Travel Books for Kids

Summer is a great time to travel to places you either don't go often or have never been before. This might mean visiting far-away relatives, traveling to another state or even flying to another country. It might even be discovering new places in your own town. This week's books are full of ideas about where to go, some things to do in the car and what to do when you get there.

PLACES TO GO and THINGS TO SEE

 101 Places You Gotta See Before You’re 12! by Joanne O’Sullivan

A lighthouse, an aquarium, a hall of fame – these are all places you’d expect to see in this book. But how about a faraway island, the teacher’s lounge or a special place to sleep? At the end of the book are addresses of some of the places. I agree with all the 101 places and think I’d better start adding some of them to my own bucket list!

 Kids Ultimate U.S. Road Trip Atlas by National Geographic

 I spent more time than I intended looking through this book. I stopped to read about states I've been in and states I'd like to go to. That's many states! Each state has 5 Cool Things to Do, Roadside Attractions, Traffic Laws You Won't Believe, a Boredom Buster and a map to study (I love maps). If' you're taking a road trip, this would be a great resource.

 National Parks Guide U.S.A. by National Geographic Kids

Are you off to visit a national park? Lucky you! This book gives some great tips and ideas. Each park description includes sections on Basic Facts, Ranger Tips (like Don't get too close to the edge.), Best Views, Dare to Explore and others.

 Map It! Topographic Maps by Ian F. Mahaney

I love maps and can spend hours looking at them. Topographic maps are fun because they show you when the land is steep and when it's flat. This book explains how topographic maps work and when to use them. Other books in this series:

Climate Maps

Physical Maps

Political Maps

Road Maps

Weather Maps

 Not-for-Parents New York City: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know by Klay Lamprell

This book gives inside information on New York City. It tells about the skyscrapers, subways, sports, superheroes, rats, Martians and more. There are other books in this series:

Not-for-Parents : The Travel Book

Not-for-Parents : Rome

Not-for-Parents : London

Not-for-Parents : Paris

CAR ENTERTAINMENT WITHOUT A DVD

 The Everything Kids' Travel Activity Book by Erik Hanson and Jeanne Hanson

This book has a lot of ideas: things to count (you'd be surprised), games (talking-type and writing-type), be a road detective (find out about your destination), read alouds, sing-alongs, cool stuff about the states and more.

 Kids Travel: A Backseat Survival Kit by The Editors of Klutz

This book comes with the directions you need, plus the supplies ( felt-tip pens, a pair of dice, a string loop, a 100 page activity pad and more). Since it's a Klutz book, it has great instructions. There are lots of Klutz books. Here are a few that would probably work well in the car:

Bookdoggle: A Book of Lanyard & Lacing

Braids & Bows

Draw the Marvel Comics Super Heroes

Friendship Bracelets

Cat's Cradle: A Book of String Figures

 Travel Doodles for Kids by Anita Wood

If you like to draw, this book is for you. The pages are filled with pictures that are started, with a prompt, and you just need to finish it up. Funny is good here! An example: What's making everybody itch in Scratch Ankle, Alabama? There are also pages to keep track of things to count.

 IT'S A BIG WORLD

If you will be traveling to other countries, the next books may help you learn about the places you are going to. If you are staying closer to home, they will help give you a sense of life outside your own country.

 Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel

Sixteen photographers traveled to 30 countries to live for a week with families  in that country. At the end of each visit, the photographer shot a bunch of pictures, including a portrait of the family outside of their home, surrounded by all of their possessions. For some families, there are just a few things. For others there are lots. This book gives a good look at how people live all over the world. Also by this author:

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets  

 Children from Australia to Zimbabwe: A Photographic Journey around the World by Maya Ajmera and Rhesa Versola

This must have been a fun book to create! There is a country for each letter of the alphabet. The authors had to choose only one country for each letter, which must have been hard. Although there is plenty of information, I liked the pictures best. They show kids living their lives and having fun. Another book by this author worth looking at:

Children of the U.S.A.

 Wake Up, World: A Day in the Life of Children Around the World by Beatrice Hollyer 

This book shows 8 children from 8 different countries: United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, Ghana, Russia, Vietnam, Australia and India. It begins when they wake up and follows each of them through a day. We see them eating, in school, playing, helping others and going to bed. Similar books by this author:

Let's Eat: What Children Eat Around the World

Our World of Water  

 A Life Like Mine: How Children Live around the World by UNICEF and DK Children

This book presents 18 children and explores what life is like for them. It’s organized into four parts – Survival, Development, Protection and Participation. It has a ton of photographs, plus maps and children's quotes. This is my favorite of the books in the It’s a Big World section. Also by UNICEF and DK Children:

A School Like Mine

If you are traveling this summer, I envy you! While I'm staying close to home this summer, these books have been endless fun for me to read. Bon Voyage!

Gail

25 Jokes for a Summer Day

Time for jokes again! I hope you have a laughing day!

What do you get when you cross an elephant and a fish?  

Swimming trunks.

What do you call a shoe made from banana peels?  

A slipper!

Where do you learn to make ice cream?  

Sundae school

Why did the bubblegum cross the road?  

Because it was stuck to the chicken's foot.

What do you get when you cross a cheetah and a burger?

Fast food

What kind of shoes do frogs wear?  

Open toad.

Why shouldn't you swim on a full stomach?  

Because it's easier to swim in a full swimming pool!

Why did the chicken cross the playground?  

To get to the other slide.

What did the frog order at the diner?  

French flies and a Diet Croak.

Why was the mother firefly unhappy?  

Because her children weren't that bright!

What do you call an elephant in a phone booth?  

Stuck!

What has four legs and says OOM?  

A cow walking backwards

What do Triceratops sit on?  

Their Tricerabottoms

How do clams call their friends?  

On their shell phones!

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

Little Old Lady.

Little Old Lady Who?

I didn't know you could yodel!

Knock-knock.

Who's there?

Anita. Anita who?

Anita drink, I'm so thirsty!

Why do bees have sticky hair?

Because they have honeycombs!

What kind of dog likes to smell flowers?

A bud hound

How do you confuse a fish?

Put it in a round fishbowl and tell it to go to the corner!

 What is a mosquito's favorite sport?

 Skin-diving.

What is a frog's favorite music?

Hip hop!

What goes dot-dot-croak, dot-dash-croak?

Morse toad!

What do you get when you cross a dinosaur with a pig?

Jurassic Pork

Knock Knock!

Who's there?

Doughnut. Doughnut who?

Doughnut ask, it's a secret.

What did zero say to eight?

Nice belt!

(I've used this before but it still makes me laugh!}

These jokes came from:

Grandparents.com

Best Family Advice

Enchanted Learning

Know any good jokes? Write them in the Comments Box!

Gail

Guest Post: Does Your Struggling Reader Have a Vision Problem?

Today's Parent Post is written by Dr. Howard Kushner of Integrative Vision Skills . Dr. Kushneris a Developmental Optometrist in Clifton Park, NY. I first ran this post back in May, 2011. It seems time to run it again, since the information is still quite valuable.

I met Dr. Kushner several years ago by attending a workshop he presented. This workshop opened my eyes to the world of vision issues in struggling readers.

Over the years, I've referred several students to Dr. Kushner. Through Vision Therapy, these students have made huge progress towards becoming competent and confident readers and students. Not all struggling readers have vision issues but a surprising number do.

Does Your Struggling Reader Have a Vision Problem?

Does your child:

• Lose their place when reading?
• Have poor reading comprehension?
• Have poor handwriting?
• Have a poor attention span when doing close work tasks?
• Have headaches or eye strain when reading?
• Tilt their head or close one eye when reading or writing?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then your child may have a visual skill deficit.

What does vision have to do with learning? This is a critical question, in part because so many children have undiagnosed or misdiagnosed vision problems. These vision problems can interfere with reading, math, and learning in general.

Vision is the process by which we interpret and place meaning upon the information that comes in through the eyes. It is critical to understand that vision is a process that involves a connection between the eyes and the brain. Having 20/20 eyesight does not necessarily mean that you have an efficient visual process. It certainly does not mean “perfect” vision. Skills such as eye teaming, focusing, eye movement control, and the various visual perceptual skills are critical to the visual process.

Vision is our spatial sensory system. It gives us information about where we are in our environment, where objects are relative to each other, and where those objects are relative to us.

Yes, we use our visual systems for more than just determining where things are. We use vision to tell us what things are as well. However, the most fundamental function of the system is spatial in nature. The biological advantage that vision offers is directed meaningful movement.

The visual system is the guidance system for the body, the hands, and the feet. There is such an intimate relationship between movement and vision that I often think of them as one big system. It’s like they are two different sides of the same coin. If we look to nature, organisms that don’t have a spatial sensory system don’t move in a meaningful way. Yes, trees move and they don’t have a spatial sensory system. They sway in the wind, but that is not purposeful and directed.

The point of all this is that our visual system was not designed to read. The system was designed as a guidance system for the body. Reading is a relatively new activity evolutionarily speaking. In Behavioral Optometric lingo we say that reading is a “socially compulsive, biologically unacceptable task”.

One of the real problems is that the visual system was not designed for sustained precision in coordinating the eyes as a team, focusing the eyes and moving the eyes, when looking up close – which is of great necessity when reading. If we are using excessive effort or attention to coordinate, focus, or move our eyes, we are draining that attention away from the task at hand. So, comprehension suffers, reading fluency suffers, handwriting suffers, etc.

Even small visual inefficiencies can lead to big problems academically. Every day I see children in my practice with academic challenges and most of those children have visual skill issues. I always look at visual skills as “learning infrastructure.” Without efficient infrastructure reading and learning cannot be efficient.

So, what can be done to improve visual skills? What can be done to make the visual system more compatible with tasks such as reading and computer work? Often eyeglasses can be prescribed to make it easier to execute visual skills.

Also, Vision Therapy is very effective at building better visual skills. Vision Therapy is like Occupational or Physical Therapy, but for the visual system. It is a set of activities designed to improve focusing, coordination of the eyes, and eye movement control. I’ve been in practice for over 20 years and I continually see children’s lives get turned around with Vision Therapy.

I’ve also developed the Integrative Vision Skills Program. This is an innovative, home based Vision Therapy program. It is very effective at building visual skills and is based on the Vision Therapy activities that I use in my office program. You can check it out here:

Also, for a list of symptoms that could signal a vision problem, you can go here:

Above all, remember that if your child is having difficulty in school, please don’t ignore the fact that visual skill deficits can be part of the problem.

Thank you, Dr. Kushner for this post and also for the work you do to help students with vision issues become successful readers and learners.

Please leave a comment if you have questions or a Vision Therapy experience you'd like to share.

Gail

6 Marvelous Books by Maxwell Eaton III

I have been a fan of Maxwell Eaton III's books ever since I first read Best Buds several years ago. I used that book over and over in my classroom with all grades. Fifth graders found it as hilarious as second graders. There's just something about Eaton's humor that makes me smile every time I read his books.

Read on to find out about his 2 series and a single picture book.  

The Adventures of Max and Pinky Series

Max and Pinky are best friends. Max is a round-headed boy and Pinky is a clever pig. There are 3 books in this picture book series and I love them all. This series proves what I always say:

Picture books are not just for little kids!

..

 Best Buds

Max and Pinky have an adventure together every Saturday. But the question is – where’s Pinky this week? This may seem like an odd clue, but think marshmallows.

 Superheroes

Max and Pinky decide to play superheroes. The problem is, Pinky wants no part of being Mighty Max’s sidekick. How will they resolve this problem?

 The Mystery

Max and Pinky decide to paint the barn. But something is going on – it’s repainted the very next morning. The best friends investigate. Check out their alarm system…

The Flying Beaver Brothers Series

Ace and Bub are the Flying Beaver Brothers. Ace loves extreme sports and is always looking for a new adventure. Bub loves napping and, well, napping. Their adventures are told in 2 (so far) graphic novels. I hope there will be more…

Read slowly, because there is funny stuff on every page.

 The Evil Penguin Plan

Penguins threaten to freeze Beaver Island to create a resort of polar-style living. Ace and Bub put their talents to work to save their home. Can they save Beaver Island in time to still win the annual Beaver Island Surfing Competition?

 The Fishy Business

This time Ace and Bub are after another evil group. Fish Stix Environmental Manufacturing creates sticks (not fish sticks) that have no real purpose but they say are good for the environment. Ace and Bub discover what they are really up to and plot to ruin the company’s plans.

 Two Dumb Ducks

The two ducks are Steve and Carl. Steve likes cans and Carl likes socks. After being tormented by rude seagulls, they decide to get even.

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do! 

Gail

Fold, Fold, Fold: Origami Sites for Kids

 Did you check out the origami books from Monday's post? Here are some websites for inspiration.

Origami for Kids to Make from Origami-Instructions.com

There are lots of projects, some with video demonstrations.

Origami for Kids from Origami Fun

There are 12 very easy and easy projects. Other projects are available, too.

Easy Origami from The Origami Club

There are many 1 and 2 star projects, with harder one available, too.

Origami for Kids from Activity Village

There are lots of projects. Be sure to check out the easy origami booklet video.

Origami from Activity TV

There are really nice video demonstrations. Note: each demonstration starts with a commercial.

Folding Your Own Origami Yoda & Other Star Wars Papercraft from Origami Yoda

I love Origami Yoda! There are 3 Origami Yoda books, by Tom Angleberger, starting with The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. I highly recommend these books!

Origami Kids from Origami Kids

This site has some fierce airplanes.

Some of these sites encourage kids to send in pictures of their creations. I hope you give it a try!

Gail

Guest Post by Christine Petrell Kallevig: Learning through Origami and Storytelling

Origami is the topic this week. Origami is fun, motivating and is great for all kinds of learning. Today’s post is written by Christine Petrell Kallevig. Christine is an author and professional storyteller who writes educational materials, children's fiction and Storigami (story + origami). She also makes school presentations to students, plus presents professional workshops for teachers.

Even though Christine travels the globe folding paper and telling stories, she did not learn Japanese paper folding techniques until she'd already written two novels. Origami hit like a lightning bolt, though, and completely changed the direction of her creative work.

Please visit Christine’s website, StoryTimeInk, to find out more.

Skills Enhanced By Combining Origami and Storytelling

1. Listening - All storytelling promotes listening skills. Paperfolding and other props add interest and grab attention, so that listeners are curious and motivated to pay even closer attention.

2. Right cerebral hemisphere visualization - Listeners imagine the scenes described in the stories and understand the symbolic representations of the progressive origami folds. This skill is integral to successful problem solving and all creative endeavors. When a mother asked Albert Einstein how she should help her son become a scientist, he said, “Read him the fairy tales.” When she asked what came next, he said, “Then have him read them again.”

3. Left cerebral hemisphere logic and language comprehension - Listeners understand the words of the story and the sequential paperfolding steps.

4. Multi-sensory, whole brain learning - Visual, tactile, and auditory senses are all combined to provide the right and left hemispheres with input, resulting in efficient and effective learning.

5. Memory - Short term memory is improved through paired associations (story events with folding steps) and multi-sensory presentations.

6. Fine motor - Manipulating paper provides practice for manual dexterity and eye/hand coordination.

7. Spatial relationships - Key components of paperfolding include concepts of direction (left, right, inside, outside, up, down, top, bottom), symmetry, and dimension.

8. Thinking/Problem solving (according to Bloom’s Hierarchy):

a. Knowledge - Learning about origami, the story elements, recognizing shapes, etc.

b. Comprehension - Understanding the relationship between the story and folding sequences, the motivations of the story characters, determining main ideas, etc.

c. Application - Folding the origami model according to the correct sequence, teaching or helping others learn to fold the model, etc.

d. Analysis - Comparing the story events to other situations, defining story elements, taking the origami models apart and rebuilding them, etc.

e. Synthesis - Creating new origami models, writing new stories about the characters, inventing new ways to use the origami, etc.

f. Evaluation - Deciding if the character did the right thing, determining reasons why the outcome was good or bad, explaining why the folding sequence works, etc.

9. Basic Subjects - The stories can be used as part of units related to holidays, animals, social customs or skills, science principals, current events, etc.

10. Math - Besides spatial concepts, origami also includes geometric shapes, angles, proportions, creating geometric solids, geometric concepts (perpendicular, parallel, intersect, bisect, vertex, apex line of symmetry, bilateral symmetry), fractions, measurement, and basic computations.

11. Social/Self-Concept - Helping or teaching origami to others, the joy of achieving a new skill, group cooperation, and learning a positive new hobby are all important to creating a positive social climate.

12. Creativity - Besides visualization and problem solving, new experiences generate new ideas!

ALL THIS and IT’S FUN!!

Big thanks to Christine for this outstanding list. As I was researching books and information about origami, I knew it had great learning potential. I just didn’t realize how much!

Be sure to visit Christine’s website, StoryTimeInk, to find out even more. While you are there, check out her origami books and DVDs. 

Gail

A Perfect Craft for Summer: Origami Books

Have you thought about trying something new this summer? Origami may be just your thing. Or, if you’ve done it before, some of these books will challenge you to perfect your skills.

The word origami means paper folding. Most projects are folded from a single piece of paper. Most need no scissors. A glue stick is sometimes needed.

 Easy Origami by Mary Meinking

There are 10 origami projects in this book (paper cup, house, butterfly…). All seem quite do-able. Other books in this series:

Not-Quite-So-Easy Origami

Sort-of-Difficult Origami

Difficult Origami

 Origami Magic Kit: Amazing Paper Folding Tricks, Puzzles and Illusions by Steve and Megumi Biddle

The title tells it all. Included are the Magic Box, Pyramids and String, the Mobius Strip and others.

 
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Making Origami Science Experiments Step by Step by Michael G. LaFosse

I’ve never thought of combining origami and science experiments. This book suggests some questions for you to try out with your creations. There are 8 projects/experiments to try (Table Kite, Dish Soap Racing Boat, Masu Box…). Other books in this series:

Making Origami Birds Step by Step

Making Cards Step by Step

Making Origami Masks Step by Step

Making Origami Paper Airplanes Step by Step

Making Origami Puzzles Step by Step

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My First Origami Book by Cico Kidz

This is a bigger book than the other books. It has 35 projects and not all are typical origami. There are animals, flying craft, toys, decorations, gifts and cards. There’s something for just about everyone.

Girls Wanna Have Fun: Friendship Origami by Jill Smolinski

This book has 13 projects that are geared mostly for girls. Projects include jewelry, a purse, a box and others.

 Super Quick Origami Animals by Nick Robinson, illustrated by Ruth Ungert

As the title says, this book is all about origami animals. The projects include a cow, a bloodhound, a bat, a monkey and others. The “Seven Steps to Folding Heaven” are included.

 Make Your Own Art: Origami by Sally Henry and Trevor Cook

This book starts with clear picture demonstrations of all the folds you need for the 12 projects. The projects include a jumping frog, a dinosaur, a flapping crane and others. The other 11 books in the series cover different types of art, including collage, masks and puppets. 

 The Ultimate Guide to Paper Airplanes by Christopher L. Harbo

Do you like paper airplanes? Are you like me and always do the same design? Well, this book has 35 different designs. Try some out and teach your friends!

There are many origami books out there. These will get you started. Fold away!

Gail