Just wanted to post a few of the fun kids things we have discovered recently.
First, for anyone, young or old, wanting a great collection of books that are simple yet hilarious you must check out Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books. Mo Willems wrote for Sesame Street for years and has won numerous awards, both for that and his Knuffle Bunny and Pigeon series. The Elephant and Piggie books touch on all kinds of childhood themes, including sharing, playing with friends, being sympathetic, and trying your best - but they are all funny. Simple drawings that show a range of complex emotions make these books delightful. Piggy has a real tough-girl-takes-on-the-world outlook, and Elephant is the gentle giant, conservative to say the least. Our kids check out at least three every week from the library. They are a short and easy read. Some of our top picks are: "There's a Bird on your Head"; "Want to Play with my New Toy?"; "Ready to Play Outside"; "I am Invited to a Party"; and "I Will Surprise My Friend". Always draws a laugh from the crowd, especially if you read using a low voice for elephant and a high, squeaky voice for piggy. Try them.
Second, for anyone struggling to get their elementary school kids interested in practicing spelling, check out spellingcity.com. You can input their words for the week and the site generates games using those words so their interest is kept. I believe you can register on the site for free, I have not done so yet, but you can still use the system without doing so. Just enter the words right on the homepage and away they go. I think you must need to register to save the lists and play with them after navigating away from the page.
Hope someone finds the above useful. Have fun!
Jen, I still think you should work on getting your book published. How is Madi doing with her reading and math? Did you get a chance to talk to her teacher? Mom
ReplyDeleteWe use spellingcity.com ALL the time. A teacher told us about it last year. Fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI am also going to check those books out at the library. I don't use the library enough these days....I think because I owe them $$...ha ha!
Thanks for the great suggestions....my kids LOVE the pigeon books. Great to know about the spelling city cite as well. none of our kids are even doing spelling in school right now...but i'd like to make up my own lists and have them do it anyway!
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