Even if you’re not Irish, it’s fun to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your family. Here are some ideas:

• You can read some Irish folk and fairy tales. 
• You can learn more about the a history of the holiday by downloading St. Patrick’s Day: Not just for the Irish. (Includes traditional recipes, too.)
• You can march in your local St. Patrick’s Day parade. (One of the healthy tips I give for Staying lean and green this St. Patrick’s Day at my blog, This Mama Cooks! On a Diet.)
• You can download a St. Patrick’s Day Coloring Book and draw. (Make sure you have plenty of green crayons on hand.)
• And of course, you can cook!

Many kids might balk at eating corn beef and cabbage, so why not try an Irish breakfast pudding?

Continue Reading »

Depending on where you are in the country, Spring Break is just around the corner (my kids are off the first week of April). It’s a challenge to keep the kids busy if you’re home trying to work, or getting out of the house whether it’s a day trip, or going far, far away via the family car or airplane.

Here are some book and activity ideas if your traveling:

Check out Usborne’s 50 Travel Games and Activities activity card set. For ages 6 and up, this fantastic pack of cards is full of fun games and things to do while traveling. Just choose a card, then follow the simple instructions on the back. The activities are on everything from guessing songs,and word games, to simple crafts. The activities can be done in the car, at food stops along the way, in line at the amusement park, or on the plane.

The cards come in a box, but I’ve seen moms have a hole punched in the corner so they can put a metal ring through them (you can do this at Kinko’s) so the individual cards can’t be dropped and lost. They put the cards in a small box along with glue sticks, crayons, paper, scissors, markers, etc. for an instant craft activity box.

Another source of activities is Playing With Stuff: Outrageous Games With Ordinary Objects. This would be a great book to keep the kids busy if you’re visiting relatives - as long as their fairly tolerant of your brood. For ages 8 through 13, kids will need to collect items from empty film canisters to bags of potato chips. These games are all about found objects.

There’s activities that use ice cubes, slices of cheese, old calendars and the remote control as well. Grandma will think you’re nuts, but the kids will have a great time playing these irreverant but imaginative games.

Even before today’s release of Pirates of the Caribbean, all things pirates was hot, hot, hot this summer with kids of all ages. Considering that the movie is PG-13, you may want to keep the younger kids home and plan some pirate activities and book readings instead.

Hunt for Treasure

One family pirate activity you can do is “hunt for treasure” with Geocaching.com. (A GPS unit is needed for this activity. If you don’t have one, ask around to friends and family. You’re bound to find a unit you can borrow.)

Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache. For more information, go to the Geocaching FAQs page.

To learn how GPS works go to GPS: The New Navigation by PBS.

Make a Treasure Map and Go on a Hunt

• Buried Treasure Hunt from Club Cranium
• Treasure Hunt from Family Activity Ideas
• Plan a Treasure Hunt from Families with a Purpose
• Throwing a Pirate Party Adventure from Kid’s Parties by Lori (great ideas to plan a treasure hunt including using the birthday cake as a map!)
• Kids Love Hunting for Treasure from Creative Kids at Home

A Treasure Trove of Reading
As I searched our library’s online catalog, I was amazed to see several female pirate stories. Here are a few that were very intriguing

• The Pirate Meets the Queen - (Grades K-4) This book by Matt Faulkner has two strong female characters, pirate Granny O’Malley (based on the legend of the Irish pirate Granuaile O’Malley) and “Red Liz” Queen Elizabeth I of England. Gorgeous illustrations and a really terrific story that will appeal to apprentice pirates of all ages and genders.
• Pirate Girl - (Grades K-2) By Cornelia Funke, this book is about a young girl, Molly, who is kidnapped by a pirate crew. She soon proves to be smarter and braver than any of the pirates aboard. This isn’t a surprise, considering her mother, Barbarous Bertha, is the toughest pirate of them all.
• The Pirate Princess And Other Fairy Tales- (Grades 4-6) This volume contains seven fairy tales adapted from the stories written by seventeenth-century Hasidic rabbi Nahman ben Simha. The collection  begins with the story of a princess who turns pirate to escape unwanted suitors and rejoin the man she loves. Several of the other stories share elements of adventure, true love, promises, quests, and fortune.
• Swashbuckling books from Usborne - Usborne features story books like two version of the classic Treasure Island (one for kids 10 years and up and the other for children ages 5 to 12).

More books from Usborne

Also from Usborne are activity kits like Pirate Things to Make and Do Kid Kit - Children can make a shining sword, a treasure chest, a moneybag, coins, an eye patch, a treasure map, a pirate hat and lots more. Kid Kit includes: Pirate Things to Make & Do book, pirate stamp (Jolly Roger Stamp), pirate stamp pad (black ink), shiny silver material for pirate sword, glue stick, scissors, black construction paper, white crayon, black felt and elastic cord for pirate moneybag, and heavy art paper for treasure chest & other projects. (ages 6 and up)

There’s also a Pirates Kid Kit which gives you all the tools you need to play pirate including the Stories of Pirates Book, Spyglass, Pirate Hat (bandanna), Gold Earring (clip on), Gold Coins, Compass, Pirate Flag. Instructions for making a treasure map plus more ideas and suggestions also included. (ages 8 and up)

Finally there’s True Stories of Pirates for ages 9 and up.

Other Pirate Activities

• Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 17 (Thanks to Jan at the Carbon Valley Library for mentioning this. It pays to listen to your librarian!)
• Discover your pirate name
• The Pirate Glossary is a great guide to pirate talk

Continue Reading »

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.

Continue Reading »

Usborne’s activity books have simple step-by-step instructions, enabling young readers to produce delightful results quickly and easily. Children (and parents) find these books very attractive because of the gorgeous graphics and photographs. Most importantly, the books are FUN and help parents get kids involved in activities away from the television.

A great example is the What Shall I Do series. What Shall I Cook? is specially designed to be quick and easy, using simple ingredients that can be found in most kitchens. Stunning photographs of the tasty results will entice any young cook (ages 7 and up) into the kitchen.

Sunshine toast

Note: this recipe involves use of a microwave and oven. Please do not let children cook without adult supervision.

You will need:

1. 1 slice of bread
2. Melted butter
3. 1 medium egg
4. Large cookie cutter
5. Cookie sheet
6. Aluminum foil or a non-stick silicone baking mat

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. If you are using aluminum foil on your cookie sheet, spray the surface with a non-stick cooking spray or grease well with butter. If you are using a silicone baking mat there is no need to grease the surface.
3. Use your microwave to melt some butter. Make sure to use a microwave safe bowl.
4. Brush the melted butter on one side of the bread with a pastry brush. Then take the cookie cutter and press it hard into the middle of the slice of bread. Wiggle it back and forth slightly while pressing to make sure you’re cutting through the bread.
5. Carefully lift out the shape you have cut out. Lay both pieces of bread on the tray with the butter side up.
6. Break the egg into a saucer and remove any pieces of shell. Carefully slide the egg into the hole you have cut.
7. Bake for seven minutes on the top rack of the oven, or for a little longer (about 10 minutes) if you don’t like a runny yolk.
8. Lift the pieces of bread carefully off the tray. Season with salt and pepper. Eat it while it’s still warm. Use the toast shape to dip in the egg yolk.

Variation: If you like cheese with your egg, sprinkle grated cheese on your egg before placing in the oven.

Continue Reading »

As a child, I had a secret desire to be an archaeologist. There was nothing more fascinating to me than digging around in the dirt to find clues to the past. So this weekend when I came across the “Bernstein’s Backyard Archaeology Projects” article from USA Weekend Magazine, it brought back a lot of memories of trying to find Native American artifacts in my backyard in New Jersey. I never found any arrowheads or pottery shards (mom found a few horseshoes) but it was fun pretending the rocks and sticks I dug up were ancient relics.

In the article, writer Gayle Jo Carter interviewed survival expert Josh Bernstein, the president and CEO of the Boulder Outdoor Survival School here in Colorado. He’s also the host of the History Channel’s family-friendly, adventure-archaeology series, “Digging for the Truth” (and all around hunk, oh my). Josh gives families five ideas for conducting their own neighborhood digs. (Don’t forget the gloves, kids!)

(From Bernstein’s Backyard Archaeology Projects by Gayle Jo Carter)

1. Have a friend destroy a small clay pot and bury it in a secret spot. Then try to find it (no fair looking for fresh dirt!). Next, dig up the pot and try to put it back together.
2. Dig a 2-by-2-by-2-foot section in the ground. (Kids, get permission from your parents first, and stick to your own yard.) Note every item you find — rocks, wood chips, sticks. Pinpoint those findings on graph paper, and label and place the items in individual bags for your collection. Don’t forget to refill the hole with dirt.
3. Bury a chicken bone for two weeks. Then dig it up and compare it with a fresh chicken bone. Now imagine a bone that has been in the ground for 5,000 years. Pretty amazing.
4. Empty a bag of household trash (kids, if it’s not yours, get permission first) and search through it. Separate the items, looking for those that would not decay in, say, 10 years. Then try to reconstruct in writing what kind of activities took place in the house based only on those items.
5. For “explorer” extra credit: Try to find and list 10 insects, 10 birds, five mammals, 10 trees and 20 plants within 30 minutes just in your immediate neighborhood. Give the list to a friend or family member and have him or her try to find the same items.

Some wonderful books for your young archaeologists:

• Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past is an activity book for kids ages 9 and up that contains practical, real world activities. Readers can analyze soil or make an oil lamp like ones the ancient Greeks used. Each chapter offers an overview of a historical era then describes the pioneering efforts of archeologists who worked on digs from those times.
• Hands-on Archaeology: Real-life Activities for Kids - For children in grades 4-10. This book shows parents and teachers how to help children conduct real-life archaeological digs. Hands-on Archaeology offers small-scale activities for at home or in the classroom using everyday materials. Then there are activities where the author takes kids out if the school to an empty lot in the community.
• Stone Age People (Make it Work! History) - Helps children ages 8-11 discover the past by hands-on projects, facts, photographs, costumes, and maps.
• Archaeologists Dig for Clues (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) - This is a great introduction to archaeology for children ages 5-9.
• Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) - for ages 4-8
• Let’s Go Rock Collecting (Let’S-Read-And-Find-Out Science. Stage 2) - for ages 4-8