Hello Book Bums families!
Happy summertime!
This week in the newsletter we offer lots of ideas to get you and your kiddos outside for some summer fun. From engineering projects to a creeking scavenger hunt to city trucks, there's something for everyone. We also share lots of titles to keep your kids reading as they explore different genres in the library or bookstore. Enjoy!
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Word of the Week
genre (zhahn-ruh) noun/person, place, or thing - a category of art, music, or literature characterized by a particular style, form, or content
My sister's favorite genre of music is country, but my daughter prefers classical.
Literary Calendar
• June 19 is National Garfield the Cat Day.
• The comic strip, created by Jim Davis, was first published in 1978.
• Garfield's favorite food is lasagna, and he has a teddy bear named Pooky.
From our Bookshelves
Melissa Lennig calls her book, Sticks and Stones, “a treasure trove of building and engineering ideas for children to employ in the great outdoors for enjoyment . . .” In this book, you’ll find over 30 fun ideas that will help you get your kids outside. We love it, and we think you will too!
Tips for Readers and Writers
Over these summer months continue with the Science of Reading, remember to deliberately explore a variety of genres with your kids. Whether you read these books (or others like them) aloud, or you listen as your kids read them to you, try your best to get in at least one book from each listed genre before the beginning of the next school year. Because we know that it can be challenging finding great books, we’re including a list, below, to get you off to a great start with your elementary-age children.
Genre (Click on the book title to find the book on Amazon or go to your local library!)
Mystery- A-Z Mysteries, Cam Jansen, Encyclopedia Brown
Fiction- Little House in the Big Woods Laura Engels Wilder
Historical Fiction- I Survived (series), Ranger in Time (series)
Science Fiction- The Green Book, Andrew Lost (series)
Fantasy- Harry Potter, Rowan of Rin
Classics- The Trumpet of the Swan, The Secret Garden
Realistic Fiction- Clementine, All About Sam
Poetry- Brown Girl Dreaming, Love That Dog
Biography- Thomas Edison-Wizard of Menlo Park, Chocolate by Hershey
Autobiography- I Am Malala, Ruby Bridges Goes to School
Informational- Who Would Win (series), Way of the Warrior Kids
Adventure- My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet
Folk Tales- (include fairy tales, myths, legends) Dragon Masters, Percy Jackson, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, A Grain of Rice, Land of Stories
Tips for Families
Family activity fun!
I missed the Touch a Truck event in Liberty Township, but a neighboring community is hosting one later this month, and I’m including information about it here. If you’re not in southwestern Ohio, just google your community’s name to find a Touch a Truck event near you!
June 30, 2023: The City of Fairfield hosts its Touch a Truck event from 9am to noon at Village Green Park. Equipment will be on display for children and adults to get a close-up look at the vehicles used around the city. Individuals of all ages can touch, honk, and climb on the many vehicles that you see around the city. You might see a fire truck, an ambulance, construction trucks, snowplows, dump trucks, police cruisers, farm equipment, the Bookmobile and many more vehicles of all shapes and sizes. They’ll have “Sensory Sensitive Hour” from 9-10am, a horns-free hour for children and families who want to experience the event without any loud distractions.
Not into vehicles? Maybe creek stomping is more your style!
more Summer Fun!
If you haven’t already, grab some tall rubber boots for your kids, (They’re on sale, now!) and head out to a nearby creek.
Here’s a link to the top spots to go creeking in the greater Cincinnati area.
Make a scavenger hunt checklist you could use with some kids you love. See how many items from the list you can find!
Pause for Poetry
The Patience of Ordinary Things
by Pat Schneider
It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?
Practical Grammar
Don’t take this personal, but if you’ve said those words (Don’t take this personal . . .), you’ve made a common grammatical error.
It should read, “Don’t take this personally.”
In the same way, we should say, “I wouldn’t take that personally, if I were you.”
Personal is an adjective, and adjectives describe nouns.
(e.g., personal property, personal interview, personal experiences)
Personally is an adverb that describes how a thing is done. (e.g., in person, for oneself, or in a personal manner)
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