Apple Poems For Kids

I ran across some old apple poems I used when I taught first grade the other day.  They brought back some fun memories, and they looked as old as they are (about 7  years, or so).  I need to update the look of the poems, but the words are still as fun and engaging as they were back then.  They make me want to sit down with a group of first graders and do a shared reading!

In a perfect world, I've have printables for all of the poems for you, but that's not quite going to happen.  At least you can see the words, and make your own copy of each one.

Poems are such a fun way to bring in a literary element to your holiday festivities!   I have all these memorized (even from 7 years ago) and will just repeat them to my boys every now and again.  Often times in the car, or when we need a little settling down time.

If you have a copy of the poems you can do a bit of shared reading with your little ones at home.  Have them point out letters they know, or do an "I spy" game with them.  You could also count how many times the word 'apple' is used in each poem.  Just be creative.  Help your little ones fin any letter, punctuation, word, anything literary they can find is great!  And leave the poems up where your kids will see them often.  You'll be amazed with what they'll catch on to just by seeing it frequently.

This last poem can go to the tune of "Ten Little Indians" so I guess it could qualify as a song, instead of a poem.  Songs are great because they're so quick and easy to memorize and are so engaging!

Happy apple rhyming!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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5 ABC Activities for Your Pre-Preschooler {@ Or So She Says}

It's so strange for me to have all my boys in some form of school away from home this year.  Well, at least for about 6 more weeks.  Then I'll have a tiny one at home with me, but he won't be in need of any alphabet practice just yet.

I thought before I put some of our favorite ABC learning activities away for awhile, it would be fun to share them with you.  I know kids as young as 2 can start preschool these days, but we've only ever done one year with our boys.  The former teacher in me loves doing simple activities as home to prepare them for the schooling they'll receive, and I promise your kids will LOVE these! 

I'm over at Or So She Says today with 5 simple alphabet activities you can do with your  pre-preschooler at home.  I used some of these when I taught, and some are ones I've discovered as a mom.  So, come and visit me for all 5 activities, supplies, and how-to (click here for my entire post).

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Library Card Lanyard

I don't know about your family, but we LOVE our local library!  It's a great place to spend some time on a hot summer day.  My boys have become very thorough when it comes to picking out their books, so we can easily be there for an hour or more!

I have no complaints about our library trips (I really love them!), but I have become slightly frustrated with the whole "everyone keeping track of his own library card" issue.  My twins are old enough to have their own cards, and my four-year-old uses mine.  They are very particular about being in charge of their OWN cards, which I love!  I love how much they value their cards, and how it's teaching them to be responsible for their own things.  Well, they are little boys, and they are young, so needless to say, we've lost a few cards over our library-visiting years.  We also have a bit of a struggle when we get to the self check-out (a huge hit with my boys!).  They have to dig and dig to the bottom of their book-filled library bags to find the tiny little library card that can easily get lost in the pages of books.  I needed a library card solution!  

Then one day I stumbled upon my solution as I was walking down the office supply isle at Walmart.  I saw the clear plastic badge holders that are often attached to lanyards.  They were the perfect size, inexpensive, and we could stick the library cards inside them , hang them around my boys' necks, and have an easy-to-find, safe place for their cards. Happy day!

Like I said I found the clear badge holders in the office supply isle of Walmart, and they had lanyards (what I really wanted) but they were all out.  For the pictures, I ended up using one of my boy's Skylander dog tag chains.  It actually worked really well, and we do have three of them already, so we might stick with them. 

And, of course I had to make a cute label for the front of the card holder.  I made the label in PicMonkey, cut it out, then attached it to some scrapbook paper.  I then adhered it to the outside of the plastic badge holder.  I think I'll also put a layer of Mod Podge over the whole thing, so it's a bit more durable.  Then the library card can just be tucked inside the pocket, and you're good to go!  

I can't wait to put these to use next time we make a library run.  Last time we ended up at the library with only one of the three cards.  We had 48 books to check out, and only one child card, which meant 12 books could be checked out.  So, we left a big pile at the front desk, ran home to find the other two cards on the hallway floor, then returned to the library to check out the remaining books.  Hopefully our library card lanyards will help us avoid such adventures!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Favorite How to Draw Books for Kids

We gave my twins a How To Draw book for Christmas this past year, and it has proven to be one of those surprise gifts that gets used all the time!

As much fun as toys are, I like my boys to get books, art supplies, games, etc... for gifts.  I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way.

Anyway, we shopped and searched reviews around Amazon when ordering the book for our boys, and I have to tell you we totally hit the jackpot!  These books (we only have the monster one right now, but we'll for sure be adding to our collection!) are absolutely perfect for young kids.  My twins are seven and my four-year-old can even do many of the monsters with a bit of help from me.  The steps (six for each monster) are simple and easy to follow.  We've tried a few other drawing books, and my boys just get frustrated because the steps are so complicated.  Not these!  So, so easy!

This is one of my twin's latest monsters.  We try to draw something every day while on summer vacation, and with 101 monsters, they have plenty to keep them busy!

Here's my other twins' favorite monster. Their new technique is to sketch with pencil, then outline with black marker before adding the color.  I LOVE how these turn out!   I could even make a pretty good/scary looking monster with these books!

And last, but certainly not least is my four-year-old's monster.  He was determined to do what brothers were doing, but I was worried he'd just end up frustrated because he couldn't do it.  Well, I was wrong!  I did have to sit with him and kind of talk him through each step, but look what he was able to do.  He was so thrilled, and so was I!

You can find these 101 How to Draw books on Amazon for about $5 (awesome price!).  There is a fairy one that I'm sure my boys wouldn't go for, but I tempted to buy it for myself!

Happy drawing!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Happy Is The Family…. {Reading Printable}

I love books!  Which is kind of funny because I don't consider myself an avid reader, but I love them just the same.  I love collecting them, reading with my boys, watching them learn to read, and simply enriching everyday life with books.

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Someday when I have my dream home, I hope to have a small library of some kind.  I'm willing to sacrifice several rooms (formal dining rooms, living rooms, laundry room,...) to make it happen if I needed.  I love the idea of having a place to go, be peaceful, comfortable, and get lost in an amazing tale.  And this will be the quote I'll have in our library.  Isn't it sweet?  I love how President Kimball used the word companions in the quote.  And I know the happiness that I feel whenever I'm relishing the pages of a book by myself, or with my boys.  The perfect way to spend some time!

Here are a few good books we've been enjoying at our house lately.

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What good books have you been enjoying lately?

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Garden Books for Kids {@ Or So She Says}

Happy Tuesday to you all!  We are finally experiencing some sunshine here in Utah.  It seems like the past few weeks have been nothing but cold, wind, clouds, and rain.  But that kind of weather just makes you appreciate the sunshine and warmth that much more!

Today I'm over at Or So She Says with a list of our favorite children's books for the garden.  Does summertime mean garden time at your house?  It sure does for us.  I look forward to it every year, and so do my boys.  I can't count the benefits of gardening together as a family.  They're countless!!  And I always love to build upon the activities we're doing with great books.  So, stop by and visit (click here to do so) to check out our list.

And just because I can't get enough of them, here's a few pictures of life in the garden.  Some of my most cherished memories comes from here!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

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Favorite Children's Authors Series {Mo Willems}

My husband and I had a rare quite evening at Target a few weekends ago, and while he was being very thorough on choosing a new shaver, I started roaming the book isles. 

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Since I haven't been a teacher for well over seven years, I feel a bit out of the children's book loop.  I used to know all of the new books that were out, and collected more than I probably needed.  I still try to keep my eye out for new books my boys would enjoy, but I'm not quite as current as I used to be.

Well, as always, thanks goodness for Target!  They had Mo Willems latest book (I didn't even know he had a new one out), The Pigeon Needs A Bath!  I had to pick it up and read the whole book right then and there.  The thing I love about Mo's books is that they make me laugh just as hard as my boys, and often times harder.  The pigeon is a crack up!  

My boys (and all of my first graders when I taught) first fell in love with Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus because it's so interactive.  The pigeon is trying to convince you, as the reader, to let him drive a bus that the bus driver specifically said the pigeon many not touch!  I can still hear my first graders yelling, "NO!" to the pigeon.

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From there Mo's followed up with several other Pigeon books such as:

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I love them all!  These books are definitely worth adding to your home library, or keep your eye out for them when you're at your local library.  They're also really easy to read, and because they'll want you to read the pigeon books to them over and over again, young readers will be able to read these books independently before you know it.  I still remember my twins "reading" (even if it's memorized it counts as the early developmental stages of reading) this book to their baby brother when they were only three.  Priceless!

Mo Willems has other books, but the pigeon is by far my favorite!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.