"Interrupting Chicken"

My current favorite picture book is “Interrupting Chicken” written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein. The pictures are so awesome the book received a Caldecott Honor Medal! The best thing about this book is the main character, Chicken.

Just like most children, Chicken likes to hear a story at bedtime. Just like most children, Chicken wants to be good. And just like most children, Chicken gets too excited and interrupts.

You can’t help but love Chicken, though. Her enthusiasm is contagious. You also can’t help but feel sorry for her frustrated dad, whom she calls Papa.

Does Chicken let Papa read an entire story without interrupting? Does Chicken fall asleep so Papa can relax? You’re going to have to read the book to find out! Enjoy!

Have you read “Interrupting Chicken” or another good book? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Face Painting

Do you like to get your face painted? It’s fun! The most important thing about getting painted is to make sure the artist knows exactly what you want. Be clear when asking for your design so you’re not disappointed with the results.

The next important thing about getting your face painted is to sit really still. The face painter can’t do a really good job if you’re wiggling and jiggling about.

When the face painter is done, make sure you say thank you!

Have you ever wanted to be a face painter? You can! There are some really great kits out there. My favorite is “Face Painting” by Klutz. The designs are clearly explained with fabulous photographs to show you step-by-step how to paint them.

The first secret to being a good face painter is to look at the shapes within the designs. Everything you want to draw can be broken down into basic geometric shapes: circles, ovals, squares, triangles, etc. The second secret to being a good face painter is to practice, practice, practice! Happy painting!

Do you have a picture of you with your face painted?  I'd love to see it!  Ask your grown up for permission then send it to me and I'll post it!

The Cats In My Life

Do you have a pet? Through the years I have had many pets from mice, hamsters and guinea pigs to cats and dogs. I was a “cat person” before I became a “dog person” but that’s a story for another day. 

The first cat in my life was a black cat named Inky. It was fun to watch him bat a ball around the floor with his front paws.  He was a great "soccer" player but he got sick and died. (That was before the veterinarians knew about feline leukemia so there was no vaccine for it, yet.) Then we got two orange tiger kitties named Buffer and Ginger. Buffer liked me and Ginger liked my younger sister Marcia. Funny how cats choose their “people”. 

My younger sister Marcia and I spent many hours training Buffer and Ginger how to sit pretty and shake paws. We had lots of cat treats and they learned readily. Of course, it’s debatable who trained whom. 

The best part of having a cat is playing with them.  The worst part is scooping their litter box.  But it must be done every day.  Cats like a clean place to do their "business".

My earliest cat memory is of me playing with my grandmother’s cat at her house. Grammie Forbes had a house that went “round and round”. All the downstairs rooms—dining room, kitchen, and living room connected around a central staircase.

Somebody, I think it was Grammie, tied a piece of newspaper to a length of yarn. The newspaper looked like a grey butterfly. I dragged it behind me as I trotted from room to room with the cat chasing me. It was a great game. I think I was around three or four years old and the game was probably more to amuse me than the cat.

I’ve had my current cat Rocky for about thirteen years. (His brother, Romeo, got sick and had to be euthanized.)  Rocky likes to play with his new laser pointer. He got it for Christmas and he actually “asks” to play with it. He goes to where I left it last and paces around.

When I pick up the laser pointer, the key chain part of it makes a clinking sound and Rocky’s eyes actually dilate with excitement. When I click the button to turn it on his eyes look to the floor for his favorite red spot. It’s fun to swirl the dot on the floor as he chases it. I sometimes let him “catch” it.

Right now it is time to feed him. He is sitting next to me on the futon and staring at me. Every now and then he reaches out his paw and taps me as if to say, “Hey, remember me?” He just got down and started walking towards his food dish, looking back at me to see if I’m following him. Uh, oh! He’s starting to meow! I’d better stop typing and go feed him.

Do you have a pet? Do you help care for your pet? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon!

Did you stay up to ring in the New Year this year?  I did!  It was great to see people all over the world celebrating the New Year, starting in Sydney, Australia.  When my children were little we liked to celebrate the Chinese New Year with my Chinese-American neighbors.

The Chinese calendar is based on the phases of the moon—that’s why it’s called a lunar calendar.  That is also the reason why the date for Chinese New Year can be anytime from January to March each year.  It lasts fifteen days!  CLICK HERE to learn why the Chinese New Year is celebrated. 

The best part of celebrating the Chinese New Year—the red envelopes!  These are filled with money and given to the children.  Red symbolizes good luck.  It certainly is good luck to receive money!  Other fun activities include making a very sweet New Year’s cake and a dragon puppet.   

This year is the Year of the Dragon!  Every year is named in honor of a particular animal.  CLICK HERE to read the legend explaining how the animals were chosen.    

Happy New Year!  Want to say it in Mandarin Chinese?  CLICK HERE for an audio clip.  

How did you celebrate the New Year?  Leave me a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Christmas Traditions

One of my family’s favorite Christmas traditions is decorating the tree. After getting the conifer as vertical as possible in the tree stand, Dad hangs the lights. Then each ornament is unwrapped and held up as excited questions bounce back and forth. “Do you remember when…?” and “How old was I when I made this?” Memories of days gone by swirl around us as we carefully place each treasure in its place of honor amid sticky pine sap and needles as sharp as knives. The cats watch with interest — thinking (I am sure), “Yay, cat toy!

But the best part of decorating our Christmas tree is also the tastiest—Grammie Forbes’s caramel corn. My family enjoys this treat just one day each year. We plan this day carefully; making sure everyone will be home. As the children get older, finding a compatible schedule for everyone is becoming trickier but not impossible, as this is an event no one wants to miss.

Making homemade caramel corn is classic kitchen chemistry. After mixing the butter, sugar, and corn syrup you then bring it to a boil. Not the 212 degree F boil of water, no the 290 degree F boil of almost hard crack candy. My favorite part is the final step of mixing the vanilla and baking soda into the hot liquid, creating an almost volcanic eruption. Stir, stir, stir or it boils over the sides of the saucepan!

One year, we almost had a caramel corn calamity! While in the middle of mixing up a batch of my grandmother’s caramel corn, I had an uncontrollable urge to text my daughter to see if she was on her way. I interrupted my kitchen duties to tap out a message on my cellphone.

Meanwhile, back at the stove, a saucepan of sugar, corn syrup, butter, and vinegar boiled merrily as the needle on the candy thermometer inched toward the goal of 290 degrees F. Usually I tend this molten mixture closely, stirring frequently until it turns creamy amber. Too hot and it burns, too cool and it stays sticky, never reaching that crisp, crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth heaven that is Grammie Forbes’s Caramel Corn.

I snapped my phone shut and mixed in vanilla and baking soda. The foaming froth of scalding liquid threatened to bubble over the rim of the pan. I quickly stirred it over the waiting popcorn, coating every kernel. It wasn’t easy waiting for it to cool enough so a sample wouldn’t burn my tongue. I popped a morsel into my mouth and chomped down … only to discover that my teeth stuck together!

 With visions of pulled fillings, I kept my teeth clenched and waited for the sugary sealant to melt. Finally I was able to open my mouth. Argh! The batch hadn’t reached the proper temperature! It turned out to be a soggy ruined mess! Only one thing to do—throw it out to the squirrels. They wouldn’t notice or care.

Back to the drawing board, er saucepan, for me. I made another batch of caramel corn, this time focusing on the task at hand. The result? Perfect. Melt in your mouth. Sweet, buttery, crunchy. Alternating between hanging ornaments and munching on caramel corn, the family agreed that it was the best Christmas tree decorating session yet. Thanks, Grammie Forbes!

Do you have a favorite family tradition? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Are You a Gracious Gift Receiver?

Let’s face it, most kids get gifts at one time or another, especially at birthdays and certain holidays. Sometimes the gifts are just what you wanted—that special toy or article of clothing. Other times, however, you might get what you consider, a “dud” of a gift. You know, socks, or something you don’t quite like.

What’s a kid to do? Do you say, “Yuck, I don’t like this!”? Do you throw it on the floor and stomp on it? Some kids do this sort of rude behavior, but I don’t recommend that. It could hurt the feelings of the person who took the time and money to get you something. Even if it’s not what you expected or even want.

No, it’s important to thank the giver no matter what. And really put in the effort to be sincere. Nobody likes a fake thank you. Take a breath; look at the giver, smile, and say thanks. It won’t kill you to be nice. Some kids in this world never get gifts, good, bad, or ugly. Be grateful for what you have.

Have you ever received a "dud" gift?  How did you react?  Leave me a comment.  I'd love to hear from you!

Positive Self-Talk and Achieving the Impossible

One of the biggest roadblocks to success in school is negative self-talk. That’s when you think in your brain, “I can’t do this.” As soon as you start thinking that, your brain shuts right down. Of course, once your brain has shut down, you can’t learn. This is a vicious cycle! And very frustrating!

This week my fourth graders tackled long division. After my glorious lesson involving the mnemonic device “Does McDonald’s Sell Cheeseburgers?” (Divide, multiply, subtract, check, bring down), only two people grasped the concept.

We kept working and working on it and more and more students caught on. But not before one student put their head down on their desk. I knew the student was thinking that deadly phrase, “I can’t do this.”

Negative self- talk happens to all of us at one time or another in our lives. The best strategy is to recognize it, stop it, and turn it into positive pep-talk. The absolute worst thing you can do is give up. That’s what this student did. As I continued to demonstrate, they refused to watch. They sat there at their desk with their eyes squinched shut. As a result, they are very far behind the rest of the class who didn’t give up. The rest of the class is getting it.

And now those who have resisted learning their basic math facts are finding out how important those pesky facts are! They are able to do the long division but it takes them twice as long as those who have their basic facts memorized. I tried to warn them.

Here are some strategies when you get frustrated and start to hear “I can’t do this” in your head.

1. Picture a big stop sign. This will stop your negative self-talk.

2. Think “This is hard, but I’ll get it soon.”  Now picture the word "Go" in your head.

3. If you can, take a break. Go for a walk or shoot some hoops, etc.

4. Have a drink of water or a healthy snack.

5. Promise yourself a reward when you’re done.

6. Set a timer and get going! You can do this!!!

I hope you found this helpful! Have you ever overcome any negative self-talk? Please leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!