Happy Birthday E (And Me)

We celebrated E's 13th birthday and my 47th this month!  E had a few close friends come over and stay the night and we had a fun little family gathering for mine.

E with her cake

David made E a fun cake

And he made me my favorite chocolate cake!

I love the Fall!  I hope you are enjoying the slightly cooler weather, I know I am!

Timberdoodle's Social Skills Activities for Ages 6-7 Book Review

I want to share with you a book on social skills I'm finishing up with G, Social Skills Activities for Ages 6-7.  This book is geared for kids 6-7 years old or 1st - 2nd grade.  Since this is an activities book, it is consumable so if you are wanting to use it with multiple children I would recommend getting one for each of them.

G with our book.

This workbook contains 75 activities or exercised for children to practice various social scenarios, helping them understand right and wrong!  I like that the activities are hands-on and that there is a lot to discus together.  Activity topics include making new friends and being a good friend, playing at your house or going to a friend's house, and etiquette for the classroom, lunchtime and playground just to name a few.

 

 Above you can see an example activity.

I love that the activity sheets are perforated so it's easy to remove the ones that G needs to cut and paste.

G's completed sheet.
 

G completing another activity.

 

As a homeschooler not all the activities were a perfect fit; however, we do attend a weekly CoOp so it was easy to apply them to that day or just discuss proper behavior in multiple situations.  G is a little on the older side for this book but I have really enjoyed having him work through it.  He is a fantastic reader so he has no problem reading the instructions and completing the activities fairly independently.  I like that it includes practical things like using scissors and pasting and I particularly enjoy the conversations we have with the various activities.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Social Skills Activities for Ages 6-7 in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

If You Like Apples

A Whale of a Time Review

I want to share with you today a fun book of poems from Timberdoodle, A Whale of a Time.  A Whale of a Time is geared for kids 7-10 years old or 2nd-5th grade.

This hardback book is so fun!  It contains funny poems for each day of the year (366 in total).  I love how it encourages children to listen to poetry while also introducing them to a plethora of poetic styles and forms.  The boys have found the poems to be short and amusing.  The vibrant illustrations found on double-page spreads are fun and engaging and created with various mediums - pen, pain, crayons, digital, etc.

 

Poems from August

 

The boys were exposed to various poems during their school last year so it is fun to pick up on that this year with our new book.  We plan to continue reading a poem a day as part of our homeschool curriculum.  I love that you can just jump in on whatever day it is, no need to wait for January 1st.  Also, you can just read the poem or discuss more in depth as you see fit.
 

 

I like that our book has an organized layout with a monthly index, above you can see the index for August, which is what we have been working our way through so far.  If you are looking for a kid-friendly poetry book with delightful artwork we highly recommend A Whale of a Time!

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received A Whale of a Time in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Hidden Systems Review

I have an amazing hardcover book to share with you from Timberdoodle, Hidden Systems.  Hidden Systems is published by Random House Graphic with 272 pages and is written and illustrated by Dan Nott.  Hidden Systems is recommended for kids 12-18 or 6th grade and up.

One of my absolute favorite books when I was younger was The Way Things Work by David Macaulay.  Imagine my delight when I saw David's endorsement for Hidden Systems, so fun!

Contents of our Book

So, what's a hidden system?  A hidden system is one that powers our everyday life but is something we rarely think about unless it fails.  This book explores 3 main hidden systems: the internet, electricity and water.  Nott's comic illustrations are truly masterful at breaking down large systems into smaller pieces emphasizing how we think about concepts, how they work, the history behind them and even the imagined future possibilities.

If you have ever wondered what's electricity?  What is the internet exactly?  How is there enough water for everyone?  This book is for you!  And even if you haven't, I am fairly confident you will find this book fun, entertaining, and your will learn a bit along the way!

The graphic format of this book keeps it light and engaging.  I like that it encourages the reader to ponder both the past and future of technology.  We highly recommend this thought provoking read.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Hidden Systems in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Happy 8th Birthday G

 

G turned 8 over the weekend!  We went on a family vacation to the beach to both celebrate him and get in one last hurrah as a family before A and B head off to college.

I love the cake the girls made him!  We took everything with us so he could still get a homemade cake.

He had a few fun presents as well!

Blowing out his candles!

Happy Birthday G, we love you so, so much!

When Stars Are Scattered Book Review

I want to share with you today a fun graphic novel from Timberdoodle, When Stars Are Scattered.  This book follows Omar and his brother Hassan's journey in an African refugee camp and is recommended for kids 10 and older or 5th grade and up.

D and E were the first ones in our family to read it.

This book dives into the refugee experience of Omar and his brother Hassan, who has developmental disabilities, and their foster mother.  This book is based on a true story and it really highlights the bond between siblings and the importance of family.

A peek inside our book

As many graphic novels, the illustrations are fun and really help tell the story along with the words.  Even reluctant readers will be drawn to the graphic novel style.  This story helps readers become aware of life with poverty, how valuable education really is, and the strength and importance of family.  There are some hard topics that come up that I think is great material for discussion and general conversations.  I'm looking forward to having F read it next and talk with him about it!  If you are looking for a fun, graphic novel, we recommend you pick this one up!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received When Stars Are Scattered in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.