Thursday Book Rec

I am an admitted book worm. If I could swim in books or sleep in them, truly I would. I am constantly on the lookout for new ones, both for the kids and myself. There's no better love you can inspire in children than the desire to read, but again, I am thousand-percent biased. This is one in a series of posts spotlighting books we picked up and absolutely loved! Most of these can be appreciated by just about any age, and I say this because I love them just as much as the kids do. I hope you do, too!

Zelda & Ivy

Title & Author: 

Zelda and Ivy by Laura McGee Kvasnosky

What It's About:

This book is part of a series and can be read by a fairly new reader with some help. There are three chapters or parts to this one. In the first chapter, you are introduced to Zelda and Ivy, two young foxes who are sisters and you quickly gain insight into their expected dynamic as siblings. In the second chapter, they pretend to be in the circus, with older sister Zelda calling out all the tricks and dear, sweet Ivy doing her best to be a good sport and play along. In the last chapter, you get to see exactly what the girls are made of when they end up sharing a favorite toy and things don't go quite how you would expect them to.

My Thoughts:

You can't help but root for Ivy when older sister Zelda tries to take advantage of her status as older sister. But, just as with all siblings, when the tricking and the bickering is through, you can see the tenderness of the bond they share as sisters and best friends. The things Zelda convinces Ivy to participate in and how she does it is pure, manipulative art.  I was breathless with laughter at times over Zelda's convenient wit and smarts- you have to have a sense of humor when reading this book to appreciate the comedy in the way siblings really behave with one another.

Whether You've Had Too Much Sun or Lost Your Marble,Geology Rocks!

Oregon Ridge Park

Quick Quiz: What do the tan line around the Washington Monument and a 5th Grade Me willingly sticking my finger in my eye and swirling it around from a spectacular brand of boredom have in common? Answer: Geology!


Well, turns out there's always hope, at least for me- The Monument is on its own, but more on that later. We  took a free Geology class at Oregon Ridge Nature Center with our homeschool group and the tour guides there taught me everything "Geography" I should have retained the first time around in about 5min flat and it was actually (gasp!) interesting. I guess breaking it down for the kiddles had a lot to do with me finally getting it- they must have appealed to my not-so-inner child. Where was homeschooling and extra-cool field trips when I was coming up???  

Azurite

As our luck would have it, the rain held the entire time we were inside and then decide to show itself in full force the minute we stepped out the doors for the 'Nature Walk' portion of our class. We got to look for,collect and study some of the rocks we learned about in the first "presentation" part of the class, but our walk was cut short when we were all nearly soaked to the skin by the lovely rain and we just couldn't take it any more. Instead of calling us out and telling us to toughen up, our tour guides were true gentlemen and kindly invited us back for a Part 2 on a clearer, drier day.


So now back to this two-tone Monument...turns out construction, marble exterior included, was well under way until the War of 1812 stopped all that for a bit. When construction resumed, builders had to use a different type of marble (Cockeysville Marble) from the quarries at the very same site that Oregon Ridge Park sits on today. The existing Park site used to be a marble and iron mining site in the 19th Century.

The Washington Monument: A closer look

*Whispers* Can you see her tan line? Look but don't stare! If you can't quite make it out on this pic, click here.

Tidbit: For a fun twist, I had my girls follow up the tour with some interactive learning at the Science Kids: Rock, Minerals, Soils page. Also, check out the Cochise College web page for more great info.

Thursday Book Rec

I am an admitted book worm. If I could swim in books or sleep in them, I truly would. I am constantly on the lookout for new ones, both for the kids and myself. There's no better love you can inspire in children than the desire to read, but again, I am thousand-percent biased. This is one in a series of posts spotlighting books we picked up and absolutely loved! Most of these can be appreciated by just about any age, and I say this because I love them just as much as the kids do. I hope you do, too!

Potty Animals: What to Know When You've Gotta Go

Title & Author: 

Potty Animals: What to Know When You Gotta Go by Hope Vestergaard

What It's About:

It's a rhyming picture book that lays out on the table all the bad and truly hilarious habits people/kids have when using or learning to use the bathroom.  These characters remind me so much of the things my kids do that aren't quite so laughable when I'm washing the bathroom rugs for the 10th time in a week, but hey, you gotta laugh sometime, right? There's a whole array of colorful characters, including Fred who "forgets" to flush the potty because he's actually afraid of the whole thing, then barging Benji who never knocks before he enters (this one hits just a little too close to home), and Arnold, whose aim isn't always the best. 

My Thoughts:

Fun-ny! Even if you've been potty-trained for ages, this one's a funny one and you're sure to laugh till it hurts, or till the kids look at you sideways, whichever comes first.

Thursday Book Rec

I am an admitted book worm. If I could swim in books or sleep in them, I truly would. I am constantly on the lookout for new ones, both for the kids and myself. There's no better love you can inspire in children than the desire to read, but again, I am thousand-percent biased. This is one in a series of posts spotlighting books we picked up and absolutely loved! Most of these can be appreciated by just about any age, and I say this because I love them just as much as the kids do. I hope you do, too!

Image Source: Amazon

Title & Author: 

Dear Fred by Susanna Rodell

What It's About:

Grace misses her older half-brother after a change in their family situation causes her to have to move away from Australia to the States. She writes him a letter telling him how much she misses him and all the things they used to do, both good and bad.

My Thoughts:

This one made me cry, cry, cry. I picked this one up when we touched on communication and all the different ways to do it and I expected it to just be a fun book about letter-writing. It has a very touching message and anyone who has a heart will be touched by the story. Reaching for my tissues, now, just the memory is making me misty! Enjoy!

Thursday Book Rec

I am an admitted book worm. If I could swim in books or sleep in them, I truly would. I am constantly on the lookout for new ones, both for the kids and myself. There's no better love you can inspire in children than the desire to read, but again, I am 1000% biased. This is the first in a series of posts spotlighting books we picked up and absolutely loved! Most of these can be appreciated by just about any age, and I say this because I love them just as much as the kids do. I hope you do, too!

Image Source: booko

Title & Author:

Diary of a Baby Wombat by Jackie French. 

What It's About:

A baby wombat uses a week's worth of diary entries to tell about his seemingly mundane adventures in finding a bigger hole for his mother and himself. He makes a friend along the way but also inadvertently causes a bit of trouble, because he is, after all, just a baby.

My Thoughts:

I am known for doing semi-good, semi-horrible accents and when I picked this one up to read to the kiddles, I couldn't help but work on my Australian. Thankfully I'd watched a Planet Green show late the night before and got a fresh dose of Australian just in time for this book. It was so much fun to read that way and the kids loved it so much they asked me to do it again and again- I guess my nighttime "research" paid off. It's a really sweet book.

Scrapbooking Fun

We took a Scrapbooking Class at the Beltsville Community Center last week- bound to be our new hangout- and we really enjoyed it. I've taken a recent interest in Scrapbooking but didn't know how to start, so I signed my ever-so-creative 5 year old up for the class and we learned together.

I love the idea of making pictures with real, tangible materials and don't know why we didn't really get into this before. But, now that we know, I'll be stocking up on Michael's coupons and adding scrapbooking supplies to the budget.

Image Source: Creative Scrapbooking Supplies

A NOTE: the class we took is totally for kids, I just watched, learned and lived vicariously through them from a distance. I propped a book open in my lap and pretended not to be there because I didn't want to hover too closely so that my 5yo could work on interacting in a classroom environment that's not our homeschool group, with unfamiliar faces.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, here comes the recommendation that you try it with your kids, too. I liked the vibe of the class and would love to continue to go, provided there's space when we register. It was amazing seeing little boys embrace their creativity right alongside little girls and coming up with great things (read: it's not just for girls!). All the kids were so willing to help out and I was ever-so-touched by their generosity.

A class, for many reasons, is a good place to start BUT is not absolutely necessary. You can search online for scrapbooking tutorials or ideas of things you can make. It's so open-ended it can be anything you want it to be, just let your ideas flow. And it doesn't have to be costly, either.

As I mentioned above, if you go to Michael's or some other craft store, you can find the supplies you need to get started pretty cheaply ($1 for diecuts and stamps)- don't forget their weekly circular coupon! I was even told to go on Freecycle and request supplies there, because someone in your community may have some things they're willing to part with. The great thing is, little ones as young as 2 years old can do it, as for them, it would simply be a matter of pasting cut-outs or pictures of their choice to the background of their choosing. Let them have fun with it, no matter the age.