The Plant Pals, Happy to Be Me is a children’s picture book that teaches children how to build empathy, confidence, and good friendships while learning about plants. Experience the magical world of plants as they hop out of their pots and come to life before your very eyes.
In the book, as soon as their mama leaves, The Plant Pals are ready to play. But Sana (the snake plant) is feeling upset because she looks different than the other pals. Read along as funny Monsy (the Monstera plant) cheers her up in a celebration of what makes each so special and unique!
Great book for kids, families, educators, plant lovers, and as gifts.
Wash your hands! It’s such a basic act in our everyday lives. Soap, hand sanitizers, and disinfectants – basic everyday items in our cupboards. Then a world pandemic comes along – we find out that most of us have been washing our hands wrong and those basic items we have taken for granted are no longer available with a click of a button.
COVID-19/Corona Virus has changed the lives of everyone in this planet we call Earth. It has bound us as humans trying to fight for the same cause. Some have compared it to war. What is thought to have started in the city of Wuhan, China has spread across internationally. It has taken the lives of thousands thus far. In the US, it started with less than five in the State of Washington. Within two weeks it rapidly spread to all 50 states with confirmed cases reaching over 10,000 and the death toll over 500. The numbers continue to rise. Businesses and schools have closed. Certain cities are under lock down. People have been told to stay home.
As the death toll continues to rise, I can only hope people continue to keep perspective and remember that the confirmed cases and total deaths are not just numbers. Behind each number is a human life that has left us all. It is a life lost to a parent, child, family, and friend out there.
Social distancing – a word that has become a part of our everyday vocabulary that has also become a challenging practice for our very interactive society. Luckily, we are in an era where “social media” is also a part of our everyday lives. Through such platforms as Facebook, virtual meetings, and cellphone capabilities we are able to continue to stay in touch with others and keep up with the latest updates.
Homeschooling – what parents across the US have been forced to do. As caregivers scramble to find a routine, keep their children educated and entertained, maintain household and health needs, and work from home – they are also trying to maintain their own sanity with the unexpected new load of responsibilities.
With homeschooling, also comes the issue of stress. It is not easy to watch children all day long and still find time for oneself. I do hope parents remember to be patient with their kids and the people they live with. From my experience working with NYC Children’s Services, I fear that child abuse and domestic violence rates across the nation may rise. When people spend too much time together closely, stress levels may drive those that don’t know how to handle it to become violent. That said, there are also many that are taking this opportunity to become closer with those they live with. There are working parents who normally don’t get much time with their children that finally have the opportunity to spend more time with them. There are also couples who don’t see each other much that finally get quality time together.
As we are all practicing how best to wash our hands, let’s
also remember to practice patience with each other. We all need to act responsibly, listen, and help
in a safe manner.
For those who are stressed and need help, it is okay to ask for help. You can reach out anytime. You are important and so are your feelings.
One of the greatest gifts a child has is to dream big without boundaries. Their imagination runs wild with everything and anything being possible. As we grow into adults our dreams get shattered by rationality, negative thinking, what we think is reality, and the de-motivating advice from others.
Every great invention and idea that has come to fruition also had someone behind it reminding the inventor that they may be wasting their time or trying to give them a sense of what they think reality is. I am going to call them Dream Stoppers. All of us at one point has been a dream stopper to someone else.
My three-year-old son is currently at a stage where he is engaging in a lot of pretend play and making up words that don’t exist. There are times when he comes up with some out of the world ideas. My first reaction is to enjoy the cuteness and then correct him by explaining what it would be like in the real world. However, I realized I was starting to become a Dream Stopper without even realizing it. I want him to feel encouraged to come up with some crazy ideas (as long as it is safe and does no harm to himself or others). I really hope those words don’t backfire on me one day :-/
Humans are natural creators and inventors when they are born. I think if we encouraged each other more (at any age) instead of being so quick to judge, we as a world would have a lot more to gain.
Check out some kid inventions that made it big and 40 Kids Who Have Changed the World.
One of my favorite shows is Shark Tank. Check out some adults who are still thinking big.
As for an interesting children’s book, I recommend “If I Built a School”, by Chris Van Dusen.
It’s about a boy, Jack who describes what his perfect school
structure and layout would look like if he had built it. Jack takes us through his vision of a modern
day, fun school that I too wish existed. His dream could one become a reality.
Two weekends ago, we went to see The Very Hungry Caterpillar show at The Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland. I was actually very surprised by how truly well done it was. Eric Carle’s most popular books were brought to life on stage with beautifully constructed puppets, props, and lighting. The smooth transitions from scene to scene kept the interest of both children and adults. They started with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, then embarked upon a journey with the 10 Little Rubber Ducks (one of my son’s favorite), moving onto to The Lonely Firefly, and ending it with of course, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Eric Carle is 90 years old now. He has illustrated over 70 books and still working. In order to reserve his energy, he has kept his distance from the public eye and contacts. However, you can learn more about him and his work through his website.
So, how does he does actually create those exquisite and colorful pages in those legendary books?
“I begin with plain tissue paper and paint it with different
colors, using acrylics. Sometimes I paint with a wide brush, sometimes with a
narrow brush. Sometimes my strokes are straight, and sometimes they’re
wavy. Sometimes I paint with my fingers. Or I paint on a piece of carpet,
sponge, or burlap and then use that like a stamp on my tissue papers to create
different textures.
These papers are my palette and after they have dried I store them in color-coded drawers. Let’s say I want to create a caterpillar: I cut out a circle for the head from a red tissue paper and many ovals for the body from green tissue papers; and then I paste them with wallpaper glue onto an illustration board to make the picture.” (excerpt taken from The Official Eric Carle Website)
He truly is an amazing artist and
educator. I am so happy to be sharing
his work of art with my child.
Did you know that the Very Hungry Caterpillar had a piece of sausage on Saturday? I have never been excited about eating a sausage. If it’s in front of me and it looks okay, I will try a bite. However, I recently tried a sausage from Trader Joe’s, that was amazingly delicious! ‘Spicy Jalapeno Chicken Sausage’! Make it how you like it, but all I did was boil it and then sautéd it in olive oil till it was slightly brown. Enjoy!
Mass shootings continue to take place. Bullying is getting worse. Young people are feeling lonelier than ever. Child suicide rates are increasing. Mental illness is going undiagnosed. Gun policies are not changing to protect our lives. Blame continues to take precedence over taking responsibility and action.
While there are no easy and immediate solutions to any of this, we can start with one small step – that is, to be kinder to ALL. We know the way we act today will impact the behavior of future generations. However, this can easily be forgotten when we are upset or angry. It’s not enough to give our children food, shelter, and love. It’s not enough to make sure they succeed in school so they can get into the best colleges or invest well to ensure their financial stability. Let’s make kindness to ALL a priority too.
