Natasha Wing's Blog, page 8

Easter Bunny Given Pass During Covid-19

Who is that masked bunny? Why it's Easter Bunny! And this Sunday he will do his best to deliver eggs and candy to baskets all over the world. But he will do it safely, wearing a mask and gloves.

Before he comes, you might want to read a book about what life was like before Covid-19, when the Easter Bunny didn't have to wear a mask and he'd stop into homes to bring good cheer. 

To keep your children entertained even longer, there's a special edition that contains stickers!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Teaching Aids from National Trust for Historic Preservation

After writing When Jackie Saved Grand Central, I joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation society to help preserve old buildings and our history. If you are looking for things to do to homeschool, their site has many activities for kids including coloring pages, book lists, history articles, crafts and virtual tours. 

Here's one link from their site that leads you to a National Park Service page for Women's History where kids can download a coloring page and make a Suffrage Cat. 

They also have lists of books for kids and teens that spotlight historic preservation and building. 

Here's a virtual tour of Nina Simone's childhood home where the "High Priestess of Soul" discovered her love for music.

For more activities, go to Savingplaces.org.

Please share any ideas you may have about activities focusing on historic preservation in the comment area below. 

 

Free Lessons In Back Matter

This is a friendly reminder for parents and teachers looking for ways to entertain kids at home that you have lessons and activities free and at your fingertips in the books on your shelves right now. It's called back matter, the information that's included after the story. Back matter includes things like deeper information about the story's topic, time lines, glossaries, further reading suggestions, craft ideas and recipes. 

For instance, in An Eye for Color, the backmatter includes a color wheel, color glossary and activities. If you already have this book on your shelf, now's the time to revisit it for things to do with your kids and students. 

My cultural diversity book, Jalapeño Bagels, contains a glossary and recipes. Make some chango bars to share while reading the book and discussing your own culural heritage.

So take a look at your own library of books at home and see what other books have back matter you can use to create a learning experience for your kids. 

If there are any books in particular you would like to recommend to others, please share the title below in the comments. 

Permission to Read Aloud Night Before Books

During the time schools are shut down due to coronavirus, my publisher posted new rules for temporary permission to read aloud their books, and that includes all my Night Before books. Here is the link to the rules including how to credit your recording.

I appreciate all the teachers, principals and librarians who have contacted me asking if they can read aloud my books and post them so that their students can access them and feel some sort of normalcy. I hope after this that you all get paid way more! You are invaluable.

In the meantime, more Night Befores are in the pipeline, so I hope to bring you more stories to share with your students.

Books about Election Day

With the presidential election coming up in November, I've been reading books that help kids understand the election process. It's kind of a BIG topic, and even I have trouble keeping straight the different branches of government. (Since the 2016 election, I have certainly learned much more than I probably wanted to know, but am glad I do now.) So how can you explain to a young child what  voting and elections are?

I found this book that just came out in January called I Voted: Making A Choice Makes a Difference by Mark Shulman and Serge Bloch. I thought it was a simple and clever way to explain the concept of voting by showing kids make choices between every day things like class pets and sweets. I have to admit that some illustrations made me cringe, like the kid about to smash his head on the pool deck after flying off a trampoline (parents nightmare) -  I wonder who allowed that to be used - but I like that Bloch added some adult humor to the talk bubbles in his drawings. Anyway, the good message is that voting is a choice and people getting together to vote make a difference in what's chosen. The endnotes helped me understand how our governement works and gives steps a kid can do to vote when they turn 18. But for now, the book encourages kids to make sure their adults vote on Election Day.  

I've got a new Night Before book coming out June 9 on the same topic. The Night Before Election Day is about a young citizen who gives her take on politics and her view of Election Day when a family attends pre-election gatherings and goes to the polls. That night they await the election results. This book comes with a sheet of I Voted stickers. Available for pre-order (although I wish it could be released earlier!).

Make A Leprechaun Trap

With St. Patrick's Day on the way, it's time to make leprechaun traps. For as the legend in The Night Before St. Patrick's Day says,

"For if they caught one-

so the legend told -

they'd find where he buried

his big pot of gold."

Leprechauns love shiny things like charms and rings. Gold chocolate coins, too! So don't forget to put something shiny in your trap to lure the leprechaun. 

Here are some ideas of what to use to make your leprechaun trap:

For more leprechaun trap ideas, see the double-page spread in The Night Before St. Patrick's Day or on my Pinterest "Leprechaun Traps" page. 

Women's History Month Spotlight: Former First Lady Jackie Kennedy

It took a strong woman to stand up to the Supreme Court, and that's just what Jackie Kennedy Onassis did to help save Grand Central Terminal from being torn down. Typically a quiet woman, Jackie couldn't stand by and watch a favorite landmark in her New York City be mutilated.

In the name of preservation, she joined with the city's historical organization and lead the protestors in a court battle that ended in the Supreme Court. Because of her willingness to stand up for what she loved, New York City's iconic train station still stands and serves as a gathering place for New Yorkers, and a welcoming portal for tourists to the city that never sleeps. 

Jackie and a group of supporters took a train from NYC to Washington, D.C. on what they called the Landmark Express, to raise awareness for their cause.

When I was researching this book, I visited the terminal and took photos. The blue ceiling was breath taking! Illustrator Alexandra Boiger also visited Grand Central. Here she is along with a sketch she drew of the interior.

When Jackie Saved Grand Central is full of classroom themes and is a story that appeals to both kids and adults - especially Jackie fans and train buffs! Themes include: First Ladies, Supreme Court, Women's History Month, Transportation, Historic Preservation and American Landmarks. For more information and reviews, plus suggested book pairings, go to this page on my blog.

Since this book came out, you can visit a foyer at Grand Central Terminal that celebrates Jackie and her fight to save Grand Central. 

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Leap Year Babies

When Do Leap Day Babies Celebrate Their Birthdays?

My husband's grandfather, Joseph Smith, was born on a Leap Year Day. I always thought that was cool. Then you could choose when you wanted to celebrate on the off years. February 28 or March 1st. I'd pick the one closest to or on a weekend day. Here's an article about Leap Year. Do you know anyone born on a Leap Day? How do they celebrate?

By Konstantin Bikos and Vigdis Hocken

Leaplings, people born on leap day, celebrate their birthdays either February 28 or March 1 in common years.

When do “leapers” celebrate their birthdays?

©iStockphoto.com/shironosov

When Is the Next Leap Day?

The next leap day is February 29, 2020.

The last leap day was on February 29, 2016.

Leapling Birthdays

Leap year day on February 29 occurs nearly every four years. However, leap day babies, (leaplings, leapers, or leapsters) still get to celebrate their birthday in common years. Some celebrate on February 28, some prefer March 1.

When and what is Leap Day?

However, many countries have laws defining which date a person born on February 29 comes of age in legal terms. For instance in New Zealand, the official birthday falls on February 28 in common years; in other countries like the United Kingdom, leap year babies have to wait until March 1.

Leap Year World Records

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the only verified example of a family producing three consecutive generations born on February 29 is that of the Keogh family. Peter Anthony was born in Ireland on a Leap Day in 1940, while his son, Peter Eric, was born in the UK on February 29, 1964. Peter Eric's daughter, Bethany Wealth, was also a Leap Day baby, born in the UK on February 29, 1996.

Leap Day Traditions and Superstitions

The Henriksen family from Andenes, Norway currently holds the official record for the most number of children born in one family on leap day. Karin Henriksen gave birth to three children on February 29; her daughter Heidi in 1960 and her sons Olav and Leif-Martin in 1964 and 1968.

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Who will our next President be?

Presidents' Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents' Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents' Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents, past and present, even though not all are worthy of celebrating.

Presidents' Day Celebrations and Traditions

Like Independence Day, Presidents' Day is traditionally viewed as a time of patriotic celebration and remembrance. In its original incarnation as Washington’s Birthday, the holiday gained special meaning during the difficulties of the Great Depression, when portraits of George Washington often graced the front pages of newspapers and magazines every February 22.

In 1932, the date was used to reinstate the Purple Heart, a military decoration originally created by George Washington to honor soldiers killed or wounded while serving in the armed forces. Patriotic groups and the Boy Scouts of America also held celebrations on the day, and in 1938 some 5,000 people attended mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in honor of Washington.

In its modern form, Presidents' Day is used by many patriotic and historical groups as a date for staging celebrations, reenactments and other events. A number of states also require that their public schools spend the days leading up to Presidents' Day teaching students about the accomplishments of the presidents, often with a focus on the lives of Washington and Lincoln.

Election Day is November 3, 2020

Soon, voters will choose our next president. To help kids understand what’s so important about Election Day and voting, I’ve written a new book called The Night Before Election Day. It’s bipartisan. I don’t show who won, the story just leads up to the results coming in. It’s a fun way to do a prediction activity in your classroom. Have kids guess who might be the next president and do a graph around that.

The Night Before Election Day sticker book won’t be released until June but you can pre-order a copy. 

Recommendations of more children's books about the election process by Debbie Dadey. 

What's it like having a birthday on Valentine's Day?

Sometimes I get real special emails from fans, and it truly makes my day! I received this one from Christine:

"Hi Natasha,



We recently stumbled across your book as I was looking to try and help explain to our then 2 year old, now 3 year old what New Year’s Eve is. We purchased your first book then. She fell in love with it. Since then, we’ve purchased Valentine’s Day (my birthday) and The Night Before My Birthday (our daughter’s birthday was only a few weeks ago).



Our daughter surprised me yesterday by taking your book out of my hands and reading it “verbatim.” It may sound like baby babble but she knew it in its entirety and interchanged some of the words for the words she still calls things. She’s only begun reading this a few weeks ago.



We thought you might want to see it. Thank you for writing this series. We love them and plan to collect them all."

Christine mentioned that her birthday falls on Valentine's Day and I was curious what it was like as a child having a birthday on Valentine's Day so I asked her to write for this blog. Here's her recollection:

"Growing up as a child with a birthday on Valentine’s Day always made me feel incredibly loved. I remember knowing that day wasn’t only about me or only my day to celebrate. Everyone was celebrating that day.

 

I was always woken up early (6 am?) by my parents creeping softly into my room. They always had two gifts for me, one for my birthday and one for Valentine’s Day. My grandparents always called me shortly after to sing me “Happy Birthday.” 

 

At school, I wore a heart-shaped candy corsage my Mom made for me every birthday filled with various lengths of heart lollipops, chocolates, and gum balls. And when I got to class, I handed out miniature versions of my heart-shaped candy corsage to each classmate. 

 

Everyone remembers Valentine’s Day parties in elementary school? I remember how long the day felt waiting for our party. I remember cookies, candy, and snacks. We passed out valentines in our Valentine mailboxes that everyone made beforehand. We “read into” those valentines received from that special crush even though it was just a standard Valentine from the store with nothing special written on it.

 

I passed out homemade birthday cupcakes while classmates sang “Happy Birthday” to me. If felt special to be individually celebrated, too, while classmates asked, “You were really born on Valentine’s Day? Cool!” After school, we usually had my birthday party at my grandparents' home or a special restaurant with gifts and cake. I don’t remember the flash of it all. I just remember the love.

 

I used to joke when I was in high school and college, “Well, if it doesn’t work out in the romance department, there’s always my birthday to fall back on!” And as an adult? I still love it. I love being able to celebrate a day to love with others. The world needs it. And my husband will give me two gifts always, one for Valentine’s Day and one for my birthday, to remind me that the day is also about me, too. And I do have to say, now that I have my husband and 3-year-old daughter, it is SO much better to give than to receive on my birthday."

 

Now that's a sweet thing to remember! Thank you, Christine! And Happy Birthday!