In our house bedtime was a marathon. What should have been an easy, calm routine became, shall we say, wild. It’s a challenge getting four kids to bed but, my husband was really the instigator. He took his role as the official bedtime reader seriously and liked to dramatize every story in the pile. Finally, […]
Family
At Home Field Day – 10 Ways to Play (plus a bonus)
What day of the school year do children most look forward to celebrating? That’s easy – FIELD DAY! Just because kids are now staying safe at home doesn’t mean that they can’t celebrate the end of the academic school year. Since so much learning is happening online these days, everyone is ready to get […]
If I Kiss You, Will I Get Diabetes? – a review
From time to time, life throws a new challenge your way. I remember the day that our son was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. A whole new road had to be maneuvered, new vocabulary learned, and meal planning became filled with extra importance. I wish back then that we had the book: If I […]
Under the Sea – mapping an unknown world
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea; Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh (author) Raúl Colón (illustrator) Simon & Schuster (2016) picture book biography grades Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea is a book for anyone interested in maps and map-making. It tells the story of Marie Tharp who,as a girl, loved maps. She […]
New Book to help celebrate National Adoption Day
Today I’d like to share a special book for those of us who have chosen international adoption as a way to build our families: Babies Come From Airports by Erin Dealy (author) and Luciana Navarra Powell (illustrator) “Some babies come from the hospital, Some babies come from airports, but all babies come from love.” This […]
Forest World by Margarita Engle – a Field Trip review #ownvoices #diversekidlit
There’s always reason to celebrate when a new book by U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate and author Margarita Engle is released. We are doubly fortunate this week because two new books have become available! Forest World (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) is her latest middle grade verse novel which follows the journey Cuban-born but U.S. raised Edver […]
Celebrate National Sisters Day with Books!
When I was nearly ten years old, my mother was pregnant with her fifth child. She went into labor when my father was out of town so his secretary whisked her to the hospital. My older brother, Bob, was left in charge. His way of caring for us was to lock us in our […]
Field Trip Notes: Staycation Edition
Looking back over my calendar I realized that I didn’t travel at all during the month of June. I am always going somewhere so this seemed really odd. I guess you could call it a stay-cation. First of all, the Kings River water was released from the dam. Since we have been in a drought […]
Celebrating a Miracle
Today as a year comes to a close and a new one begins, I am celebrating a miracle. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we gazed at a photo of a baby girl that we knew instantly was our daughter? Didn’t we just meet her at the Holt reception center in Seoul and bring her home? […]
Why Movember Makes November Even Better
I love November because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. This year, we found a new way to make the month even better. Have you heard of Movember? It began as No Shave November when men (mostly college males) stopped shaving for a month. In 1999, some young men came up with the term Movember when […]
What would the world be like if oak trees didn’t exist?
California’s Central Valley was once filled with beautiful valley oak trees. Many were cleared for farms and cities but, fortunately, people have come to appreciate these enormous trees and now do what they can to preserve them. I’m happy that we live where oak trees have long been protected and are part of our every […]
There’s always room at the family table… a celebration
As I join fellow bloggers to Celebrate this Week, I want to celebrate the table where our family has shared not only meals but our hopes and dreams for the past forty years. When the time came to empty our childhood home, my brothers, sister, and I each chose something special to keep. The only thing […]