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100 Days of Play, Lemonade Stand entrepreneurs

Lemonade Stand Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs: 100 Days of Play

May 18, 2013

I’m thrilled to be joining Sun Scholars and 99 other bloggers for 100 Days of Play! Need play ideas? Please join us as we explore ideas for playful learning!

With nice weather finally arriving in New England, I’ve seen numerous lemonade stand ideas pop up in my neighborhood. It’s been fun to support the neighborhood kids and sample their wares. Some have been selling lemonade and brownies. Others have more traditional stands.

One thing that struck me is how much the pricing varies. I thought I would teach entrepreneurial finance for kids today for my 100 Days of Play contribution by looking at pricing your [successful] lemonade stand.

 

Pricing Lemonade for Your Stand Read more…

Comments: 14 Posted by: Categories: 3) Grade K-2, 4) Grade 3-5, Book Club for Kids, Financial Literacy for Kids
percy jackson book club for boys,

Percy Jackson Book Club for Boys

May 5, 2013

3rd Grade Book Club for Boys

We used Percy Jackson’s The Lightening Thief graphic novel for a book club for boys. I had big plans initially. Blue food. Lots of indoor games. Duct tape fun.

When the book club rolled around though, I was tired  with low energy so I ended up doing a very low key book club. No blue food. Spaghetti and meatballs delivered instead.

duct tape sword craft, duct tape and aluminum foil craft for boys,

The first thing we did was break out the duct tape which I had purchased at Staples a few weeks ago and squirreled away. I had a new roll of heavy duty aluminum foil, tape, copy paper, and scissors. Read more…

Comments: 16 Posted by: Categories: 4) Grade 3-5, Book Club for Kids, Reading Lists: Grades 3-5, Reading Lists: Graphic Novels
book club for Kane Chronicles, activities for Rick Riordan books

Kane Chronicles Series Activities for Kids: Poppins Book Nook

April 29, 2013

This month the Poppins Book Nook is about Wizards. I looked up the definition to make sure that my book choice was appropriate.

Wizards, Sorcerers and Magicians, Oh My!

wiz·ard  (wzrd)

n.

1. One who practices magic; a sorcerer or magician.
2. A skilled or clever person: a wizard at math.
3. Archaic A sage.

Wizards (or Magicians) in Rick Riordan’s Kane Chronicles

Ah, a magician is part of the definition. Phew! My son and I have been reading Rick Riordan’s books since the fall. We finally finished the last one this week. It was the third and final book of The Kane Chronicles, The Serpent’s Shadow (The Kane Chronicles, Book Three).
Comments: 24 Posted by: Categories: Book Club for Kids, Reading Lists: Grades 3-5, Reading Lists: Young Adult (YA)
flying trapeze book club for kids, the girls who could fly book club, book club for boys, book club for girls, trapeze book club for kids

A Little Too Exciting Flying Trapeze Book Club for Kids

April 3, 2013

Does this not sounds like the most amazing book club for older kids ever? My Mom Friend Katherine and her daughter came up with this combo for our girls who are now in 5th grade. It would work for a range of ages from 9 on up though! I think it would also be really fun for a book club for boys too!

5th Grade Book Club for Girls: Trapeze School!

  • Chapter book The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
  • Trapeze School field trip

PickyKidPix loves trapezing! Here she goes with a catch and release!

A Little Too Exciting: Book Club Starts with a Crash! Read more…

Comments: 27 Posted by: Categories: Book Club for Kids
Irises book club for girl, YA book club for girls, 7th grade book club for girls, painting book club for girls, art book club for middle school

7th Grade Book Club for Girls: Irises

March 31, 2013

YA Book Irises Reflects Middle School Life

It was with great difficulty that I managed to schedule a book club for my 7th grader, Grasshopper and Sensei, and there are only four girls in her book club! Yes, they are so busy these days!

I have to confess that I’ve been so busy that this is the first book club I’ve hosted where I didn’t pick the book or even read it! My daughter discovered it at school and thought everyone would like it. She assured me that an “easy” book club would be fine and to stop stressing.

7th grade book club, 8th grade book club, book club for teens

Her friend Isabelle arrived at 6:45 pm after dance. Jane’s family had forgotten so she arrived shortly after that. And somehow Rachel’s parents missed the memo. Read more…

Comments: 28 Posted by: Categories: Book Club for Kids, Reading Lists: Young Adult (YA)
boys and reading, Guys Read, chapter books for boys aged 9, chapter books for boys,

Books for Boys: EXCLUSIVE Cover Reveal and GIVEAWAY

March 29, 2013

Chapter Books for Boys: Guys Read Series

The Guy Read series edited by Jon Scieszka always intrigued me. Chapter books that entice boys to read are much needed and I will happily promote them until the cows come home.

Walden Pond Press was kind enough to send me the first book to review, Guys Read: Funny Business and it delivered on its promise. It’s a series of short stories written by well known authors. You can tell that they all had fun with this.

The short story by Jon Scieszka and Kate DiCamillo about a boy reluctantly doing a author book project was particularly memorable but all the stories were fun to read!

I’m thrilled to give you a sneak peak at the lastest soon-to-be-released Guys Read book, Guys Read: Other Worlds edited by Jon Scieszka sure hand.

Welcome to Other Worlds, the fourth volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading. Prepare yourself for ten trips into the unknown, as ten of your favorite writers spin tales of fantasy and science fiction the likes of which you have never imagined. Compiled by National Ambassador for Children’s Literature (and Secret Ambassador for the Intergalactic Alliance) Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: Other Worlds is the most exciting collection of stories on this-or any-planet.

Contributors to Guys Read: Other Worlds are …


Rick Riordan
Tom Angleberger
Rebecca Stead
Shannon Hale
D. J. MacHale
Eric Nylund
Kenneth Oppel
Neal Shusterman
Shaun Tan
Ray Bradbury

Even better, the nice folks at Walden Pond Press are letting me give away an ARC (Advanced Release Copy)! Yep, be sure to tell your son (or daughter) that he is the FIRST to read this book! No one else will be able to get their hands on it for a while. Read more…

Comments: 100 Posted by: Categories: Book Reviews, Reading Lists: Grades 3-5, Reluctant Readers
Mary Poppins Book Nook, chapter books for kids, knights princess chapter books, book club for kids,

Book Club for Kids: Chapter Book on Knights, Princesses and Castles

March 25, 2013

Virtual Book Club for Kids Ages 9 and Up

I first hear about the Poppins Book Nook from Piwi Princess on Google + Community Great Books for Kids. It sounded like so much fun that I asked host, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, if I could join and she was kind enough to include me!

The idea is a virtual book club built around themes so bloggers can choose any book — picture book, chapter book, non-fiction, etc. — and blog on it with an activity! Doesn’t that sound like fun?! Read more…

Comments: 22 Posted by: Categories: Book Club for Kids, Reading Lists: Grades 3-5
March Madness reading competition, school wide reading competition, school reading competition,

Our School’s March Madness Reading Competition

March 10, 2013

School Wide Reading Competition: March Madness

I blogged a lot about our elementary school’s March Madness reading competition and have tried to answer emails about the rules of engagement. The rules have changed over the last 8 years since we’ve first started. Also, my recollection is hazy at best.  All I know is that my kids read like crazy to win that extra P.E. session and we all win in the end, no matter what place their class ends up in.

getting kids reading, kids and reading, reading strategies, reading competitions, school reading competition

This year, the competition has started again and I am posting the rules in hopes that it inspires your school to pick up the torch and try this reading competition next year. It’s a lot of fun and I do really notice a marked improvement in my kids’ reading abilities after just one month of reading madness!

march madness reading competition scoreboard

MARCH MADNESS  READING CELEBRATION

  • The Peirce School March Madness Reading Celebration will begin on Friday, March 1 and run through Thursday, April 4.
  • The kickoff will take place at our town meeting on March 1 and each classroom will be randomly assigned the name of an actual NCAA basketball team.
  • Students will earn points for their team based on the number of minutes read daily at home during March Madness.
  • Each student will log their daily reading onto the paper reading log and enter their WEEKLY MINUTES read into an online database AT HOME every Thursday evening. 
  • Students will hand in the paper copy of their reading log to their classroom teacher every Friday morning and should begin to log their weekly minutes read into the online database on Thursday, March 7.  Students should continue to log their weekly minutes read every Thursday evening up until Thursday, April 4.
  • Team points earned will be tallied and recorded every week onto a large graph in the main hallway.
  • Books read in school are not eligible for points.
  • Books read as part of nightly reading can be counted.  (March Madness reading does not have to be in addition to regular home reading, although we hope students will be more inclined to read).
  • There will be a separate point system for grades K-1 and for grades 2-5. 
March Madness reading competition

My mom friend Melissa says, “Quietest play date ever! Everyone is reading for the March Madness reading competition.”

Read more…

Comments: 16 Posted by: Categories: 3) Grade K-2, 4) Grade 3-5, Reading
reading and writing, Kindergarten, invented spelling, making book crafts for kids

Connecting Reading with Writing in Kindergarten

March 8, 2013

Reading and Writing in Kindergarten

I am thrilled to be joining Share a Story, Shape a Future 2013 blog tour with other great literacy, children’s book and education bloggers!

My contribution is the connection between reading independently and writing for Kindergarteners … more specifically the idea of invented spelling as a necessary step that marries writing with reading.

Share a Story, Shape a Future, literacy, Kindergarten reading and writing

The Importance of Invented Spelling: The Writing Connection to Reading!

We had the most amazing Kindergarten teacher — Ms. C —  for all three of my kids. As rookie parents, she held our hand and guided us gently through the academic rigors of Kindergarten. Seriously, Kindergarten is the new First Grade. Ms. C’s goal was and is to get the kids reading by the end of Kindergarten.

She stressed the importance of writing as an important literacy step towards reading independently. In fact, invented spelling — you know that fabulous and funny spelling kids use when they first start sounding out words — is CRITICAL to teaching kids how to read independently.

“Froshus dobrmn pensr” is an example of invented spelling. What do you think the child is trying to communicate? Yes, ferocious Doberman Pinscher!

Read more…

Comments: 24 Posted by: Categories: 2) Preschool, 3) Grade K-2, Phonics, Reading
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