Thank goodness a shipment of K’NEX came this past week. We are trying to cut back on screens for Screen Free Week and my biggest challenge is my 8-year-old son who likes to simultaneously play video games on the computer while watching TV and eating a snack. I need more screen-free week ideas! I met…
It could just be me but I find that there is something poetic and Old Hollywood-y about Florida’s past. Perhaps it is just the way old Florida is portrayed in children’s books. The setting also seems like a backdoor shortcut to a Newbery award. From our last trip to Florida in North Captiva Island, we…
Our Percy Jackson The Lightening Thief graphic novel book club for little boys was low key but successful. We made duct tape swords while answering trivia questions and eating spaghetti.
With 11.7 million YouTube views, you must see this performance by Jake Shimabukuro, a ukulele virtuoso known for his complex fingerwork. Be sure to watch the last minute where Jake plays a pretty incredible sequence. My husband found Jake on YouTube and my kids loved watching him play, especially my son who plays the guitar. My…
For the last day of April and National Poetry Month, I am so excited to welcome my guest author, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater of poetry picture book Forest Has a Song. She has inspired me, a poetry-phobe to explore poetry with her gentle coaxing so I asked her to please write a post on teaching poetry…
I’m not sure why, but our school had a screen free day last month. These screen free challenges are particularly difficult for my kids, hooked as they are to their iPhones, iPod Touch, computer, TV, and Wii. Did I miss any? Do the Color Nook and Kindle count too? Successful Screen Free Day Last Month…
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…