Articles tagged Life, Kids, and Books with Karen Ruben
Did you ever wonder what story your book collection tells about you? We recently had a This is Your Life experience when our basement flooded and our 22 year old son’s stashed belongings exploded into our living space. His high school bedroom had been in our basement, so he had bookshelves of titles – plus … Continued
The new Common Core Standards, have recently been adopted by 46 of the 50 states and will begin to be implemented in Vermont and New Hampshire in the coming school year. These standards, initiated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, are internationally benchmarked and intended to raise the … Continued
“What if our house was like a giant swimming pool and we could swim all day, even when we were eating? And we had a pet dolphin instead of a dog?” “Hmmm. That would be cool.” “Mom, what if our car could fly and we could fly right over all the other cars so we … Continued
To dogs everywhere! Nobody captures the sweetness and humor of the family dog better than Vermont author Stephen Huneck. His work is a celebration of what it is to love and be loved by a dog. While the title character of Huneck’s books is his own black lab, Sally, the star of the show is … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
If you have ever had a small child living in your home, chances are there are several Dr. Seuss books lying around. He is, after all, the best-selling children’s author of all time. Did you ever notice, though, that there are two different types Dr. Seuss books? Quite frankly, until recently, I did not. In 1937, … Continued
My girls are trying to figure out life by living, learning, testing, playing, fighting, and reading. Reading is the cool trick we do every night before bed. After a long day of living, learning, testing, playing and fighting, it’s like a much needed form of therapy, but the relaxing, entertaining variety (if there is such … Continued
Book Recommendations / How You Can Help
I imagine a long time ago, cavemen and women gave their cave children some food, whatever it may have been, and those cave children duly ate it. Task accomplished. Done. Now everyone start looking for more. Here in America in 2013 things are a might bit different. Just a might. Now that we live in … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
People, it’s almost over!!! Winter is almost over! I did not learn this from the Weather Channel, the Farmer’s Almanac, Punxsutawney Phil or the calendar. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel because I know that Sunday is… OPENING DAY OF BASEBALL SEASON!!!! Nothing says summer like the roar of the … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
We at CLiF don’t usually talk about people behind their backs, but, um, can we talk about Jon Klassen for a minute? Okay, are you aware that he won, not one, but two Caldecott Awards this year? Who does that? Honestly, where did this guy come from? What? Oh. Canada, of course. Right. Did you … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
At our house no one is ever hungry, they are “staaarving!” No one is ever tired, they are “exhaaaausted!” That’s how we roll. To just say things straight would be “sooo incredibly booooring!” And we are not just prone to hyperbole either, we like all types of colorful language, especially idioms. Idioms like… Quit dilly-dallying … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Time magazine recently reported on “Why Math Is the Hot New Bedtime Reading.” WHAT? Everyone knows how we here at CLiF feel about books and reading. And I have a particular soft spot for the soothing, relaxing, entertaining bedtime read. I mean, I have been reading my kids into a sleepy stupor for as long … Continued
Ah. The much needed mid-winter break. Who doesn’t need a little rest from the hectic day to day of the school schedule right now? I know that teachers worry that reading and writing skills will slip over break and kids will return to school at the end of the week two steps behind. If you … Continued
Watching your child develop language skills is definitely one of the great joys of parenting. My five year old is picking up big, grown-up words every day, and it is fun watching her figure out how to use them. But, as with any new skill your child obtains, there are definitely drawbacks. When they learn … Continued
Love is amazing for many, many reasons. One reason is that love is one of the very few things in life that you get more of when you give it away. Typically speaking, when you give away your cookies, you have fewer cookies. If you give away your time, you run out of time. But … Continued
This job of being a full time mom is pretty hectic. There is a lot of running around, picking up, dropping off, talking, listening, soothing, managing, feeding, etc., etc. So with all that going on what would you think would be the sweetest part of my day? Would you guess that it’s the first ten … Continued
Too Cold to Play Outside Official Scavenger Hunt Official rules: To win this game, you must collect everything listed, without help from an adult. Some of these will be difficult, so use your smarts and imagination. You have lots of time, but don’t get distracted. You should check things off of this list as you … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
Do you know how some literature channels your perspective outward, forcing you to examine the world that you live in? It might challenge your assumptions about something outside of yourself and contribute to the way you view the world and your role in it. Other books force you to look inward and examine your own … Continued
My kids have been pressing me lately for an explanation. Some books have found their way into our home and my girls just LOVE them… and I don’t (to put it mildly). “Why, Mommy? Why don’t you like Barbie Princess Charm School?” “Why won’t you read the Rainbow Fairy book again?” “Why do you always … Continued
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