Lunches March 24th - 28th

Boogs' lunches are usually inspired by the books we read together. Story time is part of our daily bedtime routine. Boogs reads to me and then I read to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks. We like to pack our lunches in ELBs and Laptop Lunchboxes.  

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie and  re-told by Disney Studios

Our public library has a wonderful collection of books-on-tape. (I still call them that even though they are cds.) Boogs and I rarely listen to music in the car, we listen to stories. We listened to the original Peter Pan story by J.M. Barrie in the car during the last couple of weeks then watched the Disney movie. We had a great discussion on the similarities and differences between the two versions of the story. Boogs said, "I liked the book version better even if it had a little more violence in it. The book has so many more details and parts to the story so I know more about it. I think we should probably always read the book before seeing the movies so we can know the whole story." 

In the ELB lunchbox: Peter Pan drawn on cheese on top of a salami & cheese sandwich, salami hook, dried apricot Tinkerbell glowing behind a spinach leaf, Chex Mix, pineapple, salad, and yogurt.

Dr. Roach's Monstrous Stories: Night of the Zombie Goldfish

This book is one in a series of easy-to-read books that Boogs asked to buy a couple of months ago. He re-read the four books in the series Saturday morning before I woke up. He asked if I could make a lunch featuring the Zombie Goldfish. In the story, Judd loves to work on experiments in the garage. Unfortunately, one of his experiments resulted in zombie goldfish wandering through town. With the help of his friend, Zak, Judd was able to make an antidote and return his pet fish to normal.

In the ELB lunchbox: cheddar cheese Zombie Goldfish with candy eyes/mouth, pistachio fish food, bubbling purple water blackberries, and celery sticks with cream cheese.


No Room For Napoleon by Adria Meserve

Napoleon is a small dog with big ideas. He found an island while exploring in his boat. Napoleon decided the island looked like paradise. Bear, Crab, and Bunny already lived on the island but they welcomed Napoleon and invited him to stay. The new friends wanted to help Napoleon build a home of his own on the island. Pretty soon, Napoleon's big ideas and bossy ways took over the entire island and made his new friends leave.  Eventually, Napoleon realized how he hurt his friends. He then tried to make it right with them. Boogs had a lot to say about the theme of this book. He told me about a bossy friend who is sometimes hard to play with because he always wants his own way. We discussed how to talk to his friend about how that kind of attitude made Boogs feel.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: Napoleon drawn on provolone cheese on top of grilled ham & cheese sandwich, marshmallow pebbles, crackers, orange sun, broccoli trees, and salad dressing.

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni

Boogs brought this book home for reading homework. I remember reading it in elementary school.  The family that lives in Alexander's house love a wind-up toy mouse but they chase Alexander away with brooms. Alexander discovers that if he can find a magic pebble he can make a wish. He searches for the pebble so he can become a beloved toy like the wind-up mouse. Before he is able to get his wish, he finds the wind-up mouse tossed out in the garbage. He was replaced by new toys. Alexander acts quickly to use his wish to save the wind-up toy. Boogs told me he thought the moral of this story is, "Be happy that you are who you are." He also told me, "The wind-up mouse and other old toys should have been given away to littler kids or Goodwill instead of just being thrown away." I love the discussions Boogs and I have after our bedtime reading each night. I learn so much about the way he thinks by listening to his responses and connections to the books we read.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: boiled egg wind-up mouse, pb&j lizard who can grant wishes sandwich, raisins with purple fruit snack wish pebble, Chex Mix, and berries.


How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning by Rosalyn Schanzer

This picture book biography of Benjamin Franklin is packed with information about Franklin's life as a scientist and inventor. On the first two-page spread there is a cartoon drawing Franklin made showing the colonies as segments of a snake with the words "Join, or Die". Boogs looked at it and said, "Oh I have seen that before! Did you know it was the first cartoon drawing of a discombobulated snake." Wow! I asked what he meant by that and he told me the snake in the picture is confused and probably frustrated that it can't get connected all together. Anyway... the main focus of the book was explaining ways Benjamin Franklin changed lives for the better. The lightning rod was a big factor in reducing the number of house fires in his time. Franklin also started the first lending library in America. He invented bifocals, an odometer, the first clock with a second hand, a musical instrument called the glass armonica, and many other things. Boogs was fascinated with all the things Franklin accomplished.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: cheese quesadilla Ben Franklin, turkey meatball glass armonica, pita chip library books, cheese lightning with tortilla key, pistachio seeds for farmers using his almanac, radish fire hat, carrot stick lightning rods, salad with cochineal tomato used for red dye, and "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". 

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by. 

Active Weekend!

It has been a couple of years since my last Warrior Dash but I was happy to run this race again this past weekend. Warrior Dash is a 5K race with obstacles throughout the race. Click HERE to see pics/videos of the obstacles on Warrior Dash's website.

My friend D was not feeling all that great. She was having a bit of difficulty breathing due to allergies. So, I stayed with her during the race. We mostly walked it and only jogged a little. It was still fun. It reminded me of playing at my Grandma Love's house when I was growing up. Grandma Love lived way out in the county so we had plenty of time to crawl under barbed wire, slosh through mud, climb trees, try to maneuver a wheel barrow through close together pine trees, climb in and out of deer stands, crawl through brush, etc. I love that the Warrior Dash race brings back so many good childhood memories.

The last obstacle is always a crawl through mud pits. Usually, there are water tanks available to rinse off the mud. Unfortunately, there was no water this time. We used towels to rub off as much caked on mud as possible. It felt like a long ride home. D and I stopped at a little place to eat on the way home. We used their restroom to wash the mud off of our faces but it was still splattered in our hair and all over the rest of us.


Boogs had his first ever soccer practice and soccer game this past weekend. He said he had a great time.

 He started out as goalie but really wanted to be in on the action.

 The weather started out sunny but colder as he played. At half-time, I made sure to put long pants and a long sleeved shirt on Boogs in an attempt to stop his shivering.

 There was no score keeping at the game. Both teams made a couple of goals.

Boogs is already looking forward to next weekend's game. He also said he is waiting to turn 14 (more than 6 years from now) so he can run the Warrior Dash with me.

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Lunches January 6th - 10th

Boogs' lunches are usually inspired by the books we read together. Story time is part of our daily bedtime routine. Boogs reads to me and then I read to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks. We like to pack our lunches in ELBs and Laptop Lunchboxes.  

The Dog Who Cried Wolf by Keiko Kasza

Boogs enjoys Keiko Kasza's books. Her illustrations are absolutely adorable and the character's faces are very expressive. In this story, Moka listened to his owner read a story about wolves who run free, hunt, and howl at the moon. Moka thought about his life as a family dog and decided he wanted to be as wild and free as a wolf. He ran away from home to begin his great wolf adventure. Being a wolf was not as wonderful as he expected. Moka became homesick, hungry, and scared. He soon realized that home was the perfect place for him.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: Moka toast howling at the cheese moon on top of a pb&j sandwich, dried apricot, tomatoes, spinach, and grapes.


Remembering Universal/Disney Trip Lunch

Boogs and I were talking about his favorite memories of 2013. He said he would always remember the trip we took to Disney World and Universal Studios in December. He helped me plan a lunch based on our trip. In the ELB lunchbox: red&black pick in salami in honor of the Spiderman ride, Wheat Thin Snowflake Crackers for the snow on Main Street during the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, cheese stick with Minion fact for Boogs' favorite ride - Minion Mayhem, spinach tortellini for The Hulk rollercoaster, and kiwi to match the color of Shrek's skin.


The Notebook of Doom: Rise of the Balloon Goons by Troy Cummings

Boogs decided during the holidays that he likes reading. Finally!!! It has been such a struggle to get him to read anything on his own that was not required reading for school. He has always loved to be read to and listen to books on tape/CD. The holidays have been over for a week and he is still wanting to read as an independent leisure activity. Yay! I hope his new found joy in reading continues to grow. This book was kind of the beginning of his attitude change towards reading. Cutesy, our Christmas elf, gave Boogs this book as a going away present on Christmas morning. It is part of a new category of books, called Branches, offered by Scholastic. The Branches books are chapter books that bridge the gap between leveled readers and traditional chapter books. Boogs loves them!
In Rise of the Balloon Goons, Alexander moves to a creepy new town. He finds a notebook filled with details about monsters. Then, Alexander notices balloon men moving threateningly through town. Alexander is able to overcome the balloon goons with luck, quick thinking, and help from a few friends.

In the ELB lunchbox: balloon goons drawn on almond butter & jelly sandwich (Boogs made sure I knew that this goon was not accurate, all of the balloon goons have two eyes), balloon goon cheese stick, balloon goon carrots in hummus, and blueberries.


 Just a lunch

Boogs specifically asked for these items for his lunch. In the ELB lunchbox: grilled ham & cheese sandwich, baby spinach leaves with Italian dressing, and applesauce. They are "just a lunch", no cuteness added. :-)


The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

I uploaded the photos from my camera and came across this picture of a lunch I sent to school with Boogs before the Christmas break. This is a really great story about giving someone the benefit of kindness because you never know what someone else's struggles are in life. Jonathan Toomey, known around town as Gloomy, is the best woodcarver in the valley. He is always gruff, grouchy, and sad. A newcomer to town hires Mr. Toomey to carve a set of figures for her Christmas creche to replace the one's that have been lost. The widow's 7-yr-old son is allowed to watch Mr. Toomey carve the figures as long as he stays quiet. The boy interrupts Mr. Toomey's work to tell him how he is carving each thing incorrectly. The boys remembers his figures as happy sheep, a proud cow, important angel, smiling baby Jesus, loving Mary. Mr. Toomey has suffered great loss in his life but the boy's genuine interest and the widow's kindness slowly begin to change Mr. Toomey's heart. It is a beautiful story.

In the ELB lunchbox: ham & cheese sandwich with carved bird cutout, carved cheese angel, Wheat Thin bell cracker for the town bell Mr. Toomey always grumbled about, broccoli, carrots, & tomatoes for carving tools, and mango.


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

This Week's Lunches

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read together. Each night before bed, I read a book or a chapter of a book to Boogs and he reads a book to me. I usually post lunches once a week. To see previous lunches, click the "lunches" label at the end of this post. Boogs' lunches are packed in Easy Lunch Boxes (ELBs) and Laptop Lunchboxes.

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing

 

(Oops, forgot to put the book in the lunch photo) We read this book the night before St. Patrick's Day. Tim and Maureen set traps all over their room in hopes of catching a leprechaun.  They dreamed of getting their hands on a big pot of gold. One of their traps worked! They caught a leprechaun. He was very sneaky and tricked the kids out of their pot of gold. The text of this story is written in the same format at The Night Before Christmas.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: ham & cheese rainbow sandwich, chocolate gold coin, pot of gold dried apricots, homemade spinach tortilla clover chips, Zbar, strawberries, grapes, blackberries, and salad.

Bento Bloggers & Friends have a fun St. Patrick's Day lunch linky HERE.

An Anaconda Ate My Homework! by Alice Schertle

Boogs and I had so much fun with this book. Digby has an amazingly well-stocked backpack. At the end of the school day he adds 11 pages of homework to his backpack and then sets off on his journey home. Unfortunately, a series of events sidetrack him along his way - grabbed by a Raptor, chased by crocodiles, swallowed by an anaconda, thrown around by a gorilla, stalked by a tiger, and rescued by an elephant. Digby's backpack supplies helped him escape each of these trying situations.

I asked Boogs what kind of events would happen to him if he wrote this type of story about losing his homework. Boogs came up with a pretty good chain of disastrous events: tornado carried him to Africa, got hot air balloon to fly home, hot air balloon popped over the Atlantic Ocean, used hot air balloon basket as a boat, sandbags on basket pulled it under water, basket fell apart, used basket pieces to make a raft, floated back to Texas, met a coyote in the woods who ate his homework. Boogs said he would still make it home but his homework would not.

In the ELB lunchbox: spinach tortilla snake circled around mini pb&j homework sheet sandwiches, nest of olive raptors, celery with cream cheese crocodiles, tomato balloons, and strawberries.

National Geographic Kids

Boogs has a subscription to National Geographic Kids (Thanks, Grandmaman!). He looks forward to getting his magazine in the mail every month. The March issue has a story about the twin pandas who were born in Georgia's Zoo Atlanta in July, 2013. Boogs enjoyed reading this article. It discussed the pandas' first 100 days of life.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: pb&j panda sandwiches using the CuteZcute Cutter, crackers, dried apricot, raisins, yogurt, salad with radish panda twins, and applesauce.

 Badger's Fancy Meal by Keiko Kasza

Keiko Kasza has written several sweet stories with beautiful illustrations. This book tells the story of a hungry badger in search of a fancy meal. Badger is tired of eating apples, worms, and root vegetables. He goes in search of a fancier meal. He crosses paths with a mole, a rat, and a rabbit and imagines the meals he can make with them - mole taco with hot spicy salsa, rat burger smothered in cheese sauce, and a rabbit-banana split covered with hot fudge. Poor badger just misses catching each of these meals. The clever ending in this story made Boogs smile.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: mole taco with tomatoes & cheese head surrounded by the rest of the cheese stick, almond butter & jelly rabbit sandwich, Nutella ice cream sandwich balls, banana, cherries, carrots, yogurt, ranch dressing & salsa in small containers. I made the little taco shell by cutting a circle out of a corn tortilla, brushing on a little oil, heating in microwave for 15 seconds to soften it, then draping the tortilla over a bar on the rack in my toaster oven at 375 degrees for five minutes. For a quick tutorial on how to make sandwich balls, click HERE to go to Biting the Hand That Feeds You's instructional post.



Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon

Jangles is the biggest and oldest fish in the lake. He got his name because of all the fish hooks jangling from his jaws. No one can capture this cunning fish. One day, a boy went fishing on the lake. His boat drifted to the deepest part of the lake. He hooked Jangles on his line. Jangles pulled that boy right out of his boat and down into the water to his home. Jangles told the boy stories about himself and then took the boy back up to his boat. The boy was able to capture Jangles but his heart would not let him keep him.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: almond butter & jelly Jangles sandwich, Goldfish crackers, pistachio lures, Zbar underwater home, salad, and cottage cheese.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Spring Break 2014

Wow! I can't believe Spring Break is already over. We stayed close to home this year and had a pretty quiet break. We had friends over, went to a couple of parks, went to friends' houses, visited the rodeo, went to the library, did a little bit of crafting, played games, read books, and mostly lazed around.

Boogs invited a friend to go with us to Rodeo Austin. The actual rodeo events (barrel racing, bull riding, steer roping, etc) are held in the evening. We went in the morning to visit the fairgrounds, petting pens, pig races, and carnival. We all had a great time.

 The highlight of the pig races was the pooping pig keychains the boys got. Ewwwww!

 Those pigs sure could run fast!

 Boogs was nervous at the top of the slide but all smiles when he finished it.

 Boogs and his friend went through the Monkey Maze at least 6 times.

They had to do the bumper cars a few times, too.

 The Surf Shack Fun House was another big hit. Boogs and his friend went through it at least 10 times.

They also really liked the Tornado ride and rode it over and over again. It was well worth buying the wrist bands instead of paying with tokens for each ride.

After we left the rodeo, we met Boogs' friend's family at the Arboretum for Amy's Ice Cream and some outdoor play in the sunshine.

It has been a good week. With Spring Break over, we will have to begin our countdown to the end of the school year.

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Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar.

Lunches March 3rd - 7th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read together. Each night before bed, I read a book or a chapter of a book to Boogs and he reads a book to me. I usually post lunches once a week. To see previous lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post. Boogs lunches are packed in Easy Lunch Boxes (ELBs) and Laptop Lunchboxes.

Lester's Dreadful Sweater by K.G. Campbell

This is a Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee book. Boogs and I laughed all the way through it at the outrageously dreadful sweaters poor Lester is forced to wear. When Cousin Clara came to stay, she brought her knitting needles with her. Cousin Clara made Lester a sweater. It was awful! It had holes in the wrong places, mismatched sleeve lengths, and purple pom poms all over it. Lester's parents made him wear it to school. Lester made sure the sweater was "accidentally" destroyed before he could wear it again. No problem, Cousin Clara simply made him a new horrible sweater, and another, and another to replace each sweater Lester damaged. Boogs and I loved seeing the many ways Lester was able to "accidentally" damage those sweaters. Cousin Clara was such a speedy knitter that she made a mountain of sweaters for Lester. In a delightful ending, clowns saved Lester from the horrible mound of sweaters and from Cousin Clara.

Sweaters of all sorts are in the ELB lunchbox: radish sweaters on spinach, mango & strawberry sweaters, salami and cheese sweaters, and sesame stick knitting needles. Boogs also had a yogurt.


Testing Miss Malarkey by Judy Finchler

Oh, those dreadful school days of standardized state testing for the kids. Ugh! I was not very fond (what an understatement) of testing days during the nine years I taught 3rd grade. Judy Finchler captured a peek into the insanity that teachers feel during the days leading up to and the actual days of standardized state tests. Boogs has benchmark tests three times a year at school. Next year, he will be a third grader and will become acquainted with the "joys" of standardized state testing. In the book, every teacher is getting ready for "THE TEST". The teachers tell their students not to worry about the I.P.T.U (I pity you) test, but the teachers start acting weird weeks before the test. The normally nice teachers and school staff seem frantic, anxious, and crazed. Normal classroom instruction stops so preparation for the test can begin. Recess is no longer held outside. Instead, the kids have to stay inside and play things like Multiplication Mambo. Art class assignments involve coloring perfectly inside small circles. Gym class becomes a place to practice Yoga and other relaxation techniques. Even the cafeteria is changed in preparation for the test. It now only serves fish because it is brain food. The illustrations in this book are wonderful. Boogs thought it was pretty funny and it gave us a chance to discuss standardized tests.

In the Laptop lunchbox: Miss Marlarkey ham & cheese sandwich, pita chip testing papers, Goldfish Crackers for brain food, carrot stick #2 pencils in hummus, mango, blackberries, and strawberries.


Lego Lunch

We finally made it to the theater to see The Lego Movie. Boogs has been waiting for a day when the three of us could go to see it as a family. We all enjoyed the movie. Boogs has had a Lego Magazine subscription since 2011. He looks forward to receiving it every month. He even had a Lego birthday party when he turned six. (You can see it HERE.) I had to make a Lego lunch this week after seeing the movie.

In the ELB lunchbox: cheese Emmett on top of ham & cheese sandwich, dried papaya "piece de resistance", Lego candy pieces, kiwi & mango Lego pieces, spinach, broccoli, carrot Kragles, radish Lego head, and tomatoes.


We Love You, Ms. Pinkerville! by Naomi Carlson

Boogs brought this home for reading homework. Ms. Pinkerville makes school exciting with her quirky and odd ways of teaching. Her students love her, except for the way Ms. P's sings in a horribly off-key voice. Ms. P thinks her singing is so great that she goes on a television singing contest. Ms. P lost the contest and realized she was not a very good singer. She became so sad that she lost all of her fun, quirky and odd ways of doing things. Luckily, her students had a plan to bring back Ms. P's joy. Boogs enjoyed reading this little book. 

In the Laptop lunchbox: Babybel Ms. P, almond butter & jelly cat sandwich, "la la la" mini marshmallows, raisins, Pirate's Booty, salami, carrots with hummus, kiwi, and grapes.


Tumbleweed Tom on the Texas Trail 

Texas Independence Day occurred this week. Books and I looked for a couple of books about Texas facts, history, and state symbols. This book shows Tumbleweed Tom's journey across Texas. As Tom travels from city to city he tells a little history about each city and describes the types of plants, animals, and events that are in each area. Boogs has been studying Texas state symbols in school. He had a great time locating those symbols in this book.

In the ELB lunchbox: pb&j Texas sandwich, coastal Goldfish Crackers, grapes grown in the hill country on cowboy/boot picks, kiwi, Chex Mix tumbleweed, and broccoli.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Dr. Seuss' Birthday Lunches

 March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' Birthday. When I was teaching in a regular classroom, we always had a Seuss Celebration Day. Now, I celebrate Seuss with Boogs by making Seuss inspired lunches. My bento making friends in the Bento Bloggers & Friends group always come up with amazing lunches to go with favorite Dr. Seuss books. Be sure to take a peek at them HERE and HERE! I have one new Dr. Seuss lunch this year.

Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss

Yertle, King of the turtles, wanted to rule over all he could see. He decided he must get higher so he could see and rule over more territory. He commanded the turtles in his pond to climb on each others backs to make a tower for him to sit upon. The poor turtles in the tower were aching and hungry. But King Yertle insisted they stack themselves higher and higher. Yertle was determined to be the highest thing around, higher even than the moon. But one little turtle who had had enough, simply walked away from the stack. Foolish Yertle's plans were ruined. Boogs' lunch is filled with things Yertle thought he ruled over.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: ham & cheese Yertle sandwich, blueberry bush, broccoli trees, radish butterfly, cheese cat, Goldfish Cracker fish, fruit snacks, and a cheese moon that always remained higher than Yertle.

Here are some of my Dr. Seuss lunches from the past. Click on the title to view the original posts:

Green Eggs & Ham


Horton Hatches the Egg


Hop On Pop


One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish


Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book (this lunch is from last week)


McElligot's Pool 


The Cat in the Hat


Gertrude McFuzz


Bartholomew and the Oobleck

There are still many wonderful Dr. Seuss books that I have yet to make lunches out of. Boogs still likes to read his Dr. Seuss books so we will probably see a few more lunches before he outgrows them. For now, he has a Dr. Seuss All About Me Journal that he is still excited to fill out. I picked it up at Micheal's a while back.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.