Senses at the Seashore

Encourage active learning through the summer months!

Rotner, Shelley.
Senses at the Seashore.
August 2010.
Lerner Publishing.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

"At the seashore, there's so much to see, hear, smell, taste, touch." Simply put by Shelley Rotner, this is quote from Senses at the Seashore is definitely true! Simple, almost repetitious phrases are shared throughout the story, "See the...," "Hear the...," "Smell the...," "Touch the...," "Taste the..." Each time the phrase is repeated, it is accompanied by photograph illustrations that accurately depict the text shared, allowing the youngest of children to participate in shared reading if they are not yet able to read on their own. The book is perfect for reading this time of year before a summer beach adventure!

Reading/Learning Activity:

• Plan a day trip to your local beach (or ocean, if possible). While there, encourage your child to explore his or her senses. Take along their summer journal and have them document a list of things they can explore using each of their 5 senses at the beach!
• Check out the other books in Shelley Rotner's "Senses" series - Senses at the Farm and Senses in the City. Plan similar day excursions and allow your child to explore his/her senses at each.
• After reading each of these 3 books, have your child(ren) create their own "Senses at the..." book... perhaps Senses at the Zoo, Senses at the Amusement Park, Senses at the Ball Game, Senses at the Community Pool or even Senses at the Family Picnic.
  

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If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Non-Fiction Monday: Are You Ready for Spring?

Are you ready for spring? I know I am! But I likely have at least another month to go before the buds start popping out and all this snow disappears for good! Until then, I think I'll hunker down and enjoy some books - starting with these four new releases from Lerner Publications! After exploring these books further, I centered all of the activities around them based on the 5 senses, as they are all greatly explored throughout the books. Hopefully you'll be able to make use of the activities, as well as the books!

Anderson, Sheila.
Are You Ready for Spring?
January 2010.
Lerner Publications.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

I chose to feature Are You Ready for Spring? first because spring is just around the corner here in NY (I'm not excited or anything)! This is a wonderful resource for children and can be used with a wide age variety with modifications!

The book features a wealth of information, shared in the most basic manner about: sights and sounds of spring, spring weather, plants coming to life, the spring world, the impending summer season, and of course (and probably most interesting to children) the hatching of chicks! The photograph style illustrations allow children to easily connect with the material presented. Perhaps what I found most enjoyable about this book (and the entire series) is that you can use parts of the book alone without having to read it cover to cover (nice if you're working with young children trying to focus on one specific topic)!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Throughout the book, the five senses are explored as spring is described by using each of the five. Encourage your child(ren) to explore more ways in which their five senses are put to use during the Spring season. A worksheet for this activity can be downloaded here!
  

Anderson, Sheila.
Are You Ready for Summer?
January 2010.
Lerner Publications.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

This is yet another wonderful book in the Our Four Seasons series, Are You Ready for Summer? briefly introduces children to some of the fun and explorations of the summer season.

Topics covered include: sights and sounds of summer, summer weather, how to stay cool, what the world looks like during summertime, and the impending fall season. For the science lover, details about the Summer Solstice are also included, allowing a great deal of room for further exploration!

Learning/Reading Activities:

• Encourage your child(ren) to think ahead to the summer season. Ask them some things that they would like to do to be adventurous. What are some new "summery" foods you'd like to try? Is there anything about summer that you'd like to touch? How about smell? See? Hear? The worksheet for this activity can be found here!
  

Anderson, Sheila.
Are You Ready for Fall?
January 2010.
Lerner Publications.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

No, I am NOT ready for fall! Can I please have spring and summer first? However, once spring and summer do roll around, this book will be the perfect introduction for children who are unsure of what to expect for the coming season - fall.

Similar topics are once again covered in this third edition in the Our Four Seasons series: sights and sounds, fall weather, fall activities, the fall world and the impending winter season. A description of why leaves change color is also included as the "bonus" section of this book - children are sure to love this, as they will likely easily relate to the happenings of fall as they are presented.

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Discuss with your child Fall holidays (Halloween, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving). Choose one of these holidays and complete the 5 Senses activity sheet that surrounds the chosen holiday. The worksheet can be downloaded here.
  

Anderson, Sheila.
Are You Ready for Winter?
January 2010.
Lerner Publications.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Much like the topics that readers explored in Spring, Summer and Fall, readers will once again learn about: sights and sounds of winter, winter weather, the winter world and the next-up season. However, this time they'll also explore methods of staying warm during winter and what it means to hibernate!

As I'm pretty sure I made clear in each of the previous reviews, these books are absolutely wonderful resources! They're just the right length, with topics that can be explored further if children (or parents) so desire! There's much to be learned and that could be what I enjoyed most about these books!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Challenge your child(ren) to once again explore their five senses. This time, though, it's winter and (speaking from experience) snow days offer all kinds of activities and ways in which children can explore and have fun, while at the same time putting their 5 senses to good use! The worksheet for this activity can be downloaded here!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Learning About Our 5 Senses

Another new series in the Lighting Bolt Books put out from Lerner Publications Company! This time the emphasis is "Your Five Senses"- sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing. From the three books I received from this collection, I'm hooked! I definitely have plans to purchase the other two to make a complete set! Hopefully you'll find them just as useful as I have!

Boothroyd, Jennifer.
What is Sight?
October 2009.
Lerner Publishing Company.

Summary from Barnes & Noble:

A green frog. An orange Popsicle. A flashing "walk" sign. Your eyes let you see everything around you. But how do your eyes work? And how does your sense of sight help you? Read this book to find out!

Boothroyd, Jennifer.
What is Touch?
October 2009.
Lerner Publishing Company.

Summary from Barnes & Noble:

A furry dog. A scaly lizard. Your sense of touch lets you feel these things and more. But how does your sense of touch work? And how does it help you? Read this book to find out!

Boothroyd, Jennifer.
What is Taste?
October 2009.
Lerner Publishing Company.

Summary from Barnes & Noble:

Salty popcorn. Sweet watermelon. Your tongue lets you taste these things and more. But how does your sense of taste work? And how does it help you? Read this book to find out!

These books are very informative and would act as the perfect introduction when teaching about each of the five senses. They give children a basic description of what the sense is... what the sense does... how the sense protects you. Also included in each is an activity related to the specific targeted sense and a list of additional reading suggestions! That's useful! I could definitely see myself using these in a classroom!

Other Books in the Lightning Bolt Books - Your Five Senses series:

• What is Hearing?
• What is Smell?

Resources for Teaching about the Five Senses:

• Early Themes: 5 Senses (Grades K-1), Tracey West
• Fun with My Five Senses: Activities to Build Learning Readiness, Sarah Williamson
• Five Senses Thematic Unit, Janet Hale
• The Best of Mailbox Themes - Five Senses, Sherri Kuntz
• Lesson Plans and Activities on Five Senses Theme

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Aliki's Birthday

As a teacher, I am always looking for reference/resource books to share with children surrounding a particular curriculum topic. When looking for non-fiction reading material, Aliki has always been one of my top-choice picks. I think with these reviews, you might just understand why!

Aliki.
My Five Senses.
1989 (1962).
HarperCollins Publishers.

Summary from Barnes & Noble:

Children love to explore. Each day brings new sights and sounds, new things to smell and taste and touch . Aliki's simple text and cheerful art in this enlarged edition introduce very young children to the wonder of the five senses and all they reveal about the world around us.

This book is ideal to use when introducing young children to the concept of their five senses and the way they are used. By giving concrete examples students will quickly pick up on their senses and will soon be telling you all the different ways in which they are using their own senses!

Lesson Plans/Reading Activities/Suggested Reading

• Making Sense of Our Senses
• The Five Senses
• Ten Activities for Teaching About the Five Senses
• The Five Senses, Herve Tullet
• Look, Listen, Taste, Touch and Smell: Learning About Your Five Senses, Hill Nettleton

Aliki.
My Visit to the Zoo.
1997.
HarperCollins Publishers.
Guided Reading Level: N

Summary from Barnes & Noble:

Imagine traveling from a lush tropical rain forest, to a deep and
mysterious canyon, to the wide-open African plains—all in one day! In this tour of a modern-day zoo, visitors get to see how animals really live. They’ll learn everything from what elephants like to roll around in after their baths to what’s being done to preserve wildlife.

This is a very resourceful book that would probably best be used with children before a trip to the zoo! Perhaps you could provide them with a checklist (from animals in the book) to see just how many they can find. See if the children can discover facts about these animals at the zoo that they didn't find in the book! There are all kinds of activities that could be done in collaboration with this book - definitely worth checking out!

Aliki.
Manners.
1990.
Greenwillow Books.
Guided Reading Level: L

Summary from Barnes & Noble:

Discusses manners and gives examples of good manners and bad manners.

Broken down into seven lessons about manner, hopefully this book will help you teach your child everything he/she needs to know to be a polite child! What I really like about this book is that it doesn't need to be read in its entirety in one reading. Breaking the different lessons apart and spending several days practicing each one will ensure that little ones understand what it takes to be polite! Definitely a great book (even as a resource) to help parents when teaching children manners.

Lesson Plans/Reading Activities/Suggested Reading:

• Dude! That's Rude! (Get Some Manners), Pamela Espeland
• Excuse Me! A Little Book about Manners, Karen Katz
• Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf, Judy Sierra
• Manners for Kids
• Students Learn Respect Thanks to Good Manners
  
• Manners and Etiquette Theme Page
• Table Manners Lesson Plan
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

National Week of the Ocean

It's National Week of the Ocean! So, those lucky ones of you out there who might happen to be enjoying spring break ocean-side or just dreaming of it (like me), here are 3 ocean reviews, and one ocean/beach review that is a new release this month!

Ryan, Pam Munoz.
Hello Ocean.
2001.
Charlesbridge Publishing.

Written in poetic form, this book shares with readers the real life experiences of Ryan and her children. The rhyming text coupled with an educational aspect makes this book perfect literature to incorporate into a thematic unit on the five senses. Pam Munoz Ryan shows readers how each of the five senses are experienced when visiting the ocean:

Sight

I see the ocean, gray, green, blue, a chameleon always changing hue. Amber seaweed, speckled sand, bubbly waves that kiss the land,

Hearing

I hear the ocean a lion's roar, crashing rumors toward the shore, water shushing and rushing in, then whispering back to the sea again.

Feeling

squishy, sandy, soggy ground, slippery seaweed that wraps around, sudden breezes that make me squeal - I love the way the ocean feels.

Smell

I smell the ocean, the fresh salt wind, wafting lotions from suntanned skin.

Taste

I taste the ocean and wonder why it tastes like tears I sometimes cry. Sandy grains in a salty drink.

I can already visualize how I would use this book in such a unit... The book would be used as an introduction to a culminating project on the unit. After reading and discussing the story, I would have students draw from a hat one of five different places: Hello Candy Shoppe, Hello Farm, Hello Ballpark, Hello Circus, Hello Amusement Park. I would then have the students explain the way each each of the 5 senses are used at their given destination.

Frasier, Debra.
Out of the Ocean.
2002.
Harcourt Children's Books
Guided Reading Level: J

This book would be a perfect read before heading to the ocean for a vacation! It provides readers with a purpose while taking strolls along the beach. Not only does Frasier take readers on an adventure alongside a mother and daughter as they walk along the beach, she also shows that with a little imagination you can find a way to appreciate the gifts that are truly right in front of you. The last few pages of the book provide a wealth of information about all the treasures that can be found while walking along the beach.

Andreae, Giles.
The Pop-Up Commotion in the Ocean.
2002.
Tiger Tales.
Guided Reading Level: M

This book focuses less on the beach aspect of the ocean and more on the sea life. Youngsters are sure to love it, as it is a pop-up book. Lucky for you, it's also a book of poems, perfect for celebrating both National Week of the Ocean and National Poetry Month! The verses are funny and somewhat educational at the same time!

Keller, Holly.
Miranda's Beach Day.
2009.
Greenwillow Books.

This wonderful new release shows how the relationship between the crab and the ocean is similar to that of a mother and daughter, as the daughter will always belong to her mother and the crab will always belong to the ocean, although they may go their separate ways at times.

It's an interesting way that the connection is made, as Miranda and her mother head out for a day at the beach. While there, Miranda meets another little boy and the two quickly set to work building a sandcastle (a new home) for small crab that Miranda and her mother found on the beach. As the day comes to a close, the ocean tide is moving in, and takes with it crab. At the same time, Miranda's mom collects her daughter to head home for the day. It's a cute story and while children may have a difficult time understanding the connection between themselves and the crab, for sure you mother's out there will appreciate the story!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.