Friday Faves: Three Sparkly Picks

Sparkly Pick #1: Twinkle, Twinkle!

Amazing Baby's Twinkle Twinkle! is one of Maisy's favorite books right now. "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is one of several songs she loves listening to me sing. The song is made even better with the giant sparkly stars found in this book. 

The bold patterns and eye-catching stars spark Maisy's interest and have her leaning in to feel for herself. Maisy's favorite picture to pat is the smiling, round baby face on the last page of the book. A fun way to sing a familiar tune to your little one!

Sparkly Pick #2: Clorox Toilet Wand Kit

In my very first post I mention the guilt I feel for being a stay-at-home mom whose bathrooms do not sparkle at all times. I'm not going to go so far as to say this product was life-changing or that I now have the world's sparkliest bathrooms, but I will say that the Clorox Toilet Wand Kit makes me hate cleaning the bathrooms just a little bit less. 

The worst part of cleaning the bathrooms for me has always been cleaning the toilet with that same toilet brush I'd used over and over again. I'm sure there will be plenty of Green People who disagree with me out of principle, but I really appreciate being able to use the disposable wand head during one cleaning session and toss it out. Simple and convenient, even if it is a little silly, and it may indeed lead to more sparkly bathrooms in my future.

Sparkly Pick #3: SparkNotes.com

For a free student (and teacher) resource, SparkNotes.com really does shine. From "Anne of Green Gables" to "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," SparkNotes will hook you up with study guides that include everything from plot, characters, and themes to study questions and quizzes.

In addition to the study guides that you may already be familiar with, SparkNotes.com has practical advice for students, flashcards for ACT/SAT test prep, and No Fear Shakespeare. No Fear Shakespeare is cool in that it places classic Shakespearean works side-by-side with the Modern English translation. It's ideal for those who want to get the real Shakespeare experience but struggle with "getting it."

I'm not endorsing shortcuts here. I believe it's important to do the reading (most of the time). I just think that this website has an impressive array of imformation to help prepare you in advance and delve a bit deeper when you've finished. And it's so much more than brief summaries of a few classic books!

Friday Faves: Two Books, a Bear, and a Boppy

I know that it's Saturday, but if I promise to usually post my reviews on Fridays can I get away with calling these Friday Faves today?  It has a much better ring to it than Saturday Faves.  My goal - we'll see how it works out - is to post a few reviews of my favorite things on Fridays.  I'll tell you what works right now and why I think it's working.  I'll try to intermix the mommy stuff with the tutor stuff.  This week I review two books, a bear, and a Boppy.

Two Books

The first book, Baby Loves Peekaboo, is a Maisy must-have right now.  The pages are filled with babies (and babies love looking at babies) and stuffed animals, so there are plenty of fun pictures to point out and have Maisy shake her little fist at.  Each page has a "touch-and-feel" picture, so my 6-month-old enjoys rubbing her fingers over the different textures.

By far the best part of this book, though, are the big flaps that open to the right.  They're sturdy enough that they won't get torn too easily and big enough that Maisy can wrap her right hand around the flap and flip it open and closed, open and closed, open and closed, just listening for my "peekaboo!"  Maisy loves it because of all the colors, textures, and flaps; I love it because it seems like she really gets it (and that's so cool).


The next book, KAPLAN ACT: Strategies, Practice, and Review, is one of the guides I refer to most when preparing students for the ACT.  One of the top reasons I like this particular guide is because of the KAPLAN strategies.  They make so much sense!  From how to use a triage approach to how to fill in the answer grid, this book is filled with practical strategies for the test as a whole and for specific subjects.  The subject-specific strategies give students a structured way to approach each test question to maximize their chances of getting a higher score.

Aside from the strategies that make this guide stand out, the KAPLAN book includes skill refreshers, practice tests with detailed explanations, and a section that outlines what to do on the nights leading up to Test Day.  It's not perfect.  I have stumbled on a couple of errors.  Yet, as a whole, this is a good book to use when preparing students for the ACT.


A Bear
Meet Pancake Bear - at least that's what we call him.  My brother is responsible for the silly name, but it has stuck.  This is Maisy's little sleep buddy right now.  She holds the soft little bear in the crook of her left arm, pops her right thumb into her mouth, and she's off to dreamland.  It seems like the perfect size for Maisy's six-month self.  Big enough to clutch, but little enough for a good baby grip.  It's soft, it's cute, and it has the tags, because babies like tags, right?  


Of course, the irony is that Maisy doesn't really care much about the cute blue textured tags.  She goes straight for the real deal.  No one's going to trick her into going after any fake tags!  What do I care? She likes her Pancake Bear and it helps her (and us!) get some sleep.




A Boppy
A Boppy is a mom's best friend, especially in the first few months of breastfeeding fun.    What I've discovered, though, is that the Boppy has actually become more useful as Maisy has gotten a little older.  I still frequently use it for nursing.  It's comfortable and it's supportive.  


My favorite use for it now, though, is as a baby-catcher.  Maisy's been sitting up since she was five months old.  She loves sitting up because she can interact with her toys so easily.  The Boppy fits right around her, so if she tips right, left, or backwards, this pillow cushions her fall.  It's easily portable and has a washable slipcover, so it really does make the ideal baby-catcher while Maisy's learning to support herself and explore her world sitting up.