Book Review- Chapter Book, Award winner

Chapter book for fourth to fifth graders. "Bridge to Terabithia," by Katherine Paterson. Winner of Newbery Medal. This book is about the friendship between a boy and a girl. They initially bond because they both can run fast. They build an imaginary kingdom, Terabithia, where they reign as king and queen. This book is very well written, however it has a sad ending. When I read this book as a child I didn't like that there was a death. To me this death was different than reading some fantasy book where someone dies. This death seemed more real.

Movie Review

Movie Title: The Sand Lot. Comedy. Rated PG. A new boy in the neighborhood joins the rest of the boys at the local sand lot to play baseball. A ball sails over a fence into the yard of vicious dog. What happens next is quite entertaining. This is an excellent movie for boys who like baseball.

Home Tip- For Candlestick Wax

My sister-in-law told me about this one. For wax that has melted on candlesticks. Put candlestick in the freezer for an hour or two. (Make sure you can put your candlestick in the freezer without ruining it.) When wax has frozen on the candlestick it is easy to pick off. Or you can try putting an ice cube against the candlestick wax. Let wax harden. Then flick it off carefully from candlestick. I take no responsibility if your candlestick gets ruined or breaks! Mine haven't ever gotten ruined by doing this, but you're on your own.

Science Day

When we've tasted a particular food and then SEE it again we know what to expect taste wise. But what if we CAN'T see the food before we taste it? Can we still discern what it is? Experiment: See if blindfolded your child can figure out what you give them to eat.
What you'll need: Different foods, a spoon, and a blindfold. The blindfold can be a handkerchief, or make one by cutting up an old cotton shirt.
Blind fold your child. Make sure it does not cover their nose or mouth. Place a piece of food on their tongue using the spoon. Use only foods your child has had before and you know for sure they aren't allergic to. Try blah foods first: Carrot or celery cubes or lettuce… Try a small slice of onion, pickle, or a dab of mild mustard. Then try cheese, yogurt, chocolate, mashed potatoes or mashed grapes or strawberries. Have fun. When your child has had enough, they can try this experiment on you if you're game.

Picture Book Review

"My Food Pyramid," by Alisha Niehaus. Illustrations by Dave Williams.
It's important to teach children to make the right eating choices. This book not only gives the USDA food pyramid, but it tells children how many serving they should have of the six food groups. Grains. Vegetables. Fruits. Milk. Meat and Beans. Oils. It gives little interesting facts like, though beans are a vegetable they have lots of protein, therefore they count as a meat. It's not an exciting book, but do remember since it's a book about grains and vegetables you should cut it some slack. It does its main job well. To inform kids on what to eat and how much.

Movie Review

Movie Title: Stuart Little. Children's movie. Rated PG (But to me it should be a mild PG). Based on the children's book by E.B. White. Two parents Mr. and Mrs. Little adopt a brother for their son so he won't be so lonely. They name the new family member Stuart. But Stuart isn't a regular son. He's a mouse. However he's the sweetest mouse any family could want. Stuart lives like a human, wearing clothes and eating at the dinner table. There's one problem though, the family's cat doesn't like Stuart. He would like to eat poor Stuart. Many fun adventures occur. It's a cute movie. Michael J. Fox does a fine job as the voice of Stuart Little.

Parenting Article- Finding a parenting blog

1) Pick a parenting blog that has information relating to your child's age group. If you find a blog for parents of teens and you have a five-year-old, this parenting blog is not currently going to help you. Unless of course you have both a teen and a five-old-year.

2) Find a parenting blog that meets your needs. On the top of the blog it should say what the blog is about or what kind of information it shares. If you find a blog that says it gives bi-weekly tips and articles on raising girls, and you have a boy, you might want to pass on this blog. Unless it also has something else of value for you. Maybe on Fridays it gives nutrition tips, or posts simple dinner recipes. If this appeals to you, then just read Friday posts.

3) If you have a child with behavioral issues do not read a blog that is basically a parent bragging about how great their kid is. This could be frustrating for you. You should Google many blogs which share pertinent information on helping parents deal with childhood behavioral issues. Pick at least a couple of blogs relating directly to your child's issue. I.e, ADD or ADHD. Read a few to see what the parenting advice is like. Pick ones that fit your style of parenting. Or ones that give advice you actually might follow through with. You can always keep reading more than one blog. Compare advice. If you desire a blog where parents leave comments on what has worked for them, check for this at the bottom of the article or post. Also, look at past parenting articles. This is a gem mine for information!

4) Do not dismiss parenting blogs that might give you little nuggets of great information. Let us say while looking for a blog that posts family movie reviews you stumble upon a blog that has articles about environmental issues which can impact kids. If you suddenly decide, hey I like that, but you do not want to read this blog every week then check out it once a month. Click on only the posts relating to this issue.

5) Find a blog whose writer has values or outlooks similar to yours. If you are an atheist or lesbian hippie you might not want to read a blog written by a conservative Christian mom who believes in having all her P and Q's in place. Unless you find you like her decorating tips or the arts and craft projects she posts. But do not get peeved if you read her parenting advice which might relate in someway to the Bible. It's her blog. If you don't like it, move on. When choosing a blog ask yourself, do you like the blog master's followers? This is an interesting point to consider. I know someone who liked a particular blog but stopped reading it because a follower kept making what she thought were stupid comments. With so many blogs out there it is easy enough to stop reading one and to find another. Do not let blog posts or comments rain on your day.