It must be the start of school, because I’ve never seen so many cool book and reading related activities going on. Here’s a roundup:

• The 40th anniversary of S.E. Hinton‘s The Outsiders: You can join the online book discussion this month at the Barnes & Noble kid lit book club site.
• September 8 is International Literacy Day: International Literacy Day is a timely reminder to the world about the importance of literacy for individuals, families, communities and whole societies. The official celebration includes the awarding of the 2007 UNESCO literacy prizes to laureates from China, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the United States of America. RIF (Reading is Fundamental) and Colgate’s Healthy Habits/Healthy Bed: The two organizations have joined forces to get wash, brush and read at bedtime. The website features tips for parents and activities for kids including starring in your own bedtime story. You can customize and create an adventure story online, then print it out for your child to keep. If you have kids who don’t like to brush their teeth, you may want to create a Healthy Habits Nightly Log.
• September 20 is Jumpstart’s Read for the Record: Jumpstart is asking Americans to support early education opportunities by reading The Story of Ferdinand together on September 20, 2007. They’re trying to break the record for the largest shared reading experience ever, which was set by 150,000 people on August 24, 2006 during the inaugural year of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign.

Now what’s on the menu for lunch?

Another School Lunch Idea – Spiral Sandwiches

Nathan has told me that all he wants for lunch is two puddings and PB&J on white bread. That’s it! No carrots, no applesauce (though I do sneak it in), not even a cookie or banana. He buys milk at school and on Tuesdays gets hot lunch (spaghetti). Well, at least the kid’s predictable.

But if you have a child who loves variety, check out FamilyFun.com’s spiral sandwich idea.

Spiral Sandwiches
Get your child’s input on what fillings they’d like to try – nut butters, peanut butter, sliced deli meat, thinly sliced or shredded cheese, spreadable cheeses, wheat or veggie tortillas, lettuce, sliced fruit, jam, hummus, peppers, etc. Have fun experimenting and try to sneak some veggies in if you can.

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature (for a healthier option, use low or no fat cream cheese)
2. 4 chives, 1 sprig of dill, and/or 3 basil leaves (optional)
3. 2 eight- to ten-inch flour tortillas (try whole wheat or veggie tortillas)
4. 1 tomato, seeded and sliced into thin rounds
5. 6 spinach leaves

Directions:

1. Place the cream cheese in a small bowl. For herb cream cheese, use scissors to snip the herbs into tiny pieces, then mash them into the cream cheese with the back of a spoon.
2. (If you have a cheese spreader or small cake frosting spatula, use it instead of a knife. The larger surface makes it much easier to spread the cream cheese mixture on the tortilla.) Spread a little cream cheese on each of the spinach leaves, then spread the remainder in a thin layer onto the tortillas.
3. Place three tomato slices in a row down the middle. Top with the spinach leaves, cream cheese facing up.
4. Roll up each tortilla tightly into a log. Pinch the seams shut. Use a serrated knife to slowly slice each log crosswise into 5 or 6 pinwheel sandwiches.
5. Refrigerate to “firm up” the cream cheese.

Click here for more school lunch ideas from My Readable Feast.

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