Kids Book Club: Stone Fox

Book Review:

Stone Fox, by John Reynolds, is one of my favorite books and it makes me cry every time I read it. It is very short, only taking about 45 minutes for my sons and me to read. The book tells the story of Little Willy, a ten-year-old boy who lives on a potato farm in Wisconsin with his grandfather. One morning, his grandfather won’t get out of bed after sinking into a deep depression about how much money he owes in back taxes. Little Willy decides to enter a dog sled race against Stone Fox, and Indian that has never lost a race, in order to win the money needed to save both the farm and his grandpa.

Discussion Questions:

1. Where/when does this story take place? Would you have liked to live back then?

2. Why wouldn’t Willy’s grandfather get out of bed?  

3. What would have happened if Willy didn't earn $500?

4. Would you have been able to take care of a farm by yourself?

5. Who was Stone Fox? Was he nice or mean?

6. Where did Willy get the money to enter the dogsled race? Do you think he made a good decision?

7. How did Willy’s age and size help him in the race?

8. What did you think about the end of the race? Did you expect that to happen?

9. Do you think Willy’s grandpa got better?

10. What was your favorite part of the book/least favorite part? Why?

Food:

We ate potato chips, since Willy and his grandpa live on a potato farm, and Sno-Caps, since the story takes place in the snow.

Activities:

1. An Art Project: The kids made origami dogs and popsicle stick dog sleds. The dogs ended up being much more complicated than I’d anticipated, so only a couple kids actually finished them.

 

2. Physical Activity: We went outside and had dogsled races. I tied a rope to our wagon handle and the handle on a baby car. Kids had to sit on the car/wagon while another kid pulled them across the yard. It was pretty funny to watch, and the kids loved it.

Storytime: Letter A

I run Storytime at the Penguin Bookshop and thought it would be fun to share my Storytime plans. While my Storytime is open to all ages, I do gear toward the younger crowd because a lot of 1 and 2 year olds attend. A few of these ideas are my own, but the majority I borrow from my favorite Storytime websites, which include Storytime Katie, Sunflower Storytime, Dog Earned Storytime, and Library Village.

Welcome Song:

            (to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)

            We clap and sing hello,

            We clap and sing hello,

            With our friends at Storytime,

            We clap and sing hello!

            (wave, stomp, march, wiggle, blink, waddle)

Alphabet Song: Use shakers while singing!

Introduce Letter:

  •             Show kids a flashcard of the letter A.

  •             Sing “The A says aaa, the A says aaa, every letter makes a sound, the A says aaa.”

Book 1: Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie

Activity: “The Ants Go Marching”

  •             (I made ant puppets and we marched as we sang)

            The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!

            The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!

            The ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to suck his thumb

            And they all go marching down to the ground, to get out of the rain

            Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom

            (Two by two – the little one stops to tie his shoe; Three by three – the little one stops to             climb a tree)

Book 2: At the Apple Orchard (Pat the Bunny)

Activity: “Five Little Monkeys Swinging in a Tree”

  •             Five little monkey swinging in a tree

            Teasing Mr. Alligator, can’t catch me, you can’t catch me!

            Along comes Mr. Alligator, as quiet as can be

            And snaps that monkey right out of the tree!

            (Four little monkeys…count down to one)

Book 3: Alligator Alphabet

Review: Show letter flashcard and say the sound again

Craft: Letter A alligator

ABC See, Hear, Do: Learn to Read 55 Words

Hi everyone! Exciting news! My book ABC, See, Hear, Do: Learn to Read 55 Words is now available on Amazon or at your local bookstore.

If you have a child that is ready to learn alphabet sounds and early reading skills, this is the book for you! This method of learning to read is simple, effective, and fun.

For each letter, teach your child the sound the letter makes, not the letter name. Cute animal pictures help teach a hand motion to go with each sound, so your child will see, hear, and “do” the sounds. For all you teacher-types, this process incorporates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning modalities to teach phonemic awareness. The combination of so many learning styles makes learning and remembering the sounds much easier. And after learning only the first four letter sounds, your child can practice blending sounds together to form words.

This book is not only great for parents, it is a great resource for storytime, preschool, or other school settings.

If you do buy my book and use it, I would love your feedback on Amazon or Goodreads. Thanks in advance for your support!

Happy reading!

Storytime: Letter C

I run Storytime at the Penguin Bookshop and thought it would be fun to share my Storytime plans. While my Storytime is open to all ages, I do gear toward the younger crowd because a lot of 1 and 2 year olds attend. A few of these ideas are my own, but the majority I borrow from my favorite Storytime websites, which include Storytime Katie, Sunflower Storytime, Dog Earned Storytime, and Library Village.

Welcome Song:

            (to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)

            We clap and sing hello,

            We clap and sing hello,

            With our friends at Storytime,

            We clap and sing hello!

            (wave, stomp, march, wiggle, blink, waddle)

Alphabet Song: Use shakers while singing!

Introduce Letter:

  • Show kids a flashcard of the letter C.

  • Sing “The C says ccc, the C says ccc, every letter makes a sound, the C says ccc.”

Book 1: They All Saw a Cat

Activity: Sort Objects

  • I brought in a bunch of small toys from home and instructed the kids to sort them into piles of objects that started with c and objects ones that didn’t start with c.

Book 2: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

 

Activity: Feed the Caterpillar

  • I made a caterpillar out of an old oatmeal container and put a slit in the lid for its mouth. Then I color-copied the food items from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, laminated them, and had the kids “feed” the caterpillar as I read the story a second time.

Book 3: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Review: Show letter flashcard and say the sound again

Craft: Letter C caterpillar

Kids Book Club: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Book Review:

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and at this point, none of my kids were into it. L My seven-year-old wanted to watch the movie, so I said we had to read the book first, and then we could have a Harry Potter party. I’m sneaky that way. It was a little frustrating reading it to him, because he had a billion questions and when we missed reading for a few nights, he would end up confused about who everyone was. But we did finish in the end and he liked it. For the party, we invited kids aged 5-10 to come. Everyone had to come dressed in a Harry Potter outfit – we ended up with quite a few Hermiones and even a Voldemort.

Discussion Questions:

1.     Which magical subject would you be most excited to study at Hogwarts, and why?

2.     Which of the Hogwarts houses do you think the sorting hat would place you in? Why?

3.     If you could pick one of the many animals described in this text to be your pet (including Mrs. Norris, Scabbers, Hedwig, Norbert, Fang, or Fluffy) which would you choose and why? What do people's choices in pets reveal about them?

4.     Do you agree with Hermione that "friendship and bravery" are "more important things" than "books" or "cleverness" (16.288-89)? Why or why not?

5.     Who is the most evil person in this book? What makes a person/character evil?

6.     Who do you think the most courageous character is? How is courage defined in this text?

7.     If you looked into the Mirror of Erised, what would you see? What do you think Dumbledore actually saw when he looked into the Mirror?

8.     How would Harry be different if Dumbledore had decided that he should be raised in the magical world, instead of with the Dursleys? Did Dumbledore make the right decision?

(Questions from shmoop.com)

Food:

We ate pizza and chocolate frogs (you can buy a mold on Amazon)

IMG_1942.JPG

Activities:

We sorted everyone with the sorting hat, painted wands, played Quidditch in the back yard, and then watched the movie. For Quidditch, I hung up hula-hoops on either side of the yard. I colored a ping pong ball in with a yellow sharpie for the snitch and hid it in the yard. I used two soft black balls as bludgers and a red soccer ball as the quaffle. I divided the kids into two teams and gave them positions. They had to throw the red quaffle through the hula hoops to score points and if they got hit with a black ball, they had to sit down for thirty seconds. The game ended when the seekers found the snitch. We were able to play a couple of times. By the end the game turned into a huge dodgeball match: my husband vs. all the kids. It was pretty hilarious.

 

Storytime: Letter M

I run Storytime at the Penguin Bookshop and thought it would be fun to share my Storytime plans. While my Storytime is open to all ages, I do gear toward the younger crowd because a lot of 1 and 2 year olds attend. A few of these ideas are my own, but the majority I borrow from my favorite Storytime websites, which include Storytime Katie, Sunflower Storytime, Dog Earned Storytime, and Library Village.

Welcome Song:

(to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)

            We clap and sing hello,

            We clap and sing hello,

            With our friends at Storytime,

            We clap and sing hello!

            (wave, stomp, march, wiggle)

Alphabet Song:

  • Use shakers while singing!

Introduce Letter:

  • Show kids a flashcard of the letter M.

  • Sing “The M says mmm, the M says mmm, every letter makes a sound, the M says mmm.”

Book 1: Goodnight Moon

Activity: “Monkey See, Monkey Do”

  • Monkey see, monkey do,

          Little monkey in the zoo

          Monkey, monkey in a tree

         Can you jump around like me?

         (swing tail, clap hands, nod head, chatter, sit down)

Book 2: My Teacher is a Monster

Activity: “Monster, Monster”

  • Monster, monster, turn around

          Monster, monster, touch the ground

          Monster, monster, reach up high

          Monster, monster, touch the sky

          Monster, monster, touch your nose

          Monster, monster, grab your toes

          Monster, monster, touch your knees

          Monster, monster, sit down please

Book 3: Moo!

Review: Show letter flashcard and say the sound again

Craft: Letter M mouse

Kids Book Club: Magic Tree House #9: Dolphins at Daybreak

Book Review:

Dolphins at Daybreak by Mary Pope Osborn is the 9th book in the Magic Tree House series. In it, Jack and Annie land by the ocean and get in a mini submarine to explore the coral reef. They run into dolphins, an octopus, and sharks! This book was a fun adventure and a great way to learn about the coral reef.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. How do Jack and Annie become Master Librarians? Would you want to be a Master Librarian?

2. Where did Jack and Annie get taken in the tree house? Have you ever been anywhere like that?

3. What are some of the creatures that live around coral reefs?  

4. When the children read the ship’s log, what did they learn about the sub? Would you have freaked out or stayed calm?

5. Why were they scared to swim in the water? Would you have been scared?

6. Did Jack tell Annie about the dark fin in the water? Why?

7. Why did Jack and Annie turn onto their backs and float? Have you ever had to swim for a long time and had to rest by floating on your back?

8. What helped Jack and Annie get to the coral reef? 

9. What can be found inside the oyster shell? How does a pearl form?

10. What was the answer to the riddle? Did you figure it out?

Questions from: http://www.risetoreading.com/2012/09/18/comprehension-questions-9-dolphins-at-daybreak/

 

Food Ideas:

Swedish fish, goldfish, gummy sharks

 

Activity:

We did three activities.

1. An art project: gave each kid blue construction paper and had them glue sand on it to form a beach. Then, using markers and ocean/fish stickers, they made an underwater scene. Afterwards, we taped clear blue paper over it to look like water.

2. Physical activity: played “Sharks and Jack and Annie” (sharks and minnows) in the sprinkler. Two kids were sharks and everyone else was either Jack, Annie, or a Dolphin.

3. Group art: painted an underwater mural of a picture from the book. I drew the picture on butcher paper and the kids all painted it.

 

Printable Stoplight Behavior Chart

Check out my newest creation on Etsy!

www.etsy.com/shop/stefhohlcreations

A lot of teachers use a behavior chart similar to this in their classrooms. You just write your child's name on a clothespin and move it up or down according to their behavior. 

Yes, I've used this with my kids. And it didn't take long for them to realize that getting to "Reward!" was a lot better than getting to "Oh No!" Try it out and let me know if it works for you!

Pittsburgh Moms Blog

I'm happy to announce that I will be a contributor for the upcoming Pittsburgh Moms Blog! This blog will have posts Monday-Friday from moms in the Pittsburgh area. The website launches March 30th, but our Facebook fan page is active now! Like us on Facebook and help us reach our goal of 1,000 likes by launch day. There will also be a lot of giveaways during launch week, so stay tuned!

https://www.facebook.com/pittsburghmomsblog

Kids Book Club: Magic Tree House #8 Midnight on the Moon

After starting my Mother/Daughter Book Club, my boys were, of course, jealous. They saw we had treats, and they wanted in. So I decided to start a book club that was geared more toward my boys, though we also invited girls to participate. I ran all of these book clubs myself, charged a dollar or two for supplies, and parents were welcome to drop their kids off if they were old enough or stay if their kids were on the younger side. I found this a great way to get my boys interested in reading and I think the kids all had a lot of fun!

Book Review:

Midnight on the Moon is the 8th book in Mary Pope Osborn’s The Magic Tree House books. This time, the magic tree house lands in a space center, so Jack and Annie don spacesuits and walk on the moon! They meet a mysterious moon man and ride in a moon buggy. I love The Magic Tree House books, and this one is fabulous for learning about the moon.

Discussion Questions:

1.     Where did Jack and Annie go in the tree house? Would you like to go to the moon?

2.     How did Jack feel as he walked around in his suit? What do you think it would feel like to wear a spacesuit?

3.     What was the blue and white ball that glowed far away? How would it feel to see Earth from the moon?

4.     Jack always wants to read his book first and Annie wants to go experience things. Are you more like Jack or Annie?

5.     How did Jack communicate with the moon man? Have you ever had to communicate with someone who didn’t speak the same language as you?

6.     What did Jack draw on the star map? What did the constellation look like? Do you know how to recognize any constellations?

7.     What was the fourth special thing? What were the other three things? How were they related?

8.     Who was Peanut? Were you surprised or did guess that?

9.      If you could go in the magic tree house, where would you want to go?

Food Ideas:

We had sugar cookies with star and moon sprinkles on them, and red, white and blue rocket popsicles.

Activity:

We did three activities. 1. An art project: gave each kid a piece of black posterboard and had them glue a Styrofoam disc onto it as the moon. Then they poked craters in the moon with the back of a paintbrush. Last, they painted or drew stars on the black paper to make a night sky. 2. Physical Activity: each child took a turn putting on large snow boots and a helmet and jumping on the trampoline to see what it was like walking on the moon. 3. Group art: painted a cardboard spaceship. It was awesome.

Mother/Daughter Book Club: The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place

Book Review:

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, by Julie Berry, is a fun murder mystery set in Victorian England. Seven girls attend a finishing school and in one night, their headmistress and her brother die suddenly and mysteriously. The clever group of girls decides to cover up their deaths to enjoy the freedom of living on their own. My daughter doesn’t like books that involve death (which we seem to read a lot of!), so she was a little weary as we started this book. But the book is lighthearted and fun, so she ended up loving it.

Discussion Questions:

Instead of discussing the book this time, we had the special treat of a question and answer session with the author! I took a workshop from Julie Berry in June, and she agreed to Facetime with the girls during our book group. It was such a cool experience. The girls asked her all sorts of questions about why she included certain things in the book, about the writing and revision process, how she did her research for the book, etc. Julie was wonderful and so great with the girls. It was awesome.

Here are some discussion questions:

1.     Which girl did you like the best? Who did you like the least? Which character are you most similar to?

2.     What do you think it would be like to go to a finishing school?

3.     Would you have agreed with Kitty and thought it was a good idea to cover up the two deaths?

4.     What was your favorite part of the book? Your least favorite part?

5.     Did you figure out who the murderer was? If not, who did you think it was?

6.     What did you think about the names for the girls? Did you like that they all had a label?

7.     Did you figure out who Julius was?

8.     Did you like the ending?

9.     Would you like to live on your own, without adults?

Food Ideas:

We had a strawberry social of course! We drank pink lemonade, and enjoyed a giant bowl of strawberries with fruit dip, biscuits, and a bowl of chocolates.

Activity:

The girls learned to cross-stitch a strawberry. I found small cross-stitch hoops at the craft store for 75 cents, so each girl could take it home to finish it. (They only completed about two rows of the strawberry that night.) Only two of the girls had ever tried cross-stitching before, so it was a new experience for most of them, and they all enjoyed it.