Play the children's book game!

I recently played this game at my best friend's baby shower- The most adorable bedtime story party ever! 

The game was such a hit! Every mother, teacher, and even older children will love playing this!

      ~Name that Children's Book~

Book Title Synonym	Actual Book Title	Author
Place that the footpath terminates		Shel Silverstein
Tiny females		Louisa May Alcott
Pleasant twilight, celestial body		Margaret Wise Brown
An explanation of the circumstances that allowed a killjoy to burglarize December 25th		Dr. Seuss
The color spectrum aquatic dweller		Marcus Pfister
The considerably famished butterfly		Eric Carle
Estimate the amount of affection I hold for thee		Sam McBratney
The blizzardy 24 hours		Ezra Jack Keats
The arctic nonstop		Chris Van Allsburg
The location of the untamed figures existence		Maurice Sendak
In case you supply a rodent a baked good		Laura Joffe Numeroff
The unattractive hatchling		Hans Christian Andersen
The miniature motor that was capable		Watty Piper
The small abode located upon the grassland		Laura Ingalls Wilder
A crease in chronology		Madeleine L'Engle
Chuck and the confectionery manufacturing plant		Ronald Dahl
The Native American inside the cabinet		Lynne Reid Banks

                       ~Answers~

Book Title Synonym	Actual Book Title	Author
Place that the footpath terminates	Where the Sidewalk Ends	Shel Silverstein
Tiny females	Little Women	Louisa May Alcott
Pleasant twilight, celestial body	Goodnight Moon	Margaret Wise Brown
An explanation of the circumstances that allowed a killjoy to burglarize December 25th	How the Grinch Stole Christmas	Dr. Seuss
The color spectrum aquatic dweller	The Rainbow Fish	Marcus Pfister
The considerably famished butterfly	The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric Carle
Estimate the amount of affection I hold for thee	Guess How Much I Love You	Sam McBratney
The blizzardy 24 hours	The Snowy Day	Ezra Jack Keats
The arctic nonstop	The Polar Express	Chris Van Allsburg
The location of the untamed figures existence	Where the Wild Things Are	Maurice Sendak
In case you supply a rodent a baked good	If You Give A Mouse A Cookie	Laura Joffe Numeroff
The unattractive hatchling	The Ugly Duckling	Hans Christian Andersen
The miniature motor that was capable	The Little Engine That Could	Watty Piper
The small abode located upon the grassland	Little House on the Prairie	Laura Ingalls Wilder
A crease in chronology	A Wrinkle In Time	Madeleine L'Engle
Chuck and the confectionery manufacturing plant	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Ronald Dahl
The Native American inside the cabinet	The Indian In The Cupboard	Lynne Reid Banks

              

This game was adapted from www.sporcle.com

CLICK HERE to print on Google Docs

(It would not format perfectly, sorry.)

Enjoy!

 

Coffee Punch- so incredibly delicious!

This drink is always a hit!

Photo from the Bedtime Stories Baby Shower

Coffee Punch

Stir together in a large pot:
1 cup instant coffee
2 1/2 cups boiling water

Add these in an average sized pot:
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 qt. water

Boil all the ingredients until dissolved. 
Tip: Keep stirring while ingredients are dissolving because the chocolate syrup burns easily. 

Pour the liquid into the large pot above or combine all ingredients in a large pitcher. Refrigerate all ingredients over night.

Add these ingredients before serving in a punch bowl:
2 qts. milk (I use whole milk.)
2 tbsp. rum flavoring
1 gal. ice cream scooped on top

Tip: I usually make decaf. coffee if the Coffee Punch is being served at night. 

This is the most requested drink that people ask our family to bring to parties. It is so yummy!

Enjoy!

Teaching multiplication the fun way with Cuisenaire Rods!

Spark your children's interest in mathematics and help them understand important math concepts as they progress from concrete representation to abstract thinking with these FUN manipulatives!

Cuisenaire Rods provide endless opportunities to introduce, investigate, and reinforce key math topics, such as:

• Geometry
• Patterns
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Measurement
• Multiplication
• Division
• Fractions
• And much more!

Cuisenaire Rods are based on a metric scale with one light tan cube being one cubic centimeter. Rods of different colors are 2 through 10 centimeters long. These compliment Base Ten Blocks, which have pieces one centimeter long, 10 centimeters, squares of 100 square centimeters, and cubes of 1000 cubic.

I start my little ones off using Cuisenaire Rods when they are preschoolers. While I am homeschooling the older kids, my younger children can do their school work, too. While they feel like they are just playing, they are actually learning a lot. One thing they are learning is the sizes of their Cuisenaire Rods.

Here are the books I use for preschoolers. (I could not find them on-line while writing this post so they may be discontinued. If anyone knows where to get them, please leave me a comment.)

I have also used a Cuisenaire Alphabet Book. 

When my kids are ready to learn addition, we create fact families and they figure out how many different ways they can make a number. We write the fact families after they explore a bit. (My boys also build lots of towers for fun. I even join in.)

Next, we progress to addition facts. Since each number represents one cubic centimeter, children can add up the rods by placing them side-by-side on a centimeter track. I love these tracks!


The last step is teaching multiplication by having children place the number of rods side-by-side to see the total on the track.

For example, a green rod equals six cm.

So 4 green rods equal 24.

4 x 6 =24

 

An orange rods equals ten cm.

So 3 orange rods equal 30.

3 x 10 =30

 
Enjoy making math FUN using these incredible manipulatives!

I almost forgot about these!

You sometimes get forgetful when you have large gaps between your kids or maybe that is just old age?

Anyways, this weekend was my fourth son's second birthday, and I remembered at the last minute what my older sons loved to eat at that age. 

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

This dessert is an oldie but a goodie! My two-year-old loved them! They were perfect for his tiny hands to hold and they weren't that messy at all.

I have read many different recipes for making these and some are quite complicated. I like to be simple so all I do is make the cake mix like the box directions explain and pour the batter in the ice cream cones about 1/2 inch from the top of the cone. Next, I bake them at 340 degrees for about 18 minutes (until the tops are golden brown). Let cool and cover with icing and sprinkles.


So easy and FUN!

Enjoy!

The best way to organize your blogs!

I must admit that I love to be organized. Chaos simply drives me crazy so I absolutely love any organizational tool I can find. Here is my latest treasure that I am thrilled to share with you. 

Live Binders

To see how this system works, click on the TBA binder below and then click on the tabs up top to view some wonderful teaching blogs by the amazing TBA authors. 

Is this totally cool or what?

CLICK HERE to watch the video tutorial and start making your own live binders today!

Enjoy!