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It’s amazing how you can get inspired for the holidays everywhere you go. Stopping by my local post office the other day, I grabbed a copy of USA Philatelic, a catalog for stamp enthusiasts. (You can see the catalog online at the U.S. Postal website.)

With gift shopping season here, you should check it out. They have a lot of great activity books and toys that will appeal to kids (and are educational) such as:

• Disney’s Let’s Write a Letter - This 20-page book is filled with Disney characters and offers instructions on letter writing for kids. The set includes eight pieces of stationary and envelopes and eight The Art of Disney: Romance stamps. ($14.95)
• Curious George Wonders Stamp and Sticker Book - Curious George introduces kids to stamp collecting in this activity book, and is a wonderful way for kids to learn about some of the natural and man-made wonders of the U.S. Comes with eight Favorite Children’s Book Animals stamps. ($9.95)
• Space Discovery Book Inside Outer Space Collectible Activity Book - This children’s activity book takes kids on a journey through space, where they’ll discover secrets of the cosmos.  Includes five Inside Outer Space stamps and a special holograph envelope. ($9.95)

There’s also stamp collecting kits on subjects like history, famous people, Marvel Comics, travel and baseball.

Preschool Inspiration

After the post office trip, I went to pick up Lucie at preschool. The teachers had set up two large pumpkins on a table and the kids were using rubber mallets to hammer golf tees into the oversized gourds.

The boys were really loving it. After all how often do you get a chance to whack away at a pumpkin? I thought it was a very clever idea. Plus, now I know what to do with all those golf tees that I find in Nathan’s pockets after he hits the links with his dad.

Thanksgiving Fun

Golf tees in a pumpkin? How about skewers of fruit to turn a squash and a pear into a vegetarian turkey called a Fruit Gobbler? This edible Thanksgiving craft comes from FamilyFun.com.

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Has reading a book ever provoked such an emotional response that you’ve actually started crying? A few of the books that have cause me to tear up include Charlotte’s Web, Bridge to Terabithia and The Velveteen Rabbit.

But none have done me in like Samsara Dog by Helen Manos (illustrated by Julie Vivas). This Kane/Miller chidren’s book leaves me weeping, choked up and completely unable to talk leaving my children to wonder, “What the heck is wrong with mommy?”

Samsara Dog is based on the Buddhist concepts of Samsara and Nirvana (basically reincarnation and reaching enlightenment). The story follows a dog from his various incarnations where he learns about love, life, death and dying.

Samsara Dog lived many lives.
Some of his lives were long.
Some lasted only a few days.
Dog never remembered them.
He lived each life as it came,
until he learned the most
important lesson of all.

I found the concept of dog reincarnation a bit hard to understand since my beliefs are more in the Western Judeo-Christian realm. Even so, I appreciated the unique way Manos told a story of a dog learning not to fight and be vicious, but to trust, take care of, and love someone. Even if you don’t share a belief in reincarnation, you should be able to appreciate these universal life lessons.

So get out the tissues and be prepared for a lovely, enlightening, and touching story to share with your children. Afterwards, you may want to cheer yourself up with a treat. How about some raspberry peach cobbler?

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Elizabeth Kennedy at About.com’s Children’s Books is recommending the Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook as “one of the most visually appealing cookbooks [she has] ever seen.”

Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook is an imaginative, active way to invite kids of all ages - especially 6 to 12 year olds - to get in touch with real food, to see where it comes from, to take responsibility for preparing it, and to have fun in the process.

With summer farmer’s markets in full swing, this is a great time to use such a cookbook. Another great resource is the Internet, of course, and one great website for summertime recipes comes from the National Watermelon Promotion Board. They have some great kid friendly and healthy, seasonal recipes. Here’s a small sample.

Watermelon Banana Split
A healthy twist to an old favorite - serves four

Ingredients:

1. 2 bananas
2. 1 medium watermelon
3. 1 cup fresh blueberries
4. 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
5. 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
6. 1/4 cup caramel fruit dip
7. 1/4 cup honey roasted almonds

Instructions:

Peel bananas and cut in half lengthwise then cut each piece in half. For each serving, lay 2 banana pieces against sides of shallow dish. Using an ice cream scooper, place three watermelon “scoops” in between each banana in each dish. Remove seeds if necessary. Top each watermelon “scoop” with a different fruit topping. Drizzle caramel fruit dip over all. Sprinkle with almonds.

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