The summer is here and most, if not all of the seasonal ice cream locations in our area are open. This often means people in our area debating which location has the best soft serve and/or hard homemade treats. The reality is that almost any ice cream is good in my book on a warm summer day.
The other day, we met Nana and Papa to do some shopping. Afterwards, they asked us to go with them to their favorite local ice cream location. We had not been there in quite some time, so that was our lunch for the day.
This special meal of sorts gave me the idea for today’s Aloha Friday question:
Do you prefer soft serve or hard ice cream in the summer time? Of course, I would also love to know your flavor preference and if you must have it in a cone or dish.
Pssst . . . be sure to stop by my Cars 2 giveawayto enter for a chance to win some great items.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
The summer is coming and school is almost out in our area. Thanks to this, I am looking ahead to items to read with NHL. Many of the local libraries are sponsoring fun summer reading programs. Two years ago, NHL was really into it. He loved trying to read as much as possible and getting prizes. Last year, we were not as motivated.
The reality is that NHL loves to read, BUT (and it is a big one) he is not a fan of trying chapter books on his own. I have tried numerous books that I have from my teaching days, we have bought countless others, and even tried audio with some. NHL was nervous about the number of pages, lack of pictures, and concept of chapters. As a certified reading teacher, I was more interested that NHL was reading and was not going to fight him. The reality is that many picture books have higher levels of vocabulary and concepts within them.
A while back, I had heard about the A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy. The books have three main characters that solve mysteries and each of the 26 books starts with letter of the alphabet. I really wanted to find something that would increase NHL’s independent reading confidence and that we could talk about when we read on our own. So, I bought the entire set from Scholastic Books. I was going to save them, but was too excited to show them to NHL.
More about the A to Z Mysteries:
Here is a great video of Ron Roy talking about the series from Random House Children’s Books. As you will see, the A to Z Mysteries have expanded to a new series called Calendar Mysteries:
My son decided to start with The Absent Author
About The Absent Author from Amazon: A is for author…. Dink writes to his favorite author, mystery writer Wallis Wallace, and invites him to visit Green Lawn. To Dink’s amazement, Wallace says he’ll come! But when the big day arrives, Wallace is nowhere to be found. The police think he just missed his plane, but Dink suspects foul play. It’s up to Dink and his two best friends, Josh and Ruth Rose, to find the famous writer–before it’s too late!
The Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries) – Written by Ron Roy – Illustrated by John Steven Gurney - Random House 1997 – $3.99 (paperback) – Ages 9-12 – 96 pages
What we think so far:
I think we have a winner! Yes, my second grader is reading a chapter book on his own. For the past few days, he asks to take The Absent Author to the couch, or does it on his own. While there, he will read a chapter or two. NHL smiles and laughs as he talks about reading the adventure of Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. While he was at school the other day, I pulled the book out to read the section that he was up to so NHL and I could chat about the books. The teacher in me drafted comprehension questions in my mind. I wanted to know about the characters, plot, and I also wanted to have him predict what would happen next.
After I picked NHL up from school, I told him I wanted to chat about The Absent Author. I think he was a bit surprised with my interest. He forgets from time to time that I am a teacher at heart. So we drove to our destination chatting about the book. I asked some pretty specific questions and he got them without flinching. Yes, my 7 year old son was really reading the books. I knew he was reading the books, but this involves more than just saying the words on the pages and flipping further along. NHL really got the point of the story. He recalled little items, figured out the game plan of the characters, and had his own theory on how the rest of the book would go. It was at this point that I told NHL I was so proud of him. He had overcome his fear of chapter books and was reading them!
Here is a look inside the book.
The use of note from Wallis Wallace takes away from the fact that the entire page is full of text. This is a subtle trick that kids never get, but works well. They love seeing an item that belongs to the characters and want to learn more. There are also illustrations from time to time that connect with the story. This is huge when you are trying to get a reluctant chapter book reader to become independent and try things on their own. While browsing Ron Roy’s website, I found his letter to parents. It really hit home with me. Roy not only wants to engage children in his books, but teach them to use their brains to solve problems with their friends. As a parent and teacher, I respect his philosophy and it makes me even more confident in my kids reading this series and others by Ron Roy.
Yes, I do believe that we have a reading project for the summer. NHL and I will be reading and doing projects as we move along with the A to Z Mysteries. I have a feeling we may also move onto the Capital Mysteries as well as the Calendar Mysteries.
Do you have something that you or your children plan to read this summer? I would love to know.
What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.
Disclosure: I purchased these books from a Scholastic Book order form that my son had sent home recently. One widget within the review is for my Amazon Affiliate where I will receive a percentage of money for the sale of the books should you opt to buy the book mentioned.
Just shy of ten years ago right now, I was busy getting ready for my wedding day. All of the months of preparations, stresses, and dreams were about to result in our magical day. I was going to marry my Long Island Love. That was the nickname that I had for TechyDad before we were married and long before we had our boys.
In April, I had a bridal shower that my aunts had for me. It was a day of laughing, smiling, fun games, and great food with family and friends.
The beautiful hat I was wearing above was the traditional craft made by the Jersey Girls. They did an amazing job and I know where that hat is to this day. Some friends and family were not able to be there that day. They were saving time to come to our wedding just a few months later. Of course, I have photos with my friends that were there with me.
It was also a day of family. I was sad because several grandparents were no longer able to be with us. Now, ten years later my Papa S and TechyDad’s Grandma (far right), are loved ones we have lost. Here are our grandparents on that special day.
It is so hard to believe that it has been ten years. Ten years since I became a teacher, was getting ready to become a wife, looking forward to a honeymoon in Walt Disney World, and making memories like the ones above that make me smile to this day.
Thank you to everyone that was there for the wonderful day that put me at ease during a stressful pre-wedding time. I love you all.
P.S. There were a lot of other photos taken, but some were not digital and the scans were not the best. If any family wants to see them, just let me know.
This has been a challenging year on so many levels. Just a few weeks ago, Daddy and I made a decision that was extremely difficult. We took you out of the school that you had been in since kindergarten. It was practically the end of the year, but it had to be done. We were afraid for your safety.
Once you started at the new school, we were amazed with the difference from you. You smiled at the end of the day, you eagerly shared what you learned, and you were excited about all of the possibilities. This made us happy to see.
For much of the past year, you have lost your love of learning. As a teacher, this scared me. I was not happy about it. Please forgive us for not doing something sooner. As you finish second grade with your new class, I hope you will carry this love into next year when you begin third grade.
Whether it was learning about fractions, history, or taking in show and tell – you have embraced this change like a champ. Here is your latest art project that you made. You were so proud of your ceramic fish that you had sculpted, painted, and successfully brought home in one piece.
I love it NHL and I can not wait to see future items that you create and learn over the future.
Love,
Mommy
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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.
Weather seems to be in the news a lot lately. Throughout the United States, people have been dealing with severe weather of all kinds. My heart goes out to the people in the flooded areas fighting to save their homes and to those picking up the pieces after the deadly tornadoes.
As I pulled into the driveway Wednesday afternoon, the sky changed from sunny and bright to ominous. It was in the mid 90’s, but the wind started to gust. I will admit that I was unaware that a storm warning was in our area. We packed the kids into the house and got them out of their swimsuits and decided to relax in the cooler house. As I was sitting and doing some work, I heard thunder, saw lightning flickering outside, and then chunks of ice were slamming against the house. Yes, chucks of ice.
TechyDad was able to get the one above when he ducked outside our front door to snag it to show the boys. A little while later, the sun came out and I went outside to look around for damage. Even though it was still close to 90 degrees, there were still good sized chunks of hail in the grass.
I went to check on our vegetables that we outside. Luckily, everything looked pretty good. We were a bit nervous since hail destroyed cucumbers and tomatoes a few years back.
When I went back around the front, I decided to take a photo of one chunk of ice and then next to my foot to show the difference.
Yes, we get hail from time to time in the Capital District area, but not like this and several times in a few days. Thank goodness everyone was safe and sound. Now we just hope things settle down across the country for the rest of the summer ahead.
My question to you this week:
Do you like summer storms? Would love to know why you do or do not. Please share any unusual weather you have had near you.
Pssst . . . be sure to stop by my Dove Men + Care giveaway along with TechyDad’s Kung Fu Panda giveaway to enter for a chance to win some great items.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
