Mozi Esmé: October 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Book Reviews

If you're here looking for a specific book review, please note that we've moved most of our reviews to our book giveaway blog: Winning Readings. Please email me if you have concerns with this: winningreadings at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fashion Friday

Welcome to the latest and greatest in kid fashion! If you've got some great fashion going on in your house, go post your fashion photos of the week, come back and link up, and then grab your sparking grape juice on ice, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Here at our house, we feature 2-year-old fashion, of course. No theme this week... First a little layering, then the monochromatic look, some advice on bandaid accessories, and we'll end with another shot of our fabulous headgear.

Here's the layered look. Put a flowery dress on OVER a flowery skirt for an extra flowery, flouncy look. Grab a stripped curtain-tie ribbon from off the curtain and tie it around the waist for some waist definition, and you're set...

As you already know, you can never get too much pink. And a monochromatic look is always slimming, so go for ALL pink. Next time I'll make sure I get the pink boots and hat on BEFORE the picture gets taken...

As you probably also already know, bandaids are a toddler's best accessory. I particularly like the princess ones. Or jungle animal ones. But we're experiencing a bandaid deficiency in our house right now (wonder where all those bandaids could have disappeared to?). So I'm making up for it by using REALLY BIG bandaids. They work well wrapped around tiny fingers, or as in this shot, tiny toes.

Last but not least, that hot pink swim wing continues to be a huge headgear fashion success this week. Here's another shot of it...

OK, folks, here's where you get to share the catwalk! Link up your favorite fashion shot(s) of the week...

Review: Rattlesnake Rules

Well, it is certainly wildlife appreciation week at our house - how did the publishers get it right?! A book about bears, a series about chickadees, and now a book about rattlesnakes - all in one week! Sure enough, we get rattlers here in Oregon, too - even had a report of one right on our road this summer - the road we walk to the post office.

Hi, I'm Esmé, and I am two and a HALF years old. I got a cool book about rattlesnakes to talk about today. Did you know rattlesnakes are all girls? Neither did Mommy. I made that one up all by myself.

Moving on to the book... Rattlesnake Rules is written by Conrad J. Storad and illustrated by Nathaniel P. Jensen. I like that Nathaniel guy - he makes the best pictures! The book is 40 pages, and the recommended ages are 4-8. Written in rhyme, it is packed with humor and great nature facts.

Here's what the publisher has to say about it:

"In his just released book, Rattlesnake Rules, Conrad demystifies the world of rattlesnakes and introduces children to such topics as who, when and what rattlesnakes eat. He shows readers why rattlesnakes have rattles and what it means if you hear one. You will learn how the snakes' forked tongues help them survive. The delightful and colorful illustrations of Nathaniel P. Jensen help bring the story alive."

Here's what I have to say about it (Mommy's words in dark, mine in light...):

What is the book about? R-r-r-r-r-rattles-s-s-s-s-snakes!
"Animals learn..." Wait! You must start at the first page! OK, OK, back to the title page... Rattlesnake Rules, written by Conrad ... That's better!
Look! There's the mommy snake and there are the babies! How do you know which one is the mommy? She's got a necklace!
Is she teaching the babies rules? Yeah! And she is ringing a bell with her tail!
What do rattlesnakes eat? Mice! Poor mice! Huh? Good, you haven't figured out the Mickey connection yet...
Do you like the book? Yeah!
Do you like snakes? Yeah!
What should you do if you hear or see a rattlesnake? Step back slowly? And RUN!

Mommy's Notes

Another terrific nature book! This one is all fun - we could spend hours just looking at the illustrations to figure out the interesting details, like the mama's necklace. And the idea of snakes sitting around the mama as she teaches them vital lessons about hunting and playing and eating just makes me smile. As does the idea of a baby being scared of its own tail...

Packed into the fun and rhyme are some great lessons, though. Not just the factual ones, such as how snakes locate food and how they swallow it. The book starts with the concept that there are natural rules - rules that all living creatures need to enable us to live and enjoy life.

Snakes have their own set of rules, and we have ours. By knowing the rules, we can get past the fear and learn more about the awesome creatures in our midst.

One of my favorite parts of the book, which we haven't explored in much detail yet, is the back - with fast facts, fun facts, mysteries, myths vs. facts, vocabulary guide, and an entire curriculum guide to use with this book. This book is definitely staying on our science shelf for future homeschool use.

For more information or to purchase the book (on sale now for $12.88), check out Five Star Publications. Or take a look at the Rattlesnake Rules home page for fun stuff like a coloring page.

Thanks to Five Star Publications for the review book, and to Mama Buzz for coordinating the review opportunity. (And check out Mama Buzz for a giveaway of two of these books!)

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Early Morning Joy

Esmé's Mommy here...

4 a.m.

Dark. The quiet time. My date with God. And my me-time. When I can sit at the computer without guilt feelings and do my own thing.

On this morning, I hear little steps stumbling into the room. “My eyes! My eyes!” The bright light in the living room is too much for Esmé’s baby blues, and she rubs at them ineffectually.

She stumbles over to me, and I reach out to her. “Why aren’t you in bed? It’s sleepy time!” I say.

“I don’t want to lie down! I don’t want to lie down…” Her protests die as I pick her up, carry her back to bed, and crawl in behind her.

I pull up the covers and snuggle with her, tucking her head beneath my chin. I embrace the warmth and take deep sniffs of her fruity-smelling hair that is tickling my nose.

Fleeting thoughts of the blog post I could be writing are shoved to the back of my mind. I wouldn’t trade the world for this sweet moment with my baby girl. I’m in love with this little one, I tell you.

Pure joy.

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Check out Good, True and Beautiful for more Joy-filled posts...

Review: Emily Books

Hi! My name is Esmé, and I am two and a HALF years old. I have one, two, three books to tell you about today!

They are about a little girl's relationship with Emily the Chickadee. Or "chickaree," as I would say it - that is a new word for me! Now "Emily" - that word I know - that's my cousin's name and one of my best friends' name, too!

The three books are Emily Waits for Her Family, Caring for Emily's Family, and Emily's New Home. They are written by Carol Zelaya and illustrated by Kristin Metcalf. The author was inspired by a chickadee right here in Oregon where I live! The stories are in easy-to-listen-to rhyme, and there are beautiful pictures of birds and flowers and berries on each page. The recommended reading level is ages 4-8.

Here's what Carol's site says about the books: "Meet Emily! She’s a Black-capped Chickadee and the star of Carol Zelaya’s three-book series, Emily the Chickadee. Told in gentle, rhyming verse, we follow a young girl, as she meets and becomes friends with Emily, and their lives intertwine. In the first book, Emily Waits For Her Family, the girl meets Emily and watches as she raises her nest of chicks. In the second, Caring For Emily’s Family, the girl helps Emily to care for her family, providing food and shelter. In the last book, Emily’s New Home, the girl must move and wonders if she will ever see Emily again. The next Spring brings a wonderful surprise; has Emily followed her?"

Emily is VERY cute. The first book is my favorite. It's the springtime book about Emily's eggs: one-two-three. And they become baby birdies: one-two-three. And then they fly out of the nest! And they say chirp chirp chirp!

The second book is about summer and taking care of birdies. And in the last book, the little girl is sad. She has to move, and it is winter and cold. But then spring comes and she is happy again! Because her birdie is here!

Mommy's Notes

These books are great fun to read! The illustrations are beautiful, the rhyming comes out well, and I love the subject matter.

Esmé LOVES the first one. She can listen to it over and over, and the rhyme with a little repetitive text is just right for her attention span.

Perhaps because of her age (younger than the recommended 4-8 years), she rushes me through the second book. There is very little mention of Emily in this book; it is more of a guide in caring for wild birds, though also written in sweet rhyme. I think it'll be fun to use this book in the future as a trigger for doing some of the bird-caring activities: putting out seeds, changing the bird bath, etc.

Esmé's attention perks back up in the last book, as she is consumed by the girl's sadness and then happiness when the bird shows up again.

(And let me mention that, while this last book isn't specifically about Christmas, it does go through the winter season and has a holly-and-snow-themed cover, so would be perfect for Christmas gift-giving or stocking stuffers!)

Each book has a "My Chickadee Log" in the back, and as we live in Oregon - home of many black-capped chickadees - I look forward to using the logs with Esmé and bringing the books to life that way.

This is a lovely series of books with a great nature lessons that I'd recommend for any children in the applicable age group.

For more information about the books, visit www.emilythechickadee.com. You can purchase them at Amazon.com.

Thanks to Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the review copies of these books.
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Now, we are definitely hanging on to our books, but if you're interested in a giveaway of the first book, check out Review From Here. Hurry, the winner will be announced October 31st!

Winners of Sticker and Postcard Giveaways

Congratulations to:

Amanda,
winner of the custom postcards from UPrinting.com

and to:
chlorinebrain,
winner of the custom stickers from UPrinting.com

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wordless Wednesday & Time Out

When a two-year-old gets time-out for refusing to put on her jammies, this is what we find at the end of the (short) time-out.

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For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit

5 Minutes for Mom
Crazyland
Experimental Mommy
Extraordinary Mothers
From Val's Kitchen
Go Graham Go!
Happily Blended
Healthy Living
Here and There
MomDot
Momspective
Mom Knows It All
Look What Mom Found
What's That Smell?
Wordless Wednesday
7 Clown Circus - Wordful Wednesday
Ordinary and Awesome - Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Monday, October 26, 2009

Not Me! Monday

I would never pour a bottle of shampoo into the bathtub. Especially since when I asked Mommy to put some on her hands, she told me, "No - that's to use in the bath, not to put on your hands." Mommy would never tell me that, because she would know the consequences.

And Mommy would never let the dirty hand-washable clothes pile up. So she would never decide to dump them all into the bathtub and fill it up with water to get some use out of that shampoo.

And I hate baths. So I would never strip while she wasn't looking and jump into the bathtub with the clothes for an unscheduled bath.

I don't like bubbles. Not at all.

And that's not a spaghetti stain around my mouth. Not at all.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Review/Giveaway: Bear-ly There

Hi! It's me, Esmé, reviewing my very own book! I am two and a HALF years old!

Bear-ly There is written and illustrated by Rebekah Raye. It's a 32-page hardcover children's book recommended for grades 3-6. It is very beautiful.

Here's what the publisher has to say about it:

"What do you do when there's a bear in your backyard? A big black bear shows up one moonlit night and creates a real ruckus, first breaking into the shed where the grain is kept for the geese (who aren't too happy about it), then raiding the bird feeders. The bear is also causing problems at other homes in the neighborhood, getting into the trash and compost and eating dog food that was left out overnight. One neighbor offers to shoot it. Another one suggests calling the game warden to have the bear tranquilized and relocated. But the child among them knows what is best. A bear belongs in the woods, Charlie says, and together with the adults he clears the yards in the neighborhood of any food that would tempt the bear. His dad comes up with a good idea for warning the bear away—and it works! Bear-ly There shows that it's always best for the bear if it stays in the woods, away from humans. An occasional glimpse of a bear through the trees or at the far side of a meadow is much, much better than having one in the backyard—for us and for the bear."

Here's what I've got to say about it:

What is the book about? A bear!

Are bears scary? Yeah!

Is the bear hungry? Yeah! Yucky! Those are worms!

Look, the duck is in the swimming pool! Those are actually geese. They are Charlie's pets. He takes good care of them.

Look! The kitty cat is on the boy's bed! Yep, the kitty cat is safe inside away from all the wild animals.

Oh! The bear is scary! Yes, when he comes right up to your house, it is scary! Look, Charlie is writing down some ways you can prevent having bears in your yard.

Look, the bear is scared! He is running away! Yes, Charlie and his parents made lots of noise and scared him away...

There is the bear again! But now he is in the woods where he belongs.

Do you like this book? Yeah! Read it again!

Mommy's Notes

This is a beautifully-illustrated book with valuable lessons on nature. The text is well-written and easy to follow. Along with the main lesson of respect for wild animals, it throws in various nature facts throughout, such as how bears rub against trees, what geese (and raccoons and skunks and bobcats and foxes and mice) eat, what bear tracks look like, and what a compost pile is.

It's recommended for an older age than Esmé, but even at 2 1/2, she enjoyed the pictures, got the main message, and was able to sit through the text. And being the lover of scary things, she loved this book. Though it probably didn't help her dislike of picking berries any!

And we do live in bear country. We haven't actually seen any, but they've been spotted in the hill behind our house. So these are definitely lessons we can use.

If you'd like more information or are interested in purchasing this book, visit Tilbury Publishers.

We won our copy of this book by commenting on a post at Reading Rumpus with a giveaway sponsored by Tilbury Publishers. We then volunteered to participate in this tour.

And as a visitor of the tour, you all get a chance to win some prizes!

Blog Comment Prizes

Tilbury Publishers will draw 9 lucky winners from all of those who leave comments on the participating tour posts (including this one) from October 16-30 to win one of the following prizes:

A set of four art cards (2 sets available)
A signed wildlife art print
An original sketch from Bear-ly There
An original sketch from The Very Best Bed
An original sketch from Thanks to the Animals
A copy of Bear-ly There, The Very Best Bed, or Thanks to the Animals, signed by Rebekah Raye

Winners will be announced on Oct. 31, US/Canada addresses only, please.

Twitter Prize
Everyone who participates in the Twitter Book Party, and/or posts anything about the tour using the hashtag #BearlyThere from October 15-30 will be entered to win a complete set of Bear-ly There, Thanks to the Animals, and The Very Best Bed, all signed by Rebekah Raye.

Winners will be announced on Oct. 31, US/Canada addresses only, please.

Other Stops on the Bear-ly There Tour Schedule
Oct. 16 - Bri Meets Books
Oct. 17 - In the Pages
Oct. 18 - Infant Bibliophile
Oct. 19 - Grass Stain Guru
Oct. 20 - Margo Dill's Read These Books and Use Them!
Oct. 21 - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Oct. 22 - On My Bookshelf
Oct. 23 - Nature Moms
Oct. 24 - Tilbury House on Facebook
Oct. 25 - Ready Set Read
Oct. 26 - Mozi Esmé
Oct. 27 - Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day
Oct. 28 - Byron T. Bear Foundation
Oct. 29 - Amy Lundebrek's blog
Oct. 30 - Get Bear Smart Society

G Adventures

Well, we've successfully condensed a letter's worth of activities into one week and still had a great time!

Here's what we did for "G" week (once again, sorry the pictures float in Firefox - they match up with text in IE):

Lapbook: Green.

Song.

Ten Green Bottles.

Book.

Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley (a favorite).

Food.

Sprite from a green bottle.
Green food! That's broccoli, okra, spinach tortellini, green olive, avocado, spinach tortilla with cream cheese roll-up, green apples, green grapes, and snap pea crisps.
And I got to snap green beans...

Science.

We mixed yellow and blue to get green. First we did paints.
And then I painted a tree with my green paint. With some guidance from Mommy.
And then we mixed playdough, and I made a snake!

Physical Activity.

We did a green scavenger hunt outside.

Adventures...

First, we went grocery shopping! And when we got back home, we sorted out all the green food we bought.

Then we made my lapbook! On the front cover is a big G with grapes all over it - I used my Do-a-Dot markers to make the grapes.

On the inside is a letter "G" mini-book, a "green" flap book, a "garden" mini-book, 10 green bottles under a fridge flap, and a "God is love" verse under a "G" in sign language flap.

And on the back side is my G for girl coloring page...
Animals: Giraffe and Goat.

Song.

Bill Grogan's Goat.

Book.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone (my absolute favorite book ever!).
The Goat Lady by Jane Bregoli

Food.

Goat's milk. It was okay, but not perfect.
Animal cracker goats. Mommy said I was a troll for eating goats, but I'm really not. I'm the littlest billy goat.
Grilled cheese sandwich and a salad that even a goat would eat! (And veggie booty and green grapes.)
Oh yeah - that broccoli left over from my green meal yesterday? I ate the whole pot of it - cold - with ranch dip! Yummy!

Science.

To go along with the Billy Goat book, we did bridge experiments. First we made a bridge out of three pieces of paper - and it didn't hold stuff up so well.
Then we took one of those those three pieces of paper and folded it with a fan fold, creating triangles if you look at it sideways. When you stick that paper between the other two, those same three pieces of paper can hold a whole lot. I LIKE triangles!

Physical Activity.

Also to go along with the Billy Goat book, we did lots of 3x exercises. Three jumps, three push-ups, etc.

Adventures...

Mommy showed me how to make horns (cones) from construction paper so I could play like a billy goat. Yep, I am definitely the littlest billy goat. Though Pappa keeps telling me I'm a nanny goat.

And we made finger puppets for the three goats and the troll and acted the story out LOTS of times.

We talked about what is bigger than me and what is smaller than me - like how the three billy goats were 3 different sizes. I decided that pumpkins and trolls and pizza are bigger than me.

We drew a freehand giraffe. Mommy copied instructions from a book and I copied Mommy.

Then we made a giraffe craft. Mommy put all the shapes together, then I painted it brown and put yellow spots on it.

Pretty cool, huh?!

Plus, we had a miracle-grow giraffe that started out REALLY small.

After four days of soaking, it had grown a whole lot!

I like giraffes... Here I am hanging out with one in my class at church.
Seasonal: Fall.

Song.

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

Book.

My Happy Pumpkin by Crystal Bowman (a favorite).

Food.

Pumpkin cupcakes - my favorite part was the green gumdrop stem!
Apple cobbler -
made from the last apples from our orchard!

Science.

After collecting leaves (see next item), Mommy put one of each kind of leaf on the table and gave me another set of each leaf to match up to the leaves on the table.

Physical Activity.

We raked leaves.
And I rode my bicycle.
We collected leaves outside on a "signs of fall" nature walk.
And we had leaf "blizzards" inside to music!

Adventures...

With all those leaves, we did some leaf rubbings with crayons.

We made a dancing pumpkin man from poster board and brads! My favorite part was making the hands - and then making the man dance when he was done.

We made Peter and his wife finger puppets.

We did some pumpkin graphing for a math activity...

And we did some gumdrop counting and toothpick sculptures. Only they didn't last long - I ate them in two sittings...
Country: Greece and Italy.

Song.

We watched Italian opera on DVD. Definitely NOT my style - I didn't last long!

Book.

Cooking the Greek Way by Lynne W. Villios.
Goofy and the Gondola: An Adventure in Italy from Disney's Small World Library.
Pizza Kittens by Charlotte Voake (a favorite).
Tony's Bread by Tomie de Paola.
The Princess and the Pizza by Mary Jane and Herm Auch.

Food.

Pizza - made with spinach and feta cheese for a Greek flavor...

Science.

We did a gravity experiment. Mommy asked me what would fall faster - a big ball or a little ball. Of course, the bigger one! We checked it out...

Physical Activity.

I played on my swing!

Adventures...

We made stained glass!

Actually, we painted a pyrex lid (the bottom had broken) with acrylic paints.

And I had a glow stick to play with when I went to bed that night. Pink, of course!

Food/Bible: Ginger, Garlic, Grapes, and God.

Song.

Jesus Loves Me

Book.

Dr. Welch and the Great Grape Story by Mary Lou Carney.

Food.

Ginger and garlic stir fry. With lots of green and gluten.

Science.

We talked about growing. First you plant a tiny seed, then you water it (we played with a spray bottle filled with water), and the sun shines on it (we played with the lights), and it grows!
I "made" a garden with floral foam and flowers (and water and light).
And we checked out how much I've grown! Here's a piece of yarn that shows how tall I was when I was born, and another piece that shows how tall I am now! 20 inches to 36 inches...