P52- Birthday Pooch

Today is Bella's birthday! That may not mean a whole lot to you, since I haven't posted pics of her in ages, but Bella is our great dane. It seems like just yesterday she was a sweet little pup and we picked her up in NC. Five years later, she is a wonderful companion and still as goofy as ever.

She had the birthday zoomies today. There's really nothing like a great dane running crazy circles around the house! The best part is the big belly laughs it elicits from all the kids. :)

 Happy Birthday Bella girl! We love you!!

What did you do last week?

Friday Photo Journal - Week 43

Hi friends! It has been another crazy busy week. Fall is in full swing, though the past few days we've had nothing but rain, so it is hard to enjoy. Hoping things brighten up for the weekend! Here's a peek at my week:

What have you been up to?

Thanks so much for stopping in! Have a super weekend :)

Also linking up with Lisa at The Long Road to China.

Summer Reading Programs For Kids

Looking for a way to keep your kids engaged in reading this summer?

There is no shortage of incentive programs to choose from. Check out this varied list:

- This one's new to me: Be sure to check out the Mensa Foundation's
Excellence in Reading Award Program at
http://mensaforkids.com/school_template.cfm?showPage=school_readeraward.cfm

- Half Price Books' program runs June 1st through July 31. If kids read 15
minutes a day, they can earn a $5 gift card. For more information, check
out http://www.hpb.com/community/fyb/. You can get the reading log at:
http://www.hpb.com/community/fyb/pdfs/FYBReadingLog.pdf

- PBS Kids Summer Reading Challenge: PBS/iVillage has a program that could
keep you busy all summer long. There are several aspects to it, and you can
find out more at http://www.pbs.org/parents/read/. Each week there will be
a special theme, and you can read more about that at:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/read/pdfs/themeweekschedule.pdf

- Borders has what they call the "Double Dog Dare Challenge." Kids who read
10 books and track them can get a free book. For more info, check out:
http://www.borders.com/online/store/MediaView_doubledogdare

- Chuck E. Cheese has a number of awards that they will grant 10 free tokens
for, including reading (and no nose picking!). You can find them at:
http://www.chuckecheese.com/promotions/rewards-calendars.php

- Barnes & Noble will give kids a free book for every 8 books they read.
They also have some parent information. Find out more at:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/summerreading/index.asp

- Scholastic Book also has a summer program in which kids read and log in to
win prizes. Details are available at: http://www.scholastic.com/summer/

- Book It! will give your child a "prize package" for reading. There are
some fun things in it - check out their Web site for more info:
http://www.bookitprogram.com/summerbreak/docs/entryform.pdf. Be sure to
check out the Pizza Hut school year Book It! program as well:
http://www.bookitprogram.com/

- If you are on the east coast, TD Bank has a summer reading program:
http://www.tdbank.com/summerreading/. Commerce Bank will deposit $10 in
young savers' accounts when they read ten books.

- If you are in an area with H-E-B Grocery Store, they have a program as
well. The instructions can be found at:
http://www.hebuddy.com/content/pdf/summerreadingclub.pdf

- Even Pottery Barn has a summer reading program (who knew?!), along
with other kids' events. Check it out at:
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/customer-service/store-events.html

- Old Spaghetti Factory offers a free kids meal to every child who reads
five books. Information at: http://www.osf.com/kids/rewards-of-reading.html

- Sylvan Learning Centers has a free reading incentive program for kids
through grade 8 that runs all the time. You can register and find more
information at: http://www.bookadventure.com/

- Kids 8 & up can be "reading warriors" with this special program built
around Erin Hunter's Warrior series of books. Information:
http://www.readingwarriors.com/rwshell.html

If you're feeling a little less cerebral or need some air conditioning, this
Web site lists places with free summer movies:
http://freebies.about.com/od/familyactivities/tp/free-summer-movies.htm

There are so many great programs from which to choose!  There is bound to be at least one that sparks an interest in every young reader. And there are no rules that say you can't participate in more than one ;) Feel free to share this post. If you participate in any of these programs I'd love to hear your thoughts on your experience.

Happy Summer. Happy reading!

Top Educational Websites for 2011

Homeschool.com has come out with their annual list of the top 100 educational websites. The full list is categorized by subject and you'll want to bookmark it as a great reference tool. I've linked the top five sites here, but check out the full list. There are some great tools for fun and learning with your kids!

The Top Five Sites for 2011

1. www.exploratorium.edu
2. www.pbs.org
3. www.brainpop.com
4. www.sheppardsoftware.com
5. www.donnayoung.org

For the full list click here.

We Love Books!

Nothing warms my heart like seeing a child with a good book. My favorite local library book sale starts this weekend. I'm so excited! We've built our (huge) children's home library through sales like this and I look forward to them every year. Be sure to check out sales at your local library for great deals on books for all ages! You can usually find information on your library's webpage or search "Friends of the Library" and the name of your city.

April is National Poetry Month

Buttercups and Daisies

~Mary Howitt

Buttercups and daisies-

Oh the pretty flowers,

Coming ere the springtime

To tell of sunny hours.

While the trees are leafless,

While the fields are bare,

Buttercups and daisies

Spring up here and there.

Ere the snowdrop peepeth,

Ere the croscus bold,

Ere the early primrose

Opes its paly gold,

Somewhere on a sunny bank

Buttercups are bright;

Somewhere 'mong the frozen grass

Peeps the daisy white.

Little hardy flowers

Like to children poor,

Playing in their sturdy health

By their mother's door:

Purple with the north wind,

Yet alert and bold;

Fearing not and caring not,

Though they be a-cold.

What to them is weather!

What are stormy showers!

Buttercups and daisies

Are these human flowers!

He who gave them hardship

And a life of care,

Gave them likewise hardy strength,

And patient hearts, to bear.

Welcome yellow buttercups,

Welcome daisies white,

Ye are in my spirit

Visioned, a delight!

Coming ere the springtime

Of sunny hours to tell-

Speaking to our hearts of Him

Who doeth all things well.

April is Poetry Month! I have always had a love of poetry. I think it was a gift from a couple of really great English teachers in Junior High and High School. I was fortunate to be among their students and developed an appreciation for poetry and literature.
This month is dedicated to helping your kids to do the same thing. PBS has a fun widget that will help get you started.

Also, check out these links for more poetic fun!

Story It

Poetry Archive

Poets.org (Don't miss this list of Great Poems to Teach)

FactMonster

Find Lesson Plans at Scholastic and Read Write Think.
Plus find resources at TeacherVision (if you don't subscribe, you'll get three free pdf's or you can start a free 7 day trial).

Sharing this post at:

FREE Reading Resource

Here's a tip I just picked up from Frugal Freebies and Deals. You can download 28 children's picture books, by Hans Wilhelm, for FREE by visiting Children's Books Forever. There are books available in 12 languages!

The books can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat (also Free) and they can be printed or used on Smartboard, Powerpoint or overhead projectors. Permission is granted for non-commercial use only. Additional stories will be added to check the website for update. Also, be sure the click the links toward the bottom left for titles under "Toddler", "Humor", "Inspiration" and "Holiday".

What a great resource! Enjoy :)

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

"Dr. Seuss," Theodore Geisel, was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He wrote 48 books, which have become beloved classics. But, did you know that his first work, "To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street," was rejected by over two dozen publishers before it finally went to print in 1937?! Since then, his books have sold hundreds of millions of copies and many have even been made into cartoons and full length movies which have been enjoyed by children and adults alike for many years.


Dr Seuss Green Eggs And Ham via Noolmusic.com

To learn more about Dr. Suess's life, visit History.com and Wikipedia.com.

Find coloring pages and printables here.
Find games music and more at Suessville.
Check out the crafty fun at Skip to My Lou for some great ways to celebrate.
Plus, find lesson plans here and here.

With so many fun stories to choose from, like Hop on Pop, Horton Hears A Who, The Lorax, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and Mr. Brown Can Moo, I'm not sure I can pick a favorite! Can you?

Great Stocking Stuffer Ideas For Kids

Here is a list of deals I have come across that make for some great stocking stuffers or last minute gift ideas. I love giving books and educational games to kids and there is no shortage of super sales this time of year!

Usborne books always has great internet specials, and they have some wonderful holiday book selections as well as classic children's favorites. We use Usborne books in our homeschool studies and I am always impressed by the great quality of all of their products. All my kids enjoy the Snap games and the jigsaw books are favorites too.

Dover Publications is another one of my favorite book stops. They are having a big sale until December 14th and offer a books for all ages. Shop now and save $20 off of a $40 order with coupon code HLC4. Be sure to check out their sticker activity books if you have young ones. I love to keep a stash of these for car trips, or anytime we have to sit and wait. My kids love them.

You may also want to check out the sale at Barefoot Books. They offer beautiful children's books and toys which bring art and culture to life for kids. They are currently offering 30% off your order and free shipping. Enter SNOWY at checkout and shop by Dec 15th.

Here's something new I found that I think my younger two will love! Crayontown Coloring sets from Crayola...too cool!

Find more deals on children's activity books at Amazon.

And lastly, what kid doesn't like to build, mix, throw and explode things? Find fantastic fun science activities at Steve Spangler's site.

When the Frost is on the Punkin'

This is a Fall favorite poem of mine. I have fond memories of my father reciting this poem at the Thanksgiving dinner table. I thought it would be fun to share here.

WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUNKIN
by James Whitcomb Riley

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and the gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin'; of the guineys and the cluckin' of the hens
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O it's then the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock

They's somethin kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here -
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny monring of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock -
When the frost is on the punkin and fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries - kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A preachin' sermons to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below - the clover overhead! -
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too!
I don't know how to tell it - but if sich a thing could be
As the Angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me -
I'd want to 'commodate 'em - all the whole-indurin' flock -
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

What are your special Thanksgiving traditions?

Quotable Sunday

Hello friends! Welcome to this week's edition of Quotable Sunday Serendipity style. I hope today finds in you good spirits. Since it is rainy and chilly here today, and quite a good day to curl up with a great book, I have chosen a selection of literary quotes to share. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed selecting them...

"The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it."
-Elizabeth Drew

“Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!”
-Louisa May Alcott

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep."
-Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

"Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies.
Thought would destroy their paradise.
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise."
-Thomas Gray, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College

"The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!"
-William Wordsworth, The World is Too Much With Us

"The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance." -Jane Austen

"Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love." -Jane Austen

"It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;-- it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others."
-Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

"A little kingdom I possess,
Where thoughts and feelings dwell;
And very hard the task I find
Of governing it well."
-Louisa May Alcott, "My Kingdom" st. 1

Quotable Sunday

Greetings friends! I am so glad you could stop by today. I have chosen some favorite literary quotes to share because they stir my soul and make me smile. I hope you enjoy them as well. Let me know which is your favorite. Or, please share one I have not listed here...it is a short list, and there are so many wonderful quotes from which to choose!
Have a wonderful Sunday :D

To see their sons and daughters so flushed and healthy and happy, gave them also a reflected glow, and it was hard to say who had most pleasure from the game, those who played or those who watched. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from Beyond the City

"Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby!" George Bernard Shaw from Pygmalion

I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. Willa Cather from My Antonia

"Money is a needful and precious thing, and when well used, a noble thing, but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace." Louisa May Alcott from Little Women

"Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing."
Lucy Maud Montgomery from Anne of Green Gables

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"
Lucy Maud Montgomery from Anne of Green Gables

Let's Talk Books

Many of you are probably unaware that I am a consultant with Usborne Books. That's because I'm a terrible sales person and I really haven't worked the biz. But, since Usborne offers truly great books, I wanted to post some links and you can browse if you like.

If you aren't familiar with Usborne products, they are simply wonderful books that kids love to read. I am a great lover of children's books. I could practically live in a Barnes and Noble and never leave the children's section, except for a Starbucks fix, of course ;P I love children's books and Usborne publishes some of my favorites. The Farmyard Tales series is well loved by young children and they offer some great kid kits for older kids, as well as several reference books and lots of educational resources. They even have quite a selection of chunky board books for babies. The list goes on and on. There is so much variety, really something for kids of all ages and always some great online sales.

Please take a moment to check out my website and see what you think. If you don't want to order now, you can easily create a wishlist to keep for future reference. It's an easy way to share a booklist with relatives for holiday gifts. Or, you can host an eshow in just a few clicks, then tell all of your friends about it to earn FREE books.

The site is very user-friendly, but if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me. Be sure to enter the drawing for $50 in FREE books! And leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Around the Web Roundup

Here's a roundup of some recent educational resources I've found. I hope you enjoy them!

7000 pdf books to read online or download
United Nations Cyber Schoolbus - health game, flag game, urban facts and more
Easy Fun School - learn about Native American Tribes of the US
The Crafty Classroom - Japanese crafts - these are adorable
Blick - art lessons plans - search by grade level
Animals and Plants Alphabet Coloring Pages - these are beautiful
Activity Idea Place - Loads of stuff for young ones here - listed by category

Aloha Friday

So my question this week is: What's the name of your favorite book from childhood? (If you are anything like me, picking just one can be tough...feel free to share any way you like. Aloha!)

My answer: One of my all time favorites is The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter, by Evelyn Scott. I was so excited when I'd found it had been republished and I ordered a copy for my kids, who also love it.

Happy Birthday Mr. Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born APRIL 23, 1564.

His 37 plays impacted world literature.

He married Ann Hathaway, had three children, moved to London, and became shareholding director of Globe Theater, writing such classics as Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In King Henry VIII, 1613, act III, scene ii, line 456, Shakespeare wrote:
"Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age have left me naked to mine enemies."

In Othello, 1604, act I, scene i, line 108, Shakespeare wrote:
"You are one of those that will not serve God if the devil bid you."

Four years before the Pilgrims landed in America at Plymouth Rock, Shakespeare died on this same day, APRIL 23, in 1616.
In his Will, Shakespeare wrote:
"I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."

Carved on his tomb in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon, England, is:
"Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg The Dust Enclosed Heare.
Blese Be Ye Man Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He Moves My Bones."

Acknowledgement to www.AmericanMinute.com
AmericanMinute.com, P.O. Box 20163, St. Louis, MO 63123, 1-888-USA-WORD, 314-487-4395

For more about Shakespeare visit:
shakespeare-online.com
shakespeare.palomar.edu
Shakespeare Resource Center
Shakespeare Kids (my fave)
This Day In History

Don't Be Obtuse, Celebrate The Seuss!

Yes, I know I'm late. But, better late than not at all. Today is Seuss Day. The Doctor's birthday. He has given us such wonderful wonders and fanciful fiction. What a creative genius and inspiration (his first book was turned down 24 times before it was published!) I have loved his work since childhood and enjoy sharing it with my kids today. And by gum, the world could use a little of Horton's faith and Sam I Am's optimism these days! So, if you haven't had a good dose of Seuss lately, you should take a trip to Diffendoofer or Mulberry Street. It just might do you some good.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Born February 27th, 1807, he led quite an interesting life, studying abroad, mastering several languages, working as a professor, enjoying fame for his work, marrying twice and tragically losing both wives. Throughout his life he wrote many plays, ballads, poems and more. Find out more about Longfellow's life and works here.

He wrote several well-loved poems including his famous The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. Which begins:

Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,-

One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."


Sudbury is the home of Longfellow's Wayside Inn, located on Boston Post Rd, which has operated as an Inn and restaurant for over 200 years. George Washington is known to have stayed there on his way to Boston.


For more, including lesson plans, click here.