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April 27, 2015
Mrs. G

Poetry Reading and Craft Challenge for Kids: Week 5

It’s the final week of our poetry reading and craft challenge.  I hope you and your kids have been following along each week and have enjoyed it!  For the last week of the challenge I selected a poem about summer.

Finally it seems like the heavy grey veil has been lifted over the Northeast. The trees are starting to get green again. Flowers are starting to bloom.  Spring has sprung and you can already feel summer coming up around the corner. This is my favorite time of year. It’s a time of anticipation, celebration and FUN!

Here the poem we’ll be memorizing this week:

This week’s craft was “Popsicles” made out of construction paper and popsicle sticks.  You can also choose to make ice cream cones or another craft of your choice.
Materials Needed:
  • Construction paper of varying colors
  • popsicle sticks
  • scissors
  • glue
  • pencil
First, trace and cut out the shapes for your popsicles and decorations.  We used a mixture of circles, squares and rectangles.  Finally, use glue to decorate your popsicles to your liking.~Until next time!

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April 20, 2015
Mrs. G

Poetry Reading and Craft Challenge for Kids: Week 4

Hello Friends!

Apologies for the late post, but I had a fun-filled weekend and didn’t manage to update the blog until now.

Hooray!  We made it to week #4 of our poetry reading and craft challenge!  For the last two weeks I decided to choose longer poems and projects geared towards older kids.  Of course I still expect you to read the poems to the smaller children and work on memorization 🙂

Below is the poem we’ll be working on memorizing this week.  In honor of Earth Day coming up on Wednesday I chose a poem about planting trees.  I hope it resonates with you and your little ones.

Click here for a larger version of the poem.

This week’s craft was so simple and fun to work on!  The kids assisted by handing me the scraps of the ribbon.  I did everything else.
It’s a “tree” made from a stick I found outside, scrap ribbon I had at home, and a piece of twine. Pinterest inspired, of course!

For this project you’ll need:

  • 1 stick
  • scrap ribbon (I used brown and green scraps)
  • twine
  • glue gun and glue sticks
  • scissors
  • lighter (to prevent the ends of the ribbon from fraying)
First, decide which ribbon you’re going to use and cut it if necessary.  (Note: in order to prevent the ends of the ribbon from fraying use a lighter to burn them.)  Next, start tying the ribbon onto the stick working from the bottom to the top.  Finally, attach a piece of twine to the top for hanging up your tree.  Easy peasy!  These trees would also be cute for Christmas tree ornaments!
~ Until next time!

 

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April 10, 2015
Mrs. G

Poetry Reading and Craft Challenge for Kids: Week 3

It’s week three of our poetry reading and craft challenge!  Have you been following along with your little ones?  I hope so.

This week’s poem and craft is all about caterpillars.  I don’t particularly like caterpillars, but I think they are are truly fascinating creatures.  There is something so interesting to me about watching them undergo metamorphosis and emerge as a beautiful winged creature.

I hope you and your children enjoy this week’s poem and craft selection!

Here is the poem we’ll be memorizing this week.  Click here if you want to print it out.

This week’s craft is caterpillars made with pom pom’s, googly eyes and clothespins.

Instructions:  Simply hot glue pom poms onto a clothespin then add two googly eyes.  Doesn’t get any easier than that.  You can also add antenna and legs using pipecleaners if you want to jazz it up a bit.

Feel free to do this craft or one of your own.  Enjoy!

~ Until next week!

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April 4, 2015
Mrs. G

Poetry Reading and Craft Challenge for Kids: Week 2

Happy Easter!

This week we’ll be memorizing a poem about raindrops and flowers growing.  Please note the original author of the poem I selected is unknown in case you’re wondering.

Here is the poem:

 

You can either choose one of the two crafts we did or create your own.  The raindrops and umbrella craft should be pretty straightforward.  To do this you’ll need:

  • Cupcake liners (we used 2)
  • Scissors (or a sharp object to poke a hole through the top of the cupcake liner)
  • Pipecleaners (we used 1 and cut it in half)
  • Sharpie marker
  • 1 piece of construction paper (we used blue, but you could also use white or another color)
  • blue paint and paintbrushes (or a blue marker/crayon for the raindrops)
  • gluestick or glue gun
If you and your kids want to tackle the paper plate flower craft you’ll need:
  • 1 white paper plate
  • 1 piece of green construction paper (for the flower stem and leaves)
  • 1 piece of white paper (for the flower petals)
  • scissors
  • paint and paintbrushes (we used purple, pink and yellow)
  • glue gun
Here is a pictoral tutorial for both craft projects:
Again, I’m not going to include step-by-step written instructions as I think these should be easy to figure out on your own.  As always, please ask questions if you need to.  I’m willing to help!I hope you and your little ones enjoy this week’s poem and craft project(s)!

 

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read aloud
April 2, 2015
Mrs. G

What the Kids are Reading (in April 2015)

I seriously cannot believe we’re already in the month of April!  I swear time goes by so much faster when you have kids…or maybe it’s just me.

Below you’ll find all of the books I’ll be reading to the kids for the month of April.  Since it’s Easter, National Poetry Month, and Earth Month I think I’ve selected a nice variety of books.

This book is super cute!  It’s a wordless picture book, but the overall message of teamwork and working together is great!  Oh, and the pictures are just so adorable!  This would make a really cute Easter gift.  Sparkles cannot get enough of this book and neither can I.
Through the story of a little boy named Felix, this charming book explains to children how being kind not only helps others, it helps them, too. As he goes about his day, Felix interacts with different people — his sister Anna, his grandfather, other family and friends. Some people are happy, but others are grumpy or sad. Using the metaphor of a bucket and dipper, Felix’ grandfather explains why the happy people make Felix feel good, while the others leave him feeling bad — and how Felix himself is affecting others, whether he means to or not.

 

This book brings counting to life with a cute story about friendship!

 

When Felix wakes up one morning, he finds an invisible bucket floating overhead. A rotten morning threatens his mood–and his bucket–drop by drop. Can Felix discover how to refill his bucket before it’s completely empty?

 

Emma’s family is celebrating Easter! Emma and her little brother hunt for Easter eggs and candy. They go to church. Then relatives come over for a big meal.

 

Giraffes Can’t Dance is a touching tale of Gerald the giraffe, who wants nothing more than to dance. With crooked knees and thin legs, it’s harder for a giraffe than you would think. Gerald is finally able to dance to his own tune when he gets some encouraging words from an unlikely friend.  Another favorite for the kiddos!

 

Haiku poems just for boys…yes please!  My library had this on display so I snatched it up for my little man.  It contains a nice assortment of poems.

 

Yes, this book has a hole right in the center of it…brilliant!  The kids get a kick out of putting their hands or any other objects lying around through the middle…so cute!  The Book with a Hole blasts a hole through the middle of the book itself. Sometimes the hole is an eye the reader can look through; sometimes it is a mouth and the reader’s fingers make the teeth! The next minute it is a plate (with food drawn by the reader on a sheet of paper behind the book), an obstacle to jump across, or a saucepan.

 

This book has been on my “to-read-to-the-kids list” for a while and I finally got it.  Iggy has one passion: building. His parents are proud of his fabulous creations, though they’re sometimes surprised by his materials—who could forget the tower he built of dirty diapers?

 

A classic favorite finds six lovable animals using humorous rhymes to help Lloyd the llama discover what kind of animal his mother is.

 

I love this book more than the kids do.  Barbara Cooney’s story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful.

 

This is definitely a book to add to your home library if you like prayers and teach your children to pray.  I bought this for the kids for Easter…so beautiful!  This poem is nice to recite at bedtime.

 

This is another book I’ve been wanting to read to the kids for a while.  Such an inspiring book for girls and boys alike!

 

I adore this book!  What a beautiful story about a tiny snail and a giant whale.  The overall message is fantastic…another winner from Julia Donaldson!

 

The poems in this book are funny!  We love the one entitled ‘Maybe I’ll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight’.
Join Little Mole as he travels over land, air, and sea in search of an answer to his question: “How big is the world?”  Lovely story and beautifully illustrated.

 

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March 27, 2015
Mrs. G

Poetry Reading and Craft Challenge Week 1

Since Spring has finally sprung (well, sort of if you live in the Northeast like me) and Easter is right around the corner, I thought we’d kick off the first week of this challenge with an Easter themed poem and activity.

This poem — like all the ones I’ve chosen is short and should be pretty easy to memorize in one week.  The craft activity idea was inspired by my beloved Pinterest website.  I added my own personal touches just to spice it up a bit.

Remember, the goal of this challenge is two-fold: to memorize the poems with your kids and work on the craft activity together at some point during the week.  That’s it!  Also, you don’t have to be crafty to work on the projects.  The main thing is for you and the kids to have fun and to have the experience together.  We’re not going for perfection here.

Here is the first poem we’ll be memorizing:

 

Click here if you’d like to print this poem.
Here is the craft project: Peek-a-boo bunny!

Click here to open this tutorial in a separate window.

Craft Project Notes

For this project you’ll need:

  • 2 white paper plates
  • green felt or construction paper
  • pink felt or construction paper (optional – for the inside of the bunny ears and nose)
  • pink fabric (optional – for the inside of the bunny ears nose – this is what I used)
  • green ribbon (optional – if you want to add a bow)
  • 1 black Sharpie marker
  • glue
  • scissors
  • stapler
I think the pictoral tutorial is easy to follow so I won’t include step-by-step instructions.Don’t forget to recite the poem daily with your child(ren) and most importantly don’t forget to pull down the hands covering the bunny’s face when you say ‘peek-a-boo’ at the end of the poem.  So fun!

I’d love to see your bunny craft projects or hear from you.  Feel free to drop me a line at hereweeread {at} gmail {dot} com or leave a comment in the comments section below.

~Until next time!

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children's literacy
March 24, 2015
Mrs. G

Poetry Reading and Craft Challenge for Kids!

Calling all poetry lovers!

In case you didn’t already know April is National Poetry Month.  I admit that I am not a big reader of poetry nowadays unless it’s in a children’s book. I enjoyed all of the Shel Silverstein classics as a child, but I kind of lost my interest in reading poetry sometime during high school.  You know, when it wasn’t required reading in school anymore…LOL!  I do love poetry though, especially poems that rhyme.

That’s why I’m so glad to see there are so many wonderful poetry books out there for my children.  I think it is important to introduce poetry to kids from the very beginning of their lives.  Research shows that poetry promotes literacy, builds community, and fosters emotional resilience.  Awesome, right?

In addition, when read aloud, poetry is rhythm and music and sounds and beats. Young children, babies and preschoolers included, may not understand all the words or meaning, but they’ll surely feel the rhythms, get curious about what the sounds mean and perhaps want to create their own.  I remember I used to love making up my own poems as a kid…oh, the memories!

I also find it interesting that contrary to popular belief amongst kids, boys get really into poetry when brought in through rhythm and rhyme. It’s the most kinesthetic of all literature, it’s physical and full-bodied which activates your heart and soul.  Boys, included.  I really believe this to be true as I’ve witnessed Mr. Tickles seems to pay close attention whenever I’m reading them a book with catchy rhymes.

So since National Poetry Month is coming up, I thought it would be fun to start a poetry reading challenge for kids.  See below for the deets…

WHAT: A poetry reading and craft challenge for kids!  It doesn’t matter if your child is a newborn, toddler, preschooler, adolescent, pre-teen or teenager.  All kids (and adults) are welcome to participate.

HOW:  This challenge will be simple.  All you need to do is memorize one (short) poem per week with your kids during the month of April.  In addition, you can do one of the crafts I suggest or choose your own.  The crafts will be related to the overall theme of the poem.  Don’t worry, you don’t need to be crafty either.

WHEN: Starting this Sunday, March 29th, I’ll post the first poem of the week to be memorized as well as the craft(s) to go along with it.  You’ll have the whole week to memorize the poem with your kids and work on the craft(s) at your leisure.  The remaining poems/crafts will be introduced each Sunday on April 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th.

I hope you’ll join me in this challenge with your little ones.  National Poetry Month is a great time to bring some poetry into your heart and home.

Happy Reading!

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Books for Adults
March 13, 2015
Mrs. G

Sneak Peek: My April Book Selection

 

Are your kids picky eaters?  My kids are both very good eaters for the most part.  However, as they’re getting older I’m noticing they are becoming picky sometimes.  There have even been times when they gripe about the foods I put on their plates. Sometimes their likes change… mid-bite.  Don’t you hate it when they spit out their food?

While searching online about ways to deal with picky kids I came across this gem that I’ll be reading in April: French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billion.  I’ve heard people sing its praises, and it’s been one of those books on my “to-read” list since last summer. Let me tell you a bit about it.

As the cover of the book states, Karen Le Billon and her husband moved their family from North America to France where they “cured” picky eating, quit giving their kids snacks, and started living by 10 simple rules that eventually taught her kids to be happy eaters who eat healthy food.

Over the course of the book French Kids Eat Everything, Karen shares her experience as well as the 10 rules she has adopted for her family that made her kids go from picky to happy, healthy eaters. Some of these rules are French food rules and some are French parenting styles. No matter, I’m sure there’s plenty of wisdom for us American parents in this book. I personally can’t wait to read it!

And just for the record, this book isn’t all advice and information. There are recipes scattered throughout. Another thing I’m looking forward to trying… French recipes!  I love France and hope to visit there…someday.

So do you have picky kids? Are you tired of struggling? Do you want to cut snacks out of your kids’ diet?  If so, this book may offer you some help, and I’m inviting you to join me in reading it too so we can find some nuggets of wisdom together!

Happy Reading!

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