Friday, February 27, 2015

Story Themed Lunches

My friend Beth, Beth Winfield Photography, took some beautiful photos of snowflakes.
I showed them to Boogs and he was fascinated with them. These photos reminded me that I have never read Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin to Boogs. It was one of my favorite books to share in the winter with my third grade classes. Luckily, our local library had a copy for us to read. Of course, I had to make Boogs a story themed lunch to go with the book.
Snowflake Bentley is a biography picture book about Wilson Bentley's lifelong passion for photographing snowflakes and other things in nature. When Willie was a child, he loved looking at snowflakes with his microscope. He drew hundreds of pictures of the snowflakes he saw with his microscope. Not very many people could understand his passion for snow. When he was 17, in 1881, his mother and father spent their savings to buy a camera with its own microscope for Willie. It took several years for Willie to take successful pictures of snowflakes. Neighbors laughed at what Willie was doing, but that did not deter him. Willie took thousands of pictures of snowflakes throughout his lifetime. Many universities bought his photos, artist and designers were inspired by the photos. A memorial plaque in his hometown reads: For fifty years Wilson A. Bentley, a simple farmer, developed his technique of microphotography to reveal to the world the grandeur and mystery of the snowflake - its universal hexagonal shape and its infinite number of lovely designs. Bentley changed the world with his idea to photograph snowflakes.

In the ELB (new Urban color) lunchbox: ham & cheese snowflake sandwich, Pringles, cheese snowflakes, yogurt covered pretzel snowflakes, strawberry snowflakes, yogurt, and snowflake radish, carrots, and cauliflower in the salad.

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada

I love this book. I saw it at my school library and knew it would pair perfectly with Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. It explores what to do with an idea that might seem strange at first, or that other people may make fun of. While reading this book to Boogs, we frequently stopped and compared what the boy in this story thought of his idea and how Snowflake Bentley treated his idea of wanting to photograph the exquisite beauty of snowflakes. People thought Bentley's idea was strange and a waste of time, but he did not let that deter him from his idea. The boy in the idea book felt happier when his idea was around. He decided to give it attention, nurture it, become friends with it, and help it grow. His idea helped him to think differently, to think big, and to dream big. I loved the last page in this book: "And then, I realized what you do with an idea... You change the world." What a powerful message!

In the Laptop Lunchbox: boiled egg idea with cheese crown, sausage-n-pancake little boy (Boogs wanted breakfast for lunch so I worked with what I had), yogurt covered pretzel clouds, yogurt, spinach, tomato, broccoli, strawberries, and blueberries.


We are loving our new ELB Urban colors. This lunch has the new brown lid.
Grilled cheese sandwich, macadamia nuts, Chex Mix, blueberries, kiwi, yellow pepper, tomato, radish, 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.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Bike Riding & Other Stuff

Boogs has always resisted bike riding, letting us know he was perfectly fine just riding his scooter. He has had three bikes, one we bought and two were hand-me-downs from a friend as her son outgrew each of his bikes. He did not want to ride them with or without training wheels. Last week, Boogs decided he wanted to ride his bike and asked if Daddy would help his take off the training wheels and adjust the seat.

Boogs got on his bike and rode it down the street for the first time without training wheels.
He did great. Daddy rode beside him on a scooter. Boogs' bike was a little small.
We went bike shopping and bought a new bike that fit Boogs better. He loved it.
We spent the next couple of hours riding bikes until it started sprinkling.
Since then, Boogs has been riding his bike every day. I seriously did not think he would ever ride a bike.
Uh-oh, now Daddy is talking about getting motorcross bikes for some adventurous family fun. It will definitely be a while before we are ready for that.

Boogs' class had a Valentine's party last week. The mom in charge of the party, set up Minute To Win It type games for the kids to do. It was hilarious!
 They had to move a candy heart onto a design by sucking the candy on the end of a straw.
They had to stack and balance candy hearts on the end of a popsicle stick.
They had to move a cookie down their faces without using their hands.
Boogs got the cookie all the way down to the side of his mouth before it fell on the floor. It was a fun party.
 At home, Boogs and I spent some time playing with his Keva wooden planks.
We also had fun stacking up cups. I kept taking Boogs' things and trapping them in a fortress of cups. He had to remove the objects without destroying the cups. Then, he decided to build his own fortress. He asked me what I prized the most so he could trap it in the cups. I said that I prized him the most. So, he trapped himself in the cups.
 Boogs stacked four layers before the cup fortress started to fall down.
I love spending time with this goofy little boy.

Monday, February 16, 2015

New EasyLunchBoxes Colors

Today, Boogs' story themed lunch was based on the book EllRay Jakes Is A Rock Star! by Sally Warner.
EllRay wants to be popular at school. When his Dad is out of town, EllRay goes into his Dad's study and borrows several crystals to take to school. EllRay accidentally ends up giving away the crystals so his classmates will like him more. He does not understand how he ended up making such a mess. When his Dad finds out, EllRay has only two days to get all the crystals back or his Dad will go up to school. EllRay tries his best to get the crystals back but some of his "friends" will only give them back if EllRay does something else for them. Soon, EllRay finds himself going into the girl's bathroom, buying flowers for a girl on Valentine's Day, buying candy bars for another classmate, and making a Lego castle for a fishbowl. EllRay learned that giving things away, especially things that don't belong to you, is not the way to make friends or become popular. Boogs is enjoying the series of EllRay Jakes books. This is the second book in the series. As soon as Boogs finished this book, he started the next one.

In the ELB lunchbox: EllRay almond butter & jelly sandwich, candied sunflower seed crystals, cheese stars, Goldfish crackers, geode pistachios, dried apricot & blueberry crystals, and salad with radish & yellow pepper crystals. I used the new olive colored EasyLunchboxes lid because EllRay's problems began when he was green with envy and the beginning of the story.



I have loved using EasyLunchBoxes for the past several years. The three compartments make is so easy to pack and portion food for my son's lunch. EasyLunchBoxes just came out with their Urban colored lids.
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sr_1_2_acs_h_1i_3027257011&node=3027257011?ie=UTF8&qid=1424120864&sr=8-2-acs
Look at those great new colors - grey, brown, olive, and charcoal!
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sr_1_2_acs_h_1i_3027257011&node=3027257011?ie=UTF8&qid=1424120864&sr=8-2-acs

We now have all three sets - Urban, Brights, and Classic. I use these containers almost every day for Boogs and often take them for my own lunch. You can purchase them HERE.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Valentine Lunch

Story-themed lunch for Valentine's Day

Pierre In Love by Sara Pennypacker
Boogs' middle name is Pierre. I saw this book at my school library and knew I had to bring it home to read with him. Pierre is a fisherman who thinks he is not good enough to tell Catherine about his feelings for her. Catherine is an elegant dance teacher and artist who thinks Pierre is a dashing adventurer. By the end of the story, they each get the courage to proclaim their feelings. Boogs and I enjoyed this sweet story.

In the ELB lunchbox: salad with carrot & radish hearts, strawberries, mini ham & cheese Catherine sandwich, almond butter & jelly heart sandwich with cheese letters, and olives.


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.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Catching Up - Lunches

Boogs is in 3rd Grade this year and is not as interested in fancy lunches as he has been in the past. He is adamantly against buying the school lunch, so I still make his lunch every day. I make fairly boring lunches with an occasional fancy lunch thrown in. Here is a catch up of some of his recent(ish) lunches.

Beauty and the Beaks: A Turkey's Cautionary Tale by Mary Jane and Herm Auch
I made this lunch during Thanksgiving week. It has been a long time since I posted lunches. This was a cute book about Beauty and her friends working together to save Lance from being the star of the farmer's Thanksgiving meal. Beauty gives Lance a complete makeover to disguise him from the farmer. Boogs thought this was a cute story. In the ELB lunchbox: ham & cheese Lance in a dress sandwich, veggie turkey, yogurt, and blackberries.

Tang Soo Do lunch
I made this lunch for Boogs the day before he had his orange belt testing in Tang Soo Do. I used the Fred and Friends Ninjabread Cookie Cutters for the pb&j and ham & cheese ninjas, there are radish ninja stars on top of the salad along with extra ham & cheese, and a fruit cup.

The Sherlock Files: The 100-Year-Old Secret by Tracy Barrett
Boogs has always liked mystery stories. I found this book at my school's used book sale and brought it home. Boogs read it to me over a couple of weeks. It tells the story of how Zena and Xander Holmes discover they are the great-great-great grandchildren of  Sherlock Holmes. The siblings receive Sherlock Holmes' unsolved casebook and then try to solve the difficult mystery of a missing painting.  Boogs enjoyed trying to use the clues in the book to solve the case alongside Zena and Xander. This book is the first book in a series and we have already bought the next three books in the series.  In the Laptop Lunchbox: Sherlock Holmes casebook turkey & cheese sandwich, Chex Mix, raisins, yogurt, mango, and salad.


The Trolls by Polly Horvath
Aunt Sally arrives to babysit Melissa, Amanda, and Frank while their parents take a trip. Aunt Sally is an unusual person who tells very unusual stories about her family. The children are intrigued by her tales and wonder if they are true. Did they really have a great uncle who came to visit for three days and stayed for seven years? Did their dad really sit around and chew on sticks in the evening for extra fiber when he was a boy? Were there really trolls on the island where their Aunt Sally and their father lived? Boogs enjoyed reading this story. In the ELB lunchbox: grilled cheese sandwich with cheese Aunt Sally munching on a green bean mustache, blackberries, and salad.

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
This is another book I bought at the used book sale. Jared, Simon, and Mallory move into a large, falling down old house with their mother. Strange things happen in the house. Jared finds an old book, a handmade field guide to all the magical faeires that truly exist in the world. The children use the book to figure out how to stop a boggart from pulling awful tricks on them. In the ELB lunchbox: cheese Thimbletack on salami sandwich, yogurt covered raisins, almonds, broccoli, tomatoes, kiwi, and strawberries.

Junkyard by Mike Austin
I got the adorable CuteZCute Robo Bread Bento Sandwich Stamping Cutter set and had to find a book to pair with it for a story themed lunch. Here is a photo from the Amazon description of the set. It is a fun set to play with.

 This book was too young for Boogs. He would have loved it a few years ago. It tells the story of two robots who munch and crunch through all of the junk in the junkyard. They are able to clean up so well, they can turn the area into a park. In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j robot sandwich, almond spare parts, oyster cracker nuts, cheese stick bolts, broccoli trees for the new park, and berries.

Most of Boogs' lunches look like the ones shown below. They don't really have a theme, just food thrown in a box. I use Applegate Farms and Boar's Head lunchmeats in Boogs' lunches.

Alexandra from Lunch With Eyeness was very kind to send Boogs this Garfield box. The box was originally sold with an assortment of jams and jellies inside. Boogs was super excited to receive it and insisted that I send his lunch to school in it the very next day. He did not care that lunch in the box was not Garfield themed. This was a thrown together lunch of Italian salami, cheese stick, okra chips, tomatoes, an orange, and a Zbar.
 

In the ELB lunchbox: pear, carrots, tomatoes, cheese, hard salami, Hawaiian roll, and almonds.

In the ELB lunchbox: orange, green bean & carrot chips, macadamia nuts, ham, crackers, dried apricot, Babybel cheese, and graham cracker cookie letters.

This was a quick DIY lunchable in an ELB lunchbox: cheese, crackers, salami, cashews, blueberries, salad, and yogurt.

In the Laptop Lunchbox: yogurt, mango, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, yogurt covered pretzels, Goldfish crackers, and almond butter & jelly snowflake sandwich.


I used the square Funbites cutting tool to make teeny, tiny, mini ham & cheese sandwiches with orange slices, broccoli, cauliflower, Goldfish crackers, okra chips, and pistachios packed in an ELB lunchbox.

You can find ELB lunchboxes and Laptop Lunchboxes for sale on Amazon HERE and HERE.

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.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Tang Soo Do

Boogs is really enjoying the Tang Soo Do class he started in August. He tested for and received his orange belt.

I loved reading the essay Boogs wrote for his belt testing:

What Does Tang Soo Do Mean To Me

     I like learning Tang Soo Do. Tang Soo Do teaches me discipline, self-defense, new skills, and having fun while working on my body. I want to keep doing Tang Soo Do and someday get my black belt.
     Discipline is important because it can help me be a better person in society.  Self-defense is important in case somebody attacks me and I could defend myself. Tang Soo Do is like a fun workout. I don’t feel like complaining when I do it.
     I feel pride that I have gotten this far in Tang Soo Do. I want to pass my orange belt test so I can learn more new skills. Tang Soo Do is the best and I am glad I am learning it. Tang Soo!


The day of belt testing was very long. We did not realize we would be there for 5 hours. Boogs was a trooper and waited patiently for his turn to do his forms and answer questions from the Dans.

 Boogs was very proud to receive his new orange belt.
 This past weekend, Boogs entered his first Tang Soo Do competition.
 He had a little bit of trouble remembering all of the steps to the form he showed the judges.
 He was disappointed in his low scores. We talked about the importance of diligent practice and he wants to be better prepared before his next competition.
 Boogs really looks forward to sparring in his Tang Soo Do classes. He was very excited about sparring in the competition this past Saturday. Boogs is in the dark blue helmet.
 Boogs did a great job of blocking his opponents hits and kicks.
 Boogs was controlled and aggressive on the hits and kicks he delivered to his opponent.
 It was exciting to watch him.
 Look at that proud smile on Boogs face for winning a 1st place sparring medal for the Orange Belts.
 After his competition, he was telling Daddy about his best blocks and hits.
 Boogs definitely wants to keep practicing Tang Soo Do.