* Green Book Festival Winners

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* Heat Your House with Soda Cans

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* Garden Corner 05/28/09

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* 10 Tips for Happy Family Camping - part 1

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* Weekly Earth News 05/26/09

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* Botany in a Day - Thomas J Elpel

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5 Ideas for Reading Camp

Below are 5 ideas for reading camp which you can do at home. When some moms are spending half the day in their car driving kids to and fro to summer camps and shelling out $$$, I'm usually at home, making up my own entertainment to share with my kids. After all, I had kids so that they could be part of my life, not so that I could pay others to take care of them. YMMV.

5 Ideas for Reading Camp
Sometimes we descend into thinking that books are only about stories and learning to read. With these reading camp ideas you can expand your horizons and do a wide variety of activities.

#1 - Book treasure hunt - find the tallest, thickest, thinnest, smallest, longest and shortest book in your house. You can also search for specific words in the book titles. Or look for red books, green books, hardback books, and paperbacks. Do you have any spiral bound books - are they on a specific topic, like cookery?

#2 - Book I-Spy - you don't need I-Spy books to do Book I-Spy. Simply set a challenge, like counting the number of times a word is used on a page, finding a word your child can recognize, or looking for the page in the book that has a certain illustration. I'm sure you get the idea.

#3 - Lap Books, Scrap Books, and Journals - lap books, scrap books, and journals are very popular with many homeschoolers, but there's no reason they can't be great for all parents and kids. If you know of a good link to one of these topics, or if this is something you've written about, let me know. I'd like to add some links.

#4 - Library Raid and Reading Challenge - descend on your local public library and find books of as many different types as you can. What about a fun book on exercise, an I-Spy book, a pop-up book, a photo book, a field guide, a book on tape, an old-fashioned book, a brand new book, and a book which shows you how to build something. Remember to take the books home and use as many as you can! While you are there, most public libraries have summer reading programs where your kids can earn a free book or two. If your kid is not a reader yet, no worries, go ahead and read to him or her to earn the book.

#5 - Strange Reading
How many different places can you think of to read? What about in the bathroom? On the deck? Under a tree? In a tent pitched in your family room? Under the bedcovers? How about reading while upside down - many kids enjoy this one! Or you could go to the mall, take a bath book to the beach, or read in the shower. You could sit under the table, or under your desk, or maybe in the dog bed? Does it feel different reading there?

What other ideas do you have for a reading camp? How would you incorporate nature in your reading camp? Do you have any great links to share?

* Roots & Shoots

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* The Power of Colors - Colorful Personalities

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* Shades and Textures of Green

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* Weekly Earth News 05/12/09

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The Happy Mother

..I've twa bonny bairns the fairest of a',
They cheer up my heart when their daddie's awa';
I've ane at my foot, and I've ane on my knee,
An' fondly they look, an' say, "Mammy" to me..

Alexander Laing, The Ballads of Bairnhood, 1913 (first published 1894)

Do you need a translation?

The Perfect Mother's Day Gift

What is your idea of the perfect Mother's Day gift? Which of these would you love to receive?

1. a lazy morning in bed with a cup of tea and a book
2. a handmade item with a sweet message from a child
3. a large bouquet of store-bought flowers
4. a bouquet of flowers hand-picked and brought to you by hand
   
5. some plants or seeds for your garden
6. a gift certificate to a bookstore or garden center
7. a shopping spree to a store you love
   
8. lunch or dinner made for you by a loved one
9. a picnic in the park surrounded by your family
10. total harmony in the house for just one day - we can dream, right?
11. a trip out to visit a place you love
    
12. a visit with your own mom
13. something shiny or colorful - think jewelry, or a pretty item
14. something entirely practical for the kitchen or garden

Does your family know what your perfect Mother's Day gift would be? How well do they know you? Can they guess? Which of these would they choose for you?

If you liked this you might enjoy:

• 5 Great Books for Bird Loving Moms
• Caught Up in Gardening
• I.O.U. a Green Christmas
• Kansas Food - get a taste
  

Winner - Kids Book Give Away

The winner of last week's Kids Book Give Away is commenter number

8.151905

I used Excel to generate a random number - let's round the number to get entrant number 8, which is Amy! Congratulations Amy. I'll be e-mailing you in just a moment to get your details for sending the two books off to you.

For those of you who did not win this time, I usually have my give aways on the last Wednesday of the month. Subscribe to my feed and you'll be sure to hear about the next one. If you liked this you might enjoy:

• Children's Party Cooking
• The Birds and the Bees
• Baby Dad
• Kids Science Books - spring
  

This give away was sponsored by my Usborne Books and More business. You can see the full range of books, with online specials every day and recommendations for Children's Book Week at my book store.

* Going on a Treasure Hunt

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