Vacation Books

Typically, before we go on vacation I find a book about our place of travel for the children to read. Before our trip to Washington I took it a step further and found something to read for myself!  Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos takes place in Seattle, Washington.  It was such a great book and I highly recommend it!  I couldn't find a book for children specific to the National Parks in Washington nor Seattle, but Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer Holmes at least takes place in the state of Washington.

I think reading fiction about your destination helps to get a sense of place about where it is you are visiting and it's super fun to recognize things that have been mentioned in the book.  I think I'm going to make it a practice to always find a book for me about our vacation destination and continue to do so for the children.  In order to find the books, I did a google search and I thought I'd share some of the resources I found...

For children:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/27699.Children_s_Books_by_State_ages_9_12_
http://www.carolhurst.com/subjects/states.html
http://wrappedinfoil.com/
http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-united-states-of-ya/


For adults:
http://www.businessinsider.com/most-famous-book-set-in-every-state-2013-10
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/50-50-a-book-for-every-state

Harry Potter's Birthday Cake

"Harry- yer a wizard." These words were spoken to Harry on July 31st by the beloved half giant, Hagrid.  To celebrate his birthday, Grace and her friend, Kathleen, decided to make the birthday cake that Hagrid brought Harry on his 11th birthday.

They used the recipe from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook  which was rather difficult as it was  multi-stepped (think: cakes, icing, frosting and glaze!), but they made it totally themselves and with ease.  It was delicious too!  We even sung happy birthday and lit candles!

Dinner and a Movie- The Hobbit

Both the children and Bryce* have read, and enjoyed, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.  When the first movie came out over a year ago, Bryce had every intention to take Grace to see the movie but it just never happened.  At the time, I didn't think that Harris was old enough to see the movie and when Bryce broached the subject this past weekend of watching the movie together as a family, I was still unsure if Harris was old enough.  However, Bryce felt that by watching it together, having had read the book and taking into account Harris' personality that it would be ok for Harris.  And honestly, it was!

I thought it would be fun to make a few "themed" items for our dinner before watching the movie.  These items are a bit of a stretch but the children don't seem to care and as they get older they think it's funny to have a "One (chicken, broccoli and cheese) Ring" main course.  We also had hobbit door cookies and Seed Cakes that Bilbo Baggins would have served himself.

*I'm reading it now, I couldn't stand being the only one who hadn't read it!

Martin Luther King Day

Today was a holiday from school and we spent it by sleeping in, relaxing at home and then bowling with friends; which then extended into more playtime for one child while another went to ballet.  Afterwards we joined those same friends (plus another family but minus Bryce) for pizza and fun after ballet was over. 

However, I didn't want to forget or skip over the real reason that we were able to have such a wonderful day.  This evening, before bed, we read, "I have a Dream" with paintings by Kadir Nelson.  This book has beautiful and moving artwork and it's a nice, succinct version of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech, but what I love and appreciate the most is the CD that comes with the book.  We listened to the entire speech and it's almost impossible not to be pulled in by Dr. King's powerful voice and amazing delivery of his most famous speech.  I believe that it makes it more meaningful for the children to hear the actual speech instead of just reading about it or being told about Dr. King.  To hear his voice, along with the voices in the background and the cheers of the crowd is more powerful and compelling than any book written on the subject can hope to be.

Balloons Over Broadway

Like many, one of our traditions is to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on television the morning of Thanksgiving.  Last night, Bryce read aloud Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet.  You guys, it's such a wonderful book!  It's informative, the illustrations are darling, and it's inspiring!  I always am excited to find a nonfiction book that is this delightful.

I love how it describes Tony Sarg as a man who never grew up or worked a day in his life, as he loved his work so much.  He was an inventor and artist who has brought joy to millions of people.  I had no idea about the history behind the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, and I love that it partly grew from one mans love of marionettes, puppets and creatively solving problems!

After reading the book I asked the children if they would like to design a family balloon and Grace was excited about it (Harris was in a bit of a mood!).  She got to work and designed a frog and a fly.  I think they are so darling!

Do you think they will make the parade next year?

Pink and Say

Today, on Veteran's Day, I want to share what is perhaps my favorite picture book ever!  I love, love, love this book.  It's easy to assume that picture books are best for young children and, of course, they are wonderful but they can also be great for older children.  In fact, I didn't share this book with Grace and Harris until recently.  Patricia Polacco is an amazing author and we enjoy lots of her books but Pink and Say has a special place in my heart.  My only problem with this book is that I simply cannot get through it without crying!

There is so much to be pulled from this story about two boys, both fighting on the same side in the Civil War, who develop a special and unlikely relationship.   This is a story about friendship, love, family and courage, and it has some pretty heavy themes in it such as racial tensions, death, and violence. One of the things that make this story even more powerful is that it is a true story that has been passed down through Patricia's family.  I cannot imagine not having this beautiful and deeply touching story in our library and I highly recommend you read it.

Tomie dePaola

Yesterday, the children had the wonderful opportunity to meet the children's book author Tomie dePaola!  I might have been more excited than they were.

Tomie dePaola talked to the children about how he came up with his stories and answered questions from the parents and the children.  He has written over 250 books!  It was really interesting to learn the history of his popular Strega Nona books and the origins of his newest book, Strega Nona's Gift.  Harris had recently become quite smitten with the Strega Nona books so he was particularly excited to get an autographed copy of the new book.

He taught the children how to give a proper italian kiss- which of course was great fun for the children!

Dinner and a Movie- The Water Horse

We used to do dinner and movie nights a lot.  We would watch the Little Mermaid and eat seafood or watch Curious George and have banana pancakes.  The children always loved it and it made dinner a little special for those family nights.  However, somewhere along the way those dinners disappeared, along with our regular monthly family nights!  We've decided to make Family Nights a priority again and we started with dinner and a movie.

Months ago we read the book, The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith and really enjoyed the sweet, simple story of friendship, hope and love.  I thought the children would enjoy the movie but, I was stuck on themed food.  In the end, I ended up sticking a dinosaur bath toy in each of the children's soup (I washed it well!) and hoped it looked like the loch ness monster!  I think the children got a kick out of a toy being in their food as much as anything else.  I also made pudding for dessert and stuck a cut up gummy worm in it (I used a food writers pen to draw the eye).  I'm not sure why I thought the loch that the water horse lived in was swampy looking-  I'm pretty sure the lochs in Scotland are crystal clear and beautiful not brown and dirty looking.

I have to note that the children didn't enjoy the movie as much as I had hoped.  They found it scary in several parts because of the addition to the story of the war and bomb attacks.  Also, Harris was devastated by the idea that the boy wouldn't see his "best friend" ever again.  Having read the story, I assumed that the movie would continue in the same vein and I didn't preview the movie before watching it.  That was an error on my part, especially knowing how sensitive my children are to movies.

Compost

We started composting a year or so ago, but it wasn't until this summer that we got serious about it!  Our first decision was to decide what sort of receptacle we wanted to use.  After reading an article in Martha Stewart Living I decided on a three bin design from the Iowa State University Extension.  This design is a bit of overkill for us but hopefully we can grow into it!

Bryce (with Ron's help) built the bins over the course of several weeks.  It's a simple but efficient design.  The slats in the front are removable so that it is easier to get to the compost and it allows you to have several brews at several different stages (we are clearly not to that point!).

I've been surprised at how much I love to check up on how the compost is doing!  It's oddly exciting to check on the progress.  I'm still learning what makes a great compost (I'm concerned mine is not hot enough) but we are off to an exciting start!   The whole family has shown fantastic interest in the composting and the children now automatically compost banana peels, carrot shavings and the like.

I found a fantastic book for children on composting.  We learned so much from Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals, I had no idea one could compost dryer lint!  The illustrations are very fun to look at and it definitely gets the children excited about composting.  I would highly recommend it to future composters or current composters*.

We use this compost bin from Crate and Barrel.  It's the perfect size to fit under our kitchen sink.  It's big enough to fit a fair amount of material in but small enough that the children can easily carry it to the compost pile.  We've never had a problem with smell.

*I'm not sure that composters is a word.  But I like it.

Sunflowers

In the children's garden we have a most magnificent sunflower!  It stretches toward the sky and is heaven for about 5 bumblebees at any given time.

After reading, Camille and the Sunflowers, A story about Vincent van Gogh by Laurence Anholt we  spent an afternoon painting our sunflower.  I set the easel up in the garden, gave each child a canvas and some paints and told them to paint the sunflower however they saw fit.

I think that the results were darling- including the bees.

P.S.  I want to note that I have found that the children respond the most favorably to creating when they have quality art supplies.  I don't really buy "children's" paints anymore. Rather, I've found that it's not too much more expensive to buy artists paint at Michael's (especially if I use a coupon).  The results are worth it!

Anholt's Artists

As we are nearing the end of the summer we have finally found some time to do some themed activities! Instead of a theme day, we have been taking our time and exploring our subject, art and artists, at a leisurely pace.  Have you read Laurence Anholt's series of children's books about famous artists (I believe there are 9)?  It's a fantastic series that explores a specific artist through the eyes of a child who was involved in the artist's life.

The illustrations are wonderful and incorporate the artists real work!  These books manage to convey a lot about the artists and yet stay engaging as a story for children.  At the end of each book there is an "information" page that gives more details about the artists life.  The children and I both love these books and we learn a little about famous artists.  What more could one ask for out of a book?

Our Rainbow Garden

I'm super excited today to share a project that has been 8 or 9 months in the making!  Last fall, the children and I started a rainbow garden inspired by the book, Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert.

We picked a spot right by our driveway so that we could enjoy it as much as possible.  I will admit that I was a little worried that the garden would not be very pretty to look at because of the riot of color (in a straight line no less!) but that has proven to be an unfounded concern.  One of the best things about the garden has been the continual surprises and color.  Once one plant fades another takes up the slack!  The garden has been delightful to watch grow and bloom!

We mostly used plants that were suggested in the book though we did have to scale back a little due to size constraints.  We planted tulip, daffodil, crocus and iris bulbs in the fall and were thrilled when they poked up this spring!

With the exception of the zinnias, we planted the rest of the garden with plants from the nursery.  The green zinnias were from seed and the lavender was already planted.  Unbelievably, the hardest color to get was red!  We planted a red rose but it turned out to be hot pink!  Also, we had planted an orange poppy that was doing wonderfully and was ready to pop open, but we came home one day to discover that the bud had fallen off!

Yellow and Oranges

Purples

Blue

Green

Red?