Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott

In honor of fairly tale month at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Book of the Day is:

• Visit DLTK, Little Giraffes, First School for a variety of spider crafts, poems, and other activities.
• Read other spider books such as The Itsy Bitsy Spider byIza Trapani or The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.
• Some spider facts from Kinder Korner
• Visit National Geographic to learn about spiders.
• Visit Puppets.org for more activities related to this story.
• Read other Anansi stories such as Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock.
• Visit Gerald McDermott's website, learn about the author, and read his other books.

Visit my Multicultural Tales Blog for more ideas!

Do you have other ideas that you would like to share? Comment below.

The Week of the Young Child

The Week of the Young Child was first celebrated in 1971. The event was created by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to honor children, childhood, educators, and familes of young children. Many states have festivals, conferences and a host of other events.

Please tell us how YOU are celebrating this special week. We want this to be a place where we can share ideas and learn from each other. So tell us: WHAT'S GOING ON WHERE YOU ARE, HMMMMMM?

The Skin You Live In

I found the cutest little bookstore called the Children's Book Garden on my way home from a weekend at the Beach and I couldn't resist buying something. It didn't take long for me to find The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler and David Lee Csicsko. This book has a rhyming and flowing text that is enhanced by the beautiful color illustrations.

"Think how lucky you are

that the skin you live in,

so beautifully holds the

"You" who's within.

And like flowers in the fields

that make wonderful views,

when we stand side-by-side

in our wonderful hues...

We all make a beauty

so wonderfully true.

We are special and different

and just the same, too!"

Classroom Activities:

• Add skin-toned paper and paint to the art area.


• At the easel provide children with brown, orange, pink, and white paint and let them experiment with creating colors that are similar to their own skin tone.


• Place a mirror near your art area or easel to encourage children to paint self portraits.


• Make self portraits using collage materials

Refreshed, Renewed, and Rejuvinated

I took an impromptu trip to Ocean City for a few days. The peace and serenity of the nearly empty beach gave me just the amount of relaxation and rejuvenation I needed. I came back with a refreshed spirit and a determination to work even harder on behalf of children, families, and early childhood educators. This week I will be spending time updating my blog; I can't wait to reveal the new site!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of my mini-vacation to the Beach:

Room to Grow: Making Early Childhood Count!: Meet Susan Stockdale

Room to Grow: Making Early Childhood Count!: Meet Susan Stockdale

Meet Susan Stockdale

Susan Stockdale might have begun her career painting landscapes and designing fabric, but her love of art soon turned her into a children’s author/illustrator. One day, in the early 1990s, Susan was visiting the zoo with her children, who were intrigued by a flamingo sleeping while standing on one leg. This everyday occurrence was the inspiration for her fist book, Some Sleep Standing Up.

Susan’s first book was soon followed by books such as the award-winning Fabulous Fishes, a beautifully illustrated story that takes young readers on an amazing underworld journey. Ms. Stockdale was also awarded a Parent’s Choice Award and Best Children’s Book of the Year Award for Carry Me! Animal Babies on the Move. This delightful book illustrates how some animals carry babies on their backs, others in pouches, and others on their shoulders. Interdisciplinary teacher guides are available for both of these award-winning books.

Dolphin Daze

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is celebrating the birth of a new baby dolphin! In honor of our new local celebrity, here are a few dolphin activities that preschoolers and kindergartners (and their grown-ups) might enjoy!

• D is for Dolphin: Click here for dolphin coloring pages and printables.
• Whale and Dolphin crafts.
• Make a Venn Diagram and compare dolphins babies and human babies. Dolphin and human babies both grow inside of a mother's body, drink milk, breathe air, and depend on their mother.
• Visit the Dolphin Place: Just for Kids.
• Visit National Geographic's Secret Life of Dolphins.
• Explore Bottlenose Dolphins on National Geographic's Creature Feature.
• Crayon Resist: Have children draw/color a dolphin on water color paper (or white construction paper). Encourage them to color heavily. Using a large paint brush and blue water color paint (watered down tempera paint will work as well), paint the whole page varying shades of ocean blue.
• Find more dolphin facts, pictures, and projects at Dolphinkind.
• Learn to sign dolphin using American Sign Language.
• Learn about how bats and dolphins use echolocation.

Great books budding scientists: