Tag: picture book

The Sweet Smells of Christmas

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Christmas is almost here and for two generations this sweet book has helped my family of three get ready. Originally published in 1970, The Sweet Smells of Christmas, by Patricia Scarry, was one of my favorite childhood secular Christmas books. I discovered a few years ago that my husband had a copy of the book as a child and enjoyed it just as much as I had. When my daughter was a toddler my mother-in-law bought her a copy so she could have one of her own and it quickly became one of her favorite Christmas books.

I got lost in the pages with Little Bear and his parents and scratched the fragrance labels so many times that bare paper was revealed. My favorite smells were the hot chocolate and the orange. My daughter’s favorite smell is the candy cane and like me she fell in love with the scratch and sniff pages.

Like Little Bear, my childhood Christmases were magical. As an adult they still are! You easily could have replaced me with Little Bear as my house smelled of cookies lovingly baked by my mother and grandmother and I accompanied my dad each year as we carefully selected and cut down a fresh pine tree. Our tree, along with our entire home, was decked from top to bottom with Christmas cheer! There were years that carolers visited our home and filled our hearts with their angelic voices. And like Little Bear, Santa Claus always brought me more than a little girl could possibly wish for!

Now as parents, my husband and I get the joy of seeing and smelling Christmas with our mini me. There were Christmases where we yearned for a little one to hold so dear so even though we are spending a Christmas in quarantine, away from the rest of our family, we know we have been blessed! It will be different from past Christmases and we will dearly miss being with grandparents but we rejoice knowing that everyone will be healthy and safe. Like the bear family in the book our family of three will have a Christmas filled with love. And the best part will be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, the greatest gift any of us could ever imagine!

Terry the Thankful Turkey…There’s Always Something to Be Thankful For!

Published on by noteworthymommy14 Comments

Our family began a new Thanksgiving tradition this year with Terry the Thankful Turkey. My daughter was thrilled when she discovered Terry the Thankful Turkey on our kitchen table in early November. (I put him out for her to discover on her own) She immediately asked me to read the book that accompanies Terry and we both fell in love with this gracious little guy.

Written in bouncy rhyme, the book, “Terry the Thankful Turkey,” created by the talented Marcela Osello, introduces the young reader to the many things Terry is thankful for. The beautiful illustrations surround the reader with visions of autumn and reminds us that we can find joy in the simple things like the falling leaves, clouds in the sky and sitting down to enjoy a delicious meal with loved ones.

At the end the book the reader is instructed to be like Terry and share what they are thankful for. They can be thankful for something, someone or someplace.

Throughout the autumn season, Terry encourages the reader to write or draw something they are thankful for on the included thankful pad. Fold the paper and stuff it in Terry’s zippered tail. By Thanksgiving Day, Terry will be stuffed with messages of gratitude. My daughter asked me if we could take Terry to our family lake house, where my family of three are gathering with my parents and in-laws for Thanksgiving. Terry the Thankful Turkey will become part of our Thanksgiving tradition when we unzip Terry on Thanksgiving Day and share all of the things we are thankful for with our immediate family.

I love Terry the Thankful Turkey because he is much more than an adorable stuffed animal and a catchy book! Terry the Thankful Turkey is interactive, promotes literacy and teaches gratitude. As an educator, Terry is something I wish I had to share with my students when I was a kindergarten teacher. When I saw how much my five year old is enjoying Terry, I knew he would have been a huge hit in my classroom! I was shocked, when, without prompting, my daughter wrote and drew a picture of something she was thankful for on the thankful pad. She carefully unzipped Terry’s tail (great fine motor practice) and joyfully filled him with words of gratitude. Terry the Thankful Turkey is something the entire family can enjoy together for years to come and a tradition that will be passed to future generations!

Without prompting, my daughter writes and draws something she is thankful for.

You can purchase Terry the Thankful Turkey on Amazon or by visiting his website, www.thankfulterry.com. Follow Terry on Facebook and on Instagram at thankful_terry. Don’t forget to #thankfulterry with photos of you and your family being thankful with Terry!

Although this unprecedented year has been filled with struggle, loss and anxiety, it has also been filled with reinvention, creativity and innovation. I encourage you and your family to be like Terry the Thankful Turkey and take the time to count your blessings. And remember, no matter how hard life gets there is always something to be thankful for!

My mini me loves Terry the Thankful Turkey so very much that she drew his portrait at school.

Apple Packed Days…Apple Picking, Apple Books, Apple Baking and Apple Exploration!

Published on by noteworthymommy6 Comments

Fall is in the air and that means it’s time to head to the apple orchard to pick your own apples, make yummy apple treats, read apple themed books and have fun with some special apple activities!

Apple Picking- This year we went to Liberty Orchard, a small apple orchard in Edwardsville, IL not too far from St. Louis, MO. Liberty Orchard had nine different varieties of apples ready for picking on the day we visited and we enjoyed some of each! While at the apple orchard we picked green apples, yellow apples and red apples. We talked about how each variety tasted (sweet, tart, sour, crunchy, crisp, juicy). The orchard educated us on the many varieties and made recommendations on which apples were best for baking. We tasted the following: EMPIRE: Crisp, juicy, tart off the tree – mellows with storage. Chosen by McDonalds for their Happy Meal. Uses: Eating, sauce, pies, baking and salads JONATHAN: Sweet/tart with firm texture. Bright red color Uses: Eating, baking – an apple butter favorite. LIBERTY: Fine textured, crisp and juicy. Rich complex flavor. Uses: Eating, pies, sauces.

Apple Books– To prepare for our day at the apple orchard we read some books at home and my daughter’s kindergarten teacher read some Apple Books at school. These are just a few of the many great Apple Books we read this autumn. Fancy Nancy Apples Galore! was new to us but my daughter loved it because she loves anything and everything Fancy Nancy! Autumn is for Apples was another new read and was perfect for preschool and kindergarten students. Apples and The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons are classics and good informal texts. The Apple Pie Tree and The Biggest Apple Ever are fall time favorites!

Apples! Apples! Apples!– It wouldn’t be fall if we didn’t make the Apples! Apples! Apples! mini book I wrote when I taught kindergarten. My daughter and I have made one of these books every year from age two to age five and it has been fun to compare her increased control in fine motor abilities over the years. One thing that has not changed are the laughs when we read…Blue apples- Yuck! CLICK HERE to download a copy to make with your family.

Caramel Apple Cookies and Apple Pizza– This year my daughter decided that we should make caramel apple cookies with some of the apples we picked. I researched apple cookie recipes and combined a few to create our own Caramel Apple Cookie recipe. CLICK HERE to download the recipe. You have to try these cookies. They are amazing! They call for caramel bits, something I didn’t even know existed, although I did read some people make their own bits. This recipe tastes great with or without the caramel so you can enjoy them either way. We shared some with Lillian’s teachers and everyone thought they were simply delectable. It looks like we discovered a new fall tradition! Another activity from my book is Apple Pizza. CLICK HERE to download this easy but very tasty fall treat!

Apple Exploration- My daughter’s kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Reed, led the class in a variety of apple activities from making apple sauce, creating apple prints, designing apple trees out of sticks and clay, counting apples and having the class graph their favorite kind of apple. I love the apple peeler the children used to prepare their apples for the applesauce. It brought back memories of the years I taught kindergarten because I did the same thing with my students! My daughter’s kindergarten class enjoyed comparing the length of the peelings…just another example of the fun exploration children can have with their world when given the opportunity.

Click on the links below for more awesome apple ideas from the Noteworthy Mommy!

Apple Activities for the Family

A Truthful Apple Story

Three in One- Using an Apple to Teach the Trinity

The Noteworthy Mommy Gets Her Daughter Ready For Kindergarten!

Published on by noteworthymommy7 Comments

During my twenty-eight years in the field of education, seven glorious years were spent teaching kindergarten. I look back on that time with found memories and keep in touch with some of my former students who are now young adults beginning careers or parents sending their own children off to kindergarten!

This year I am sending my only child off to kindergarten and we commemorated this milestone with some special books, back to school traditions and activities.

Kindergarten Books- To prepare my daughter for her first day of kindergarten we read several kindergarten themed books. As a former kindergarten teacher, most are from my own collection and as I read them memories of my seven years laying the educational foundation for five and six year olds flooded back. The joy of preparing my classroom and filling it with new materials, the shiny waxed floors and freshly cleaned classroom, the anticipation of meeting my students and experiencing a new beginning with them was thrilling! Now it will be my daughter’s turn. The following books are some of my favorites.

Meet the Teacher– A week before school, we signed up for a private meet and greet with my daughter’s kindergarten teacher and kindergarten assistant. To avoid extra people in the school building, one adult was invited to join their child on this special tour of the kindergarten classroom. My daughter was excited to meet her teacher, Mrs. Reed and her kindergarten assistant, Mrs. Collins. My daughter found her cubby, practiced washing her hands properly, made a painted heart to hang in the classroom and read the book Kindergarten, Here I Come! with her teacher. My daughter got to take the book home so we could read it before the first day of school and inside the front cover was a handwritten note from Mrs. Reed. When I read the words “Jesus loves you and so do I,” any trepidation I had about sending my daughter to Zion Lutheran School for “face to face learning” was washed away. I felt confident that my husband and I had made the best decision for our family because I was reminded that along with Zion’s carefully thought out safety procedures and dedicated teachers and staff, Jesus would be lovingly watching over our daughter while she is at school.

The Kissing Hand Tradition- I always read The Kissing Hand to my kindergarten students and their parents during our “Meet the Teacher Night.” I also made and decorated heart shaped cookies for them to take home. I began this tradition with my daughter when she was a three year old heading off to preschool. CLICK HERE to read all about it. We continued the tradition this year with Nana and Pops joining us in baking and decorating homemade kissing hand cookies which we gave to my daughter’s teachers and administrators on the first day of school. CLICK HERE for Nana’s homemade sugar cookie recipe and CLICK HERE for Nana’s homemade buttercream frosting recipe.

A Special ‘Twas the Night Before Kindergarten Poem- I was touched to receive this special poem written especially for my daughter by Auntie Jaime, a dear friend and my daughter’s honorary auntie. When I read the poem it brought back faded memories of when I was a kindergartener (43 years ago) and more vivid memories of my first day teaching kindergarten (24 years ago). As you read the following words I hope you are transported to a simpler time, not so long ago, when all children could safely go to school, hold hands with a new friend, learn without wearing a mask and freely play tag on the playground.

Whether you are home schooling, going back to school for face to face learning, engaging in virtual learning or participating in hybrid learning, I pray that you and your children have a safe and productive school year!

The Alycat Series…Supporting Independent Publishers on Day 33

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I love children’s literature and quality picture books hold a special spot in my heart. So do cats. So when I stumbled across The Alycat Series by Alysson Foti Bourque, I was filled with excitement!There are currently four books in the series about the adventures of a cat named Alycat and her furry cat friends. I ordered Alycat and the Monday Blues for my daughter’s Easter basket. In this book Alycat is having a case of the Monday blues. But when she helps a friend in need she turns her blue day into a new day! The author created a song to go with the book. CLICK HERE to listen to the song. I also ordered the adorable Monday Alycat stuffed doll that is wearing a dress with a musical note print! The attention to detail is amazing!Last week my daughter and I participated in a livestream FaceTime chat with The Alycat Series author, Alysson Foti Bourque. Bourque read her newest book, Alycat and the Tournament Tuesday, a charming book about learning to trust in yourself and your own abilities instead of relying on luck. It will be our next addition to the series since it takes place on a golf course! After reading, Bourque described the publishing process. Being a former elementary school teacher and attorney, her presentation was informative while being appropriate for young children. My daughter loved seeing the Alycat costumed character (she kept waving to her during the reading) but enjoyed meeting the author’s real life cat even more! Bourque is hosting weekly storytime events on Facebook that I encourage you to check out!CLICK HERE to order your books and stuffed cat dolls! The Alycat Series is having a special promotion that I was thrilled to receive…25% off of any purchase and a free Bugsby stuffed doll! Bugsby is the main character in the newest book. Thank you Alycat and talented author, Alysson Foti Bourque, for bringing my family of three happiness during the COVID 19, quarantine blues!

There’s a New Dog in Town…Perfectly Maggie “A Sleepytime Story”

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My daughter loves dogs! She has dozens of stuffed pups and everyday one of them is either celebrating a birthday or is sick and needs to visit the doctor. Her favorite dramatic play activity is “doggie daycare” where her stuffed dogs go when their owners are at work. Lillian proudly takes on the roll of “teacher” and leads her stuffed friends in choreographed songs and tricks. Although she loves all of her dogs her favorite is Sweetie Pie. I never imagined there could ever be a stuffed dog that would capture my daughter’s heart like Sweetie Pie…until we met Maggie!

*Although I was given the book Perfectly Maggie A Sleepytime Story to review, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Mommy and Lillian reading “Perfectly Maggie.”

Lillian was introduced to Maggie through the book Perfectly Maggie a Sleepytime Story artfully written by Meg Maguire and beautifully illustrated by Josie Lee. The rhyming words and charming illustrations instantly capture the attention of children and adults who are young at heart.

In the book a charismatic dog named Maggie is far from perfect with her crooked smile, squeaky bark, tangled fur and wobbly knees. But anyone who meets Maggie instantly sees she has a huge heart filled with kindness, making her perfect in her own special way. The book helps children understand that although we all have our own special quirks, we need to embrace what makes us unique and simply be ourselves.

Making sure our daughter develops self esteem while learning how to be kind and helpful are skills my husband and I want to instill in our daughter. Maggie the dog is the perfect model as she empowers her siblings to survive in a puppy mill and naturally puts the needs of others in front of her own. The book Perfectly Maggie a Sleepytime Story encourages the reader to reflect on their day and share a way they were helpful, kind or polite that day. Parents are asked to share too creating a special nighttime routine for the entire family. I really like the “Puppy Pact” at the end of the book for the family to sign that makes them promise to try everyday to make Maggie wag her tail. My family received Maggie and her book set at the beginning of the summer and Perfectly Maggie a Sleepytime Story quickly become a favorite read aloud. The nighttime routine of sharing a success story is something my family looks forward to at the end of the day.

Maggie has a special talent of encouraging others to spread kindness and rigorously wags her tail to and fro when someone acts nicely. “Swoosh, swoosh, goes her tail – swinging left! Swinging right – when someone is helpful, or kind or polite.”

Perfectly Maggie a Sleepytime Story comes in a beautifully packaged set that includes the hard bound book, a bonus pop up book (of Maggie wagging her tail) that can be used to reinforce the nighttime routine. An adorable stuffed dog that perfectly matches the illustrations in the book completes the set. The stuffed dog is high quality and the perfect size for my three year old daughter. My daughter was immediately drawn to the stuffed pup and our Maggie has survived multiple baths in the washing machine after the many adventures she has taken with our little Lillian. Maggie has been on vacation with our family, regularly goes to church and has enjoyed several special celebrations. With the stuffed Maggie by her side Lillian has a special reminder to be helpful, kind and polite wherever she goes. Always remember to be…”Perfectly You!”

This is a book set that every child in your life would enjoy. You can purchase the book Perfectly Maggie a Sleepytime Story on Amazon or by visiting perfectlymaggie.com

The author of Perfectly Maggie a Sleepytime Story has generously offered to give one of my readers an autographed copy of her book set! To enter the random drawing please share this article on social media and leave a comment on my blog. This giveaway is open to United States residents over the age of 18.

This giveaway has ended. Click here to read about the winner.

An Extraordinary Boy, a Remarkable Book and an Unique Brain

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I know a fourteen year old boy who is funny and lovable. He plays soccer and video games. He loves game shows, animated movies, bridges, nature and his family. He dislikes loud noises (especially fireworks), large crowds and changes to his schedule. He loves to explore new places (through the safety of the family mini van) and enjoys leisurely car rides with his mother. He is smart. He can name every exit between my house and my in-laws and knows the name of every bridge in the county! He has a smile that will light up the room and melt your heart. He is void of any sensors and simply says what is on his mind. And as you can imagine this often gets him into trouble. He has one speed which is best described as…supercharged. He has an incredible older brother who is both patient and kind and two loving parents who work hard to help him navigate the world. He is extraordinary! I love him. He is my nephew. His name is Derrick. He is on the autism spectrum.

Statistics show that at least someone you know has autism or is on the autistic spectrum. It might be a neighbor or a friend, a classmate or a family member or a little boy or girl you occasionally see at church. And chances are, at first glance, you don’t even know he or she has autism.

I want my daughter to grow up celebrating and accepting differences. So what’s the best way to help your preschooler understand family members and friends who are extra sensitive because their brains interpret things differently? In our house we use picture books to introduce our daughter to new topics. Picture books are a terrific way to initiate conversations and to build awareness and I am always on the lookout for new titles.

I was recently sent the most amazing picture book, “Stewie Boom! and Princess Penelope: Handprints, Snowflakes and Play-dates,” a new book by author Christine Bronstein with illustrations by Karen L. Young. In the book the teacher explains that like snowflakes and handprints, “No two minds are the same.” Our brains are one-of-a-kind and that is what makes us unique. After the teacher encourages the class to play with someone new, Penelope gets to know Eric who is “on the spectrum.” Eric doesn’t like loud noises so before he comes over for a play-date, Penelope and her brothers practice being quiet and flexible. They also learn how to read body language with their eyes as a way to understand how someone is feeling.

Reading “Stewie Boom! and Princess Penelope: Handprints, Snowflakes and Play-dates.

My daughter and I enjoyed reading the book together. The illustrations are colorful and inviting and the message of inclusion is an important lesson for all ages. The author reminds us, “It’s very important to play with people who may seem different at first because they can teach us new ways of looking at the world.” In the back of the book there are helpful tips for special need families as well as tips to welcome special needs families to a play-date. I really liked the friendship goal chart along with the friendship award as they are useful tools to educate children about inclusion.

People, like snowflakes and hand-prints, are individual and unique. And the way our brains interpret the world is just as distinctive. By embracing neuro-diversity and teaching our children techniques to help everyone feel comfortable and accepted; we can provide our children with a gift that will last a lifetime!

Buy the book here. https://www.amazon.com/Stewie-BOOM-Princess-Penelope-Handprints/dp/0997296275