SCENES FROM A WEEK

We've been at home now for six weeks. We're lucky: everyone is healthy, our neighborhood is nice for walking, both Neal and I are still working, we have internet access for the kids to do their work, we live in a state where our governor made quick, educated choices. We like each other, and the military has us prepared for things like missed vacations, not being there for someones birthday, endlessly changing orders and plans, being aware that you are indeed living through history.

But still. We're restless.We missed family visits and a long planned for trip. We miss our friends. And the library. I miss my students and co-workers and the kids miss their teachers.  It's an odd time. A slow time.

I have always loved being home. And I still do; even through the restlessness, the boredom, the worry.

Scenes from our week: 

I'm reading The Land of Stories series out loud to Ava. We are absolutely loving it.

Dylan is working on his Cooking Merit Badge for scouts, so he has been making dinners about once a week and using different techniques. This week he wanted to work on frying, so we made tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork chops). He used this video tutorial from Tokyo Kitchen. 

 YUM.

Working from home. I've been making a lot of anchor charts, which now won't be used until next year. 😢 We're out until the end of the year. I knew it was coming, but it was still very upsetting.

We did a backyard campout. It was fun, but cold!

 Campout dinner was chicken pot pie with biscuits. I found the recipe on this list; I'm working through all of them.

Ava is working on learning to braid her own hair. We've been looking at lots of braiding tutorials. Turns out I don't know how to do a traditional braid? Evidently, I always do "dutch braids" instead of traditional braids.

Ava's Earth Day art.

PICTURE BOOKS FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Teaching our girls about being strong and proud starts at home, and I firmly believe that reading together is an essential part of that.  In honor of International Women's Day, I've rounded up some of our favorite picture books for little women (and men) in your life. We love all these stories and the sweet, strong, female characters that are the leads in them.

Sheriff Callie, The Cat Who Tamed the West. Sheiff Callie is a popular kid's television show, and this book tells her story of coming to a town and becoming the Sheriff by being both brave and kind.

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses, Ian Flaconer We love all the Olivia books, but this one is our current favorite.

The Magic School Bus, (series), Cole and Degen Ms. Frizzle loves science and is an excellent teacher plus these books are full of great facts.

I Am Ameila Earhart, Brad Metzler A perfect introduction to the aviator's life story.

Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney Beautiful illustrations and a fantastic story keep this book an eternal favorite.

Pride and Prejudice, a counting primer, Jennifer Adams My daughter's first introduction to Lizzie and Co.

Ally-Saurus and the First Day of School, Richard Torrey A story about being yourself and finding your people-even as a kindergartener.

Lady Bug Girl, series, Soman and Davis Ladybug Girl is our current favorite character. Lulu is just a regular girl working through emotions like fear, sharing with friends, and overcoming obstacles. We love her!

Flora and the Flamingo, Molly Idle A beautiful picture book about not giving up.

READING LIST: WHAT WE'VE BEEN READING IN JANUARY

Kids: Home by Carson Ellis

 

 

Carson Ellis is one of my favorite illustrators and I immediately snatched this book up when I saw it on a shelf at our local bookstore. The story about different homes is sweet and funny and the illustrations are lovely.

 

 

Me: Humans of New York Stories, Brandon Stanton

 

 

 Do you follow Humans of New York? You should. Brandon Stanton is a photographer and story teller who photographs individuals and then tells a story from their lives. Stories is a completion of the webpage. I finished this in one lazy afternoon; the stories and photographs are equally beautiful, tragic, funny, and touching.

 

Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin

 

I finished Better Than Before (check off one of the B+ Goals for this month!) and I absolutely loved it. It totally resonated with me-figure out your personality tendency and build your goals from there. Reading about people's tendencies was fascinating; I could immediately see not only myself but my husband and best friends crystal clear in the descriptions (I'm an upholder-by FAR, the husband is a questioner.). By knowing my tendency, I've been applying a lot of her other ideas to my life and it's a game changer. I highly suggest this book if your looking for a way to figure out better habits and how to stick to them!

 

I've started the next book in my Reading Challenge and will probably be finished with it soon; it's a good one!

 

What are you reading?

Raise a Reader: BOOK SERIES FOR BOYS



My son is a big reader, which is fabulous. Finding book series for boys that are 1. not gross out books, 2. not fantasy/magic books 3. not books for "your reluctant reader!" is not so fabulous. My son loves true stories, facts, and ideas, and there doesn't seem to be a huge market for that geared toward our sons (book publishers - pay attention! Our boys are smart. They like reading. GIVE THEM SOMETHING GOOD TO READ.)

However, we are determined readers and have found these five fantastic series:

1.I Survived, Lauren Tarshis. This series of books takes some of histories disasters and events, such as the Battle of Gettysburg and Hurricane Katrina, and tells the story through the eyes of a boy. The details are both age appropriate and accurate and the stories are thrilling for kids. This is my son's favorite series currently. 2. Alvin Ho, Lenore Look. The main character in these books, Alvin, is scared of everything, making him shy at school and any other public place. But at home, with his family his true colors shine. I love that this character is Asian American-a rarity in kids books in general. The books are both funny and touching. 3. Who Are/Was/Is...?, various authors This are simple biographies about famous people ranging from Albert Einstein to Jesus to Derek Jeter. Current favorite is: The Wright Brothers. 4. The Magic School Bus, Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan. Both my kids love all these books. MS. Frizzle and her class are classics and the books are chock full of facts and humor. 5. Eyewitness Books, various authors. Dylan loves these books, they are what he always checks out from the library.

What are your favorite books for boys?

READING LIST: MISS RUMPHIUS

 

Just what do we want out of our lives? For Alice Rumphius, she wants to travel the world and then live by the sea. As she explains this as a child, sitting on her grandfather's knee, he tells her that there is one more thing that she must do. She must make the world more beautiful. She agrees.

 

But how?

 

 

 

The book, by Barbara Cooney, is beautifully illustrated, of course. But the story- the simple story of choosing your course and following it, of fulfilling promises made, of leaving the world a little more lovely then when you came in to it, is just as beautiful.

 

Because of course, Miss Rumphius finds a way.

And passes it on.

 



 

 

Because shouldn't all great things be passed on? Like this book, that was my childhood favorite and is now my daughter's. A little thing perhaps. But I've maybe made her world more beautiful by sharing this book.

 

 

Buy Here.

BOOKS FOR BOYS

 

 

My son started reading his year. Really reading. Sit down with a book and read the whole thing himself reading. And I was so joyful, bursting with happiness really, because reading is such a gift that I have wanted so much for him.  Watching him read, sounding out words, knowing that he can do it, is not only a gift for him, but a gift for me to watch.

We've spent a lot of time lately looking for not only books at his reading level, but books for boys at his reading level. Here are some of our favorites.*

Here's what my son's reading right now.

 

1. Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes, Eric Litwin.  Pete the Cat was a BIG DEAL on the kindergarten circuit. We love all the Pete books, but right now with school approaching, we're rereading School Shoes. These are great books about not letting the little things get to you.

 

2. How Rocket Learned to Read, Tad Hills. Rocket is a dog that is learning to read. Dylan likes this book especially because it encourages the reader to sound out the words (D-O-G, R-E-D) and it was one of the first books he was reading words in on his own.

 

3. Race Team (Step into Reading), I'm not a huge fan of character books personally, but my son loves reading about familiar characters. The Step into Reading books are great for him, because he can read them completely himself, and the characters make the books fun for him.

 

4. Bernstein Bears Series, Stan and Jan Bernstein. Classics. These books are slightly challenging for an early reader (which is good).

 

5. Close Up Sharks, This book focuses on facts about sharks in an easy to read format. It was a set of three about marine life. Dylan loves books about facts, so these are a perfect fit.

 

6. I Can Read! Biscuit Books, Dylan is a big fan of books about animals, and finds the Biscuit stories funny.

 

7. The Big Green Book of Beginner Books, Dr. Seuss. These classic stories come in one big book. Dylan loves this because there are several to chose from, and there is something about reading from a "big" book that makes kids feel smarter and more accomplished. These stories are also funny and familiar to him.

 

*I'll be writing more about the challenges we face with reading and boys in the next coming weeks.

10 GREAT BOARD BOOKS FOR TODDLERS

1. My Little Animal Book, Roger Priddy. We've had this book since my son was a toddler (he's 6 now) and it is one of our best loved books (hence the duct taped spine). Full of photographs of all type of animals, it's a book that can be looked at for an hour, over and over again.

2. Moo Baa La La La, Sandra Boynton. A big favorite. The simple, silly words and animal sounds are a hit.

3. Planting a Rainbow, Lois Ehlert. I love Lois Ehlert illustrations. This story is a beautiful one, full of flowers and colors.

4. Baby Signs For Bedtime, Linda Acredolo & Susan Goodwyn. While we don't do baby signs much, my daughter loves to look at this book with pictures of babies getting ready for bed.

5. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown. The ultimate soothing classic.

6. Goodnight Gorilla, Peggy Rathman. This picture book has few words, but always makes my little girl laugh.

7. We're Going On a Bear Hunt, Helen Oxenbury. My husband's favorite book to read to the kids.

8. Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type, Doreen Cronin, Betsy Lewin. This one is funny enough for both kids (and their parents).

9. Pantone Colors. This book is full of gorgeous Pantone color swatches, and really shows color learners all the different shades.

10. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Bill Martin Jr., Eric Carle. Of course.