WMCIR: MARVELous, Simply MARVELous

All our favorite superheroes come together in one action-packed book. We've been reading this for the past month, one story per night. I waited until we finished all of them to share, though. Captain America is Bobo's favorite story. I enjoyed the illustrations and compact story with lots of variety. We were both disappointed there was no Black Widow story. "No, see she's right there," Bobo insisted after we finished the book and kept pointing emphatically at the cover. Nope, sorry.

And it's about time for Christmas books, yay! I've been reading lots of new Christmas books as they are delivered to the library. It's like Christmas everyday! Santa Knows by Cynthia Smith is about a little boy who doesn't believe in Santa. This is one of those books I didn't read before taking home and I was a little worried about where this story was going. Bobo believes in Santa wholeheartedly. I don't think I've ever told him Santa was real or not, but we've read lots of books on the topic. My little guy's fantasy was not crushed by this book, but it did spark lots of conversation. Very funny, light read.

Oh, Minerva Louise, you make me LOL every time! I recommend these books for older children, maybe five to six and up. The humor comes from the illustrations, not the words. You have to look for clues and figure out what Minerva Louise has gotten wrong. Bobo is beginning to understand these books as I walk him through the observations.

Me: "Now is that really a farmer?"

Bobo: "No, mom. It's Santa."

Me: "Oh, Minerva Louise!"

Bobo laughs maniacally... turn page and repeat.

Sharing with Read Aloud Thursday

Media Review: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple

Veggie Tales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple written by Richard Liebmann-Smith and Mike Nawrocki with music by Kurt Heinecke

My Rating: 5 out of 5 superhero cucumbers

Recommended For Viewers of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Summary: Larryboy and the citizens of Bumblyburg are struggling with temptation in the form of vanity, video games and chocolate. The villain, Bad Apple, has every intention of taking advantage of the situation.

Review: I avoided the Veggie Tales series for a long time having been burned with other Christian shows, namely Soul Surfer. I found the idea of talking vegetables unsavory and downright silly. Then I watched one, Veggie Tales: The Lord of the Beans, and kicked myself for not giving these a chance!

Veggie Tales is a show with a message and a purpose, but it does so in a clever, witty way that is appealing to children and bearable for adults. LarryBoy is the perfect character for little guys who are interested in superheroes and comic books. LB swings from his plungers like Spider-Man and has a secret hide-out like Batman. 

He also has an enemy that combines the personality of Cat-woman with the robotic improvements of Doc Ock. The story has appeal! Plus, the music is fantastic. We were singing "The Temptation Song" the rest of the day after viewing this fun film. I've added the rest of the LarryBoy episodes the the Netflix instant queue.

Sound Bites

"Broccoli, Celery, Got to Be... Veggie Tales!"

Bad Apple: "I'm not preachin' moderation. Knock! Knock!"

Citizens: "Who's there?"

Bad Apple: "Temptation!"

Bob: "A text message?"

Larry: "It's the latest thing, cool huh?"

Flannel Friday: The Snow is Falling Down

"The Snow is Falling Down"

Sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

By Miss Courtney

The snow is falling down,

The snow is falling down,

Add one snowflake for each line

It's like a blanket on the ground,

The snow is falling down.

Add snowy blanket

We roll it in a ball,

We roll it in a ball,

We make a great big circle,

When we roll it in a ball.

Add large circle

We make a smiley face,

We make a smiley face,

We add eyes, nose and mouth,

To make a smiley face.

Ask children, "What did we make?"

The end.

I'll be sharing this Winter flannel song next week for our annual PJ Storytime. I'm having a snow theme this year! Flannel Friday Holiday Round-Up Here!!!

Flannel Friday: Lunch by Denise Fleming

I saw this flannel idea on Flannel Friday quite some time ago, so imagine my surprise when it showed up in the Food story box this month! I have no idea who created this beautiful flannel story, but would hazard a guess it was Miss Jo Kay. It's surprisingly sturdy. 

My favorite part of sharing a flannel story is the adaptability. You don't have to use exact words, or go in an exact order. For this story, I had a small group and a vocal 4-year-old (A), so I tailored it a little bit.

Lunch

Adapted by Miss Courtney

Once upon a time there was a little mouse. One day, little mouse smelled something coming from the kitchen. He found something white...

A: I don't know what that is...

It is a turnip, do you like turnips?

A: Yes

Do you think the mouse would eat it?

A: Yes

Then, the mouse smelled something yellow that grows on a stalk.

A: CORN!

Would the mouse eat that?

A: No.

Ok, let's leave the corn up on the board then.

Next mouse smelled something blue

A: BLUEBERRIES! Those are my favorite!

Would mouse eat a blueberry?

A: Yes.

Mouse also found some peas and grapes, an apple and a watermelon.

(A said he ate all those, too.)

Then, the mouse was very full and very tired, so he took a nap.

(I hide the mouse under the flannel board and scoot all of the food off him back into the box.)

When he woke up, he stretched and looked around and smelled something delicious...

Dinner!

The end.

Wouldn't this be a great story to adapt for food-related holidays? I think our mouse might find Santa's cookies pretty tasty!

Happy Thanksgiving, Slapsgiving or Planksgiving (depending on what shows you watch, get high fives for guessing in the comments!) I'm taking the week off. Flannel Friday will be hosted at Loons and Quines this week. Don't miss it.

Shared on The Children's Bookshelf.

Flannel Friday: What a Cake!

What a Cake!

From Mudluscious by Jan Irving and Robin Currie

Once there was a baker who baked a lovely cake.

Oh, what a cake he did make!

But when he wasn't looking,

A flea flew in

to the cake the baker baked

Oh, what a cake he did make!

But when he wasn't looking...

a butterfly blew in

a frog flipped in

a snake slipped in

a duck danced in

a pig pranced in

Oh what a cake THAT did make!

But then the baker looked and said, "ENOUGH!"

And out the pig pranced,

The duck danced,

The snake slipped,

The frog flipped,

The butterfly blew,

The flea flew

And they all shared the cake the baker baked, and what a cake he did make!

The end.

I usually just dump the animals out, because it's easier and funnier. The children all rush to pick them up, then we can recall what alliterative movement they did. At the end, I hold the cake up to the board, which is red, so it will show through the clear part. He made a red, velvet cake, YUM!

Flannel Friday 11/16

Five Lollipops

Five Lollipops

Sung to the tune of "Five Little Ducks"

Five lollipops for me to lick,

I choose red and lick, lick, lick!

I lick slow,

And I lick quick,

Soon all that's left is just a stick. ICK!

Repeat with other colors

I instruct the children to hold up five fingers and sing along with me for this song.

When the lollipop is gone, I hide it inside my box and hold up a craft stick. If I have a fresh stick, I actually lick it and say, ICK! It always draws a big laugh.

I believe I saw this performed with real lollipops at a conference presentation by Susan Dailey.

Sharing with the Kids Co-Op.

Pin and Win: Drip Paint Pumpkin

Bobo's drip painted pumpkin!

After observing a large orange pumpkin, we had fun squirting paint to drip down it creating a rainbow effect. 

The set-up was simple!

I tore up an old cereal box to lay on the floor. It did leak through the cardboard, so if you're worried about the floor (we are not) it may be less stress to paint outside. I put several colors of paint in an egg carton and two "squirters", one for each of us. It took two days to dry.

The Pin