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April 2018 Book Reviews

4/25/2018

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Do you have months where you feel as if your head is spinning? Like no matter how hard you try, life is simply getting away from you? April felt like that.

We started the month on vacation in Arizona and California. We got home at 10pm on a Tuesday night and jumped right back into the "regular" schedule Wednesday morning. It's been weeks and I'm barely keeping up with everything -- except the laundry. I have gotten the laundry done.

Writer Dad

Personal note: I've met Sean Platt, the author of Writer Dad and I like him. He's fairly hilarious and extremely motivational.

That said, Writer Dad was a bit of a surprise since it gives so much information about Sean's personal history -- history I didn't know. I always end up feeling like I'm peeking into a person's life too much with these sorts of books.

As for the book itself, man, left me feeling like I was on easy street! Some good ideas for balancing work and life while struggling to make money to afford life. If you are a parent facing the challenges of writing while caring for your family, this is a heartening read.
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5 Secrets of Story Structure

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April had a lot of craft development reading and this was one of my favorites. It is sweet and extremely direct / to the point while still providing solid information. Added bonus: I understood the information and can apply it to my writing (that does not always happen for me).

If you're writing stories, I highly recommend this book. I'm using the concepts in it to develop several series and expect those series to be much stronger on the story side.

Note: the link for this is to Amazon but you can get a copy of the book for free on K.M. Weiland for signing up to her newsletter.

Midnight in Austenland

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale is the follow-up to her hilarious contemporary romance, Austenland. I wanted to love it.

I started out loving it...

Then I went on vacation. I didn't take it with me because I did not want to carry one more thing in my carry-on bag. I wish I had purchased the e-book, but, alas, at that particular moment in time, I had a hardback version from the library. It became "one more thing" and I left it behind on the kitchen counter.

When I returned, I'd lost all interest in finishing it... Well, that's not totally true. I read the first 10 chapters and the last 2 chapters before going on vacation. I know how it ends. I just don't know the middle part of it -- the how it happens to get to the end.

If I were more curious or had more free time, I would finish it. Midnight in Austenland simply did not hold my attention like the first book did.
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Another less than stellar reading month. I have several books that are in-progress. I will report on them, even if I do not finish them, in May. Because my time is so limited, I do not finish everything I start. I think you should know that, considering I'm telling you about a book that I liked, but didn't love enough to finish.


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I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, as affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
#amreading
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How to Make Playdough

4/18/2018

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My toddler adores playdough. Daily I find this one doing something with the playdough…

​And NOT putting it away…

And then it dries out and isn’t fun anymore. Boo.

​But, lucky for me, I have a fairly fast and cheap recipe for more playdough when the current batch becomes colored pebbles.

Homemade Playdough Recipe

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 TBSP cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 TBSP oil
Food coloring
Directions:
​Mix everything together in a pot. Heat on low to medium-low while stirring constantly. The mixture will go from runny to thick. When it stops sticking to the sides of the pot and sticks to itself, it is done. Remove from heat, turn out on to the counter, let cool.
​
If you want to make more than 1 color, don’t add food coloring until after cooled. Then simply separate the batch into equal sized balls and kneed in the food coloring.
The picture above is from a single batch. We separated it into 8 balls (roughly 2 ounces each) and added color. My fingers were a mess and had to be washed repeatedly. And, yes, I know there are only 7 colors in the picture. The red ball was already missing when I went to take the picture. I didn’t bother to hunt it down. Life as a parent…

#lifeasaparent
#playdough
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40 Kindergarten Sight Words

4/11/2018

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This is the list of sight words my kindergartener is learning. Thought it might be helpful to you and your little learner.

40 Kindergarten Sight Words

I
see
and
my
is
for
said
this
has
​good
can
a
go
are
little
have
want
what
play
​who
the
like
you
with
she
of
here
help
where
​come
we
to
do
he
was
they
me
too
look
​does

What I did:

I wrote each of these out on 3x5 notecards which then became our flashcards. They have worked quite well for us. Start with 4 words and add 4 more each week. Run through the flashcards 1-3 times a daily.

Next Step:

It is helpful to read with your little learner. When you come to one of their sight words, pause so your little learner can say the word. Try to keep the number of sight words you do this with low because, trust me, YOU will get confused trying to remember when to pause. Four sight words is the max I can keep track of and successfully remember to pause. Your little learner might be able to keep track of more sight words (mine does). Still, keep the number you have to remember low for your own sanity. Your little learner can always (and probably will) pipe up when they see a word they recognize.

Printable List:

I made a copy of this list for you. It's available via Google Docs. Click the button to grab your copy.
40 Kindergarten Sight Words Printable List
Thanks so much for hanging out with me and learning a new way to help your little learner establish a strong reading life.

​That printable link again: 40 Kindergarten Sight Words Printable List
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