7 Geeky Books for Tweens & Teens

.

	Geektastic edited by Holly Black & Cecil Castelucci A quirky and eclectic short story collection about species of geeks and nerds ranging from Trekkies to Dungeons & Dragons players.
	Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern Mathlete Jessie seeks out a new clique after her closest friends go punk.
	My Life, the Theater, and Other Tragedies by Allen Zadoff Adam, who is mourning the loss of his dad, must deal with the scorn of his fellow crew members when he falls for an actress.
	An Abundance of Katherines by John Green Colin Singleton, who has been dumped by nineteen girls named Katherine, tries to make sense of his Dumpee status using math.
	Nerd Girls by Alan Lawrence Sitomer Main character Maureen must deal with family issues, a weight problem, and the cliquey behavior of her classmates.
	Revenge of the Snob Squad by Julie Anne Peters Jenny Solano, who is desperate to fit in both at home and at school, becomes the leader of the school misfits when they wage war on a popular clique.
	Mission (Un)Popular by Anna Humphrey Canadian-Indian seventh grader Margot Button is drawn to the mysterious Em, a new girl in school, but soon finds out this friendship might be more than she bargained for.

Baby/Toddler Story Time, 9/6

Opening Song: Hello, how are you?

Book:  Traffic: A Book of Opposites by Betsy and Giulio Maestro (1984)
This book is about 8 pages too long for the attention span of my audience, but they loved the bold color scheme, and I saw a few little boys wriggling with excitement at the sight of trains and tunnels.

Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big

Rhyme: Blue is the Lake
 

Book: Rain by Robert Kalan, illustrated by Donald Crews (1978)

Perfect for today's weather. The rainbow at the end is always a hit.

Song: I'm a Little Teapot

Song: Head and Shoulders

Song: Hands Are For Clapping

Flannel Board Rhyme: Five Little Apples

Song: One Little Finger 

Song: Tommy Thumb

Song: ABCD Medley

Song: Chickadee

Goodbye Song: We Wave Goodbye Like This

Flannel Friday: Fall Post #2: Squirrels

This is my second Flannel Friday post featuring my Fall flannel board kits. (Lots of Fs in that sentence!) This week my theme is squirrels. I was inspired to write the rhyme below by Melissa Depper's many wonderful Down Around the Corner rhymes over at Mel's Desk. I have yet to try this with a group, since it's still a bit early to break out too much Fall stuff, but I plan to use it with my babies and toddlers starting in mid-September.

Down around the corner by the big oak tree
Sat five little acorns looking so yummy
Along came a squirrel with a big bushy tail.
He took one acorn and ran off down the trail.

Down around the corner by the big oak tree
Sat four little acorns looking so yummy
Along came a squirrel with a big bushy tail.
She took one acorn and ran off down the trail.

Down around the corner by the big oak tree
Sat three little acorns looking so yummy
Along came a squirrel with a big bushy tail.
She took one acorn and ran off down the trail.

Down around the corner by the big oak tree
Sat two little acorns looking so yummy
Along came a squirrel with a big bushy tail.
He took one acorn and ran off down the trail.

 

Down around the corner by the big oak tree
Sat one little acorn looking so yummy
Along came a squirrel with a big bushy tail.
She took that acorn and ran off down the trail.

Please excuse my hasty and blurry photography. It was tough to find a moment to take photos.

Here are a couple of other rhymes for possible use with flannel board squirrels:

Five little squirrels sitting in a tree.

The first one said, "It's getting cold for me."
The second one said, "The leaves are falling to the ground."
The third one said, "There are nuts to be found."
The fourth one said, "We better not wait."
The fifth one said, " Fall is really great!"

[Source]
(I made one grammatical correction to this one; otherwise I kept its original form.) 

Five little squirrels sitting in a tree.
The first one said, "What do I see?"
The second one said, "Some nuts on the ground."
The third one said, "Those nuts I found."
The fourth one said, "I'll race you there."
The fifth one said, "All right, that's fair."
So they shook their tails and ran with glee.
To the nuts that lay at the foot of the tree.
[Source]

The clip art for my squirrels and my acorns can be found in a .pdf file here.

Anne's hosting today - don't miss the round-up! Happy Friday!

6 Kids' Books About Bullying

	Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester Rodney the Rat struggles with a speech impediment until one day it comes in handy.
	Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes Chrysanthemum loves her floral name until it's misunderstood at school.
	Nosy Rosie by Helen Keller Rosie is good at finding things, but she finds it hard to get rid of the mean nickname it earns her.
	Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie DePaola Oliver is artistic rather than sporty, but does that mean it's okay to call him a sissy?
	Blubber by Judy Blume When the kids in her class start to call Linda "Blubber," none of them ever imagine how far it will go.
	Roxie and the Hooligans by Phyllis Reynold Naylor The hooligans constantly pick on Roxie, but the tables turn when they must rely on her to survive.