Hidden, right-in-front-of-your-face book fun!

ADDED July 19, 2010

Handy in the summer -- great any time!

ADDED June 28, 2010

What books have grabbed your kids?

ADDED April 21, 2010

You have some darling kids in your house, right?  And you're a devoted parent -- there's no doubt about that.

Well, we're certain that you've spent quite a bit of time reading with your young kids.  In all probability, you and your young ones have read many, many books.  And your kids naturally gravitate to some books more than others.

The activity here is simple.  First, tell your kids, "Today we are going to make a list of your All-Time, Tip-Top Favorite Books.  Help me make a list."

Making the list is very easy.  Your kids should take a moment to reflect on their favorites.  You might have suggestions for them, too.  

Then, your children should go peruse the bookshelves in your house.  Do they see any books they had forgotten to mention as favorites?  You -- or they -- should write down each entry.

Once the list has been compiled, it's very easy to make it a bit more "multi-media" and visually appealing.  If you've made your list in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, you can head over to Amazon.com, look up the book in question, and copy its cover.  Then simply paste that image into your list.  (To copy an image from your browser, you usually just need to right-click or control-click on it.  Email me at steve@todayisfun.com if you get really stuck and need some technical guidance!)

Your kids, too, could draw each book's cover -- or a memorable character from the book -- with crayons and markers.

How many books should your kids have on their lists when you're done?  There's no real answer.  Really, they should have all their favorites.  Maybe this will be ten, maybe it will be thirty.  . . .

A cute, fun book for people who enjoy spooky stuff

ADDED February 06, 2010

A lively (and messy) book!

ADDED January 30, 2010

Here's the story in a nutshell:  a group of animals travelling by bus stops at a restaurant, the Critter Cafe.  Unfortunately for the waiter and the chef, the animals behave like, well, animals.  They make a huge mess and cause commplete (and comedic) pandemonium.

Children's books -- as you certainly know -- often feature whimsical and preposterous story lines.  Well, A Crazy Day at the Critter Café is fully and satisfyingly preposterous.  The prime example:  one of the animals is a skateboarding cow with questionable coordination.  To say the least, this clumsy bovine contibutes more than her fair share to the mess.

The restaurant's waiter and chef try to re-establish order with predictably poor results.  You wouldn't be thrilled if you were one of the restaurant's patrons that day.  Viewing the scene from the comfort of your clean couch, however, makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

My kids love the outrageous occurrences in this book.

The rhymes and images are very nice here.  But it's the crazy, slapstick story that leads to a lot of fun for readers of all ages.

Grab a copy today, and read to those kids!

Well, would you?

ADDED January 23, 2010

Let’s hear your kids’ questions!

ADDED January 20, 2010

We like to read books with our children.  Kid's books are often so beautiful and fun -- they're a great pastime for kids of all ages.

In the past, when we finished reading a book, my wife and I would ask the kids some questions about it:

Did you like it?

Was it funny?

What was your favorite part?

Truth be told, the kids were okay with these questions.  Sometimes they had thoughtful responses, but more often than not, they were ready to move on to the next activity on the agenda.

So we turned the tables.  Now I ask the kids to make up some questions about the book we've just read.  

My kids ask, "What was your favorite part of the book?" but they also ask "deeper" questions -- and questions that lead to insight as to their own thinking:. . .

A top reading pick. We love it!

ADDED January 16, 2010

We suggest good books here pretty frequently.  But today we would like to announce:   Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen might just be our top pick of all time!  It’s certainly our favorite book of 2010.  Yes, yes, it’s still early in the new year — I know — but we just love this book!


When my kids and I finished reading Circus Ship for the first time, they demanded that we start over and read it again immediately.  All in all, we probably spent an hour with this book during our first reading.

Here’s the story:  a ship carrying animals from a circus has a mishap at sea . . . and sinks.  The animals swim to a nearby island, whose residents are quite shocked at the sight of the exotic creatures.  The humans are also a bit annoyed at the varieties of trouble that the animals get into.  . . .

A lovely and entertaining book by John and Ann Hassett

ADDED January 02, 2010

Cat Up A Tree has a very simple story:  cute and charming Nana Quimby looks out her window and sees a cat up a tree.  She calls the fire department to help get it down, but is told, "Sorry, we do not catch cats up a tree anymore."

As if that wasn't problem enough, the next time Nana Quimby glances out her window, she sees five cats up the tree!

She calls the police department but is given the same response.  Sorry, the police, too, do not catch cats up a tree.

"Call back," the police department says, "If the cats rob a bank." . . .

Everybody is thankful, really

ADDED November 18, 2009

Part of the fun of Thanksgiving is the meal, and part of the fun of the meal is anticipating it.  Most of the time, however, kids are not consulted when the Thanksgiving menu is being put together.  Today we have the solution: a fun activity that you and your kids can do together that will make Thanksgiving even more special for everybody involved.

Here is what you will need for today's activity: a cookbook (and don't automatically go to one of those kid friendly cook books that are filled with recipes featuring twenty-seven toppings for graham crackers)  -- try a cookbook that has a little more depth.  We have a cookbook in our house called "How to Cook Everything;" it really is true to its name and it's just perfect for today's activity.

Give your kids each a post-it note on which to write their names and tell them, "We want your help. I want you to choose something that we can make together for Thanksgiving."

From there, depending your kids' ages, talk to them about what they want to eat at the special meal.  Spend some time thumbing through the cookbook and talking about what they think might be good addition.  (I always try to steer my kids towards vegetable dishes.)  The key to this activity is spending some time together planning and cooking.  We usually make the kids choose well before Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving day can be a little stressful . . .  and we want the activity to be fun.

So what did my kids select this year?  What did they choose to add to the meal?  Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies and Pear Scones.  Here is a picture of the Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies -- the Pear Scones have not been made yet.  I'll upload a picture when those are done. 

If your kid asks for grilled cheese sandwiches or something along those lines, even that could work just fine.  Fry up a few sandwiches, cut off the crusts, cut into triangles, top with toothpicks and serve them as an appetizer.  Imagine how cute your child's smile will be carrying a small plate of grilled cheese sandwiches that they made and offering them to your family as an appetizer!

Not every aspect of Thanksgiving has to be traditional!  As long as it's positive, pleasant, and full of thanks!  (And thanks for reading this, by the way.)  Don't forget to use the comment section to everybody know what your kids want to add to the meal this year!

Beautiful and fun -- a great book for kids to enjoy as the big holiday approaches. Oh -- and it's got some Spanish to teach, too!

ADDED October 17, 2009

Sometimes we find a book that just "knocks it out of the park."  Everything about the book is just top-notch.

Well, that's kind of how we feel about Los Gatos Black on Halloween Night.  This book is truly a pleasure for me and my kids to read.

First of all, this book is all about monsters and other "scary stuff" related to Halloween.  (My kids -- three and five years old -- aren't one bit scared by this book.  Instead, they're interested and thrilled by it.)  Los Gatos contains witches and werewolves, ghosts and ghouls, and all the fun, usual suspects.

Secondly, the art is just beautiful here.  Many, many kids' books have excellent art, but in my humble opinion, the images here are just a bit better than the rest.  The use of light, colors, and contrast captures the eye and makes the reader want to linger on each page.

Next, the language here is wonderful.  The flow of the words and the rhymes are just very pleasing.  For example...

"And in a slow and strange parade,
The creatures of the night invade
A haunted casa, long asleep–
The mansion's secrets buried deep.

Finally, for parents who want their kids to learn something now and again, this book features a couple of Spanish words on each page.  This new vocabulary is brilliantly woven into the text, so that the new words are easily understood by English-speaking parents and kids alike.  Additionally, there's a glossary at the end of the book to really help learners along.

(Admittedly, your kids might not need to learn words like "monstruos" and "esqueletos", but gato [cat], perro [dog], luna [moon] and others can also be found here.)

There's not much of a story here, but a lot of fun visuals and words, with plenty of rhymes, too.  And there is a small twist at the end. 

You can read more about the book (and buy it) here.

Read to your little monstruos (monsters) this weekend!  And have some fun.

A fun knight-and-dragon kids' tale by James Mayhew

ADDED October 03, 2009

The book we recommend for this weekend is the story of a not-so-great knight.  He's really quite impressed with himself, but doesn't pay much attention to anyone else.

Actually, the knight would like to impress a beautiful princess, too, and convince her of his charms.  He hopes that he'll get his chance when an uninvited, rambunctious dragon arrives in the kingdom. 

The knight spends quite a bit of time primping before the confrontation with the dragon.  He won't step outside without his shiniest armor and fanciest helmet.  The dragon approaches menacingly as the knight gets gussied up.

As always, we don't want to give away any of the exciting twists and turns, but . . . let's just say that the princess gets tired for waiting for the knight to do his job.

This book is good for both boys and girls pre-school and kindergarten.  Boys are sure to like the knight and dragon, while girls are sure to appreciate the plucky and practical princess.

You can get this book quite easily from Amazon here...or look for it at your local library!

Read with your kids!  (And have a great weekend!)

They are all around you, kids -- can you spot them?

ADDED September 10, 2009

Check it out! (Get it?)

ADDED August 27, 2009

Length:  20 minutes

Parental Involvement:  Print and play

We're not kidding. It's madness!

ADDED August 03, 2009

Length:  Thirty minutes, more or less.

Parental Involvement:  Explain the activity.  Participate if you want!  (But kids can do it without you, too.)  

Kids Should Be Able to:  Basic reading is great, but not necessary.  Kids should be able to look at pictures and create simple stories.

 

If you've been visiting our blog even occasionally, you probably know some of our favorite things:

(1)  Books and reading
(2)  Creativity and imagination
(3)  Fun

and finally:

(4)  Madness!

(By madness, I mean joyful, energetic craziness.  And in case I'm not doing a good job expressing myself, it's supposed to be a good thing.)

Today's activity is meant to get kids reading.  It's also supposed to rev up their imaginations and their creative instincts!  (Oh, and it's quite simple, too.)

Have your child go to the bookshelf and choose five random books -- or seven, or nine.  (For some reason, I think an odd number of books works better for this activity.)

Your kid should spread the books out on a bed, table, or the floor.  Then have your little one open each book to any random page.  Next, you guys should read each opened random page out loud.

Do the pages make any sense whatsoever when you guys read them back to back?  Probably not a lot of sense, but maybe a little.

You don't have to work too hard to make sense of the random pages.  Either you'll see a connection or you won't.  Even better, maybe the budding bright minds will spot a connection or story that you missed!  (Parents have enough work during the day as it is.  Let the kids figure out the story!)

Here is an example many-book story session for you.  We randomly flipped to these pages...

From these pages, my kids decided the story was this:  Some kids were bored.  They looked out their front window and saw some bears walking down the street.  The bears were wearing hats: a  blue one, a green one, and a red one.  (And oops, one of the bears tripped and fell.)  Then, the bears got into cars and swerved, curved and. . .

A fun and engaging 'Pay It Forward' tale for kids

ADDED July 18, 2009

Timothy is a boy who has some favorite pajamas.  He just really likes a certain pair. 

But uh-oh!  His favorite pajamas have been worn so much that they are getting a bit ragged.  And uh-oh:  Timothy accidentally rips a great tear in his beloved pair of pajamas!

Don't worry, everybody.  Timothy's mom is on hand to save the day (as sometimes only a mom can.)  She gets out her needle and thread for some repair work.  She fixes Timothy's pajamas, and they become extra, super strong!

The pajamas are now so strong, in fact, that they make Timothy capable of some amazingly strong feats.  He is able to use this new-found strength to help some people and animals in trouble:  an elephant falling off a clip, a group of sailors on a sinking ship, and more.

Timothy and the Strong Pajamas makes for a funny and exciting read for families with older pre-schoolers and kids up to third graders.  My kids and I like this book because a lot of "stuff" happens in it.  There's never a dull moment.

Oh, and as always, there are some twists and turns.  We never want to spoil any surprises, but in the end, Timothy and his pajamas just might need a little help themselves.  Timothy discovers when you are helpful, you get helped, too.

(Maybe we've revealed too much!)

Have a great weekend, everyone.  And why not spend some of your Saturday and Sunday reading with your kids? 

A young turtle gets very excited by reading a book!

ADDED July 11, 2009

Little Turtle's dad reads him a new book one evening before bed, and Little Turtle loves it!  The book is all about penguins.

Little Turtle is so enchanted with the penguins, in fact, that he decides to become one.  The next day, he wears penguin-ish clothes and brings the book to school for sharing.

Some people who see him are a bit shocked by a turtle dressing up as a penguin, while others are excited by the switch.

We don't want to give away the ending -- there are some twists and turns, as we always like to say -- but it all works out nicely in the end.

This is a fun book for pre-schoolers, and in our house, we've all enjoyed reading it out loud.  We're also going to investigate other books by the same author, Valeri Gorbachev.  (We have high hopes.)

We're not usually the types to use this kind of language, but the story here is quite darling and rather sweet.  (Good luck finding more occurrences of those words on our site!)

What could be better than a summer Saturday spent reading?  (A Saturday spent reading while dressed up as a penguin?)

A series of helpful and informative learn-about-the-world books

ADDED June 27, 2009

 

A playful, charming book that teaches what goes around comes around

ADDED May 30, 2009

Ordinarily, we'd try to review a book about ghosts around Halloween time.  But some kids (my boys, as it turns out) just love ghosts and monsters of all types.  What's more, this ghost- and monster-book is simply jam-packed with fun.  It's got some ghosts, some jokes, and even some subtle admonitions against bullying.   As if that weren't enough, it's both very accessible and extremely creative.

The story here involves -- as the title might suggest -- three little ghosties.  These guys are sitting around, boasting about how they've scared the neighbors.  Pippa Goodhart's choice of words is ingenious.  Check this out:

"Well," said Ghostie Number Two,
"I scared some mean witches,
sitting in dark ditches,
lipsticking their lipses,
plotting evil trickses.

I went clank, clank,
shiver, shake,
BOOO!"

After they're done with this kind of boasting, the ghosties fly off to scare a sleeping kid.  There are twists and turns (we don't want to give away the surprise ending), but suffice to say, the kid doesn't get one bit frightened and might just turn the tables on those frightful ghosties.

The Amazon review says this book is great for preschool-aged kids to second graders, and that's probably right.  This book is -- we promise -- not one bit scary.  It's just fun.  Click here to check it out!

Read with the kids this weekend.  Read aloud!  But please, don't go scaring people unless you want to get scared back yourself!

--S

Typing can be big fun for kids

ADDED May 06, 2009

A big part of being a kid is emulating your parents. It’s fun to act like Mom or Dad, and there are some learning aspects to this mimicry, too.

Kids these day see their parents on their computers quite a bit. Of course, much of this is checking todayisfun.com, we understand.

One way for very young kids to start learning about computers is to do something very simple. In Microsoft Word or google docs, you can open a new document and change the font size to something really large. Then your child can practice typing different letters on the keyboard.

We did this when my older son was first learning his letters, and he had a great time. He said, “Now I’m going to do a lot of B’s, now I’m going to do a lot of L’s.” Then he would say, “See? Just like Daddy.”

A fun tale of itty bitty triumphing over big and bad!

ADDED May 02, 2009

In the coming months we'll be recommending some great books for kids, and a number of them will be by prolific, excellent Ed Emberley.  Mr. Emberley is always fun and creative (two very admirable characteristics, don't you think?) and he's been doing the kid-book-thing for quite some time.  Ed Emberley is great with colors and shapes, and getting the reader to look at those things a little differently.

Today we'd like to recommend Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug!, an terrific book for parents to read aloud to their kids.  There aren't a lot of words, but there's plenty to explore and discuss. 

In this story, a group of little itty bitty bugs are visited by the big bad bullybug who is, appropriately enough, quite big and bad.  He's ready to rough up the innocent itty bitty bugs.  The itty bitty bugs, however, are rather plucky and wry in the face of the brutish bullybug.  (Kind of like we'd all like to have been in childhood when picked on by bullies.) 

We don't want to give away any of the plot's twists and turns, but in the end, things work out pretty well.  Let's just say that there is a happy ending.  And that a little teamwork leads to some itty bitty empowerment.

All in all, Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug!  is a very worthwhile, fun book.  Pick it up from Amazon here.  And while you're at it, check out another of Emberley's amusing masterpieces, Go Away, Big Green Monster!

Have fun reading with your kids.   And don't let the Big Bad Bullybugs or Big Green Monsters get you down!

Foods that will give your kids power for today and every day

ADDED April 09, 2009

We have received many emails about yesterday's post.  In it, I mentioned a "Power List" that I had written out for my kids.  (As you might remember, my kids like anything with the word "power" in it.)  

I listed foods that would give them plenty of "power," and I taped it up on our fridge.

My list is nothing special.  And I warn you, I am not a dietitian.  (But I did make the list using information at nuval.com.)

In case you can't read my chicken scratch in the accompanying photo, we proudly present . . .

The Power List
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cantalopes
Carrots
Celery
Cucumbers
Grapes
Honeydew Melons
Lettuce
Milk
Oranges
Pineapples
Strawberries
Tangerines
Water
Yogurt

Instead of asking for cookies as snacks, now my kids are asking for things on the Power List.  And they're getting plenty of power from these healthy foods, I can tell.  Believe me, my kids are not lacking for energy!  We have also created a TIF "Power List" that you can print out and use to create your own "Power List".

Busy brains are happy brains

ADDED April 02, 2009

 

Kids like using their brains to figure stuff out.  That's good news for you, of course, when you're trying to keep them entertained.  All you have to do is give your kids a reason to get their brains in gear!

And here is a very good (and rather fun) way to get your kids to use their brains . . . special tricky messages!

Special tricky messages aren't exactly codes.  They're just a way of looking at letters and words differently.  Today we'll demonstrate two tricky methods.  You'll definitely catch on quickly, and soon you'll be writing special tricky messages for your kids, too.

The first kind is very easy:  write a note to your kids, backwards.  This method of special tricky messaging is so simple that a kid of five or six could figure it out.  So . . . why don't you have your kid of five or six figure it out?  

Figure out a three- or four-sentence note that you can write your kid.  It should be easy for you to find a subject:  you can write how you feel about them, or you can write a few sentences about their interests (Spiderman is a good guy, but Dr. Doom is a bad guy!), or anything else about their life (Thank you for setting the table for me yesterday.)  Simply write the note backwards -- it's surprisingly easy and quick to do.  (Tomorrow night movie family have and popcorn make to going are we!)

For young kids this basic kind of trickiness is truly quite exciting.

The second special tricky message method is also very rewarding.  We call it "expand the message."  This one (and the backwards suggestion above) might be easier and quicker if you type up the messages on your computer and print them out.  If you make a mistake -- and what parent doesn't multi-task and make a mistake or two? -- it's easy to fix.

For "expand the message," type a quick, one- or two-sentence note to your kid using all CAPITAL letters.  Then take each word and make up a sentence to go around it.  The resulting sentence doesn't need to make a ton of sense; it just needs to hide the true message.  Here's an example we've come up with for demonstration purposes:

THIS is a note for you to read.  It is kind of SPECIAL.  The MESSAGE IS what is special.  The words here are FOR YOU to read.  

YOU will eat breakfast tomorrow.  Pancakes and waffles ARE good for breakfast.  (Breakfast is THE first meal of the day.)  Wash your hands if you use syrup, because sticky hands are not the BEST!

What fun place can you guys find for reading?

ADDED March 20, 2009

Okay, today's suggestion isn't jaw-droppingly original or unheard of.  But it is fun -- and we're here to remind you guys to get out and actually do it!

We hope that you're big fans of reading and books.  Reading can be super fun, and it can provide that fun for your kids' entire lives.

Reading is so easy, though, that sometimes we forget how enjoyable and special it can be.  So today, we encourage you to have some special reading time.  Where can you guys take some books and read them?  What new and different location?

Here are some ideas:

• In the park.
• At the beach.
• At a friend's house.
• In your own backyard.
• At the library.
• At a restaurant or coffee shop.
• In the car.

Reading in a different location changes the experience a bit.  And reading outside can be especially fun and relaxing.

When you guys are reading outside, you can have your kids try to spot things they see in the books.  For instance, if there are birds in the book, can your kids find birds outside?  If you guys see a bus in the book, is there a bus in the real world, too?

Reading outside also allows your kids to re-enact things with their bodies.  They can put on a show about the book.  They could make themselves into birds, buses, lions . . . everything!

And bring a snack along, too.  Sometimes it's nice to munch while you read.

Have a great, fun weekend with your little readers!

Entertain your little detectives with a simple game to play in the car.

ADDED February 23, 2009

 On your next roadtrip, try playing this fun game that I remember from my own childhood.  As you are driving along, tell your kids that they are alphabet detectives and that they need to find each and every letter. Only when every member of the alphabet has been found will you be able to solve the case of "The Missing Letter."

Here is how you play: have your kids scan the license plates of other cars and look for the letter A.   When A is spotted, all the detectives move onto the letter B, and so on.  When all the letters have been discovered, congratulate your detectives on their fine work and declare the case of "The Missing Letter" solved.

This game is fun because it can be played several ways: it can be played as a group as described above, or competitively (each person searches on their own and the first one done is the winner).

Remember, "travel" could mean the way to school in the morning or getting stuck in traffic in the afternoon.  Have with your fun with your on-board detectives! 
A big thanks to woodysworld1778 and ohlove for the use of their photos

Get rid of the extra candy with some reading fun

ADDED November 06, 2008

A little review to help your little readers

ADDED October 20, 2008

Letters are actually words that kids can read

ADDED October 09, 2008

A fun activity and a helping hand for people in need

ADDED October 08, 2008

The other day, as the cleaning machines were working away (see our Cleaning Machines post), my son said, "Why do we have to put so many toys away?"
 
"Because you have a lot of toys!"  I said.
 
He continued, "If we had less toys, it would not take so long to put them away".
 
I though about it for a minute, and he was right.  My kids have far too many toys. I think if I were to divide their toys in half they would still have enough toys to last at least till the 7th grade. The sheer volume of toys in most houses has brought about an industry of organizational professionals jjust to tell parents what to do with their kids' stuff.
 
Since I am kind of a do-it-yourself kind of guy, I decided to do something about the toys, something that would not require a trip to Ikea or an organizing professional.

Since this site is all about fun, I tried to make a hard conversation fun.  My kids are a little older, so they understand that some people are not as fortunate as they are, and they understand what "donate" means.  And we decided to start donating.
 
So we took all the their toys out of every bucket, tub and shoebox.  We made a little game out of getting rid of the clutter.  (Just like on one of those ever-so-popular house de-cluttering shows).
 
The activity worked really well:  just a "keep" box and a "go" box.  No questions asked.  After the boxes were sorted, we decided what toys were worth keeping and what toys needed to go . . . and just like that, it was done.
 
It was amazing:  we de-cluttered, then donated.  In the end, everybody won.  In my son's mind, he had less toys to pick up and we were able to give some nice toys to some less fortunate people.  Not to be preachy, but it's one thing to donate when everything's going wonderfully, but it's also important to give during the bad times, when the economy isn't so great and when our natural instinct is to circle the wagons and cling to our stuff.  

We donated two boxes, and it felt good for parents and kids alike.

info@todayisfun.com 

A chapeau mishap leads to some fun hi-jinks on the farm

ADDED September 12, 2008

The farmer in this book really likes his hat.  What's not to like?  It's a nice hat.

Unfortunately for the farmer, he wears it outside on a blustery day . . . and the wind carries off his fine hat.

The farmer does what any hat-loving person would do:  he interviews all of his farm animals to find out if they've seen his beloved possession.

One thing leads to another, there's twists and turns, (we don't want to give away any surprises) but suffice to say there is a happy ending, though it's not exactly what the farmer had hoped.

Go to the library and pick up this book:  Who Took The Farmer's Hat? by Joan Nodset.  Read to those kids and have a great weekend!

This books looks terrific!

ADDED September 02, 2008

Here at Today Is Fun, we definitely try to promote books and a love of reading, as those things can entertain kids long after they're kids.

Trips to the library are often magical for young kids, as they first see the walls and shelves full of books.  If your little ones are old enough, this game is a way to make a trip to the library even more fun.  It's also a way for young kids to experience a measure of freedom and self-reliance in a public place.

The idea is simple, really.  When you go to the library, have hunts for certain kinds of books.  For instance, on one visit we will all try to find a book that looks terrific about pirates.  Or each person will spend ten minutes trying to find a terrific book about an animal.  Of course, the topics to find for books that look terrific are endless:  rainy days, Moms, flowers, cowboys, etc.

It's important for the kids not to ransack the shelves and to keep the books in place.  Running and yelling are of course causes for immediate disqualification.

Once everyone has found a book, we read each one.  If the book is really terrific, we check it out and take it home.

One last idea about this Library Fun game:  if the librarians and library patrons aren't bothered by the young competitors, then everyone gets extra points!

I see my letter!

ADDED August 12, 2008

Look out kids, I'm afraid the Zoo sent another package

ADDED July 11, 2008

A fun flap book for little kids, Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell is about a zoo trying its best to send a new pet to a child.

(Check out this book on Amazon here.)

Each page shows a crate, a carton, or a cage, and your kid can move the flap to see which animal is inside.  No matter what, the hapless zoo always sends the wrong animal--none are suitable for pets.  The zoo sends an elephant, but it is too heavy.  It sends a giraffe, who is found to be too tall.  The lion is too fierce, and so on.

We don't want to give away any of the plot's twists and turns, but in the end, things work out pretty well.  There is a happy ending.

This is a cute, fun book that will make for a nice reading time with your toddler.  So get out of the sun this weekend and curl up with a book.

(And don't worry, the lion here isn't all that fierce.  Really, there's no danger.)

A rousing and rowdy race makes for some fun reading with the kids

ADDED June 27, 2008

A group of dogs, each with its own unique personality, participate in a fast and frenzied car race.

The dogs -- Jack, Trixie, Wags and Stinky among others -- furiously jockey for lead position. (Racer Jack has a habit of mistakenly driving the wrong way, leading to some big problems for everyone.)

The art here is enormously pleasing, and there are many fun details to study. For instance, as the cars speed across each page, you can see a busy, cute supporting character, Pizza Pooch, making deliveries on his scooter.

The story of the race, while completely enjoyable, isn't the main focus. Really, the fun of the book comes from finding all the characters on each page, and seeing what they're up to as the race goes on.

We can't tell you which of these canines takes the big prize (we don't want to give away any plot twists), but suffice to say, it's a hair-raisingly, breath-takingly, and tail-waggingly fun outcome.

Read to those kids, and have a great weekend.

An entertaining book about how hard it can be sometimes to go to sleep

ADDED June 20, 2008

Poor Rabbit just can't get to sleep. His friend Mole works hard to eliminate all the causes of the insomnia, stopping the ticking of the clock, putting the purring cat in another room, and so forth.

This book (Tick-Tock, Drip-Drop by Nicola Moon and illustrated by Eleanor Taylor) is highly recommended: the art is delightful and "warm." The story is pretty funny. And it contains some great onomatopoeia words for kids: the clock's tick-tock, the water's drip-drop, the garden gate's bang-bump.

My boys were thrilled when they discovered a somewhat subtle detail: in the background of one of the pages, the garden gate falls on top of Mole for a quick moment while he's trying to close it. They find this moment the peak of comedy!

As always, we don't want to give away any of the plot's twists and turns, but let's just say there's a lot of trouble and not a lot of sleeping.

Check it out from your local library, or get it from Amazon here.

Get some rest yourself this weekend. And have fun reading!

A simple muffin recipe makes any morning fun.

ADDED June 18, 2008

Certain mornings cold cereal does not work. So what the kids and I like to do on a weekend morning is make this simple mini blueberry muffin recipe. It is quick, easy and has little clean up so you can get on with other things. It is also best if we can make the muffins and not wake up Mom. Try it this weekend I guarentee everyone will be pleased with the results.

For some reason I memorized this recipe. So what I like to do is have my kids test me every time we make these just so I don’t forget something important. I like to think it helps them with reading and I can empathize with them as they memorize spelling words. They also do a majority of the measuring and all batter testing.

If you don’t want to memorize the recipe (and I don’t blame you) print it out and let your kids do the reading and measuring.

Try it and let me know how it goes. When I say everyone can do it I do mean it.
1. 2 cups of flour
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 3 tsp baking powder
4. ½ tsp cinnamon
5. 1/8 tsp salt
6. 1 egg
7. ¾ cup milk
8. 1/3 cup butter
9. 2 tsp vanilla
10. 1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix all dry ingredients add wet ingredients and fold in blueberries (or cranberries or chocolate chips!)
Fill greased mini muffin pans
Bake for 10-15 min or until golden brown.
Sprinkle tops of muffins with a little cinnamon & sugar or powdered sugar and eat!

Let us know how it goes and email us at info@todayisfun.com photos of the results.

In honor of tomorrow's holiday, some fine reading for kids and Dads

ADDED June 14, 2008

 What Daddies Do Best, by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, is a cute book showing some busy animals (who happen to be Dads and their kids) engaged in a lot of fun, together-time activities.

Some examples:

Daddies can teach you how to ride a bicycle.

They can give you a piggyback ride

and take care of you when you're sick.

Daddies can watch the sun set with you

Daddies can read you a bedtime story

and kiss you good-night.

As always, we don't want to give away any of the plot's twists and turns. You'll have to pick up a copy off Amazon or at your local library.

But no review of this book would be complete without letting you know that the really nice thing about it is that when you turn the book over, there is another story for you and your kids to read. This additional one is called What Mommies Do Best, and is just as cute, charming, and pro-parent.

Have some fun reading this weekend, and Happy Father's Day!

An entertaining book: Stomp your feet and clap your hands! Everybody ready for a Barnyard Dance!

ADDED May 23, 2008

An entertaining way to get the kids to settle down

ADDED April 30, 2008

When the kids are in bed and a little wired, a great way to temper their childish enthusiasm is with some Silent Reading.

Silent Reading can entail quiet talking, whispering, or total silence, whatever you feel is appropriate. But the most important thing is the kid must read (or look at the pictures) and no getting out of bed.  Make sure your child has enough books for 10 minutes . . . and that is it.

After 10 minutes of being all cozy in bed, most kids are ready to sleep.  And you have gained 10 minutes of silence.

ADDED April 01, 2008

Sometimes a kid will find a favorite book and want to read it over and over and OVER again. (And then over again.)

Really, there's nothing wrong with this. In fact, we as parents we should definitely feel happy and lucky that our child has found a book that excites them!

But then again, reading a child's favorite book thirty or forty times can be, well, repetitive.

One way to breathe fresh life into an oft-read book is to forget about it completely.

"Oh, I've never seen this book before!" I tell my children as the favorite book comes out.

At first, they look at me like I'm nuts (not an uncommon occurrence in our house.) Then, they're on board with the game and "introducing" me to the book.

"And Daddy, look at how this elephant is squirting all over the place! Have you ever seen that before?"

I also try this completely forgetting trick when my Lovely Wife asks me to take out the garbage, but the results aren't quite as impressive.