Archive for March 2010
Monday’s child is fair of face,Tuesday’s child is full of grace,Wednesday’s child is full of woe,Thursday’s child has far to go,Friday’s child is loving and giving,Saturday’s child works hard for a living,And the child that is born on the Sabbath dayIs bonny and blithe, and good and gay.
Today Is Monday
illustrations by Eric Carle
published by Puffin
picture book (age 3-9)
You can’t go wrong with an Eric Carle book. Today is Monday is based on a song, not written by Eric Carle, but creatively interpreted by him. Each page shows an animal eating the food item talked about in the song and like the song, each page adds a new day (and food) item. The images include the colourful animal collages that Eric Carle is famous for. At the end you’ll also find the music and full lyrics for the original song. Kids will love the build-up of food eaten each day, similar to his Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar story.
Hairy Tuesday
written and illustrated by Uri Orlev
published by Monarch Books
picture book (age 4-8)
Harry hates Tuesdays. On Tuesday nights he has to get his hair washed and he hates getting his hair washed. He screams and fights and cries when his mom tries to wash his hair. His sister can’t stand the noise so one day she convinces Harry he should cut off all his hair. If he had no hair, he wouldn’t need to have it washed. But sitting at the Barber, Harry changes his mind. Maybe washing his hair isn’t so bad, especially if it means keeping his hair. This story rang so true with my son; he hates having his hair washed or at least he use to. We have a hair wash night in our house too. But like Harry, my son soon adjusted to the routine and now I can’t get him out of the tub. The story is written so true to a family scenario, especially the big sister trying to solve the problem in her own sort of way.
The Wednesday Surprise
written by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Donald Carrick
published by Clarion Books
picture book (age 4-9)
Every Wednesday the little girl’s Grandma would come to watch her after school. She loved spending time with her Grandma. They’d have dinner, do the dishes, read books together and maybe play a card game too. But the real reason the little girl loved Wednesday’s with her Grandma was the birthday surprise they were working on for her dad’s birthday. When the birthday arrives and the surprise is revealed, even the dad can’t hold back his tears in amazement. This book probably leans toward more of an advanced picture book due to the amount of words but my three-year-old still sat quietly listening to the entire story. I love the way the little girl and her Grandma spend their time together; that it becomes a weekly tradition. And the birthday surprise, something the little girl worked hard on, is a wonderful surprise for the characters in the book as well as the readers themselves.
Thirsty Thursday
written by Phyllis Root, illustrated by Helen Craig
published by Candlewick Press
picture book (3-5)
It was Thursday and the flowers on Bonnie Bumble’s farm were thirsty but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. When a little cloud blows by, Bonnie gets an idea. With a few loose feathers and the help of the cow, the sheep and the pig, Bonnie was able to get the little cloud to giggle and wriggle and jiggle and the rain came down. Kids will love the cute illustrations, especially when they need to turn the page to see the tower of animals. Phyllis’s words help give the flowers and clouds personality and bring them to life. And kids will get a chuckle out of Bonnie Bumble’s idea to make the rain come. Some other fun days of the week stories with Bonnie Bumble include Meow Monday, Turnover Tuesday, Windy Wednesday, Foggy Friday and Soggy Saturday.
I Love Saturday
I love Saturday
written by Patricia Reilly Giff, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz
published by Puffin
picture book (3-7)
Every Saturday is the same for Katie. She visits friends, helps people out, and enjoys a snack or two. Saturday is her favourite day of the week, that is until Jessica Jeanne, the TV queen arrives. Now Katie doesn’t enjoy her usual Saturday activities because Jessica Jeanne seems to end up doing them before her. But Katie soon discovers doing her favourite things with a friend is more fun than doing them on your own. Most people have rituals they enjoy following, and Katie shows that kids are no different. And like most people, they don’t appreciate it when their routine is disturbed. Every Saturday is a great story about routine and being open to what seems like an unlikely friendship.
Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes
written by Vicky Sheifman, illustrated by Louise August
published by Simon & Schuster
picture book (3-5)
This story opens on a view of a countryside and with each page turn it takes a step closer: a town, a street, a house, a family. The family was poor and all they had to eat was potatoes. The subsequent pages take you through the potatoes they eat on Monday all the way to the potatoes they eat on Sunday. The text is simple with a few words per page, on most pages. The illustrations have a very folk-art feel and fill the page with muted dark, pastel like colours. This book is great with taking you through each day of the week without coming across as a boring Day of the Week text book. The family starts to tire of their potato meals, until Saturday when they have Potato Pudding and there’s a nice recipe at the back of the book too.
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Carrie Anne is a contributing writer on No Time For Flash Cards , she is a mom of 3 and lover of books. You can catch up with her on her blog Another Day. Another Thought…Or Two .He Shoots, He Scores!
I like doing less structured activities in my Friday posts, not just because Friday is usually a free play all day kind of day for us but because as I have said before and will keep saying the vast majority of the day should be free play. Listen to them play, ask questions , look for learning opportunities but let them lead! This came out of our family obsession with the Canada Vs. USA Olympic Hockey game. We took our son to the Olympics and we watched China VS Slovakia in women’s hockey and he is in love! He made this game up, I just polished it ( I added the tape for nets 
).
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper towel rolls, a ball, and some painter’s tape. You will also need an area that can be used as the ice. So anywhere with breakable things is not a good choice! We played outside on our porch, and in our foyer ( with breakables moved to the dining room first.)
- Make your nets on the floor with the tape. If your child has more than a very very basic understanding of the game you can make creases, blue lines and a red center line too!
- We kept our game incredibly simple. Get the puck into the goal. That was it. We played for what seemed like forever and I had to bribe him to go inside.
- I like to use games like this to promote sportsmanship and was delighted to see my son get as excited when I got a goal as when he did!
Have fun and now that weather is getting nicer – get outside even if you are still in your PJs !
This craft was spur of the moment, I was sitting looking out at my backyard and decided to replicate our little cherry tree. While my son played with play dough I made this. He stopped playing and I offered him the option to make one but he just wanted to watch. I love how the Q-tips made perfect little buds and how rich the colors are. Young kids could easily do this if you made the tree for them , and older ones would have no problem doing the whole project independently.
- Gather your materials. You will need some white paper, a brown marker , water colors, a tiny bit of water in a dish..or perhaps an old sippy cup that happens to be on the table….and q-tips.
- Start by drawing the outline of a bare tree.
- Dip your q-tip in the water and then get it nice and covered in paint.
- Dab it on.
- Add more colors.
- Paint the bark if you want.
- Let dry.
Chapter Book
I don’t often do chapter book reviews but this book is so good I recently re read it for fun ! So many great messages and with spring break coming up I thought I’d give a nod to an older book in hopes that some of you with older kids ( girls especially) would grab this for them.
Gaia Girls Enter the Earth
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Numbers are a big deal around here right now. What we liked about math game was that even though we made it a little complicated, you could easily simplify it for even younger kids ( simply write numbers out and have them find the ones you call out)or more challenging for older more advanced mathematicians. (Have them find 2 at a time and add together). Our goal for numbers right now is to work on counting things to discover the amount and match that amount with the numbers he already recognizes. If your child’s goal is different adjust as needed!
- Gather your materials. You will need some different colored paper, a marker , scissors ( we actually ripped the paper) and some floor space.
- Start by folding your paper in 4, so that 2 numbers will both be that color. This just makes it easier, I am using the colors as a clue to help my son but not give away the answer either.
- Write numbers in one square and make the corresponding amount of drawings in the other.
- Cut or rip apart.
- Place either the papers with the numbers or the ones with the numbers around in a circle face up.
- Fan out the others in your hand and invite your child to choose one by asking for the color.
- Hand it to them, if it’s a number ask them to identify it and find it’s match. For the lower numbers my son grabbed the right one immediately, for larger ones he would grab the matching colors then we would count them together to discover which was the correct match. I had to help him touch each star on the larger numbers so that he wouldn’t count them twice, this just takes time and good modeling so don’t get frustrated or worried if your child does hit, just lead by example.
- We played the game 2 times once with the numbers in the circle , once with the stars in the circle – learning is hard work, so we had to pretend to be a clock after!
Books
Museum 123 
Construction Countdown
Edited for 2010 : I wrote that review nearly 2 years ago. The other day at the library my son grabbed the book and begged to read it again. At 3 he still loved the book and I still give it a huge thumbs up!
One, Two, Three
I don’t plan out my posts much more than a scrap paper or notebook page of brainstorms. This post was not planned at all. My son was under the weather and wouldn’t eat. I knew he needed to eat lunch and when I asked ” If you could have anything what would you eat?” his answer was “A Happy Meal” . I was not taking him to McDonald’s every time he is sick! . So instead we made one at home. Huge , huge success ! He was sick and not at all into doing anything but this would be a fun parent and child activity. I am sure this is a healthier option ( not by much… but it is organic) more importantly it’s a treat at home!
- Gather your ingredients and materials. You will need a paper bag, some markers, foil, containers, straw..whatever you need to package your food. Don’t forget a toy or prize as well! We played restaurant as well so I grabbed some money and a tray to complete the pretend play.
- Start by decorating the bag – I wish my son was feeling well enough to do it but instead he told me to make one with fish.
- Make your food! We made apple slices, chicken nuggets, ranch dip , and milk.
- Pack your meal up and don’t forget the prize, I popped some Olympic stickers in for him.
- Take their order and their money!
- Dig in!
- He cleaned his plate and loved the stickers.
Books
Dinner at the Panda Palace 
How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
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