Back to Basics Literacy
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Back to Basics
    • Contact Us
  • Reading Aloud
    • Research
    • Book Lists >
      • Ballet Books
      • Board Books
      • Alphabet Books
      • Number Books
      • Interactive & Sensory Books
      • Manners & Etiquette Books
      • Stories about Books, Reading & Libraries
      • Fables, Folktales & Fairy Tales
      • Nursery Rhymes & Poetry
      • Holiday Books
      • Graduation Books
      • Baking & Cooking Books
      • Gardening & Farm Books
      • Nature Books
      • Thankfulness & Gratitude Books
      • Pirate Books
      • Books Discussed in Our Handbook
    • Workshops
    • Literacy Events & Attractions
  • Bookworm Bakers
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Toy Recommendations

 Back to Basics

Reading and cooking with kids

Welcome to Bookworm Bakers!

11/5/2018

0 Comments

 

Where the love of baking and cooking (and of course eating) is combined with the joy and love of reading.

     Back to Basics Literacy was established with the goal of bringing children and their families back to the basics of life, such as reading aloud to their children, eschewing screens for the very young, embracing pretend play and promoting toys that build imagination and creativity. What better way to get back to basics than in the kitchen working with your hands to create something yummy? So along that line, this is the first in a series of blogs regarding cooking/baking combined with reading to help you see your kitchen in a whole new way.
     Reading is essential in the kitchen. When one creates a meal or baked goods, they need to read recipes, boxes, jars and containers. Working in the kitchen also aids young children’s hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as well as teaching patterning, sequencing and basic math skills. Learning becomes a natural part of what a child is doing in the kitchen while they also gain confidence, a sense of pride and accomplishment and learn to be responsible. When we started cooking and baking with my now three year old, we noticed that books with a cooking or baking theme seemed to jump out at us when we went book shopping and there are some excellent titles out there. There are also some really wonderful and fun cookbooks available and so we thought, why not combine the two?
Picture
Slicing apples for a Dutch Apple Pie
Great recipes + great stories = great memories.
     Spending time in the kitchen affords you and your loved ones the opportunity to build real life skills while bonding with your children and creating lasting family memories.
     Cooking with your child is such a fun, engaging, and terribly tasty pastime and a positive on so many fronts that it should be a part of every childhood. A story can be used along with cooking to either introduce a food or activity or it can be read when you are done to reinforce what you have just completed. So keep visiting our site for recipes, ideas and story books that enhance the experience that will keep you and your children engaged in the kitchen while building lasting memories.
Picture
     If you're looking for some titles to get you into the cooking/baking mood then please take a look at our list of Baking, Cooking, Gardening & Food Related Books!
     Some of my daughter's personal favorites include:
Picture
The Best Mouse Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Picture
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems
Picture
Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk
Picture
Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells
Picture
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Picture
To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda
     Be on the look out for our next Bookworm Bakers post and in the mean time share stories and encourage your child to help out in the kitchen as much as they can!
Happy reading and cooking!
*Note: this post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Any purchases made via the links provided go to support our literacy efforts.
0 Comments

BTBL Rocks!

10/10/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Have you noticed painted rocks suddenly popping up all around your community and been a bit puzzled by the phenomenon?

Have you picked up a painted rock and turned it over to see if there was anything written on the back? Did you then go online to the specified page and share an image of your find?

Are you completely confused and have no idea what I am talking about?
 
The Kindness Rocks Project is the one that started the painted rock craze. The idea behind the initiative is to encourage creativity and spread a little joy and kindness by painting a rock with a beautiful image or uplifting message/saying/quote and then hiding it in a public location for someone else to find. On the back of a painted rock you will typically find the name of a Facebook group where you can share a photo of the rock you found. Then it is expected that you would help spread the joy by re-hiding the rock or painting your own to hide.

This activity has become especially popular with children, turning trips out to the grocery store or local park into treasure hunts. My own daughter and I have gone to the park with the sole intention of searching for painted rocks or hiding rocks we found on a previous outing. The excitement on her face whenever she finds a painted rock is absolutely priceless!
 
After a couple outings, we decided to paint some rocks of our own to send out into the world. But then real inspiration hit. We absolutely love reading and want to share that love with the world. Reading totally rocks (haha, get it?)! So, why not paint some rocks with quotes about the joys of reading? Better yet…why not paint rocks with quotes from our favorite stories?! Hang on to your hats here folks…why not then create a Facebook group devoted to sharing these painted rocks that celebrate all things book, literacy and reading related?!?

And that is how BTBL Rocks! came to be.

Linked with our Facebook page you will find our group BTBL Rocks! The purpose of this group is to share the joy of books and reading via rocks that have quotes from or the title of your favorite book or an image of a beloved character painted on them. Brighten someone’s day with an inspiring or humorous message from a literary work and you just might lead them to their new favorite book!
 
Below is a list of all of the titles that have been featured on our rocks thus far:

Nursery Rhymes:
  • This little piggy went to market.
  • Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
 
Picture Books:
  • Priscilla McDoodleNutDoodleMcMae asks, “Why?” By Janet Mary Sinke
  • When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic
  • Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
  • The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
  • Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
  • All in a Day by CynthisRylant
  • The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson
  • The Jellybeans Love to Read by Laura Numeroff& Nate Evans
  • ChickaChicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault
  • Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus!by Mo Willems
  • Hippos Go Berserk!by Sandra Boynton
  • Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
  • One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo
  • Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
  • A Roomful of Questions by Tracy Gallup
  • Monkey and Duck Quack Up! By Jennifer Hamburg
  • Too Many Toys by David Shannon
  • The Big Elephant in the Room by Lane Smith
  • Creepy Carrots!by Aaron Reynolds
  • Zombelina by Kristyn Crow
  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
  • Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
  • The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
  • One Fish Two Fish by Dr. Seuss
  • Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
  • The Itsy, Bitsy Pumpkin by Sonali Fry
  • If You Give a Moose a Muffinby Laura Numeroff
  • If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
  • If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
  • If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff
  • On Market Streetby Arnold Lobel
  • Amelia Bedeliaby Peggy Parish
  • The Dark by Lemony Snicket
  • Steam Train, Dream Train by Sherri Duskey Rinker
  • Exclamation Mark! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?by Bill Martin, Jr.
  • Today is Monday by Eric Carle
 
Please join BTBL Rocks! on Facebook and help us spread the joy of reading!
 
Happy hunting and reading!

0 Comments

    Author

    We 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

    January 2022
    November 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All
    ABC Books
    Alphabet Books
    Arbor Day
    Autumn/Fall
    Background Knowledge
    Back To School
    Ballet Books
    Banned Books Week
    Board Books
    Book Advent Calendar
    Book Finds
    Book Quotes
    Books
    Book Sales
    Bookworm Bakers
    Boredom
    BTBL Rocks
    Bugs/Insects
    Calendars
    Censorship
    Children's Book Week
    Christmas
    Coloring
    Cooking
    Creativity
    Dewey Decimal System
    Dr. Seuss
    Early Literacy
    Earth Day
    Easter
    Environmental Print
    Extended Activities
    Fairy Gardens
    Fairy Tales
    Family Literacy Month
    Farmers Markets
    Flowers
    Gardening
    Get Caught Reading Month
    Gratefulness
    Halloween
    Hands-On
    Hanukkah
    Holidays
    Homeschooling
    Imaginative Play
    Inspiration
    Intellectual Freedom
    Kids In The Kitchen
    Kindergarten
    Kindness
    Kindness Rocks Project
    Language
    Learning
    Libraries
    Library Card Sign-up Month
    Magnets
    Manners & Etiquette
    Math
    Natural Playgrounds
    Natural Reader
    Nature
    New Year Resolutions
    Number Books
    Nursery Rhymes
    Outdoor Play
    Picture Books
    Play
    Poetry
    Puzzles
    Read Across America
    Reading
    Reading Aloud
    Reading Comprehension
    Reading Month
    Repetition
    School Libraries
    Screen Free Week
    Spring
    STEM
    Storytelling
    Storytime
    Summer
    Summer Slide
    Teaching
    Tell A Fairy Tale Day
    Thanksgiving
    Toys
    Unplug
    Used Books
    Valentine's Day
    Vocabulary
    Winter
    Winter Books
    Words & Word Play
    World Read Aloud Day

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Back to Basics
    • Contact Us
  • Reading Aloud
    • Research
    • Book Lists >
      • Ballet Books
      • Board Books
      • Alphabet Books
      • Number Books
      • Interactive & Sensory Books
      • Manners & Etiquette Books
      • Stories about Books, Reading & Libraries
      • Fables, Folktales & Fairy Tales
      • Nursery Rhymes & Poetry
      • Holiday Books
      • Graduation Books
      • Baking & Cooking Books
      • Gardening & Farm Books
      • Nature Books
      • Thankfulness & Gratitude Books
      • Pirate Books
      • Books Discussed in Our Handbook
    • Workshops
    • Literacy Events & Attractions
  • Bookworm Bakers
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • Toy Recommendations