First, here is a great book filled with activities for grandparents and grandchildren to do together, Kids and Grandparents: An Activity Book.

I also came across a variety of books for grandparents to record their memories for their grandchildren.  I think this is such a wonderful idea and a keepsake that grandchildren are sure to treasure as they grow into adulthood and have children (or grandchildren) of their own.  Here are a few suggestions for grandparent memory books:

For My Grandchild: A Grandmother’s Gift of Memory: A book from the AARP for grandmothers to record their memories.

From Your Grandfather: A Gift of Memory for My Grandchild: A book from the AARP for grandfathers to record their memories.

A Grandparent’s Legacy: Your Life Story in Your Own Words: A gender neutral memory book.

Grandparents’ Memory Book: Did You Really Walk Five Miles to School?: A gender neutral memory book.

You can find more books like these by doing a quick search on Amazon.  Check out the great products I found by doing a search for “grandparents book“.  There are so many great items to celebrate grandparents this Grandparents Day!

Images: Amazon.com

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So who and what is Holly Claus all about? Here are some bits and pieces from the press release:

New York, NY PRNewswire– October 16, 2007 – Forever Entertainment and Planetwide Media build a destination website where children of all ages can explore the world of Holly Claus and interact with New York Times
Best Selling Author Brittney Ryan. Children young and old can visit HollyClaus.com, a magical place where readers can explore the dramatic modern myth of Holly Claus, the daughter of Santa Claus. When you
enter the site, the snow is falling. You are instantly transported to a fantasy world–Christmastime in the Land of Forever– as author Brittney narrates her stories set in the mystical world of Holly Claus. Write to Holly Claus, and read her reply online! Read the Royal Mail from the Holly Claus Sleigh Bag. Listen to glorious new songs of the season in Ryan’s angelic voice. Children will return again and again to feast on the wealth of creative Holly Claus activities. Print, cut out, and play with stunning Holly Claus paper dolls, lavishly illustrated by Laurel Long. Publish your own Holly Claus story, with authentic Holly Claus art!

“HollyClaus.com is the place where everyone who visits can be a Princess Forever” says Brittney Ryan. “My wish is to awaken the dream inside the heart of every child for generations to come and to tell children that their wishes, like Holly’s, can and really do come true”.

About Holly Claus

Holly Claus is the heroine of Holly Claus The Christmas Princess (HarperCollins Children’s Books) the beautifully-illustrated and
much-heralded new release by Brittney Ryan, author of the best-selling The Legend of Holly Claus.

When young Christopher writes a letter to Santa Claus, he poses a question no one has ever thought to ask before, “Dear Santa Claus, What do you wish for Christmas?” Miraculously, Santa’s longtime wish comes true, and a baby girl is born — Princess Holly Claus.

But just as the Land of Forever joyously celebrates her arrival, far away an evil is unleashed. A curse is placed on Holly, freezing her heart in ice so her future will be bound by a world of darkness. And with the Gates of Forever now locked, Santa can no longer spread the magic of Christmas to children everywhere. As soon as Holly finds a way
to make a daring escape, she begins an astounding journey to the Empire City, determined to free herself and, once and for all, bring back Christmas.

“The Legend of Holly Claus will capture the hearts of readers young and old, and eventually go down in history as one of the greatest fairy tales of our generation.” — Erika Sorocco, Book Review Columnist, The Community Bugle Newspaper.

Be sure and come back and let me know what you think!

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So, here is my list of 15 fun things to do with the kids during Thanksgiving:

1. Make a Thankful Tree

2. Make Finger Puppet Favors for Thanksgiving guests.

3. Play Power Yahtzee

4. Make Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies.

5. Watch Christmas Movies

6. Make Thanksgiving cards.

7. Make Heart Pancakes for Breakfast.

8. Have a Karaoke Night.

9. Have a Pizza Making Party.

10. Make Elephant Feet with Leftover Cans from Thanksgiving.

11. Read Christmas Story Books

12. Make a Scrapbook for Christmas Gifts.

13. Rake the Leaves and Then Jump in Them!

14. Play Family Flag Football

15. Relax and enjoy each other!

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Happy Easter to all of our Play Library readers. Is your Easter finding you bundling up in hats, gloves, and scarves, too? We have snow covered roofs here, though we were running around in shorts and t-shirts at the start of the week. Spring is sooo unpredictable. Hope those eggs don’t freeze for the egg hunts!

May hope, peace, joy, love, grace, and mercy be yours abundantly, now and always. Happy Spring!

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My daughter received the book Easter Bugs by David A. Carter from a family friend for her second Easter, I think. Over these past four years, this little pop-up book has done it’s best to weather the test of time and toddlers! Most of the pop-ups have survived the kids, and they love the little Easter and spring-themed bugs! Very cute book.

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Little Bill is one of the few cartoons I still enjoy sitting and watching with my kids. It’s one of a couple kids’ shows that make me occasionally wish we had cable. It’s a fun show, teaches positive lessons, and is well-written. Very fun.

The book is listed at Amazon for kids aged 4-8 and says it includes 56 stickers grouped by page numbers for the kids to be able to complete the illustrations. Very fun!

Do you have Thanksgiving books that you like to share with your kids?

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So, it helps to have some meals and menus planned with “kid assistance” in mind. Kids’ cookbooks provide great ideas and inspiration.

The Let’s Eat! cookbook from The Pampered Chef is designed with kids’ abilities and palates in mind. Lots of hands on steps for the kids, and end results that are as fun to look at as they are to eat.

For my daughter’s fifth birthday, we had all the kids make their own pizzas, and they loved it. Then, instead of a cake, we made cupcakes and packaged up little kits for the kids to make mouse faces on their cupcakes (a project from this cookboook). They had a great time!

What recipe do your kids love helping you prepare?

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I’m also fond of the I Can Learn series of activity books available in the UK. These activity books have better illustrations and are more colorful and inviting than others I’ve seen. My almost four-year-old son happily goes through several pages and feels a great sense of accomplishment at earning the gold stars that go on the bottom of each completed page. I would have gotten some for my American friends and family but some of the spelling and references may confuse their young children.

Egmont Books – definitely worth checking out. And don’t miss the activity sheets you can download from their website.

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Technorati Tags: picture me press, personalized books, childrens books, books, children, kids

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Here’s what the doc says about That’s Disgusting! by Francesco Pittau and Bernadette Gervais.

…this is a book that can open discussions with young’uns about why we find certain things yucky. Indeed, certain of the contents provide teachable moments not only about germs and parasites and various routes of transmission of same, but also about respect for the bodily autonomy of other creatures. And you can absolutely have these conversations with giggling children. For some of them, though, you might need to do a bit of your own research first.

Everything can be turned into a teachable scientific moment! Check out our fellow b5media blog Homely Scientist for more inspiration.

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