Friday Favorites: OK Day; What I'm Reading; Gyres Are Not OK; NYT Spelling Bee Picture Submission

Hello Friday!  Today I'm linking up with Erika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from Momfessionals for:

March 23rd (last Sunday) was O.K. Day!

I do love the Checkiday site as a way to discover little known holidays ~ like O.K. Day!  According to Allan Metcalf, the author who started this celebration, O.K. is such an important word in the American language that he's written an entire book about it.  

Click on cover to discover more at Amazon.

On March 23, 1839, in The Boston Morning Post, the word OK was first seen in print.  The purpose of OK Day is to celebrate the word OK and its history.  Can you even imagine a world without the word OK?

If you're looking for a fun children's book, check out:

The OK Book by one of my favorite authors, Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

Currently Reading:

Right now I am reading another engaging book by Jo Jo Moyes:

I am only at the very beginning, but the main character has quite a chaotic life:  recently divorced; two children including one angry teenager; a big house with plumbing issues,...

What are gyres?  They are not OK!

Change Is Simple is a non-profit group that visits our school four times a year to teach us about keeping our world cleaner and healthier.  During one visit, we learned about the ocean and its different layers:

In our oceans, there are areas of large whirlpools called gyres.  Some of these areas become filled with trash and debris.  The biggest one is in the Pacific Ocean.  I never knew any of this was happening.  In addition, a lot of the debris includes plastic by-products, and that's why it's so important to use reusable bags and as little plastic as possible.

Photo Submission for Spelling Bee

I always love checking out the bee pictures for NYT Spelling Bee!  I finally got around to submitting this photo and hope to have it published some day:

Happy weekend, and thanks for checking in today!

Happy March Friday Favorites: Massachusetts Children's Book Awards; Tops and Bottoms; and a Perfect Quote!

Welcome to March and Daylight Savings Time!  Today I'm delighted to link up with Andrea from  Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for their weekly link-up:

Massachusetts Book Awards = Some Perfectly New Books to Check Out!

Even though I'm now retired, I still love children's picture books.  These are the winning and honor Massachusetts Book Award Winners from 2024:

Click on cover to read more at Amazon!

Picture Book / Early Reader Award

Once Upon a Book by Grace Lin and Kate Messner (Little, Brown Books For Young Readers)

Two great authors means ONE amazing book! This colorful and vibrant book underlines the importance of imagination and visualization when reading.

Picture Book / Early Reader Honors

Night Owl Night by Susan Edwards Richmond. Maribel Lechuga, illus. (Charlesbridge Publishing)

This is a beautiful book about science! The mom in the book is a scientist who studies owls, and her daughter (Sova)is finally old enough to come observe (this would be a great accompaniment to Owl Moon by Jane Yolen). Sova observes and learns about owls as well as how to keep owls safe.

Now that we're so entertained by the bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow, this would be an amazing opportunity to learn about owls!

Picture Book / Early Reader Honors

Mole Is Not Alone by Maya Tatsukawa (Henry Holt and Company)

Mole is going to a party, and he is nervous.  He's afraid he won't know anyone.  Also, he is shy.  This book sounds perfect for adults (like me) and kids!  This is a sweet story for kids of all ages!

Perfect Read-Aloud for Spring And/Or Plant Life Cycles:

One of my favorite read-alouds is Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens.

Tops and Bottoms is a beautifully illustrated book that teaches lessons about character and plants.  In the story, clever Hare tricks lazy Bear by offering him the parts of the plants that you can't eat ("So, what will it be, Bear?  The top half or the bottom half?  It's up to you - tops or bottoms?").  This is an all-around awesome and engaging book!

Some skills that could be covered include:  character comparison; summarizing or plants.

 I also found this free activity on TPT:

 Here's the direct link:  Click here or on the picture.

Perfect Quote From Weight Watchers

 

This quote is a great reminder for those days that are totally hectic and overwhelming:

I no longer go to Weight Watchers, but I know it's an effective program. . .

Have a wonderful week!

Friday Favorites: Wrapping Up February!

Happy last day of February!  Thanks for checking in as I link up with Erika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from Momfessionals for:

It's Been A Year....

One year ago this week, my husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.  It's been a whirlwind of treatment, surgery, aftermath symptoms (hopefully, you don't know what this means), etc.  Amazingly, his latest CAT scan and blood work look good.  For the next several years, he will need follow-up testing every 3 months, but every day is a gift.  Here's a picture of Matt from - what he calls - the "before times."

Since diagnosis, he's lost over 40 pounds.  Due to his esophagectomy, his stomach has been greatly reduced and is located between his lungs.  It's all amazing that medicine is this advanced.

Do you need a unique personalized gift?

When we went to San Juan last year, we were so enchanted with the art in this store:  The Poet's Passage.  We bought 3 personalized casita doors and 2 prints.  Now my niece is engaged and has bought a house in Texas so I am ordering her a casita door, too!

I'm leaning toward this one, but I haven't made my final decision.  I just think they're so colorful and fun!

Cuticle Cream Worth Checking Out!

My hands, especially my cuticles are so dried out right now.  I've been using this Onsen cuticle cream, and I really love how it absorbs quickly and helping to moisturize my ragged cuticles:

Jane Brocket:  Colorful Non-Fiction Books

Every Saturday I take my weekly trip to my local library.  The first thing I do in the Children's Room is look at the new books.  Lately, I've been trying to find more non-fiction picture books, and this week I was extraordinarily lucky to find a new-to-me series, Jane Brocket's Clever Concepts.  Here are 2 examples:

 Bright color and photographs automatically attracted me to these books as well as the math connections, shapes and patterns.

Circles, Stars, and Squares has beautiful pictures of real life examples of two and three dimensional shapes:

 My students can always review different shapes as well as the difference between 2 and 3 dimensional shapes.  Plus, look at those delicious pictures, and that's only one of the pages. 

In Spotty, Stripy, Swirly, the pictures are equally vibrant and fascinating. 

I know that I'm going to be on the look-out for patterns when I'm out and about.

If you want to learn more about this amazingly talented photographer, author and blogger, she has her own Substack.

That's it for now!  I'm looking forward to more sun and daylight.  What are you looking forward to?