Top Ten Tuesday - Kids Magazines

I thought I would share some of my thoughts on Kids Magazines today. This is a list of kids magazine that we either subscribe to or would like to subscribe to.

1. The Big Backyard - We have been receiving this magazine for about 2 years and we love it. My kids love to learn about animals and this one is informative but also on their learning level. Perfect for the 3-5 year old crowd. I think we are going to have to start getting Ranger Rick. Sophie wants to go a little more in depth about the animals and such.

2. National Geographic Kids - This magazine is a bit more trendy and has advertisements. It covers animals as well as history. Sophie has always enjoyed this magazine.

3. Kids Discover - This one covers one subject each month and they alternate history and then science. This year we have had one about Leonardo De Vinci and then the next month one about Glasiers. Yesterday this magazine arrived and it is all about boats. It has a fun experiment about floating and sinking in it that I know my kids will enjoy. This is one for older kids 6-10 or so. Sophie loves this one but I know some of the stuff is over her head and there is a lot more text and less pictures on the page then other magazines.

4. Ladybug - We don't take this one anymore. We recieved it as a gift and it is somewhat expensive so we didn't renew it but we loved it. It is more literature based and is just a bunch of stories. They usually have this one at the library and we pick it up and look through it there sometimes.

5. Lego Magazine - I just started getting this one for Ian. It is of course all about legos. It is a little old for Ian but he loves to get it and best of all It is FREE. You just have to sign up for it. It has little comic book type stories with lego star wars guys in them or some other characters.

6. American Girl - I just got a subscription of this magazine for my niece. She loves the American girl books and this is for that same age group. 8-12 yr old girls. I don't know all about it but I know she loves it! It is somewhat expensive since it come every other month so for 6 issues a year it seems like a lot.

Now for a few magazines we don't get but would love to.

7. Zoobooks - This is of course all about animals. Each issue is devoted to one animal. I know my kids LOVE to learn about animals so this would be great around our house.

8. Learning through History This is a magazine all about history of course. Each one looks packed full of information and activities that go along with that months topic. GREAT for homeschoolers!

9. Muse, Ask, Cobblestone, dig These are all put out by the same people that put out the Ladybug magazine. They have all sorts of magazines that are focused on different subjects some on art, science or history. I have glance through some of these at the library too and they are really well done. I haven't been able to find any subscriptions for these discounted.

And for the magazine my kids get the most excited about each month.

10. The Friend - The LDS kids magazine is poored over at our house. We often read through these issues over and over again. This makes me very Happy!

Sophie picked something new.

On Saturday night we finished reading Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. This was the 6th Roald Dahl book we had read in a row. Sophie went to the big book shelf to pick another book. Dahl's book The Witches was sitting there but Sophie actually didn't want to read it. Instead she picked up a book I had just found on the used book shelf at the Library. Grandma, you will be happy to know she wanted to read Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. One of Grandma's favorites when she was little. I have never read the actual stories but we have all enjoyed the movie a number of times.

We made it through the first two chapters tonight. It is very different than the movie and Sophie spent a lot of time telling me all the differences but she didn't want me to stop reading. She wanted me to read the next chapter but it was getting late so I told her I would read again tomorrow. It is always a good sign when she doesn't want me to stop reading. Half the time I don't even know if she is really listening. She can't sit still for a moment. She is flitting about her room getting her animals safe in their beds or whatever. I know she does catch most of the story though because she can always give a full report of what happened the last time I read. She just has such an active mind she can't just sit and listen. She has to be doing something else at the same time.

I am glad to have moved on to a new author.

Kinda Sad this is all got...

Maybe I should try it again.

Thursday is library day.

We go to the Library every Thursday. Usually we make it for story time. Today we didn't but there is always next week.

Trips to the library aren't always fun for me. Henry is really good and running around pulling books off the shelves and leaving them all over the floor. Today was no different. Since the older two didn't make it to story time they were wandering through the children's section picking out books. Ian always picks out books about diggers, the Beranstain Bears, or Nate the Great. Sophie always goes straight to the Dr. Seuss books finds one or two that she wants then heads to the non fiction section to find magic school bus books or just browse through the books on different animals or insects. Today she wanted books about energy. (We had been listening to our science songs in the car.) I had a list of books I had looked up online that I wanted. By the end of our trip my large Library tote bag was so heavy and full. The list said I checked out 35 books and movies today. That sounded about like it usually is but it just felt really heavy today.

We came home dropped the book in the front room and went and took a quick scooter ride around the block before comming back and climbing into the big blue story chair to read through a few of our new books. My kids really liked this one.


Skull Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta.

We had fun trying to guess what animal each skull belonged to.

Ian loved this one. He knows each of these big machines by name and likes to argue with me about the names if they differ from book to book.

Construction Alphabet book also by Jerry Pallotta.

Sophie has been looking through this book all afternoon.
A Hat full of Seuss.

Henry loved that we picked up a new Signing Time Video He, along with the other two watched this and made all the new signs. They loved the Silly Pizza song!

We still have 30 some odd books to look through before next week when we return the ones we don't want anymore and pick out another 30 some odd books to read. We love the library.

Politically Correct Richard Scarry?

We have always loved Richard Scarry books. I could almost recite Cars, Trucks and Things that Go from memory. I could even tell you where to find gold bug on each page without even having to see it. We read these books all the time. In our house any Richard Scarry book is just called a Busytown book. I often have to tell Ian that I will read him anything but a Busytown book. Sometimes it feels like I read nothing but Busytown some days.

I have found a number of old, editions from the 60's, Richard Scarry books over the years. I got a few on Ebay and I find them on used books shelves every once in awhile. I can't ever pass them up. We love them so much. I have one called What do People Do All Day?. I noticed that in the corner it says abridged edition. I always wondered why they would need to abridge a children's book. A few months back I found an even older copy at a used book store that I noticed wasn't an abridged edition. I took it home and wanted to compare the two books to see what they left out.



It was almost funny that felt like they needed to take stories out. I am sure someone must have complained but it is too bad. They took out some really great stories. They removed the story called "A Mother's work is never done". It just goes through a typical day of a mother who stays home and takes care of the home and kids. She get money from Daddy who earns his living as a painter. This is one of the stories I read as a child. I recognized the illustration of Mommy getting rid of the Octopus brush salesman. I guess this doesn't fit in with the idea that woman need to work outside the home. I like this story. It reminds me of my life. I can relate to Mommy Pig at the end of her day.

One story is about how Huckle cats family takes a plane trip. They are served by a stewadess. Were women offended by this one too?

Another missing story was one about Sergeant Murphy and his busy day as a policemen. He chases a character called Wild Bill Hiccop because he was speeding. Wild bill is has a feather headdressdrives a buffalo mobile. There is a line in the story that says " Who is the wild Indian?" I guess he should have said "who is that native american?".



They also removed the story about how cotton is grown and made into clothing. The cotton is grown by Uncle Eli who is a bunny rabbit. But I guess the Uncle part of his name is what was offensive so they removed the story.

There are two stories that I guess were removed because environmentalists complained. One is about how coal is mined and used to create electricity. The other story is about water and how we use water to make electricity. This one also teaches the water cycle and shows how a windmill helps a farmer irrigate his fields. It also shows how water is made clean for us to drink. It is sad that these two stories were removed. They are great!



I recommend finding an old unabridged edition of this particular Richard Scarry book. There are some really great stories that do teach some good things. We have used them often in our FIAR lessons about coal miners, cotton, and the water cycle. Yes these things can be found in other places but kids love Richard Scarry books. I know I did when I was a kid. My husband remembers many of these books and now I am thrilled that my kids get to read them too.

Top 10 Tuesday - Dinner my kids actually eat

I have some picky eatters around these parts. So often I make things for dinner that my kids don't like or wont eat. Here is a list of what my kids will actually eat for dinner. As a result we eat these all the time. Off the top of my head this is what I can recall that they eat if I make it.

1. Cheese and Olive Calzone: this is what I made last night for dinner and they actually asked for seconds. They don't want any meet just cheese and they love the black olives in them. If I am in a hurry I just make these on pita bread. My kids ask for these all the time!



2. Corn on the Cob: This isn't a main dish but it is one of the things my kids ask for. They usually don't eat corn unless it is on the cob. They love the little corn cob holders I picked up at the dollar store so now they don't complain about how hot the corn is on their hands.



3. Chicken Nuggets and fish sticks: whenever I ask what the kids want they would like for dinner, Ian always tells me, Chicken nuggets. It is a very quick and easy food. I will often slip in the fish sticks just because I usually try to have fish at least once a week. Usually we eat these with rice which Henry always loves.



4. Pancakes, French toast or Waffles: In answer to my question about what to serve for dinner, Sophie always says she wants breakfast for dinner. I guess my oatmeal pancakes and some scrambled eggs and fruit isn't such a bad dinner.



5. Spaghetti and meatballs: This has to be meatballs not just browned hamburger. For some reason it makes a difference. Twirling the spaghetti is fun too.



6. Pasta with pesto: I usually make this meal with some grilled chicken. And amazingly the Broccoli also goes over when it is mixed in with the sauce. I have forgotten the real name for the pasta that my kids like. We always call it honeycombs.



7. Salad: This is just the run of the mill green salad with lettuce and celery and sometimes spinach. They love to dip the carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers in dressing. This is how I got them to eat salad. They wanted to dip the different veggies. They are even venturing away from Ranch to French or Russian Dressing.
One great secret I also have for getting them to eat veggies is to let them sneak them while I am cutting. They think they are being sly by stealing tomatoes or cucumbers but in reality I am leaving them close enough to be stolen on purpose. It is amazing how the same vegetable on their dinner plate is yucky but they love it when it is "forbidden" food.



8. Salmon: It doesn't matter how I cook salmon they usually eat it. I use canned Salmon on salads and sometimes even make salmon patties. I also just bake it in lemon and pepper (Yum!). I also have a great Salmon and Tomato recipe that my Husband always requests when he gets to give his 2 cents on what to make for dinner.



9. Tacos/Burritos: This one doesn't go over all the time but I serve it hopes that they will grow to like it better. usually I have to make quesadillas for them. But I add some beans and such when I can. Again... they love to dip. So a mild salsa is a must!



10. Ham: I don't serve this very often but my kids ate and ate it the last time I did.



To be honest.... It was actually really difficult to come up with 10 dishes that I make and that my kids actually eat and not complain about. Sophie doesn't like things to mixed up. She perfers foods to not have sauces. The boys will eat a bit variety of things. Henry loves rice and potatoes but the others just don't go for it. I know my Mom told me I was a picky eater when I was younger and there are still a lot of food I will gladly pass over but I have also gotten over a lot of food prejudices also. So there is hope that my kids will learn to eat more things. Sometimes I think they live on Breakfast cereal and Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches.

Who would have thought

Just another funny quiz. I guess being short and green isn't so bad. And sometimes what I say, comes out sounding like Yoda.