Category: Books

Indoor Find and Do Scavenger Hunt

3/24/2020

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On Pinterest, there are some pretty cool Scavenger Hunts for kids to do during these stay at home times. A couple of the outdoor ones are like pieces of art! Look at this one! I could frame it! she suggested twig pencils to complete this hunt. I found somehere! This one is simple yet also beautiful. The kids could make the binoculars we talked about on this post and go out and do their hunt!

But, what if you are on rainy day schedule? We've had a lot of rain this year here in Phoenix. How about you? Some of you still are in the midst of very cold weather! When I taught school, we always had to have things to do indoors during rainy days. Not only that, when I had school aged children at home, the house became cluttered quickly! That can be a real mood buster when everyone is stuck at home together. And finally, whether you are doing school work together or just having screen time and being bored, sometimes you just need a mental or physical break! So, because of all of that, I decided to come up with an Indoor Scavenger Hunt that would incorporate fun, learning, food, activity and clutter-busting all in one! I call it the Indoor Find and Do Scavenger Hunt.

I had some of my grandchildren try the Scavenger Hunt out for me. It was fun to get the pictures of them doing something that grandma sent them to do. I sure do miss being with them! If you are a grandma missing your grandkids, It is really a blessing to have the ability to talk to them and do things with them over social media. Sending them a simple activity like this scavenger hunt is a gift they will remember.

Directions:

This isn't necessarily the kind of Scavenger Hunt that you would do all in one day and it isn't a race.

It would be best if your children took their time to complete each task completely and well to get the most out of the activities. I mean, some will be faster than others. Like picking up dirty socks, but, they should spend some time on the drawing and the reading or the geography.
Tell them that instead of a race, this is an exercise in doing things well.
Older children can help younger ones read the directions.
At the beginning of the week, you could give them the sheet and tell them to try to do 2 or 3 things on it per day. Then, you could assign some type of reward when the entire page is filled and they have done all of the things WELL! I'm thinking of a reward such as making cookies together or playing a favorite game. You know what your kids will like.

By the time the chart is completed, your kids will have cleaned up some clutter, read 2 books and had some fun. Then, perhaps you can come up with some of your own ideas to add to the list the next time! Your house, your clutter, your needs, your kids! But I hope I've given you a new idea to help you out. Just click the pdf button to print the sheet. Look at the faces of my grandchildren! I'm sure that your children enjoy it!

Indoor Find and Do Scaventer Hunt

Here you can shop for some of the things you've seen in this post:

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10 Books You Can Read in One Month

2/4/2020

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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

When I wrote my last post on ways to read more in 2020, a common question/request I received was to share recommendations of what I read. I read ten books this month and started two more! My goal is to read two books a week and I feel blessed and happy to say I have exceeded my goal for January. I am especially excited to share the list of books I read with everyone.

The one catch is that some of my reads were Audible Originals. So you will have to have Audible to read them. I will separate those into their own list. And I do highly recommend Audible for many reasons, the originals are just part of that.

I won't rank the books In any particular order but I will write a short blurb for each of what I thought about them.

How to Read 10 Books in a Month

I think the reason I was able to read so much this month boils down to a few things;

Instead of watching YouTube or a TV show at night I opted to lay in bed and read.
I listened while cleaning and making dinner.
I read two books at a time. I always have one book I'm listening to and one book that I'm physically reading. Not simultaneously, but in the same day I will have two different books I'm reading.
Nine of my 'reads' were on Audible. Like I said in my previous post, reading more would be impossible without Audible.
I chose books of differing lengths. Some of the books I listened to were ten hours some were just two. My physical book was 239 pages and it took me about two weeks to read at night (but I didn't read every night).

I feel blessed to have more free time than most to read and listen to books, and I feel like that contributes to my being able to read so many books. But I feel these tips could be applied universally to anyone in order to fit in more reading. That's my hope in sharing at least.

Audible Originals

A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs by Ben Garrod- If you have even I mild interest in dinosaurs I recommend this book. It's science in words we can all understand and I promise you'll learn something new! The author interviews paleontologists and other experts around the globe to bring us the facts about the dinosaurs we know and love.

The Minuteman by Greg Donahue- If you love reading about WWII this is a book for you. It's a very fast listen about how a man affiliated with the Jewish Mob fought back against a growing Nazi movement in Newark the years leading up to the war. It specifically follows the story of Nat Arno, a boxer turned mobster.

Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic by Nick Carr- A coming of age story about a boy genius who fixes the quantum realm. Honestly, it's a very moving story of a thirteen year old boy who's on a journey to fix the irregularities in his Georgia town. And in doing so he finds some answers to other questions he's had about his life. It's a really short listen, but very good. But there is a LOT of swearing so be warned on that.
My Lost Family by Danny Ben-Moshe and Dasha Lisitsina - This Is one of the CRAZIEST stories I've ever heard. It's amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. Basically this women has her two children taken from her when she is 19. Her husband takes the kids to the park and never brings them back! This was in 1957! So this is a story of her other child sho is trying to reunite the family for his mom basically. It's hard for me to explain, you just have to listen and bask in the wonders of this story

The Home Front: Life In America During World War II by Dan Gediman and Martha C Little- Another book I have to recommend if you like to read about WWII. This offers incite into life in America during WWII. It has recordings of Americans from then saying how they feel and what they thought about the war. It's a truly fascinating and worthwhile listen. It's also narrated by Martin Sheen.

Books Available Everywhere

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek by Rhett McLaughlin, Link Neal, and Lance Rubin- This was an excellent book! It was a bit slow in the beginning but once it got going it was hard to put down. It's the story of a small town, Bleak Creek, and the secrets they're hiding. It follows a small group of friends, Rex, Leaf and Alicia, as they get into trouble that gets Alicia sent to the local reform school where everything is not what it seems. It's wild! It would be a great read for preteens and up.

Late Migrations a Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl- I really enjoyed this book. It's a collection of essays focusing on Renkl's life, not exactly a biography or memoir. I loved the way she juxtaposes the things that happened in her life to those things that happen in nature, specifically in her garden. I also really enjoyed how her life is very relatable we all experience love and loss, and the way she puts words to those feelings is very poetic. I especially enjoyed the insights she had in the last few chapters. Bonus is that the cover art is very beautiful!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley- I did not know It was possible to dislike every character In a book and simultaneously love the book but here is Brave New World and here I am. This book is disturbing, poignant and thought provoking. It takes a look at what the world might look like in the future, and it's a bleak view. And to be fair, it wasn't that I didn't like all the characters, but they mostly just made me sad. I do think you need to read it though, there's some really great debates and philosophical views put forth that are worth mulling over.

Now I Know: The revealing stories behind the world's most interesting facts. by Dan Lewis- This book was interesting, but also like reading a bunch of Wikipedia articles. Still, I found it a fascinating listen.
Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott- If you want a good mystery/thriller, this is the one for you. I will admit I figured out what happened pretty early on but there were still enough twists and turns to keep my interest until the end. A unique thing about this book is the story is told from about 5 different perspectives, including the bad guy's. But you still never really know what's the truth until the end. It has a very film noir type vibe.

So have you read any of these books? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!

If you liked this post you may also enjoy...

5 Timeless Book Series for Tweens
Friday Faves- Newbery Award Winners
16 Books for Your Reading List This Year

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18 of the Best Valentine's Day Books!

1/21/2020

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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.

Valentine's Day is always such a fun school day holiday. There are Valentines to make/address and Valentine Mail Boxes to decorate. Then there are the heart shaped cookies and chocolate kisses. Themed days like Valentine's Day are great ways to encourage reading in children as the fun and excitement for the holiday builds. I've gathered some great suggestions that will draw your kids into reading without them even realizing that as they celebrate a holiday, they are building reading skills as well. An extra bonus is that many of these books about love can help you teach your children lessons about love, kindness and healthy human interactions. And, remember, books make great Valentine's gifts!

For the Youngest (Especially if they have older siblings, they want to join the fun as well!)

You Are My Sunshine-Sarah Magsaman: It is the song with a cute sun finger puppet!

The Littlest Things Give the Loveliest Hugs-Mark Sperring

Splat the Cat Funny Valentine Lift the Flap Book-Rob Scotton: If you haven't seen this adorable, hilarious cat, you won't want to miss out any longer! And don't forget Love Splat while you are at it!

Primary School Age (They will probably like Splat the Cat, too).

Pinkalicious: Pink of Hearts-Victoria Kann: Every little girl will love this one! It includes stickers and Valentines!
Fancy Nancy: Heart to Heart-Jane O'Connor: Not to be outshone by Pinkalicious, Fancy Nancy is a grade school favorite! Stickers also included!
Happy Valentine's Day Mouse-Laura Numeroff: The same mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie has more antics!

Happy Valentine's Day Little Critter-Mercer Mayer: I am always a sucker for Little Critter Books. The illustrations always have little things to find and talk about. There is usually a cute lesson to be learned.
Robot In Love-T.L. McBeth: A cute robot, with heart shaped pupils in his eyes is in love. He dreams about her, snoring in binary code! A darling book for up to 2nd graders.
Groggle's Monster Valentine-Diana Murray: Adorable story and fantastic illustrations will captivate kids.

3 Berenstain Bear Books for Valentine's Day- Stan, Jan and Mike Berenstain: For books that always are sweet, have challenging vocabulary and teach good values, you can always turn to the Berenstain Bears. Here are 3 of their many choices:

Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day is Cool-James Dean: Pete the Cat is always popular with young grade schoolers and this book will really enchant with its cards and poster. Super Cool!

Second to Fourth Graders (Give or Take)

This is Not a Valentine-Carter Higgins: Not all Valentines are hearts and flowers. This sweet book will teach that expressions of love can come in many forms.

Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine-Marjorie Weinman Sharmat: A great Valentine mystery book for boys and girls alike!
And finally, 2 Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park that everyone will adore:

So, there you go! 18 books to get you started enjoying Valentine's Day with your kids. If you have more suggestions, drop them in the comments!

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5 Timeless Book Series for Tweens

12/11/2019

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This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no extra cost to you. All views expressed are our own.

Today I thought I’d do a What to Read Wednesday gift guide for tweens. And I also wanted to combine it with books that would take you back to your childhood. At least my childhood. These series are timeless classics that will just get better with age.

1. Babysitter’s Club. All about that entrepreneurial spirit and learning important life lessons, Babysitter’s Club will suck your tween into the story. The era may be different but the problems the girls in the books faced are still problems kids face today.

2.Harry Potter. Being a huge Harry Potter fan, how could I NOT mention it? The struggle to find where he fits in the world, starting a new school, making friends, choosing between right and wrong, dealing with grief, fighting a powerful wizard; Harry Potter is one of the most relatable characters in literature. The rereadability is off the charts too so this series will keep giving for life!

3. Goosebumps. I have already written a WTRW post on Goosebumps, which you can check out here. It will suffice me to say that there’s a reason these books are still around. Tweens will love the horror aspect while parents can feel happy it never gets gory just chilling.

4. Anne of Green Gables. Talk about relatability, although Anne grew up in the early 1900’s, her struggles with friends, boys, and family will be familiar to your young reader. She’s also a little over dramatic, a huge plus for me as a child as it gave me one of my favorite phrases of all time “I’m in the depths of despair.”

5. A Series of Unfortunate Events. I loved these books in Junior High. I even got my mom into reading them. The books follow the Baudelaire orphans through a series of unfortunate events while being “chased” by Count Olaf in order to steal their fortune. The kids use their talents and ingenuity to work together and get out of trouble, but things don’t always work out the way you plan. These books have a way of disappointing you without frustrating you at the same time. It’s all very delightful actually, you’ll want to keep reading because you have hope things will get better.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this stroll down memory lane with me. I love these books, and would still reread them all today. I hope you and your tween will enjoy them too. It isn't too late to add them to their Christmas list!

What book series did you enjoy when you were younger? What would you add to the list?