Abigail and the North Pole Adventure #Book #Review

#ABIGAILandtheNorthPoleAdventure

     I've been thinking for a while now how awesome it would be to have a theme night or theme week each month when my family would just immerse ourselves in another culture.  Decorate the living room, eat only cultural dishes, learn a few words in that language, maybe learn a dance or dress the part, maybe a craft or two... how fun that would be!  Can you imagine easting fish and fry bread while we sit in our suede winter coats in our cardboard igloos?  Awesome!

     And of course we would take the time to read up on that culture.  Luckily I acquired some pretty amazing encyclopedias from my grandmother and a ton of other super helpful reference books, but they can be a bit old for the younger kids.  Young kids want to learn without being overwhelmed. 

     That's why I really like Abigail and the North Pole Adventure, written by Tali Carmi and illustrated by Neda Fuchedzhieva.  It's geared for younger kids and helps them learn about the Eskimo lifestyle in a fun and easy way.  The book teaches kids about where Eskimos live, how they keep warm, and where they find their main source of food.  It even shows what kind of animals they live with.
     The book is about a girl named Abigail.  Her grandparents own a magical bike and book that she uses to explore different areas of the world.  This time, she chooses to explore the North Pole.  While there, she learns about the culture, makes friends, and gets to help a little polar bear out of a dangerous situation.

     To be honest, at first I thought the idea of a magic bike was a little weird, but then I realized that it's not any more weird than a magic dragon scale, like in Dragon Tales, or a magic tree house, like the popular kids books my daughter reads.  So I got over that idea pretty quickly and just enjoyed the adventure.

     The illustrations are a little more simple than older children's books, which help smaller kids to focus without the visual clutter.  I definitely feel like it's a great way to introduce different cultures to young children, and that's something I definitely want to do with my kids.  So I recommend this book to pretty much any families with children.
     Have you ever celebrated different cultures at home?  What is your favorite way to celebrate?

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Can NOT leave out Girl Scouts

     Okay, so if any of you have children in Girl Scouts, you know that it's not necessarily free.  However, on the application, there is a super important box for parents who need it to be.  Girl Scouts of America provides financial assistance to any child who can't afford the membership fee.  And of course, sometimes there are dues and if your troop requires it (thankfully ours do not) there are the uniforms.  There is also time invested in cookie sales, etc throughout the year and the gas involved in that.  But let's look at the pay-out.
     This was the only year that Punk got to be in Girl Scouts.  other years I didn't have a working vehicle at the time of sign-ups.  But this year ALONE:
     1.  She went on a hike through trails at the local lake and had a picnic.  Almost did it twice, but the black flies were ridiculous.

     2.  Went to an old-fashioned sock hop, sisters included.  It was a super fun time for them.

     3.  Spent the night with her mom (me) at the Museum of Science in Boston.  Granted, this one did cost me some money because we weren't a part of the previous fund-raising efforts.  I believe it cost us $83 to go to Boston from Maine and spend the night.  HUGE savings and well worth it.  I also brought spending money, which was optional.  We totally could have brought our own food and skipped the souvenirs and it still would have been amazing.

     4.  She went to a local art museum.

 

      5. Then she went to Sweet Frog for Ice cream afterward.

      6.  She participated in at-site cookie sales, helping her to gain confidence and interact in a healthy way with the general public.  This is huge because all of my kids are pretty shy in most situations.  Plus, it was 80's themed, so that's awesome in itself.  Who doesn't love a good costume party outside of Walmart?

     7.  Received coupons for free kids cones at the local ice cream shop for all of the kids in the house!  We used this in combination with the store's Dollar Days Mini Golf to get a super cheap fun time out this week.

     8.  Received a free family pass to the local lake.  This runs you $45 if you buy it yourself, so it was a huge blessing to have full year access to the lake.  We may or may not plan to go at lunch time because there is a free lunch program at the lake all summer long for anyone under 18.

     9.  Got to ride in a limo to a salon where she got her hair and nails done.  That day they also went to McDonald's, a local park, and had a photo shoot with yours truly.  It was a great day for them.

     10.  Learned recipes for organic smoothies from the lady at the local farmer's market and energy bites.

     11.  She painted art to hang in the house.

     12.  She planted herbs.

     13.  She made her own hula hoop (no photo for this one... her sisters lost her hoop).

     Other opportunities that she missed were making teacher's brunch (completely forgot about this one when the day came) and this awesome Frozen themed event.  It says $3, but it was free due to being sponsored by a local company... or something like that.  We didn't make it because our van went into a ditch on the way.  Darn ice patch.

     So even if we did pay the $15 membership fee, it would have paid for itself many, many times over, as you can see.  Luckily for us, we were able to get financial assistance.  So if you have a daughter, I highly recommend Girl Scouts, as it is a low cost/free way to get kids involved in lots of ways and in lots of areas.

Alphabet Photo Tour!

     The concept of this free summer activity is a pretty simple one, but it can be altered to be more difficult or more fun.  The idea is that you get a camera and find items that start with each letter of the alphabet and take a photo of each.  This can be made more difficult by making it a competition between 2 or more groups of people to finish first.  It could also be made more fun by making it a scavenger hunt on the go and finding these things around town.
     We chose to do it in our yard over Memorial Day Weekend a couple years ago and some of them were a little hard to find.  Here's what we got:

Airplane ride-on toy

Bouncy Ball

Clouds, of course

Dandelion

Easter bucket

Fire

Girls

Horn

Insect

Junk pile

Keyboard

Lawn chair

Man

Nut

Orange

Puddle

Quench... it's a stretch

Rainbow.  Do ya see it!?

Statue

Tear

Umbrella

Vent

Window

"X" marks the spot.  Totally cheated on this one

Yawn

     Alas, no "Z".  I intended at the time to get a photo of Boog after he feel asleep, for "Zzzzz", but didn't for some reason. When we play again, we will set a time limit.  Each photo will be worth 1 point and each photo that depicts a double letter word, such as "bouncy ball", "green grass", or "elephant ear" will be worth 2 points.  And any 3+ letter photos, like "rusty red roof" would be worth 5.  We might also split into teams or do it in a store or something to shake it up.  I think the game has a lot of potential to be fun, especially if prizes are involved.  Free prizes, of course... like getting to choose what movie to watch that night.
     Have you ever done an alphabet themed scavenger hunt?  How did you play it?  Any ideas for shaking this up some?

Terry Treetop and the Little Bear #Book #Review

     We've lived in our home now for almost 7 years.  In that time, we have had flocks of turkeys cross our yard each morning for months on end, we've had racoons and skunks grace us with their presence each night, we've had deer, bobcats, hawks, and other wildlife.  For the last couple years we have had a flock of pigeons in our yard, among many other birds who stay and come back each year.  We have no lack of wildlife here.  This week we have had a first though, and I wish I were here to see it, as it would have been my first ever sighting outside of a zoo.  A black bear walked across our front yard and into the woods.  A BEAR!!!  In our front yard!    I think it might have had something to do with the can of tuna that was put out for our missing cat.  It kinda makes me want to put out more tuna.

     Of course we told the kids so that they would be very careful and stay together and away from the tree line.  We always make sure that they know about the dangerous animals that we see.  They spend a LOT of time outside playing and we don't ever want to discourage that, but it's very important that they know how to be aware of their surroundings when living so close to the woods.

     This newest book of ours came at just the right time for our little missed encounter.  Terry Treetop and the Little Bear, written by Tali Carmi, is about a little redheaded, freckled, outdoorsy kid named Terry.  Terry is so happy that it's springtime, and as he's looking around and taking it all in, he sees a little bear cub come into his yard.  He wants to play with the cub until he sees that the cub isn't alone.  Mama Bear is close by and doesn't trust humans.  As she gets the young bear to head into the woods, the baby ends up getting trapped and is in need of help.  Terry is just the boy for the job and teaches Mama Bear that maybe little humans aren't so bad after all.

      There are several things I like about this book, besides being a cute children's book.  First is the illustrations, colorful and engaging, my kids are drawn to that style art and so am I.  Second is the storyline.  Terry knows that he needs to help animals and treat them with respect, but he also knows to be cautious when dangerous animals are involved.  It's a wonderful story for my kids and for any family.

     When I first saw this book, I thought it looked familiar, and that's because I already own the e-book Terry Treetop and the Lost Egg, from the same series.  That book is pretty cute as well and also shows Terry helping animals.  I think this whole series looks like one I would be happy to own for my family and at only $1 per book, you really can't go wrong.  I definitely recommend it!

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.