Big and small storytime

We had a big and small storytime today - talked about BIG and small animals. I loved Big and Little by Steve Jenkins. He writes some of my very favorite books about animals. I love his title Acutal Size - so many children will never get the opportunity to get up close and personal with those animals and to see how big or small they are in real life is amazing. Big and Little does the size of the animals in scale, so it gives a great idea of how large an animal is if they know the size of the smaller one (eg tiger and cat). Jenkins is a genius. We followed it by Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein - a very cute title that I had never seen and I just fell in love with it. Because V now has a little sister, she is always asking to be a baby again. This title encourages children that we still love them when they get bigger. I am bringing this one home for the weekend - with Hurricane Irene coming and all. Lastly we read Who Sank the Boat by Pamela Allen, a wonderful tale with a suprising ending. Out of a donkey, a pig, a sheep, a cow and a mouse, who do you think sank the boat?

I also need to bring home some titles on storms. This is V's new fear. Storms. Hurricane Irene on every channel is not helping our cause here. I think we may need to read about wind and rain and thunder and lightning so that V can get a good idea about them. The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola is in my stack as will be Cloudy with a Chance Meatballs by Judy Barrett, Just You and Me by Sam McBratney, and When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow.

The Baby Cook

So, Mom bought me the Beaba. And not just the Beaba, but the whole she-bang. The cooker, the freezer capsules, lunch plates, cookbook - everything. So last night, with the direst of television on, I decided to bake an apple pie and break out the Beaba. After all, why should I ever want to sleep? I cut up the sweet potato for S, put it in the Beaba (note to company who makes the Beaba, minimal instructions are great, but I could've used a little more explanation about filling the steamer cup and then putting it in the reservoir, I was a little confused. But honestly, when I got it, I got it... The sweet potatoes were perfectly steamed and then I just dumped the water in a cup to save and add as necessary to the steamed potatoes I was processing - no extra dishes, no annoying food processor. It was amazing!! I made one sweet potato and it was delish. I can see this as a great addition to my kitchen gadgets. I cannot wait for Donaldson's to have their Butternut Squash in the store. And next I am going to try doing it with zucchini and carrots. I love the carrots with the green stems still on - I think they are sweeter. And apples. Oh, yummy apples.

Time and Tiffanys

When we were in Mich, I asked Vail where beauty originates. I'm trying to get her to realize that beauty is not clothing or hair, but who you are. She answered Tiffanys. Made me realize that perhaps I need to go about talking to her about beauty in a different way. This weekend Aunt Debs remarked that she tried to focus on telling Vail how smart or clever she was - not beautiful. I think that is a good start. Praise something other than beauty for a while... hopefully she'll learn that beauty is within...

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Monitor

Sent Scout to school today with a 24 hour heart monitor. Poor little thing - all of the children in her class wanted to pull the wires. I just hope as she gets older that this isn't something that will make her fear being around others. Children can be so curious. And can be so cruel. I hope that her heart doesn't require this all the time, but if one day it does, I pray she finds true friends that don't see it as an issue.