children’s books

The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum – Oh THE Place Your Kids Want To Go!

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In case you haven’t heard, about a month ago, the Springfield Museums in Massachusetts (about 2 hours west of Boston) added a new museum, The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss, the first and only museum dedicated to Dr. Seuss. Alia and I had a blast there, and we’re here to share the highlights of our visit.

Oh a quick FYI, I haven’t read many Dr. Seuss books to Alia so she has very little clue of the characters or the stories. After yesterday’s visit, she only remembers the Cat in the Hat :p. But that didn’t not stop her from having SO MUCH FUN! 

The museum is part of the Springfield Museums, so the admission fee of $25 for adults and $13 for kids age 3-17 will allow you access to all of their 5 museums (George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield Science Museum, Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, and the Dr. Seuss Museum and Sculpture Garden). What an awesome deal?! They give you a bracelet after you purchase the admission tickets and you are free to roam around to all museums as your please. The museum parking is free, and on street parking is fairly easy to find. 

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I’d recommend this museum to families with kids age 2-6 based on the kinds of activities that they have. There were a good number of teenage children too. I think because the museum is very colorful and filled with memorable quotes from Dr. Seuss books, there’s much to do and most importantly it makes everyone happy, no matter the age.  

It is recommended that you purchase the admission tickets in advance (with no additional fee) as the Dr. Seuss Museum gets crowded. You’re expected to enter the museum at the stated time, and you can stay for as long as you like. Our tickets were for 2 P.M. so we visited the science museum and the sculpture garden first.

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10 Favorite Children’s Books about Ramadan

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This year Ramadan month begins on the evening of May 26. Ramadan is the holiest month of the year where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset (no food, no liquid during the day). Fasting is done to build self control and to remember God and His blessings. During Ramadan, it is highly encourage to give back and perform many good deeds. 

Ramadan is a very special month for me. This is my 13th year celebrating Ramadan away from my family who lives in Indonesia. During this month, I miss home more than usual as I am reminded how lovely and blissful it is to fast with many people that you love. This year I am starting a new tradition with my little family to fill our home with the joy of Ramadan. The first one is to add books about Ramadan and Islam into our home library. My daughter is almost 3 and she loves books. Even though she is not obligated to fast yet (like many children), I would like her to be a part of this special month. By the way, the second is a “30 Days of Good Deeds” Ramadan Calendar. And the third one has to do with delicious food! 🙂 (Posts on these will be up asap)

I’m sharing 10 favorite books on Ramadan and Islam. I hope you and your family enjoy them as much as we do and learn more about Ramadan and the religion of Islam. 

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Books that explains Ramadan: Night of the Moon (realistic fiction) and Celebrate Ramadan and Eid al Fitr (non fiction)

Books suitable for preschool age children: Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors, My First Ramadan, Amal’s Ramadan, and Amal’s Eid. 

Books about children fasting in a non-predominantly Muslim country: A Party in Ramadan and Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story (these books help illustrate the feelings and experiences that a child may go through when fasting at school and having to explain to those who are unfamiliar with Ramadan). 

Folktales and poems: Nabeel’s New Pants: An Eid Tale and Muslim Child.

If you have other books that you and your family love, please let me know! 

 

Learn through Play with Baby Alia 0-6 months old

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I was recently asked by a friend who’s expecting his first baby whether we got any sleep when Alia was a newborn. My quick answer was: We’re still not really sleeping :p And we miss sleeping in on weekends heheh… So when you have a newborn, feeding the baby and getting enough sleep are the main priorities of many parents. While I was on leave for the first 6 months of being Alia’s mom, I missed teaching my students. So in between nursing and taking some catnaps, I decided to be Alia’s very first teacher! 😀 

Here’s a glimpse of our lives then… Feel free to ask me any questions about the activities or materials that we used. 😀 

Water play: our very first messy play

Alia has always liked bath time so I thought she’d like to play with water in some other way. So I created a super mini and shallow pool for her.

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