Spring break 2018 has ended for us, and we had such blast on our week off! Not only did we spend time out with friends and family, not only did we go to playtime events and amusement parks, but Penelope (my 5 year old) came to me with this book in hand before the week ended.
Now, if you know my kid, you know that she has strong determination in the things she does. She makes long, elaborate plans without anyone knowing and then brings us into her world at 1,000 MPH without turning back.
If you aren't familiar with Billie B. Brown, she is a spunky little girl with a best friend, Jack. They show up in each other's books, learning life lessons that any young child can relate to and apply to life.
And you know what? That's exactly what my daughter was doing: Applying a life lesson she learned from this book. In The Spotty Vacation, Billie is super excited to visit her grandmother that she has created a list of things to do during her vacation. But her plans come crashing down when she comes down with a case of the chicken pox. Together, Billie and her grandmother come up with a way to still do her list of things without leaving the house.
So my Penelope took that list of Billie's and created her own. She may not have realized it, but she was setting up memories we were going to make on days when we would be stuck inside thanks to April snow!
Yup, after a week of fun with play dates, lunch dates, and adventures, our forecast was calling for snow in April! Snow. In. April.
So much for any more fun at the park. So much for bike rides in the neighborhood. So much for enjoying the sunshine. Thank God my kid had a plan! She took Billie's plans and created a way we could do them at home, too. So instead of being bored at home, we had a full weekend of adventures and fun!
I can't even remember the last time we went to the zoo. It's been a while. I need to get on that. Stat. But we do love reading about animals and talking about animals. So when Penelope said she wanted to go to the zoo "like Billie" she actually sat myself and her Nana down with pieces of paper. We used colored pencils and drew for about an hour, coming up with all kinds of animals we could think of!
Penelope gathered all of these animals, and the next day, she placed them around downstairs, creating little enclosures and environments for each of the critters we came up with. We did a little zoo tour. She showed me the animals she "found." She told me what they eat, where they sleep, what kind of things they needed to be happy and healthy. And then at the end of our "trip," we took a photo with our favorite animals!
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| Ages 4-7........... $4.99 |
"Mommy, I have a list of FIVE things we need to do. And don't worry, they're all at home! And I'll help get them ready!"
Now, if you know my kid, you know that she has strong determination in the things she does. She makes long, elaborate plans without anyone knowing and then brings us into her world at 1,000 MPH without turning back.
If you aren't familiar with Billie B. Brown, she is a spunky little girl with a best friend, Jack. They show up in each other's books, learning life lessons that any young child can relate to and apply to life.
And you know what? That's exactly what my daughter was doing: Applying a life lesson she learned from this book. In The Spotty Vacation, Billie is super excited to visit her grandmother that she has created a list of things to do during her vacation. But her plans come crashing down when she comes down with a case of the chicken pox. Together, Billie and her grandmother come up with a way to still do her list of things without leaving the house.
So my Penelope took that list of Billie's and created her own. She may not have realized it, but she was setting up memories we were going to make on days when we would be stuck inside thanks to April snow!
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Zoo,
The list of things to do.
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So much for any more fun at the park. So much for bike rides in the neighborhood. So much for enjoying the sunshine. Thank God my kid had a plan! She took Billie's plans and created a way we could do them at home, too. So instead of being bored at home, we had a full weekend of adventures and fun!
The Zoo:
I can't even remember the last time we went to the zoo. It's been a while. I need to get on that. Stat. But we do love reading about animals and talking about animals. So when Penelope said she wanted to go to the zoo "like Billie" she actually sat myself and her Nana down with pieces of paper. We used colored pencils and drew for about an hour, coming up with all kinds of animals we could think of!
Penelope gathered all of these animals, and the next day, she placed them around downstairs, creating little enclosures and environments for each of the critters we came up with. We did a little zoo tour. She showed me the animals she "found." She told me what they eat, where they sleep, what kind of things they needed to be happy and healthy. And then at the end of our "trip," we took a photo with our favorite animals!
Shoe Shopping:
I was a little worried Penelope would want to bring out the computer and pull up Amazon.com to shop for shoes. She has quite the opinion when it comes to shoes. She's always loved them and always loved very specific styles and colors of shoes. And my bank account would struggle to keep up if I even tried to.
But instead, she opened up the coat closet and pulled out what she could find. She grabbed old, forgotten shoes, out of season shoes, outgrown shoes, and who know what else was in there.
She lined them up and both she and her sister, Eleanor, went down that line, trying them all on. They tested them out to figure out which ones fit, which ones are worn out, and which ones are their absolute favorite!
Go to the Movies:
This was probably my favorite task on her list! My girls pulled up Netflix in search of something they've never seen before. I went and grabbed a favorite lunch (Thank you, Panera!) while they set themselves up. You know what they found? The Rugrats Movie! I loved the Rugrats when I was younger, and was thrilled that we could share that experience together!
We had a lunch, I popped popcorn, and we enjoyed an at-home movie theater complete with "drinks with lids" (a specific request from my girls!)
Ice Cream Shop:
If an at home movie theater was my favorite task, I'm sure an at home ice cream shop was my kids' favorite!
And you know what? It was easier than I had imagined it may have been! I grabbed our almost empty trail mix and some left over Easter candy and split it all up in easy to reach containers!
The kids got 2 scoops of ice cream and went to town on their toppings. What a great way to end our weekend!
Water World:
When I asked Penelope what she thought Water World was, she said, "fun with water!" You've got it, kid!
I literally dumped all the water toys in the bathtub and called it a night. The girls had a ball! It was the perfect Water World if I ever saw one!
So what did I learn about this? Our kids are incredible. They are resourceful. They are little sponges who soak up all those words presented in books to them and spit them out in every day life.
And if one little beginning chapter book can spark this much creativity from one little girl, imagine what else those words in a book can inspire!
And if one little beginning chapter book can spark this much creativity from one little girl, imagine what else those words in a book can inspire!
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