This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for purchases you make at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support! For Father's Day, my granddaughter was excited to make her dad and grandpa a cake! She chose a Dolly Parton Style Coconut Cake Mix that I had in my cupboard and whipped that up as a 2 layer round cake. I had seen a cake online that was decorated to look like a campfire. Since her dad and my husband both love camping, I suggested that might me a great way to decorate the cake. She was all in! If you decide to make this cake, of course you can do it in any flavor you like.
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As long as I can remember, I have loved to read. It took no convincing for me to dive into a book and to only come up for air when I absolutely had to. I loved mysteries and fantasies, historical fiction and adventure stories all equally well. I also love to read and memorize poetry. This has been a love that I shared with my mother throughout my life. We lost her last week, just a few months past her 100th birthday. Thinking about all that she has meant to me, my memories of shared moments with books and poetry with her are some of my very favorite.
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 School is almost out and it is time to think of how to enjoy the summer with your kids and grandkids. Reading has always been a big part of enjoying the summer with my family, as well as going to summer movies or watching summer movies at home. A couple of summers ago, I had two of my grandchildren with us in the summer for about 6 weeks. We had so much fun together! One thing that we did every night before bedtime was read a chapter or two aloud out of a novel. Then, when we finished it, we would watch the movie that went with it. Since they were here partially to have me tutor them in reading that summer, this was a super fun way to stress the fun that goes along with reading and to have some bonding time together. I feel like I have a particularly close bond with these two grandchildren because of that summer together. (sigh) ( You can read about some of our times together here, here, and here!) I prefer to watch the movie after reading the book for a couple of reasons:
In order to be able to actually find a movie or television show that goes with the book, it is often better to stick with the classics. I love the classics anyway and I feel like it is good to expose your kids to them at a young age so they can learn to appreciate them. The beauty of reading aloud at home in the summer is that you can read at a pace that is good for your children and yourself! You will have to decide which books you think will fit best with your child's age and personality, as well as which version of the movie. The books and movies that I am listing are some of my favorites, and some that I have used with children at home or in the classroom. I'll try to recommend an age roughly, but you know your child best, so nothing is written in stone here. If you haven't read some of these books yourself, what a joy to experience them with your children together this summer! For the younger set: I still remember going to the library with my mom as a child and she recommended this book by A.A. Milne. I checked it out and lost myself in the adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh! I was lucky enough to read the book before I ever saw the Disney versions of the stories. Then when I did see the Disney versions of the stories, I loved them as well. This movie would be a great place to start, out of the many choices. Because of Winn-Dixie is one of the books I read with my grandkids that summer. It is becoming quite a classic I believe. There is something very relatable about dogs and kids usually enjoy books about them. The movie is equally enjoyable! Old Yeller is another great book about a dog and a settler family. I had my 3rd grade reading students read it aloud with me one year and then we watched the classic Disney movie. They loved it! You could spend the entire summer enjoying the Little House on the Prairie Books. There are 9 in all and they give such a great view into what frontier and early settler life was like by the author who lived through it all. Instead of a movie, watching the old TV series would be a delight! Alicia's favorite book for a long time, beginning in grade school, was the Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum didn't only write the book we are all familiar with because of the Classic Judy Garland Movie, but there are 4 more stories after this one! The movie is fine, but everyone should read the actual books, which are even more magical and imaginative! Middle Grade-ish: Anne of Green Gables was a favorite of mine as a young girl and a favorite of Lindsey's as well. The stories of this young girl on Prince Edward Island transports you to a simpler and more beautiful time and place. I love the PBS series that so beautifully depicted the story better than any I have ever seen. This book is innocent and perfect and teaches real values. Treasure Island is a true classic that captures the imagination. Every kids dreams of finding a hidden treasure! There are many versions of the movie, you could watch more than one! This one is a Disney classic, the Muppets did a highly enjoyable version, lol, and here is one from the 1930's. You really have to know your kids when it comes to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn because while I love these books, I found when I tried reading them aloud to my kids years ago, that the colloquial language used in these books was difficult for them to understand. So, it may be better for a little older kids to enjoy. I'm linking to the classic Johnny Whitaker movie version because I think kids will love it. The Swiss Family Robinson is great for he adventure loving family to read together! When the Tarzan treehouse at Disneyland used to be The Swiss Family Robin Treehouse, I used to dream of living in it or at least spending the night and waking up in Disneyland in the morning! The movie is full of action and romance! I hope you appreciate that I am not specifying which gender will enjoy which book on this list, because as a child I read and loved them all and I expect that your children will love them as well! Robin Hood was especially a favorite of mine! And, my all time favorite movie version is the one made with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland! There are other darker versions out there, but this one is fun and exciting for kids! After you read the book, you can go the extra mile and make the movie experience even better by providing snacks that would go with the movie! For example:
You get the idea! Just listen for ideas as you read the books!
I hope you try a classic or two with your kids this summer! These book memories will stay with them for a long time! If you would like to suggest some favorites of your own, I'd love to hear them in the comments. This post contains affiliated links. I will be compensated for purchases made at those links with no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support. We've been counting down (or up) the days until my mother's 100th birthday and it finally arrived! We are all so proud of her and blessed to have her in our lives. If you would like to read more about her and why she is the best mom ever, you can look at this post or this one. She has done so well and lived such a good and wonderful life and we wanted to celebrate it in a big way. Doesn't she look beautiful? One of my uncles always used to think of my mom as a Betty Boop figure for some reason and gave her many Betty Boop collectables. So, we went with the Betty Boop theme and used red and black tablecloths on the tables. She always loved to play Scrabble, so I made picture holders using Scrabble pieces and trays. We put pictures on the tables of my mother throughout her life. (After 100 years, there were many to choose from!) The words I used are ones that I felt represented my mom. I painted the trays and little wooden doll head feet in black and red. I used a pencil to dot the white polka dots on the feet. In order to have enough letters and trays, I went to a thrift store and found an old Scrabble game for $3.00. I also found just the letters on Amazon. I used tiny clothes pins, painted them red and used E600 and hot glue to attach everything. We included pictures like these: Those are my mom, my older brother as a baby and my dad. At 100 years of age, people tire quickly, so we knew that we had to have the party be short, yet fit in all of the things my mom would want. Here is what happened: There was delicious Italian food. There was a beautiful cake and outstanding cupcakes! She danced (to big band music) with my son and my brother. She took pictures with her children, grandchildren and great-grand children who were able to attend. Then she started falling asleep and had to go home! She opened her gifts the next day! Unfortunately, since her party, my mom's health has taken a turn for the worse. She misses my dad and feels ready to leave us. When she goes, we will miss her, but we will be so happy for all of this time that we have had her with us and so blessed to know that we will see her again one day with all of our loved ones that have gone before. I am so thankful for the knowledge of that truth. I'm so thankful for this last bit of fun we were able to have together. My heart is full. |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
March 2024
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