Have fun with Books!

Page 2

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

In Bouncing on the Bed the child has a busy, happy day.  He lives out in the country where he can run through the buttercups and splash in the creek.  He also does some things inside the house such as cooking with his mom and reading with his dad.

HOMES AND FAMILIES

Where do you live?
Is it anything like the home in the story?
       What is the same about it?
       What is different?
What can you do by yourself outside your home?
What can you do by yourself inside your home?

What kinds of things do you like to do with your mom or dad or other grown-up who lives in your house?
       The dad in the story does some silly things.
       Can you find them in the pictures?
       Does anyone in your family do silly things?
The boy has a dog who plays with him but he doesn't seem to have any other children around.
       Who do you have to play with?
       Do you like to play all by yourself sometimes?
       Do you have a pet to keep you company?
       What do you like to do with your pet or what would you do with a pet if you had one?

This boy is very happy about his day.
       What kind of day would make you happy?
       What would do from the time you wake up until you go to bed?
 

THINGS TO DO

DRAW PICTURES

Draw a picture of yourself doing something fun.
Draw a picture of a grown-up being silly.
 

STORY STARTERS

Write a story about a perfect day.
       How would the day begin?
       What fun  things would you do?
       Who would do them with you?
       How would your day end?

Write a story about a fun day in the country and another one about a fun day in the city.
 

COLORING PAGES

Dad reading to child
Bouncing on the bed
Playing in a tent

To Bouncing on the Bed
To top of page

Chloe likes to visit Miss Emma's garden because of all the wild plants and animals.

(See also What Joe Saw and Gramma's Walk.)

Great ideas! Paint a shirt or make a class book like the kids at Blairsville School did when I visited them.
 

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

Chloe and Miss Emma like to be in places where things grow wild. 
Other people like nice neat gardens, or even busy city streets.
     What do you like?
          Parks?
          Forests?
          Neat gardens?
          Wild gardens?
          Grassy lawns?
          Playgrounds?

How do plants and animals depend on each other?

We feed our pets, farm animals and animals in zoos.
     How do wild animals get their food?
     What do they like to eat?

What happens to the animals when we build homes, roads, shopping centers, schools and parking lots?
     How do they become a problem for people sometimes?
     How do people become a problem for the animals?
     What might we do to help them?
 

THINGS TO DO

BE A NATURE WATCHER

Watch for wild creatures in your own back yard or walk in a park or forest.
     You can watch while riding in the car, too.
Keep a list of all the creatures you see.
See if you can find out about each one.
     Where does it like to live?
     What does it eat?
     What are it's enemies?
Remember birds and bugs are wild creatures, too.

COLLECT AND IDENTIFY PLANTS

Carefully collect a few leaves and flowers from plants you see growing wild.
Look at how the plant grows.
      How do the stems branch?
      How are the leaves and flowers attached?
      Are they in clusters, pairs, or randomly spaced?
Can you find the plant in a book?
      What is it's name?
      What would you name it?
Press and dry the leaves and flowers from each plant.
      Put the plant on some newspaper.
      Spread it out so it will lie as flat as possible.
      Put some more newspaper on top of it.
      Put a board or a large book on top to hold it flat.
      Put bricks or more books on top to press it down.
      Leave it for three to five days, until it is dry.
Glue each plant to a page.
      Use thin white glue.
      Put wax paper on top and press it again until it is dry.
On the page, write the name of the plant and anything else you want to say about it.
Collect your pages into a book.

PS: If you can't or don't want to collect plants, you can draw pictures of them instead.

MAKE A BOOKMARK

Press and dry some flowers and leaves between sheets of newspaper (see above).
Cut a bookmark sized piece of stiff paper.
Glue the flowers to the bookmark.
If you want to, write a message on the bookmark.
Cover it with clear contact paper.

START A WILD GARDEN

Choose a spot in your yard. If you don't have a yard, grow your garden in a window box, or large pot on a balcony or patio.
     Dig some compost into the soil.
     Plant seeds or plants.
     Keep it watered and watch it grow and bloom.

If your garden is in a sunny spot you can grow such plants as zinnias, marigolds, and sunflowers from seeds. These are annual plants and will only grow for one season.

Most of the plants that do well in shady woodland gardens, such as mine, are perennials.  Once you get them started they will come back year after year.

You might want to check to find what plants are native to your area. They will usually do well on the natural rainfall and often provide food for the wild birds and animals that live nearby.

To find plants, check with a local nursery, wild flower nurseries that do mail order business, or friends and neighbors who might be willing to give you a plant or two to get started.
For online information on plant nurseries check out GardenNet.

Following are some plants that did especially well for me in eastern Pennsylvania:
    Partially sunny spots:
        Bee balm (monarda didyma)
        Daisies
        Wild geranium-Johnson's Blue
        Evening primrose
        Creeping Jenny
        Columbine
        Mint
        Virginia Spiderwort (tradescantia virginica)
        Jacob's ladder (polemonium repens)
        Sweet woodruff (galium odoratum)
    Mostly shady spots:
        Creeping Phlox  (phlox stolonifera)
        Phlox divaricata
        Beacon Silver (lamium maculatum)
        Lily-of-the-valley
        Violets--several varieties
        Foam flower (tiarella cordiflora)
        Bleeding hearts--wild or fringed (dicentra exemia)
             Old fashioned (dicentra spectabilis)
        Wild ginger (asarum canadense)
 

STORY STARTERS

Suppose you were one of the wild creatures in Miss Emma's garden.
        What would you be?
        What would you see?
        What would you do?
        What would you eat?
        What might frighten you?
        What adventure might you have?
Write a story about your adventure as an animal in Miss Emma's garden.

Miss Emma's Wild Garden ends up being a sort of guessing game, with Chloe asking, "What else? What else? What else?" 
Can you think of another place that might have lots of interesting things?
        How about a park, an attic, a garage, your bedroom, your classroom,
               an airport, your grandparent's house?
Write a "guessing game" story about the things in that place.
        It could be about one person who knows and another who is guessing, like Chloe.
        It could be about looking for something and finding all the other things.
        Your story will be better if you can have a surprise at the end.

COLORING PAGES

        Miss Emma and Chloe
        Woodchucks

To Miss Emma's Wild Garden
To top of page

In Gramma's Walk, Gramma can't really walk. She must use a wheel-chair, but that doesn't stop her and Donnie from taking a nice walk on the beach in their imaginations.

(See also What Joe Saw, Miss Emma's Wild Garden, and Grandma Gets Grumpy.)


THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

Is there a special place you have visited that you remember?
        Can you go back there in your imagination?
              What are some of the special things that help you pretend you are there?
       Is there someplace you have never been, where you'd like to go?
              Can you go there in your imagination?
       Which is easier, to go to the place you've been to before, or the place you haven't been?
              Why?

Sometimes there are things our bodies can't do.
        Is there anything you used to be able to do but are too big to do now?
       Are there things that you can't do yet, but will do when you are bigger and older?
       Can you do those things now in your imagination?

Donnie's Gramma can't walk anymore.  My grandma can hardly see.  Some people can never do some of the things most of us do all the time; such things as walking, seeing, or hearing.
       What do you think it would be like not to be able to do things you used to do?
       What would it be like to never be able to walk? ...or see?  ...or hear?
       Does not being able to do one thing mean a person can't do anything?
       Does it mean they have different feelings than other people?
 

THINGS TO DO

TAKE SOMEBODY ON AN IMAGINARY TRIP

Have the person close his eyes while you describe things.
       Tell what you see.
       Tell what you hear and smell and feel.
       Can you make them feel like they are really there?
Now let the other person take you on an imaginary trip.
 

MAKE A MAP OF GRAMMA'S WALK

Where does Donnie ask Gramma to start?
        What do they see first?
        What do they see next?
Draw the starting place, then each of the things they see and do along the way.
        Be sure to get them in the right order.
Draw footprints to show how they go along the beach and come back.

MAKE A MAP OF YOUR OWN IMAGINARY TRIP.

WRITE A LETTER OR MAKE A CARD

What do you like to do with your grandparent or other special relative?
        Write a card or letter to tell them.
        Tell them about other things you have been doing, too.
        Maybe you did something and wished they had been with you to see and do it, too.
        They would probably like to know about that.
Give or send your letter to your special person.

ASK AN OLDER PERSON ABOUT  THINGS THEY USED TO DO

Donnie's Gramma seems to be older than most grandmas. I think she might be a great-grandma or even a great-great-grandma.  That means she would be Donnie's grandma's or grandpa's mother or grandmother!  She probably used to be able to walk and do other things she can't do now.
Do you have an older grandparent, aunt, uncle, or friend?
Ask them about the things they used to do when they were your age.
        What games did they play?
        What was their school like?
        Did they eat at your favorite fast food place?
        Did they go shopping for new clothes and toys?
        Did they buy their food at the grocery store?
        How did they travel?
        What was one of the funniest things they did as a kid?
        What was one of the scariest?
        What things did they do that are the same as the things you do?
        What things were different?

MAKE CARDS OR FAVORS FOR A NURSING HOME

Sometimes when older people need extra help they live in a nursing home.  They probably miss their old homes and families a lot.  Visiting a nursing home can be a little frightening if you aren't used to it, because some of the people may have lost their ability to talk, or walk, or control some of their movements.  Some may be sad. Some mostly sleepy.  But usually they like to have visitors.

Make some cards or favors to put on the tables or lunch trays for the people in the nursing home. Make the cards pretty and cheerful.

Maybe your gifts will help the people go someplace in their imagination that they can't really go anymore.

MAKE A PICTURE

Draw a picture of a place you can go in your imagination.

Draw a picture of a completely imaginary place.
        What color is the sky? ....the ground? ....the water--if there is any water? 
        What are the plants like? ....the animals? ....the buildings? ....the people?

Draw a picture of yourself doing something you can't really do.

Is there someplace you'd like to go but can't really go?  Maybe it's someplace you've been to before and you'd like to go back.  Maybe it's someplace you've heard about or seen on television.  Maybe it's even a made up place. Go there in your imagination.
        Is anyone with you?
        If so, what do you say to each other?
        What do you see?
        What sounds do you hear?
        What are the smells?
        What things do you feel?
        Is it warm or cold?
        What do you do?
Write a story about it.

COLORING PAGES

Otter
Seagulls
Gramma and Donnie

 
To Gramma's Walk
To top of page

In Even If I Spill My Milk Jamie wants to know if his mother will love him even if he spills his milk on purpose, and even if he runs away and won't go to bed.  He tries everything he can think of to try to make her stay home longer and not leave him with the babysitter.  She tells him she loves him and promises another kiss when she gets home, but she still goes to the party with Daddy.

(See also Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti and When We Married Gary.)
 

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

How can you tell if someone loves you?
How can you show other people you love them?
Do you ever feel left out or lonely when you have to stay home?

Jamie asks his mother, "If I spill my milk on your special going to a party dress will you stay home?"
        Do you ever try to get a grown-up to do what you want instead of what they want?
        Did you ever do something on purpose that you knew would cause a problem?
        Did you ever THINK about causing a problem on purpose?
                How did you feel?
        What are some good ways you might try to influence other people?
        What are some bad ways?

Is having a babysitter ever fun?
        What was the best time you ever had with a babysitter?
        What was the worst time?

THINGS TO DO

MAKE A PICTURE

Draw a picture of a time when you felt lonely.

Draw a picture of a time when you did something you knew you shouldn't have done.

Draw a picture of a time when you did something to make your mom or dad happy.

Draw a picture to show someone you love them.

MAKE A PLAN

List some things that would be fun to do with a babysitter.

STORY STARTER

Write a story about a time when you tried to see if you could get away with something like staying up later, watching extra TV, or eating something you weren't supposed to.
       Where are you?
       Who is with you?
       What do you want?
       How do you try to get it?
       What does the grown-up do?
       What else do you do?
       Do you get caught?
       What happens?
       How do you feel?
       Does the grown-up love you anyway?
       Do you love the grown-up?

To Even If I Spill My Milk
To top of page

What Joe Saw is a story about a boy who is always at the end of the line because he is so busy looking at all the things along the way.  He sees things that the others pass right by.

(See also Gramma's Walk and Miss Emma's Wild Garden.)
 

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Joe likes to go slow.  Pete likes to go fast.
       Is one way always the best way?
       What are some things you might like to do slowly?
       What things would you rather do fast?

What are some of the things that Joe sees as he takes his time?
What things might you see around your home or school if you took your time?

The other children tease Joe.
       Is it friendly teasing or unfriendly teasing?
       If you were Joe would it hurt your feelings?

Joe sees things on the walk because he is paying attention.
        What are the different kinds of things we might pay attention to?
              Directions from mom, dad, or teachers?
              Signals such as traffic lights and signs?
              Our work?
              Our friends?
              Other people's feelings?
              The world around us?
              Our own feelings?
       How do we choose which is the most important thing to pay attention to each minute?
 

THINGS TO DO

TAKE A POKEY WALK

Pay attention to all the things as you go along.
Walk quietly so as not to scare away any animals you might see.
Look for small things like bugs and animal tracks.
Look for big things like the shape of trees and the colors in the sky.

Make a picture of the best thing on your walk.
 

MAKE A MAP OF JOE'S WALK

Where does Joe start?
Where does he end up?
What are the things he sees along the way?
       Draw the starting place, then each of the things along the way.
       Be sure to get them in the right order.
       You could draw a path, or footprints, to show the way Joe and his friends went.

MAKE A MAP OF YOUR OWN POKEY WALK.

PLAY "I SPY"

One person is the spyer.
She looks around and chooses something, but she doesn't tell what it is. 
She says, "I spy something you don't spy and the color of it is _______." 
The spier tries not to look the object once she's chosen it so she doesn't give it away.

Copter 517 and it's crew of fire fighters act fast to control a small wild fire.
 

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

How do wildfires get started?
        Are they ever helpful?
What are the different ways firemen work to put out fires?
        How are the things they do in the city different than what they do in the forest?
        What equipment do they use?
How do helicopters help?
        Could an airplane get water out of a lake?
        In what other situations are helicopters helpful?
Would you like to be a firefighter when you grow up?
        What would you like to be?
 

THINGS TO DO

MAKE A PICTURE

Paint a picture of a water drop.
        Draw the helicopter with the water bucket at the top of your paper.
        Draw trees and whatever else you want at the bottom.
        Use a white crayon to color the water coming out of the bottom of the bucket.
                You won't be able to see it very well but don't worry.
        Paint the sky and flames right over the water.
                Now you should be able to see your water.
        Paint the rest of your picture.
 

STORY STARTERS

Write a story about what you'd like to be when you grow up.
        What is the job you'd like to have?
        What would be the best part?
        What would be the hardest part?
        Why would you want that job?

Write a story about a wild fire.
        Where is it? What is burning?
        What is going to happen if they don't put it out soon?
                Is it burning people's homes?
                Is it burning animals homes?
        Who is trying to put it out?
        What are they doing?
        Is there a special hero in your story?
 

COLORING PAGES

         Making a Water Drop
         Firefighters

To Flying Firefighters
To top of page

When the Goblins Came Knocking is about a little boy who remembers that last year he was afraid of the trick-or-treaters who came to his house on Halloween.

(See also Rumble Thumble Boom!.)
 

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

Do you remember the first time you saw trick-or-treaters?
        Was it scary?
        Did you know it was just kids in costumes?
What do you think is the most fun thing about Halloween?
        Is it scary?
        Do you like to be a little bit scared?
        Do you like to be a lot scared?
        Do you like to have the chance to dress up and be anything you want to be?
                Do you like to be a real person or a make-believe character?
        Do you like to try to fool people so they won't know who you are?
        Do you like scaring other people?
What were you afraid of when you were little?
        What are you afraid of now?
        What do you do when you are afraid?
 

THINGS TO DO

MAKE A MASK

Put a paper bag over your head.
Have someone help you mark where your eyes are.
Take the bag off and cut out some holes so you can see.
You might have to cut room for your shoulders or arms, too.
Put the bag on your head again.
Does it work?

Now decorate your mask however you want.

Some things you might use are crayons or markers, shapes cut from construction paper, curled up strips cut from another paper bag, bits of fabric, pipe cleaners, pieces of egg cartons, crepe paper, paper plates, paper cups, macaroni, beans, yarn.

Use your imagination to make your mask be one of a kind.

MAKE A PICTURE ON BLACK PAPER

Use crayons, chalk, soft colored-pencils such as Prisma colors, or pastel crayons.

TAKE A SURVEY

        Ask people what they are afraid of, or what they were afraid of when they were a certain age.
        Make a list or a graph to show the results.

STORY STARTERS

Write a story about being scared.
       Where are you?
       Are you all by yourself or is someone with you?
       What is scaring you?
       What do you hear?
       What do you see?
       Can you smell anything?
       What do you do?
       What are your feelings inside?
       What happens?
       Do you get over being scared?
       How?

Write a story about Halloween.
       Your story might be about real kids doing Halloween things such as going
              trick-or-treating, playing games at a party, or scaring one another.
       Your story might be about Halloween pumpkins, goblins and ghosts.

To  When the Goblins Came Knocking
To top of page

Big Help! is a story about a boy who has a problem with his little sister.  She wants to help him do everything and every time it ends in disaster.  Finally he figures a way to solve his problem without doing anything to hurt his sister.
(See also Big Like Me and Grandma Gets Grumpy.)
 

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

Lucy wants to "help" her big brother Sam, but every time it leads to trouble for Sam.
        Do you think Lucy likes Sam?
        Do you think Sam likes Lucy?
        How can you tell?

Do you have a younger brother, sister, cousin, or friend who disturbs things you try to do?
       Are they trying to be mean or do they not understand?
       Do the grown-ups try to help?

What are some of the things you can do to help yourself?
        Do you have a place to play where the little child can't go?
        Do you sometimes play games with the little one the way he or she plays?
                For example, maybe you could build a tower just for the kid to knock over--
                    but be prepared. Probably he will knock it over before you are ready!
How long do you think it will be before the little child is old enough to understand about waiting, taking turns, being careful, and leaving you alone sometimes?

Is it hard to be the older kid sometimes?
        What is the best part of being older?
        What is the worst part?

Is it hard to be the younger kid sometimes?
        What is the best part of being younger?
        What is the worst part?

Are  you a kid in the middle?
        Which is harder being younger or older?
        What are the best and worst parts of being in the middle?
 

THINGS TO DO

PLAY A GAME WITH A LITTLE BROTHER, SISTER, OR OTHER YOUNGER CHILD

Can you remember some songs, games or nursery rhymes you liked when you were little?
       Can you do it for your little brother or sister?
       If you do it enough times, I'll bet they will learn it, too.
 

MAKE A PICTURE

Draw a picture of yourself in your own place with no one to bother you.

MAKE A ROOM OF YOUR OWN

Get a shoe box.

Use cardboard, construction paper, bits of fabric, pipe cleaners, old magazines, play dough, or whatever else you can think of or find to make all the things you want to have in your own private, secret, room.

Arrange all the things in the shoe box just the way you want them.

If you want you can let other people come into your room.  It's up to you.

STORY STARTERS

Sam finds a way to solve his problem with Lucy in a way that makes everybody happy.
Did you ever have a problem with a sister or brother, or maybe a friend or cousin?
Or did you have a problem with someone your own age or older?

Write a story about solving a problem without hitting or hurting.
       Who is main character?
              What does he or she want?
       Who is the person who is causing the problem for the main character?
              What does that person want?
       What happens when they both try to get what they want?
              Do they get angry?
              What do they say?
              What do they do?
       How do they solve the problem?

Write a story about solving a problem in a way you don't feel so good about.
How would you solve it now that you are older and more understanding?
 

To  Big Help?
To top of page

In When We Married Gary, Sarah tells how is used to be, "Just Mama, Beth and me" to work together and play together. Then they met Gary and when Mama married him they became a family of four.

(See also Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti, Even If I Spill My Milk and Grandma Gets Grumpy.)
 

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

Families come in lots of different shapes and sizes.  Sometimes they change.
        Who are the people in your family?
        Has it always been the same people or has it changed?
        Did someone leave?
        Was a new brother or sister born?
        Or did one of your parents get married?
        Did you get new step-brothers or step-sisters?
        If your family changed, did you like the change?
        Would you like your family to change?

Sarah says sometimes Mama is silly and dances with them, and sometimes she's impatient and scolds.  When Sarah gets her new Papa she says it's the same with him.
        Is it that way at your house? Are the grown-ups sometimes happy and silly and fun,
                and sometimes cross and impatient?
        Do you ever do anything to make them impatient?
                Can you find ways to cheer them up sometimes?
        Do the grown-ups ever do anything to make you impatient?
                Do they try to cheer you up when you are cranky?
                Does it work or not?
 

THINGS TO DO

MAKE A FAMILY PUZZLE

Sarah says her family is like a puzzle and her new stepfather fits just fine.

Make a puzzle by drawing or pasting a photo of each person in your family onto some stiff paper or thin cardboard.

Draw curving lines to divide each person from the others.

Cut on the lines to make puzzle pieces.

        Play a game with your mom or dad, or whoever you can get to play.
        You pretend to be the grown-up and have them pretend to be you.
                 Is it hard to be the grown-up sometimes?
                 Is it hard to be the child?
 

STORY STARTERS

Write a story about your family.
Write about the way it really is or the way you would like it to be.
Write about how it changed and how that made you feel.

Write a story about a time when someone in your family was silly and happy,
        or write about a time when they were cross and impatient.
 

To When We Married Gary
To top of page

THINGS TO THINK AND TALK ABOUT

Some Logging Camp Expressions
Can you guess how the loggers came up with these funny sounding names?

Steam donkey       a versatile  steam operated winch used to drag and load logs from the woods
Donkey jammer     the engineer or operator of a steam donkey
Gut robber      the camp cook
High climber     a logger who climbs, limbs and tops a tree for rigging cables and pulleys
Whistle punk    one who signals the donkey jammer when to stop and start the winch cable
Pill faker      a doctor or someone skilled in first aid
Hog           a railroad locomotive
Hoghead        a locomotive engineer
Tallowpot       fireman on a locomotive (in the early days they also greased the wheels)
Misery whip   a crosscut saw, often  used with a man at each end
Dentist         one who sharpened and fixed the teeth on crosscut saws
Flunkie       a kitchen helper,  waiter or dishwasher
 

To Day of the Highclimber