Finding Fun Books

When it comes to enjoying reading, what you really need are some fun books. Not that everyone's definition of fun is the same! But, who would want to read a boring book?

I've just relaunched one of my own websites with lots of information on how to find great reading suggestions. I learned a lot during the process of writing, especially about which publisher produces which ranges of books, where to find great reading lists, and how to find stuff on Amazon.com (often-times I've been frustrated to mainly see best sellers, most of which I'm not interested in).

You can find all of the information about best books at my site GreatFunBooks.com. I've not written specifically for homeschoolers this time, though I do mention that homeschoolers really value non-fiction kids books. I think that's one of the myriad reasons that homeschooled kids know so much. I also did pretty extensive research on early readers for the page on best books for kids so, if you have a pre-reader or early reader at home be sure to check that page out.

Do let me know what you think and whether there is other information you'd like to see there.

Virtual Field Trips - Meet Me At the Corner

Looking for virtual field trips? Meet Me At the Corner is a fun website which focuses on sharing short, educational videos which get kids thinking about a wide variety of topics.

I've been receiving the Meet Me At the Corner virtual field trips newsletter for several months now and I've been really impressed with the range of topics. Recent topics include:

• Canine Companions for Independence
• Falconry at the United States Air Force Academy
• An American Cowboy Interview
• Homing Pigeons

These all sound great to me. It's too bad that my computer is not letting me view the videos - hopefully you'll have better luck. Upcoming topics sound great too and include: Cable Cars; The History of Chemistry; and Wolf Rescue.

As well as the videos, Meet Me At the Corner provides related websites, quizzes, and reading suggestions to accompany the virtual field trips. You can also submit your own field trips to share with other homeschooling families and there are lessons on how to make a podcast.

Do you have another virtual field trip site to share? What do you think about virtual field trips compared to live field trips?

10 Books for $15

Until August 10th you can sign up to start an Usborne Books and More home business for just $15 (plus tax). Amazingly, there are no monthly minimums.

You will get an effective lifetime homeschooling discount on Usborne and Kane/Miller books of 25% and upwards. If you want to earn money by being a book seller you can do that too. All the training you need to make this a business is FREE.

For more information:

• Take a look at the 10 books you get for just $15.
• E-mail me: my e-mail is over there on the right with the duck next to it.
• Tweet me @alisonkerr

What are you waiting for? These are some of the best educational books on the planet and this is the best deal I've ever seen for getting started with Usborne.

Free E-Books at the World E-Book Fair

Between now and August 4th you can download a selection of free E-books at the World E-Book Fair. Here are some links to check out:

• World E-Book Fair - the whole list of books.
• Children's Literature Collection - includes A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain, A History of Animals published in 1843, A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, and Abducted to Oz by Chris Dulabone.
• Classic Literature Collection - includes Heidi, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Treasure Island, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dracula, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Frankenstein, The Time Machine, Beowulf, The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Art of War, Robin Hood and Hamlet Prince of Denmark.

There's nothing beats a good read, unless it's a good read for FREE! I just read A History of Animals. What is particularly interesting is the definition of TOYS - take a look at the back page of this book to see what I'm talking about.

Bonnie and Clyde by Paul Schneider

I first heard of Bonnie and Clyde back in the 1960's when I was too young to have any clue who they were and what they did. Their names really stuck with me.

Bonnie is of course the Scottish word for beautiful and the Clyde is the big river which flows out through the city of Glasgow which I grew up practically on the banks of. It took until a couple of weeks ago when I picked up Bonnie and Clyde - the lives behind the legend by Paul Schneider for me to really learn what they were all about.

If you're looking for a cheerful read, this book is not for you. However as an interesting journey into the human condition and America in the 1920's I'd recommend it. I really found myself absorbed by the downhill slippery slope these two people were on. Of course I already knew the ending, but the twists, turns and agonies which led them there were in a way compelling.

I think this book would make a good college-level, or upper high school read. There's plenty of blood, violence and law breaking of course, so bear that in mind. There is even one really bad photo. The author doesn't turn it into a circus act though - I found myself enlightened about their story without much emotional attachment, either good or bad.

It would also be great for a homeschooling parent who just wants a change of pace and to be reminded that life in the 2000's is overall pleasant and safe, at least for most of us in America.

You can see inside Bonnie and Clyde, the lives behind the legend at Amazon.com.

* Green Book Festival Winners

This article has been relocated to Loving Nature's Garden.

* Botany in a Day - Thomas J Elpel

This article has been relocated to Loving Nature's Garden.

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?

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.

* Observing Nature Through a Window

This article has been relocated to Loving Nature's Garden.

Kids Science Books - spring

Thinking about spring gifts for Easter or birthdays? Do you value education? Kids science books are a great choice for a gift. To be more green we can all abide by the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle and "needs before wants" when we shop. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - "Everyone has the right to education." With that in mind, choose something educational, something you know for sure will be useful to the recipient - don't guess, ask them for input, assuming they are old enough! Here are my ideas and suggestions for shopping kids science books for gifts this spring.

For Easter and Spring Birthdays
It's nice to have a fun, educational, book or two in your Easter basket. Earth Day is also coming up, and you might know a kid or two with a spring birthday. Here are some best selling choices from Usborne:

• Early science understanding for infants and toddlers is really about observation, cause and effect, exploring with the senses, and learning to understand life, the environment, and what to expect. Books can be used to grow children in all these respects and to prepare for the reading part of their learning. Some great choices for infants to 3 years - Animal Hide and Seek, That's Not My Bunny, Noisy Animals, This is My Tractor.
• Three to six year olds are figuring out the difference between living and non-living. They can learn about lifecycles, habitats, and the seasons. They begin to notice that each living thing has needs and thrives under a set of circumstances. Good choices for 3 to 6 year olds include - The Butterfly, Creepy Crawlies Lift the Flap, 1001 Bugs to Spot.
• In the early elementary years books that are both educational and fun with easy reading are the best choices. 6 to 9 year olds can become confident readers while learning about the Earth and nature. Science books and reference shelf items start to become more important, such as - Great Planet Earth Search, See Inside Planet Earth, Trash and Recycling and more, Why Should I Bother About the Planet?
  

Usborne Books and More are very efficient at shipping and typically have a one business day turn-around. The warehouse is in Tulsa Oklahoma, which means it's too late for Easter delivery to either coast. However, I am in the Midwest and will be placing my own Easter order on Monday. If you need an estimate of shipping time to you please ask rather than assuming one way or the other. E-mail me or call me - my phone number is listed at UsborneKC.com.

Does your child have a favorite Usborne book or a favorite science book?

One of my friends just alerted me to a going out of business sale for certified organic candy. Some of their items are selling for less than half price. The company is College Farm and they have a very cute candy tin with organic lollipops which becomes a traditional metal lunch box and it's selling for $1.99 at 75% off. Excuse the pun, but that's a sweet deal! They also have certified organic lemon hard candy and my mouth is watering just thinking of it.

Learning Stuff Links

I've sought out the best links for learning stuff. There is some great stuff out there, but also a lot you just would waste your time on. Here are my favorite links for learning stuff:

• At How Stuff Works you can learn about everything from bread to pressure cookers, the ocean and gardening. What a wonderful learning resource for all kinds of stuff!
• The stuff at Kids.gov will get you learning about fun things like beaches, the galaxy (NASA), energy and the environment, farming and food and nutrition. There's tons of learning to explore and hopefully we can trust the government as a reliable source!
• The Kids Learning Stuff blog focuses on book reviews with some learning related articles about things such as IQ testing and giftedness. Sarah at the Kinda Learning Stuff blog writes about technology and it's impact on everyday life.
  
• Topscience.org has a bunch of free science activity sheets. I've used their Lentil Science and Electricity programs in homeschooling. They promote a fun and affordable way to do hands-on exploration and learn science and math using household stuff.
• Two more bloggers who write about learning stuff: Will at Work posts research based commentary on learning and Meredith Farkas is a librarian, writer and teacher who calls herself a tech geek and posts about the library profession and the tools used to serve patrons.
  

I thought I was in for writing a really long article here on all the wonderful things that come up when you search Google for learning stuff but this is all I found out of 3 pages of search results! Great, I can go off and get my breakfast and start homeschooling. It's like work got our early for today :-)

In association with Amazon.com, home of the Kindle. Sign up for Kindle alerts at the WiiAlerts site. This site has been used by people I know and I recommend it because it works!

Game Boy on Artemis Fowl

My son, nicknamed here Game Boy, enjoys reading the Artemis Fowl series. Here is what he had to say in a recent interview.

Q. When and where did you first discover Artemis Fowl?
A. I don't remember.

Q. How many of the Artemis Fowl books have you read?
A. All of them except the most recent (which will hopefully change soon).

Q. Who is the main character in the books and what's he like?
A. The main character is Artemis Fowl. He's about my age but that doesn't stop him from being a super genius and having a large vocabulary.

Q. What is the setting for Artemis Fowl and what is good about it?
A. It's in Ireland, but it's not realistic. It has fairies in it - generally they are good fairies just trying to stay away from the human race. It's got a nice storyline as well as having some humor.

Q. What is the book basically about?
A. In the first book he kidnaps a fairy in hopes of getting large quantities of gold. It doesn't quite turn out the way he expected.

Q. How many times have you read this book?
A. I've read the first one two, three, or more times.

Thanks Game Boy. By the way, there are six books in the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. The most recent book is The Time Paradox. Here are a few related learning links:

• Official Artemis Fowl websites - ArtemisFowl.com and ArtemisFowl.co.uk, which include games and activities.
  
• Artemis Fowl study guide.
• And a couple of Artemis Fowl quizzes - quiz 1 and quiz 2.

Find Artemis Fowl at Amazon.com.
Shop for myth and puzzle books at Usborne.
For more reading suggestions visit Kids Picks - December at 5MinutesForBooks.

Inspiration From A Snowman

Today I was reminded of how inspiration for learning can come from many places, even places that you just might not expect.

Many years ago I was introduced to The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. If you've not heard of him, Raymond Briggs is a British illustrator, born in 1934. When Artist Girl was really little I must have snuggled up with her one day to watch the video version of The Snowman on British broadcast TV. For me it was love at first sight. The combination of story, music, and fantasy in The Snowman had me hooked. I wanted to know how to draw like that (the illustrations appear to be done with colored pencils). Thus began an adventure in art for me. Below you can see a frog illustration I did as a result of following this inspiration.

Of course I'd had pencils as a child, but not the beautiful colored pencils that artists and illustrators use. Colored pencils purchased for children generally feel scratchy to use and create dull-colored drawings. I've no idea why we buy these poor quality colored pencils for children. The high quality ones really aren't that expensive. You can pick up a basic set for around $10. If you have a child who is interested in working with pencils please do make the investment of supplying them with quality tools; they are pretty readily available (more information below).

Anyway, if you've never seen The Snowman it is a story without words... totally delightful. Words really can't convey it. I'm going to provide you with some learning links, though personally I'd rather watch the video/DVD version and see the original book than explore this topic online. Somehow watching an online animation seems sacrilege to me :-)

• Read about illustrator Raymond Briggs at the British Council website.
• Visit the official Snowman website and find teacher resources and games. There are animations here, so if you want to see the full DVD first, miss this site out for now. Instead you may want to see a double page spread of the illustrations at Random House.
  
• Here is an unofficial fan site for Raymond Briggs, where another fan includes his story of discovering The Snowman.
• Raymond Briggs had to go against the wishes of his parents to study art. You can read what The Guardian has to say on Raymond.
  

At Amazon.com you can see inside the original book version of The Snowman and find
The Snowman on VHS, DVD and in book format. The storybook version with words has a poor review so check your library for the original word-free version, or for the DVD.

I've found artist quality colored pencils locally at places like Michael's and Office Depot. I've also used Cheap Joe's for ordering from online. Here's a set of artist quality Derwent colored pencils for less than $11 from Cheap Joe's, and a set of 12 artist quality Prismacolor pencils at Amazon.com. These are both good quality and would be great for starting out with.

Learning from Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

Thomas the Tank Engine stories at Amazon.com

Boys and their trains, that's usually how it goes. Who'd have thought though that cute little Thomas the Tank Engine from the small Island of Sodor, written by Rev A. W. Awdry and illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby, would have captured so many imaginations. Thomas is nothing short of a phenomenon; a character, created by a British author, who's name has surely been spoken in the majority of American homes. Personally I can't say I'm a particular fan of the modernized Thomas - take me out and shoot me if you have to now - but he certainly appeals to small children! I'll admit I'm a fan of steam trains and I enjoy the Thomas stories in their original format. I thought it would be fun to share some information, activities, and educational links related to Thomas the Tank Engine. I hope your kids, and you, enjoy them.

• Adults who want to know more about Thomas and his history and development may want to start with Wikipedia on Thomas the Tank Engine - information on the books, TV series, models, toys and how Thomas relates to real railway engines and railroad routes.
• At Thomas and Friends are games and activities for kids to explore - it's one of those annoying Flash sites which my computer security throws up blocks to so check it out and make sure it works for you before you get your kids excited.
• The Random House Thomas site has stuff about the books, printable activities, and some information about the authors.
  
• Visit the Unofficial Thomas the Tank Engine site for a nice collection of information about the original books and lots of links.
• You can read about the authors at the Awdry Family Official Website.
• Download paper models of Thomas and friends - these are very detailed. The website is in Japanese, but just click on the blue links next to the PDF graphic and the rest is self-explanatory!
• Here's a blogger who has created some very elaborate Brio Thomas track layouts for his boys.
  
• How Stuff works has a guide to all of the Thomas episodes. Now you can have the fun of quizzing each other about what happened and see if parents or kids have the better memory!
• Check out Wendy's blog and see very detailed instructions on how to make a very impressive Thomas the Tank Engine Birthday Cake and Alexa has written a blog totally about Thomas.
  
• More Thomas activities, including birthday party ideas and things to make at DLTK's.
• Lesson ideas for using Thomas to help kids with Autism at About.com.
• Of course you may have heard of the huge recall during 2007 because of lead in paint on Thomas toys - The New York Times on the Thomas recall and a lesson in morality.

Of course Thomas maybe has a few girl fans too, like Lori Ann of Simple Makes. Know a Thomas fan or have more links for me to add? Let me know.
Shop for Thomas the Tank Engine items at Amazon.com.

Santa = Books

When I was a itty, bitty Scottish lass one thing I looked forward to all year was meeting Santa Claus and Santa = Books or, more correctly, Santa = Book. I'm not talking here about meeting Santa at a department store, though I did do that at least one time which I can remember.

Funnily enough I remember nothing about meeting Santa that department store time; what I do clearly remember was the bizarre elements of this experience. The Santa display was located on the 5th floor of the department store, at least that is my version and I'm sticking to it. The only way to reach it was to climb the concrete back stairs and to wait in a big long line which snaked it's way up said stairs. I'd been in that store many times before with my mom, but we'd never climbed up that dismal stairway. It made no sense to me that we couldn't just climb the perfectly nice, carpeted stair like usual. I'm also sure I remember money changing hands party-way through the waiting process. "Why do we have to pay to see Santa Claus?", I'm sure I asked. After all, doesn't Santa give away toys for free? Anyway, I digress, because that is not the Santa who gave me books, that is not the real Santa Claus.

In case you wondered, Stories of Santa is an Usborne book, which does NOT contain my story dictated here... back to the story.

The real Santa Claus arrived on his sleigh, complete with jingling reindeer, only at the West Parish Church Primary Sunday School Christmas Party and only if we sang Jingle Bells lustily enough. Well, hopefully the real Santa Claus also brought my presents on Christmas night, but that time I did not get to see or hear him. Again I digress. The excitement of hearing Santa's sleigh arrive was almost too much. Understandably there were always a host of volunteers stationed at the hall doors to make sure no determined children escaped to the outside to see Santa's sleigh, otherwise the magic would surely disappear.

A few minutes after the adrenaline hyped children heard Santa's reindeer bells, he would appear with his very large sack over his shoulder, a sack which contained one present for each child in sunday school. It was really, really hard to sit still until your name was called. Somehow I could believe in Santa, but I could not believe that my name wouldn't be the one name which Santa failed to read aloud. It was a long, tiring process, made magical by the knowledge that Santa really had come and really had brought a gift for everyone. I only remember one gift that Santa ever gave me, or anyone, at the Sunday school Christmas party. It was a book. It was Leander the Gander. It was a book I hated and loved at the same time. It's the book of which the inside cover is shown here over on the left. It's a book about a gander who swaps necks with a cat and then with a pig. It makes absolutely no sense to me now, and it made no sense to me then. While I hated the story, it was one of a very small number of books I had as a child and maybe even the first one that was mine alone. That's why Santa = Books and why I brought this book across the Atlantic with me and still have it on my shelf. Or is that because I'm a bibliophile?

Actually I remember being pretty disappointed that Santa had brought me a book and not a toy. Now if only he'd brought me a big stack of great children's books, like the complete collection of Dr Seuss or something, I'd have been a happy little bibliophile. Was that too much to ask? You decide.

What did Santa give you? Did he give you a book? Do you still have it? This post is part of the 2008 Blog Advent Tour. Today's other participant is Lisa at Books, Lists, Life.

Surprisingly you can see Leander the Gander in all his clean-jacket fineness for sale over at Crickhollow Books. Imagine that - maybe Santa shopped there!
The Amazon.com 4-for-3 book sale is still going on - children's books in the Amazon.com 4-for-3 sale.

Fuzzy Books

Shop for That's Not My Snowman
I find that each of us has a sensory preference; luckily there are a large variety of books in the marketplace and something suitable for each child to enjoy. Fuzzy books, a sub-category of touchy feely books, are something that Usborne absolutely excels at.

In case you are lost... books on fuzzy logic at Amazon.com.

Take a look at this little snowman pictured on the left. His hat is made of soft, gray, fuzzy, fleece which begs to be touched. Each page of the book has a textured patch to enjoy, for instance one page has a red, fluffy scarf and another ribbed black buttons. The designers at Usborne don't stop at providing for the kid who loves touch though: there is a mouse to find on each page for visual interest and the wonderful repetitive text brings a rhythmic element which satisfies both the auditory learner and the child who loves music.

I'm told over and over by parents how much their child loves the That's Not My series. One family told me they constantly have them checked out of the library for their three children to enjoy. Even the 7 year old loves them! It doesn't even stop there because teachers tell me that the adjectives in That's Not My Books are incredible for developing vocabulary. Some teachers even claim to be able to pick out children who have read That's Not My books from other children in their classroom. It seems these books are a wonderful resource for learning that lasts from 6 months old to the early stages of reading.

Seasonal Books in the Usborne That's Not My... series: That's Not My Santa, That's Not My Reindeer, That's Not My Snowman.
Bestselling That's Not My... books: That's Not My Puppy, That's Not My Monkey, That's Not My Tractor, That's Not My Dolly, That's Not My Penguin, That's Not My Princess.

It's pretty hard to surpass the appeal of the Usborne That's Not My series. However if you just happen to have a little one who loves their blankie, take a look at Cuddly Baby from Usborne. The delightful, soft, cuddly blanket and other feely patches, which go along with the pastel illustrations of objects familiar to young children, make for a restful book to share at bedtime, or any time you are snuggled up together.

See inside Cuddly Baby. Also available are Busy Baby, Hide and Seek Baby, I Love You Baby and Sleepy Baby. See inside I Love You Baby.


At risk of confusing you with too much choice, the Usborne luxury touchy feely series provides books that have a little more story content and, while recommended for 9 months and up, are perfectly designed for active toddlers with developing language skills. Animal Hide and Seek has both fuzzy patches, flaps to lift, and items to find. This book demonstrates the wonderful thought that goes into making each and every Usborne book interactive, to engage a child in reading and learning. See inside Animal Hide and Seek, an Usborne Farmyard Tales book illustrated by Stephen Cartwright.

More touchy feely, fuzzy books by Usborne.
Seasonal touchy feely, fuzzy Usborne books: Hide and Seek Christmas, Christmas Mice, Nativity Touchy Feely, Sparkly Christmas Angel. An Amazon.com list of soft, squishy, cloth books.

Book Sales on Black Friday

Black Friday book sales have now ended. I will bring you details of any December book sales I hear of later.

Related post: Black Friday Books

Black Friday Books

Black Friday book sales have ended, but some of the great Usborne deals are still available

• Usborne Internet only specials currently include several books from the Young Reader series, which are perfect for readers who need 1st and 2nd grade reading level paperback-sized books. The Mini Christmas Treasury, containing stories and other Christmas items suitable for age 4 and up, is a steal at just $2.40.
• Usborne Wonderful Winter Sets include Baby's First Christmas Set, Christmas Activities Set and, my favorite, the Classic Christmas Set. You save upto 54% with these sets.
• First Reading, Young Reading and Older Reader Sets make wonderful gifts for 3-12 year olds. These sets are priced to allow you to build a home library that will take a child from very early reading to 6th grade level. Sets contain 3-10 books and save you $8-40 per set. My favorite set includes The Story of the Olympics and The Stinking Story of Garbage!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Reading to you :-)

Antsy Holiday Kids

Spot the Dog by Eric Hill at Amazon.com
As the holidays approach kids are apt to get antsy. All that excitement and busy parents can be a recipe for a melt-down. Whenever I think of putting up a Christmas tree with young kids around, I am reminded of Spot the dog. When Artist Girl was just a wee, little thing we had a VHS video tape story of Spot the dog at Christmas. Eric Hill's stories of Spot are simple, charming, and about things kids can relate to in their own lives. For instance when Spot is helping his mom with baking cookies and putting up the tree, he gets overexcited. What is so charming about the story (I'm not 100% sure I'm picturing the right story here), is that there is no blame put on Spot. The story simply says something about the decorations creating too much excitement and Spot goes outside to burn off his energy and get out from under his mom's feet. Which brings me to talking about antsy kids...

A wise friend of mine, a mom of three, did something wonderful for me when my kids were little. Every year she would send us a package of carefully selected items, which arrived before the holidays and was always the one package we'd open right away. For several years in a row we received Christmas items in our package. One year it was Rudolph mugs, another year a very large Santa puzzle, and a third year A Charlie Brown Christmas book. Now, at first I was a little puzzled with these gifts, and maybe not terribly thankful. Nonetheless, we used each item then packed it carefully away with our holiday decorations at the end of the season. As the years have gone by, my friend's wisdom has become more and more apparent. It's tradition stupid - I was a little slow on the uptake! What fun it is each year to unpack these special items and to take a few minutes out of the holiday craziness to sit down and enjoy them. What more could you want for occupying antsy kids than a book, a puzzle and a Christmas mug full of hot chocolate?

Now my kids are pretty grown up and they are the ones putting up the tree. They aren't so antsy any more and don't need a lot of calming from holiday excitement. I am the one who gets out the puzzle, sits down to read the Christmas books, and indulges in a little nostalgia. What multipurpose gifts our kind friend provided :-)

Brought to you by GreatFunbooks.com - with Christmas titles from Usborne and Christmas sets from Usborne