ohhhhh the tree house books really are magic!!

a few weeks ago, while visiting family in michigan, my little man received a halloween gift which included the 1st magic tree house book.  the last couple of years i've heard that many young boys really like these books and i tried to get baby girl to look at them at them at book fairs and in book stores - but she showed NO interest.  but back to little man ... he has been obsessed with these books - we're on #2 and every night i get "mom, can we go read the book again".  this is a kid that has about 50 (maybe more) learn to read books in his room.  now while he can't sound out every word i'm going to continue to encourage this reading as long as it lasts!  are there some reading strategies for your kids that you've either hopped on the bandwagon or tried?  

 

happy reading!

-kris

the teal pumpkin project

growing up i loved going trick-or-treating with my family and friends.  i never thought such a fun and exciting holiday could bring so much anxiety to some kids ... until i had my little guy.  you see he is allergic to peanuts so he's excited at the thought of getting candy - he's not excited about getting candy he can't eat.  when he was about 3 he would go up to a house and ring the door bell and say "trick or treat - i'm allergic to peanuts do you have anything i can have?" - all in one breath.  as cute as it was (and it really was) it was also very sad - especially when he came home with about 50% of the things he was given having peanuts in them.  

we don't keep nuts in our home and don't give out candy with nuts - just for that reason; however, i just heard about a campaign that the FARE (food allergy research & education) group is sponsoring - it's called the teal pumpkin project.  the idea is that you have a separate bowl of non-food items that can be given to kids that have food allergies so they can go home with something that can keep them safe and have fun too!  i'm so excited to be participating in this program this year and can't wait to go out and find some fun stuff that kids would want to get (rather than candy). 

you can either paint a pumpkin teal and put it on your front porch to indicate you're a family that supports this project or you can hang a sign on the front of your house.  you can get that sign here. we will be doing both & hope to see many other homes supporting this cause!!  

happy trick-or-treating.  

 -kris