I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Billie Kelpin. She is the author of Lucky, the Left Pawed Puppy. Have you ever felt like you didn’t quite fit in? Well then this story will tug at your heart strings. Lucky, the Left Pawed Puppy (written by Billie Kelpin and illustrated by Julie Parker) is an adorable story about a little lefty who just can’t seem to get things right.
Ramona’s World! If you have read the Ramona series then you know this book is a great continuation of Ramona’s journey through childhood. It shows her at the age where we first met Beezus. It is fun to compare the two girls at the ripe old age of nine!
I recently took a Facebook test to determine whether I am predominantly right or left brained. For me this test was a no brainer (ha-ha). I got 75% right brain and 25% left brain. I was not surprised at all. I rely on my creative side daily and always have. I use it for problem solving and it is how I chose my career. I was a minority among my adult friends. Most of them had a higher left brain score. My husband often says that one of the things he likes the most about me is my childlike spirit.
Beverly Cleary? Yes please! Ramona Quimby, Ellen Tebbits, Henry Huggins, Ralph S. Mouse, Otis Spofford, and so many more. Raise your hand if you read one of these gems while you were growing up! I know I read more than one of them! Now I have the pleasure of reading them with my daughter.
We have been working on U.S. geography over here at Let’s Learn With Style. Although I love it, I have to admit I am no Alexander von Humboldt. I am more of a “take me where the wind leads me” kind of girl. Since my daughter has a wild spirit and an amazing sense of adventure I really need to nail this subject down. I want her to always know where she is going and to be able to find her way back to me too! I love the idea of learning through play, so I thought this would be the perfect way to begin our journey on U.S. geography. Here are some of the things we have been using and loving!
There is a cafe in our local library call Her Story. I love this cafe and its name. It reminds me that everyone and everything has a story. These stories are so important, even the ones we deplore, and have shaped the world that we live in.
It is no secret that we have been working on the parts of speech over here at Let’s Learn With Style. We have had a lot of fun and I feel like some great learning took place too. The challenge is making sure kids retain what they learn.
Spelling is one of those things that many people struggle with for years. My daughter is a first grader this year so we added a list of spelling words to her curriculum each week. She really loves learning the new words but she is always worried she won’t know them at the end of the week. Even though we reassure her, she still talks about her words throughout the week. I want her to learn the words without feeling the pressure of a test. I decided to integrate fun ways to learn the words and then test her throughout the week without her knowing by doing fun activities with the words. Here are a few of the fun activities that we have incorporated into our day for spelling.
Cause and effect. If you have little ones in your house you have a whole lot of this going on all day long. My house is a bit of a mess right now and I can tell you who caused it.
In, on, under, behind, near, opposite, beside, beneath, inside, outside… Prepositions are function words. They have two main functions, connect the noun to the rest of the sentence and specify the position of the noun. Simple enough, right? Maybe not if you are little and just being introduced to the complicated world of grammar and all of the crazy rules that go with it.