Best Get Well Book... for a cold or a crash!

I was driving home from work on Friday when a car spun out of control on the interstate and slammed into me at about 60 miles an hour.

I'm sore, but alive and with all bones and organs undamaged. As my mother said, "God bless the engineers of the Dodge Grand Caravan!" 

My children were NOT in the car with me and after seeing how horribly A's car seat failed, I cannot praise God enough for His protection on my family! (I'm shopping online today for new - safer! - carseats for the girls.)

I have been showered with love this weekend, as I recover from the bruises and stiff muscles. My husband is taking great care of me and the girls, and we've had so much food dropped off, I'm bound to gain 20 lbs during my convalescence. My husband's Great Aunt Jean (one of the best gift-givers alive) also dropped off the newest Caldecott Winner:


A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead

Such a sweet, gentle book! Amos McGee spends each day the same: going about his duties at the zoo, keeping the animals company. He plays chess with the elephant, races the tortoise, keeps the shy penguin company, and reads stories to the owl (who's afraid of the dark). But when Amos is too sick to go to work, the animals seek him out and reward his friendship by helping to care for him.

The illustrations are truly Caldecott-worthy, but it's the lesson of friendship and empathy in the story that make it great. A perfect gift for anyone feeling under the weather!

Whoopee! Whoopie Pies!

Have you heard? Cupcakes are sooooo 2010. This year it's all about the whoopie pie! It's been years since I tasted one, but when my sister Kim @ Sand and Sisal posted her Red Velvet Whoopie Pies I was inspired to pull out my Mom's old recipe. 

Whoopie Pies

Cake:

1/2 c shortening

1 c sugar

2 c flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/2 c cocoa

1 egg

1 c milk

1 t vanilla

Filling:

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c butter

1 c powdered sugar

1/2 c marshmallow fluff

1 t vanilla

1. Cream shortening and sugar.

2. Add egg, milk, and vanilla.

3. Gradually add dry ingredients.

4. Spoon batter onto cookie sheet (flattening slightly).

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

6. While cakes are cooling, beat the filling ingredients together.

7. Sandwich cakes with filling. Add sprinkles if desired.

And of course, hand the beaters to your babies...

While you dig into the real thing!

Henry in Love by Peter Mccarty

This is one of those stories that parents will probably enjoy more than kids, but with understated text and adorable ink and watercolor illustrations, it will be a welcome break from Disney Princesses and Dora the Explorer. Henry is a little boy cat who goes to school hoping to woo the little bunny girl Chloe. When showing off doesn't work, Henry discovers that sacrificial giving is more successful. The story is short and sweet, and the illustrations are brilliant. I loved it and think you will too!

Shadowy Days

Groundhog Day is Wednesday. I've always found it to be an odd tradition... and a depressing one considering we almost always have six more weeks of winter regardless of Punxsutawney's shadow. But shadows in and of themselves are fun, and groundhogs are so darn cute, we're going to celebrate anyway!

E learned about shadows today in school, so my afternoon activity was a perfect tie-in. I stretched a sheet between two chairs, placed a naked lamp on the ground, and voila! We had ourselves a shadow puppet stage.

Groundhog Stays Up Late by Margery Cuyler

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but there are an amazing number of books about groundhogs out there! This one was particularly cute. Groundhog doesn't heed his friends' warnings and plays instead of collecting food for the winter. When his friends leave him to hibernate for the winter, he gets lonely, bored, and hungry. During a brief thaw, he tricks his friends into thinking spring arrived and they celebrate with a feast. When the snow starts falling, groundhog happily escapes to his den, but his friends have a few tricks of their own.



Groundhog Weather School by Joan Holub

Professor Groundhog opens a new Groundhog Weather School, inviting groundhogs from across the continent to study under his tutelage. The book is jam-packed with facts, each presented in such a fun and creative way you're left hungry for more. While too busy and witty for toddlers and preschoolers, kindergartners on up will thoroughly enjoy reading every detail in this clever book.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies

Jan Thomas is my new favorite children's author. I discovered Rhyming Dust Bunnies a few months ago and was thrilled to find the sequel at the library last week.

Here Comes the Big, Mean Dust Bunny!

by Jan Thomas

 

Ed, Ned, Ted and (rhyming-challenged) Bob love to rhyme all the time. What will they do when the big, mean dust bunny joins their rhyming game? They'll do what they do best!

These books are perfect for 2-3 year olds. Bright, colorful illustrations, a simple story, and fun rhymes on every page hold even the squirmiest listener's attention. With Thomas' trademark humor, you're sure to enjoy it as much as your kids!

Before I picked up E from school, I set up this little book-related rhyming activity. (Along with a plate of chocolate chip cookies, because what's better than coming home from school to fresh baked cookies?) I scanned a page from the book and taped it to a dry erase board. Above Ed's head I wrote a word for E to rhyme. 

She had to come up with two rhyming words and one non-rhyming word for poor Bob. We started with simple words like "big" and "cat" and moved our way up to "bless" and "under." (Yes, that's The Hunger Games on the table there. Incredible book! I read it in a day and am now chomping at the bit waiting for a copy of the sequel to become available at the library.)

A also got to be part of the action by erasing the words when E was done... and by eating her fair share of cookies.

This activity was a great success, allowing E to practice her writing and rhyming skills in a fun way. With pre-readers you could always write the words for them, and early readers could use sorting cards to find the rhyming words and place them over the dust bunnies' heads.

I'm linking up to:
- Show & Tell @ ABC & 123

Snow Fun!

The day after Christmas we got over a foot of snow! I know my northern friends are laughing at me, but this is almost unheard of in our corner of the country. When the snow and wind died down, we headed outside to revel in all the fluffy white goodness! Making snow angels...

 Building (or trying to climb over) snow forts...

 And making the coolest snow-kid ever! She was our very own "Snowmen at Night."

 Here she is the next day (recognize the scarf?)...

 And here she is today...

I only wish I had seen her go!

The Secret Life of a Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht

E was given this beautiful science book for Christmas. (Perfect timing, Cousin Fern!) We both enjoyed looking through it's full-color photographs of individual snowflakes and reading about the science of snow. The pages are well laid-out, the photographs are stunning, and the science is easily explained. I highly recommend it for your next snowy day!

Teacher Gift

I have four days to make five handmade gifts. Wish me luck. I'm grateful that these two for E's teacher are already finished. They were simple enough that E could help me make them.

Hand Warmer
I borrowed this idea from my friend Polly @ Helping Little Hands. Two 4.5" squares sewn together and filled with rice and dried lavender (optional) make great little hand warmers to use during recess. I used some scraps on hand and let E help me with the sewing. If nothing else, they'll make good bean bags for classroom games.

Sugar Scrub
I've been wanting to make these for years! It's so easy, I don't know why I waited. I found cute little jars at Walmart for two dollars each. I filled each about half full with sugar and then poured the sugar into a bowl to mix with enough olive oil to dampen. Then I added dried lavender in the hopes of scenting the scrub. It didn't work, so I'm going to have to beg a few drops of lavender oil from a friend tomorrow. I tried out the scrub, and it works great!


Mary's First Christmas by Walter Wangerin Jr.

And if you're looking for a good Christmas book to give as a gift, this is my absolute favorite. You can read my review here. The book is set up in short, gorgeously illustrated chapters, making it perfect to give NOW, a week before Christmas.

Christmas Tree Cards

We took the morning to make Christmas cards for the neighbors. I found this cute kid-made card idea at Goody Goody Gumdrops via One Pretty Thing. 

Five strips of scrapbook paper, cardstock, and a gluestick was all it took to make some adorable handmade Christmas cards! Even A was able to help with this one. While the girls worked, we had a fantastic view outside of the falling snow!

It never snows in December here in southeastern Virginia! What a great early Christmas gift!

After the snow turned into rain, we headed back indoor to bake some scones to go along with all those cards. For the BEST SCONE RECIPE EVER head over to Beautiful Nest. I made three batches - chocolate chip, cinnamon pecan (not shown), cranberry/white chocolate chip (which didn't turn out very pretty so I kept for ourselves), and orange/cranberry.

Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo

It's beautiful. I cried. Trust me - get it from your library and read it to your kids. You'll both be blessed.