Join in the Discussion about Play January 29, 2012
Posted by flashlightblog in Individuality, Play, Reviews.add a comment
Hurray! It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!
Today’s choice is as much for parents and teachers as it is for kids!
Image from The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister, written by Linda Lodding, illustrated by Suzanne Beaky
The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister
Flashlight Press, October 2011, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 5 and up
Themes/Topics: the importance of play, over-scheduling
Opening: “Each morning, while Ernestine ate breakfast and Nanny O’Dear prepared lunch, Ernestine’s father zoomed out to work and called, ‘Live life to the fullest, Ern!’ And each morning Ernestine’s mother zipped out to catch the bus and said, ‘Make every moment count, E!‘”
Brief synopsis: Ernestine’s parents want her to have every experience she can, so they pack her days with sculpting and tuba, yoga and yodeling. It takes Ernestine to show them that one thing she absolutely shouldn’t miss is having time to just play.
Links to resources: What I really should say here is, “No resources! Just go play!” But here are some resources that are also playing: Coloring Page, and for activities, try making a daisy crown (or any kind of outdoorsy crown), or make clouds out of cotton or shaving cream and see what shapes you see in them, or build a fort out of sticks, or blocks, or an empty cardboard box. Use your imagination!
Why I Like This Book: Kids will enjoy Ernestine’s ridiculous schedule, her amusing list of lessons, her teachers’ funny names, the bold bright colors of the pictures, and Ernestine’s inspired solution to her problem. As a grown-up, I appreciate Ernestine’s message that while organized activities arranged and taught by adults have their place, so too does the unstructured time to be a child and simply play.
Click here for Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog post and comments.
There’s still a lot more winter to knit Pobble mittens January 4, 2012
Posted by flashlightblog in Imagination, Parents, Winter.1 comment so far
Thanks to these wonderful people in cyberspace who helped to spread the word about our wintry campaign for knitting mittens like the ones Pobble wears in Pobble’s Way (written by Simon Van Booy, illustrated by Wendy Edelson):
Bev Qualheim – who wrote the original mitten pattern, Michelle Edwards, KRJuchem, Yvonne Jefferson, Basya Karp, Mary Nida Smith, Barb Hatch, and Barbara Gruener.
