*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
May; A time of flowers blooming and thoughts of summer planting. In addition, the month of May reserves a special day for the foods BBQ, Egg, Hamburger, Salad, Salsa and Strawberry, as well as celebrating National Herb Week during the first week of the month. We suggest you plant an herb garden, even if it’s in a container or on the deck, to enjoy all summer long. You might even consider having the child in your life give mom or grandma an herb plant for Mother‘s Day along with a favorite recipe filled with herbs. Have dad or another family member help kids make mom a special dinner and dessert featuring favorite herbs. A prime day to learn about another culture is Cinco de Mayo. Consider sharing a bilingual storybook. Since National Chocolate Chip, Walnut and Devil‘s Food Cake Day fall during the week of World Baking Day, find a new recipe to try out with your child(ren) and let the flour flow!
The month of May is also Get Caught Reading Month. It’s a time for you and your children to go on an adventure and lose yourself in another world. This is not just for kids but for all people to take the time to get out a favorite book or a new one and just read! Check out the Get Caught Reading site and look at all the celebrities who got caught reading and take photos of your own family members reading and share them on your Facebook page or even ours. Don’t forget that reading can include cookbooks. Consider including some classics and then cook your way through the classics with The Storybook Cookbook by Carol MacGregor or Fairy Tale Feasts by Jane Yolen.
“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.”
C.S. Lewis
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May
National BBQ, Egg, Hamburger, Salad, Salsa & Strawberry Month & Get Caught Reading Month
National Strawberry Month
Get Caught Reading Month
Get caught reading whatever tickles your fancy all month long and share your photos with us!
2nd: National Truffle Day
4th - 10th: Children's Book Week - Get in on the fun by reading your favorite children's books aloud and visit Every Child a Reader's website for celebration ideas and resources. #BookWeek2020atHome
4th: Star Wars Day - May the Fourth Be With You!
4th: National Orange Juice Day
5th: Cinco de Mayo
First Saturday: National Herb Day
13th: National Apple Pie Day
2nd Sunday: Mother‘s Day
15th: National Chocolate Chip Day
17th: World Baking Day
Hear a spectacular read aloud of How to Bake a Book (known as Recipe for a Story in the UK) on YouTube here.
17th: National Walnut Day
19th: National Devil‘s Food Cake Day
Bake the world a better place!
Happy baking and reading!
-Kate @ BTBL Author
We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.
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*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
The humble pea has never seemed to be a child’s vegetable of choice but when it comes to The Peas Series by Keith Baker, peas stand out in a big way and are adored, complete with rhythmic text and humorous illustrations filled with engaging details.
These are not identical peas in a pod. No, these little green peas are unique and have diverse interests, hobbies and jobs. Their distinctness is highlighted in a colorful animated way as they roll through the alphabet. Not only do they take a child on a fun exploration of the ABC’s in LMNO Peas, they are also featured in a book of numbers (1-2-3 Peas), colors (Little Green Peas) and months (Hap-pea All Year). LMNO Pea-quel finds the little green peas bouncing through the lowercase letters with new jobs, activities, hobbies and roles. Though the series is simple and appeals to the younger crowd, older children might find their humor appealing and the books can be used to further build and expand skills. Again, if you don’t have the books, check on YouTube for a read aloud.
When we looked up LMNO Peas activities online, the first entry was worksheets. Not an activity we wanted to start with so we came up with our own. Here is a list of some of our ideas to use with Baker’s books to have fun and build skills:
With literacy and math scores being such a concern, especially in Michigan, and with the coronavirus making the school year so short, it never hurts to play letter and number games, making their learning fun. The more you work with something, the better it will be absorbed and working with letters and their sounds will only enhance literacy skills. Reading books aloud to your child leads to better concentration, an increased attention span, greater empathy, increased vocabulary and background knowledge that can be drawn upon when needed. A total win-win situation. So, get out those magnetic letters, foamy letters and letter tiles or make them yourself and see how many imaginative ways you can use them to increase your child’s literacy skills.
Happy reading and learning!
-Kate @ BTBL Author
We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.
*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
We have found that often it’s easier to choose an author and take a trip through their characters, books and/or series. Educators call this an author study and if you Google the author’s name and “author study” you will get a plethora of activities to engage your child in from Scholastic to teachers to individual blogs. With this in mind, we have chosen to browse through the books of Mo Willems.
You may not recognize the name Mo Willems, but if you have kids, you’ve most likely heard of Elephant and Piggie and their adventures as well as Knuffle Bunny and Pigeon, who you shouldn’t let drive the bus. Willems’ books are fun, offer lessons and lend themselves well to discussions and extended activities.
If you don’t have any of Willems’s books, many are available to be heard as a read aloud on YouTube. Book activities can be found on Pigeon Presents as well as information and ideas for parents on the books, the characters and how best to utilize the activities. You can also have your child join Willems on his Lunch Doodles for more fun and creative activities.
Introduce your child to Willems’s characters through:
In addition to Mo Willems’s books, author/illustrators have teamed up with Willems to offer the ELEPHANT & PIGGIE LIKE READING! early-reader series, where Elephant & Piggie introduce kids to the books they like to read. These books feature original stories and all new characters along with Elephant & Piggie story bumpers from Willems. Though recommended for grades 1-3, my four-year-old daughter enjoys these books, especially The Cookie Fiasco.
Happy reading and crafting!
-Kate @ BTBL Author
We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.
*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
We’re back with a week filled with yummy book suggestions and ideas. This week we are featuring the works of Laura Numeroff. You may not recognize her name right off but we are sure that you will know her books or at least their titles. This week we are specifically featuring:
There are several more fantastic books in this series. We have chosen to focus on certain of the food related titles as part of our Bookworm Bakers division.
**If you don’t have the actual book at home, read alouds can be found on YouTube**
These books are always a fun read and what we like to do with them is to actually make the food that the book features. Books and baking seem to go together and getting kids in the kitchen is not only educational but also builds life skills. Cooking with young children aids in hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Cooking can also be used for patterning, sequencing and basic math skills. Children who help with cooking and baking also gain confidence, a sense of pride and accomplishment and learn about responsibility, not to mention the social and creative aspect of cooking together. If you aren’t prepared or into cooking and baking, have kids make the featured food from paper, felt or other craft supplies. You can also include math skills by having your child(ren) count out chocolate chips, sprinkles etc., double or half a real recipe or figure out how many cookies, cupcakes etc. each member of your family will get to make it even.
To make things even easier on yourself and to offer more fun options to your child, visit Mouse’s website. There you can be introduced to all the characters, see a list of all the books and find related activities and games. You can even watch the animated series on Amazon Prime Video, which my daughter absolutely fell in love with since she is already familiar with the characters. Read the books or watch a read aloud online and then check out the animated series. It will be a fun addition to the books.
Happy reading and baking!
-Kate @ BTBL
Follow us on Instagram (@btbliteracy) to keep up with the books we're reading and activities we're doing.
Author
We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.
*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
Bored yet? Pulling your hair out looking for ideas to keep those young kiddo’s engaged? We thought that we would try to help by offering up a few book suggestions with ideas for extended activities to promote learning during this time of sheltering in place.
We have always promoted reading aloud and using picture books can take a child out of their world and send them on an adventure stimulating curiosity and imagination and also offers a smooth transition to extended activities. Studies have shown that hands-on-learning improves retention of information and offers a sense of empowerment when children take ownership of learning through real experience. It also offers up experiences that can be applied to real life and gives background knowledge that can be recalled when needed.
Enjoy your week and just keep reading! And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram, so you don't miss any book suggestions or activity ideas!
Author
We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest additions, a daughter (now 4) for Kate, and two sons (now 1 and a newborn) for Amanda. We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children. |
AuthorWe are mom Sandra and daughters Amanda and Kate, all with backgrounds in literacy and education, who want to share our philosophy of taking the basics of life; books, simple toys that encourage play, imagination and creativity, and using cooking and baking to teach math and real life skills to raise happy, inquisitive children. Join us in exploring the old and the new and sifting through the myriad of research to consider what is best for our children. Archives
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