Children's Book of the Week: First 100 Words Board Book

First 100 Words Board Book 

by Roger Priddy

Emmett's Pick (my one year old)

Why he loves it: The colors and pictures

Why I love it: He's learning words and loving to read

This book is only $3.30 on Amazon and I have Amazon Prime, so the shipping was free for me! I was shopping for a birthday gift on Amazon and came across this book. I thought, "Emmett might like this," and since it was so cheap, I bought it. It has been his favorite book ever since. He loves pointing at the animals and objects and hearing me tell him what they are. We go back and forth. Sometimes I point and he says the word. Sometimes the other way around. And sometimes I ask him to find things or make animals sounds. 

Ever since we got this book, Emmett always reaches for it and brings it to me to read with him. And it started him really enjoying reading other books as well. Before we got this book, he wasn't really interested in reading, but this was on his level and it was fun for him so it gave him more patience with other books. I was really surprised how much he loved this book, but I'm so glad I forked out the three bucks and got it! He especially loved the farm animals page. :)

Thanksgiving Point: Museum of Ancient Life

If you've ever driven past Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT, then you've probably seen the building with the huge dinosaur on the front.  Most people refer to this as the "Dinosaur Museum".  It is actually called the Museum of Ancient Life, as it covers more than just dinosaurs, and is one of the largest museums of its kind in the country.  My kids are still fairly young but the great thing about this museum is that it caters to all ages.  We saw lots of people with small children like mine, but there were also scout troops, teenagers, adults, and everyone in between.

My kids were so excited about all the different exhibits.  All of them have some kind of hands-on activity, ranging from watching a real dinosaur bone being excavated, to caves to crawl in, to digging for their own "dinosaur bones".  There was so much to see and do that it was almost a sensory overload for them.  They ran around and looked at each exhibit for a moment before dashing off to the next one.

Kid Science: Dancing Rice

After last week's fun activity involving baking soda, I thought I'd throw another one out there for you and your kids to try out!  This activity takes basically no prep time at all and uses ingredients you already have at home: water, rice, vinegar, baking soda and food coloring.

First, grab a clear container, such as a glass, and fill it with water so there is about an inch or so of space left at the top.  Add 1-2 teaspoons of baking soda and stir it around.

Heavenly Zucchini Brownies

When my husband and I bought our home a few years ago, we knew we wanted to make space in the backyard for a garden.  The first year, we grew cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, carrots and (my favorite) zucchini.  At one point, I ended up with a zucchini that was as long as my arm from my elbow to the tips of my fingers!  That is a ton of zucchini my friends.  And what do you do when you have ridiculous amounts of zucchini?  Make some amazingly easy, yummy, chocolate-y zucchini brownies with melt in your mouth, gooey frosting of course!

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it doesn't use very much oil/butter and because of the zucchini, they are so moist!  Another thing that is great about this recipe is that it doesn't require any eggs.  How many times have you gone to make a dessert, only to find you don't have any eggs?  Not me!  (*cough, cough*)  Any time I bring these brownies to a party or dinner, they are gone faster than you can blink.  I always leave myself a piece at home because I'm not sure I'll get a piece otherwise.  I'm not kidding!

Okay, are you ready to see how easy these are to make?

Home Preschool (Ages 2.5-4) Week Two: Letter B and Number 2

This is the second in my series of at-home preschool lesson plans. I hope you enjoy them!

Each day will take about half an hour and your little ones will love it! My son calls it "school time" and is so excited for it every day!

Here is the printable version of the lesson plans for the week: Week Two: Letter B and Number 2

Links found in the lesson plans:
The Alphabet in Sign Language
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" You Tube Video
Letter B Coloring and Tracing Pages
Number 2 Coloring and Tracing Pages
Beehtoven's 5th Symphony You Tube Video
Bluebird Images
Bluebird Coloring Pages
Benjamin Franklin Images

Home Preschool

Age 3: Letter and Number of the Week

Week 2: Lesson Plans for the Letter B and the Number 2

Preparation:

·         Print out large letter and number sheets (included) and post them somewhere the child can see them all week.

·         Create theme word flash cards with the theme word on one side and a picture depicting the word on the other.

·         Print out the poem of the week (included).

·         Create a flashcard with the name of the composer of the week on it.

·         Print out animal/plant word sheet (included), “facts about” page (included), coloring page, and image of the animal/plant of the week.

·         Print out social studies fact sheet (included) and an image of the subject of the week.

·         Collect supplies for art project.

·         Optional: Plan a day for an outing in keep with the theme (ideas included) and buy ingredients for snacks, baking, or cooking in keeping with the theme (ideas included).

Can't Get Yourself To Workout? Let Me Give You A Reason (Or Four)

A while back, I posted about how I made exercising a part of my daily routine. I got a great response from that post, and in it, I promised to post about my motivation for making exercising a part of my life. And so here it is!

The motivation for doing something is key for me. I'm an over-thinker so I can't just do something for the sake of doing it. It has to have a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is fun, or because whatever I'm doing makes me happy. But I've never been able to just do without some type of meaning or reason behind my actions. So if I'm going to commit myself to doing something every day, it has to have some rock-solid motivation behind it. In the case of working out, I could go on and on about the benefits. But today, I'll just give you my top four reasons for getting my butt in gear every. single. day.

It's vital to find reasons that motivate you now and will continue to motivate you. You will not find "get skinny" or "lose weight" on this list. It's not that I don't want to lose weight. I'm human and I could stand to lose a few. But it's not a good enough reason for me to exercise everyday. Working out is hard. It's called "working" for a reason. And some days, I care about my weight more than other days, so just the prospect of possibly losing some weight is not enough for me. It is far from enough, in fact. Especially since I've actually had the experience of running six miles every day and not losing one pound for MONTHS. (Can you say frustrating?!) Anyway, I digress.

I have managed to find the right motivation for exercising for me. Maybe getting thin is one of your top motivators, but it just doesn't cut it for me at this time in my life. I remember saying to Quinn (my husband) about six months ago that I wanted to lose weight, but more than that, I just wanted to be happy with how I looked. I wanted to be confident and not have self-esteem issues every other time I looked in a mirror (after-baby body can be a rough thing to deal with, especially when your babies are ten-pounders). Living like that was not okay with me. And I'm happy to say that after making exercising a bigger part of my life, I still have days when I wish I were thinner, but generally, I am ten-times happier with the way I look. And honestly, I don't think it changed that much. I just changed my perception of it, which was my goal in the first place.

Book of the Week: I Love You, Mommy by Melanie Joyce

I Love You, Mommy by Melanie Joyce
Shani's Pick

Why I love it: It reminds me of the relationship I have with my kids

Reading to my kids is one of my favorite things to do with them.  It makes me even happier to see them choose to look at and "read" books without any prompting from me.  I remember looking at , reading, and loving books as a young child and I know it was my mom who helped instill this love of reading that has continued into my adult years.

When I was pregnant with my first child, my mom gave me this book.  I hadn't ever heard of it, or seen it anywhere, but after reading it, it became of my favorites.  I Love You, Mommy is a sweet story told from the perspective of a baby bear who, through the course of a day, tells all the things he loves about his mommy: He loves that she smells like sunshine and wildflowers.  He loves that she gives him nice things to eat.  And most of all he loves... well, you'll have to read it to find out.

One of the things I love most about this book is that it celebrates the simple things that mothers do for their children each day that don't always get recognized.  I will admit that I've cried more than a few times while reading this story to my kids, especially when they or I have had a rough day.  It reminds me that my children depend on me and love me and that they are the reason for so much of the joy I experience in my life. 

*Also be sure to read the book I Love You, Daddy (also by Melanie Joyce) to find out all the things that this baby bear loves about his dad.  I guarantee you will love both of these books!

Post by Shani Ogden