The Really Great Outdoors

I can not imagine how dull my childhood would have been if, for three weekends a year, my grandparents hadn't taken me camping along the Juniata river.  Along with tentfulls of extended family, including many wild, wonderful cousins, my days and nights were resplendent in mosquito bites, marshmallows, and those little cheese balls used for fish bait.  To this day, I swear that the cadence of a rolling river is the most lulling sound in the world.  

Sadly, for many kids, the call of the wild gets drowned out by the siren song of air-conditioning and the many blinking screens inside the house.  Which is, of course, all the more reason for you to encourage your child's inner naturalist.  Here are a few ideas.  

Duck Tents by Lynne Berry- Five ducks rough it in the back yard in a watercolorful read-aloud.  I love most: The ducks master marshmallow roasting - "Outside crispy, inside sticky, chewy, gooey, finger-licky."  

Toasting Marshmallows by Kristine O'Connell George - Poems so perfect you can almost smell the woodsmoke on the page.  I love most: The concrete poem, "Eavesdropping," is so simple but so inspiring - a lot like nature.  

The Kids Campfire Book by Jane Drake and Ann Love - Unfortunately out of print (but quite likely available through your library), it offers suggestions for batwatching, ghost stories, and nighttime games.  I love most: It includes sheet music for favorite camp songs, complete with guitar chords.  Perfect for some strummin' around the campfire.  

Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids' Guide by Lynn Brunelle - Perhaps the most exhaustive kids/camping book ever written, this is the ultimate guide for stargazing, campfire building, and cricket counting (chirps, that is).  I love most: A twist on the traditional s'more - a pineapple slice and toasted marshmallow sandwiched between two coconut cookies.

Camp Lisa by Lisa Loeb- Spunky songs, both original and traditional, capture that groovy summer camp feeling.  I love most: The foot-stomping, lung-bursting, heart-thumping "Wake Up Song" is way more eye-opening than the morose, pealing bell that jolted me awake during MY summer camp days.

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv - For those of you who need a bit of research to validate all of that fresh air, this book is essential.  I love most: "Nature presents the young with something so much greater than they are; it offers an environment where they can easily contemplate infinity and eternity...Immersion in the natural environment cuts to the chase, exposes the young directly and immediately to the very elements from which humans evolved: earth, water, air, and other living kin, large and small." (p.97)

Save Ohio Libraries

Libraries are crazy about statistics.  They love to tally up numbers for circulation of materials, program attendance, and services offered.  The one statistic you won't see, however, is the number of children whose lives are enriched because of a library.  It's a shame, too, because the number would be massive.  And I wonder, if such a statistic existed, would Ohio libraries be facing a crisis?

Ohio governor Ted Strickland has proposed a 50% cut in funding for public libraries during the fiscal years of 2010 and 2011.  For most Ohio libraries, this is catastrophic.  The staff layoffs and library closings would be widespread.  The result?  A suffering community.  Today, more than ever, libraries are community centers - venues for education, entertainment, socialization, and the betterment of quality of life.  It seems ludicrous to cut funding to an institution that can only empower its citizens, but at least for the next seven days, that possibility exists.  

If you live in Ohio, please contact one or all of the following by June 30.  Perhaps if enough voices rally against this proposal, our libraries won't become...a statistic.  

Governor Ted Strickland
614-466-3555
Contact Online

Senator Bill Harris, President of the Senate
614-466-8086
SD19@senate.state.oh.us

Senator David Goodman, 3rd District
614-466-8064
SD03@senate.state.oh.us

Representative Kevin Bacon, 21st District
614-644-6030
District21@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Marian Harris
614-466-4847
District19@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Nancy Garland
614-644-6002
District20@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Kris Jordan
614-644-6711
District02@ohr.state.oh.us

Adopt-A-Cat, Part II

Yes, this is disgusting.  But if you need an activity that tween-age boys will appreciate, this is a winner. I made this for a 'tween book club, which is why the directions are with a group of children in mind (but it can be easily adjusted for one child).  I split the kids into small groups for each task, which made it a lot easier.  

And believe it or not, the recipe is actually DELICIOUS! 

Kitty Litter Cake

What you need:

1 spice cake mix

1 white cake mix

1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix

milk (amount needed according to pudding directions)

1 package vanilla sandwich cookies

6-12 small Tootsie Rolls

1 new and unused kitty litter pan (do I really have to include the word "unused?")

1 new and unused kitty litter scoop 

Plastic wrap

Medium sized bowl

whisk

microwavable plate

Ziploc baggies

What you do:

Bake both cakes according to directions before your event and cool completely.  Wash, dry, and line kitty litter pan with plastic wrap.

With a child's help, mix pudding according to directions (they can take turns if you have a big group).  Seal cookies in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and ask children to crush them up.  Set aside 1/4 cup of cookie crumbs.  

Crumble the cakes into the NEW and UNUSED kitty litter pan.  Toss with the larger portion of  cookie crumbs and pudding (just until mixed - not soggy.).   Set aside.  

Ask children to unwrap Tootsie Rolls.  Microwave the unwrapped tootsie rolls for 5 seconds or just until they are slightly melted.  Add to the cake mixture.  I've seen some recipes that include green food coloring after this step, but I think that's going a bit too far, don't you?

Sprinkle remaining cookie crumbs onto cake.  

Eat and enjoy, and just try not to think about it too much.

Adopt-A-Cat, Part I

June is finally here, and there's no better time of year for pool parties, popsicles, and pussycats.  Yes, June is "Adopt-A-Cat" month, perfectly timed with the overpopulation of springtime kittens (but don't forget - the older kitties need homes, too).  If you can't commit to a cat at the moment (or in my case, ANOTHER cat), consider dropping by your local animal shelter and asking for their "wish list."  Providing cat food, kitty litter, and other specific items needed by the shelter is always hugely appreciated.

At home, you and your child can curl up with a cat on your lap (real or imaginary) and read one of these books!

For the Young'ns

There are Cats in this Book by Viviane Schwartz- Cats.  Flaps.  String.  Too much temptation!  And a lot of fun.

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes- Poor Kitten wants that big bowl of milk in the sky, but your very intelligent kiddo will know better.  

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff - Another "If You Give..." book, continuing the theme of a toddleresque cat whose attention span is thislong.  

For the 'Tweens

Warriors series by Erin Hunter - Kitty clans and a prophecy.  It's Harry Potter for the spay and neuter set.  

Lion Boy by Zizou Corder - A boy who can speak to cats befriends a pride of lions on a floating circus.  

Coraline by Neil Gaiman - Ok, it's not really a book about cats and is probably the creepiest kid book of all time, but the cat character is sort of the Johnny Depp of the cat world, therefore making him unbelievably cool.  "Cats don't have names...Now, you people have names.  That's because you don't know who you are.  We know who we are, so we don't have names." Hiss!  

These are a few of my favorites - what are yours?