Lucinda's Library Notes

Picking up on the previous post about the importance of building up your observation skills, I am today focusing on a keen observer in nature, the owl. With a child in your life, research owls in books, online and in nature as well. Regarding their eyesight. I would like to highlight three specific facts. 1.  Owls need to be excellent observers for the sake of their survival.  If they cannot see their prey, they will miss their opportunities to capture it as food. So owls are evidence of the importance of observation skills!😎 2.  Owls can see at a distance. They do not just look at what is immediately in front of them.  This is key not just in what we physically see but also in how we 'see' a situation. Can you see beyond the moment and know that there is more to a situation than first meets the eye? 3.  Owls can see at night.  How do you see in the darkest moments of life?  What is your perspective on the challenges you face?  Like owls, conside...

The power of observation is a critical skill that should be practiced by all people.  Here are a few activities to work on this skill in general .

I am writing this post on the day we had to say "Night Night" and farewell to our dog named Kia. Kia was a very sweet 12 year dog who has taken to being by my side although he is actually my mother's dog.  As I went to write about The Night Sky and Night Animals and The City at Night, I was torn because I really wanted to tell you all about Kia and honour him. So, I chose a "N is for Narrative" story book about a puppy.  I always called Kia 'my puppy'. I chose this book because it is a classic Little Golden Book that was written in the year my mother was born so it seemed like a good selection since Kia was hers. Also, there is a cute little lizard on the cover as well which is appropriate since my son will soon be getting a pet lizard. The gecko has been given a name that starts with 'N' too. She will be named 'Nyla' which means 'Champion' in Hebrew and 'Winner' in Greek. The Poky Little Puppy is a story of a curious lit...

  Today is just a quick list of what comes to mind for the theme of "The Night Sky."   Activities Connected to the Night Sky. Make white or yellow chalk drawings on black paper Try Splatter Painting to make it look like all the stars in the universe Add sparkly star stickers on a circle of construction paper Draw 5 pt and 6pt stars Recite or Sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" Practice the letter 'S'.  Ss. Ss. Ss. Star. Star. Star Paint and arrange styrofoam balls to create a mobile of planets around the sun Dip halved lemons in paints and use as stampers to make a design of planets or use starfruit halves. Study the constellations and find them in the night sky Make a magic star wand with aluminum foil star and ribbons on a dowel Complete a dot-to-dot picture of a star. Additional Night-Based Activities Research night animals Define what is nocturnal Use night lights, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, or flashlights when it is dark to light up the way. Make shadow...

A narrator is a person who tells the entire story or 'narrative.'  In verb form, "I am going to narrate the story," means to read or tell the events from start to finish.  When it comes to a play or a story with dialogue in it, the parts assigned to the narrator are more specific. They are the one who tell the facts of the story and answer the questions like which character is entering the room with a scowl on their face.  They are the one who share the mood for the comments about to be spoken.  They tell facts like "It was a bright and sunny morning when Franklin met Beaver." The narrator is a key player who supports the characters in a story and connects the events for the audience. If you want a child to narrate well, you need to make story telling fun so they put in the necessary practice to hone their skill set.  Here are FIFTEEN IDEAS. CAMPFIRE STORIES : As it is summer, you can have a campfire (real or pretend) and tell stories around the campfire. Th...

COOKIE MAKING!  A great book to go with this fun activity!  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie asks an important question.  What would happen if you gave your cookie to a mouse?  What would happen if you gave it to Cookie Monster?  What would happen if you gave it to your grandmother or your neighbout?  How can you use making cookies as a way to find opportunities to a) bless others and b) build your imagination and life experiences regarding how different people can provide different responses?  Other ideas include: Use the experiences of sharing your cookies to write stories about who received them and why.  An example would be.  "I gave my gandmother a cookie because she helped me bake them." Make cards for the people you are giving them to. Write out the recipe for your own collection or to share with others when you give them cookies. Do an experiment.  Of all the people you offered a cookie to, how many said yes? no?  How many ate ...

The first book I thought of for M was " If you give a Mouse a Cookie " and so I made my theme day based on Mice.  However, when I came to write this, I didn't know what to say so I brainstormed other 'M' words like messy, me, monkey, meerkat, mountain, magic and maze but then thought of many famous mice, like Mickey and Minnie, Mighty Mouse, Jerry (Tom and Jerry), Speedy Gonzales (The Looney Tunes), Miss Bianca (The Rescuers), Gus and Jaq (Cinderella), Roquefort (The Aristocats), and Stuart Little.  What came next? The nursery rhyme Hickory, Dickory, Dock, the mouse ran up the clock and books like  The Lion and the Mouse, Mouse Moves House and  Country Mouse and City Mouse as well as those based on the characters listed above. Other than retelling and dramatizing the stories of these mice, what other activities connect to mice?  Try some of these activities or add to the list with ideas of your own! 1.  Have a Disney Tea Party with our Disney Mouse friends...