Aug. 31, 2009 Reading Rainbow Off The Air!!!!
I pop onto Facebook ocassionally throughout the day when I get a few moments to check updates. Not only do I get posts from family and friends, but I also get postings from assorted sites such as NPR, Montessori for Everyone, Skip to My Lou, Time 4 Learning, The Homeschool Channel, Lesson Planet, UU World, updates from my Church for local events, and, you guessed it!, PBS. You can imagine how shocked I was Friday afternoon when I had a few moments free to check my news feed and right at the top of the page was a blurb from PBS thanking all of Reading Rainbow's supporters as it leaves the air.
I just sat there for a few moments as the article loaded (of course I wanted to know more. What happened?!) and thought about all of the wonderful books I saw on this show as a child that I hadn't even known existed. I always went right down to my small town library and asked for many of the books I saw on this show. (I think now my librarian must have had feelings of dread each time she saw me coming. LOL) I still know the song by heart and I must admit that I honestly thought this would be one of those few shows that would last forever not only because of the quality but how absolutely important learning how to love to read is! But alas, it's not to be. Reading Rainbow is one of the longest running children's program at 26 years, coming in behind only Sesame Street and Mister Rodgers Neighborhood.
 Production on the show actually ended several years ago and viewers had declined. Through research, the focus is now on literacy and the core skills. Although learning to love reading is the first step to actually learning how it's no longer considered as important. They're both intertwined very close and it's sad that they're now being torn apart. Our public schools seem to be taking the track of learning is everything, but they're not really teaching our kids how to learn, let alone loveing to learn. Just because you know something doesn't mean that you have the knowledge or experience to actually use it in your life and sadly, it's that experience that is lacking from most schools in our country today. Dropping the arts, music, even recess in favor of phonics and other heavier areas of learning are going to lead to a serious detriment to our children's knowledge, experience and leadership qualities in the years to come. The logo says it all! "Opening Books ~ Opening Minds"
A Few Sites To Check Out
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PBS ~ the official Reading Rainbow site (that won't be around much longer so check it out while you still can)
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Canlearn.com ~ Reading Rainbow program descriptions and suggested activities
According to one of the comments left on the post on PBS's Facebook, "A world without a reading rainbow is sad world indeed." But you don't have to take my word for it.......
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Apr. 9, 2008 Celebrate Earth Day with Barefoot Books Special Offer!
 Celebrate EARTH DAY with Barefoot Books cool book of environmental poems, The Sun in Me. It's also National Poetry Month so check out one of their great poetry collections.
Place an order today and as a thank you, receive a free Whole World Mini Edition ($9.99 value) — featured on Oprah's O List!
"A wide-ranging poetry collection covers sea, sun, sky, and earth illuminated by stunning illustrations. Nicholls has ranged far in her choice of poets, too, choosing John Updike and Charlotte Zolotow along with Issa and Buson. There's a traditional Albanian riddle and a handful of translations. Most of the poems are quite short and none are longer than a page. The illustrations are gorgeous -Krommes sketches her images on scratchboard, photocopies the result, then fills in the copies with watercolor. The result is a brilliant use of pattern and placement in space along with color that leaps from the page. The pictures are full of the flora and fauna of the natural world, but almost every scene also has a person, so readers and listeners can see their place in the sun. [T]hese poems speak for themselves and their message is clear: we are indeed of the earth." - Kirkus Reviews
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Apr. 7, 2008 Story Nory Kids Audio Stories
Starting in November of 2005, Story Nory has published a free audio story every week! There are now over 100 collected stories, poems, myths, legends and fairy tales; even the complete text of Alice in Wonderland! Typically, each one is 10-15 minutes in length although, some may be shorter (or even longer, witnes Beauty and the Beast at 36 minutes). These stories are all being read to Prince Bertie the Frog by a young woman named Natasha. So, have fun exploring and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss out on any new stories!
I stumbled upon this quite by accident tonight, and I'm in love. The kids and I had been reading those wonderful nonsense poems by Edward Lear. I wanted to expose them to other people saying the poems so I did a quick search for audio. This was the top of the list and I (actually, James) spent almost the next hour at the site after we had finished the section about Edward Lear and the other little ones had gone to bed. He explored around, listened to The Ugly Duckling and then we discussed it. He liked the story so much that I'm planning next weeks curriculum around it.
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Apr. 1, 2008 Past Selections Mar. 18, 2008 Bookcloseouts.com
I can't remember if I've ever mentioned this site before, but I was reminded of it today because I got a sales flyer. Anyway, this site is really awesome. Most of this stuff is 50% or more off retail and you never know what you're going to find. Right now my cart is sitting at $52 with original retail of $161 and that's, what, a 68% savings? And it's not just educational either. Pretty much anything you can think of, they'll probably have something in that category. There's also a scratch and dent category where the book is even further discounted. So set aside an hour or so, grab a warm beverage and enjoy looking for treasures.
Treasures that I found (that I may or may not have bought today, just ones that really caught me attention and looked great):
  
  
  
  
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Mar. 1, 2008 Past Selections Feb. 1, 2008 Past Selections Jan. 4, 2008 Constellations
James loves learning about the sky and he can be often found out gazing at the stars or the moon. So it was natural that we started teaching him astronomy and by extension geography and history. The Dangerous Book for Boys itself has a great section about astronomy. Often his is found on Google, looking up different aspects. Since he's a pre-reader, for him it 's mostly looking at pictures or if we're able to be with him, we'll read stuff for him.  Today, Carey brought home an awesome deck of cards for him: Constellations ~ A Deck of Knowledge Cards. It's totally awesome. It contains 48 cards with a look at 46 sidfferent star groups. each card contains a constellation on the front and info on the back. The info contains such things position and area, brightest star and number of visible consituent stars, the corresponding zodiac sign, nots about the constellations origin and history, etc. A card full of astronomical terms and abbreviations as well as a card of general information is also included.
So for instance, I randomly grabbed Cancer. Some of the information I learned: - The pronunciation - kan' sir
- Fourth sign of the zodiac in the Northern Hemisphere June 22 - July 22
- Brightest star is Al Tarf
- There are 23 visible stars
- Although this was seen as a crab by the Greeks, the Egyptians saw it as a scarab.
Cool huh? And this isn't all of the information contained either. There's a bit of a myth, a bit of history, astrology, etc. So far the kids have been having a blast looking at everything and asking about different cards. Jame only knows the The Big Dipper (not included) whose seven stars also make up part of Ursa Major, which is included.
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Jan. 1, 2008 Past Selection of Random Books for 2008 Jan. 1, 2008 Past Selections for Weekly Read-Alouds for 2007
Past selections for our Weekly Read-Alouds for the year 2007
OCTOBER
~ October 1 ~
  
  
  
~ October 8 ~
  
  
 
~ October 20 ~
  
  
 
~ October 28 - November 4 ~
  
  
 
~ NOVEMBER ~
~ November 4 ~
  
  
~ November 11 ~
 
 
 
~ November 18 ~
  
  
~ November 25 ~
  
  
~ DECEMBER ~
~ December 2 ~
  
  
 
~ December 9 ~
  
  
 
~ December 16 ~
  
  
 
~ December 23 ~
  
  
  
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Jan. 1, 2008 Past Selections Dec. 1, 2007 Past Selections Nov. 11, 2007 Three Good Books
A young Winter can't understand why Mother Nature (a little girl) won't accept him so he seeks the advise of a polar bear. The story is lovely and poetical and I love that it reads like an old fable. It tells the story of the first Autumn and the very first snow fall with lyrical prose that I fell in love with. Beautiful, magical artwork. I hated returning this on to the library and hope to add it to my collection soon.
A young man who lives in Tzafat (one of the four holy cities of Israel, long associated with Jewish mysticism) loves the moon and can often be found gazing upon her. One night he dreams that She has asked him for a cloak to keep her warm and he promises to do so. So begins his journey to keep that promise. It's well paced and the children (as well as I) loved the luminous illustrations. James was especially captivated by the woman in the moon and said she was very beautiful. One more book I would love to add to my collection and will hate returning to the library.
And last, but certainly not least is The Ice Dragon. I've really been into poetry lately and I came across this in my special drawer (a drawer in our owl dresser that's really too small for anything so the children's baby books and other odds 'n ends live in it). It was still in the Hastings bag that carried it home about a year ago that I had left it in to protect the very delicate tissue dust jacket. So when I saw it and pulled it out, I just had to read it again. A dragon (winter) wakes up for the year and begins her journey for the season, bringing cold breath and icy scales in her wake. The beautiful water colors are simple and magical, with glowing colors and the story is soft and lyrical. It's nothing super involved, only a few lines per page and my children loved hearing it. They also liked the soft gentle sparkles in the paper.
I was very surprised when I couldn't find this at Amazon and in fact I've been able to find it at only one outlet online! That's sad since I know a little boy who adores dragons and would love to have a copy of this. I would be happy to pass mine along except this was a birthday gift for Kathrynn's first birthday and is inscribed as such. :( One other reason I love this book so much is because it's by a local author! He lives only a couple of hours away from here, and it was published by a small company in Washington. (It's also autographed by the author)
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Nov. 1, 2007 Past Selections of Random Books for 2007 Nov. 1, 2007 Past Selections Oct. 29, 2007 Grandfather Mountain
Recently, I discovered a wonderful book company called Barefoot Books and fell in love.
"At Barefoot Books, we celebrate art and story that opens the hearts and minds of children from all walks of life, inspiring them to read deeper, search further, and explore their own creative gifts. Taking our inspiration from many different cultures, we focus on themes that encourage independence of spirit, enthusiasm for learning, and sharing of the world’s diversity."
What's not to love about that statement? And now, thanks to Rebecca Wolpinsky I have been given the opportunity to review one of the wonderful books.
Grandfather Moutain ~ Stories of Gods and Heroes from Many Cultures as retold by Burleigh Muten was very enjoyable. We read it on a fun clear day grouped in a pile outside. The warm sun on our backs, the rustling leaves, hot cocoa warming our hands and the sweet smell of rotting leaves on the air was comforting to the being and all were relaxed as I recounted the tales. By the time I was done, I had several extra little bodies surrounding us and listening quietly.
When first I opened the book, I was quickly caught by the luscious illustrations. The one that I especially love is at the beginning. It is of a beautiful leather pouch with shimmering beads depicting the shape of a crow. I found this especially appropriate since most of these stories are about creation and crows are messengers symbolizing creation. Out of this pouch flowed pictures symbolizing all of the stories known by the pouches owner, Crow and in fact you will learn more about this pouch and a storyteller in the very first tale: Grandfather Mountain.
This book begins with children asking their grandfather to tell them stories. He agrees and the children clamber onto his workbench and lap to hear the tales. There was a nice little vignette detailing the scene of grandfather, the children and a workbench complete with an ark and a few animals; one more item symbolizing creation.
This is a wonderful anthology presenting the adventures of gods and heroes taken from cultures worldwide and exploring the quests that challenge all males as they take that first hesitant step into manhood as presented by a grandfather. Our elders are the tellers of tales and share the lessons and wisdom gleaned from their own elders who have gone before them. They teach of us life and it's unfortunate that don't appreciate them until they're gone.
The contents include:
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Grandfather Mountain
North America ~ Seneca
- Orunmila Meets Eshu on the Road
Nigeria ~ Yoruba
- The Sons of Rangi and Papa-Tu-A-Nuku
New Zealand ~ Maori
- Quetzalcoatl Creates the First People
Mexico ~ Aztec
- Asklepios: Healer of the Ancient World
Greece
- Merlin and the Giants Ring
England
- Brave-And-Swift-Impetuous-one Slays the Serpent
Japan ~ Shinto
- The War Between the Giants
Ireland ~ Celtics
While I love this book and the illustrations, I do have mixed feelings. The author meant to portray strong male role models to help our sons find their way in ever changing expectations from society. However, too many creation tales were chosen (notice I have meantioned symbols for creation twice now) and not enough hero tales actually depicting any real lessons. At times, the story jumps around resulting in a very unclear tale that leaves one dissatisfied. Merlin and the Giants was one such tale and unfortunately the banal narration left me wanting more after I had excitedly started reading what promised to be a beautiful story. A pronunciation guide for the foriegn words would have been especially helpful and I am surprised it wasn't included. Still, the small borders of richly detailed illustrations depicting pivotal moments accompanying each story and the larger full page spreads make for beautiful eye candy. That alone makes this book well worth it and I am very pleased to add it to my growing collection of Barefoot books.
Get FREE shipping in November on all orders $60 or more!
Just use the Special Offer Code SCSHSH at checkout.
(This runs starting November 1st through the end of the month)
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Oct. 19, 2007 Crafts for Kids ~ A Month-By-Month Idea Book
I was asked what book I used for the Spider Bread Recipe so here it is. This is an awesome book that I found out about last year from my librarian. She had set up some really cute crafts for the kids, I asked her about it and she pointed me in this direction. My hardback addition is sadly, out of print. However, it's well worth to track a copy down and there are several at Alibris right now at really good prices. There is a new copy in print, in paperback format called Crafts For Kids and I have no idea if the crafts are the same or not since I've never seen a copy of the new one. I have actually talked about this book before, here.
I really like this book. There is a chapter for each month of the year, and there are several ideas for each month. What I especially love is that each craft or idea has a little list of the skills your little one is learning. It's actually pretty in depth; it looks at everything the child would be doing through the whole activity. So for instance, in Octobers crafts, you can make Fall Leaves In Waxed Paper and the skills are:
- how to write your name
- that pretty fall leaves are on the ground
- gluing skills
- cutting skills
- how to create artistic pictures from things in nature
Those skills are also broken down by age so the first few are appropriate for children ages two and up, and the last two are appropriate for ages four and up. There are on average twelve activities a month. These don't all include sit down general cut and past stuff either. There are nature walks, buying pumpkins, lots of recipes, easy toys and jewelry, games, etc. Also, any activities that need patterns, the diagrams will be found in the book, at full size. You could do one or two activities a week from this book and literally have a whole years worth of ideas.
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In the last month, I was introduced to two wonderful books about the Creation. While I have never gone completely with the idea that God created everything himself in only seven days I have always beleived that there are higher powers out there that had a hand so to speak. At the same time, I have also not held entirely with the Big Bang Theory. It's just never totally satisfied me and for me, the best explanation has also been a combination of the two.
Two weeks ago, on the Equinox, the children's story at Church was Big Momma Makes the World. I have absolutely fallen in love with this, and it's high on my wish list of books to add to an ever expanding library. I loved the twist on Genesis of a feminine deity creating the world. I was slightly dissapointed with the illustrations. They were a bit bland for my taste. When I was first told of this story, about a week before I heard it, I was expecting big splashes of rich bold colors. The man who was telling me about (and who read it for the children) has a beautiful expressive voice and he's one that I love listening to just to hear his it. As he explained it, even going so far as to recite some of it from memory, I was actually expecting a black Big Momma! The illustrations are still beautiful, if not what I was expecting. I saw this expressed in some of the Amazon reviews as well. What did sadden me however were a few narrow minded reviews left for this wonderful book but thankfully they are in the minority.
This last Sunday, The Everything Seed was read. James quickly settled in with me and the other children as Tracy, our intern minister, opened the book and revealed the first few pages of the bright, bold batik illustrations and the authors lyrical prose. I was interested, but not surprised, to learn that the author is an ordained UU minister. It aknowledges the spiritual aspect of Creation along with contemporary scientific theories. It's pretty much The Big Bang Theory from a feminist point of view.
 
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Oct. 1, 2007 Past Selections Sep. 24, 2007 Serendipity!
serendipity \ser-uhn-DIP-uh-tee\, noun:
The faculty or phenomenon of making fortunate accidental discoveries.
Many years ago, more than I care to remember now, I had the serendipitous fortune to discover a set of books with beautiful whimsical illustrations. I was an avid reader growing up and while, alas, I no longer have the time to read 6+ books a week, I still find the time to crack about one book a week. I was at the library so often, that I was known by name and I always quickly noticed changes. It was a rainy afternoon that I spent at the library that day, when I noticed a group of new books. I hastily snatched one from the shelf and was immediately captivated by the illustration; that prompted me to open the book and I was instantly caught in the magical tale. I took several home that day. While I no longer remember which book I first read, these books made such an impression on me that I still remember them with longing, especially now with I have little ones of my own clinging to my legs. Now that I'm grown, I can also appreciate the little morals tucked inside each story.
 The Serendipity Books are a series of books written by Stehpen Cosgrove for his small daughter when he could find none others to his liking. These books are classics in children's literature and warm the hearts of young and old the world over. Each beloved tale provides positive solutions to difficult problems and shows our little ones how to deal with the challenges of their world. However, no one would publish his work! In the end, he actually formed his own publishing company when no one would accept his books with their "morals". I personally don't understand why since they aren't really that blatant; the child is just hearing a fantastic story and the moral itself is stored away for later without ever really being thought of. At least, that was my experience. My parents never really sat down to read to us or discuss books with us, especially by that time. As I grew older, I did recognize the moral, but the stories are still so wonderful nonetheless that I read them anyway. The wonderfullywhimsical illustrations that so attracted me in the first place were drawn by Robin James.
I always meant to buy these books but time is fleeting and the intention was shoved to the back although, I did manage to buy one for James' first birthday: The Gigglesnitcher. Recently, I discovered a large lot of them on Ebay being sold at an  extremely reasonable price and I had to have them. When they arrived, the children and I spent a wonderful hour reading them and even after I had to go on to other things around the house they were still quite content to flop down with one on their own; even Kitty got in on it. I was ecstatic to discover that four of the volumes that arrived in this much anticipated shipment were first editions! Being reminded of these wonderful books, and bursting at the seams to tell people of my excellent new acquisition only to discover that many don't even know what I'm talking about, prompted me to find out more myself. I was overjoyed when I discovered Web Pop Portal. It's an online collection of Stephen's books to read, listen to, and even a few to print! There are coloring pages and crafts; all based on the different series that Stephen Cosgrove has written. I didn't know that the other series existed and I've enjoyed exploring them.
Book-Pop
SakesAlive
Zibbies
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