Learning How to Cross the Road

I am always bringing home new books for the kids. Books I bought at a garage sale, books I found at Salvation Army, books someone gave us. Books, books. books. My philosophy is that you can never have too many books. My husband teases me about it, and I just tease him that he needs to build me more bookcases, ha. With all these choices of reading material, it's easy to read a different book every day for the next 2 years. No, I am not exaggerating.

All of that to say that in order for my kids to request a single book over and over again means that they really, really like it. 

And this book, Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again that we received for review from Greene Bark Press was one such book.

This colorful board book, written by Ginger Pate and illustrated by Rhett Ransom Pennell, tells the tale of Wally Waddlewater learning to cross the street safely. He wants to mail a card to his grandma, but doesn't realize the dangers that are involved. Mama Waddlewater helps him on his journey across town to the mailbox. As each new obstacle arises, she reminds, "Look left, look right, make sure the _____ are out of sight. Remember then: look left again."

The fun rhyme, the cute cartoons, the silly story, and the catchy onomatopoeia make this story one that the kids love. They didn't understand at first why they should look left twice, though. Why not look right first, then left? I grabbed some play cars and a couple toy people and set it up like the book. They saw how we drive on the right side of the road, so when we cross, the closest cars are coming from the left. It made sense then, and they had fun acting out the story.

More than just the book though, I am impressed with Greene Bark Press. Their philosophy is that "the key to reading and language comprehension is the printed book." For kids to retain and understand new words and concepts at a rate in order to be successful, they need good imaginative books readily available. (See, honey, I need more bookcases!) The company sells only books they feel are imaginative, colorful, and have some value to add to the growth and learning process of young readers. They also offer products from manufacturers whose materials meet those same standards, including Melissa & Doug and International Playthings.

Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again costs $8.50 and is meant for ages 3-8. I knew my 1, 3, and 5-year-old would love the book, but was a little skeptical of my 7-year-old wanting to read it multiple times. Boy, was I wrong! He rushed right over each time I opened it up to read, and he even read it a couple times to his siblings himself. This book is a good teaching tool for road safety and traffic awareness. When we cross the street now, whether on foot or on bike, we recite the saying, look left, look right, look left again. It makes is more fun and a better reminder than just saying "make sure to look both ways."

Wally Waddlewater learned to cross the road safely, and he can help your child, too.

As always, you can read more reviews of this book from my crew mates on the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Things That Make Me Smile 8/30/13

Jake (7½), Alyssa (5), Zac (3½), Tyler (1)

Happy Friday! We're spending the weekend with family and friends and we have a lot of fun planned for next week, too. Have a great Labor Day weekend!


1. Zac: "Mommy, you're the best puller-weeder."

2. Zac: "I'm sitting on a thing that's under me."

3. Alyssa: "Sometimes when I eat too much, my tummy has a disappointment because it didn't want so much."

 4.

5. Zac, because Tyler kept getting in trouble: "We should put him in a little box and tape it up."

6. Jake: "Hey, Mom, could you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without hands in a minute?"

Me, chuckling: "I don't know."

Jake: "Me neither. That's why I asked."

7. Alyssa: "One day, can we go to the junk yard and get some stuff so we can make things?" 

8. Jake: "What do you think goes best with ice cream?"

Me: "Hmm . . . brownies."

Jake: "I think anything you make . . . well, any dessert you make . . . A hamburger! That would be good, but much better by itself."

9. Jake, while playing: "We only invite handsome and pretty people, and you're the prettiest person we've ever seen."

10. Making triple berry jam with a fairy princess.

11. Me: "I ate too much. I feel like I ate half a cow."
Zac, innocently: "You do? Can I feel?" {pushes on my leg and makes a confused face}

12. Alyssa, after running around in 90-degree weather: "I'm already sweating in my armpits! I didn't even know that girls could sweat in their armpits!"

13. Jake, looking in the mirror: "I'm having a staring contest with myself."


What made you smile this week?

Wordless Wednesday 8/28/13

Things That Make Me Smile 8/23/13

Jake (7½), Alyssa (5), Zac (3½), Tyler (1)

Happy Friday! It's been such a fun week - spent time with my brother and family, watched the kiddos try to catch their chickens and turkeys, went with them to the Armada fair, found some baby squirrels in our yard, baked a bunch of zucchini goodies, and enjoyed just being together.

1. Alyssa: "Tyler had his eyes open while we were praying!" 

2. Zac, while grocery shopping: "I smell something."

Me: "What do you smell?"

Zac: "The wind. I smell the wind."

3. Zac, after a turkey, that Leighton was holding, started flapping its wings and hit him in the face: "That's why God shouldn't have given them wings."

4.

5. Zac: "My shirt smells warm."

6. Alyssa: "I'm a fast washer-hander."

7. Zac: "Hey birdie!!!"

Me: "Zac, you can't yell at them."

Zac: "But I want the birdie to come here."

Me: "But if you yell, the birdies will be scared and just run away.

Zac: "You mean fly away?"

8. Alyssa read to me for 45 minutes, just because.

9. Zac, about his melting candy bar: "Can you wash it off?"

10. Zac, licking the sugar off the brown sugar bear: "What's this for?"

Me: "You get it wet and it keeps the brown sugar soft."

Zac: "I'm getting it wet for you!"

11. Jake, watching me apply makeup: "Are you wearing base?"

Me: ". . . Foundation?"

Jake: "Yeah, well, they mean the same thing."

12. Zac: "The moon is glow-in-the-dark."

13. Alyssa, helping Zac write his numbers: "It's a little crooked right here."

Me: "That's ok. He's still learning."

Alyssa: "I know. I'm just saying it's not perfect. And that's ok. I'm not perfect either."

Jake: "And I'm not perfect."

Me: "I'm not perfect either."

Alyssa: "Dad's perfect."

What made you smile this week?

Wordless Wednesday 8/21/13

Things That Make Me Smile 8/16/13

Jake (7½), Alyssa (5), Zac (3½), Tyler (1)

Happy Weekend! I've been trying to get this posted for days, but we've been having computer problems. Thankfully, my live-in tech guru (aka Leighton) fixed it last night. He's so handy.

Playing in the rain, making brownies, organizing, finding a caterpillar, and keeping up with Tyler - just some of the fun things we did this week. Did you have a good week, too?   


1. Jake: "What's that silly word on Mary Poppins?"

Me: "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

Jake, impressed: "Wow! I didn't know you actually knew how to say it."

2. Jake, while going to the bathroom, frustrated because Zac opened the door: "Zac, you're supposed to knock on the door before you open it to see if someone is in here!"

Zac: {closes the door, knocks, and opens the door} "Can I come in?"

3. Alyssa: "Will you open the jelly, please?"

Jake, opening it: "Why don't you make yourself some muscles?"

4.

5. Hearing Zac correcting the grammar of a 7-year-old neighbor boy.

6. Alyssa told me that she adjusted her doll "just like Papa does it."

7. Alyssa, while coloring: "Can snow be yellow?"

8. Alyssa, while learning to tie shoes: "I've already learned how to untie them by myself."

 9. Pandora commercial: ". . . It doesn't have to cost more . . ." 
Zac: "Yeah, it doesn't have to cost more. . . . hahaha, I was talking to him because he was talking to me!"

10.

11. Zac calling a stegosaurus a spikeosaurus.

12. Me, about picking (and eating!) the veggies from my parents' garden while they're on vacation: "It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it."
Zac, innocently: "But what if someone's already doing it?"

13. Zac, handing me a star "cookie": "Eat it for fake 'cause it's a playdough one."

14. Jake, while discussing his life's purpose: "I know why God made you and Dad. Because you're a perfect match."


What made you smile this week?

Tasty Tuesday: S'mores Brownies

National S'mores Day was this past Saturday.

So, you know what that means, right?

We had to celebrate!

We've made a few variations of the classic treat in the past: s'mores in the oven, s'mores bars with Golden Grahams, s'mores brownie bars, and s'mores ice cream. I wanted something different this time though.

I started with a box of brownie mix and went from there, adding some of this and a little bit of that. And then a bit more of this. My little ones helped, of course, and insured that it was very s'more-esque.

I popped our creation into the oven and sat down with the whole family to introduce the kiddos to Disney's Alice in Wonderland. We laughed at the White Rabbit. We laughed at Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum. We laughed at the Mad Hatter.

We laughed a lot.

And I checked on the brownies. And rechecked the brownies.

We didn't have any mini marshmallows, like I had originally wanted to use, so I cut regular marshmallows in half and placed them on top. I wasn't sure if they'd melt before they burned.

But there was no need to worry.

Everything melted into a delicious ooey-gooeyness.

 
And we were so sad when they were gone.

This is one will be making again. Soon.


S'mores Brownies
Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines Double Fudge Decadent Brownie Mix, prepared according to package directions
5 whole graham crackers, broken in pieces
13 regular marshmallows, cut in half
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix graham cracker pieces into prepared brownie mix and pour into greased 8X8 pan. Top with marshmallows and sprinkle on chocolate chips. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes, or until brownies are done. 


Notes:
You could use any brownie mix or recipe, really. The one I used makes a smaller batch. If you choose to use another, but bake in the same size pan, the brownie portion will be thicker. If you choose to use another, but bake in a larger pan, you'll need to add more of the other ingredients, as well. You can also substitute the regular marshmallows for the minis.