteague trip for infants. I also include her <i><a href="http://www.indestructiblesinc.com/">Indestructible</a></i> book here because it has a picture of a horse on it and apparently tastes good. :)</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWWDB-jm_Et_RMLctwJr1c4KSaC1unOxB2OgxCNMBUmDMHcyln0Lb9F_wSrMthZYDNp9q7sPCYZioVLOqfXbs5vxf2hQInyok6B60XFBGBuUamqu5Mtmo5UuqHAq9LENbiykIoKeEz_Q/s1600/P4030069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWWDB-jm_Et_RMLctwJr1c4KSaC1unOxB2OgxCNMBUmDMHcyln0Lb9F_wSrMthZYDNp9q7sPCYZioVLOqfXbs5vxf2hQInyok6B60XFBGBuUamqu5Mtmo5UuqHAq9LENbiykIoKeEz_Q/s200/P4030069.JPG" width="200" /></a>We had a grand time on the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague. Here is a view of some of the ponies from our car window as we were driving through the national park. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We also took Spider's boat cruise and enjoyed the local stories as well as more pony sightings:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0I-t7LZEov_aJYmCimDXneolMgpmftktWn4yShHJ4trileA1hNgqKYByHAd34Rkbkm4NeYhO4C5Og2DeyRs3gA6zL4wIOY_KHZuHDpQs1acKAnys41gFQ3eH9fd61o_Z6i8N1ucB63H0/s1600/P4040167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0I-t7LZEov_aJYmCimDXneolMgpmftktWn4yShHJ4trileA1hNgqKYByHAd34Rkbkm4NeYhO4C5Og2DeyRs3gA6zL4wIOY_KHZuHDpQs1acKAnys41gFQ3eH9fd61o_Z6i8N1ucB63H0/s200/P4040167.JPG" width="200" /> </a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMfHEHOIFLM319jhCMKnom6NKxxQul6amCy8KNFSEV4TACe3fYYVt6WpBFdOEmcNw7nKZHHwRTeisnCdBck8lIqDRCh6-KJQXY3_qzaLKhY0qG-zdBu8wjMJLwwaQZayZ-jHpA5i6h8I/s1600/P4040118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMfHEHOIFLM319jhCMKnom6NKxxQul6amCy8KNFSEV4TACe3fYYVt6WpBFdOEmcNw7nKZHHwRTeisnCdBck8lIqDRCh6-KJQXY3_qzaLKhY0qG-zdBu8wjMJLwwaQZayZ-jHpA5i6h8I/s200/P4040118.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is the statue of Misty in downtown Chincoteague:<br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0Wp9smvJ85AmXbJtYwjiu_8-pyWua4qCC4-n9AZ1-bxsmWGjXXuZYePZJKHlgg7XSmpnxaORTe-kHKw1ZHmO-c9OQim3TvJd7HvWM3aUaFrrMTRTW-4G4yiXiTdJOTJTP6MkbajW4Qk/s1600/P4040170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK0Wp9smvJ85AmXbJtYwjiu_8-pyWua4qCC4-n9AZ1-bxsmWGjXXuZYePZJKHlgg7XSmpnxaORTe-kHKw1ZHmO-c9OQim3TvJd7HvWM3aUaFrrMTRTW-4G4yiXiTdJOTJTP6MkbajW4Qk/s200/P4040170.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
If you are traveling to Chincoteague in celebration of Marguerite Henry's book and want the complete experience, do stay at <a href="http://missmollys-inn.com/">Miss Molly's Inn</a>. It's where she stayed while writing. Since I have 3 kids under 6, however, and 2 of them are boys, I chose not to curse the nice bed and breakfast with our presence. I wish I could say I supported local business and was a good eco-tourist, but we stayed at the <a href="http://www.comfortsuites.com/ires/en-US/html/CitySearch?placetype=city&placename=chincoteague&state_country=VAUS&chain=CS&source=gcsva4">Comfort Suites</a> instead. Free wireless, pool, breakfast... you know the deal.<br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCeeE6SUu6w6AqMRGbPp89mjYm_oKrn0ilpKwFL6uUXowabWieelfp8WAyjjuKw_SBeeKp9BOE4kx63_IxLlJ46hyNQbjVvyc61pZsZubZctPXz576A_T06_Lh7qAAyebAhP7YimF0F0/s1600/P4040174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCeeE6SUu6w6AqMRGbPp89mjYm_oKrn0ilpKwFL6uUXowabWieelfp8WAyjjuKw_SBeeKp9BOE4kx63_IxLlJ46hyNQbjVvyc61pZsZubZctPXz576A_T06_Lh7qAAyebAhP7YimF0F0/s200/P4040174.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtR8t738in-6VSnq0RK6dJM0uzvsku-Hur2Sl7q_NTzzyKvExn8c_KsBOyFW-laTVPw-m_O7JrmzF2ebJBy-BtSkl2c5Y7HkvSg3RxujRO1D7s0Cpjf0BIMu-zFoi8M_fedE2GbriYvQ/s1600/P4040176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtR8t738in-6VSnq0RK6dJM0uzvsku-Hur2Sl7q_NTzzyKvExn8c_KsBOyFW-laTVPw-m_O7JrmzF2ebJBy-BtSkl2c5Y7HkvSg3RxujRO1D7s0Cpjf0BIMu-zFoi8M_fedE2GbriYvQ/s200/P4040176.JPG" width="200" /></a>We did a number of activities to support pony days and the Chincoteague trip. For dramatic play this week my mom had a cute idea of setting up a pony show and auction with some little plastic toys and a pile of change. It was a great opportunity to introduce the names of coins (for S) and some simple addition (for T). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">When we got home I tossed the ponies into a sensory tub with some hay. Well, guinea pig hay, but hay nonetheless. Later I'll feed the leftovers to the critter.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0opEtm_dkahAJ3HaQ2wF6SHTlAeMOeWXMogSL7UoUFS8ycVvF77JdzC-5kkiIApK36iblpAC1zTTqMsRSl9ZDSopR2hRycFrO4_HtocUPBS8Mtk8LusPJyYDwCTWUGAUGkIvitlor1nk/s1600/P4080269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0opEtm_dkahAJ3HaQ2wF6SHTlAeMOeWXMogSL7UoUFS8ycVvF77JdzC-5kkiIApK36iblpAC1zTTqMsRSl9ZDSopR2hRycFrO4_HtocUPBS8Mtk8LusPJyYDwCTWUGAUGkIvitlor1nk/s200/P4080269.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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T kept a journal of our trip. He drew tons of pictures that I put together into a book; here are a few of them. The green jeep features prominently. Notice the pile of pony poop we saw on the road.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinbquejLnXz8RHaN5GtqfAwXAN7XynAHn6sZ3veIn0WvgLas7hf07avotT7nrsl5qs2xgFF-NhLFzRzpcpKnDsbJSOjb8MujQE5M11dyEJnVa0oOYWtPGEJ6k-LGF0B7qAlmazXLpjOo/s1600/DSC03790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhinbquejLnXz8RHaN5GtqfAwXAN7XynAHn6sZ3veIn0WvgLas7hf07avotT7nrsl5qs2xgFF-NhLFzRzpcpKnDsbJSOjb8MujQE5M11dyEJnVa0oOYWtPGEJ6k-LGF0B7qAlmazXLpjOo/s200/DSC03790.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zdobehUwqPaGOlCVi3QDEGPWfKob7-jHCi0cAB35trMJdmNEwBIp28ApJd5kHAPHSwEMQSwLLLL5Ot4hQEt0RNKroR9aAITxBcy5lOu3tsxJPsX1k7qwElIvqC7SkTi53DSV7TN81jo/s1600/DSC03791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zdobehUwqPaGOlCVi3QDEGPWfKob7-jHCi0cAB35trMJdmNEwBIp28ApJd5kHAPHSwEMQSwLLLL5Ot4hQEt0RNKroR9aAITxBcy5lOu3tsxJPsX1k7qwElIvqC7SkTi53DSV7TN81jo/s200/DSC03791.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbJCUeV6FTtklxIxTPRUUKfzi59ya8iYQ7t8cO6vujzlbd2BS7oebXWozeJGSJ7rgaHnPK86s22y04UG75IoK4ampubVema3Q9RbVQ_WMRG3vlTJYJiMWJJ3HU4vLLtQ74E1RCXSTmsw/s1600/DSC03792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbJCUeV6FTtklxIxTPRUUKfzi59ya8iYQ7t8cO6vujzlbd2BS7oebXWozeJGSJ7rgaHnPK86s22y04UG75IoK4ampubVema3Q9RbVQ_WMRG3vlTJYJiMWJJ3HU4vLLtQ74E1RCXSTmsw/s200/DSC03792.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zfdi5czwl1QZzPU3CUv_qBEx_hE6Veg6yMOuuwwDo9fOEMmTLQAGMi6LFGGnXa7_5F9NtXHCqZe3Ywhho645xa2SrmNkaCTzYjCL5opQ8J5jhFThAUeoBV6PIKShdqT6Aiw3n7GfEjc/s1600/DSC03793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zfdi5czwl1QZzPU3CUv_qBEx_hE6Veg6yMOuuwwDo9fOEMmTLQAGMi6LFGGnXa7_5F9NtXHCqZe3Ywhho645xa2SrmNkaCTzYjCL5opQ8J5jhFThAUeoBV6PIKShdqT6Aiw3n7GfEjc/s200/DSC03793.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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This sock horse craft was a fun activity for T. All I used was some felt for ears, a sharpie for eye and nose holes, a bit of ribbon, and a leftover dowel rod. Well, and an old sock of mine. Later we might go back with some yarn and add a mane, but he likes it like this for now. Its name is Sockpony.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94oNYce0O_1N7oksnIB1bEhwDAaQZucP7DAXJdGR0xdb07om4R2L9T4zjw9NurW80fEId1H9aLYlEEjVFyWUMBO636bq-4WOT0e3a-GQ9Bupxe3ovC0upQezrMsFb9UG1NA6LbQqyev4/s1600/DSC03794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94oNYce0O_1N7oksnIB1bEhwDAaQZucP7DAXJdGR0xdb07om4R2L9T4zjw9NurW80fEId1H9aLYlEEjVFyWUMBO636bq-4WOT0e3a-GQ9Bupxe3ovC0upQezrMsFb9UG1NA6LbQqyev4/s200/DSC03794.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgizjA-nrwhe7A3GIcu8NQpDnSkNyZ_JAeTyN4bxbF_Qdk0brGDJb1UWIfWx53aef24y_8YzbMjZr22Y6yu2FloB3kMvkh0aA47rUGzjDy9HUHHxEHst8A2eW6hKrPSEtOQohgRj34DU/s1600/DSC03795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgizjA-nrwhe7A3GIcu8NQpDnSkNyZ_JAeTyN4bxbF_Qdk0brGDJb1UWIfWx53aef24y_8YzbMjZr22Y6yu2FloB3kMvkh0aA47rUGzjDy9HUHHxEHst8A2eW6hKrPSEtOQohgRj34DU/s200/DSC03795.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">In closing, here are a few fun bounce games, fingerplays and poems about ponies. Baby especially loved the first one: </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">I have a little pony, her name is Macaroni (bounce on knee)</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">She trots and trots and then she stops (dramatic stop for long enough for baby to notice)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Funny little pony (trot gently), Macaroni (hug and rock back)</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had a little pony </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">that trotted up and down. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I bridled him and saddled him </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and rode him out of town!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ride A Pony(bounce baby on knees) </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ride a pony, ride a pony </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Into town, </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When you get there, </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Don’t fall down!(drop baby gently down) </div><br />
I found this cute galloping chant, where kids gallop around the room, at <b><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';"><a href="http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/animal-rhymes.htm">preschool rainbow:</a><a href="http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/animal-rhymes.htm"> </a></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Galloping, galloping, galloping,</span><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">How fast my pony can go,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">When he's tired we'll come home,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS';">Slow, slow, slow.</span><br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: green;">Ten Little Ponies</span></b><br />
Ten Little Ponies in a meadow green,<br />
(Hold up ten fingers)<br />
Ten little ponies, friskiest ever seen,<br />
They go for a gallop,<br />
(gallop hands)<br />
They go for a trot<br />
(trot hands)<br />
They come for a halt in the big feed lot<br />
(keep hands still)<br />
Ten little ponies fat and well fed<br />
Curl up together in a soft, straw bed.<br />
(close up fingers in hand)</span></div><br />
Want another gorgeous horse craft made from your child's footprint? Check out this one <a href="http://funhandprintart.blogspot.com/2009/08/footprint-horse-craft.html">at funhandprintart.</a><br />
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I'm not sure yet what we'll do next week. Maybe we'll stick to the themes from our trip and do seashells, or maybe I'll return to some spring motifs. Come back next week to find out!<br />
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</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-50892919625415001372011-04-02T16:59:00.000-07:002011-05-02T17:38:07.137-07:00Peter and the Wolf<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Recently, T had the opportunity to go see a live performance of the orchestral tale, "Peter and the Wolf." I loved this story as a kid, and prepared him well for the show. We have the CD of Patrick Stewart performing it, which is wonderful even if you don't share my love of Captain Picard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V59CKYQTL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V59CKYQTL._SL160_AA160_.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGwv0aoT2cYF3J3McZyByYRFslwhFWHeuYPKXydOj9QGQnVbbaYGV_BfAjpwlreavQ7GPbzNYqJBiTB2UEPtafvFoIVX4KVKay_U8Q1Fpvj6-X4OgPCO1Fzsu_0dzgc9r-sDvNh_XwbE/s1600/DSC03686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGwv0aoT2cYF3J3McZyByYRFslwhFWHeuYPKXydOj9QGQnVbbaYGV_BfAjpwlreavQ7GPbzNYqJBiTB2UEPtafvFoIVX4KVKay_U8Q1Fpvj6-X4OgPCO1Fzsu_0dzgc9r-sDvNh_XwbE/s200/DSC03686.JPG" width="200" /></a>A quick trip to the library revealed a bunch of cool adaptations of the story to print. The most avant-garde one is by Chris Raschka, who attempts to capture the sound of the music in his song-like dialog. It's tough to read if you aren't familiar with the tunes, though. I usually try to match the words to the song when I read this version. It's got a nice twist happy ending, too, with the zoo veterinarian rescuing the duck.<br />
Peter Malone's version comes with a CD, and has intriguing pictures of the animals playing their instruments on the inside cover. It also features a happy ending, with the wolf barfing up the duck because its quacking gave him pangs of guilt.<br />
<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/1360000/1367735.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/1360000/1367735.gif" /></a>Vladimir Vagin's book has my favorite illustrations, and also ends with the wolf spitting up the duck-- his quacking became too irritating. The duck goes home with Peter and his grandfather.<br />
Of all the book versions we read, Michele Lemieux's is the only one that ends as Sergei Prokofiev originally wrote it, with the duck swallowed whole and quacking in the wolf's stomach.<br />
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T drew his own version of the story, with the wolf ending up in a cage:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUyYOyrct5Nkf7lgFciVJZvA0f3Zp7DjbhindcZ4Jlj-lvFnp32Gqf1penIwcuTH6FsZH7JH2jZBL12boh2nEyUJDXxRlrZDXO1rhfk95wYLVpSRypdxHaOf6Iv9_1vENtB_lZJclqzQ/s1600/DSC03682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUyYOyrct5Nkf7lgFciVJZvA0f3Zp7DjbhindcZ4Jlj-lvFnp32Gqf1penIwcuTH6FsZH7JH2jZBL12boh2nEyUJDXxRlrZDXO1rhfk95wYLVpSRypdxHaOf6Iv9_1vENtB_lZJclqzQ/s400/DSC03682.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>We also used a wolf hat and dug through the stuffed-animal bin to find the other characters for acting out the tale.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtS2eajEbaaC2_fnNnunAKFG6C6dRQ1j8UNa8MPzllZH7LVxlBEMGbows8VNR32x7pC9ZcP_drSgySwDnrh7jyBdMIaUtXmz8zcBJX9UVonxfzkgobJdaANQOVMqwUBXBNhwT0pHF8PgY/s1600/DSC03684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtS2eajEbaaC2_fnNnunAKFG6C6dRQ1j8UNa8MPzllZH7LVxlBEMGbows8VNR32x7pC9ZcP_drSgySwDnrh7jyBdMIaUtXmz8zcBJX9UVonxfzkgobJdaANQOVMqwUBXBNhwT0pHF8PgY/s200/DSC03684.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsr5eLuT5HB7C-pnaFlpSD8whQZNN0l3yleDfdqLapTiSfPaMdAu_Wqy4oGC_ZfPJVv0XwcGyV7MYoannHjF5P1llNNgv6kHXkz-GnDl8OKFBhnSAah_2rNA-yd9Du_bUHHmFPgXw-V4/s1600/DSC03739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsr5eLuT5HB7C-pnaFlpSD8whQZNN0l3yleDfdqLapTiSfPaMdAu_Wqy4oGC_ZfPJVv0XwcGyV7MYoannHjF5P1llNNgv6kHXkz-GnDl8OKFBhnSAah_2rNA-yd9Du_bUHHmFPgXw-V4/s200/DSC03739.JPG" width="150" /></a>I found a <a href="http://www.orlandophil.org/downloads/education/opo_peter_wolf_matching_game.pdf">matching gam</a>e online, which was useful in helping the boys learn what the instruments they've been hearing look like, and to reinforce their connection to the characters. <a href="http://music.pppst.com/peter-and-the-wolf.html">Pete's Powerpoint Station</a> has a very nice collection of other <i>Peter and the Wolf</i> resources, to include a PowerPoint presentation explaining the instrument families of the orchestra and some teacher lesson plans.<br />
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My mom and I had a fun time coming up with a shadow puppet version of <i>Peter and the Wolf</i>. We found something for the duck (the goose), bird, and grandfather (the old man) at <a href="http://www.blifaloo.com/shadow-puppets/index.php">this website</a>, We used the wolf from the <a href="http://www.camping-field-guide.com/tent-shadow-puppets.html">camping field guide</a>, and the boy in this <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12962/12962-h/12962-h.htm">project gutenberg file</a>. I never did find a cat you can make with your hands, but you could improvise and use a cut-out version on <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-a-shadow-puppet">squidoo</a>.<br />
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Here's a <a href="http://coloringbookfun.com/wolves/originalimages/wolves%20%2813%29.jpg">wolf coloring page</a> that T enjoyed, too.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn-6.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/70026956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn-6.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/70026956.jpg" /></a><a href="http://cdn-5.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/70109405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn-5.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/70109405.jpg" /></a>Netflix has a bunch of video versions of Peter and the Wolf, to include an Oscar-winning stop-motion animation set in modern day (2006). Warning: the duck-devouring scene is particularly graphic and may frighten young viewers.<br />
Even though the Elmo version is dated (the hairstyles and clothing give it away), it's useful in correlating the instruments to the characters.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn-0.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/729970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn-0.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/729970.jpg" /></a></div>My boys like the classic Disney version best (found in the video <i>Make Mine Music</i>), I think because the bird gets a name (Sonya) and the duck survives. The latter is a particularly important point for S. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn-1.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/70108711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn-1.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/70108711.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://cdn-1.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/60032291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn-1.nflximg.com/en_US/boxshots/large/60032291.jpg" /></a>We haven't got around to them yet, but I'm looking forward to checking out the one narrated by Sting and another one featuring Kirstie Alley and Lloyd Bridges.<br />
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I'm planning a very ambitious blog entry for next week: we're visiting Chincoteague, and that will be the bookworm theme! Come on back and check it out.</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-44155288019227426232011-03-25T17:05:00.000-07:002011-04-08T19:50:40.488-07:00Yoga<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13910000/13913194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/13910000/13913194.JPG" /></a>Yay, it's yoga week at the bookworm blog! As a former yoga teacher I have been very excited to share yoga with my kids, from the moment they were born. I read a lot of books about Mom and Baby yoga, and my very favorite one is Itsy Bitsy yoga. It has sections based on baby stages (sitting, crawling, walking, etc.) and loads of cute songs and loving exercises.<br />
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Once the kids got a little older I found fun interactive books that sparked their imaginations in addition to inspiring them to do yoga. The Toddler Yoga books are great for that, with simple language and colorful illustrations:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14640000/14643208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14640000/14643208.JPG" /></a></div><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/15250000/15254937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/15250000/15254937.JPG" /></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14780000/14784166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14780000/14784166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14780000/14784166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14780000/14784166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <br />
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An absolutely gorgeous book of yoga poems, <i>Twist</i> is probably aimed at kids a bit older than my eldest (5), but we take it slow, just looking at one or two per day. He has some interest, and I am just blown away by the imagery in the poems as well as the pictures. Awesome.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14780000/14784166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14780000/14784166.JPG" /></a></div>Betcha didn't think I'd come up with a craft for yoga theme, huh? Well, get ready to be blown away... we made eye pillows out of old socks. Don't worry, you can get rid of that funky foot smell with a few bath herbs or essential oils. Take a look...<br />
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We made eye pillows out of old socks. Here's what you need:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR1o0DmTFyFL9RvdPhyj48E_rTN8Gtd-GaVcn_jy5naIetn6El6EQxY3CNnRrcpTtCo7NR4ZL4i5Hv2ufYB-dNLuOOEa7WPKrfgT4uR1uzpGLiMQzd4kmNbNyvmTu-LTYdGweWlnAmQE/s1600/DSC03695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHR1o0DmTFyFL9RvdPhyj48E_rTN8Gtd-GaVcn_jy5naIetn6El6EQxY3CNnRrcpTtCo7NR4ZL4i5Hv2ufYB-dNLuOOEa7WPKrfgT4uR1uzpGLiMQzd4kmNbNyvmTu-LTYdGweWlnAmQE/s200/DSC03695.JPG" width="200" /></a>an old sock (usually the kid's own sock is the right size for the eye pillow, but you could cut a larger one to fit)<br />
some herbs, bath salts, scented oils, or other smelly stuff<br />
white rice<br />
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Let your child mix the scents with the rice and then fill the sock (not too full). Sew up the top and voila! Homemade eye pillow.<br />
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Incidentally, this makes a nice Christmas gift for relatives, but I recommend using new socks for that variation. <br />
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Another great activity is to color a <a href="http://www.handipoints.com/coloring-pages/fun-facts/yoga-moves">free yoga coloring page</a>. It reinforces proper alignment for poses and allows for some quiet creative time with crayons.<br />
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Sometimes we feel like taking our yoga adventures to the next level-- then we go downtown to our <a href="http://www.bendcville.com/">favorite yoga studio</a> for some fun kids' yoga classes. I also found a few kid yoga DVDs at the library, but there's just something calming about the ambience at the studio. <br />
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That's it for this week, come back next time!</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-71802055245724972682011-03-18T14:25:00.000-07:002011-04-27T06:03:34.555-07:00Spring Butterflies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Welcome, Spring! It's a little early for live butterflies, but never too early to brighten up the house with some colorful crafted ones. Throw in a few butterfly books and we've had a lovely celebration of spring's arrival.<br />
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Check out these gorgeous books featuring butterflies. Lois Ehlert is a great kids' artist, and <i>Waiting for Wings</i> is her wonderful introduction to butterfly species and life cycles. Eric Carle's illustrations make <i>The Lamb and the Butterfly</i> another bright and fun spring book. <i>Butterfly Count</i> is a story about prairie restoration and the National Butterfly Count that occurs every 4th of July. <i>Butterflies in the Garden</i> is a non-fiction book about various species of butterflies and how to attract them to your own yard.<br />
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I invited the kids to make tissue paper butterflies that I found on an awesome art website, <a href="http://www.deepspacesparkle.com/2011/03/tissue-paper-butterflies-2/">Deep Space Sparkle</a>. T was pretty insistent that he just wanted to color them. S made up for it by using a great volume of the tissue paper. Incidentally, egg cartons? Not a great storage place for tissue paper bits.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHs1HGjjZHE9zBEjahbxgUDg5dC4139sRVYxyUXGi16U_KUtghaDt5_khLImyym51PfmqaGNW0jSty51OcisIyJYZtiy_nGlfLGrWwl6Juvu4h0oy7fQdMUIApsgtKb9WCIEh3MXDmYs/s1600/DSC03667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHs1HGjjZHE9zBEjahbxgUDg5dC4139sRVYxyUXGi16U_KUtghaDt5_khLImyym51PfmqaGNW0jSty51OcisIyJYZtiy_nGlfLGrWwl6Juvu4h0oy7fQdMUIApsgtKb9WCIEh3MXDmYs/s200/DSC03667.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Wall</td></tr>
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Another project we did this week was the concertina fold butterfly from <a href="http://www.kidscraftweekly.com/wings_issue.html">Kids Craft Weekly</a>. We recycled some old artwork for these.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqm2W3Ub3tWGrCVDRxUMNdUg-lLjtS0KflP7JZthM5EXSCWW1gI3lI5S2DDf1vvy8Dxy1FB768G99ICoGUbD9-_DRt1zdhDg2xZRSxwJ17M5e8B22VSeqmHVIiracKFVtjtVb0L7Uof_o/s1600/DSC03654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqm2W3Ub3tWGrCVDRxUMNdUg-lLjtS0KflP7JZthM5EXSCWW1gI3lI5S2DDf1vvy8Dxy1FB768G99ICoGUbD9-_DRt1zdhDg2xZRSxwJ17M5e8B22VSeqmHVIiracKFVtjtVb0L7Uof_o/s200/DSC03654.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>We also tried out hand- and footprint butterflies. They're pretty neat, and maybe would have looked even better in some brighter/ lighter colors, but the boys wanted blue and green.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaJRQNqQqcyh6JxmxD5LwQjDQ78DRXM8yuKOnUhKhIsthO2Qx1PElYGue1RmrQ7dl09AjJsv8wT2Hba9glp_CqdgzksGgv4FF0izbWlfQ6Ab4oGhBnU7m8x92-jzV1i3QaAWFYSSXR0o/s1600/DSC03665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZaJRQNqQqcyh6JxmxD5LwQjDQ78DRXM8yuKOnUhKhIsthO2Qx1PElYGue1RmrQ7dl09AjJsv8wT2Hba9glp_CqdgzksGgv4FF0izbWlfQ6Ab4oGhBnU7m8x92-jzV1i3QaAWFYSSXR0o/s200/DSC03665.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyeicamyBtdWdZv3KRSjqVoeSSNAs8iiKo-ZvHnVxYYoJjbE6a-FRJY-oJUwSqN4xotaf7LxvYfYlnhJSoGgdS6ZsBNYhWFPmQAAf9c6-rgpIXGkQyxAvlQTsSJGy_5PTI8uvPjz3LDI/s1600/DSC03670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyeicamyBtdWdZv3KRSjqVoeSSNAs8iiKo-ZvHnVxYYoJjbE6a-FRJY-oJUwSqN4xotaf7LxvYfYlnhJSoGgdS6ZsBNYhWFPmQAAf9c6-rgpIXGkQyxAvlQTsSJGy_5PTI8uvPjz3LDI/s200/DSC03670.JPG" width="200" /></a>I'm super proud of my butterfly life cycle snack! Peas for eggs, sesame sticks for the caterpillars, olives for chrysalises, and farfalle for butterflies. The kids are hard to impress, though. I guess they have more sophisticated tastes than I do.<br />
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When T's preschool studied butterflies I did a different snack, using fruit leather (antennae), celery and cottage cheese (body), and pretzels (wings).<br />
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Here are a few of our favorite butterfly kids' songs:<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lsVoqQe6L._AA115_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lsVoqQe6L._AA115_.jpg" /></a>Elizabeth Mitchell and Lisa Loeb sing a lovely bi-lingual (Spanish and English) butterfly song/ lullaby in their soothing children's CD, <i>Catch the Moon. </i>Get the individual song online or buy the whole album-- I love it in its entirety.<br />
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Also, at the <a href="http://www.bendcville.com/">kids' yoga studio</a> downtown we have fun doing yoga to Shakta Kaur Khalsa's <i>Fly Like a Butterfly</i> on her <i>Happy </i>CD. My kids liked it so much that I bought the song on I-tunes for a buck.<br />
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I'm not huge into videos, but the HBO Classical Baby ones are very nice-- educational, with no dialogue (except the poetry one), and not too fast-paced. There's an animated video of Frederico Garcia Lorca's poem, <i>Mariposa</i> in the Poetry dvd. Watch <i>Mariposa</i> for free online at <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/journal/videoitem.html?id=5">the poetry foundation.</a><br />
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For more butterfly fun, check out a cheap and easy way to make dramatic play of a butterfly's life cycle at <a href="http://dressesandmesses.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/be-a-butterfly/">Dresses and Messes</a>. Another gorgeous butterfly craft and some cute snacks are at <a href="http://honeybeebooksblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/butterfly-day.html#comment-form">Honey Bee Books</a>.<br />
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Thanks for stopping by. Come back next week for a yoga theme!</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032826649783682868.post-80196942801013782462011-03-12T03:19:00.000-08:002011-05-28T12:46:49.884-07:00St. Patrick's Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Happy St. Patrick's Day! This post is full of fun with Shamrocks, Irish food, and stories about the traditions behind St. Patty's. As with many holidays, the selection of related books varies from cheesy or uninspired to really fun and creative. I found a few cool ones at our library.<br />
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Here's some lift-the-flap fun for younger readers in <i>Hooray for St. Patrick's Day</i>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14490000/14492752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/14490000/14492752.JPG" /></a></div>And even though the plot is a bit lacking, the story of how they celebrate <i>St. Patrick's Day</i> in Mrs. Madoff's classroom is an easy and fairly engaging way to learn the origin of many traditions:<br />
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In <i>A Fine St. Patrick's Day</i> a leprechaun-like dude makes his appearance in a decorating competition between two towns. It's more suitable to the older pre-k - 2nd grade set:<br />
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And here's one more book for older picture-book readers, it provides historical context of the contributions of Irish Americans and some of the conditions people endured both in Ireland and as immigrants in America. The history is pretty palatable, though, because it's woven into the plot: <i>A St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh.</i><br />
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My boys, ages 3 and 5, both enjoyed the pre-printing Shamrock (trace the dotted line) <a href="http://www.coloring.ws/patrick.htm">at coloring.ws</a>, and Theo also did the color-by-letter pot of gold.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsb6939_qtGW2NNp2qArpVP_KEaLUQn16zJyjFHPzEaLhOY2ZfIvmJ8ya-wTNd5g105OkVnpE2r3ow4IoJYIXPzRTZy_12ZdpRbdZLW_JIdfdaNkcd4mUrprSr7BEwLDYYz7_pJ5IvUA/s1600/DSC03653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIsb6939_qtGW2NNp2qArpVP_KEaLUQn16zJyjFHPzEaLhOY2ZfIvmJ8ya-wTNd5g105OkVnpE2r3ow4IoJYIXPzRTZy_12ZdpRbdZLW_JIdfdaNkcd4mUrprSr7BEwLDYYz7_pJ5IvUA/s200/DSC03653.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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Sascha <i>really</i> loves counting rhymes, so of the many leprechaun/ shamrock/ St Patty's poems I found, I picked this one for our family from <a href="http://www.dltk-holidays.com/patrick/songs/index.htm">DLTK's</a> fabulous kids' site:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<blockquote>One green shamrock, in the morning dew,<br />
Another one sprouted,<br />
and then there were two.<br />
Two green shamrocks, growing beneath a tree;<br />
Another one sprouted,<br />
and then there were three.<br />
Three green shamrocks, by the cottage door;<br />
Another one sprouted,<br />
and then there were four.<br />
Four green shamrocks, near a beehive<br />
Another one sprouted,<br />
and then there were five.<br />
Five little shamrocks, bright and emerald green,<br />
Think of all the luck<br />
these shamrocks will bring.</blockquote>We made some shamrocks to go on the felt board with this poem. There's a template on DLTK's website, but I just drew my own because the printer was on the fritz. I let the kids go wild with the felt and google eyes. We tried to make different expressions on the faces, somewhat unsuccessfully, but it was fun anyway. Even better than the counting poem was the game where a wild cow shows up on scene and tries to eat the magic shamrocks... <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiPvae1H96EBAvxmw0B0q6j5zs3-RIgcZuTs4eSybdd7-vINHdFzgoFVnayySAE5voBVTzjQFBeGHQtjG2s-K-NRopeiYAApbZjSS5XWqQ9H-qEI3Fv9gbXSwsE-QnPDOhnm5RHsJokM/s1600/DSC03643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEiPvae1H96EBAvxmw0B0q6j5zs3-RIgcZuTs4eSybdd7-vINHdFzgoFVnayySAE5voBVTzjQFBeGHQtjG2s-K-NRopeiYAApbZjSS5XWqQ9H-qEI3Fv9gbXSwsE-QnPDOhnm5RHsJokM/s200/DSC03643.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o_MGXR_r5TMRoIS3qI4GaXdxpRPrHQ4yEQ3zFvVAzJWkjMrd6RPEUFAw9tyJSUkMMmpQ8qf8vBB9-YieIKvoz_FIzbbxUguv3kZ6xyPmqRWyaA9Rem9EdgnP6EA1nuVJnhcrKXL9Bdw/s1600/DSC03644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o_MGXR_r5TMRoIS3qI4GaXdxpRPrHQ4yEQ3zFvVAzJWkjMrd6RPEUFAw9tyJSUkMMmpQ8qf8vBB9-YieIKvoz_FIzbbxUguv3kZ6xyPmqRWyaA9Rem9EdgnP6EA1nuVJnhcrKXL9Bdw/s200/DSC03644.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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We tried to do <a href="http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/patty1.shtml">this crayon resistance art project</a>, but I think maybe the paint was too thick or something... the image didn't really show through well, and our cheap construction paper had trouble handling the paint, too. Either I'm doing something wrong or the resistance crayon work is better left to watercolors.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxDbbO8BUwiw0gR7QuyqvoUVQ2NDQrxkqQoIgYdbKr-7_sMaTKXB1rCsVRwmnW3F8raAgEH7ryBhHtZ5qSwpn5aoud0CuQachxfDZtL_GeY0C7mxlByBVxNnkp1gn6QEzqteniKPgiII/s1600/DSC03647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxDbbO8BUwiw0gR7QuyqvoUVQ2NDQrxkqQoIgYdbKr-7_sMaTKXB1rCsVRwmnW3F8raAgEH7ryBhHtZ5qSwpn5aoud0CuQachxfDZtL_GeY0C7mxlByBVxNnkp1gn6QEzqteniKPgiII/s200/DSC03647.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisecbZ_2U1pl7XZV8U9Ne0zsQy24SwhFLpFm5XZXlQ1ldRLOa5uxap8BNB_syRKlPolVzw0-VvnObsjUbbk234KeXZvpBA63jupcPsOvBsHNBSLMiKQbMM1UYw7ZT4w8o8zIYNGsFM4B8/s1600/DSC03646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisecbZ_2U1pl7XZV8U9Ne0zsQy24SwhFLpFm5XZXlQ1ldRLOa5uxap8BNB_syRKlPolVzw0-VvnObsjUbbk234KeXZvpBA63jupcPsOvBsHNBSLMiKQbMM1UYw7ZT4w8o8zIYNGsFM4B8/s200/DSC03646.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Theo said, "I don't think your project worked." Doh! So he decided to just make a field of shamrocks instead, using heart shapes of green construction paper on a scrap of blue.<br />
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After our craft mishaps, I decided to get a little adventurous with food, too. I guess I'm hard-headed like that. Most years I make <a href="http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/avocado-pie-2/Detail.aspx">Avocado Pie</a>, since it's green and all, but this year I went a more traditional route with this (very easy) <a href="http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/amazingly-easy-irish-soda-bread/Detail.aspx">Irish Soda Bread</a> and some slow-cooker <a href="http://homecooking.about.com/od/soups/r/blss32.htm">Lamb Stew</a>. We'll make the stew closer to actual St. Patty's Day, and if it turns out half-way decent I'll post a picture.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QbfMfLulnzHUyJDDWDmOpDWJW2eKyrDXxHjxp8llTdKTg3t499IP5FYHiZA3PiqgeXOGB7vdrP7_wKg3KtturkOXJKEl_5rYoST6yo-u8nP1OsYUoscQNDGAfoy5xR751iDTCp6s-iQ/s1600/DSC03648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4QbfMfLulnzHUyJDDWDmOpDWJW2eKyrDXxHjxp8llTdKTg3t499IP5FYHiZA3PiqgeXOGB7vdrP7_wKg3KtturkOXJKEl_5rYoST6yo-u8nP1OsYUoscQNDGAfoy5xR751iDTCp6s-iQ/s200/DSC03648.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here's our Soda Bread. Sascha is my little cook-- he eagerly measured everything out and dumped it in the Kitchenaid. We probably should have smoothed it out a little more. Also, as I always do with bread, I got nervous and pulled it out too early, so it was a tad raw in the middle. Still tasted fabulous in the cooked-through parts, though. I followed a baker's advice and used a tiny bit extra buttermilk and butter instead of margarine. Yum! The kids liked it, too.<br />
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Want some more fun for St. Patrick's Day? Check out this blog, and all the wonderful links from other blogging parents: <a href="http://www.amommysadventures.com/">A Mommy's Adventures</a> <br />
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What's Mama's favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Watching Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones run through the famous Chicago parade in <i>The Fugitive</i>, of course. That movie was my first reference to Chicago's tradition of dying the river green. <br />
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If I were a beer-drinker I'd probably reach for a Guinness... but since I'm not I'll veg out with a glass of wine and listen to John Mayer's very cool song, <i>St. Patrick's Day</i>, from his <i>Room for Squares</i> CD.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UuhUPpN0L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UuhUPpN0L._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>See you next week!</div>Brianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03250901589768647592noreply@blogger.com4