The Book: Action Jackson by Jan Greenburg, Sandra Jordan, & Robert Andrew Parker alongside The Usborne Art Treasury by Rosie Dickins & Nicola Butler Why We Read It: Big Kid is learning about Jackson Pollock at preschool by exploring the ways he painted. I wanted to extend this at home with some process art. What … Continue reading Action Jackson
The Book: Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer Why We Read It: It’s currently fall here in Central New Jersey, possibly a little late for “yellow time”, but we have been watching the leave change colors very closely this year. What It Inspired: After reading we took a walk around the block to collect yellow leaves. … Continue reading Yellow Time
Even though it is 90 degrees here today in Central New Jersey, this week is Autumn Leaves Week in Exploring Nature with Children. Luckily, the past two weeks have been cooler and the trees are starting to show off There are so many great books about fall leaves. My focus is on process art and … Continue reading Autumn Leaves Week
Well, I really did try with this one! We have gotten a lot of apples in our farm share recently, and plan to go apple picking next week, so I decided to sacrifice an apple to science, and art, today. First, the science. We read Apples, by Gail Gibbons, a nonfiction book all about apples. … Continue reading Apples
Big Kid got ShapeScapes for Christmas. I have pulled them out a few times since then, but she didn't have much interest. This week I pulled them out again and put them in our "learning basket". She is now fascinated by them. She has spent countless hours, mostly with dad, building sculptures and moving the … Continue reading Henri’s Scissors
When given a bag of any color, shape or size, every toddler I know loves to cram as much into it as they can, then carry it around the house as if they have conquered something. That's probably why Big Kid loved The Big Green Pocketbook, by Candice Ransom from the minute she laid eyes … Continue reading The Big Green Pocketbook
Did you know seahorses, along with a few other sea creatures, are the ones that carry their babies until they are ready to be on their own? Mister Seahorse, written and illustrated by Eric Carle, tells the story of a daddy seahorse who carries his babies in a pouch while he swims through the ocean … Continue reading Mister Seahorse
Set to the tune of Over in the Meadow, this book by Marianne Berkes, teaches youngsters and adults alike about sea animals found in a coral reef using vivid language and verbs that beg you to act out the scene. Each page is another verse to the song which can be read, or sung aloud. … Continue reading Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef
"The Pout Pout Fish", by Deborah Diesen, has been a family favorite since Big Kid was born. We started reading as a family the day Big Kid was brought home from the hospital. This was one of the first read alouds we did. My husband instantly fell in love and asked for it frequently before … Continue reading The Pout Pout Fish
In this wordless book, Chalk, by Bill Thompson, three children are walking together on a rainy day, when they find a bag of magical chalk. The first girl draws a sun and immediately the weather changes to a bright sunny day. A second girl begins to draw butterflies that immediately come to life and fly … Continue reading Chalk
I'm going to be honest. This one scared me a little because there was only one way to go with it, and that way involved a lot of paint. And, Big Kid has not been interested in watercolors recently, so the tempera paint or finger paint had to come out. This is something I have … Continue reading Mouse Paint
We are extremely lucky to be able to spend the month of July at our family's beach house at the Jersey Shore. While there this summer, I thought it would be fun to challenge the kids, and myself, to read 31 different fiction picture books about, or set at, the beach. We will be using … Continue reading July Beach Book Challenge
What can one say about The Very Hungry Caterpillar? I will never find the words to do justice to this quintessential children's book, but I can show you some of the ways we used it. The little caterpillar in this timeless tale hatches one evening on a leaf. Very hungry, he sets off eating new … Continue reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar
This morning we read "10 Black Dots" by Donald Crews. The simple rhyming text, along with minimalistic pictures in this book, take the reader on an adventure to see just what can be created with 1 dot, 2 dots, 3 dots etc. After reading, I handed Big Kid a few strips of little black dots … Continue reading 10 Black Dots
This shimmery covered book tells the story of a little girl who sees a butterfly fluttering around her garden. She loses sight of the butterfly, but discovers there are many other different colored bugs in her garden for her to enjoy. "Butterfly Butterfly" by Petr Horacek, introduces youngsters to colors in a subtle, natural way … Continue reading Butterfly Butterfly: A Book of Colors
Kid's Lit Life 