Page Turning Mondays: Bubba the Cowboy Prince

Hey y’all! Ginger here with a new Page Turning Monday post!! I promise I haven’t forgot about them, just haven’t had much blogging time lately. So while we are making our trip back from vacation I thought I would try to get some post done 🙂

Today’s book is:

Written by Helen Ketteman and illustrated by James Warhola.

This books was originally referred to me by my daughter’s preschool teacher and then by chance a sweet friend borrowed it from the library and brought it over to read to my daughter last summer.

This is a fun fairytale that reverses the Cinderella story. A boy named Bubba lives on a ranch with his mean step dad and step brothers who make him do all the work. Then when a beautiful cowgirl is having a dance to find herself a cowboy Bubba isn’t allowed to go….but then something magical happens and he makes it! There is a twist that is different than Cinderella, but to find out you need to read the story!!

For some fun to go along with this story….

-Act out the story with your little one. Whether you have a girl or a boy or both, they will love acting out this cute story.
-Dress up like a cowboy and/or cowgirl.
-Go online and print off some cute coloring pages of cowboys and cowgirls. You can do this by a simple Google search.
-Use this as a time to talk about the west. Teach your little one about cowboys, cowgirls, ranches, farming, and gardening.
-If you have access to it take your little one on a field trip to a farm, let them see what ranchers do.
-I created a board on Pinterest with craft ideas a click here should take you there.

Well that’s all I have for this book.

Until next time,
Ginger

DIY Days: A Reading Tent

Hola y’all. Ginger here with another DIY day.

Today is making a reading tent.  This is the first thing I ever pinned on Pinterest and after making it,I must say we have loved it!

The one I saw on Pinterest was made from a shower curtain,I however used a sheet because it was cheaper than a cloth shower curtain.

You will need:
A sheet or shower curtain(I used a full size flat sheet that I found at Wal-Mart for$8.50)
A hula hoop(dollar store is the cheapest)
And whatever you want to use to hang it. (I used fishing line-free from my husband, shower curtain rings $1 at Dollar General, and a metal hook that has a screw on the end-free, was stuck in a cabinet when we bought our house)
Whatever you want to use as seating for the inside. I used my daughter’s old crib mattress and various pillows she has gotten over the years.

I simply took the sheet, folded it over the hula hoop and used straight pins to hold it in place.   Then I used my sewing machine to stitch around it and removed the pins.

It’s not a pretty job, but it works 🙂

Then I placed shower curtain rings in four places, tied fishing line through the rings and then hung those on a metal hook that screwed into the ceiling.

The tada! A fun reading tent for us to enjoy.

For a little added fun I put glow in the dark stars on the wall opposite the tent, this has led to some fun snuggle time on the dark 🙂

Well I hope this post has helped you have fun making a reading tent!

Until next time,
Ginger

Page-Turning Monday’s: Any and All Books by Dr. SEUSS

Hey y’all! Jennifer here with a new Page Turning Post….yes I know it’s Friday, but this weekend is Dr. Suess birthday!!!! This may not seem very important, I know. But it is. So I’m bothering telling you so.

So today’s book is….ANYTHING and EVERYTHING by Dr. Suess.

We love reading his stories!  They are so much fun! The rhymes are always fun and lead to smiles.  And the stories usually have a good lesson to teach to both young and old.

My current favorite is The Lorax.  It has a quote that is so inspiring to me. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not!”  Oh how that quote can be applied to do many different things. Imagine if we all had that mentality, especially in caring about others salvation, and problems.

There are so many fun activities to do with your little one with all of his books.  A simple search on Pinterest will give you craft ideas, snack ideas, hand print ideas, dress up ideas, the possibilities are endless! You could even combine the book with a movie night!! I highly recommend The Lorax!

So go to the library, go to the store, go online…..go somewhere and get some of these wonderful stories to share with your child! They may learn a life lesson and you may to!

Well I hope you enjoyed this post and don’t forget to do something to make someone smile today…..like give them a Dr. Suess book!

Until next time,
Jennifer

Page-Turning Mondays: Herbert the Timid Dragon

Hey y’all!

Jenn here with today’s Page-Turning Monday post. Today’s book is:

Written by Mercer Mayer

This is a fun story about a timid dragon who wants nothing more than to be brave knight, and one day he goes out searching for adventure! He finds a princess who needs help, and things do not go as planned……but in the end it all works out!

I really enjoyed this book (but I have loved everything I have read by Mercer Mayer). It has a fun story with entertaining pictures and it will appeal to girls and boys alike! It has everything-a dragon, a princess, brave knights, dueling kingdoms, and of course a happy ending 🙂

Hmmm now….activities…..lets see

-I would break out the cardboard and definitely make a shield and sword for your little one to be a brave knight. Or break out the crown and fancy dress for your little one to be a princess.
-Act out the story! Who wouldn’t love pretending to be a dragon!!
-Combine this story with learning about the letter D. Make it “D for dragon”. -*You could make a dragon out of the letter D. Just follow the Pinterest instructions for D for Dinosaur and alter it a little by adding smoke and/or fire coming out of its nose/mouth.
*You could work on the “dr” blend with dragon and dress (princesses dress)
-Talk about what it means to be timid. Explain to your child how some people are more timid than others. Talk about getting out of your shell and having an “adventure”.
-Go on an adventure with your little one. It may just be a nature walk through the woods, yard, or down Main Street, but let your imaginations run wild…..let them carry their “sword” for protection or wear their princess dress. When you are pretending the possibilities are endless!

I am sure you could find more things via Pinterest or google!

I hope you enjoy this book as much as we did!

Until next time,
Jenn

Page-Turning Mondays: Never Tease a Weasel

Hey all!! Jenn here with your latest Page Turning Monday post!!

Today’s book is:

Written by Jean Conder Soule and Illustrated by Denman Hampson.

This book was given to us by a friend and it is one of our absolute FAVORITES! I love books with fun rhymes and this one has tons! I have struggled with how to explain the story so I decided I would give you an exert:

You could make a goat a coat
With a collar trimmed in mink;
Or give a pig a wig
In a dainty shade of pink

But never tease a weasel;
This is very good advice.
A weasel will not like it
And teasing isn’t nice!

….see!! So much fun! I definitely recommend checking this book out! I love reading this story and my daughter loves hearing it (and randomly reciting parts of it)

Now for some things to go along with it:

-This book would be a great tool to use when working on rhyming words with your little one. You could read a page and then have your little one tell you the words that rhymed.

-This book has lots of small words that a beginning reader can sound out. Go through the story and let your little one practice their reading. You can read the story together.

-Talk about teasing and how it isn’t nice. Go over examples of teasing and talk about how it hurts people’s feelings. Discuss how it would make your little one feel if they were being teased, and how they don’t want to make someone else feel that way.

-Explain to them that teasing isn’t something that Jesus would do, and that we want to be like Him.

-Go over ways for your little one to handle being teased. Talk to them about confronting the person teasing them with talking and not by getting physical. Remind them they can talk to you about anything and they can pray anytime anywhere to God.

-Work on teaching them that teasing behind someone’s back (gossiping) is just as bad and shouldn’t be done. Point out what the Bible says about backbiting an gossiping.

Well that’s all I have, but I am sure you can come up with more!

Don’t forget to do something to make someone smile today!

Until next time,
Jennifer

Page-Turning Mondays: We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt

Hey all! It’s Jenn here with your latest Page-Turning Monday Post. Well it is nearing one of my favorite holidays, HALLOWEEN!!! Seriously, I love it! And I love reading Halloween stories to my daughter, so to go along with that:

Today’s book is:

Adapted by Kris Hirschmann and Illustrated by Bryan Langdo.

This is an adorable adaptation of the classic “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” and a must read for Halloween or even around the campfire!

It follows the tune of Going on a Bear Hunt, except you go on a ghost hunt. So you go over creaking bridges, through swamps, and of course into a haunted house where you find GHOST!!!

My daughter and I LOVE this book! We have so much fun reading it and I think you and your little ones will enjoy it as well.

Now for some activities:

-There is of course singing the story and acting it out.

-My daughter loved simply cutting holes in a sheet last year and wearing it around pretending to be a ghost.

-I would also do some ghost crafts. There is such an abundance of them! Some of my favorites have been footprint ghost which we sent to grandparents as Halloween cards last year, milk jug ghost, and the ever simple trash bag ghosts to hang from trees.

-This would be a good time to discuss that ghost are not real and remember all kids are different! Mine has no fear of anything Halloween related (probably because I love it so and she has grown up with the decor and helping decorate), but some kids may be scared of ghost so be careful when talking about them.

-You can check out last years post G is for Ghost to see some ghostly fun we had!

-And as always a simple Pinterest or Google search will not disappoint for crafts and fun to have for ghost.

Well I hope you enjoy this story and have a wonderfully fun Halloween!!

Until next time,
Jennifer

Page Turning Mondays: Aliens in Underpants Save the World

Hola all!! Jenn here with your latest Page-Turning Monday post.

Today’s book is:

Written by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort.

This is such a fun book to read! It is about aliens who love underpants and come to earth to get them when they are in need, but one day earth is threatened by a meteorite! So the aliens quickly jump into action and save the world! With its fun rhymes, cute illustrations, and funny story I am sure your little one will love this story as much as mine!

Now for some alien and underpants fun!! I don’t have a ton of ideas for this book, but I am sure a Pinterest search for Aliens in Underpants wouldn’t disappoint!

– Talk about aliens. Discuss with your child life on other planets, what science has found, and what you personally believe.

– Talk about the different planets and their distance from earth, this will depend on the age of your little one. If you little one is big enough this would be a fun time to decorate some styrofoam balls and create planets!

– Have your little one draw or paint pictures of aliens, either from the book or their imagination.

– Talk about astronauts and pretend to be one! Make something into a spaceship and fly somewhere! (Boxes that are still in my basement come to mind)

– You may even be able to use this story for potty training! Making that transition to “underpants”-Look the aliens do it 🙂

Well those are my ideas and I am sure you can come up with more!

Don’t forget to do something to make someone smile today!

Love,
Jennifer