Rainy Days and Mondays

I missed the April showers, but in my neck of the woods May is actually one of the wettest months on average, so if your May is rainy too, here are some of my favorite rainy day books titles, just for you.

• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema - One of my all time favorite stories, especially for a rainy day. The repetition in this book is great for phonological awareness and pre-reading skill development.
• Just a Thunderstorm by Gina and Mercer Mayer - Little Critters can get scared by thunderstorms some times, this story shows how Little Critter and family deal with a storm.
• Lila and the Secret of Rain by David Conway and Jude Daly - If you like Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain then you will love this book too. It tells the story of how a Masai girl saves her village from drought.
• One Big Rain: Poems for Rainy Days compiled by Rita Gray - This book has poems for all the seasons, rain and shine. It is a good book for developing phonological awareness, as well as for teaching poetry.
• Rain Dance by Kathi Appelt - This short and simple rhyming book is great for 0-3 year olds as well as early readers. It help introduce numbers as well as having some great word choice!
• Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons - Gail Gibbons is an excellent author of children's non-fiction and this book does not disappoint. This book was one of my favorite weather books growing up, and it still holds up today.
• Wet Weather: Rain Showers and Snowfall by Jonathan D. Kahl - This is a great non-fiction book about the water cycle and precipitation, especially good for older kids.

Even though I love the rain and we need those showers every year for the plants to grow and for the water we all drink, it is also worth remembering those in the Midwest and South who have been hit hard by the weather so far this spring. Check out the Red Cross for information on how your family can donate money and supplies to the victims of the tornadoes and floods.

Final Foliage of Fall

Around the country the brilliant colors of fall foliage are beginning to wane, as the last of the autumn leaves flitter to the ground and the trees brace themselves for the winter that is on the way. But there is still some time to get out this week to enjoy the changing seasons! Here are some books to inspire your adventures:

For your beginning reader, Little Critter: The Fall Festival is a great book, with big lettering and easy to sound out words along with descriptive pictures, all with the childhood favorite Little Critter and his family celebrating the harvest season.

The Little Yellow Leaf is another good one for early readers to read along with their grown-ups. The illustrations are great artisitically, and might inspire some craft ideas - in addition the story is a great tale about friendship and taking leaps of faith.

For the more scientific and curious child What Happens in Fall? by Sara L. Latta, from the series I Like the Seasons! does a great job of explaining what causes the leaves to change colors and fall, why the weather gets cooler, the days shorter, and how animals prepare for the coming winter.

Translated from Japanese, Hooray for Fall! tells the story of three little squirrels discovering the beauty of autumn's colors.

Last but not least - We're Going on a Leaf Hunt takes the classic children's chanting game "Going on a Bear Hunt" and gives it a fall twist. The children in the story hunt for the leaves of different trees squish-squashing their way through the woods - and it is their adventure that is the inspiration for today's activity: Leaf Collage!

Go out on a nature walk in a nearby park or forrested area with a well-marked trail. On the way observe the animals gathering nuts and berries for the winter and take some time to gather your art supplies. Pine needles, grasses and especially the fallen leaves of a variety of trees all make good choices for your collages. You may need to dry and flatten your leaves before you can use them for your craft project by putting them between sheets of paper towel and laying a heavy book or two on top for about half an hour. Then use crayons, markers, colored pencils, water color etc. to draw your scene if you wish. Or you can do an abstract collection. Whatever you choose, white school glue or glue dots work the best for sticking your collected flora to your paper. Most importantly, have fun, be creative and take some time to enjoy Mother Nature!

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow . . . . .

Here in Colorado it is snowing again. I love the snow. Last year we didn't get a measurable snow until November, this year we have had two in October and I have loved it! Most snow books seem to revolve around Christmas, it is hard to find some just about the changing seasons - but I've managed it.

Snow Party by Harriet Zeifert tells the story of snow people who gather to celebrate the first snow of the season. Late at night while the snow falls around them, the snow people kick up their heels.

The Winter Visitors by Karol Hayes may be short on words but it is long on story. A simple read due to its low word count and simple word choice, it tells much more story through the pictures which appear in multiple frames per page like a comic or graphic novel. It is a great book for little ones to use their imaginations and practice their story telling by explaining to you what is going on in the pictures - a story within a story.

Last but not least Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart tells a simple story of how many animals make it through the winter. For instance, did you know that the wood frog can freeze solid under the snow and survive to thaw out and hop happily away come spring?

Now my family had a tradition that the first solid freeze or the first snow of the year we would have homemade chilli for dinner and a fire in the fireplace. Perhaps this is the year to start a tradition of your own, maybe chilli like my family did or perhaps pumpkin bread, candle making, s'mores, chicken noodle soup, meatloaf or chicken pot pie. The sky is the limit, use your family's tastes and your own favorite comfort foods and activities as your guide.

Over the River and Through the Woods . . .

I love camping.

Next to reading a great book, it's probably my favorite thing to do.


Growing up my family and I took camping trips to many of the National Parks and innumerable state parks. I learned to fish, start a fire, build a fort, toast the perfect marshmallow and play spades, about wild animals, poison ivy and geology. For a curious kid camping trips are the best!


BUT

Sometimes, and especially here in Colorado, the weather just gets in the way of plans. Quite literally raining on the parade.

So when you can't go camping outdoors, bring the adventure in - and take a good book (or five) along for the ride!


You can set up a tent indoors, or even better: build one together out of sheets and assorted furniture:




If you have a fire place, build a "camp" fire to roast marshmallows! If this is a dinner time camp-out, try the recipe below for one of my favorite kid and camp-stove friendly meals. Then it's time to snuggle up in the tent, wrap up in a blanket or bed down in a sleeping bag for story time!

My all-time favorite camping book: Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera B. Williams. It's the story of a family float trip down the river in a book that looks more like an illustrated scrapbook than a traditional children's book. As bonuses it has a couple camp recipes and even teaches you how to tie knots!

Some other good picks:

• Curious George Goes Camping


• S is for S'mores: A Camping Alphabet (This one also has great info for grown ups!)


• Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping


• The Boy Scouts Book of Campfire Stories

But there are SO many to choose from. An Amazon search for Children's Books about camping produced 8,309 results! A search of the local Denver Public Library system yielded 168 books in their collection. These include tales from many of your favorite characters and series like Caillou, Maisy and Little Critter.

So next time you're ready to gear up for an outdoor adventure but the weather just won't cooperate - Take an adventure with a good book instead!

Recipe for Hobo Pockets:

The recipe for hobo pockets is - there is no recipe, just ingredients! Older kids can help cut the veggies, and everyone puts the ingredients of their choice onto a square of aluminum foil. Grown-ups then fold the foil into little packets, and place the packets in a 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Ingredients (mix and match as desired):

• ground beef or turkey
• cut russet potatoes
• spring onions or pearl onions
• cut carrots
• herbs (parsley, sage, thyme)
• seasoning salt
• peas
• sweet corn
• mushrooms
• cut celery
• salt and pepper

My personal favorite: beef with potatoes, pearl onions, peas, mushrooms, herbs and a dash of seasoning salt. Experiment with your own tastes and have fun!