We’ll soon head out of town to visit my family. As I reminded my boys about our upcoming trip (so they won’t be surprised when we load them into the car for an 18-hour drive), the first question out of my son’s mouth was, “Have they opened that library near [great-grandma’s] house yet?” At least we’re all clear on our priorities.… Continue reading
My boys love books with which they can sing along. Over the years we’ve collected a large number of such books. These are books where someone has taken a song – generally a well-known song, illustrated it, and published it as a book. The result is the fun of singing, all of the words right there on the page (in case you don’t know them all), and beautiful illustrations to go along with them.… Continue reading
Do you want to encourage your children to engage in imaginative play? In that case, I’m generally of the theory that less is more.
Kids do not need fancy costumes or toys in order to pretend. While this picture shows my son thoroughly decked out in a costume, kids can have just as much fun without such things. Dirt, sticks, rocks, and anything else they find outside are generally enough. … Continue reading
I love books. And I love attending book talks by authors I enjoy reading. Before my boys were born, I dragged my husband and other friends to join me at a wide array of book talks, and often I attended them by myself. I enjoy hearing about authors’ writing processes and where they draw their inspiration. I enjoy hearing them talk about stories that I’ve enjoyed reading, and what they’re working on next. … Continue reading
As we prepared to leave for my grandma’s house (see HERE), we got our first significant snow fall of the season. Some years we celebrate our first substantial snow by making Snow Ice Cream (recipe HERE) or make Maple Candy (recipe HERE). This year we celebrated by reading our favorite snow books.
I told my boys to pick out their favorite snow books, and they each came back with a huge stack. … Continue reading
We’re headed to California next week to take care of my grandmother as she recovers from back surgery. Recovery and two young children don’t always go hand-in-hand. That said, my two boys are so excited about going and helping and spending time with their Great-Grandmother, that I’m hoping it’ll be a wonderful experience for all of us.
In order to keep my boys entertained during times when my grandma needs quiet over the next couple weeks, I picked up a few activity books from our favorite local bookstore. … Continue reading
Our local library recently started a program entitled 1000 Books Before Kindergarten as a way of encouraging parents to read to their young children.
In our house, we read all the time. I homeschool my kids, and our homeschooling largely consists of sitting down with stacks of books and reading them together.
When one of the children’s librarians told us about the program, my older son immediately announced, “Mama, we should sign up [my 3-year-old].” … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I posted a list of my family’s favorite picture books with strong female characters (see HERE). Today, I am posting a list of our favorite chapter books containing strong girls or women.
The list contains everything from books accessible to early readers to chapter books that are appropriate for young adults. I’ve read most of the books geared at younger readers with my 8-year-old, though none of the young adult books (those are waiting on our bookshelves for future reading).… Continue reading
A few days ago, a friend’s post on Facebook lead to a discussion about books with strong female characters. I started to put together a list to send to her, and realized that other people might be interested in this list. So now I’m posting it here. The following are picture books that my boys and I have enjoyed over the years. … Continue reading
Miss Rumphius is a sweet, gentle, heartwarming tale of a life well lived. The inspiring message at this story’s core is a wise perspective on what it means to live a meaningful life.
Narrated by Miss Rumphius’ young niece, this book begins by introducing us to the “little and old” Lupine Lady who lives by the sea, but reminds us that she was not always little and old. … Continue reading