Book Club Monday : What Makes It Rain?

I am so excited to start a weekly Usborne Books & More Book Club!  Today's book is What Makes It Rain.  It's a wonderful book about the weather that is perfect for inquisitive preschoolers!

My son loves the flaps and it literally answers so many of their endless questions which is great!  If you are a mom of a kid who can talk, you know what I'm talking about.  What, Why, When, How, Where.  It is NEVER ending. Don't get me wrong, I love that kids are so interested in learning and most of the time I am excited to answer but when it's 5 am and you haven't had breakfast... just stop.  Am I right?

Anyways! Let's talk about the book.

  

Here are FOUR great activities you can do that explore the concepts in the book. 

TOP LEFT: The first one is a snowy tree farm sensory bin.  We used fake snow in a can but you could use flour, real snow, or even playdough.  Then we talked about snow, read the page about snow from the book and let our imaginations run wild.

TOP RIGHT: The second activity is a rain sound sensory bin. I gathered up a bin, some jars, a raining bath toy, and a funnel. We got to work pouring and talking about the sound that rain makes.  We also talked about how rain feels, and read the rain page from the book.

BOTTOM LEFT: The third activity is a bit messy but so much fun!  We made clouds with shaving cream and a paint brush.  I added blue food coloring and then we made prints by smooshing a piece of paper on top and letting it dry.  The end result is cloud art that smells like clean shaving cream!  ;) You can add snowflakes, rain drops, a rainbow - whatever your child is interested in learning more about after the shaving cream dries.  We added snowflake stickers.

BOTTOM RIGHT: The last activity is a science lesson.  We read the rain page in the book and talked about clouds and precipitation.  Then I put a little bit of shaving cream on top of water and added drops of blue food coloring.  Don't put too much shaving cream or it will take FOREVER.  As the "clouds" become heavy with water droplets, they begin to "rain". This was really interesting and fun to explore and discuss.

What other weather activities can you think of to go with the book?  I would love to see!  Enjoy the activities and the questions and conversations that follow.  

To purchase the book, click here.

To follow along on instagram and see more great books find me @buildingliteracywithbooks

Cystic Fibrosis Book Drive

Have you heard of Cystic Fibrosis?  Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time.  Part of having the disease is living with hospitilizations, taking a cocktail of drugs to digest your food, taking insulin to treat cystic fibrosis related diabetes, and eating high a calorie diet because your body doesn't absorb nutrients well.  It's often called an "invisible disease" because most of the time, you wouldn't know that someone has the disease on the outside.

My husband has cystic fibrosis, and this past year, he spent over 6 weeks in the hospital.  He was hospitalized because he contracted the flu and could hardly move as a result.  He was hospitalized because he caught a common cold and couldn't recover without a 2 week stay and IV antibiotics. Living with CF means common illnesses aren't so common. A cold could result in a bad infection that robs you of lung function, the flu could cause irreversible damage to your already damaged lungs, and being with your family for birthdays and holidays is never a guarantee.

This year gave me a lot to reflect on and I thought a lot about other patients in the world with cystic fibrosis.  Recently I also joined Usborne Books & More because I love their educational books and use them with my children to supplement our homeschool curriculum.  One of the best things I have discovered about being with Usborne Books & More is the ability to give back by doing a book drive, or one of their other community programs.

Right now, I am running a Cystic Fibrosis Book Drive with Usborne Books & More to purchase books for the University of Iowa Cystic Fibrosis clinic where my husband was hospitalized as a child. Through their Literacy for a Lifetime program, they will match 50% of all donations.

Want to help? Donate! The goal is to raise enough money to donate over 125 books, or $750.

If we raise $750.00, Usborne Books & More will donate $375.00 in additional books.  Can you imagine over 125 new books for those little ones to enjoy?  It would be awesome if we could reach our goal and get an additional 40 or 50 books to donate from Usborne Books & More!

Please SHARE with friends and family! No donation is too small.  

During a hospitalization, patients sit throught hours of breathing treatments, IV medications, and lung function tests.  These books would be such a fun alternative to another tv show or just sitting alone.

(image credit: http://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/05/children-affected-by-cystic-fibrosis/?hpt=hp_c4)

The main focus of the book drive: activity books, like doodling pads, coloring and sticker books, and books that can be read again and again.  

Consider donating, just $6 is enough to provide 1 book for a child to enjoy.  

Thank you for taking the time to read about the book drive!

DONATE HERE

My favorite Usborne Books

I joined Usborne Books & More a month ago and my kids are already in love with so many of their books.  (Me too.) 

If you love pop up books, this book is INSANE.  The pop ups literally come off the ENTIRE page.

Arlo first heard this book at the Air and Space museum and now he lights up anytime we read it.  We got the collection of phonics readers instead of just the single book and I am so glad.  All the stories are just as silly and catch his attention.

I actually ordered this for myself but... he loves it too!  I actually think it is one of our only fairytale books!  The flaps and peek inside pages are super fun and engaging for little hands.

The weather is a constant source of conversation.  I got this book to incorporate into our homeschool lessons but I ended up pulling it out sooner to talk about snowflakes. Then later, we pulled it out to talk about lightning.  It's a great resource!

This is MY favorite.  I got it for a gift, but wish I had kept it!  So many fun cards that you can draw on and all of them are animal themed.

Nibbles is a silly picture book about a book monster!  Gets the kids giggling and grinning which is MY favorite.

This is the book Arlo brings to me to read the most.  His favorite page is the page that talks about digestion.  "It goes in my mouth, down my food pipe, into my tummy, through my intestines, then out as poop." You're welcome.

Both my boys love this one!  The bright pictures and silly alliteration catch the attention of my 10 month old and 3 1/2 year old.  We just got a jobs version that I can't wait to give them for Christmas too.

These are our CURRENT favorites.  We have really enjoyed discovering these books!  I earned the cost of my kit back in my first 30 days too so basically I got $100 in free books just for signing up.  Send me a message if you are interested in learning more.  It's a great way to earn a little extra money for your family and even just get a great discount on the books.

Host a party to get free books for your family!

https://www.facebook.com/usbornebookswithkatiekizzier/