Magic Tree House Progress Chart

Michael and I have been reading the Magic Tree House books. The books are about siblings Jack and Annie who discover a Magic Tree House that travels through space and time to destinations found in books. The series is very well done and Michael is really enjoying them.

There is a companion website for the books where children can track their travels through the series in a virtual passport. They collect a virtual stamp for each book's location by answering questions about the book. Michael is really too young to enjoy collecting virtual stamps and the questions are a little hard for a three year old. I was kind of disappointed because I was hoping that the passport would be a fun enrichment activity that we could do together in addition to reading the books. (They advertise the passport in the back of each book which is how I knew about it.)

As I was wandering the sections of the website for teachers and parents, I discovered a welcome packet that included some bookmarks and a book list that has small images of every book cover.

I decided to make Michael a physical version of their passport. A Magic Tree House Progress Chart, if you will. I printed out the bookmarks and the book list on cardstock. I used the bookmarks and some title art to decorate a cardstock Magic Tree House themed blank progress chart and taped it to his closet door. I then cut out the pictures of the book covers we had already read. He loved sticking the books to the chart and excitedly talked about the books as we put each one on the chart.

He couldn't wait to start reading the new book and is already talking about how we get to put another book on his chart when we finish reading it.

The Weekly Review: Week Eight

Blog Post I Thoroughly Enjoyed:

I very much enjoyed Julia's most recent post. First, she often has pictures of her absolutely adorable children and this post is no exception. Second, she tells a very entertaining story about a marital debate. My favorite quote from the story, regarding her husband, is "putting the passive in our passion and the aggressive in our aggregate since 1996."

Apraxia Article of the Week:

A while back I wrote a post about Apraxia and Infant Bonding. I was talking about how I felt like the fact that both of my babies have oral apraxia might have had an effect on my ability to bond with them when they were little. I had never really seen any article mention such a thing, but I had lived it. And it made sense to me logically. This week I stumbled upon an apraxia article that begins by talking about this very thing. (The title of the article doesn't immediately scream "pertinent to this topic", but give it a chance.)

Sibling Moments of the Week:

• Michael pushing his sister on the swing.
• Michael asking Ava, "Do you want to go play in my room?" and Ava responding, "O-tay!". Watching them run off up the stairs together.
• Watching the two of them on either end of a string playing tug-of-war.
• Trying to decide if the two of them encouraging each other into an ever increasing fury of splashing in the bathtub was a good thing or a bad thing.

Quote of the Week from Michael:

"Mama, I need just one more hug!" from the doorway of his classroom as I drop him off at school.

Ava's Contrariness of the Week:

Finally, we got a barrette in Ava's hair. We snuck it in when she wasn't paying attention and for two adorable hours she had a pink bow in her hair. When she finally noticed it, she was hysterical until I managed to pull it out. I put it in my pocket. Five minutes later she insisted I give her bow back. She didn't want to wear it, mind you. She just wanted to hold it.

Incomplete Project of the Week:

Sorting through over 100 dvds we no longer want collecting dust and figuring out which of three different online vendors offers the most money for each dvd. This involved typing in the 12 digit UPC number for each dvd into each website. Next step is to print out the quotes, sort the physical dvds, box them, and ship them off.

Amazing Library Experience

I've mentioned this before in passing, but it is worth saying again. Our county library system is amazing. First, their entire catalog is online. I can browse by author or keyword or even call number. I choose up to 25 books from anywhere in the county to place on hold and they are delivered to my local library. I get an email when they have arrived. I browse the call number "board books" for Ava and the call number "JE Readers" for Michael. I've also placed children's cds and dvds on hold.

It gets even better though. They have a hold shelf. I don't even have to go to the counter. I simply walk over to the hold shelf, find the books I've requested all waiting for me together in one spot and walk over to check out.

The county recently upgraded their technology to some sort of wireless system. All the librarians have to do to check you out is place a small pile of books on a pad and the entire pile is scanned at once. I thought that was pretty amazing but then they installed self checkout kiosks. I am in and out of the library in five minutes. I walk in, putting my returned books in their slot, and then walk over to the reserve shelf near the door and grab my new set of books. Then I self checkout and leave. I'm trying to remember to request new books every Sunday night and pick up the new set every Thursday on the way to pick the kids up from preschool.

Absolutely amazing. Have any of you had good experiences with your local libraries?