Seuss-inspired Daisy Gear

You've read 'Green Eggs and Ham' and 'The Cat in the Hat', but can you name another even rarer than that?

We are certainly BIG fans of Dr. Seuss in this household,

but we share a special fondness for this little-known work written by Theodor Seuss Geisel: 

Daisy-Head Mayzie was written by Dr. Seuss in the 1960s, yet it was published posthumously. It was made into an animated special for Hanna Barbera cartoons back in 1995, and as I just discovered on Wikipedia, is being made into a Disney/Pixar film in 3D. Wow!

So, how would you like to be just like Mayzie and have your very own daisy sprouting up from your noggin?

It's simple! Gather a sheet of white poster board, some yellow cardstock, a green foam sheet, popsicle sticks, and white daisy-shaped die cuts. (I used a set of daisy paper coasters from the Martha Stewart collection.) Other necessary tools: scissors, scallop paper punch, packing tape, double sided tape, tacky glue, exacto knife, stapler.

1. Start by cutting bands from the narrow end of the poster board, close to 2" tall. This band should be wide enough to encircle the head of any child.

2. Use the scallop punch to cut two yellow card stock centers of the daisy, one for each side of the daisy. Use a thin strip of packing tape to attach the popsicle stick to the daisy base, then use double-sided tape to adhere the centers, with one center covering the top of the popsicle stick.

3. Cut a leaf shape for each daisy from the green foam. Use the exacto knife to cut a slit in the widest part of the leaf. Slide the leaf onto the popsicle.

4. Put a few drops of tacky glue at the base of the popsicle stick and press onto the poster board band. Reinforce with packing tape.

5. When all the daisy "stems" are attached to the bands, the bands can be sized and stapled around the heads of the children you are going to read Daisy-Head Mayzie to. Take a photo of their happy faces, then send it to me!

I hope you have an opportuny to pick up your favorite Dr. Seuss book and participate in Read Across America Day on March 2nd.

Snowcation (Day Five)

Yes, folks. We have made it to the end of the school week, effectively without sending the children to school. If you remember I reported we had five inches of snow Sunday night into Monday. Apparently according to my friend Christy, there is a standard ratio in Georgia that one inch of snow is equal to one day off from school. Or as I heard a Weather Channel meteorolgist report, "Five million people, five plows. You do the math." So yes, we were at home once again. Or were we?

NO! We broke free from our house arrest and we ventured out into the wild white yonder. No problems to speak of, except for a few shady areas where sunlight hadn't had a chance to fully melt away the ice pack.

The girls and I went out for lunch (Mmmmm, yummy burritos at Moe's) and then went on the hunt for more Rainbow Fairies books. My oldest just can't get enough of them, and I figure if she hasn't been in school all week but keeps pleasantly busy reading to herself, then I will do my part to keep her happy.

So with today's addition, 'Juliet the Valentine Fairy', that brings the count up to 10 that the girls own. The girls not only love to hear the stories and act out their own vignettes, they have also decided that the black and white illustrations inside the books are too mundane, so they have begun coloring the pages of the chapter books, too. That's a lot of mileage out of a paperback for $4.99 (or 75 cents if you're lucky enough to score one at a consignment store!).

What are you going to do with all those shells?

Design custom mermaids of course! Add a few gems, pearls, pipe cleaners (?) and paint strokes and you'll have a few fine maids of the sea.

M wanted to draw her own mermaid. Then she was so pleased with her first design, she replicated a second one to bring in for her art teacher. Check out the mini corkscrew shell earrings!

B let me design and cut out her first one (the largest version at top), then she took a stab at her own, more diminutive mermaid.

When the creating is complete, your little mermaids or mermen may enjoy a reading of Mermaids on Parade by Melanie Hope Greenberg. It's a story about a young girl in Brooklyn who joins the annual Coney Island parade to mark the beginning of summer. I'm still holding on to the last rays of summer sun before fall takes a stronghold.

A Spoonful of Sugar

Yes, I know that song is from "Mary Poppins", but it seemed to aptly fit tonight's family activity: watching the 1971 version of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory".

A few months back, we read the chapter book of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl to the girls. They were on edge while Charlie and his impoverished family were on the brink of starving, they were ecstatic when Charlie found the last Golden Ticket, and they were filled with wonder of the fantasy-filled rooms in the mysterious Wonka Chocolate Factory.

I am delighted to share with you that the girls were equally captivated by the movie. I was impressed that even several months after we had read them the novel, they recalled so many details. B told us that they didn't show the room where 'the square candies look round' , and M noticed that they didn't have the room where the squirrels sorted the good nuts from the bad nuts. (FYI: Wikipedia has a long list of other rooms that are mentioned in the book, but which were not visited by Charlie and the other guests.)

On occasion, the girls do ask for popcorn when they have friends over to watch a movie. But since we're not a family that has regular movie nights, they didn't even ask for popcorn tonight. Instead, to 'sweeten' their movie experience, just when Willy Wonka opens the doors to the chocolate room, I treated the family to a scrumdidilyumptious selection of confections. (Am I beginning to sound like Willy Wonka himself?)

While searching for a few pictures to add to this post, I also learned a cool tidbit about Roald Dahl's inspiration for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. According to Wikipedia, the story's origin was based on the feuding of the top two British chocolate companies during Dahl's schooldays. Cadbury would often send test packages to schoolchildren in exchange for their opinions on new products. At that time (around the 1920s) Cadbury and Rowntree's often tried to steal trade secrets by sending spies into the other's factory, posing as employees. Because of this, both companies became highly protective of their chocolate making processes. It was a combination of this secrecy and the elaborate, often gigantic, machines in the factory that inspired Dahl to write the story.

My two aren't about to steal any secret recipes from the big players in the world of chocolate making. But they are willing to sample their wares at every possible opportunity. Hope you enjoy a sweet moment with your family.

Bonjour Butterflies...

You'll never guess who went to a 'Fancy Nancy' party this weekend.

They were all decked out with sunglasses, tulle skirts, pink boas and gloves, and the birthday girls' mom even laid down a red carpet for them to strut their stuff.

I think even Fancy Nancy would agree that they looked tres chic, non?

Wet Snow = Indoor Time

A new (half) blanket of the white stuff came to Georgia again today. It stuck on the grass, rooftops, and parked cars, but not much else.


There were several hours of rain before the snow arrived, so even the snow that accumulated was too wet to play in. My two little ones are a bit under the weather anyway, so we took advantage of our time indoors and read some of our favorite snow-themed books.

Snow, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
A quick read and appeals to anyone with a deep, nostalgic appreciation of snow (it spans a generation of snow-appreciating rabbits):
The Snowflake Sisters, by J. Patrick Lewis
Twin sister snowflakes, Crystal and Ivory, take in the sights of New York City. The poetry in this book has an unusal flow - in a good way - and by that, I mean if your book stash is heavy on Dr. Seuss material, you will enjoy it.



Snowballs, by Lois Ehlert
The most creative parts make up this snowman - pieces from nature, fabric/cloth from different parts of the world, and other recycled materials.

Then for lunch, I made the girls a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup. Did I say make? Uh, between you, me and Mr. Campbell...

I have one child who is fond of soup (well, at least the carrots and 'doodles') and the other, not so much. So I always try to provide a little selection of accoutrements that they can dunk or crunch on along side their soup. Today we had biscuits, crackers and pretzels on hand, but I often offer toast triangles, croutons or Goldfish.

Maybe your kids would enjoy corn chips, bagel rounds, itty bitty pita triangles or Shirley Temple's favorite - animal crackers. Another must: be sure to add an ice cube or two so they can stir their soup to their preferred temperature.