4 Books to Celebrate Earth Day

We can celebrate our Earth all year by teaching our children to take care of it.

Grab a few of these books and try some activities to help your child love our earth.

Being obSEUSSed, I have to mention The Lorax story. A message about saving trees and standing up for our environment comes across to even toddler age listeners. There are newer Step Into Reading Lorax books with more current ways to help the earth.

Another new favorite is The Boy Who Spoke to the Earth. 

The illustrations in this book are so vibrant and captivating. I wouldn't mind having them framed and displayed on my walls at home. We went to a story scavenger hunt activity at the park for this book by Chris Burkard & David McClellan (Dreamling Books). 

My children loved the story of the boy who went in search of happiness. The boy searches each scene and asks to find happiness but the Earth reminded him he needs to "stand still for just a moment." I agree that sometimes we keep our children so busy playing and exploring outside but we may forget to take a moment to soak it all in and talk to our children about the beauty and importance of the earth. 

Dreamling Books, the publisher of The Boy Who Spoke to the Earth" took us on a story scavenger hunt. The kids ran to find clues around the park that led them to a prize. Parents can create their own Story Scavenger Hunt by creating small paper clues that lead to the next location then to a prize or destination (like a waterfall) at the end.

We are so lucky to live near these beautiful mountains. Our kids take it for granted sometimes. I always make a point to tak about them when we drive past them or look out the window at them. 

Our family enjoys the earth by geocaching. We go on hikes around our state or visit our local park to find little hidden treasure boxes. Anyone can join the fun using the Geocaching app. We also use a hiking GPS to find caches in remote areas without cell service. 

As we hike with a purpose, we also take time to notice the scenery, animals, bugs and other hikers. If we find trash along the trail we pick it up to dispose of properly. Our kids love these outdoor adventures. 

Old Turtle by Douglas Wood is another favorite of ours with detailed water color illustrations. The story is a fable of the way our earth was created. Animals play a big part of our earth. 

Look for animals at the park or an anima conservancy near you to learn more. Our children love our local Tracy Aviary. 

The fourth book I recommend is The Water Hole by Graeme Base. Hidden illustrations on pages get children interested in finding out why the water is disappearing on each page. The theme of this book will help you start a conversation with your child about water conservation. 

Talk about ways you can save water around home like taking shorter showers or smaller baths and turning water off while brushing teeth. 

We use leftover water in our dinner cups to water our plants.

What are some of your favorite books or activities to celebrate Earth Day? Leave a comment below.

*Disclosure, I received a free Boy Who Spoke to the Earth book in exchange for my honest review. 

Dr. Seuss School Prizes and Party Favors

I remember back in the day (12 years ago) I was surfing eBay trying to find any vintage Dr. Seuss items to decorate my baby’s nursery.  Dr. Seuss décor, toys and office supplies were very rare to find.  Then the live-action Cat in the Hat movie came out in 2003 and Dr. Seuss started popping up everywhere. 

One of my favorite places to shop online for Dr. Seuss merchandise is RaymondGeddes.com.  I love that they sell items in bulk (perfect for stocking stuffers, party favor or school prizes) making most items less than a dollar each.  Stock up now for Christmas or Dr. Seuss celebrations in the spring. (Click here to see all of their Dr. Seuss products.)
Current deal (Nov. 2014) Free Shipping On Orders > $79! Use Promo Code: 14FS79 Or use code: SAVE10A to save 10% off your order.

I’ve purchased  Dr. Seuss items from Raymond Geddes for our school carnival prizes before.  They recently sent me a few of their new items to review.  It was so fun to see products I haven’t seen before.  Our very favorite were the Thing 1 and Thing 2 Pop out pens. Here they are popping out of the Cat’s Hat pencil holder my daughter made.

See instructions how to make this Dr. Seuss pencil can here.


These pens are a huge hit with my kids! Press the button and their heads pop off!  See the video of my son playing with them on Instagram. 


My kids keep these pens in their homework area and play with them when they take a break.  (Makes homework time fun!)


We also have a washi tape (decorative tape) addiction at our house. I have my craft tape collection and my kids all have rolls of their own so you can imagine how excited they were to try these Dr. Seuss mini decorative tape rolls.  They’re already wrapping pencils and adding it to their pencil boxes.  This would be cute to seal envelopes or any variety of crafting.



Raymond Geddes also has Dr. Seuss elastic bookmarks.  I’ve never seen Dr. Seuss elastic like this.  I’d love to just buy yards of the fabric to make my own crafts.  I would have liked the bookmarks to be a little larger.  It was too tight to actually use on a Dr. Seuss book and pretty tight on my own chapter books.  They would be darling as headbands  but again, they were too tight. We did use the Horton band as a hair band on my niece’s pony tail and I think I’ll keep using it that way.  The elastic bookmarks are a great idea. These just need about 2 more inches added to work well.



These are my favorite finds at Raymond Geddes: (Click here to see all of their Dr. Seuss products.) Current deal (Nov. 2014) Free Shipping On Orders > $79! Use Promo Code: 14FS79

1. The Thing 1 &2 Pop Out pens
2. The Grinch pen
3. The mini Dr. Seuss decorative tape rolls
4. The elastic Dr. Seuss bookmarks
5. The fluffy Truffula Tree pens


I’ve ordered some prizes for our school Dr. Seuss carnival in the past and will again this next spring.  Here are my favorites to use at our Fishing Pond and egg hunt booths. These would be great classroom prizes or party favors too.
1. The Dr. Seuss book erasers (my daughter collects take-apart erasers so she snagged these to add to her collection).
2. Dr. Seuss mini highlighters. They are about 3 inches tall and super cute.
3. A variety of Dr. Seuss bookmarks to encourage kids to keep reading!
4. The mini double sided Dr. Seuss stampers. (Fit perfectly in our Green Eggs & Ham Egg Hunt. A little tricky to get the individual wrappers off).
5. The Dr. Seuss pencil grippers.
6. More Dr. Seuss style erasers.
*Disclosure: Raymond Geddes sent me a few of their new products to review.  I was not paid for this review.  I have purchased Dr. Seuss items from them previously and am impressed with their quality.
As an Amazon Affiliate I receive a small percentage of sales made from Amazon links. I am not a Raymond Geddes affiliate but some of their items are sold on Amazon so I'm sharing them below (my favorites are only available at the Raymond Geddes site).

Family Read-Aloud Books Summer Bucket List

Our family always has a read-aloud book in the works throughout the year but we have a bucket list we’d like to finish during the summer.

My criteria for choosing a family read-aloud:

1. The book needs to be fun to read aloud (plenty of visual details, dialogue and action).
2. The book needs to be of interest and age appropriate to my children.
3. The book should be related to an activity we are already doing, or we should plan an activity related to the book to explore it more.
4. Is this a book my children can help take turns reading aloud?
5. If there is a movie adaptation, we can watch the movie when we finish the book.

Here are the books we will be working on reading aloud as a family this summer.

A HATFUL OF SEUSS, Five Favorite Dr. Seuss Stories
These take a little longer to read than his shorter books but can still be finished in one sitting. Perfect for the younger kids in the family but fun for older children as well.  We can go to the zoo when we read “If I Ran the Zoo.”

HARRY POTTER by J.K. Rowling

We have finally introduced our children to the magical world of Harry Potter over the past two weeks.  It was a little dark and crazy at the end but overall the magical world captured their attention and they kept asking to read more. Even our three year old picked up on the magic wands and found one on our walk through the park.  They also liked watching the movie after we finished.

This week we started reading THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD, by Lynne Banks.

My kids already want to build a long house in our backyard (not a teepee, if you’ve read the book you might remember why). I’ve kept the movie on video all these years just to show my kids once we read the book.

Next up is Mary Poppins Comes Back, by P. L. Travers

I have been collecting this beautiful hard-back set of Mary Poppins books and we are ready to read Mary Poppins Comes Back in preparation to see the play at our local theater this summer.  This is a great way to get the kids prepped and ready to see the show. The books are more like the theater production than the Disney movie.  You really get to know Mary Poppins’ mysterious character much better through the books.

Then we plan to read CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY & CHARLIE AND THE GREAT GLASS ELEVATOR, by Roald Dahl

These are Roald Dahl classics. Then we can watch the movie and take a tour of our local candy factory to go along with our reading experience.  We also enjoyed James and the Giant Peach and The Fantastic Mr. Fox as a family and watched the movies after we finished to compare them. My daughter is reading The Witches as part of her school book club for the summer (and she also loved Matilda).

The entire Roald Dahl collection would be a great set to work through as a family.

We also plan to read FARMER BOY, by Laura Ingles Wilder

We enjoy reading the Little House series together at our little family cabin. We like to call it our  ‘little house in the big woods’.  I think my 8-year-old son will love Farmer Boy.

At-A-Glance, Our Family Summer Reading List:

• Harry Potter
• The Indian in the Cupboard
• Mary Poppins Comes Back (Mary Poppins series)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Farmer Boy (keep working on the Little House Series)

As an Amazon Affiliate, I  make a small portion of sales made through this link but you can always look for books at your local library then decide if you want to purchase books to add to your collection.

Here are some more books on our family list for the future:

• Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) I started it with my daughter a last year but want to keep going.
• Bud Not Buddy (Christopher Paul Curtis)
• Fablehaven series (Brandon Mull)
• Chronicles of Narnia series (C.S. Lewis)
• Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
• Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Sachar & Brinckloe)
• The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
• Days “at the Castle” series (Jessica Day George) My daughter has been reading them.
• The Candy Makers (Wendy Mass)
• 39 Clues series  (Rick Riordan)
• Percy Jackson series (Rick Riordan)
• Swiss Family Robinson (Johann Wyss)

I Spy Christmas Books and Activity

Our Christmas books are scattered around our house for the holiday season. My kids pulled out the I Spy style books today. 

They love looking for Seymore, the wooden toy robot, in Can You See What I See? Night Before Christmas by Walter Wick. 

After reading the book we played the I spy game with our Christmas village. 

They take turns saying what they spy and the rest of us have to find it.

I spy a boy sledding

I spy a clock

I spy a tree

I spy the church

I spy the baby Jesus

I spy something red

...and so on.

Then we play I spy on our Christmas tree.

I spy a snowman

I spy an Eiffel Tower

I spy a Star Wars ship 

I spy Santa Claus....

Here are a few of our other I Spy Christmas books.

Look-Alikes Christmas, Look and Find on The Night Before Christmas and I Spy Little Christmas. 

Try finding one of these books at your library, or just play the Christmas I Spy activity with decorations around your home without the books. 

Merry Christmas!

Help Send Children’s Books to Samoa

My college roommate, Jamie, has an incredible teenage son who is collecting books for children in Samoa for his Eagle Scout project. 

Michael’s grandparents are serving a mission for the Mormon church in Savai’i Samoa. They have been working to certify teachers and noticed a need for more children’s books. They will help distribute the books among schools on the island.

Michael’s goal was to collect 1,000 books. He received tremendous support from his community in Washington who donated thousands of books. One organization, Helping Hands, donated 1,500 brand new books, totaling nearly 5,000 books.

This is about 2,000 pounds and will cost $850 to ship it to Samoa.

David Powell's crate builders donated the crate. Cardinal Glass donated moisture absorbers and strapping.

They have raised $600 so far and just need a little bit more. Every little bit counts. If you are interested in donating to this service project please CLICK HERE.
Thank you for helping get these books to the children in Samoa.

I’m so impressed by this Eagle Scout Project. I love how he is working with his grandparents to fill a need that they noticed.  I know his parents have helped much too. This is a cause dear to my heart as they help get books into the hands of children who need them.  I feel so blessed to have a home full of books and hope these children will be blessed by more books in their lives too.

CLICK HERE for more details and the link to donate if you’d like to help.
Thank you!

Mayflower Books, Crafts and My Pilgrim Heritage

My 16th Great-Grandfather, William Brewster, was one of the 102 Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower ship in 1620.  My mom is a big family history buff and through her research she traced her mother’s family line all the way back to the Mayflower.  This makes Thanksgiving even more meaningful for our family. It has been wonderful teaching my kids about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower voyage.

We brought out all our Thanksgiving books and decided to make a Mayflower book basket to hold our books during the month.

Find an oval shaped basket or anything resembling a boat. You’ll need a dowel stick (about 2 feet tall), some muslin fabric for the sails, yarn, glue, scissors, some pencils or popsicle sticks to support the top and bottom of the sails.

Cut 2 sails out of muslin to the size that will look good with your basket. I poked small holes in the top and bottom of each sail. Then I ran the dowel stick through the holes to become the mast.  I glued sticks to the top and bottom of each sail (you may want longer support sticks for this but popsicle sticks worked fine for our task). Then I tied the mast to the basket at each side.

The pictures below are of my relative, William Brewster, one of the Mayflower Pilgrims. He was a religious leader. These are depictions of him I’ve found online and a tribute marker on the land near Plymouth.  The book ‘Pilgrim’ is a biography of William Brewster. My mom bought a copy at the gift shop at the Plymouth Plantation. We’ve watched several videos on YouTube about the Mayflower and learned that 10% of the American population can trace their heritage back to the Mayflower.

You could also make these fun Thanksgiving puppets and put magnets on the back so they serve double duty.  My sister made these and my kids love playing with them.  Use big tongue depressors and paint them, then add felt, feathers, ribbon, googley eyes, yarn or other crafts supplies to create your own set.



Mayflower on Pinterest:
I've found so many great ideas from other blogs that I've pinned to my Giving Thanks board on Pinterest. If you have a Pinterest account you can click here for more ideas.

Here are the Thanksgiving books about the Pilgrims and Mayflower I recommend:

From National Geographic, Mayflower 1620, A new look at a Pilgrim Voyage, is an excellent visual with live photo re-enactment of Pilgrims on a ship similar to the Mayflower.

Three Young Pilgrims is a retelling of the Mayflower story from a child’s perspective.
There are many more available. Check some out from your library or find several like these on Amazon. (I am an Amazon affiliate and receive a small percentage if you buy from clicking the links. Thank you!)


I hope you share the story of the Mayflower with the children in your life. I’m eternally grateful for the Pilgrims' courage and faithfulness to create a new life and realize I would not be the person I am today without them.  What are you thankful for? Do you have any favorite Pilgrim or Mayflower books? I’d love to try some new ones.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sharing this at Tatertots and Jello's Weekend Wrap Up Party -
See other great autumn ideas here:
 

Peach Ice Cream Recipe and Books

It’s peach season!  We love peaches and books about peaches. 
This summer my husband read James and the Giant Peach to the kids at night. 
We have been on a Roald Dahl kick lately and I’ll share some of his other books and treats to go along with them this month.
We made peach ice cream to go along with this book.  Kids can help pour the ingredients in and mix it together. Then let your ice cream maker do the hard part. It tastes amazing! My husband created this recipe. It is not the healthiest but it is a once-a-year treat we look forward to, to celebrate our local Peach Days.

Recipe for Homemade Cinnamon Peach Coconut Ice Cream:



To print: Right click image above to save then paste into document program to print.

PEACH BOOKS
JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH by Roald Dahl
My daughter is not fond of scary stories (she doesn’t even like most Disney princess movies because they have a witch) so I wasn’t sure how she was going to like this book because it is a little strange.  My husband did a great job of stopping to explain things as they read so she realized the aunts in the story were crazy, not scary. She laughed and didn’t want to stop reading when the chapters ended.

One of my husband’s childhood favorites is Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. My daughter memorized the entire book as a poem for a school book report in 2nd grade. Our kids love this book.  I happened to find a copy of the classroom size version (2ft x 3ft)  for 50 cents at a thrift shop. This is definitely one you’ll want to have in your library.

This weekend we get to go visit Grandma to celebrate Peach Days in Brigham City, Utah.  We’ll be stopping at the fruit stands along the highway, reading books with Grandma and making more peach treats.
Sharing this over at SNAP!

Pre-packaged Lit Kits Simplify and Engage

I recently came across this wonderful company called Engage with the Page. Two reading specialists, and moms, Michelle Roderick, M.Ed. and Emily Swan, Ph.D. are passionate about helping children love reading so they created DiscoverLitKits. Each pre-packaged literacy kit centers around a theme with books and a bag full of research-based reading activities to help parents and teachers engage children with reading. 

The kits come in this clear bag to keep all of the activities together and make them easily transportable to take in the car, to the doctor, grandma’s house or at school.
 
ENGAGING ACTIVITIES
My son and I played with this Bugs DiscoverLitKit, for PreK-K, for the past two weeks. The focus book was The Butterfly by Anna Milbourne and Cathy Shimmen. There were so many activities to go along with it that we could explore the book differently each day. The activities included math, writing, poetry, word study, vocabulary, discussion cards, art, science, and fluency. They took from 5-15 minutes each to complete so it worked well for my kindergartner’s attention span to do a Lit Kit activity each day, then let him pick a few books of his choice for reading time.

I loved that the book had teaching tip stickers placed on the cover and on each page to give the parent or teacher additional ideas of engaging the child with the book. I normally try to ask more questions as we read books but their tip stickers gave me ideas I hadn’t thought of.


My son really loved the interactive, engaging parts of the Lit Kit.  We played the Ladybug Math Mat several times.  He would roll the die and place pom poms on his half of the ladybug then I would roll and place pom poms on my half. Then he would write the equation down on a piece of paper. He didn’t want to stop and filled the entire page with equations.


He also loved the art project and using the magnifying glass to search for words in the book. There were also colored butterfly stickers we used for several activities.
TIME SAVER
As a mom, I try to come up with several ways to explore a book, through crafts or reading techniques but it takes time to put it all together and most days we just simply read a book cover to cover while asking a few questions. This kit put everything together so you could just pull it out and start using it right away, giving you hours of engaging activities to do with your child. This would be great for busy parents or teachers to add to their library.
Engage with the Page has been developing these scientifically-based DiscoverLitKits for years and have made sure they are kid tested and mom approved too. They have just started to sell them at local boutiques in Utah and now offer some online at www.engagewiththepage.com.
Kits vary in price and they do have a subscription program available so you can try a different themed kit each month. When you add up the cost of the book, supplies, and the time it saves you from having to research and create your own supplemental activities to go with books, these kits are worth the money. Especially because you'll want to re-use it with future children or in classrooms year after year.
Update- they now have DIY lit kits where you can buy the resource kits and print some parts out if you already have the book.

*Disclosure: I was given this DiscoverLitKit to review but all experiences and opinions are my own as we explored this literacy program.