A Jump Start…

…And Back Behind the Wheel

I’m back! When I realized I the other day that it was early December last time I posted, I was shocked! And then again, I wasn’t. Just before the holidays, I shared my desire to release the overwhelmedfeelings that result from trying to do EVERYTHING and instead focus on doing SOME THINGS to satisfaction. I gave myself permission to not feel guilty about not sticking to a posting schedule. I successfully let go of the guilt, but I missed the creative outlet, the feeling of accomplishment every time I posted something I was proud of, and especially the interaction and inspiration of the blog community I’ve become a part of. I also discovered that while I didn’t want to commit to unrewarding activities just because I “should,” the commitment of a schedule is good for me, blogging or otherwise. I knew I wanted to get back to my blog, but without a schedule it kept becoming another thing “I’ll do tomorrow.”

Inspiration by Mail

In a serendipitous session of late night blog-browsing, I came across Amanda’s idea at The Educator’s Spin on It for an exchange of book and activity packs. Besides being a fabulous and fun idea, it was just the thing to put me back on a schedule and get me back in the bloggy-pool. So if you’ve read this far, thanks for the personal indulgence and now on to the good stuff:

What We Got

Our package came from Robyn at Pen Pals and PictureBooks. She sent us a copy of Lois Ehlert’s Fish Eyes. It’s an eye-catching counting book that lends itself to artistic expression as well as a variety of language and math skills. 

The package also included glue, paintbrushes, tubes of glitter, and construction paper fish. Her note pointed us to a recent post that featured her own experience with Fish Eyes. Like all Ehlert books, the colors and patterns are vivid, and while they don’t sparkle, glitter seems only appropriate in an attempt to capture the bright illustrations. The boys went to town with their glue “paint.” B experimented with patterns and stripes, while T favored abstract dots. I couldn’t help but decorate one myself… glitter is hard to resist! 

Fish Eyes provides a visually stimulating counting practice, but it doesn’t stop there. Each fish in the counted group has a cut-out circle for an eye, through which the color of the next page is visible. Because each number group is featured on a two-page spread, some of the cut-outs are on each side. We used counted the holes on each side and then practiced addition facts to determine the number of the total group (ie. 3 holes on the right plus 4 holes on the left equals 7 fish eyes). Ehlert also makes use of many vivid verbs to describe the number groups, offering opportunities for vocabulary development. The rhyming text calls upon the reader to consider what he might wish for. (Would he be a fish?) B decided it would be fun to be a fish as long as he knew he could turn back into a person. We very much enjoyed both the story and the art, and we are grateful to both Robyn for sending it and Amanda for the organization and jump-start!

**Don’t know if it was coincidence or careful planning on Amanda’s part, but our package went to the other half of Pen Pals, Whitney. We sent her a copy of The Alphabet Tree (the same one B gifted to his kindergartenteacher) along with some letter stamps and bug building supplies. Check out theadorable trees she created!

Appropriate for toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.

[steering wheel photo credit kenski1970 on flickr]

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In a continued effort to honor my commitment to simplicity (see last week) I am not going to stress myself out by composing a post in an already too full week. I am also honoring my commitment to spend more time visiting and promoting those who are committed to my link up, so if you didn't link last week, I'm adding a week to the linky. Go HERE and link to your book review - then go make some new friends!

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Feed Me Books Friday: The Cupboard Was Bare

Sunday morning, T woke up with a congested nose and a cough. This afternoon his pediatrician said his cough will probably linger and I should use a saline rinse in his nose, but he's otherwise just fine. In the three-and-a-half days in between, we had two trips to urgent care, an ambulance ride to the ER, diagnoses of respiratory distress and pneumonia, two nights in the hospital, seemingly countless nebulizer treatments, and some major disruptions to our household. We are grateful to be on the recovering end of this little curve-ball life threw at us, but I can't say we are quite back to normal. 
I am behind on visiting the friendly and talented folks who link their posts and leave comments here. I have no review prepared for this week, and while I could stay up tonight and write something, I'm going to trust that my readers will afford me the luxury of catching up on sleep now, and catching up on blogging later. I do have a request of you though: B has been coming home from kindergarten reciting nursery rhymes (Three Little Kittens, Jack and Jill, etc) and I'd love to encourage his interest. There are any number of collections and anthologies of nursery rhymes, but I'm wondering if anyone has a favorite? Best collection? Best illustrations? Some other intriguing reason? 
For those who loyally visit and link up every week, I am including a link tool in this post, and I hope you'll visit one another until I can get caught up and make the rounds. 
Counting my blessings and soon some zzzz's.

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Happy Birthday Johnny

Can You Put Candles in a Pie?

Monday is the birthday of John Chapman, known in American folklore as Johnny Appleseed for his efforts to propagate apple orchards across the country. Tonight the boys and I attended a Johnny Appleseed celebration hosted by our school district, where we got to measure, sort, wash, peel, eat, and paint with apples! 
An Apple a Day...
Is apparently what I should have been having. Tonight I am kicking myself for not having a "rainy day" review post ready to publish like a good blogger should. Am I alone in this? At any rate, I'm fighting some back-to-school bug and lack-luster in the energy department, so this will be a short and sweet post.
Birthday Suggestions

If you're going to celebrate Johnny Appleseed day, you might enjoy Steven Kellogg's version of the tall tale, Johnny Appleseed. The text is a pretty standard re-telling, but Kellogg's illustrations are (as usual) so detailed, vivid, and unique, that they invite further discussion and are a feast for the eyes. A recent library choice that turned out to be nice timing is The Apple Pie that Papa Baked, by Lauren Thompson. It tells the story of a pie's creation and baking from the daughter's perspective in the familiar cumulative style of "The house that Jack built."

I'm off to bed, but I do hope you'll share your own reviews and choices for the week. I'm resolved to catch up on my Feed Me Books link comments this weekend, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the sites of some friends I've missed!

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What’s Your Party Style?

Are you a mingler? Do you hover at the buffet? Mix the cocktails? A wallflower? First to arrive or fashionably late? I’m usually still prepping at the last minute (‘cause I have one. more. thing. to do) whether I’m a host or a guest. I am not a wallflower, but I’m more likely to stick with a friend rather than striking out on my own to meet new people. Thankfully, both of these traits fit in just fine at the Ultimate Blog Party! I can join anytime, all week! And, I can meet lots of interesting new people from the comfort of my computer screen!


Nice to Meet You!

 

If you haven’t been here before, welcome! I’m Anne. I’m a stay-at-home mom to two boys, 1 and 4 years old. I loved the years I spent teaching public school, but feel blessed to take a career-hiatus and enjoy these formative years at home. Want to know more about my start as a blogger? Visit my background page.


At Little Sprout Books, you’ll find book reviews and recommendations (along with the occasional supplementary craft or activity) that are not only entertaining but also have the potential to spur children’s development in the cognitive, social-emotional, or physical domains. Want to know more about developmental milestones? Check out these references. For a more thorough description of how I select books, read my first post.


Feed Me Books Friday is a weekly link-up celebrating great children’s books. I love celebrating holidays with books, remembering vacations with books, and I’m a sucker for a great bedtime book.


Enough About Me…


I’m so excited to start hopping all the amazing links already up at 5 minutes 4 mom. If you’re a blogger and not linked up yet – it’s not too late to join the party and enter for some awesome prizes. If you’re visiting from the party – thanks for stopping by! Hope you’ll stick around! Become a fan on facebook if you like your updates there, follow via Google Friend Connect, or subscribe in your favorite RSS reader or email!

Be sure to leave a comment and a link so I can visit you too!

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Five Books Feature

A fellow blogger I am always inspired by, Vanessa of Silly Eagle Books, has crafted a way to free up some time for the baby due any day now, introduce some other blogs she enjoys, and feature great books all at the same time! (Can you see why she inspires me?)

She's featuring a different blogger and 5 noteworthy book picks each week - not necessarily a Top 5, but rather stand-outs in some way. I am humbled she has chosen to feature me in her series, so please stop over at the 5 Books Feature today and show Vanessa some comment love! And, if you connect with any of my picks, I hope you'll come back here and let me know!

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Apples, Apples, Everywhere

Two Apple Projects, One Apple Book, and a Gift
Between Back-to-School season and the arrival of harvest time, it seems apples are in abundance in the stores as well as the blogosphere. See in particular, Little Page Turners and Welcome to our Wonderland. B had an apple project to complete for his first day of preschool, so, inspired by all the apple reading and crafting going on in my Google reader, I pulled out a story I’d been holding on to for fall to get us in an apple-y mood.


Reading about Apples, Cooking, Geography

I am a baking hobbyist, so when I saw the title of How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, I was intrigued. The story begins with the premise that baking an apple pie is quite easy and requires just a few simple ingredients. However, an adventure ensues when the local market is closed and ingredients must be found elsewhere. The narrator advises the reader (who is represented in the illustrations by a young lady) that she should travel to Italy, Sri Lanka, and France, among other places to procure the best of each item required for baking. The last stop is Vermont for apples, followed by milling flour, churning butter, evaporating seawater for salt, and other not so simple tasks. Finally the pie is baked and ready to share with friends. A recipe for apple pie is included at the end, and maps of the journey decorate the front and back interior pages. There are so many opportunities for cognitive development in this book – following directions in a recipe, learning about food production, (wheat to flour, milk to butter, etc.) and learning about the world around us and local specialties. I’m excited to go find the sister book, How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A.!


Apple Project #1


Using the super-simple and kid friendly recipe from How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, B and I started on our pie project.

We measured and mixed the pastry (with our fingers – fun!).

Using pre-sliced organic apples from Costco was a shortcut – I peeled the slices, then he used his plastic “knife” to chop them into bite size pieces before mixing with cinnamon-sugar.

The pie was filled and baked, and we shared it with our friends: Grandma, Papa, and Great-Grandma (on grandparents’ day)!


Apple Project #2


Feeling apple-y, we moved on to our second apple project, which was to be completed prior to B’s first day of preschool. At summer registration, each child was given an apple to decorate and bring to school to add to the class tree. The apples were about 6”x8” printed on glossy cardstock. B chose to use stickers to put his name on his apple, then added 4 red felt circles with brown stems and green leaves a la glitter glue. He also gave the apple a face with googley eyes and a yarn mouth.


The Gift

I’d seen mention of meet-the-teacher gifts on a couple blogs. I have to point out, I was never the recipient of a first-day gift in my teaching days, but I know middle school is different than preschool, so I did a little searching. I found plenty of crafts – some cheesy, some adorable, but few I had the time or energy for on the day before school started. (Yes, this was a last minute thought.) Then I found a post on 2CleverBlog about gifting a book to your teacher – right up our alley! The suggestion is that the child gives his teacher a book that connects to something he did over the summer, thereby introducing himself and connecting with the teacher. Perfect! I had recently picked up a copy of Planting a Rainbow after being introduced to it over at Red Ted Art! We checked it out from the library and enjoyed it enough to purchase, so it turned into our teacher gift and I’ll purchase another copy for B and T to remember our summer garden. B’s teacher was pleased by the gift (and his note) and B had a fantastic first day.

How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World is appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades.


Come Play at the We Play link up!

I’m also linking up with the Book Lover’s Blog Hop at Story Time Under the Stars and

The Back to School Link Party at ABC and 123


Come back to Little Sprout Books on Friday for Feed Me Books Friday!

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Meeting Other Book-Bloggers

So I came across a new-to-me blog this week, Crazy for Books, which has a weekly link-up to help book bloggers get to know one another and spread the word about their blogs. Each week a question is posted for bloggers to respond to in a post, then link up to see one another's responses.

I found this week's question great: "Link up a favorite post or review in the last three months." What's cool about this link-up is it should be a way to get a taste of all the best work! I'm linking up a recent post, and excited about going to "meet" some new friends. You might want to check it out too!

I decided to link up my review of Sunflower House, from last month, because it is about the benefit of sharing books through blogging!

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Why Sharing Books is Great

A Solution for a Sad Boy

Proud B with his blooms

Back in April, B got a little kit from the library for earth day to grow a sunflower. They packaged together a repurposed water bottle, some soil, and two sunflower seeds. We started them on the kitchen counter, and when they were tall enough to transplant, moved them to a pot on the patio. He was so enamored by their rapid growth that we added a few more seeds to the pot to see how fast they’d catch up. When his sunflowers bloomed, he was delighted. But now that the first planted have begun to wilt, he is distressed. The fragility of life and the passage of seasons are hard cognitive concepts for preschoolers (and their mommies). A book comes to my rescue again! And this time, it is thanks to all the great sharing and recommendations that flow among my book-loving blog pals.


Blog + Library = Perfect Book

A couple weeks ago, Ginny Marie shared Eve Bunting’s Sunflower House over at her blog, Lemon Drop Pie. I was attracted to it simply because of the sunflowers on our patio, so I put it on the request list from the library. It arrived just in time for the wilting incident. A few days ago, we went to play out back and B discovered the leaves were drooping and turning brown on his two tallest sunflowers. I tried to explain that they couldn’t last after the summer, and that we could plant more, but he was hardly placated. So that afternoon at naptime I retrieved Sunflower House from the library bag and we sat down to check it out together. Bunting’s tells the story of another boy’s sunflower garden in soft, conversational text that rhymes without becoming too bouncy. The boy and his father plant sunflower seeds in a circle, and he and his friends are able to enjoy the house it creates all summer, pretending to be animals, having picnics, and even camping out. When the sunflowers wilt and bend, the friends attempt to fix it with string, sticks, and glue, all to no avail. Then they realize they can harvest the seeds from the puffy blooms to save for a new house next spring. My favorite line from the book: “It’s neat to think when something’s gone a part of it goes on and on.” B and I harvested a few seeds from our sunflowers, and the positive message at the end of the book was a real help to me in quelling his disappointment.


Have you ever come across the perfect book at just the right time?


Appropriate for: toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades


(I’m still on vacation, but if I have internet access, I’ll be linking up with What My Child is Reading this Week)


Come back Friday to link up your recommendations at Feed Me Books Friday!

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