Books about Our Bodies

We spend our whole lives inside our bodies. Shouldn't we know more about them? Yeah, I think so too. Today's book post has lots of books to read. You are bound to learn new stuff - I know I did!

THE WHOLE BODY

 Inside Human Body by Dr. Aron Bruhn, illustrated by Joel Ito and Kathleen Kemly

This book covers all the major body systems and does it clearly and with easy-to-understand text and pictures. Many of the pages open up to double pages so the illustrations can be really big.

 The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body by David Macaulay

This book has a ton of information. It’s not for beginners but it would be perfect if you are really into knowing how the body works.

 From Head to Toe: The Amazing Human Body and How It Works by Barbara Seuling, illustrated by Edward Miller

This is quite a nice book. It has interesting bits of information about all the body systems. The illustrations are clear and entertaining. And there are neat experiments for each of the systems, such as making a hinge joint and making a muscle.

 Totally Human: Why We Look and Act the Way We Do by Cynthia Pratt Nicholson, illustrated by Dianne Eastman

Some of the 22 questions answered in this book: Why do you crave junk food? Why do you shake when you’re scared? Why do you remember? Why do you burp and fart? Admit it - haven't you wondered?

BODY PARTS AND FUNCTIONS

 A Drop of Blood by Paul Showers, illustrated by Edward Miller

This is a picture book with lots of good basic information. It tells all about blood without getting too technical. The illustrations are funny and there are 2 clever poems. The last pages have more information and resources.

 My Brain by Dana Meachan Rau

This book does a nice job of simply explaining how the brain is in charge of everything our bodies do. The illustrations are mostly photos of kids performing as their brain directs. This is part of the What’s Inside Me? series. Other books include:

My Stomach

My Bones and Muscles

My Heart and Blood

My Lungs

My Skin

Breathing by Anna Sandeman (sorry, no link)

This book is also part of a series, Body Books. It goes into more depth than the previous series but is still clearly written. I particularly like the illustrations. Many of them are photos of kids with the bones and organs drawn on top to give a clear idea of where everything is. Other books in the series include:

Babies

Blood

Bones

Brain

Senses

Skin, Teeth & Hair

 You Can’t See a Bone with Binoculars: a Guide to Your 206 Bones by Harriet Zeifert, illustrated by Amanda Haley

The text and illustrations take you on a tour through the human skeleton. Readers are encouraged to find and feel each bone as it is described. It’s based, quite loosely, on the song that starts, The head bone is connected to the neck bones. I like this book a lot. Other books by this author about the human body include:

You Can't Take Your Body to a Repair Shop: A Book about What Makes You Sick

You Can't Taste a Pickle with Your Ear

 Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, and Yawn by Melvin Berger, illustrated by Paul Meisel

I guess we’ve all wondered about why we do these things. This book does an outstanding job of clearly explaining. The illustrations help support the text very well.

Eyes and Ears by Seymour Simon (sorry, no link)

If you are looking for solid information about your eyes and ears, this is the perfect book. Written at an upper elementary level, it clearly explains how eyes and ears work. The illustrations are amazing. Other books by this author about the human body include:

Bones: Our Skeletal System

The Brain: Our Nervous System

Guts: Our Digestive System

The Heart: Our Circulatory System

The Human Body

Lungs: Your Respiratory System

Muscles: Our Muscular System

Skeletons

Well, these books will get you started learning about your body. Next week I'll have more for you!

Gail

Fun Ice Cream Games and Activities for Kids

Today’s post is all about ice cream – what’s not to love about that?

COOKING

PBS Kids Homemade Ice Cream

eHow: How to Make Ice Cream in a Bag

Martha Stewart

Summer Ice Cream Treats

Blender Drinks

Ice Pops

CRAFTS

All Kids Network Paper Ice Cream Cone Craft

DLTK: July is National Ice Cream Month

Making Learning Fun: Puffy Paint Ice Cream Cone

GAMES

Cyber Cones

Bomb Pop Games

eCookingGames: Ice Cream Games

Have you found any fun ice cream cooking, crafts or games? Write them in the Comments Box!

Gail

Looking at Attention Issues: What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

Today’s post is part 2 of the Looking at Attention Issues series. Most of the information is from the website PubMed Health, which is produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a division of the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

ADHD is a problem with inattentiveness, over-activity, impulsivity, or a combination. For these problems to be diagnosed as ADHD, they must be out of the normal range for a child's age and development.

Symptoms

The symptoms of ADHD fall into three groups:

• Lack of attention (inattentiveness)
• Hyperactivity
• Impulsive behavior (impulsivity)

Inattentive symptoms

1. Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork

2. Has difficulty keeping attention during tasks or play

3. Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly

4. Does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace

5. Has difficulty organizing tasks and activities

6. Avoids or dislikes tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork)

7. Often loses toys, assignments, pencils, books, or tools needed for tasks or activities

8. Is easily distracted

9. Is often forgetful in daily activities

Hyperactivity symptoms:

1. Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat

2. Leaves seat when remaining seated is expected

3. Runs about or climbs in inappropriate situations

4. Has difficulty playing quietly

5. I s often "on the go," acts as if "driven by a motor," talks excessively

Impulsivity symptoms:

1. Blurts out answers before questions have been completed

2. Has difficulty awaiting turn

3. Interrupts or intrudes on others (butts into conversations or games)

Signs and tests

Too often, children are incorrectly labeled with ADHD. On the other hand, many children who do have ADHD remain undiagnosed. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued guidelines to bring more clarity to this issue.

The diagnosis for ADHD is based on very specific symptoms, which must be present in more than one setting.

• Children should have at least 6 attention symptoms or 6 hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms, with some symptoms present before age 7.
• The symptoms must be present for at least 6 months, seen in two or more settings, and not caused by another problem.
• The symptoms must be severe enough to cause significant difficulties in many settings, including home, school, and in relationships with peers.

The child should have an evaluation by a doctor if ADHD is suspected. Evaluation may include:

• Parent and teacher questionnaires (for example, Connors, Burks)
• Psychological evaluation of the child AND family, including IQ testing and psychological testing
• Complete developmental, mental, nutritional, physical, and psychosocial examination

My thoughts

ADHD is a big topic of conversation in schools. Teachers are often the first ones to note behaviors that may be symptoms of ADHD. But the important word in that statement is may. If a teacher has concerns about a student’s attention, she is right to speak of her concerns with the student's parents. But teachers do not diagnose ADHD. Diagnosis is a medical issue.

Do you have questions you’d like to see covered? Experiences to share? Please write them in the Comments box. Thanks.

Gail

10 Picture Books for Everyone

Time for more picture books! These are ones I've enjoyed lately and I think you will too.

 I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

There is something about the bear in this book that I just love. His expression never changes and yet I think I know what he’s thinking. The story: the bear has lost his hat and goes from animal to animal to ask if they’ve seen it. Simple, yes. But I found myself reading it over and over, just to watch this bear.

 You Will Be My Friend! by Peter Brown

Lucy is a young bear. She decides that today is the day she will make a new friend. Unfortunately, her search doesn’t go so well. In fact, the day is almost over and Lucy hasn’t found a new friend. Will she ever find a friend? The illustrations are quirky and funny.

 What Animals Really Like by Fiona Robinson

Are you someone who likes to do things others don’t expect you to like? Well then, you’ll totally get what these animals are going through! Herbert Timberteeth (I think he’s a beaver) has written a song all about what animals like. But… he’s gotten it all wrong. Never mind, he figures it out in the end. Outstanding illustrations!

 Bumble-ardy by Maurice Sendack

Do you remember Where the Wild Things Are? This book is by the same author. Bumble-ardy is a pig who never had a birthday party for his first 8 birthdays. When it’s time for his 9th birthday he decides to give himself one. It’s a beauty of a party with costumes and cake. But what will happen when his aunt comes home and finds a wild rumpus?

 Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester L. Laminack, illustrated by Henry Cole

Things were quiet on the Tuckers’ farm. Until the peacock showed up. He turned out to be very handy. His showiness brought kinds of business to the farm stand. But the hens were jealous. Should they trade places with the new guy? I laughed several times reading this book!

 The Desperate Dog Writes Again by Eileen Christelow

Emma has a problem. When her owner George gets a new girlfriend, she feels very left out. And when this woman brings her dog, this is just too much. Emma e-mails "Ask Queenie," an advice column for dogs who are having problems with difficult humans. I loved Letters from a Desperate Dog and this one is a winner too.

 Sophie’s Fish by A.E. Cannon, illustrated by Lee White

Jake’s friend, Sophie, asks him if he would take care of her fish when she goes on vacation. He says okay, thinking “How hard can it be to take care of a fish?” But before the day she brings her fish over, Jake starts to worry and imagine all kinds of problems. I love the story, the illustrations and the ending. Don’t look ahead!

 The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer, illustrated by Chris Sheban

Do you have a book you really, really like? The girl in this story has one and when she and the book are separated, the book gets lonely. I like thinking a book I love misses me when I’m gone!

 Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean and Eric Litwin

Pete the Cat has a favorite shirt with 4 buttons – 4 groovy buttons. But… one by one they pop off. No problem, he can still sing his song. There is a link given to hear the book read and the song sung. My only problem – the song is now stuck in my head!

 Beach Feet by Kiyomi Konagaya, illustrated by Masamitsu Saito

The author and the illustrator clearly know beaches! Both the words and the illustrations are beach-perfect. You just can’t help but feel the hot sand, the waves and shell underfoot.

Looking for more (not just for little ones!) picture books? I'll have another bunch next month!

Gail

Fun Activities for August

The Website Education.com has a ton of activities. They've organized them by grade level. Here are the grade level links, plus the links to some of my favorite activities. Don't be too limited by the grade levels. There are fun things to try on all levels.

Kindergarten

Crystal Ornaments

Grade 1

See-through Egg

Grade 2

Balloon Powered Car

Grade 3

Homemade Kaleidoscope

Grade 4 

Undercover Intruders   

Grade 5

Inspector Detective

Middle School

Blueberry Sorbet

Extract DNA from Spinach

Have fun with these!

Gail

Looking at Attention Issues: Tips and Activities for Promoting Attention Skills

Pay Attention! 

We all need to be good at paying attention. Attending to our environment and the people in it is essential for learning and safety. Today’s post starts a 5-part series on attention issues. Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5 were originally posted last August, with some modifications. As we finish up summer and head into a new school year, looking at attention issues is a timely topic.

Part 1: Tips and Activities for Promoting Attention Skills

Part 2: What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

Part 3: Making the ADD / ADHD Diagnosis

Part 4: Finding Treatment for ADD / ADHD

Part 5: Resources for Attention Issues

Tips and Activities for Promoting Attention Skills

  

Face it, we all have troubles with paying attention at times. Here’s a short list of just some of my times:

• when I’m worried
• when something is really interesting, other than the task at hand
• when there’s distracting music or background noise
• when I’m bored
• when I don’t understand what’s being said
• when I’m tired
• the list goes on…..

So, considering all the situations that can interfere with our ability to pay attention, shouldn’t we cut our kids some slack? We’ve learned how to pull our focus back to where it should be. Let’s give our kids some of those same opportunities to learn. 

Listed below are ways some teachers and parents have come up with to help their kids develop attention skills. Will all of them work for your kids? No. But consider them and try the ones that seem promising to you. Important: make activities family activities. That is, whenever possible, take turns so every participant is in the teacher role and in the learner role.  

1. Pay attention to what works for you. What works when you have to pay attention but would really rather not? Try sharing this with your child. It will show that we all struggle with attention issues and may be helpful to him.
2. Listen to sounds on a CD – there are commercial materials available, or you can make your own. Listen to a sound and do a specific activity.
3. Sound walk – listen for different sounds as you go on a walk. Use these to paint a picture or write a story or poem.
4. Simon says – listen carefully for specific instructions and then do the actions.
5. Audio CDs – listen while reading/looking at illustrations.
6. Whispers – pass an action message round the circle. The last one to receive the message has to perform the action.
7. Listen and color/draw – tell participants how to color/draw a picture, either live or via a recording.
8. Twenty questions – Hide something in a box (actual/picture/word). Take turns asking yes/no questions to discover what it is. Try to guess what’s hidden in 20 questions.
9. Hot-seating – one person chooses to be a particular story character and sits in the 'hot seat'. The others ask questions to discover the identity of the character. This works well for all ages, from Little Red Riding Hood to Romeo.
10. Picture Memory Look carefully at a picture in a picture book/magazine for one minute. Take the picture away. Try to remember everything you can about the picture. The one not remembering can ask questions.
11. Play board games. Board games are great ways to teach following directions. They also naturally encourage children to pay attention. Many children follow the action closely to make sure the other players are not getting too far ahead! My note: Some kids have a really hard time paying attention during board games. I learned that holding on to the cards/spinner/dice and just handing them to the next player helped avoid the constant “Your turn.” prompt.
12. Nursery rhymes and songs Encourage your child to memorize simple, familiar rhymes and songs. Start with easier ones, such as “Jack and Jill.” Later, move on to those with verses, such as “Old MacDonald.” A Mother Goose book from the library can help with this.
13. Praise the work Not all positive reinforcement is as positive as we’d like. Numerous studies have shown that children who are praised for their work ethic are better at solving critical thinking problems than those praised for ability. Praise all efforts to master attention.
14. Use the TV to channel critical thinking Try muting the commercials and asking your child simple questions while she watches TV. What just happened? What do you think about that? These questions can be helpful in teaching children to effectively pay attention, think critically and communicate. However, don’t go crazy with this!
15. Encourage physical activity. Physical activity helps children sustain their attention when it’s needed. Doodling, squeezing a ball, rolling clay, tapping a pencil, or moving to a rocking chair can be helpful activities.

RESOURCES USED (and recommended!)

Teaching Expertise

Family Education This site has Attention Training Games. I haven’t tried them.

School Family

Great Schools

Education.com

The next 4 parent posts will be devoted to Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. If you have questions and comments, please add them to the Comments Box.

Gail

8 Excellent Books by Michael Morpurgo

I just discovered a new author, Michael Morpurgo. He lives in England and has written more than 100 books - that's a lot of books! He's written picture books, middle grade books and books for older kids. Here are just a few of them...

 The Pied Piper of Hamlin illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

I love this book! It tells the story of the Pied Piper in a lovely way, from the point of view of one of the kids. It begs to be read aloud, the writing is so musical. Warning: if rats freak you out, stay away from the illustrations :)

 The McElderry Book of Aesop's Fables illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

I love Aesop's Fables. They are short and give lessons anyone can understand. Aesop wrote over 300 fables more than 2,000 years ago! Morpurgo took 21 of the fables and rewrote them in easier to read language. The stories, and the illustrations, are terrific.

 Great Boy Stories: A Treasury of Classics from Children's Literature

There are 17 stories in this book, all chosen by Morpurgo. They include Peter Pan, The Sword in the Stone, Dragon Slayer and others. There is just a piece (Morpurgo calls it a taste) from each story. If you like what you read - get a copy of the whole book to read the rest. Although the title says Boy Stories, anyone would like these stories, not just boys.

 Jo-Jo the Melon Donkey illustrated by Tony Kerins

Jo-Jo carries melons for his master, who sells them in the market. When a flood threatens, Jo-Jo warns the town. I liked this story a lot. It's well told and has strong characters. It's aYellow Banana (level 4) book, which is a British early readers series.

  Shop Indie Bookstores

Arthur: High King of Britain illustrated by Michael Foreman

If you are a fan of King Arthur and Merlin stories, you'll want to check out this book. It's a big book with over 130 pages and pictures every 2-5 pages. It tells the story from Arthur's point of view, starting when he was young until the last days of Camelot.

 Dolphin Boy illustrated by Michael Foreman

Young Jim lives in a fishing village. Unfortunately, all the fish are gone and no one goes out fishing any more. One day, Jim spots a dolphin beached on the sand. He runs to get help and everyone works together to return the dolphin to the water. The dolphin stays in the harbor and helps the people in the village. This book has real magic.

 War Horse

This story happens during World War I. It’s told from the point of view of the horse, Joey. Joey tells terrible stories of being in the war. He has great courage and makes friends with horses and people wherever he goes. I listened to this story as an audio book and liked it very much. There is a movie based on the book. The sequel is Farm Boy.

 Kasper, the Titanic Cat  illustrated by Michael Foreman

Fourteen-year-old Johnny Trott works at London's Savoy Hotel in 1912. He becomes caregiver to Kaspar, the Prince of Cats. Together, they have many adventures, including stowing away on the Titanic. This is a terrific story.

I hope you will read some of the books by Michael Morpurgo. You can start with these or try one of his other 100 books. Enjoy!

Gail