Colonial Williamsburg with Kids

My mom and I recently took my eldest daughter (7) on a day trip to Colonial Williamsburg. We live only about 40 minutes away from this popular tourist attraction, so we're well-familiar with the town. This was my first time touring with a child, however, and by the end of the visit I had a much better idea of how to do Colonial Williamsburg with Kids.

Summer Reading Programs

E and her daddy bond over many things, but xbox Lego games are a particular favorite. Together, they have gone through all of the Lego Star Wars games and Lego Indiana Jones. Lego Pirates of the Carribean is next in line. Much to my husband's annoyance, I have insisted we not purchase the new game without E earning it somehow. (I'm also hoping the delay means we can buy a cheap, used copy!)

Our public school system releases a summer reading list for each grade at the end of the school year. I printed out the first grade list and divided the 25 books into groups of 5. E has to read each book and write 4-5 sentences about it. When she completes a set of 5 books, she gets to move one of the cut-outs into the pirate ship scene. When all 25 books have been read and reported on, "Pirate E" will be placed on the ship, and she and Daddy get to head to the game store.

My eldest thrives on systems of reward, so she is flying through the books and writing up the reports without a single complaint. Thank goodness the books are taking awhile to come into our local library branch... otherwise I'm pretty sure she would have knocked this out in a week!

If you don't feel like setting up your own summer reading program, here are some you can find at your local bookstore and online:

Barnes & Noble
- For first through sixth graders
- Read any 8 books, record them in the downloadable journal, and get to pick out a free book from a list.
- The download also includes a few activity sheets

Borders
- For kids 12 and under
- Read any 10 books, record them in the entry from, and pick out a free book from a list.
- (I think their free book selection is better than B&Ns.)

Scholastic
- Help set a new world record for summer reading.
- Log reading minutes, register online to earn points and enter sweepstakes.

Pottery Barn Kids
- Complete one of their selected reading lists and receive a free book.
- At participating stores only.
- (And if you have a PBK close to you... I hate you. :)

Your Local Library
I know ours has a great summer reading program with lots of special events and free swag, and I'm sure yours has something too. If it's really cool, feel free to comment here and brag on your library. They all deserve a little love.

Flat Stanley with a twist!

The last portion of our vacation consisted of visiting with my husband's aunt and uncle. They graciously put us up (and put up with us!) for two days and nights. Instead of showing you pictures from our visit, I'll show you pictures from Flat E's visit earlier this year.

For a geography lesson and as part of a post office unit, E's pre-K class created flat versions of themselves to visit friends and family and spend a week with them. The flat classmates returned a week or two later with a chronicle of their adventures. Here's Flat E's experience.

Uncle Hal gave her personal piano lessons.

Aunt Thelma taught her how to cook...

and took her to work with her. Thelma's coworkers thought E was a charming child.

She attended the church where Uncle Hal is pastor. She was extremely well-behaved during the service.

And of course, during her visit she read lots of books!

Thanks again, Hal and Thelma for being such wonderful hosts to our children... the paper-kind and otherwise!

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Stanley is your average boy until an unfortunate accident leaves him... well... flat! Stanley learns to embrace his disability and enjoys all the benefits of being flat, including being able to be mailed to distant friends. The book covers relevant issues like sibling rivalry and disabilities, but is mostly a fun silly story.

There are a whole slew of Flat Stanley adventures, but this introductory book is perfect as a bridge for kids almost ready for chapter books. E's class loved it!

A New York State of Mind

After a couple days in Cape May, we headed up the coast to visit my husband's aunt and uncle in northern New Jersey. NYC was only a half hour away and beckoned to us across the water. We resisted her Siren call and settled for a morning touring Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Seeing the Statue of Liberty up close and personal was an incredible experience!

For our craft, I asked E to paint a sunset picture for me, then I handed her a cut-out coloring book page of Lady Liberty to paint into a silhouette. We pasted it onto the picture to finish our paper-memory of such a great day!

Although we stayed on the NJ side, my hubby couldn't resist getting lots of pictures of the skyline. Which leads me to our book...

New York State Of Mind by Billy Joel

Taking the famous lyrics, illustrator Izak Zenou matches Billy Joel's words with his own beautiful paintings depicting the familiar scenes of NYC. This is a great book for anyone planning on taking their kids into the city.

Obviously, a Statue of Liberty book would have been more appropriate, but I couldn't find one at the library. Any suggestions???





I'm linking up to:
- stART @ A Mommy's Adventures

What's a vacation without the beach?

From their ancestors on the shores of the Black Sea to their relatives on Lake Michigan, the beach is in my girls' blood. So our stop in Cape May wouldn't have been complete without a visit to the shore.

Wave by Suzy Lee

This wordless book follows a little girl as she plays in the waves at the beach. Simple ink drawings of the girl fill one page while the brilliant blue waves fill the other. The final page shows the child leaving with her mother, waving goodbye to her new friend the Sea. It's a beautiful and simple book perfect for beach season.


I'm linking up to:
- Wordless Wednesday @ 5 Minutes for Mom
- Where in the World @ Lemon Drop Pie

We're back with a book for boats

We're back from the Great Page Road Trip of 2010 and I have vowed never to go on a vacation with a toddler again. Strange places, an uncomfortable pack-n-play, and a complete deviation from our normal schedule and diet transformed my sweet toddler into Jack Jack from The Incredibles. I seriously wouldn't have been surprised had she turned into a ball of fire.

In between the meltdowns and tantrums, we did manage to enjoy the trip. One of our favorite experiences was riding the Cape May - Lewes Ferry.

The ferry connects Cape May, NJ with Lewes, DE. Not only the girls, but my husband and I thought it was great to be able to drive our car right onto the boat, park, and enjoy an hour cruise. The ferry supplied coloring books and crayons to the girls, so when they weren't terrifying me by running along the deck, they could sit and color.

I (of course) checked out their gift shop for kids books but didn't see any boat-themed books I liked as much as:

Ship Shapes by Stella Blackstone

This book is perfect for 2-3 year olds who are learning their shapes and colors. The illustrations are fantastic fabric collages filled with colors, patterns, and textures that seem to pop off the page. The story is straightforward: two kids and a dalmatian set sail and meet up with many strange and wonderful creatures, all the while asking the reader to find and count the different shapes on the page. The rhyming and repetition is just right for little ones, although even your kindergartners will be entertained by finding and counting all the shapes. Heck, I was entertained!



Activities:

 Make these adorable Fruit Sailboats over at The Stories of A to Z (aka my sister!)

Print out this easy B is for boat printable and let your kids cut and color the different shapes.

Create this cute seashell sail boat with a few simple materials from Family Fun.