My Little Blogger

I've mentioned before that my 10 year old is obsessed with Disney! He loves learning how rides are made, the history, and any weird fact he can find. We bought him some books for Christmas and he's been reading them cover to cover! Here are 2 of the non-fiction ones we bought: Disney Trivia from the Vault and The Disneyland Encyclopedia

           

To save myself from hearing every. single. thing. he read I suggested maybe he write about it. We like to visit our friends' blog Disney in the Desert so we got together with them and he started his own little blog series! I'll add a link to the sidebar if you want to stay up to date with his posts!

You can read his first post HERE (I'm sure he'd love any comments as well or requests for facts!)

Do you encourage your kids' interests? Do you have any fun ways to encourage your kids to follow their passions?

Download the Weird: Giveaway!

P (10 years old) is here today with a book review and giveaway for you! I'm going to start allowing the boys to do a review here and there so you can hear about products directly from them! 

The awesome people at Ripley's Books sent us a copy of Ripley's Believe it or Not! Download the Weird to review. Ripley's books are very high on the list of my boys' favorites. Weird/shocking facts and photos are right up their alley. The fun thing about Download the Weird is that you can interact with the book on their free iPhone or Google play app. I'll let P tell you all about it:

Download the Weird is the best annual Ripley's book yet. I really enjoyed the weird facts (as usual). Most of the stuff was new and weirder than usual. I like the app because it showed cool videos and pictures. My favorite thing in the book so far is the lizard man.

I think kids my age and older would really like this book because it has unusual feats and facts. I think Moms and Dads would like it too. Thank you Ripley's for letting me review this book I give it 5 stars. (out of 5)

Ripley's (and P) want to give away a copy to one of you!

HOW TO ENTER

Visit Ripleybooks.com  and have a look around. Let us know (in the comments below) which publication of Ripley's is one you've never seen before.

That's it! I'll leave the comments open until next Wednesday November 28th, 2012 11:59pm CST 

 Disclosure: we received a copy of the book for free but were not compensated in any other way. All opinions are our own!

Star Wars Reads Day

Tomorrow October 6, 2012 is Star Wars Reads Day! A day to celebrate Star Wars and reading. Check out Starwars.com to see if there is an event near you.

Even if there isn't an event near you there is a downloadable PDF activity guide! My boys are going to love the Fortune Wookie!

You can follow Star Wars Reads on Facebook too for more info! Do you think you'll be participating? If you want you can share pictures of your celebrations on our Facebook page (we are going to!)

Patriot Day

Here in the United States today is Patriot Day. Both of my kids were born after September 11, 2001 but we have talked about that day and think about ways we can remember and honor those families who lost loved ones, our brave first responders, and those who protect and give for us on a daily basis.

My oldest asked for me to get him this book. He loves history and it is so important for them to realize that their lives now is someone else's history. Even if you aren't American this is a great history series for kids!

Last year we visited a flag memorial in a city near us. I'm still not sure what I'll do tonight with the boys but we'll do something. Will you be doing anything in rememberence today?

The Ticket

This is a little different of a topic than I usually post but I feel like anyone that has a voice needs to speak out for children if they have a chance. My amazing friend Nicole has just published a book that every teacher, pediatrician, counselor, and caregiver should have access to. Anyone that is a constant person in children's lives. "Because every child deserves a ticket out!"

Gracie is a typical young girl. She goes to school, plays with her friends, and is often in the trusted care of The Man while her mother works. But when The Man crosses the line from adoring adult to sexual abuser, suddenly Gracie’s carefree life is full of uncertainty and entrusting another adult with her secret is a frightening thought. Unsure of what to do, Gracie goes about daily life keeping the secret deep inside. Then, while at her school's library Gracie, finds a book with a ticket in the back. The Ticket allows her a safe way to share with an adult, exposing the abuse without enduring the horror of having to speak the words aloud, or describe explicit details.   With amazing simplicity, Nicole Martin provides children with the words needed to find a way out of the shame, guilt and fear that can often keep horrific secrets buried and allow abusive situations to continue. 

The book is just now available to purchse and I think will be a huge tool for anyone in a caregiver situation for children of abuse. Visit Gracie's Ticket for more info about the book and my gorgeous friend the author. You can also like her on Facebook or follow on Twitter. Be sure to tell her that I sent you her way!

MAGAZINES

Magazines are an often forgotten but AWESOME gift for kids. My kids love magazines and it's the gift that keeps on giving all year! I was watching my oldest (9) read his magazine yesterday and it reminded me that I wanted to post about some of our favorites!

I think National Geographic and National Geographic Kids tops the list in our house

When thinking of some upcoming gifts I decided to look into magazine subscriptions. It's actually a pretty great gift and a great price. I like to wrap up the current issue of the magazine with a little note about the subscription. I found out that they have National Geographic Little Kids too and Zootles which is the younger version of Zoobooks

My brother and I used to LOVE getting Highlights in the mail and they now also have a younger version High Five.

They also have different Disney magazines for the Disney lovers. And did you know LEGO has a free LEGO club magazine? (There is a Jr edition as well)

   

Adding in the Cricket magazines! Seems like these have great reviews from all of you! Spider, Cricket

And Muse 

Do your kids like magazines? Have you ever thought about them as a gift? What are your favorites so we can add more to our wish lists!

Book Report

It's not often that we find a new book series that they boys are REALLY into. They are more of the World Records, Gross Facts, or Animal Non-fiction type of readers (with some Star Wars thrown in). Yes they like the "usual" Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Rick Riordan series but I was so excited to find something new that I thought we'd share it with you!

The Carole Marsh Mysteries - Real Kids, Real Places

We first bought these two for our travels The Mystery in Hawaii and Disney World

 

Here's what my 9 year old has to say about the books:

I like Carole Marsh Mysteries because they are fun to read. They have mystery and real information about the place where the story is. It's also cool because you can apply to be a character in an upcoming book. The characters in the books are based on real kids. I've read the mystery of Hawaii and Disney World but I want to read more of the series. I especially want to read The Mystery in Hollywood, The Mystery in New York, and The Mystery at Area 51. I think the books are good for boys and girls!

He really has been talking about them quite a bit! He's got his brother interested now too. The suggested age is 8 and up and that's probably right on. He is an advanced reader so these are pretty easy for him but who doesn't like a quick entertaining read?!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's (and important fatherly figures) in our lives. I hope you know how much you mean to us!

I'm bummed I didn't see this book before today - I think we still need it!