I admit it, I have two girls and have not been fully exposed to the potential for burping, farting and other bodily functions that K-3 grade boys find hilarious.  Given recent reports about how current elementary school teaching models focus more on the interest of girls, I wondered if you had recommendations for boy books you’d like to share?  Even if the parents are grossed out, if it gets your boys to read, isn’t it worth it?

A Funeral in the Bathroom: and Other School Bathroom Poems by Kalli Dakos and illustrated by Mark Beech (Albert Whitman 2011). From “Gross” and “Flushophobic” to “There’s a Sock in the Toilet,” there is sure to be a poem or two that will suit boys. Beginning picture book.

The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton and illustrated by Johnny Duddle and Aleksi Bitskoff (Templar 2011). Packed with nauseating novelties and foul facts, this book will teach you how to avoid monsters, show you how to spot them in the news or on the street, and give you a peek inside their dangerous (and smelly) world.  Beginning picture book.

It’s Disgusting and We Ate It!: True Food Facts From Around the World and Throughout History
by James Solheim (Aladdin 2001). This book is filled with outrageous stories, facts, and fascinating tidbits about food from around the world. If your child has an interest in unique historical facts, this is the book for him. (Ages 6–9)

The Adventures of Captain Underpants: An Epic Novel (series) by Dave Pilkey (Blue Sky Press 2002 reprint). Pilkey combines two of boys’ favorite preoccupations — superheroes and potty humor — in this popular series. Gross can be good if it inspires a lifelong love of reading, so join George and Harold for these underwear adventures. (Ages 9-12).

YAY!! Thanks for the suggestions from friends. We’ve now added:

For older boys, Hobbit, Redwall Series, Rick Riordan series and anything by Roald Dahl, especially The Twits—the smelliest, nastiest, ugliest people in the world.

Abbott/Costello classic WHO’S ON FIRST? My Twitter friend’s review: http://booksyalove.com/?p=1095  and also Big Nate. Darth Paper & Origami Yoda,  Sir Farts A Lot, which is like Monty Python for kids http://sirfartsalot.com/

Also Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell (Boyds Mill Press 2008) is an interesting non-fiction about a surprisingly speedy, real-life predator.

And below from Libraries Matter:

Bubble homes and fish farts — Bayrock, Fiona. {IL K-3, 590} — Charlesbridge, 2009., RL 3.9, 45p. Presents humorous scientific information about the use of bubbles by various animals, such as whales, otters, dolphins, herring, and water shrews, for various recreational or functional purposes, such as hunting, warmth, communication, survival, or as a game.

Face to face with sharks — Doubilet, David. {IL 3-6, 597.3} — National Geographic, 2009., RL 6.2, 31p. The author describes his experiences photographing sharks, shares what he has learned about the animals, and showcases some of his pictures.

Catapults have been used for over a thousand years.  Here’s a little project for kids that like to build things, and hurl things…wait, I think that is almost all the kids I know.  We used either marshmallows or cotton balls to fling at each other, or fling at a set spot across the room.  Rules were set to make sure kids knew they could really hurt each other if they ever used anything harder than  a cotton ball…you get the idea.

Catapult Science:  I’ve heard some adults defend letting kids play angry birds because it teaches them lessons about trajectory.  So I thought I’d include a little science behind the catapult from Hands On Science Lessons and the Illinois Department of Education. The bulk of the original project was for 8^th graders.  So we’ve taken it down a few notches and are just introducing three basic terms that describe how a catapult works: 

When you push or pull on an object, you are exerting a force. People exert this force to move objects from one place to another. This exerted force is called work.

There are six simple machines for performing work. The lever is one of these simple machines. A lever consists of a plank that is free at both ends, and a steady object on which the plank can rest. The object that does not move is called the fulcrum. The object that one is trying to move is called the load.

Here is a picture of our finished catapult with these terms labeled.

To complete this project, you will need:

• 5 popsicle sticks
• 12 rubber bands
• 1 plastic spoon

Steps:

1. Lay three popsicle sticks together to form the base of your catapult.  Rubber band them tightly using two rubber bands on each end.
2. Attach a plastic spoon to one of the remaining popsicle sticks using three rubber bands spread out along the handle of the spoon. Make sure the top of the spoon hangs off the edge of the stick.
3. Lay the “spooned” stick on top of the three sticks in Step 1 to form a cross where only one inch of the “spooned” stick is below the three base sticks from Step 1.
4. Lay the last popsicle stick on either side of your three sticks from step 1. 
5. Rubber band all the sticks where they connect at the fulcrum point shown in the picture.
6. Rubber band the “spooned” stick and the stick that is parrallel to it on the “non-spoon” end as shown.
   

Ready, aim, fire! You should be all set. You can create your own angry birds set, you can try to land your cotton balls in a hat, you can see you who can launch their cotton ball the farthest…whatever you’d like.

Book recommendation: During the book The Homework Machine, one of the children interviewed recounts suspicions about Benton when his catapult for science class worked better than everyone elses. The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman (Simon & Schuster 2007) is a good book for reluctant readers. From Booklist’s Starred Review: “Gr. 4-6. In a novel about a boy clever enough to make his computer do his homework for him, Gutman delivers a fresh take on an idea as old as Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine (1958)… This fast-paced, entertaining book has something for everyone: convincing characters deftly portrayed through their own words; points of discussion on ethics and student computer use; and every child’s dream machine. Booktalkers will find this a natural, particularly for those hard-to-tempt readers whose preferred method of computer disposal involves a catapult and the Grand Canyon.”

Do your kids feed vegetables to the dog when you’re not looking? That has never happened at our house…ahem.  Maybe this activity can be another use for those veggies! Besides, there is the off chance that having fun with vegetables may mean more eating of vegetables during meal time.

You will need:

• Styrofoam trays – we get these from the grocery store.
• Paper towels
• Tempera paint in assorted colors
• Fruits and vegetables. We used bell peppers, okra, whole bunches of celery, cauliflower and broccoli
• Paper

Steps: 

1. Cut your veggies in different ways – cut from the top, cut through the middle, try to find unique patterns created from unique cuts.  My favorite – cut off all the bottom of a bunch of celery (keep the tops for later eating). The celery bunch looks like a flower…

2. Put several layers of paper towels on the Styrofoam trays. Get the towels damp. Then add a good amount of tempera paint. You’ve just created a giant blotter for your veggies.

3. Now experiment!  Dip your veggies in paint and press them on the paper.  This is a celery bunch flower with okra leaves.   

Jayne’s Book Recommendations for this project:   I’ve got some new books to try out.  How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mark Fearing (Dial April 2013). This was such a funny title, I had to check it out.  From Kirkus Review:  “A little girl who never eats green beans resorts to extreme measures when a mob of rogue beans kidnaps her parents in this twisted take on cleaning your plate.” (Picture book. 5-8)

Rainbow Stew by Cathryn Falwell (Lee & Low March 2013)  is a story about the amazing colors you can find in Grandma’s vegetable garden (Picture book. 2-6).

Whenever I can combine sweets with science, I do!!  This is an awesome idea shared by Gifted Homeschoolers Forum
on their FB page.

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s outer layer is made up of plates, which have moved throughout Earth’s history. The theory explains the how and why behind mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes, as well as how, long ago, similar animals could have lived at the same time on what are now widely separated continents.[from A Science Odyssey on PBS].

Exactly what drives plate tectonics is not known. One theory is that convection within the Earth’s mantle pushes the plates, in much the same way that air heated by your body rises upward and is deflected sideways when it reaches the ceiling.

Another theory is that gravity is pulling the older, colder, and thus heavier ocean floor with more force than the newer, lighter seafloor.

Whatever drives the movement, plate tectonic activity takes place at four types of boundaries: divergent boundaries, where new crust is formed; convergent boundaries, where crust is consumed; collisional boundaries, where two land masses collide; and transform boundaries, where two plates slide against each other.

Jayne’s book recommendation to go with this awesome activity: A quirky first-chapter book series about almost-mythical creatures…or are they really just teachers at Bailey Elementary. The Bride of Frankenstein Doesn’t Bake Cookies is book #41 in the series by Debbie Dadey and Marcia T. Jones; illustrated by John Steven Gurney (Scholastic Paperbacks 2000).  We’ve read a few of these and they are really perfect for kids starting to read on their own. “There’s a new woman working at the snack bar at the Bailey City ice skating rink. Electra is tall and strange-looking, but her enormous cookies are out of this world! She’s obviously the perfect girlfriend for Frank, the snack bar employee the kids are sure is Frankenstein’s monster. But Electra couldn’t really be the bride of Frankenstein, could she?”

Animals care for their young, but can trees care for future generations too?  We happened upon a really cool phenomenon when we noticed two pinecones from the same tree. Both were nearly the same size when we found them in the park. One we left outside in the rain, the other we left in the garage.  The large pinecone closed up when it rained outside!  It was protecting the seeds and keeping them from drowning in the downpour.  When it stopped raining for several days, the pinecones opened back up to allow the dry seeds to fly away and sprout somewhere new.

This is our last TV-free pinecone project—I almost promise.

You will need:

• Take two similarly sized pinecones
• A bowl of water
• Time

Set one of the pinecones in the bowl of water and wait a few hours.  Within 15-30 minutes you should see the pinecone start to contract. It may take longer for older pinecones.

Why?  Well here’s an answer from Walter Reeves, the Georgia Gardener.

The process of opening and closing in water is called osmotic pressure.

Basically, the cones close up because the cells at the base of each scale absorb water …and the increased water pressure in the cells cause the scale to fold forward.

When the cells dry out, the scales fold backward and open the cone up.

The reason this benefits the tree is that the dry, mature cone effectively releases its seed so the pine can procreate.

Jayne’s book recommendation to go with this activity:  Redwoods by Jason Chin (Flashpoint 2009). From Carolyn Phelan’s Booklist Starred review: “Before the title page, the first illustration shows a boy finding a book called Redwoods while waiting for his subway train. Remarkably, the boy pictured on the cover looks like him, though on the title page, a girl in an orange sweater walks through the trees. The text is straightforward nonfiction: an informative guide to redwood trees. Meanwhile, the illustrations create an imaginative drama that highlights the facts. When he is reading that some trees alive today sprouted during Roman times, the boy is shown sharing a seat with a Roman Legionnaire and a citizen wearing a toga. When he leaves the subway, he emerges into a stand of redwoods, which he thoroughly explores from forest floor to canopy. A height comparison of trees and skyscrapers brings him back to the city, where he leaves the book on a park bench. The illustrations conclude with the girl in an orange sweater picking up the book and beginning her own adventure.”

TV-Free Learning Activity from Family Fun Magazine: Label Mapping

This is such a cool idea in Family Fun Magazine, that I had to share. Here’s a simple way to bring home world-class lessons in the global economy. By Debra Immergut from FamilyFun.

She writes, “When my son, Joe, was in second grade, his very clever teacher introduced the concept of international trade by having students stand in a line, then check the tags in each other’s collars and call out where each shirt came from. Our project takes this idea a step further by placing the labels — as well as those for produce and other items your family buys — on a map, but both exercises result in spirited discussions about how and why we’re all connected to the wider world.

Set It Up: Seek out a wall map that clearly shows the borders of countries. Keep a roll of removable poster tape on hand for securing labels. Stickers (such as those from fruit) can be attached without tape.

Tips for Success: • Build your collection: Take a moment before dinner for family members to present any labels found that day. Have your kids locate each nation on the map, then attach the label. • Flag the small nations: If a label is too large for its designated spot, stick the label in a nearby ocean and use an adhesive arrow flag as a pointer. • Look for lessons: Encourage your kids to talk about patterns they notice. Ask them to consider why a certain place produces a particular type of goods. • Make it a quest: See how many different nations you can “label” — and don’t be surprised if you find yourself at an international food store in search of products from Zambia!

Jayne’s book recommendations to go with this great activity: As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps by Gail Hartman and illustrated by Harvey Stevenson (Aladdin 1993). People use road maps to find their way. These maps show miles of highways that point out the right direction. But what about the crow? What kind of map does he use? Or the eagle, the rabbit, the horse, and the sea gull? What’s on their maps?

And for another type of map all-together, try The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom by Bettye Stroud and illustrated by Erin Susanne Bennett (Candlewick 2007). From School Library Journal, “Grade 1-4 - An exciting story about a girl and her father who escape slavery with help from the coded symbols on a quilt. Shortly after Hannah’s sister is sold to another plantation, Mama dies, but not before teaching Hannah how to sew, whispering, “…this quilt will show you everything you need to know to run to freedom.” - Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

I’d like to listen to more classical music, but on the radio it’s impossible to remember the names of the music as it whirls by. So it’s a little intimidating. We thought we’d start with some basic with the kids.

Using either www.pandora.com and picking a classical composer’s name to create your station, or www.youtube.com to pick a famous artist such as Yo-Yo Ma, you can expose your kids to snippets of classical music without overwhelming them.

We listened to 3 different compositions to start:

In an attempt to finally use all the pinecones we collected and dried on our adventures in the woods, we have another pine cone idea for you.  While we made these little creatures, I asked the kids to tell me a story about each one. 

You will need:

• One pinecone for each creature
• White and brown polymer clay

1. Start with a pinecone that can stand by itself fairly well. You can put feet on it to balance.
2. Then mix half and half a small (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon) of the brown and white until it becomes pale tan.
3. To create a face, make two balls. There should be a small one and a large one.
   
4. Next press the small ball into the larger one and smooth down the sides to connect the two and make a snout shape. 

5. Attach dark brown or black eyes and a triangle nose, then attach the face to your pinecone. Then flatten the larger clay ball a bit and press onto your pinecone. Add ears or feet as you see fit. Get creative and make an entire woodland scene if you’d like with owls and bears, snowmen and kids. Whatever you’d like to help tell you story.

Books:  While these are on the young side for my kids, their illustrations are so wonderful, they may inspire more clay play.  All three books from Dawn Publications are illustrated using polymer clay.

City Beats: A Hip-hoppy Pigeon Poem by S. Kelly Rammell and illustrated by Jeanette Canyon (Dawn Publications 2006) is a great little book about pigeons. The ubiquitous city bird is actually quite beautiful and I enjoy the book’s premise of examining the everyday and finding beauty there. Also illustrated by Jeanette Canyton are Over in the Ocean: In the Coral Reef by Marianne Berkes (Dawn Publications 2004) is a counting book that is a underwater version of the old song “Over in the Meadow.”
And finally, Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme also by Marianne Berkes is another variation  on the familiar song that talks about rainforest habitats this time. Again the clay illustrations are amazing and beautiful. 

In honor of St. Patty’s day, we made a little rainbow craft. It was pretty fun, and it builds manual dexterity and color knowledge if you’re into that sort of thing.

You will need:

• Cardstock
• A Rainbow template (or free hand it)
• Glue
• Yarn
• Cotton balls
• Glitter
• A hole punch if you want to hang your creation.

Here’s my template.

I used cardstock to cut out one rainbow for each kid. Then we glued yarn on in each color of the rainbow, a few strands of each color (or crazy colors as one of my crazy kids chose).

Glue down the strands, glue on some cotton balls, then glue on the glitter. That’s it!

Book to go with this: Too Many Leprechauns by Stephen Krensky (Simon & Schuster Young Readers 2007) From Publisher’s Weekly, “Those who have wondered how the folklore about leprechauns stashing their treasure at rainbow’s end came to be, now have a playful explanation courtesy of Krensky’s original tale (with the fitting subtitle, “Or How That Pot o’Gold Got to the End of the Rainbow”).”

Want to find his hidden treasure worth millions? Head outdoors

A New Mexico multimillionaire wants you to get off the couch and go searching for hidden treasure. 

Forrest Fenn, 82, believes too many Americans spend their free time watching TV or playing video games. He hopes the bounty he hid — a chest filled with millions of dollars in gold coins, diamonds and emeralds, among other gems — will prompt some to explore the outdoors. “Get your kids out in the countryside, take them fishing and get them away from their little hand-held machines,” he told TODAY.

Fenn hid the chest in a secret spot three years ago with two goals in mind: Getting people to fall in love with America’s scenic trails and passing on what he calls the “thrill of the chase,” something he has experienced over more than seven decades of hunting for rare objects.

Book: “The Thrill of the Chase” is also the title of Fenn’s self-published autobiography, which contains an unusual map to the treasure, a poem with 9 clues in it. “Begin it where warm waters halt, and take it in the canyon down, not far, but too far to walk,” reads part of the poem. (Wednesday morning, Fenn’s site crashed after TODAY featured his story.)

Even if you never find his stash, you may find a treasure of your own when you head outdoors.