Ironies of ironies, Nathan’s teacher at summer school is making them write in a journal! They have to do at least three sentences on a topic of their choice every day. Plus they have weekly homework, a spelling list, and have to read 20 minutes outloud every day, too. I like how this is dovetailing with what I’m doing here, in my Mother’s Journal, and with our library’s summer reading program. But it’s a lot of work for Nathan, especially for a seven-year-old who has daily karate and twice weekly baseball practice or games. (And we haven’t even started math class yet!)

I believe we’ll have plenty of time to do all the fun things we usually do in the summer, like trips to museums and playdates to the park. I’m especially looking forward to a few trips to the Denver Zoo this summer. In preparation, we’ll be reading three wonderful books from Slyvan Dell Publishing:

Turtle Summer: A Journal for My Daughter – This is a companion book to Mary Alice Monroe’s novel, Swimming Lessons, the sequel to The Beach House. In the novel, the readers witness a young mother, Toy, writing a journal for her daughter, Little Lovie. This is the journal Toy is writing, a scrapbook journal that explains the nesting cycle of sea turtles and the natural life along the southeastern coast, including local shore birds, shells, and the sea turtle hospital.

I like the idea that this is a kid’s companion book to an adult novel. It’s like sharing something growup with your child. (Click here for information on Turtle Summer, learning links and teaching activities).

ABC Safari – A great animal ABC book for younger children. Once you’ve discovered all the animals, turn to the “For Creative Minds” educational section for sorting cards and animal fun facts. (Click here for information on ABC Safari, learning links and teaching activities).

The Rainforest Grew All Around – The Denver Zoo has a rainforest exhibit, which we adore (especially the cool snakes and lizards). This book is almost as good as the exhibit, especially because it gives the song, "The Green Grass Grew All Around" an clever rainforest treatment. The “For Creative Minds” educational section is filled with facts about rainforest plants and animals, how they live, and the products we use that come there. (Click here for information on The Rainforest Grew All Around, learning links and teaching activities).

The book even includes a recipe for Rainforest Cookies that uses several ingredients from the rainforest.

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When I saw these mini book cupcakes from FamilyFun.com, I thought they would be a perfect way to kick off your summer reading program (or bribe reward your reluctant reader).

Mini Book Cupcakes
Watch a step-by-step video demonstration of this recipe!

Ingredients:

1. Your favorite cupcake recipe or premade mix
2. White frosting
3. Black gel
4. Fig Newton
5. Small Hershey bar square or Candy Blox
6. Green fruit leather for the leaf
7. Red candy Runts for the apple

Directions:

1. Make the cupcakes and let cool.
2. Spread a layer of white frosting on the cooled cupcakes.
3. Use black gel frosting to decorate a Fig Newton to resemble a schoolbook and place it on top of the cupcake.
4. For a calculator, add gel icing buttons to the smooth side of a small Hershey bar square or Candy Blox. (You can even add an extra piece of candy for the calculator’s display screen.)
5. Finally, use a drop of water to stick a green fruit leather leaf to a red candy Runts apple, and set it in place on the cupcake.
6. Enjoy!

(These would make great bake sale goodies, too!)

Like many families living on the Jersey Shore, we vacationed up and down the East Cost. In the winter months, we’d drive down to Key West, Florida, and stayed at the Southern Most Inn. (As it’s name says, it’s the southern most motel in the Continental U.S.) In the summer months, we’d head as far north as New Hampshire, with occasional jaunts into Canada, including a memorable trip to Montreal and Quebec, too. But for some reason, we never vacationed in Maine. The scary thing is – in more ways than one – that what I know about Maine comes from Stephen King novels. Ah ya.

My husband Paul is attending a chemistry conference in New Hampshire soon and is flirting with the idea of going up to Maine. So now I have Maine on the brain. Luckily I had a copy of The United States Cookbook : Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States by Joan D’Amico. For ages 9-12, the book is a mixture of kid friendly recipes, food trivia, and facts about US state history.

Did you know that Maine is the country’s number one supplier of blueberries and lobster? That at one time lobster wasn’t considered a delicacy but a "junk fish"? And that this month there’s a Clam Festival in Yarmouth, where they serve at least 5,000 gallons of fried clams, 13,500 Lime Rickey’s, 6,000 lobster rolls, 2,200 pancake breakfasts and 1,500 shore dinners? Geez, when’s the next flight out?

But you don’t have to go to Maine to enjoy great seafood. In fact, we had a wonderful clams and mussels steamed in wine, and a shrimp and lobster boil at Paul’s 40th birthday a couple of weeks ago. The amazing thing was that the meal was cooked up while we were RV camping up in the mountains. Here are some photos:

The clams and mussels

The boil

The final product (I forgot the onions)

Happy campers (Nathan, Lucie, Sadie and Jenny)

The kids were so hyper after the meal (they mostly ate the corn, potatoes and a few shrimp) it took awhile to get them to go to sleep. Luckily I had brought along some Little Bear books to read. However, I wish I brought this book instead, Grace for an Island Meal. One morning in Maine, a little girl and her family travel to a small island. They gather wild berries and mussels for the evening meal. Family and friends come together to eat, giving thanks for the simple pleasures in a day outside.

We were in the Colorado mountains, and not in Maine, but families and friends coming together to enjoy a fantastic seafood meal and each other’s company rang true.

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Though it was a challenge at first – What? We’re going to sit quietly and read books? No way! – Nathan’s and Lucie’s enthusiasm grows daily for our summer reading program. So far we’ve logged over 480 minutes per child. I’m participating in my library’s adult reading program and have read three novels so far.

They’re enjoying the books and the visits to the library. (Though sometimes it’s hard to get them to leave. I had to carry a screaming Lucie out of the library last week.) They’re also enjoying the rewards they’re getting from the library – ice cream at Good Times, kid’s meals at IHOP, and pizza from Pizza Hut.

So, how’s your summer reading program going? Do you need a little inspiration? Then check out these links:

• Scholastic’s Summer Reading Buzz – If you haven’t already done so, become a member. The site also features lots of help for parents including suggested reading lists and reading tips.
• Woman’s Day Magazine – This is a great resource for article on how to raise a reader or be a good role model for your child. Don’t forget to enter this month’s contest to win a Scholastic Pocket Reference Set.
• How to Raise Children Who Love to Read – By Carol Boles at interactive DAD Magazine – If you’re wondering why some children grow up to become successful readers and possess a love for reading, the answer is simple. Their parents have made a commitment to their reading development.
• Reading Alone Does Not Turn Children Into Bookworms – by interactive DAD Magazine – , Study Finds Genes, not just environment, play a large role in determining whether children will be bookworms.
• Turn Your Child Into A Reader - by interactive DAD Magazine – School is out and it’s the perfect time to plan a summer reading adventure for your child. The good news is planning that adventure will be very easy.

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We collect Lucie books, though the name is always spelled with the English “y” instead of the French “ie.” (She’s named after her French great-great-great grandmother Lucie and I’m named after my French grandmother, Anne-Marie, thus the “e” after Ann.) So when I spotted Lucy’s Secret at the library, I had to get it for our summer reading program time. In keeping with the Lucie theme, we also checked out two of Rosemary Well’s McDuff books, McDuff Moves In and McDuff Goes to School. (Lucy is the name of McDuff’s owner.)

The kids enjoyed the books, but it’s going to be challenging to find 30 minutes each day to read to them. I don’t think mid-afternoon is a good time since the kids were bored after 15 minutes. Yesterday, I read to them at 5 p.m. just before making dinner. There’s always bed time, of course, but I may try breakfast time, too.

With some planning, all three books would go along with some fun family activities. Lucy’s Secret is about planting seeds and waiting for flowers to grow. This book would go great with a little gardening or a visit to the local botanical gardens.

Both the McDuff books mention food. Vanilla rice pudding plays an important part in McDuff Moves In. And in McDuff Goes to School, Lucy brings a peach cobbler over to new neighbor, Celeste. McDuff Goes to School also features a lesson on how to say get down, sit, heel, lie down, jump, stay and come to your dog in French.

So let’s join McDuff and his owners Lucy and Fred in the kitchen. Here’s a quickly made – and enjoyed – vanilla rice pudding recipe from Kraft Foods.

15-Minute Vanilla Rice Pudding Recipe
Prep Time: 5 min
Total Time: 15 min
Makes: 6 servings, about 1/2 cup each

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups milk, divided
2. 1 cup MINUTE White Rice, uncooked
3. 1/3 cup raisins (optional)
4. 1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie

Filling:

1. Bring 1 cup of the milk to boil in medium saucepan.
2. Stir in rice and raisins; cover.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Let stand 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare pudding as directed on package with remaining 2 cups milk.
6. Add rice mixture to prepared pudding; stir.
7. Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap; cool 5 minutes. Stir.
8. Serve warm or chilled.

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