Buy it: My Mommy Hung the Moon
My Mommy Hung the Moon (By Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell) – A sweet story about all the amazing things mothers can do from the point of view of children. Mothers bake cookies, drive car pools, dance and steal bases but according to their children, they also light up the sun, zap out the thunder, feather the birds, blast off rocketships and sparkle the stars. A wonderful book about the love between mothers and their children and how children believe their moms can do everything.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
My daughter Ally is 5 years old and with Thanksgiving approaching, I wanted to teach her to focus on all the things for which she is thankful.
So I made a turkey body out of brown cardstock and cut 25 “feathers” out of red, orange, yellow, green and purple cardstock. I taped the turkey body up on the kitchen wall with a sign above it that reads “We’re thankful for…” Each night at dinner, my daughter, husband and I take turns taking a “feather” out of a jar on the table and writing one thing we are thankful for on it. Then we tape the feather up on the turkey.
This activity has been a great way to think about the many things for which we are grateful and also to learn about each other. I was surprised by the simple things that Ally is thankful for – her house, her family, food, her pets, etc. She hasn’t listed a toy or a single material THING.
My husband gave thanks for chocolate and our smiles. I’ve found that I’m most thankful for our vacations and family adventures together this year…and of course Ally’s grandparents, who babysit and allow my husband and I to have regular date nights.
As each day goes by and we countdown to Thanksgiving, our turkey gets more and more feathers showing all the joys and gifts in our lives. I know we’ll continue this Thankful Turkey project every year and make it a family tradition. I think I’ll take a picture of the turkey each year. It will be fun to see how the things we are thankful for change …or maybe stay the same.
My daughter, who is 5, does not like taking liquid medicine. So when she has a fever or a bad cough, we know we’ll be in for a struggle to get her to take it.
Since she doesn’t like to take it and sometimes runs away, we don’t like to give it to her on a spoon for fear it will spill before we get it in her mouth. So we usually put it in a liquid medicine syringe and squirt it into her mouth a little at a time. But often she gags, lets the medicine run out of the side of her mouth or on occasion, she just throws up. My husband and I were getting pretty frustrated and felt awful that we were putting her through this.
And that’s when I thought up the perfect solution – to put our daughter in charge. Now I put the correct dose in a small cup and give her a drinking straw. I tell her she can take her time sucking up the medicine, but it all has to be gone. I think just by giving our daughter the control fixed the problem completely. She can sip the medicine at her pace and the drinking straw makes it go down easier. And a teaspoon of medicine looks like a lot less medicine when it’s in a cup than when it’s in a syringe.
Buy it: Fancy Nancy – Explorer Extraordinaire!
Fancy Nancy – Explorer Extraordinaire! (By Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser) – Fancy Nancy and her friend Bree are going exploring in their backyards. They share their rules and checklists for being an explorer extraordinaire. The girls observe bugs, look at wildflowers, watch birds and collect leaves. There are great photographs and several interesting facts that are perfect for children. How do you tell a butterfly from a moth? How big is a hummingbird? How do flies walk on the ceiling? Fancy Nancy and Bree explain it all. The book also includes nature jokes, instructions on how to make a pine cone birdfeeder and a recipe for extra-fancy lemonade. A perfect book for Fancy Nancy fans and nature lovers.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: It’s Mine!
It’s Mine! (By Leo Lionni) – Three frogs live on an island together and argue all the time about what is theirs. One frog says that the water is his, one says the earth is his and one says that the air is hers. All day long they shout, “It’s mine!” A toad comes along and tells them to stop their bickering, but they don’t listen. Then a big storm comes up and floods the land. The only thing left is a rock, which all three frogs share together. When the storm is over they find out that the rock was in fact the toad. The frogs then realize how peaceful and happy life is when they share with each other.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Dream Snow
Dream Snow (By Eric Carle) – On a small farm there is a farmer, who looks a lot like Santa Claus, who has five animals. He named them One, Two, Three, Four and Five. On evening, right before Christmas, the farmer fell asleep in his chair and dreamed of falling snowflakes that covered him and his animals in a white blanket. There are clear pages decorated with snowflakes that children can lift up to see the sleeping farmer and animals underneath. When the farmer wakes up, he sees that it really has snowed outside. He dresses up in his red coat, hat and boots and goes outside with a sack over his shoulder. He decorates the tree next to the barn and puts presents under it for all the animals. Then he shouted “Merry Christmas to all!” My daughter, age 5, loves lifting up the clear pages to see the farmer and animals sleeping under their “snow blankets.” And she also loves the last page, which features a button she can push to play music to go with the Christmas scene.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Babushka’s Doll
Babushka’s Doll (By Patricia Polacco) – Natasha is impatient with her grandmother (Babushka). The little girl wants her Babushka to stop doing laundry and other chores around the house and come push her on the swing and fix her lunch. Babushka explains that she needs to do her chores first. Later, Natasha spots a doll up on the shelf. Babushka says that it was her doll when she was little, but she only played with her one time. Babushka lets Natasha play with the doll while she goes to the store. As soon as Babushka leaves, the doll comes to life and she and Natasha run outside to play. But Natasha soon gets a taste of her own medicine when the doll keeps whining to be pushed on the swing and demands to have lunch. Natasha tries to please the impatient doll, but the doll only whines and asks for more. When Babushka comes home, the doll is just a doll again. And Natasha says she doesn’t want to play with her anymore. As Babushka is putting the doll back on the shelf, the doll gives her a wink. Natasha turns out to be a nice child in the end. A great book for teaching children about manners.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: The Tiny Seed
The Tiny Seed (By Eric Carle) – Children may know that seeds can grow into flowers and plants, but this book explains the long journey of the seed beforehand. The story begins with several seeds being carried on the wind. But some seeds fall where they cannot grow. Other seeds are eaten by birds and mice. In the spring, the seeds that have survived grow into plants, but some don’t last because of weeds, running children or being picked. But one tiny seed manages to survive and it grows into a giant flower. And in the autumn, the wind blows hard and the flower’s seeds are blown off to start new plants. This book really helped my 5-year-old daughter understand how seeds grow into plants and then the plants release more seeds to make new plants.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
If your little girl wants to celebrate her birthday with a tea party, here’s a few ideas to get you started:
Games/Activities:
1. Sugar Cubes – Staying with the tea party theme, have the girls see who can stack the highest tower of sugar cubes.
2. Tissue Paper Flowers – Take 3 or 4 pieces of tissue paper laid in a stack, cut into a square and do an accordion fold back and forth over the length of the square. Cut the ends of the folded tissue into a triangle shape. Take the scissors and cut a triangular notch in the middle of the folded paper. Wrap a green pipe cleaner around the notch in the middle to make a stem. Fan out of the pieces of the tissue to make flower petals.
3. Scavenger Hunt – Like Alice in Wonderland, have the girls pretend they drank something to make them very small. Then plan a scavenger hunt around the house or yard where they look for party favors that are up high, for example at the top level of a swing set, hanging from a tree branch, etc.
Favors:
1. Tea Cups – Find mismatched tea cup and saucer sets for each guest. Set the table with them and have the girls use them during the party to drink caffeine-free tea, punch, juice, water, etc. Then let the girls take home the cup and saucer they used as a party favor.
Food/Decorations:
1. Set the Table – Make a fancy tea party by setting the table with a tablecloth, white doilies and real flowers as well as the tea party cups and saucers.
2. Tea Party Food – Make tea sandwiches by making ham and cheese, turkey and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cutting them into small pieces and putting frilly toothpicks into them. Cut up small pieces of cheese and put frilly toothpicks in them. Make fruit kabobs and mini cupcakes.
If your child wants to have a pony party, here’s a few ideas to get you started:
Activities:
1. Pin the Tail on the Pony – Here’s a classic party game that you can make yourself. On a poster board, draw a picture of a pony (a simple outline with eyes, mouth and mane added is fine) and then bundle lengths of brown yarn into “tails.” Give each child a tail and piece of tape. Blindfold them with a bandanna, spin them around and let the game begin.
2. Scavenger Hunt in the Hay – Hide piles of hay in different places around your yard. To keep the mess to a minimum, my friend put the hay in plastic wading pools she had borrowed from friends. Give the kids clues as to where the different piles of hay are located. Hide horse-themed trinkets in each spot so the kids can dig through the hay to find them. You could hide small plastic horses, horse finger puppets or horse stickers in the hay. Makes a great way for kids to find their party favors!
3. Rent a Pony – If it’s in your budget, find out if you can rent a pony to have at the party for pony rides. My friend rented one for her daughter’s fifth birthday and it was a huge hit with the kids. The kids took turns riding the pony – led by a trained professional – around the yard and neighborhood.
4. Hobby Horse Races – Almost everyone has a hobby horse, so before the party borrow them from your friends. At the party, have the kids “saddle up” and race around the yard.
Food:
My friend served apple slices and carrots for snacks since that’s what horses like to eat. She also bought horse-shaped cookie cutters to make horse-shaped sandwiches, cheese slices, etc.
