January’s book of the month is entitled Measuring Penny, by Loreen Leedy.  In this story, a girl named Lisa is given a homework assignment dealing with measurement.  Her task is to measure something in several different ways. However, she has to use standard units like inches and nonstandards units like paper clips.  Lisa decides to measure her dog, Penny!  She ends up having a lot of fun and learns so much more about measurement. Note:  A fun activity that you could do with your child is called the Measurement Scavenger Hunt.  Have your child find objects around the house that could equal common standard units of measurement such as a gallon, foot, inch, pound, and liter.  This allows your child to build a frame of reference with these different units of measure and be able to associate them with real-life objects.

This month’s book is entitled, Who Sank the Boat, by Pamela Allen.  In this story a cow, a donkey, a sheep, a pig, and a tiny mouse decide to go for a ride in the bay.  Oh my, the boat sinks!  Do you know who caused the boat to sink?  This is a funny story that helps young children learn about size and weight. 

Welcome back to a new school year!  Well, as I always say, “Better late than never!”  And although it is nearly the end of August, here is my first book of the month entry for this new school year!  I thought I would choose a book especially for our new haumana, the kindergarteners.  One Bear at Bedtime, by Mick Inkpen, is a cute, feel good bedtime story. Here it introduces the numbers one through ten, as a little boy begins to describe all of the animals he needs to get ready for bed.