Daniel X Review

I was excited to review this book because I worked in the education system for a long time and found it very frustrating finding books that boys would want to read. I have always been a bookworm and was relentless in seeking out "beyond the Potter" as I called it for my male readers. I worked hard to show my male students that reading could be pleasure and it could be a wonderful escape. I tried to recommend lots of genres and authors to them, yet often felt guilty because just until recently rarely ventured into the trade/mass publications and fiction bestseller lists myself. I was a canon snob, a voracious reader of the classics and up and coming creative nonfiction and poetry. I just hadn't let myself fall right into book club mania or Barnes&Noble list of what's hot. I had never read James Patterson and was interested in reading something as many friends loved his work.

I loved The Dangerous Days of Daniel X! The book is very well set up for a young reader with super short chapters that can be a great aid in allowing readers to feel like they are "doing well" and reading a book quickly. In my experience, reluctant readers need this as they start to pleasure read so as they do not get lost or bogged down with the feeling of "never being able to finish" a chapter. Readers cultivate the craft of reading and through quick paced YA novels like this one they gain the confidence that they are good readers.

Daniel X is a pretty amazing and sad little dude. It felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders as he set off to seek revenge upon his slain family. A boy who is gifted with super powers goes out on this amazing archetypal quest for revenge and vision quest. The journey is cool and imaginative. His character is so very likable and the writing is quick and speedy enough to keep the interest easily. I like the way that Daniel can conjure up people when he needs them and his shape shifting abilities are awesome and no doubt very appealing to kids. Daniel X who is stronger than a typical human, and wicked smart has problems when up against the list aliens who are vastly more superior even to him- but in the novel he shows the reader how he taps into his intellect to solve problems- not a bad lesson to be learned here.

The only issue I had with the book was the pop culture references and this is most likely because I am an old lady. I know it is hip and cool and a nice "buy in" for the young readers to be able to relate to these references, but I feel like it may date the books if they are to become an iconic series. It was really my only beef with this gem.

My husband who is a Sci-Fi reader himself adored the book too. We sat and chatted about how no matter what adults or Patterson fans might say-we loved the book for what it is. A new series of books that may do something to bring the kids back to the paper. To bring the noses into a new world, a world where they can believe again.
Bravo Mr.Patterson!

Book website here
Mothertalk review here
Amazon page here

swinging high

swinging high
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what are you playing this weekend?
Enjoy one another!

naughty naughty

I have been very busy gal. I tend to think I can do one million things at once and then POOF- a lot of things crumble. I am so sorry I have not posted more summer ideas. We plan on coming here and telling you more about our busy summer soon. You can visit doobleh-vay anytime- it is a place I try and stay focused and consistent. I also have some shop updates here.
Thanks.
Kiss Kiss xx

Week Three Summer Mini Camp

All around the world!

I like to create a passport for the kids during weeks that study other countries.
In previous summer school days I would take a piece of card stock and fold it in half and glue a photo of the child on front. I would make spaces in the inside for "stamping" each country as they took a visit. It was a nice daily routine for World week.

Monday:
UK
Fact Finders:
(Read Frommers travel guides and this too
Fable- Finn M'Coul (The giant of knockmany hill book by Tomie De Paola)
Craft -Make Christmas Crackers!
Snack- High Tea! Serve tea and bisquits (cookies)

Tuesday:
Japan
Fact finders:
( Read Frommers and we like these books: A Family from Japan by Julia Waterlow and National Geographic Japan)
Fable: The Star Festival
craft: Poetry Strips
Snack- Sushi oh yeah! Visit to a sushi restaurant or grab some sushi from the grocery for a treat.

Wednesday:
India
Fact Finders:
(Frommers and this one)
Fable: ( I love Indian Tales a Barefoot collection by Shenaaz Nanji!) many to choose
Craft: Rangoli
Snack: nan bread! Make yr own- check out this great post about nan!

Thursday:
Africa
Fact Finders:
Frommers and When the World Began by Elizabeth Laird
Fable: Anansi is great here- check the library for tons of books!
Craft: Batik -check this out
Snack: Make Injera ( sponge bread)


Friday:
Greece
Fact Finders:
Frommer and A Visit to Greece by Connie Roop and Welcome to Greece by Meredith Costain
Fable: Mythology all the way here! Get some ideas here and here
Craft: Evil eyes! Make some evil eyes and hang from the windows
Snack: Yumm! Make A Greek Village Salad



I also like to have a welcome home party! Celebrate what is cool about yr state/town/country on Friday at dinner time! :)
Don't forget to wake yr child up each morning and say Welcome to ______
Learn a phrase each day of the language!!!

girl!

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Mother-Talk Book Review

The Fertility Journal by Kim Hahn (founder and CEO of Conceive Magazine was a pleasure to review. I have a wonderful friend who is dealing with fertility issues at the moment and I wanted to review this so that I could share it with her. I talked with her about the book and we looked through it together. The book is a real hard cover journal type book that would be a lovely gift for a woman in your life who announces she is going to start trying.(um- 8 months average- did you know?) She said it looked like something she would really be into at this point in her life(at the one year mark of trying and being able to have doctor info in one place and not an old ratty notebook). The beginning of the journal is quite no nonsense and takes the approach of teaching you all about your fertility as if you are clueless. Well, often we are clueless as women right? We think we will stop worrying about getting pregnant and then just get pregnant when we announce it to the world or abandon birth control. We often fail to recognize the purely scientific and wondrous workings of our bodies. This journal, although it may annoy some with it's matter of fact lessons, I am sure they will be impressed with the overall product design.

The book and it's design with two parts (one for "Trying to Conceive" and one for "Fertility Treatments") has covered most topics that my friend has been dealing with or thinking about as a woman trying to become pregnant for over a year.. The first part is broken down into 12 monthly sections and has basic and necessary information with a small box for each day where you can write down your cycle day, medications, vitamins, and your BBT and other facts. She liked the tracking and journaling space provided. In the latter half of the book we thought that the sections for IVF could be longer and have more spaces as most of the friends we know took more than two treatments to become pregnant or cease treatment. It felt that the latter half of the book was strongly assuming that the next step for all women was IVF. My friend is exploring acupuncture and other alternative methods as she is healthy and so is her husband and it is just taking longer than expected. She did not talk much about the IVF treatments section as I think that she feels like this is the final frontier to most women in this situation. Many women might not be able to afford to pay the high costs of or even those who might not want to "pay" the emotional costs of IVF treatments may find this section of the book hard to read.

This journal is full of great knowledge and is presented in a modern and smart way. I will be giving this as a gift to friends and I know that any woman could benefit from information in this journal. The great thing about this book is it is the real deal and does not sugar coat the facts of life. It announces that getting pregnant is not simple for all woman and it should be looked at as a type of health and knowledge mission. This author is true to science and reality as the book urges you to think and unlike other books on the market, it will arm you with facts and not just the hope.I think that perhaps the publishers might want to think about a companion journal for the women struggling with infertility longer than a year and explore deeper the issues they face. I think this author would be able to talk frankly and yet with compassion and insight to women. My friend is using The Fertility Journal daily now and loves it. Check out Mother-Talk for more reviews!!!
Thanks Mother-talk!!!

Week Two

Bugs and Critters! ( I would love some ideas as bugs are not my thing but Finn really wants to do this theme! Please leave tips?) Merci!

Monday
Check out insects.org and insectworld.com. These books here and here are helpful!
Get some large sheets of drawing paper and brainstorm with yr kids about bugs and critters. I am going to talk about bugs and worms and insects and all sorts to my kid. Read some books together and plan yr bug adventure. Talk about vocabulary words like exoskeleton, invertebrate, and molted.
I like to have the kids help assemble a discovery kit. A discovery kit is a net, a magnifying glass, a glass jar with holes in top, a notebook, and some crayons or colored pencils. It can be as spartan and thrifty or as elaborate as you like. I like a nice safari hat to get into the mood myself :)
*Simple lesson is to talk about bug classification and choose some of the type of bugs you want to learn about for the week. Classification is something that is good for them to hear and explore as they will do so in school. Make a small chart and color it.
(each day use yr notebook to journal about bugs)

Tuesday
Ants!
Ants are easy to find outside and a good non threatening insect to begin yr week. You can talk about the three body parts of the ant today. ( head, thorax, and abdomen)
*A great art and science lesson is to construct an ant out of clay and toothpicks and talk about the three distinct body parts that all insects share.
* Have a cootie game? Play it today! talk about parts!

Wednesday
Butterfly's!
Metamorphosis is a simple and fun lesson. I am going to make a wheel of metamorphosis out of cardboard (cut two identical circles from a cereal box and use the blank sides- take an xacto knife (don't ya just love any excuse to get it out?) and cut a two inch square on the top circle near the edge. Attached the circles together with a paper fastener or a fancy brad if your a scrapper. Place simple drawings of a butterfly metamorphosis on the wheel and watch the butterfly emerge as you spin the wheel.) ( Like I did here for an emotion wheel)
*A great art activity would be to cut butterfly wings from cardboard!!!!

Thursday
Bees! Wasps!
Kids love to learn about bees and honey!!!
Have some tea and honey and talk about all things buzzy!
Make yr own bee catchers!

Friday
make a bug box here ( I love this site!!! free stuff!)
take a bug walk and collect some!!!


****Worms too here if you have time...We vermicompost and love it!

RANDOM BITS...on ebay you can get a ton of cheap insects in glass paperweights and look for Man Vs. Wild at the library for older kids to watch insect as food gross out facts and fun! Also check this out!(http://www.craftsforlearning.com/bugs.htm)
Have fun~~~