What Do You Call A Crate Full Of Ducks? Hundreds of Silly Jokes by Usborne Books Will Keep Kids Giggling With Good, Clean Fun!

A box of quakers! That's what you call a crate full of ducks.

You can find this and hundreds of other silly jokes in Usborne's box of Hundreds of Silly Jokes. What I love about this is the jokes are good, clean fun for the kids. The way jokes were when we were kids. My kids love them because they are just plain silly! It's nice to see them get the pack out when their friends come over. They all pick out their own cards and start telling jokes, and then you can hear them giggling away in the other room. Again, the way kids should be.

At just 9.99 these cards make a great gift for that hard to buy for kid, or you can even use the cards individually in birthday party goody bags.

"What do you find in the middle of Japan?"

The letter "p". Ha!

Enjoy!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM USBORNE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS!

Conspiracy 365 Series Gets Kids Excited About Reading!

Twelve exciting books in twelve exciting months. This is what the Conspiracy 365 series brings to readers aged 11 - 15, and even above that age range. If you are looking for something to get teenage boys and even teenage girls interested in reading this series will definitely work for you! I know. I have an 11 year old boy who is a fantastic reader, yet has no interest in reading on his own. As soon as I got this book in, he couldn't put it down. If fact he and his dad were even fighting over it!

Conspiracy 365 is an action packed story that takes Callum Ormond on a major adventure for an entire year (hence the 365 - it takes place over 365 days). Each book takes place over a specific month. The book is broken down into days and different times of the day, so there aren't long chapters to read. The page numbers also go backwards. That's the first thing my son noticed about the book. He thought that was so cool! "It tells you how many pages you have left to read!", he said. That's pretty important information for boys his age.

So many kids are excited about this series! I love it because it got my boy, who didn't like to read chapter books to read them!

Read the first chapter of the first book.

Don't blink. Don't forget to breath.

Save! With Usborne Books Black Friday Sale - Thanksgiving Day - Mon., Nov. 30th

Get the BEST deal of the year on the BEST children's books in the world! Usborne Books Black Friday Sale begins at noon (CST) on Thanksgiving Day and runs til noon (CST) on Monday, November 30th. You can preview the sale here. Make sure you stop back while the sale is running to get these great deals!

Usborne Books Make Great Gifts For Christmas! That's Not My Reindeer and Tha'ts Not My Angel Make a Great Gift for Infants and Toddlers.

Kids love books! So what better gift to get them than Usborne Books! Usborne Books has created some great holiday gift sets. Whether you are looking for gifts or even just fun books and activities for you kids to have and do during the holidays, these sets are aimed to please!

Baby's First Christmas Set will make the new little tyke in your life very happy. Geared towards kids 2 and under, these books will delight even the youngest in that age group. The touchy-feely books are great for the little one's to touch all the different textures. They will keep themselves entertained for quite some time with them. They make great books for the restaurant bag. Christmas Lullabies is a beautiful book which includes a soothing CD to help get baby to bed. Christmas Baby Jigsaw is a first puzzle book. It has both touchy feely elements AND each page has a two-piece puzzle. It makes a great introduciton to puzzles! For just $27.99 , you can't go wrong. Purchasing these books as a set saves you $17.93!

Order Baby's First Christmas Set

Christopher Columbus for Kids - Usborne's In-Depth Biographies Gets Kids Interested in Hisotry

Who knew an 8 year old girl could become mesmerized by Christopher Columbus. That's exactly what happened when my daughter read Usborne's Christopher Columbus for school last week. Now she can't wait til Columbus Day, which is Oct. 12th this year. She has all sorts of activities planned along with a special Italian dinner that she plans to cook for us that evening.

I just asked my daughter why she likes this book so much. She said "Because it's cool." "Why is it cool?", I asked her. "Because it tells you about somebody back in the olden days.", she said. Kids love history, and if you make it fun for them they love it even more. They also retain the information even more. I have learned more about Christopher Columbus from my daughter this week, than I remember learning in school when I was a kid.

What sets this book apart is the way the information is presented. It has 8 short chapters and is 64 pages long. The book begins with Columbus' childhood. Rarely is his childhood presented in books for kids. The book also has vibrant illustrations, and some of them have dialogue in them. The kids love to read the dialogue among the characters in the book. The book contains colorful maps and shows exactly where the ships The Nina, The Pinta, and the Santa Maria went. It also has maps of Columbus' other voyages. Did you know his crew got stuck on an island and he had to go back to Spain for help? The writing in this book also keeps the kids on the edge of their seat, so that when they get to the end of a chapter they want to continue on until they finish the book.

Another neat thing is Usborne's Christopher Columbus is Internet-Linked! What an extra treat! What does Internet-Linked mean, you ask? That means if you go to www.usborne-quicklinks.com you will be directed to all sorts of kid approved sights based solely on the topic in that book. My daughter just ate dinner with Christopher Columbus and earned herself some fish. Yum!

Other biographies by Usborne Books are Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, William Shakespeare, Leonardo DaVinci, Captain Cook, Florence Nightingale, Anne Frank, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King, Jr. They are all just as exciting as Christopher Columbus, and kids will become just as enthralled with these historical figures.

If you would like to purchase multiple copies of any of these biographies for your classroom or school, please email me at kristie@usborneactivities.com for a price quote. If you have grant or donation funds, you can utilite Usborne's Literacy for a Lifetime Program and receive a 50% match of FREE books with your purchase. Contact me at kristie@usborneactivities.com for more information on Usborne's Literacy for a Lifetime Program.

I am so thrilled to watch first-hand how Usborne books impact children's lives.

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Usborne's Reading 2 Series Gift Books Gives A Great Introduction To The Classics For Young Readers

Heidi. An all time classic by Johanna Spyri. Last night my daughter pulled this Usborne condensed version of Heidi off her shelf. We sat down and read it together. She absolutely loved it! I told her, "Em, you know there is a long version of this book. Do you want me to read it to you?". "Oh yes!", she said.

So I've been selling Usborne books for over four years now, and last night my daughter taught be a very crucial thing about how great Usborne books are! I had tried to sit down and read "Heidi" to her and my son before. They lost interest after a few pages. But last night, in just 64 pages, with beautiful illustrations, my daughter became mesmerized by the story. So today we started on the long version of "Heidi". My daughter even got her brother to sit down and listen along.

So what's the moral of what I am trying to say here? Usborne's Reading Series books of the classics introduces kids to these great literary works. Kids read the condensed version, and it opens their eyes, and hearts to a fabulous story that they don't want to end. And you know what happens? They go from reading a book that is 64 pages long, and beautifully illustrated, to reading a book that is 278 pages long with only 2 illustrations in the whole book. Do you see what I am getting at?!?!? It turns these kids into avid readers and book lovers!

Usborne's Reading Series Gift Books include many of the classics. Schools are shying away from requiring students to read the classics. This is a shame, as reading the classics help children build their vocabulary and moral upbringing.

You can't go wrong getting a child any of these books. Nowadays kids don't have the attention span to read 278 page books. But if a 64 page book will teach them the story, or get them interested in the long version, then you have well gotten your money's worth out the $6.99 you will spend for one of these books.

Happy Reading!

Halloween Books for Your Kids from Usborne Books

Halloween is just around the corner. Kids will love these new Spooktacular Sets packed with fun stories & activities, and you’ll love the Savings! Order Today!

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Kids LOVE Usborne's Jobs People Do Book

Jobs People Do is a book that kids just LOVE. Every time I see a child pick this book up, they spend lots of time perusing each page. They love the claymation people. Even my hubby tonight told me "I can see why kids spend so much time with this book. There's so much for them to look at. If I were a kid I'd have a blast looking at all this stuff."

Another reason why kids love this book is because it is so realistic. It shows them the day in the life of careers that kids usually dream of being - a vet, a doctor, a fireman, a teacher, a farmer, and a chef.

My daughter has had me sit down and read this book to her over and over and over again. She particularly loves Vicky the Vet, even though she aspires to be a chef someday. Now that she can read on her own, this is still a book she picks up to read and look before she goes to bed. That of course is AFTER our reading time together. Remember, kids still LOVE to be read to even after they learn to read.

Another neat thing that is included in the book is the sets of words that come after each story. For instance, after Sam the Chef, there are Chef word such as broth, creme brulee, fettuccine, and sorbet, so kids learn words associated with each profession. Some even have a quiz after them. Frank the Farmer has a farm quiz which includes safety tips on the farm.

Jobs People Do is just $22.99. It is a combined volume of six books that you can also purchase individually if you choose. The individual books are Frank the Farmer, Sam the Chef, Daisy the Doctor, Fred the Firefighter, Tessa the Teacher, and Vicky the Vet. Each individual book is $6.99, so the combined volume saves you 18.95! Makes a great gift for any child in your life.

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Usborne Books and More - September Starter Kit - You Can Build A Successful Home Business For Just $49.00!

Get a GREAT start with our September Starter Kit (Retail Value $160) – This Kit is packed with 10 terrific titles, a full set of business supplies, training CDs, an eCommerce Website plus more for only $49 + tax and FREE SHIPPING. Join and save over $111! What are you waiting for? Join Us!

Spark a child's imagination, creativity, and love
of reading with gifts from Usborne Books & More!

This email has been sent to you from Usborne Books & More on behalf of Kristie Glascock,
your Usborne consultant. To ensure receipt of our emails, please add
kglas@myubah.com to your Email Address book.

Usborne Books & More | 10302 E. 55th Place | Tulsa, OK 74146.

In The Dark by A. A. Milne - Fantastic Poem To Read To Your Kids Before Bed

Anyone who really knows me, knows I LOVE old books. I love books that were published pre-1950, especially if they are children's books. I've always loved children's books, and now I get to enjoy them with my own kids.

I found a neat little set of books at an antique store in Walterboro, SC last month. They are When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, by A. A. Milne. I'm sure you recognize the name A. A. Milne. He was the author of the Winnie the Pooh books with Christopher Robin. The books I purchased that day in Walterboro were precursors to Winnie the Pooh. What beautiful books they are! And they have decorations by Ernest H. Shepard, the illustrator who brought Winnie the Pooh to life. I guess back then they called illustrations, decorations. Such neat, neat books. They are two of my favorite "finds".

So tonight I was reading Now We Are Six to my daughter. It is a collection of poems for kids. Tonight we read the poem In the Dark. I just LOVE this poem. I so wish I had found it years ago when my kids were really, really little. I would have memorized it and recited it to them each night. Em is still just eight, so she still appreciates it. Here it is for those of you who may like to read or recite it to your kids:

In the Dark

"I've had my supper,
And had my supper,
And HAD my supper and all;
I've heard the story
Of Cinderella,
And how she went to the ball;I've cleaned my teeth,
And I've said my prayers,
And I've cleaned and said them right;And they've all of them been
And kissed me lots,
They've all of said "Good-night."
So - here I am in the dark alone,
There's nobody here to see;
I think to myself,
I play to myself,
And nobody knows what I say to myself;
Here I am in the dark alone,
What is it going to be?
I can think whatever I like to think,
I can play whatever I like to play,
I can laugh whatever I like to laugh,
There's nobody here but me.

I'm talking to a rabbit ...
I'm talking to the sun...
I think I am a hundred -
I'm one.
I'm lying in a forest ...
I'm lying in a cave ...
I'm talking to a Dragon ...
I'm BRAVE.
I'm lying on my left side ...
I'm lying on my right ...
I'll play a lot tommorrow ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I'll think a lot tomorrow ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I'll laugh ...
.....
a lot ........
......
tomorrow .....
(Heigh-ho!)
Good-night."
A. A. Milne

Does that not remind you of going to bed when you were a child!?! I so love this poem.

Cited from Now We Are Six, by A. A. Milne, E. P. Dutton and Co., 1927, pgs. 99-101.

Usborne Fairy Snap

Fairy Snap is a delightful game for girls. Don't worry boys, there is a Pirate Snap for you too. This is a really cute version of the card game "War". My 8 yr. old daughter has discovered that you can play "Go Fish" with this set too. It's actually a lot of fun playing with these cards. My daughter is now addicted and has me play it over and over and over again. Believe it or not, it's actually a lot of fun with these cards, so we've been playing A LOT! There are 4 sets of 13 different fairies to match.

The cards are made of very thick card stock and will last a long time without getting bent up even with little hands. They make great gifts and with Christmas approaching, make great stocking stuffers. Also available is Christmas Snap, Fairytale Snap, First Word Snap, Pirate Snap and Princess Snap.

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Usborne Books Starter Kit - Start Your Own Usborne Books Business! This is THE BEST Home Business OpportunityYou Will Find!

Start your Usborne Books & More business with the LOWEST priced Starter Kit of the Year: With FREE SHIPPING! You’ll receive 10 incredible titles and a full set of business supplies, plus your own ecommerce website! (Over a $170 value!)

No matter when you join, you’ll receive an incredible display of titles and a full set of supplies at a great price.

Keep Your Kids Busy this Summer with Usborne's Summer Activities

Summer is upon us, and the kids have been home for a while now. Have you already been hearing "There's nothing to do.", "I'm bored!". I certainly have.

Usborne Books has a neat Summer Activities book that will keep your kids busy. Filled with stickers and lots of activities for your kids to do, it'll keep them busy and out of your hair. They can make Floating Fish, Picnic Cheese Tarts (which are delicious!), Printed Crab Pictures, Concertina Caterpillars, Bug and Bee Prints, Diving Dolphins, Cheesy Snakes and Caterpillars (these are delicious too!), and much more!

Each activity includes pictures of the finished product and easy to follow step by step directions. My children have made many of these projects and even go back to the book to make them again. They really like the Cheesy Snakes and Caterpillars.

For just $6.95, you can't go wrong with Usborne's Summer Activities. It's well worth it to keep your kids busy over the summer. Grandma and your babysitter may enjoy it too with your kids.

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Usborne Book's Sticker Dolly Dressing Bridesmaids Make a Perfect Gift for Your Flower Girl

Looking for that perfect gift for the sweet flower girl in your wedding? Sticker Dolly Dressing Bridesmaids, by Usborne Books, IS the perfect gift for her!

She will have hours of fun dressing three girls who are going to be bridesmaids. She can use the stickers to dress them as they try on their outfits, go shopping for shoes, visit the hairdresser, and do lots more in preparation for the big day. Girls love these Sticker Dolly Dressing books, and they are able to reposition the dresses on the dolls.

Other books in this series are Sticker Dolly Dressing Dolls, Sticker Dolly Dressing Fairies, Sticker Dolly Dressing Princesses, Sticker Dolly Dressing Ballerinas, Sticker Dolly Dressing Pop Stars, and Sticker Dolly Dressing on Vacation.

These books also make a great book to take on those long summer vacation car trips. My daughter spent the whole time flying across the country with just one book in this series. She loves them all and gets so excited when she finds out the Usborne has published a new title in the series.

For only 8.99, you can't go wrong.

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Why You Should Start Reading to Your Child as Soon as They are Born

It's never too early to start reading to your children. I began reading to mine the day they were born, and now, at ages 11 and 7, they have great language skills and are fantastic readers.

According to Jim Trelease, author of the Read Aloud Handbook, no matter what your baby's age, reading provides a great opportunity for cuddling and bonding. Some of my fondest memories with my kids are of rocking them in the rocking chair and reading some of the "classic" stories to them. They can't fuss at that age and can't complain about what you are reading to them. This is the rare time where YOU get to pick out the book and only read it once. Enjoy it!

Besides some fun bonding time - here are some of the top reasons why you read to your children as soon as they are born. Now that I think about it, the very first thing I did with my daughter (she must have only been about an hour old) was tell her the story of Cinderella. Then I had to tell her the story of the Wizard of Oz. What fun we had!

Why You Should Read to Your Child From Birth

-Helps your child develop speaking, writing, and reading skills much easier and earlier.

-Helps build your child's vocabulary - Children who are read to pick up on the words they hear frequently.

-Stimulates your child's imagination - Children love to predict what is going to happen in a story. You can also read books to them that have no pictures. Let them imagine what the places in the book look like.

-Improves your child's communication skills.

-Encourages your child's listening skills.

-Gives your child a strong reading foundation - listening to stories trains your child's brain, ears and eyes to help them be successful readers.

-Improves concentration, creativity and listening skills.

It is also essential to keep reading with your child once they have begun to read on their own. Many parents stop reading to and with their kids once the child is able to read on their own. Kids still love to be read to, don't miss out on this special time with your child. Reading is a mastered skill and requires lots of practice over time. By sharing books together with your child, you will help develop them into lifelong readers.

Happy Reading!

Usborne Books Recommended Titles For Children's Book Week - May 11-17, 2009

Experience Success From Home - Become An Usborne Books Consultant

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The Usborne Dot-To-Dot Book - Best Dot-to-Dot Book Ever

Most kids LOVE to do dot-to-dots. I know I did as a kid, and my daughter will do every dot-to-dot she can get her hands on. Dot-to-dots are a great activity to help your children develop number skills and learn the order numbers go in. Plus they are great for eye/hand coordination and learning to use a writing utensil properly.

The Usborne Dot-To-Dot Book will provide hours of fun for your kids. It is a combined volume that contains 168 pages of dot-to-dots from 7 individual Usborne dot-to-dot books. This combined volume includes the following: animals, dinosaurs, farms, machines, nature, seaside, and space.
My daughter is working in this book right now as I write this post. She just turned the page and said "Aw cool!! I get to do a snow place!" She's so excited!

At just 12.95 you can't go wrong with this activity book for your kids. It will keep them entertained at home, in the car, while waiting at the doctor's office, and just about anywhere else they need to keep busy. It's also a fun book to add into your home school curriculum for seat work.

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HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO FROM PIPKIN AND USBORNE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Wordless Wednesday - What Little Boys Will Do

Simple Hand Print Poem To Make for Mom for Mother's Day

My daughter went to a Montessori preschool. This is the Mother's Day gift they had the kids make one year. To this day it's still my favorite Mother's Day gift, and I have a feeling it will always be my favorite because of the little hand print.

Any mother will LOVE to get one of these cards for Mother's Day. Have the child pick a colored piece of construction paper. Fold it in half. Have the child decorate the front. You may need to help them write Happy Mother's Day on the front.

On one side of the inside have the child put their hand print. You do this by painting their hand and then having them place it on the paper. On the other side write one of the following poems. If you are doing this with a group of kids, you may want to type out the poem, print it out, and paste it on the card. Make sure you have the child sign it.

Here are the words to the short poem on my card:

I Give My Hand To You
This Day
Remember Me Now
As I Grow And Play

Here are words to a longer version:

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.

But every day I'm growing -
I'll be grown some day
And all those tiny hand prints
Will surely fade away.

So here's a little hand print
Just so you can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.

Happy Card Making!

Hush Little Baby Don't Say a Word ...

Each of my kids have their own special lullaby. My son's is a musical version that I came up with to Winken, Blinken, and Nod. My daughter's is my own version to Hush Little Baby. I could never remember the words to the real version, but my version I could remember.

The kids are getting older now. Eleven and seven respectively, but they still like for me to sing their special lullabies to them when they are sick or really tired.

Here's my version of Hush Little Baby for Em:

Hush little baby, don't say a word,
Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird.

If that mockingbird don't sing,
Momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring.

If that diamond ring don't shine,
Momma's gonna buy you a bucket of brine.

If that bucket of brine don't swim,
Momma's gonna buy you a pass to the gym.

If that pass to the gym is closed,
Momma's gonna buy you a doll that's posed.

If that doll that's posed is broke,
Momma's gonna tell you a funny joke.

Hush little baby don't say a word,
Momma's gonna buy you a mocking bird.

How High is the Sky? Usborne's Newest Picture Book Title.

Have you ever wondered how high the sky is? If you loved the book How Big is a Million?, you don’t want to miss How High is the Sky?

Join Pipkin the penguin, on his amazing journey to find the answer in this delightful book. Includes a very tall poster.

Order Your Copy Today!

Everyone Poops Hits Youtube!

Everyone Poops Hits Youtube!

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Week of the Young Child, 2009: Bring Communities Together for Children - Children Bring Communities Together

April 19-25, 2009 is Week of the Young Child. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has put together some tools and information to help you celebrate. You can find these resources at www.naeyc.org/about/woyc/. Start planning ways to help bring your community together for children!

If you are celebrating Week of the Young Child, please share with us what you plan to do. Thanks, and have fun!

Kristie

Look What the Easter Bunny Did to My Dog!

I had posted this on my Lily's Licorice blog, and decided I wanted to share it with you all on Usborne Activities For Kids as well.

This is my favorite Easter photo of all time. I was such a mean mom and instead of getting my son an Easter Rabbit for his basket one year, I got him this adorable Easter Basset. We had a basset and I couldn't resist this adorable stuffed dog with rabbit ears for my son. I thought it was cute!

So Easter morning, out comes my son to see what the Easter Bunny had brought. Above is the response we got. That boy cried and cried and cried! He thought the Easter Bunny had turned his precious dog into a stuffed dog with rabbit ears. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen! (I'm such a nice, caring mom, aren't I?)

Dad had to go wake the real dog out of a deep sleep to come show our dear son that NO he had not been turned into a stuffed dog with rabbit ears.

Mother's Day Gifts for Your Kids to Make from Usborne Books

Mother’s Day is May 10th

Here are two books your kids will really love!

	Things to make for Mother’s Day Make delightful things to give to Mom (Grandma, Aunt or Teacher) using this really fabulous book. Follow the simple step-by-step instructions and find out how to make pretty cards and gifts that everyone will love, (includes over 200 stickers.) (For ages 4 years and up.)
	Usborne ART ideas: Making Cards This inspiring book is packed full of creative ideas for making cards for all occasions. You can follow the clear, simple step-by-step instructions exactly, or just use the imaginative ideas to create your own cards. (For ages 10 years and up.) Make a Pop-Up Card – Download the instructions from page 20 & 21 of Making Cards.

Painting Doesn't Have to be a Mess! Tips to Keep Painting a Fun and Clean Experience for your Kids and for Yourself.

So many kids do not get to paint at home because the messy paint is too stressful for some moms. Kids LOVE to paint. I feel so bad for kids who tell me, "My mom won't let me paint." Those kids are missing out on such wonderful creative experience.

I leave the paints out on a shelf at kid level for my kids. They can grab the paints any time they wish and paint away. I love the paintings I have on my walls, all painted by my own artists. Creativity flows in this household. How on earth am I not afraid to keep the paints out for my kids to use? I taught them early on about how to paint properly, and how to have fun with it, without making a mess. And people who know me know I am not an anal person. I am not a clean freak. And I certainly don't pressure the kids to be either.

So what can you do to help your kids have a clean - free painting experience? Here are my tips:

1. Put down newspaper or paper on the table or floor. My daughter loves to paint on the floor. I do have a cloth for her to paint on. When she uses her easel, we put the easel on it too.

2. Make sure you have a fresh cup or two of water to put the brushes in to clean them off. Have the kids dab the wet brushes on paper towel to clean off left over color and excess water.

3. Use one color at a time:

a. For younger kids - have them paint with one color. Then let that color dry. Get the next color out. Have that color dry. This way you don't have a bunch of paint out at one time, and by letting each color dry, their painting comes out looking the way they envisioned instead of one giant blob of brown ick.

Put just a dollop of paint on a piece of paper for your child to dip his/her brush into. If they are allowed to dip their brush into the big bottle of paint, they will end up with way too much paint on the brush - hence how big paint messes are created.

b. For older kids - let them put a "little" bit of different colors of paint on a paint palette. A little bit of paint goes a long way. Make sure they clean their brushes as they change colors.

4. Each of my kids has a painting shirt. They use the same shirt every time they paint. This way, mom, you don't have to worry about paint getting on that new shirt you just bought. The kids like their paint shirts too because it shows all the paints and different colors they have used.

5. Wash you paint brushes with soap and water when done. Let them dry before you put them away. If you keep them in a cup, store them with the brush tips facing up.

Happy Painting!

Literacy for a Lifetime - Usborne Books and More/EDCs Matching Grant Program

Literacy for a Lifetime (LFL) is a matching grant program sponsored by Educational Development Corporation (EDC), the parent company of Usborne Books and More. The program is designed to help schools and organizations get more "bang for their buck" when using grant money or money from donations to purchase books.

EDC will match any literacy grant or donation by 50% provided the organization purchases books from Usborne Books and More. This means that if the organization purchases $1,000 in Usborne Books, EDC will kick in an extra $500 in books - which really stretches the amount of the grant or donation money.

All monies received from grants and donations are elegible for LFL. An easy way to determine if it "qualifies" for the matching grant is if the funds are not coming from the regular budget of the organization. PTAs donating money to their school library to purchase books are eligible. Parents donating money to their child's classroom to purchase books are elegible.

There is no grant or donation too small or too large to qualify. All LFL orders are tax-free (as they are tax deductable). All orders over $200 receive free shipping.

If you have a grant or donation to purchase children's books for a school or organization, please contact Kristie Glascock, Educational Supervisor, kristie@usborneactivities.com, for more information on this rewarding program.

Usborne's Jigsaw World Atlas - A Great Way to Teach Your Kids the Continents of the World

As my kids were learning the continents, I used Usborne's Jigsaw Atlas of the World to help them have a "hands on" learning experience with the continents. Each page of the book is a different puzzle for each continent. My kids loved taking the puzzle out and putting it back together again. On each puzzle page is a map of the particular continent you are are studying along with highlights from each continent.

Each continent also has its own search and find game. For Europe kids need to find the Eiffel Tower, flamenco dancers, narwhal whales and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to name a few. It's cute too because the middle puzzle piece is a reflection of the continent it comes from. Africa's center piece is an elephant.

Your kids will remember all the continents and a little bit about each one, because they enjoy working with each page. This also helps them to remember the names of each continent.

This book is great for teachers to use as center work, for home schoolers, and for parents who want to work with their kids. My kids had so much fun with this book. It's almost a shame they are too old for it now, but they sure did get their use out of it.

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PS - As I write this I notice that all the puzzle pages have been put in backwards by someone (I'm sure my son). Too funny.

It's A Mystery to Me . . . Who the Hostess will Be!

Help me celebrate my 3rd Anniversary with Usborne Books!!

The great mystery will be how many of YOU will win tons of FREE and reduced books. The Mystery Hostess could be YOU!

Here's how the party works: Everyone who resides in the United States is invited to attend the online Mystery Party at www.ubah.com/HOS140178. Anyone who places an order at the online party will be eligible for the Mystery Hostess rewards. These rewards include:

Mystery Hostess - Yeah!! Win up to a $100.00 shopping spree!

Hostess Special - Get $25.00 in books for only $5.00!

Hostess Appreciation Gift - Win $20.00 in FREE books!

Bonus Gift - You get ANY one item in the online catalog at 65% off!! That's a HUGE savings!

Starter Kit - Yes! I am offering one lucky person who is interested in their own Usborne Books business a FREE business supply starter kit. You'll get all the supplies you need to get your business started along with your own e-commerce site. You must email me separately that you are interested in being included in this drawing. Email to: kristie@usborneactivities.com *must be a US resident.

Here's to solving the mystery together!

Kristie

New Titles From Usborne Books!

New titles have just arrived in the Usborne Books warehouse and are ready to be shipped to the homes of happy readers! There are some great new titles that I will highlight below for you.

Apollo is such a cute book! It's about a little wiener dog that teaches preschoolers math concepts in a very fun way. There is also Counting With Apollo which obviously teaches kids to count.


Dan's Angel: A Detective's Guide to the Language of Paintings. This is a fantastic book to teach art appreciation to your kids.






My daughter absolutely loves this book! It's clearly above her reading level, but since I have it in my house for my Usborne business, she reads it about 5 times a day. Kids are fascinated with this topic, and
Everyone Poops shows kids just how Everyone Poops!



I've been waiting for the US to get this series from the UK. Lizzie's Wish is part of the Historical House series which charts the life and times of girls who have lived at 6 Chelsea Walk during some of histories most fascinating times. Lizzie's Wish is about Lizzie, who lived during the 1850's at 6 Chelsea Walk. Other books in this series are: Mary and Miss Mozart, 1764; Cecily's Portrait, 1895; Polly's March, 1914; Josie Under Fire, 1941; and Andie's Moon, 1969. For ages 10 and up. Each book includes internet links so readers can learn more about life during the time of the setting of the book.

See Inside Famous Buildings is a great lift-the-flap book that shows kids the inside of some of the world's most famous buildings.






The Story of Science is a wonderful introduction for children to the brilliant brains behind some of the greatest scientific discoveries in history. It includes fascinating facts about black holes, magnets, DNA, diseases, atoms, and x-rays. It also makes complex ideas fun to learn. Includes internet links.




Kids will love the touchy-feely patches in This is My Tractor. Patches show bumpy wheels, shiny paint, and sparkly lights. Kids will also love to press the sound button that makes the tractor go "brrm, brrm!"



These are just a few of Usborne's new titles. You may check out the full list of new titles here.

Happy Reading!