All Hallow's Eve

Thanks to my hubby for this one.

The night before Halloween has been known forever as All Hallow's Eve. Neil Gaiman, an author, realized there weren't enough holidays for people to receive books... So he decided to create one.

But rather than have me tell you all about it, I'll have him tell you about All Hallow's Read himself.

I think it's a great idea and hubby and I celebrated it today with Sweetpea and our nieces.

We think everyone should celebrate it!


-- Posted on the run from my iPhone

Great American Teach-In

Yesterday was the Great American Teach-In at our area schools. It's a day for adults to teach kids about their professions, their hobbies, their heritage... just about anything.

Sweetpea's school had quite a few interesting things. A Native American dressed in full garb and bearing many items that Native Americans use - he even did some dances for the kids. A man who lived in Australia for many years brought along some of his items and things he learned - including a didgeridoo. A woman came to talk about traveling. One man did cool science experiments. One man came in to talk about being a chef... just to name a few.

My friend The EcoChic also spent some time at her son's school talking about recycling.

I spent the day volunteering also. Now, mind you, I certainly wasn't as exciting as some of the guests, but I did what I enjoy - reading. I had Sweetpea help me pick out one of her favorite books (including the stuffed friend that goes with it) and I went in and read to five 1st Grade classes and two 2nd Grade classes. The book was called "Duck Soup" by Jackie Urbanovic. All the kids seemed to really enjoy it - and I knew they were actually listening when they laughed at the appropriate spots, "eww"ed at the appropriate spots and clapped and thanked me when I was done.

Reading is one of my family's favorite hobbies and I was glad to have the opportunity to pass along that hobby to so many kids.

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

Thanks to my good friend The EcoChic, I have recently joined forces with a site for book review bloggers.
They send me books, I read them and blog about them. It's that easy!

So, be on the lookout. I have requested my first book from Thomas Nelson and will most certainly have my review up as soon as I have finished reading it!

She did it!

Sweetpea really worked hard at her reading this summer and it has paid off. She accepted and, as of this evening, officially completed the Reading with the Rays Summer Reading program!

Next step is to turn in her completed game card for that ticket to a Rays Game!

I am so proud of her! My little girl is growing up.




-- Posted on the run from my iPhone

Book Swap

Since I haven't been able to do much the last couple of days because of my bum knee, I've been spending my time laying on the couch with my laptop just surfing the web. In my travels I came across a website called Paperback Swap: Your source for swapping books online - read, swap, save!

Basically, you post the books on the site that you have to swap and other members do the same. You can then do a search of available books and choose a book or two you want to read. The owner of the book gets an email that their book has been requested and they mail it out to you. And vice versa if one of your books is requested. For each book you mail out, you get a "credit". You can request books up to the number of credits you have. The only cost, for now, for using this site is the postage needed to mail out the books.

I registered myself last night and posted two books (I have plenty more but in my state, I could only post the ones I had laying right by me LOL) and already I have a request for one of my books!

We have a house full of books since hubby, Sweetpea and myself all love to read - I think this is a great way to share the love of books and an inexpensive (practically free) way to get new ones!

If you are a true book lover, I think this is the perfect site for you to check out for yourself!

Summer Reading - Update

I know I just talked about this the other day, but I just found out about another, cool reading program for those kids who love baseball and our Tampa Bay Rays!

It's called the Reading with the Rays program and it's sponsored by the Pinellas County Library Cooperative and the St. Petersburg Times.

Head to your library today and get your kids to pick out their favorite books. Read enough and they can get tickets to a Rays game!

Summer Reading

One of the most important things I keep telling Sweetpea is that just because it's summer, doesn't mean the learning stops - especially the reading.

In my family, we believe that one of the most important things we can teach our kids is the enjoyment of books and reading. If you can read, you can go anywhere and do anything. Every book is a different adventure. You can learn about anything you can read about. It is one of our favorite pastimes.

I have found that both Borders and Barnes & Noble have summer reading challenges to keep kids in the groove:

Borders Kids Reading Challenge!

Kids 12 and under must read any 8 books and then list the books they've read on the Reading Challenge Worksheet, signed by a parent/guardian.

Then just bring the completed worksheet to any Borders or Waldenbooks store between May 26 and August 31 to save 50% or more on selected items!

I do have a problem with this one though. I checked it out and the kids have a choice of only 6-8 items and the majority of them are learn to draw books or puzzles. Not really following along with the whole reading theme... doesn't make sense to me.

Barnes & Noble 2009 Summer Reading Program

Your child will need to read 8 books of their own choosing. They will use the Summer Reading Journal to write about their favorite part of each book. A parent/guardian signs the journal when it's complete. Then just bring their completed Reading Journal to a Barnes & Noble store between May 26th & September 7th, 2009 and get a coupon for a FREE book!

These are only a couple that I have come across. You may want to check with some of your other local book stores. Or, the best place, your local libraries. They usually have some summer reading fun programs - and there is never a shortage of books.

I hope your kids enjoy their summer - and their time reading.

Reading Bug

I missed a magical moment this morning with my not-so-little girl. Hubby told me about it and I just had to share.

Her new favorite thing to do is read. And not just storybooks. They have to be "chapter books".
She had been reading a particular book all weekend and had one chapter left so the first thing she wanted to do when she got up this morning was finish that book.
Unfortunately, she didn't have time before school since she had to go to before care - but Daddy told her she could take it with her.

She got to school and instead of saying hi to her Rec Supervisor like she usually does, she ran right by her to go sit down to read!
Miss A asked if she was upset about something and Daddy proudly told her "No. She's just reading a really good book that she wants to finish"

That's my girl!




-- Posted on the run from my iPhone