theinfamousmissbeth

You may be wondering what exactly a library card, an electric skillet, and towels have in common or maybe you are just wondering what the heck? Please read on and I will explain. The three items mentioned above are things I found almost essential in my preschool classrooms over the years. Let me tell you why. Most private child care centers ( most often called day cares) don't ever seem to have very complete library corners. Books are often scribbled on, have pages that are torn or missing altogether, and usually consist mostly of princess stories or animals wearing clothes. In public school classrooms, the variety and quality is usually better, but not always. If you have a library card for your public library, a whole new world opens up! For example, in the fall, meaning the real fall of the year in your hometown, you can check out books by Lois Ehlert. These include:  Leaf Man, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, and Nuts to You. Or, in the spring when things are growing...

A recent trip to Boston and West Hartford was filled with family, food, and fun! I have to admit, the purpose of the trip was to attend a Jimmy Buffett concert at Fenway Park, but so many more interesting and great things also occurred. The first day was spent exploring the campus of Harvard University, Harvard Square, Boston Common, Boston Public Garden,  Beacon Hill, and Cheers (the bar made famous by the television show, if you are old enough to remember that). Where everybody knows your name.           A street in Beacon Hill The main library at Harvard. Harvard Square and the Boston Public Garden were  among my favorite places we visited that day. An entire store devoted to Curious George! The authors H.A. and Margaret Rey spent much of their writing lives living in Harvard Square area and wrote the Curious George series there. Make Way for Ducklings at the Boston Public Garden. Our s...

During a recent summertime visit with the granddaughter, she told me she really liked the "nana life."  I, of course, asked what exactly she considered the "nana life." She had four basic tenets: 1.  It is tidy. I admit I do like everything in its place. Frequent purging helps with the tidiness. She did, however, go on to say, "I don't know how you do it though, considering what you live with."  I did not ask for clarification. I am hoping she was referring to the dogs and not her Bumpy. 2.  It has good foods.  By good foods she obviously means grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, and cookies.  In other words, she usually gets to eat anything she wants while visiting, much to the chagrin of her parents. Ha Ha. 3.  You play games.  She is a card shark so mostly we play card games but she also has starting playing Scrabble with me and at the age of 10, does really well. During a recent lull in a card game, we had a conversation a...