Monthly Archives September 2014

Tuesday Tales: Belches, Burps, and Farts–Oh My!

Imagine getting excited about an email that has belches, burps, and farts in the title. This kid at heart actually squealed when author Artie Bennett wrote to say that his new book was being published. So I…–er we eagerly waited to receive the review copy. When I opened up the book, the message to my boys was priceless.

Belches, Burps, and Farts -- Oh My!

Belches, Burps, and Farts–Oh My! – Written by Artie Bennett – Illustrated by Pranas T. Naujokaitis – Published by Blue Apple Books

September 2014 – ISBN 978-1609053925 – 17.99 – Ages 4-8

So what is this book about? Well, I think you know the gist of it from the title. What you may not expect is the way that it goes about giving children of all ages scientific information. Belches, Burps, and Farts—Oh My! truly is educational. Readers will learn why we pass gas via different routes of the body.

Belches, Burps, and Farts -- Oh My! book cover

I must confess, I read this book aloud to TechyDad the evening it arrived while he was cooking dinner. I wanted to preview the silly and educational tale before reading it with the boys. The two of us laughed a lot. Sure it talked about bodily functions that many are not comfortable with, but they are a fact of life. There is just something wonderful about the rhyme and rhythm of the book that dishes out fart jokes and facts side by side. Add in the hilarious and colorful illustrations by Pranas T. Naujokaitis and you have a fantastic combination.

Page of Belches, Burps, and Farts -- Oh My!

While reading the book to JSL, he was fascinated with the fact that you can’t burp while on your back. I have a feeling he may try to see if he can do this. Meanwhile, I hope neither of my kids attempt what is depicted in the picture above. Admit it, we have all burped an answer to someone once or twice before.

One of my favorite moments was when I was reading this page to JSL:

Belches, Burps, and Farts -- Oh My! by Artie Bennett

TechyDad heard the page again and yelled, “So, does that mean that SpongeBob does not fart?” The laughter from the seven year old was priceless as everyone thought about episodes they may have seen.

I won’t spoil the rest of the book. All I will say is I highly recommend it to others. While it may not be on a traditional topic, I think it’s important to have fun while learning about the body and science. Just remember the more comfortable you are now talking about belches, burps, and farts, the easier other talks may be in the future about other tricky topics. FYI other Tuesday Tales on books written by Artie Bennett are Peter Panda Melts Down and The Butt Book.

Have you read any books by Artie Bennett? If you have not, what are you waiting for? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

It's Me

Disclosure: As noted above, I received this book from the author, Artie Bennett, to review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own. Once again, it was my choice to kvell about this book and Artie never pulled my finger twisted my arm.

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



Back to School Message

Dear NHL and JSL,

Two days ago, you started back to school and it honestly tugged at my heart. While the last few weeks were filled with bickering between the two of you, there were many sweet moments. In addition to this, it was nice not to have a hectic schedule. It was fun to read what we wanted, go to the science museum almost any time, and relax without school worries. Ah, the school worries. It has been difficult hiding my own worries from the two of you the last few months. The reality of never again taking you to the same school and watching one of my babies head to middle school was hard.

Back to School 2014 - Grade 6 and 2

On the first morning, you were so excited for the start of middle school NHL. I really do hope that this enthusiasm continues throughout sixth grade and beyond. You keep going back and forth about what your favorite subject is and which teacher you like most. I keep reminding you that there is no reason to have a favorite and you can enjoy all of them while learning. It’s fantastic to see you come out of school energized and excited to learn science and social studies each and every day. Common Core’s focus on Math and Language Arts took away a lot of this over the last few years. No blame on your past teachers, they did what they were told to do by the district and NYSED. I look forward to watching you spread your wings and grow academically while exploring new math concepts, novels, and more. Everyone that we met at orientation and after have been so kind and helpful. I am encouraged and hopeful that it will be an amazing year for you.

JSL when you heard that your big brother was leaving for school that first day, you jumped out of bed. You wanted to get dressed quickly for our back to school traditional photo. I think this really meant a lot to you, not just me. The last few weeks, I watched as nightmares returned and questions popped up. I think the reality of no big brother at the elementary school was hard for you. Not walking into the building together and knowing that you won’t see his face during the day is a huge change. We enjoyed the quiet time in the morning together as we waited to go to school. My heart broke watching you cry that first morning as you walked up to your classroom alone. At the end of the day, you told me you were sad. I stopped and asked you why. You told me you loved school and did not want to leave. Finally, I was able to exhale because I knew you were happy being back with friends. Like your brother, I hope to see you smile each and every day when you come out of school. I missed seeing you rush home to write stories and being creative. I saw all of that come back this summer, along with your love for reading chapter books by yourself.

Boys, always know that I am here for you. I am cheering you on to do the best that you can and always here to help you. If something happens in school, never second guess being able to talk to us at home. You are the reason we fight so hard to make sure the educational world gets back on track. We want both of you to have the opportunities that we had and more.

Love,

Mom

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+



Back to School Snacks and Savings

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Yogurt Covered Cereal Trail Mix

It’s hard to believe that the summer is over and kids all around will be back in school. Over the last month or so, Price Chopper supermarket has been helping parents like me to get ready. In addition to their back to school savings, they have great recipe suggestions to help everyone transition back to the more hectic autumn schedules.

Snack time is important at our house. I want to get something nutritious into the boys to give them energy to head outside to play and get homework done. After a long day at school, it helps to have a variety of options available. To get ready for the first week back, the boys and I went to Price Chopper together. We often go shopping as a family, but this time we were on a #PriceChopperB2S mission for snacks thanks to #CollectiveBias. 

Back to School with Price ChopperNHL and JSL had ideas of their own. They asked us to buy ingredients to make smoothies for warm days after school. They both agreed on vanilla Yoplait Greek yogurt, frozen blueberries, and bananas. In addition to that,  I told the boys that I wanted to try to make a trail mix with a twist. My idea was to mix Honey Nut Cheerios into different flavors of Yoplait Greek Yogurt and freeze them. These would then be added to some more traditional trail mix items. The boys had fun going up and down the aisles looking for different choices to put into our trail mix. In the end we picked out roasted edamame (NHL has braces and can not eat nuts), pretzel sticks, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. The next big decision was what flavor of Greek yogurt to select. NHL asked for blueberry and JSL requested strawberry. TechyDad and I also allowed the kids to get a splurge item because we rarely have juice pouches in the house. The new Capri Sun Super V Fruit & Vegetable Juice Drink looked interesting and will help on Hebrew School days when we are rushing.

FYI, did you see that sign in my photo above about winning an iPad mini? Price Chopper customers can enter a first day of school photo contest running from August 17 to September 20. You can vote on your favorite from September 21 to 27. The five winners with the most votes and five random winners will each receive an iPad mini.

Back to School Snack Shopping

Yogurt Covered Cereal Trail Mix

The boys adore Greek yogurt, but they take it in their lunch most days. To switch it up and have something munchy, crunchy, and fun we made a trail mix that included frozen Greek yogurt covered Honey Nut Cheerio clusters. These need to be made ahead of time and added to the mix right when the kids are ready to eat. They will melt, but the cool snack adds a fun twist to a family favorite.

Making Yogurt Covered Cereal Clusters

We set up the kitchen into a mini assembly line. A large cookie sheet was covered with wax paper ahead of time. Each of the boys opened up their container of yogurt and we mixed the cereal in. We put half a cup into each 5.3 ounce container. Once they were mixed well, we put small dollops onto the lined sheet. This was placed into the freezer. After about half an hour they were set and ready to go.

Making Yogurt Clusters

If you are using this snack later on, I suggest taking the clusters off of the cookie sheet and storing them in a freezer safe container. The yogurt clusters will melt if it is warm and that defeats the purpose of the snack. Just mix some of each ingredient into a bowl and voila – it’s snack time! Of course, some kiddos many like a bowl of yogurt clusters on their own. The boys enjoyed the twist on this snack and also asked for some left over Yoplait Greek Yogurt with a quarter cup of Honey Nut Cheerios in it for breakfast the next day. Score!

Yogurt Covered Cereal Trail Mix for Snack

What are some of your favorite snacks for after school? I would love to hear your ideas and whether or not you get the kids involved in the process.

It's Me

Disclosure: I am a member of Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client. I am a frequent Price Chopper customer and have written about them on my blog in the past.

Share:
Share on Facebok
Share on Pinterest
Share on Google+