What's in the Field Bags?

Since Kiddo has become deeply involved in birding, we've gone out on many nature walks, which naturally require field bags!

For Christmas, Mormor (aka my mom) sent each of the boys a package of goodies to fill up their bags.

Needless to say, they love their new equipment. Now each of them has:

• a combo whistle-compass-thermometer
• a pair of binoculars (Kiddo's not shown. Both were free, we plan on getting Kiddo a much more useful pair soon)
• a magnifying glass
• an Audubon Bird Call
• headlamp (mostly these are used indoors to great delight, every kid should have one!)
• pocket field guides (I like these Nature Study Guides; we have the Winter Tree Finder and Berry Finder, but there are many different pocket field guides available.)
• In addition, Kiddo has a separate compass, disposable camera, Bird Log and pen, and New Kid has a little flashlight. Sometimes Kiddo also brings an additional nature journal and his Sibley Bird Guide.

I realize that they do not exactly need  some of these goodies for a walk in the park with their mom, but having it all sure makes them feel official!

I've tried on several occasions to add nature drawing to our field walks, but they are not very interested so now I leave the art supplies at home. Do your kids have field bags? What do they carry in them?

How To Find Good Children's Books: Seven Ways

I was quite flattered a few months ago when a regular reader of this blog contacted me to ask for early chapter book recommendations for her child for Christmas. After I sent her a list of books I found myself continually thinking of even more book titles I could have given her.

So today, instead of my regular book feature post, I will share with you some of the ways I go about locating children's books.

1. I read a lot of book blogs. A lot. Probably an unhealthy number. You probably are not quite as far along in the "I am obsessed with finding good books for my children" category as I am so I'll only list a few of the ones I find most useful. (You can find a few more in this blog's sidebar.) They are as follows:

• Fuse #8. This is the blog of New York Public Librarian, Elizabeth Bird. She writes fascinating reviews of children's books and one of my favorite features is that she posts about librarian previews. These are events hosted by publishers to let librarians take a peek at upcoming book titles.
• Chicken Spaghetti. My favorite aspect of this site is the author's devotion to cataloging every book list ever made. She also includes book lists from the UK and Canada. I need to join a book list junkie support group.
• The Cath in the Hat. This blog focuses on easy readers and early chapter books, a category often overlooked by book bloggers.
• 32 Pages. This blogger posts just a few times a month, but each post is a gem.

2. I mine book lists. As I said above, I am addicted to book lists. Guess what just came out? The American Library Association's Notable Children's Books of 2011. And yes, they have lists for years past, too, so prepare to spend some time on the site. But as I said above, check out Chicken Spaghetti for more lists.

3. I visit professional sites devoted to reviewing and discussing children's literature.  The Horn Book's website has a rich array of materials and articles about choosing books, using books at home and about the authors/illustrators. You can also check out Kirkus Reviews, or School Library Journal.

4. I visit independent bookstores. Independent bookstores have much, much better curated collections than chain stores like Barnes and Noble, which are often overpopulated with syndicated characters and books which play music.  I can't visit bookstores very often due to my intense desire to purchase books, but whenever I do, I always find some little-known (at least to me) gem.

5. I visit the library, of course! When I go to the library with the boys I am rarely able to spend quality time perusing the shelves. Most people take a look at  the "New Books" shelves, but don't forget the librarian display. I always snag books from the display! Attending story time will also introduce you to books librarians know will appeal to children. Those librarians know their books, people.

6. I pay attention to Amazon's "Customer's who bought this item also bought" feature. This can be hit or miss, but when you check out the book from the library instead of buying it you can't loose.

7. Occasionally I visit personal library sharing sites like Goodreads or Library Thing. These sites are not as useful for me after I've already gone through the previous 6 techniques, but they offer recommendations based on your likes and dislikes, plus you can view lists of what others are reading and read reviews.

And there you have it: seven methods of finding books to add to our ever growing list of to-read books. I've started pinning some of my to-read books on Pinterest. Follow this link to see a selection. How do you find good children's books?

I'm linking to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday.

Counting with Pom Pons

New Kid is just about the age Kiddo was when I started this blog. This is significant because it means you will probably be seeing more preschooling ideas around here. Well... maybe. I make no promises.

Case in point: sorting and counting.

I turned the very useful egg carton into a pom pon sorter, counting up to 5. New Kid is not the numbers genius that his brother is, so we started small.

We have gotten a lot of mileage out of pom pons around here. We've picked them up with tongs, catapulted them across the room, pushed them through slots, stuck them on sticky paper, shaken them with paint and had a free-for-all with toilet paper rolls.

What have you done with poms lately? We're always up for new ideas. We do have a pound of them.
This is part of the After School Blog Hop. I've also linked to Link & Learn, and Show & Share Saturday.

Mom's Bookshelf, Vol. 5

I have to admit that I find the exercise of writing Mom's Bookshelves posts quite delightful, whether or not you actually pay attention. I haven't written one in a long time and have read quite a few more books than these listed.

What about you? Got any books to recommend?

What Language Is (And What It Isn't and What It Could Be) Grammar and language snobs: take cover.

A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen. All Jane, all the time.

Why Jane Austen? Let me count the ways.

The Warden. While I can only admire a book in which the protagonist is named Septimus, it is easy to see why Trollope's more topical work does not enjoy the same lasting influence as say... oh... Jane Austen.

The American Heiress: A Novel. Channeling Wharton and James: not as good of course, but frankly I was relieved that the ending did not send me into a depressing spiral of hopelessness.

The City Out My Window: 63 Views on New York. Enjoy what you see.

A Secret Life: The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland. Oooh, juicy.

The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-First Century. Such an important issue, I cannot joke. Why are people not outraged? Why do people continue to support politicians who claim no interest in science. Why? Why? Why? Somebody, please explain.

A Brief History of the Vikings: The Last Pagans or the First Modern Europeans?. It wasn't all pillage and plunder. Mostly it was, but not all of it.

The Dud Avocado (New York Review Books Classics). Ah, to be young, free and in Paree.

Old Fashioned Read Alouds

A few years ago I read this terrific article about reading chapter books to children. The article pointed out that children's listening level is far beyond their own reading level. (The website also includes a useful series of reading recommendations, so head on over then when you have some time to browse.)

While Kiddo chooses his own reading material at the library (hence the abundance of Zapato Power -- clever -- and Pokémon -- please put me out of my misery -- books littering our table) I choose the read alouds.

Often I like to choose books that were written ... shall we say ... before I was born.  They contain interesting vocabulary, phrasing and situations (this is doubly true for British books) that Kiddo will not be encountering in his own library choices. NOTE: I am NOT criticizing contemporary writing! There is a plethora of rich, varied and intelligent contemporary fiction for children and it irritates me when people suggest otherwise.

I know everyone's favorite "old-school" books are The Little House on the Prairie books, but for some reason the idea of reading this series to Kiddo bores me. Here are some alternatives.

Freddy the Detective (1932). Walter R. Brooks wrote a zillion Freddy the Pig books, we've only read one.  The New York Times Book review called it the American Version of  the Pooh books. Need I say more?
Mary Poppins (1934). If you want sunshine, watch the movie (which I do like!). If you want magic and mystery, read the book.
The Saturdays (1941). Children having fun in the city (gasp!) without their parents. Not to be missed. I repeat: not to be missed.
The Four-Story Mistake (1942).  I'm cheating a bit here, since this is the sequel to The Saturdays. The Melendy family moves to the country and the kids have even more independent adventures.

Incidentally, I read none of these books as a child. How on earth did that happen? What are your favorite chapter read alouds? (Besides Harry Potter, people! Besides. Harry. Freaking. Potter. I love Harry Potter as much as the next person, but I will NOT be reading that to my kids. You're curious as to why, aren't you?)

I'm linking to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday.

Is It Winter Yet? Winter Activites Part II

Last week I shared some winter activities from this blog, now I share some interesting ideas that I have found on others' blogs.


Snowflake resist watercolor grid @Art Projects For Kids

Ice Play @Teach Preschool

Ice Sculptures with salt and liquid watercolors @The Artful Parent

Maple Syrup Candy @Impress Your Kids


Ice Lanterns @Naturally Educational

Have you tried any of these? What are your favorite winter activities? I always love new ideas.

Transportation Tuesday

New Paint Job.

After School: What It's Really Like

After a week of having either no internet or no computer (our 7 year old computer finally gave up the ghost and now I compose this on my new laptop, which is sadly only 13 in. instead of a luxurious 17. Boo.) I find it is my week to host the After School linky. So instead of chatting about some wonderful activity we did, I shall share what After School Time is really like.

Brace Yourself.

Just before dinner, Kiddo decided he NEEDED to make 10 large glittery, sparkly, numbers. (Another idea he got from Games for Math.) Fortunately, I was able to explain to him that he needed to wait until after dinner by pointing out that if he started gluing he would have to stack his sticky papers in 5 minutes when it was time to eat. I barely caught my breath when dinner was over before he started declaring that he NEEDED the crafts box. I then tried desperately to start cleaning up after dinner (at least I had made him clear his dishes) but of course New Kid, who MUST do everything his brother does, declared demanded whined that HE needed to make gigantic sparkly glamorous numbers, too!

Now one of the reasons I don't do involved crafts with my kids is because it is tons of work and chaos for ME. For New Kid, I basically had to do everything except stick on the collage materials, but even then he was whining loudly about how they wouldn't stick, or how they got stuck to his fingers. Or... WHATEVER.

So I am running back and forth between the kitchen, the table, and the closet, fetching God Know What for this project while the kids are having some complicated impromptu festival involving googly eyes and glue sticks. I had hoped that New Kid might spend a little time sticking things on each number but each time I drew him a 7 or a 5 he was done and demanding the next before I could even think. When Kiddo asked for glitter glue I put the brakes on. Do you know how long that stuff takes to dry when you pour it in globs? I was not going to have 20 pieces of paper strewn all over the table for a week.

And then Kiddo started having a melt down because New Kid took one of his numbers away. New Kid's response to this was to laugh maniacally (yes, maniacally) and reach for another one.

Oh God, the horror.

I asked Kiddo what he planned to do with these numbers once he was finished. "Put them up on the wall for decoration."

Oh, really.

I convinced him that his high quality art would be better served stacked and stapled in book form.

However, I shall tell you that these lovely, glamorous, oh-so-important  numbers now lie forgotten in a toy bin.

And they are not even stapled together.

So how was your After School this week? Calm? Relaxed? Do tell me about it.

After School is co-hosted by the following blogs:

The Educator's Spin on It

Little Wonders' Days

Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns

Just Playin' Around

Mama Smiles

Is It Winter Yet? Winter Activities Part 1

We lost our internet connection for a few days, but I don't complain because the most wonderful neighbors in the world let us mooch their wireless service from them. When one's internet is restored it's a) surprising how long it takes to catch up on all that one "misses" when service is lost; and b) a reminder that most of the things one does on the internet are, in fact, not essential to daily life. In any case, this post was meant for a few days ago, but here it is now. 

I don't know about where you live, but it has been unseasonably warm this fall and winter, and every time I check the 10 day forecast it would appear true winter is taking a break this year. We have not yet had to resort to our Indoor Activities List yet since we simply head out to the park whenever we need to. My relatives in Sweden tell me the winters of today are not the winters of their childhood. But we will not discuss that disaster on our doorstep here at What Do We Do All Day?

Just in case some colder weather does arrive soon (and no doubt we will have some, at least), here are a few things we are looking forward to: 

Making Ice Wreaths (I'm addicted!)

Blowing Frozen Bubbles

Playing with Snow Inside

Putting up Rainbow Snowflakes 

It has not been cold enough to do any of these (except the last one, of course).
Next time: Part II, Winter Activity Ideas from other blogs. Do you have one I should take a look at and possibly list?

Easy and Fun Math Game

As soon as Kiddo found the book, Games for Math, in the library bag he dove for it. Really. I love that I have not even had to look at the book, he has been reading it cover to cover and detailing instructions for the math games he would like to play with me.

Here are the instructions for a simple game we played last night called "Make 10": After removing the face cards from a deck of playing cards, each player chooses 5 cards. Using the 5 cards create as many equations as you can in which the sum equals 10.

For example, using the cards in my hand you see above:

9+4-3=10

9+3-2=10

Once I was able to use all five cards at once: 8+5+3-5-1=10. Kiddo thought that was terrific. You don't necessarily have to write the equations down but Kiddo enjoyed doing that as part of the exercise.

Keep a deck of cards stashed in your purse and this would be a great travel/waiting/restaurant game.

This is probably not the last time you will see games from this book on this blog!

I've linked this to After School.