More posts on this trip: Soul Food and Sea Life, Seashore Trolley Museum, Ogunquit’s Marginal Way Is Gorgeous….
When in Maine, visit lighthouses. And walk on bluffs if you can. And play in a field. And lay in the grass. And enjoy where you are.
Tag: kids
More posts on this trip: Soul Food and Sea Life, Seashore Trolley Museum.
This is an understatement. We did spend a day in Ogunquit during our trip, which basically involved having lunch at The Wild Blueberry and then walking the mile-long Marginal Way from Ogunquit to Perkins Grove. Then taking the trolley back. H wasn’t up for beach shenanigans really at all on this trip, she was a little under the weather.
Read more on Ogunquit’s Marginal Way Is Gorgeous, and the Peaks Island Ferry Is a Kid Dream…
More posts on this trip: Soul Food and Sea Life.
This little spot in Kennebunkport, Maine is splendid. I think this was the best thing we did with H all week, and the next time we’re in Maine we should go back.
H’s been doing the camp program at her school, but it’s only Monday to Thursday mornings. So Fridays have been our field trip days. My mom was watching my niece Grace one Friday last month, and the four of us took a drive out to Grounds for Sculpture.
My school district found the perfect way to get the staff riled up for the new school year. We had a keynote speaker this morning in a district-wide assembly, and to our total delight and surprise it was one of the 5th graders from town. She wasn’t from my building, but man was this kid something else. She paced the stage and used her headset mic like a motivational speaker on TV. She told us not to give up on her and her classmates because for some of them we’re all they’ve got. She knows working with kids can be tough (and for this she yelled out to the crowd, “Can I get an AMEN?!”), but the kids need us. She asked if we believe every child in our district can graduate high school ready for college or the workplace (“YES!!”). And she asked us to believe in our colleagues and believe in ourselves.
Today it was time for another private school visit. The kids were great, and I just picked fun stories to read to them. I brought A LOT of Mo Willems because I’m doing a program around his books in a couple of weeks. I wanted to try them out. Here’s what I read today.
I don’t know a single child under the age of 5 who doesn’t think stories about the potty are hysterical. Have You Seen My Potty? would be no exception, it had our whole staff giggling when it first arrived a few months ago. Suzy Sue’s potty is stolen by the animals on the farm just as she needs it. They love the new “poo-pot” they’ve discovered and take turns using it. Her very funny search for her “potty,” a word the animals have never heard, I think will have little ones laughing out loud. It also reinforces in no uncertain terms what the potty is for.
Read more on Have You Seen My Potty? By Mij Kelly and Mary McQuillan…
What Pet To Get? by Emma Dodd is a cheerful, silly book that I think is great for storytime. Jack’s mom tells him he can get a pet, then she has to think quickly when he starts suggesting large and impossible creatures like a T-Rex and a polar bear. I liked Jack’s mom because she never says “no.” She encourages his imagination and gives reasons that make sense to him (a polar bear wouldn’t like their central heating). When he finally gets a pet, his choice is a BIG surprise. The page layout feels larger than life, and the colors are vibrant but don’t interfere with the story.
There are a few books now about my favorite glamour girl, but the first Fancy Nancy is fabulous. Robin Preiss Glasser’s illustrations are so sassy. If the Girl’s Club girls were younger, I would do a program around this book. Nancy lives to be fancy in everything she does, and she tries to get her regular family to dress up and be fancy, too. The illustration of the whole family standing in the doorway of the restaurant for their entrance is hilarious.
I love these books by Lauren Child. It is a great series about two siblings, Charlie (age 7) and Lola (age 4), and how they interact with each other. It is very English and charming, and the illustrations feel very satisfying and appropriate for the ages of Charlie and Lola. This title, But Excuse Me That Is My Book, is one I like to read to kids. Lola wants to check out her favorite book from the library, but someone else has checked it out instead.