After a few weeks off due to camp and our all too brief vacation, J returned to making dinner this week.  Tacos were on the menu last night.  She consulted one of my cookbooks for the idea, but we just used ground beef, a packet of taco seasoning, hard shells, and then added our own toppings, including shredded cheese.  J had never tried the hard shell tacos before this.  She always orders soft ones when we eat out, so this was new for her.  She liked them a lot.   They're so easy to make, something different, and everyone likes them!

J wanted me to read "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix for some time now.  I had some time the last 2 days to finally read it.  J's 5th grade teacher read it to the class this past year, along with the second book in the series.  The book talks about a place where families are only allowed to have 2 children.  Luke, the main character, is a forbidden 3rd child in his family, so he is constantly in hiding in his own home.  As the land next to his farm is cleared to make way for a new housing development, Luke is forced to watch from the crack in the roof of the attic, where his bedroom is located.  Luke observes the construction and the families moving in, realizing that they are all much more well off than his own family.  The most important discovery Luke makes from his viewing spot is the existence of another "shadow child" like himself.  He creates a plan to meet her, and that's where the action in the book really takes off.  I won't reveal any more in the plot here, but I can highly recommend the book.  J was surprised to learn that there are places in the world where families are limited in the amount of children they may have (like China).  This is especially meaningful for our family since I have a sister who is adopted from China.  Since J hadn't discussed these things in her class, it really created another dimension for her to understand the situation there more fully.  You can learn more about the book, the series, and the author at www.haddixbooks.com

I feel like we are already counting the days until school will start and have already shopped for many school supplies.  Argh.  Where is the summer going?  Hope you are all enjoying the days as they fly by.

Thanks for reading!

J had the opportunity to spend the day with a good friend, which allowed me some one on one time with K.  Although I still (and probably always will) think of her as my baby, I realize she is 5 years old now, and growing up.  I don't stress as much about building in educational things with her, mostly because she asks about 10,000 questions a day.  I figure me answering all of that is educational in itself.  Seriously, there just seem to be millions of chances to build learning for her every day, so I try to take advantage of the little moments. 

I would like to say a special thank you to the wonderful people at Crayola, who provided our arts and crafts activities today.  Since I was quite tired from lack of sleep the previous night, I was not in a very inventive mood.  We colored with those fabulous Color Wonder markers--you know, the ones that only work on the special paper.  For those looking for extra bling, there are now sets with glitter that you can "paint" over your picture for added pizazz.  Our set features Tinkerbell.  We gave her the proper glitter treatment in her portraits today.

We also used a Crayola Model Magic kit which allowed us to build an alien like creature.  You covered a plastic base with the Model Magic clay, then used a tool to create little dots and starts to attach to the outside of the creature.   You can find more activities, free coloring pages, and product information at www.crayola.com. 

Maybe the best part of doing these things together was just the chance to talk about things.  Of course, a 5 year old's thought process is quite random, but that's part of the charm.  I realized there's a lot going on in that little head when she asked me why Catrina (the baby caterpillar on the Oswald TV show) doesn't ever grow up and become a butterfly. 

Finally, a book recommendation.  K and I both love the Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney.  We've read Llama Llama Mad at Mama and Llama Llama Misses Mama.  "Misses Mama" talks about going to preschool for the first time.  Although K has attended preschool, she's asking a lot of questions about kindergarten, so this fits our life nicely right now.  "Mad at Mama" was recommended by my sister.  In this one, the little llama must run errands with Mama, but gets impatient.  He eventually throws a fit in the store.  Mama Llama calms him, has him help clean the mess, and then treats him to ice cream.  My sister points out that she needed to remind her son that little llama gets the ice cream BECAUSE he cleaned up, not because he made the mess.  Both books have rhyming prose that's fun to hear, and the pictures are really cute.  Check them out at your local library.

I guess my own little caterpillar is turning into a butterfly before my eyes.  This is just the beginning of a whole new world for her, and I love watching it unfold.  Until next time, enjoy the little moments. 

Today:  a book review from J.  She just finished "The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordan (Hyperion).  He also wrote the Percy Jackson books, which she devoured.  I've read the first 2 Percy books myself, which I thought were wicked fun--the most fun I've had reading a book since the Harry Potter series.  "Red Pyramid" took J a while to read--it's a rather long book (she started it toward the end of school).  Here's her review (her words, with my spelling corrections):

"If I were a critic about to rate "The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordan I would give it 5 stars.  I say this because the book is full of action and suspense, it really painted a picture in my head.  It used great detail.  Rick Riordan did an excellent job by including great artifacts that actually existed in Egyptian times.  Riordan even adds hints of humor.  This book has all the good components of a truly amazing story."

Next, J and I are both going to read "The Giver" by Lois Lowry (Delacorte).  We did a mother/daughter read last summer at my suggestion, and I think she actually enjoyed it.  This time the book was her suggestion.  She has already hinted to me that it's a book that makes you think, and said, "My kind of book!"  Mine too!

J and I both just finished reading Lois Lowry's book, "The Giver."  It was leant to J by her 5th grade teacher at the end of school.  I had heard about this book from a few online sources as well as another parent who is a middle school librarian.  Everyone said, "It's a book that you really have to think about."  They were all right.

I love that Lowry wrote such a challenging book for school age kids.  It's not challenging in the language per se, it's the ideas that it presents--the ideas of perfection in society, government control, emotions and memory, and death.  Some people would wonder why these topics were included in a so-called 'children's' book, but in J's and my experience, we both got different things out of it.  I always say your reaction to a book, piece of music, movie, art, or theater is often based on what you bring to the experience.  That was certainly the case here, and definitely in a good way.

The main character, Jonas, lives with his family unit in a society where everything is governed and nothing is questioned (no one is really bothered by this either).  No one feels any real emotions, can see colors or hear music.  Turning 12 means Jonas will be assigned to his future job and begin training.  Jonas is selected to be the community's "Receiver" or stronghold of past memories.  He is trained by a man he calls, "The Giver."  Through the training process, he learns what real emotions are, and the revelations will cause him to change the path of his life, as well as those around him. 

I will admit, if you have an overly sensitive kid, this may not be the book for you.  One scene in particular was very hard for me to read, even though I had guessed that what was going to happen.  I will say that J didn't have as strong a reaction as I did when reading the same scene, but again, I attribute that to the whole experience thing I mentioned above.  But if you want a great book that will provoke some really important conversations, this is a great read.  The ending can be interpreted several different ways, but we both agreed that we liked that not everything is spelled out for the reader. 

Jessica even emailed the author and just today received a response!  She was absolutely thrilled that a real author responded to her.  This may have made an even bigger impression on her than the book itself.  Thanks for the lovely reply, Mrs. Lowry.  We're putting the companion novels "Gathering Blue" and "Messenger" on our to-read list! 

When I was around 5 years old, a relative got me "My Book About Me" by Dr. Suess and Roy McKie (Random House).  I still have my copy, all filled in with my lousy but cute spelling.  My mom bought both of my girls their own copy when they reached the same age.

K got her copy this year for her birthday in June.  We had put it aside, and I forgot about it.  She rediscovered it within the last few days, and I knew we were going to have to start filling in all of those blanks.  Today we got started, but with limited success, I admit.

The book has kids answer many questions about themselves, their home, foods they like, their pets, and other topics.  We started with the questions about height, weight, hair, eye color, and tracing your hand.  Kids also get to trace their foot.  This is the part where we hit the wall.  K had a hard time tracing her foot herself, and was making the tracing too wide.  I wanted her to do a more precise job (go ahead, laugh) and told her she needed to listen better if we were going to continue.  Yes, I know how stupid I sound--I'm arguing with a 5 year old about tracing her foot on a piece of paper. 

I should now mention that both of my children have inheirited their parents' stubborn gene.  Honestly, I secretly admire this quality in them.  I hope that the stubborness will help them stand up for themselves and keep them strong in tough situations.  That being said, I could have done without it today.  I took the book and told K we would continue when she was ready to listen, and she could tell me when she was ready to start again.  I then got up to do other things.  The kid waited me out for a good 45 minutes--no kidding.  I could tell that part of the crankiness (oops, I mean fortitude) on her part was due to being tired.  I almost thought she would take a nap at one point, something she hasn't done in a long time.  Finally, she got up and went back to the book, and with some encouragement, asked to continue. 

We didn't finish filling in the whole book--it's 60 pages long, and I knew it wouldn't keep her attention that long.  She did like the part where we marched around the house counting windows, pictures, clocks, keyholes, and faucets.  This is also the way I discovered that she is still writing most of her numbers backwards, but I didn't correct it too much today.  That's for another day.

  I'm glad we were able to do some of the book without further tantrums from either of us.  I will try to remember that the backwards numbers will be fun to look back on some day, for both of us.  No, it wasn't a stellar parenting day, but nobody's perfect.   Thankfully, 5 year olds have short memories and are quick to forgive.  Not a bad example for the rest of us. 

Whew! We made it to the summer. My girls weren't finished with school until June 13 and 14 (kindergarten lets out a day earlier than the older kids). It seemed like a long haul this year, probably because of all the snow days we had to make up at the end. It's a relief to have everyone finished for the summer.

Although we haven't been out and about much with school only finishing this week, we have book recommendations and comments to give!

K has checked out "Lucille" by Arnold Lobel repeatedly from our library. Lobel also wrote the Frog and Toad books, which she also likes and I find particularly charming. In Lucille, the main character is a horse named Lucille who is tired of pulling the farmer's plow. The farmer's wife decides to clean her up and take her to town to buy a fancy hat, beautiful red shoes, and a lovely white dress. Lucille then meets all of the farmer's wife's lady friends. Of course, she ends up knocking them over, spilling tea, and ripping her dress. Lucille decides in the end, it's better to be a horse. She even eats the hat for dessert! K likes this story because the pictures are cute, and what little kid can resist the idea of a horse dressed up in high heels?

J read the favorite coming of age book, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume. As a kid, I devoured everything Judy Blume wrote. J seemed to identify with some of the troubles Margaret has, including how her friend Nancy treats her. This is something she's been struggling with at school herself--who is really your friend and who isn't. It's been a hard lesson for me to watch her learn sometimes, yet I know it's an important one. I often say to her, "You are who you hang around with in middle school". She's really taken it to heart.

Yes, "Are You There. . . " also deals with girls experiencing puberty, and Margaret's own search for a religious identity. I remember very clearly when I read the book that some of my friends' mothers couldn't believe that my mother allowed me to read it. I couldn't understand why they were so upset (and frankly, neither could my mom). Um, all of this 'growing up' stuff was going to happen to everyone eventually, right? But if this is something that you feel your child isn't ready for, you should skip this book or wait until they are old enough to handle it. I recommend ages 10-13 for this one.

J also read the Internet Girls series by Lauren Myracle (TTFN, TTYL, L8r, G8r). Myracle is sort of a Judy Blume for this generation, writing about tweens and teens in a meaningful way to them. I will admit, I have not read these. J was a bit shocked by some of the content--they deal with a set of friends in high school, and there are incidents of drinking, smoking pot, and sex. We talked about all of these things after she read the book. J did say that all of the characters in the book do have to face the consequences of their actions, good and bad, which she thought was a good thing. What makes the book attractive to teens is that they are written entirely in 'text speak', like you were listening in on someone's IM conversations. We also talked about IM and what would and would not be appropriate for IM conversations in real life. Again, these books are geared toward teenagers, so if your child is younger, you may find them unacceptable certain ages.

Am I sorry I let her read these books? No, although I admit to having a moment of panic when I realized what was in the Lauren Myracle books. But I reminded myself that I read books like this at the same age. My mom was there to answer questions that I had, and J knows that I will do the same for her. Hey LancMoms, I know it's a constant challenge to keep up with what kids read, watch on TV, and browse on the Internet these days. There are certainly issues that our moms never had to deal with. If you need some guidance, I like www.commonsensemedia.org, a site that reviews all kinds of media and gives recommended ages. Keep reading and talking to your kids!

Next time, bowling and storytime with alpacas--yes, really!