Make Your Own Worksheets

Okay, so you found a book that your child loves. They want to have you read it over and over again.

Now what? You can do arts and crafts that go with the story, bake cookies in the shape of the main characters, but what if you want to go further? What can you do?

Here's one idea I used during 'Zebee's Summer Zoo Camp' this summer. I created fun word sheet puzzles.

How can I do that, I'm not an artist?

Here are two different ways you can creat your own word puzzles like mine.

1. Start with picking the word you want to use, ie antelope or snake and deciding which type of word puzzle you want to create.

2. Find clip art online. I found mine by doing searches like this:

"public domain clip art of apples"

Up popped a bunch of pictures and I chose the one I liked best.

OR

you can look through magazines and cut out pictures that will work with your puzzle.

3. Now you can print out your pictures and glue them onto a piece of paper or you can open a word document and create one like my Antelope one.

OR

you can print them out, glue them onto a piece of paper and write the names of each under the pictures.

If you want to do one like my snake one, open a spreadsheet to creat your puzzle part. Then pop that into a word document, add your pictures and you're done.

OR

you can print them out, glue them onto a piece of paper and then hand draw your word puzzle.

Have fun creating these fun word puzzles. Want to share them? Just send me a copy and I'll post them here.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Zebee's Summer Zoo Camp Wrap-up

I'm sad to say that my eight week summer camp is officially over. I'm keeping the pages live for a while so if you missed out on any of them, feel free to pop over and check them out.

We had lots of fun and learned all kinds of things about:

Meerkat Mania - have fun learning about these adorable creatures

Leaping Lizards - chameleons and iguanas take center stage

Virtuous Vultures - king and egyptian vultures come from opposite sides of the world and really are very interesting creatures

Facinating Frogs - poison dart frogs and African bullfrogs, some of the smallest and biggest frogs with some very strange behaviors

Observant Okapis - are they related to giraffes or zebras?

Playful Penguins - from Antarctica to South Africa, penguins thrive

Slithery Snakes - corn snakes are much loved and king cobras are among the most feared

Amazing Antelope - gerenuks have a unique habit and kudus are strikingly beautiful antelope

I had lots of fun putting on this camp and from the response from the children signed up I think they did too.

Will I do it again next year? I think so, but only for 4 weeks. Eight weeks in retrospect was a bit long.

In the mean time, I've decided to continue with a monthly newsletter featuring a different zoo animal in each one with other goodies as well. Want to sing up? Just go to my home page and there is a box to sign up for "Zebee's Zoo Zine" and join in on the fun.

Next Monday I'll be back with another book that goes beyond reading.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Great Crafting Sites for Kids and the Young at Heart

Over the summer I've been hosting 'Zebee's Summer Zoo Camp' over at Laughing Zebra - Books for Children. I've done lots of interent hunting for crafts to go with each week.

I kept coming back to a few crafts sites and want to make notice of them here. I owe the creators of these sites a big THANK YOU for all their wonderful ideas I've shares with children this summer.

DLTK - full of wonderful ideas to keep your children entertained for hours.

First School - great preschool activities and crafts.

Free Kids Crafts - more cool crafts.

These should get you started on fun times with your kids when they are bored and are looking for arts and crafts to do.

Have fun! See you back here Friday.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Story Starters for Children

Does your child like to write short stories?

OR

Do you wish your child liked to write short stories? Either way, have some fun with these story starter ideas.

(Use them as a spring board to get your creative juices flowing.)

When I looked outside on that gloomy, rainy day, suddenly the rain changed from water to cats and dogs!

Without warning there was a loud roar shook the ground.

As the twister came closer, we could see cars and cows swirling around and around going up and up. . .

The peaceful morning sun shining on the river made it sparkle like a million diamonds. Ripples slowly started coming across the river.

See what you and your children can come up with. Be sure to share them here. I'll post them in an upcoming post.

* * * * *
Looking for some fun arts and crafts for your kids to do? Check out zoo camp. This week is all about okapis.

Getting Excited and Learning Something New

Today I just want to share.

Over at Laughing Zebra – Books for Children this summer I'm hosting a virtual summer zoo camp. Many of you may have popped in to check it out. Thanks.

What I'm excited about is that I'm learning so much about the animals I'm highlighting. I'm also learning more amd more about how to do research on the internet. Honestly, I don't know how I lived without this wonderful tool for most of my life. The wealth of information out there is amazing. That's not to say there's not a lot of garbage out there too. You have to sift through it all to find the pearls you are looking for.

I use Google, Wikipedia, National Geographic Kids, and Discovery channel/Animal Planet to name a few of the big sites for basic information and videos. I also check out and all kinds of kid friendly activity sites to locate arts and crafts ideas and coloring pages.

So, how do you research something? Do you pop into a search engine in the comfort of your home? Or do you run down to the library? Or both?

Oh, and if you haven't stopped in to the zoo camp yet, check it out now and let me know what you think.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Book of the Week: The Wuffle by Wave Walton

Today’s book takes you on a journey into the world of a wuffle. What’s a wuffle? In the words of the story:

“Now, the Wuffle is hard to describe. It’s sort of a small, but fat, and round little creature with little, scrawny legs almost like those of a frog. He’s real fuzzy with big, beady eyes. He is quite funny looking really.”

Because the wuffle thinks he’s funny looking, he hides from the animals in the forest when he goes out for a drink down at the river. Until one day when one of the animals discovers him…

Wave Walton has created a story that children can relate to when they feel like they’re different and have no friends. This book let’s us see how unique each one of us is and how that’s a good thing. Ian Crittenden’s illustrations help you feel just what the wuffle is feeling.

So, how is this book taken beyond reading? Wave has had the book translated into Chinese and published an English / simplified Chinese version. Over at his website, he has his book either available or soon to be available in Russian and Hindi with more to come.
In the future, Wave plans on having coloring pages and more to go along with his book, “The Wuffle.”

Where can you buy it?



Be sure to check out Zebee’s blog tomorrow. He’ll be posting the artwork from our “Leaping Lizard” week at zoo camp. Also, check out this week’s “Virtuous Vultures” and learn about king vultures and Egyptian vultures.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Zebee's Summer Zoo Camp is Open!

Are you looking for something fun and educational for your children this summer? Then may I suggest our virtual summer camp? It's free, online, interactive and full of fun things to learn and do.

This week's we are all about meerkats. Learn basic facts and fun facts, watch a video, do a jigsaw puzzle, write a poem and have fun with arts and crafts.

Here's the schedule for the eight week camp:

July 6-10 Meerkat Mania

July 13-17 Leaping Lizards

July 20-24 Virtuous Vultures

July 27-31 Fascinating Frogs

August 3-7 Observant Okapis

August 10-14 Playful Penguins

August 17-21 Slithery Snakes

August 24-28 Amazing Antelope

If you haven't signed up yet, that's okay. To sign up just go to our Zoo Camp page. There is no charge and you might just win one of our 5 prizes.

Join in the fun! It's going to be a great time.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Book of the Week: The Little Man in the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi

Today I have a real treat for you. E. Andrew Martonyi has written a book that delights and teaches at the same time. You will learn all about the 50 states, where they are in the country and lots more. Here is the trailer to give you a sneak peek.



“The Little Man in the Map” is a clever rhyming story. Meet MIM, the Man in the Map. Have fun with him as he walks you through all 50 states with simple ways to remember where they are in relation to each other.

Ed Olson did a superb job illustrating the map of the United States. With his artwork and Andrew’s rhymes you can’t help but learn US geography.

This is a wonderful book for schools and homes to have on their bookshelves. Children and adults alike will learn something new from “The Little Man in the Map.”

Lets’ see how E. Andrew Martonyi takes his book beyond reading. At the end of the story there are two pages with maps of the USA. The first has each state as it was depicted in the story to help you put the country all together the way you just learned it. The second map is a blank map of the USA and as the little man in the map says; “A blank map of the USA Plus your imagination Are all you need to learn the states – All fifty in our nation.” Here you can practice what you’ve just learned from reading the book.

In addition, over at School Side Press there are a few more things to enhance your experience. There are two coloring pages from the book (free) and a wall map you can purchase and put up on your wall.

What’s next for E. Andrew Martonyi? He’s teamed up again with MIM to teach the State Capitals.

Where can you purchase this great book?
Schoolside Press

Be sure to visit Zebee tomorrow as he’ll be talking about “Zebee’s Summer Zoo Camp” that starts today. If you haven’t signed your children up yet, it’s not too late. Hop over to our zoo camp page to sign up. This is the first week and it’s all about Meerkat Mania.

I’ll see you back here Wednesday with more ideas on making learning fun.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

Book of the Week: My Friends at the Zoo by Richard Paniello illustrated by Vicky Knoll

Today’s book is an adorable story about a little girl’s day at the zoo. Her romp with the animals is sure to grab any child’s imagination. She makes the peacock a fancy hat, swims with the otters and skips rope with the elephants. Her adventures continue all day long with many more animals in the zoo.

Richard Paniello really has a way with rhyming in a very vivid way. Along with Vicky Knoll’s illustrations you are that little girl enjoying yourself at the zoo.

Reading “My Friends at the Zoo” will make you put on your sneakers and head for your local zoo.

So what does Richard do to take his book beyond reading? Besides whetting your imagination, he has an activities page over at his web site. There you’ll find coloring pages and links to other great kid sites.

Where you can purchase:
Three Peas in a Pod Publishing
The Denver Zoo
Poor Richard’s Bookstore, Parker, CO
Spradlin Printing, Parker, CO
Amazon link

Before I end today's post, just a reminder. Zebee's Summer Zoo Camp starts up next week. Pop over to my zoo camp page and sign up for a chance to win one of our five prizes and join in all the fun. Week one is Meerkat Mania.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog

What’s Going on This Summer at Laughing Zebra - Books for Children?

Today I have a very exciting announcement. We at Laughing Zebra-Books for Children are going to have a virtual summer camp for all children world wide. The activities will be geared towards children between 4 and 8, but anyone can join in the fun.

Our camp’s name is “Zebee’s Summer Zoo Camp” and will be all about zoo animals. Zebee is our company mascot and he loves to talk to people. He’ll be talking about the camp happenings over at his blog, “Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa” every Tuesday.

What exactly is a virtual summer camp? Good question. We will be posting on our Zoo Camp page each week all the information, games, crafts and other fun stuff for that week’s animal. You can send your pictures and comments there and we’ll post them there and over with Zebee on Tuesdays.

There will also be 5 prize packages given away. All the information on how to enter to win is listed on the Zoo Camp page. You can sign up there as well.

Parents, this will be a fun thing for your children to get involved in this summer. It’s free and will keep them entertained while they learn a few things. If you have friends with children between the ages of 4 and 8, tell them about it too. Thank you for helping to spread the word.

posted by Joy Delgado
We go Beyond Reading
Laughing Zebra – Books for Children
Check out what’s going on at the zoo!
Zooprise Party / Fiesta Zoorpresa blog