Can you visualize one million? A Million Dots by Andrew Clements helps us do that.

Sometimes when we hear a number like 3 million, etc. it’s hard to really grasp that number. But, even as an adult, I feel like this book has helped me comprehend just how large one million is. I would recommend this picture book to any age.

 

The book actually shows a total of one million dots. There is a running total of the one million dots as the dots help make the pictures on each page. There are also fun facts about numbers on each page. For example, “There are 525,600 minutes from one birthday to the next one.”

 

If you’d like, here’s an activity to go along with this book:

Have the kids draw one hundred of something on a piece of paper. Ask them “how many hundreds are in one million?” Hint: The answer is 10,000. So they’d have to create 10,000 hundreds to make one million. Kind of mind boggling!

I hope you get the chance to read this book. It would be a fun read aloud for an elementary class for a math connection!

~ Carrie

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One favorite fall activity in many elementary classrooms is estimating how many seeds are inside of a pumpkin and counting the seeds. We’ve done it many times over the years and it’s always a fun day for the kids.

Have you ever used mini pumpkins for this kind of activity? I actually prefer using mini pumpkins because there are less seeds to count, especially for younger kids.

There is also less of a mess to clean up with mini pumpkins, which I appreciate. Also, having the kids put the seeds into piles of ten will make counting them easier. Whether you use regular pumpkins or mini pumpkins, I’m sure this will be a memorable activity for your class.

In case you’re interested, I have printables for sale in my TPT store to go along with this activity:

Happy fall, everyone!
~ Carrie

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Have you heard about the term “reducetarian”? It’s someone who strategically reduces the amount of meat they eat. That is, of course, not always easy to do in our meat-hungry culture. I grew up on a farm, so meat has always been a big part of my meals.

But, I’ve actually been reducing the amount of meat I consume over the past ten years. Now there’s finally a catchy term for it. And this book is giving me even more motivation to keep trying to make eating less meat part of my routine. Eating this way is healthier and better for the earth as well. The number of resources required to produce meat is astounding.

A few ways to reduce the amount of meat in your diet:

• When dining out, always check for vegetarian items on menus first
• Find a peanut butter you like for an easy peanut butter sandwich lunch
• Make soups and salads where meat can add some flavor

And, if you’d like to read more, this book is full of essays surrounding the reducetarian concept. The essays, written by many different people, focus on three different areas: your mind, body, and the planet. Have you heard of the term “reducetarian” yet? What do you think of the concept?

~Carrie

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Are you looking for a way to make it easier for your child to do more reading in the summer? Here is one technique I use every so often to help my kids get excited about reading. I call it “Operation Books Along The Wall”.

Without saying anything to the kids, I pick five or six books and display them along the wall. Then I wait to see what happens. Sometimes the books suck my kids in and sometimes they don’t. I figure it’s worth a try. This sometimes reminds them about books they’ve forgotten about or it may help them discover a new book.

I mentioned this as a summer activity, but it’s actually great any time of the year. Have you done something like “Operation Books Along The Wall” before to help motivate your child? Do you have a good spot in your home for this?

~Carrie

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We need to reverse global warming ASAP.

Luckily, there are leaders like Rob Hogg, author of America’s Climate Century, who are helping to bring more attention to this crucial issue.

I think the title is accurate. This is the century humans need to make reversing global warming the priority. With America being one of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels, we need to be leaders on this.

The author, Rob Hogg, is one of my state senators here in Iowa. The book gives some local spin on how global warming is affecting Iowans. But, I think it’s a great book for anyone, anywhere to read. It includes recommendations applicable to anywhere.

One of the examples from the book that really stuck in my mind was the comparison of reducing the amount we drive versus what we’d save by shutting down more coal-fired plants.

As the book states, “Not driving for 40 years would be equivalent to shutting down a single coal-burning power plant for only 26 minutes.” To me, that just shows the need for public policy changes toward renewables. Individuals can make a big difference, but we need politicians and companies on board as well.

This 120-page guide covers everything from moving beyond fossil fuels to politics and climate. I’d highly recommend you add it to your reading list.

~Carrie

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