::Book Review - Peter Brown::

I want to start a new series. I love reading and always have. I still enjoy reading children's book and am always on the lookout for books with great illustrations. My mom is a librarian, so for me it's like a kid in a candy store, every time I go to visit, I find more books that I love. That also means the last time Scholastic had a warehouse sale we went and I found a pile of books I couldn't live without!

While we were at Scholastic I found a book called "Chowder." It's written and illustrated by Peter Brown. I love his illustrations, they're wonderful! Lot's of hidden details that really make the story come alive. I read "Chowder" to my kindergartners at work and they were laughing the entire time. His stories are a little sophisticated but if you take the time to point out the illustrations while reading it makes them much funnier and easier to understand for the younger kids.

Chowder isn't your average dog. Chowder spends his days on the computer, dancing with his headphones, and using his telescope. When a petting zoo opens, he makes new friends who accept him for his goofy self. 

 This is a wonderful story for "earth day" or for a garden unit. It really reminded me of "The Lorax" because it's about a boy who discovers a secret garden in a city that doesn't have any plants. He nurtures the garden and helps it grow.  

We've been having a lot of issues with my kindergarten girls with bossiness and friendship. So when I read this book, I knew we needed to read it to them. (PS...they have this bear (Lucy) in a stuffed animal, so cute)! Lucy the bear is on a mission to make a new friend. Through a series of accidents she ruins every potential friendship she encounters throughout the day, until an unlikely companion finds her. 

If you get a chance to read one of Peter's books, you've got to do it! Make sure you really look at every page! You don't want to miss anything! 

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::Ab Lincolns::

Halfway through February I changed my board over from Valentine's to President's day. I really wanted to make an Abraham Lincoln because I'm so obsessed with him right now. Ever since I saw "Lincoln" I've been reading and watching documentaries on him. I found this idea on Pintrest and loved it because it was simple shapes and really gets the point across. Without further ado...here's Ab!

Here's my example:

Ab Hall of Fame:

This poor guy got confused on where the beard was supposed to go...lol!

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::Random Acts of Kindness Week::

In February we participated in "Random Acts of Kindness Week." We made a popcorn treat for each of the kid's teachers. Since we had a lot of repeats, I encouraged the kids to give them to the school secretary, the janitor, or the principle. 

In doing this, I realized how much of our program and the kids life is geared toward them. We've created a very nurturing and homelike environment but it that it's very self driven. Everything we do is for the kids and there is not a lot of gratitude or giving that we expect from the kids. Of course we expect "thank you's" and sharing but that really doesn't promote a giving heart. 

I say all this because NOT ONE kid was excited to give these to their teacher. Every single kid wanted to keep the treat for themselves. It made me sad and realize that we need to change that. We need to focus less on self.  

 Here's the treats we made. I popped popcorn and the kids used melting chocolate to cover the popcorn and then they mixed in m&m's. It was a simple, tasty project. I hope at least some of them made it to the teachers.

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::Dino-mite Valentine's Day::

For February I wanted to do something a little different for Valentines day. I didn't want to do anything cheesy or expected. So I came up with the idea to make dinosaurs. They turned out so cute and a lot of parents really loved them. 

Here's my sample dino:

Here's the dino hall of fame. Some of them are pretty hilarious. 

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::WOW & February Boards of The Past - Updated::

That's all I can say...I'm so far behind in blogging! February has literally flown by and I cannot seem to keep up. I mean honestly, where did it go!?

Well I know these are late but here's my February boards of the past:

Here's my board from 2011:

 Here's my board from 2012:

Here's this year's board: 

I forgot to add my other board for February. Halfway through February I took down the Valentine's stuff and put up some Abraham Lincoln's that we made for Presidents Day. It turned out so well!

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