A Little Fancy...

My daughter and I have been enjoying "Fancy Nancy" books. Fancy Nancy is a young girl who loves all things posh (which is a fancy word for fancy). People, clothes, food, writing, and colors can be made fancy or stupendous. The vocabulary in the stories is lavish, it opens up so many ideas for language. Nancy's fanciness is a form of self expression that is accepted and supported by her unadorned (plain) family.


On Tuesday, May 22 we will:

• Read Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor.
• Discuss how Nancy expressed herself by being fancy, how do you express yourself? What are things that you enjoy? What is something you wish others would understand or do?
• Have a "Fancy and Stupendous Tea Party."
• We will enjoy some chamomile or berry tea sweetened with honey, and other fancy treats.
• Talk about the fancy words from the story. What other fancy words can we come up with?
• Get as fancy as we can! I will bring our dress up box (which is overflowing) and we will have some fancy free play!

Please feel free to come dressed in your fanciest. Try to include as many colors as you can!

Ideas For Home:

• Spend a whole day or week being fancy! Start by reading some Fancy Nancy stories and then make a list of all the things you could do. Such as a tea party, meals, decorating, and clothing.
• Keep a word list going of the fancy words you use. Older children can be introduced to a dictionary and thesaurus.
• Make your own fancy pens like Nancy, for children to practice writing their names on own stories.
• Here is a family who enjoyed a week with Fancy Nancy.
• Have parfaits, fancy for yogurt or ice cream sundaes.

Where the Wild Things Are

Children's literature lost a great writer/illustrator recently. Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was best known for his story "Where the Wild Things Are." He was uniquely brilliant and I am so glad that he shared his imagination through children's books. 


Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 15 we will:

• Read "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.
• Have a quick discussions about feelings. When Max was feeling sad and upset, he used his imagination.   We will make a list of things we can do when feeling sad or mad.
• Make a "wild thing" using symmetry art.
• "Sail" in boats through night and day.

Ideas for home:

• READ, READ,  AND READ SOME MORE!!! Here is a list of 10 reasons why reading is important.
• More info on the importance of reading here.
• Reading tips for parents.
• Developmental milestones for literacy.
• "The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. " -from ASLC

• List of Coldecott metal winners.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” 

― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."  ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.  Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."  ~Attributed to Groucho Marx

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."  ~Paul Sweeney

"TV.  If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six.  Open your child's imagination.  Open a book."  ~Author Unknown

Happy Reading!!

Let's Celebrate

Let's celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
Read about the history of Cinco de Mayo here. I had thought that the holiday was to celebrate an Independence day for Mexico, but it's not! The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.


On Tuesday, May 8, we will:

• enjoy some music and dance a "hat dance"
• Play "Jalapeno Hop"
• Enjoy some vegetarian burritos with Miss Kourtney's home-made tortillas and re-fried beans.
• Recipe here. I make these beans once a month in our house and the whole family loves them! I love that are simple to make and are made from scratch with a few "real" ingredients.

You can find Cinco de Mayo information, recipes, crafts, and ideas for home here.

Happy playing!