Elizabeth Yetter's Blog
Posted by Elizabeth Yetter
When my two children were small, they would always dream of what it would be like to be all grown up. They would announce that when they were big people they would eat all the candy they want and stay up all night long. There wouldn’t be an eight o’clock bedtime, no one would tell them they had to brush their teeth, and they’d get to do whatever they wanted all the time.
Baby Bear’s Big Dreams by Jane Yolen (Harcourt, ISBN: 0-15-205291-7), author of over 200 books, teams up with illustrator Melissa Sweet to bring us this third book in the Baby Bear series. Written for ages 3 to 5, Baby Bear’s Big Dreams is a story about a little bear who plans on doing big bear things “in a year or two.”
The Story
Baby Bear has big plans for when he grows up. His friends will come over and they will play all day. Since he’ll be a Big Bear, he’ll never have to go to bed at eight.
When Baby Bear grows up, he’ll move into a toy store, a tree house, and a tent. He’ll eat honey and berries and lots of sweet things. He’ll explore the woods and climb tall trees.
Baby Bear will visit his friends and have extra-long sleepovers. And when he’s all done, he’ll move back home with Mom and Dad, and they’ll hug him and kiss him and tuck him in his big, special bed.
Adorable Bedtime Story
Perfect for bedtime reading, Baby Bear’s Big Dreams is a calming and lyrical story to read to your young child. The rhyming verse and the comforting illustrations are a perfect combination that will make this book one of your child’s favorite stories.
Posted by Elizabeth Yetter
How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague (The Blue Sky Press, ISBN-10: 0-439-02081-7) is the latest book in their dinosaur series. Children get to laugh at the sight of dinosaurs getting to school on top of a car and causing a raucous in the classroom.
The Story
What do dinosaurs do when they go to school? Are they rough and tough? Do they bully the boys and tease the girls? Are dinosaurs naughty when they go to school? No. The ceratosaurus, silvisaurus, and even the iguanodon are good dinosaurs when they go to school. They clean their desks and help the teacher. They play nice with all their classmates. All the dinosaurs are good students and are friendly with everyone.
A Barrel of Giggles
Jane Yolen and Mark Teague have done another wonderful job at creating a funny book that gets small children to think about their own behavior at school. This is a fun book for the classroom, library story time, and at home.
Other dinosaur books by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague include:
- How Do Dinosuars Say Good Night?
- How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?
- How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
- How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?
- How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?
- How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors?
- How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends?
Posted by Elizabeth Yetter
Part of my homeschooling lessons include teaching my two children to type correctly because the skill will help them later in life when they go to college and join the workforce. Thankfully, the BBC has free online typing lessons for children.
Typing Stories and Poetry
When my children were younger, ages 6 and 8, I would have them type nursery rhymes into MS Word. After a rhyme was typed in, I taught them simple formatting. As they got better at typing and formatting the text, they were then given the task of illustrating the rhyme. Sometimes I made them draw and color a picture. They would then go through the steps of scanning in their drawing and, after using Photoshop to size it correctly, they would add the picture to the rhyme in MS Word.
Kids Can Do It!
Children are capable of a lot of learning. With patience, they will quickly learn how to type and use the many features of the programs on their computers. Before you know it, they will exceed your own skills by creating their own illustrated poetry and even homemade cards.
Posted by Elizabeth Yetter
I occasionally venture out onto the World Wide Web in search of a good story to read to my kids. What I stumbled across this morning left the three of us chuckling. Hayes Roberts free online story, The Wiener Dog Magnet, is one of the most bizarre, but addicting, children’s stories I’ve read in quite some time.
The premise of the story is a little girl, Kiki Marie, who saves her allowance money to buy a new magnet. When at the magnet store, she falls in love with the wiener dog magnet and pays a whopping nickel for it. She takes the wiener dog magnet with her and shows it all her favorite places to visit. However, when she takes the magnet to the place where the wild wiener dogs live, the real wiener dogs start sticking to the magnet. Now poor Kiki is stuck, literally, with a bunch of magnetized wiener dogs.
To find out what happens, go read The Wiener Dog Magnet online.
Posted by Elizabeth Yetter
Got junk you don’t need anymore? In desperate need of something but don’t have the cash to buy it brand new? The Freecycle Network is the perfect solution.
What Is Freecycling?
Let’s say you’re cleaning out the hallway closet. For years, you’ve been stuffing things in there. As your digging through it all, you discover coats that no longer fit your kids, a tackle box that someone gave to you and you only went fishing once, and some other odds and ends. You could just throw it all out, but why clutter up the landfills with stuff someone else might need or want? Go to Freecycle, give your junk away, and feel good about yourself.
It’s Easy
Go to the Freecycle website and search for your local group. Join the discussion list and read the basic instructions for posting. Post your items for pickup.
In Need?
Maybe your son wants to try out fishing or your daughter wants to give roller skating a try. Post your need to the group. If someone has an unwanted fishing pole or a dusty pair of skates, they’ll email you about the item and you get to decide if you want to drive over and pick it up.
Coolest Thing Ever
I joined my local group to start getting rid of some unwanted items in my home and to also find a few things I need. The people I’ve met have all been wonderful, caring individuals. I would also like to thank Celeste for the writing desk and bookcase. Kudos to all!
