Virtual Book Club for Kids Bobo Books by Jez Alborough

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This month the author chosen for Virtual Book Club for Kids is Jez Alborough. We had not read any of his books but quickly fell in love with the Bobo series as well as the Duck series. Today we are featuring the Bobo series. I thought it would be fun for us to learn more about chimpanzees since they are an animal we do not know much about. But first let me tell you about the Virtual Book Club for Kids.

The Virtual Book Club for Kids is a group of amazing bloggers that have one author chosen for each month and each blogger chooses a book by that author and comes up with an activity or craft to go with the book. Then we host a blog hop which starts the third Monday of the month. We each link up our posts and invite others to link up posts about books by this month's author. The amazing bloggers hosting this book club are:

Toddler Approved - Rainy Day Mum - Adventures in Reading with Kids - 3 Dinosaurs - Royal Baloo - The Educators' Spin On It - Inspiration Laboratories - Pleasantest Thing - Edventures with Kids - Two Big Two Little - Playing With Words 365 - Kitchen Counter Chronicles - Outlaw Mom - Mommy and Me Book Club - Crafty Moms Share - No Twiddle Twaddle - The Good Long Road - Ready. Set. Read 2 Me - Reading Confetti - Mama Smiles - Juggling with Kids- Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas - Creekside Learning - Creative Family Fun - The Usual Mayhem - Teach Preschool - PlayDrMom - CraftoArt - Here Come the Girls - Being a Conscious Parent - Smiling like Sunshine - Crayon Freckles - Train Up a Child - Smile Play Learn - Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - Coffee Cups and Crayons - Having Fun at Chelle's House- Love, Play, Learn - Juggling With Kids - Motherhood on a Dime - Growing Book By Book

- This Reading Mama - Fantastic Fun and Learning

Ok, now onto our books. Bobo is a wonderful little chimpanzee. He is friends with many animals in the jungle but in particular an elephant and a lizard (at least I think it is a lizard, but it could be a frog). Each of these books have very few words. In fact most of the words are just the title repeated over and over. For example in Hug, on every page Bobo sees an animal friend getting a hug from its mommy and he says, "hug" repeatedly. Then he yells it and begins to cry until his Mommy yells, "Bobo" and comes and hugs him. The only words in the book are hug, Bobo and Mommy.



In Yes, Mommy tells Bobo it is time for different parts of the bedtime routine like a bath. Bobo says, "Yes" repeatedly during the bath, but when it is time for bed and Bobo says, "No" repeatedly. Then Mommy says "Bye-bye, Bobo," and Bobo's friends come and to play with him in the water. The lizard splashes Bobo and he says, "No." The lizard says, "Yes." Then they both say no when the elephant runs to the water. Then the three friends enjoy the water together saying yes. Soon Bobo becomes tired and falls asleep. The elephant carries him sleeping with his trunk to his bed in the trees where Mommy is waiting for them.



In Tall, Bobo is feeling small and climbs on a rock to be tall. Then his lizard friend comes and stands up on his hind legs and is taller than Bobo on the rock, so Bobo feels small again. The lizard has Bobo climb onto his shoulders so he can be tall. Then they find a lion cub who is taller so Bobo feels small. The lion cub gives Bobo a ride so he is tall. This continues throughout the book with different animals being taller until he gets on top of the giraffe. He begins to dance on the giraffe's horns and loses his balance. He yells, "Fall" and his Mommy comes running yelling his name and catching him. She carries him home hugging him and he is happy to feel small.

For these books we did a craft by making masks for Bobo and Mommy. For the pattern I went to the Jez Alborough website and went to his How to Draw section. How to draw Bobo is in the club members only section, but to join the club is free, so I joined. I used his steps to draw a pattern.

Dark Brown Pattern Pieces

We cut the pattern pieces out of cardstock scrapbook paper and cut the eyes out to make the masks. Then we colored the mouth, nose and eye brows. We glued them together and left them to dry. After they dried we punched holes and tied on stretchy string.

Light Pattern Pieces

Hazel then modeled both of them for me.

Bobo or Hazel's Mask

Mommy

Hazel loved wearing the masks, but I need to tighten the string on the Mommy mask. I also wanted to teach her more about chimpanzees, so we took some books out of the library.

I discovered that chimpanzees are endangered. I found this very sad especially since they have so many similarities to humans. I also found on Disneynature an educator's guide to go with their Chimpanzee Movie. I have requested the movie from the library, but have not gotten it yet. We had some fun exploring chimpanzees. I printed the lessons intended for the youngest grades in the educator's guide. It started with comparing chimpanzees to human beings. We looked at feet, hands and then took measurements and compared which was longer our legs or our arms. There was also a sheet to identify the emotions the chimpanzee in a picture was displaying on his face. 

They also gave us a map to color in where chimpanzees are found in the wild. Hazel mistakenly colored in an extra country, but we also noticed they are in Kenya which is our country this month for Around the World in 12 Dishes (post will be tomorrow), so it was a nice connection. We also read a short story and chose what animals and plants were in the chimpanzees habitat and finally we looked a food chain with the chimpanzee in it.

So that is our study of chimpanzees which was all inspired by the Bobo series of books. Every time I read one Hazel gets so excited and comments how she loves Bobo. Have you read a Jez Alborough book and done some activity or craft with it? Now is your turn to share. If you don't have one to share you can always check out all the great ideas others share here too.

The Details for the Multicultural Kid blogs Pinterest Scavenger Hunt!!

Are you up for the adventure?

Some of you may know about our Multicultural Kid Blogs group. We have slowly been building our presence on the web, first with a Facebook page, then a subscription to all of our Facebook pages, and now finally our own Twitter and Pinterest accounts. And now, we are officially launching the Multicultural Kid Blogs website, where you can discover our member blogs, learn about our blogging carnivals, find great products and books, and more! To help introduce you to the wonderful blogs that make up this group, we have created a Pinterest Scavenger Hunt, which will run from July 15 to July 28. You will have until July 31 to submit your entry, and the drawing will take place on August 1. You could win one of four fabulous prize packages!

Here's how it works:

Create a Pinterest board specifically for the contest and name the board "Multicultural Kid Blogs Pinterest Scavenger Hunt." Each day a new clue (or two!) will be revealed. Follow the clue to the blog of the day and pin the post described in the clue. (Any image from the post is fine). In the Rafflecopter below, enter the link to the Pinterest board you created for this contest. The Rafflecopter will also have lots of other ways to earn extra entries. The only required entry is the link to your Pinterest board. Please note: You can enter the Rafflecopter at any point during the contest. Obviously your board won't be complete until the end of the contest, but you can enter the link in the Rafflecopter before then. If your name is drawn at the end of the contest, we will check your board at that time. The final clue will be given July 28. Participants will have until midnight Pacific time on July 31 to finalize their boards. The drawing will take place on August 1. Winners must have pinned all of the correct posts to their board. Winners will be notified via email and must respond within 48 hours or another name will be drawn. Good luck, explorers!

Scavenger Hunt Schedule

(Visit the Scavenger Hunt main page for a full list of clues as they are revealed).

July 15

All Done Monkey

Crystal's Tiny Treasures

July 16

The Squishable Baby

July 17

Be Bilingual

July 18

the piri-piri lexicon

MommyMaestra

July 19

Creative World of Varya

Expat Life With a Double Buggy

July 20

Sprout's Bookshelf

Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns

July 21

Open Wide the World

MotherTongues

July 22

MarocMama

Head of the Heard

July 23

For the Love of Spanish

July 24

InCultureParent

July 25

Crafty Moms Share

The Art of Home Education

July 26

The European Mama

Spanish Playground

July 27

Vibrant Wanderings

A Hotchpotch Hijabi in Italy

July 28

Kids Yoga Stories

Final day to enter the contest is July 31, 2013, at midnight PDT. Drawing will take place on August 1, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sharing Saturday 13-27

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I am always so inspired by each post shared. Last week was definitely that way, so if you have not had a chance to check them all out, please do so!! Last week we had a tie for the most clicked.

Disney Princesses Sightings and Peg Dolls

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Disney World Princesses

As you know we went to Disney World in June. Hazel loved meeting all the princesses. There is a McDonalds near our house that has had many of the princesses and I have taken her to see them there, but they only have the white ones since the actress is white. So on her must see list were Jasmine, Pocahontas and Tiana. Of course whenever we saw a chance to meet a character, Hazel wanted to even if she had no clue who the character was. We spent a lot of time waiting in character lines. I think she has now decided the princesses at McDonalds are actresses, but the ones in Disney World are the real ones.

To remember our visits I made Hazel some peg dolls for the princesses. (I still need to make a Merida and hope to make a mermaid Ariel one as well.) I got the idea from Pinterest. Apparently there are many out there and I cannot find the exact pin to give you the source I originally saw. I however played with their hair in different ways.

Now one of my favorite photos of Hazel meeting the princesses is this one of her and Rapunzel. She has just told Rapunzel that she dressed as her for Halloween.

Our count for princess sightings: 

Cinderella we saw 3 times.

Aurora/Sleeping Beauty we saw 3 times.

Belle we saw 2 times.

Ariel we saw 2 times (once in a dress and once as a mermaid).

Jasmine we saw 1 time.

Pocahontas we saw 1 time.

Tiana we saw 1 time.

Merida we saw 1 time (and it was after the heavy downpours so we were soaked).

Rapunzel we saw 1 time.

Snow White we saw 1 time. (Sorry, I cropped out her friend since he was in every picture of Hazel with Snow White.)

We did not see Mulan since we do not know her story and Hazel really has no idea who she is.

Now Hazel knows who the princesses are, but does not know all the stories behind them. She also has not seen many of the Disney movies since she is scared easily. She likes to watch Cinderella and Pocahontas, but that is about it for those movies. I won't let her even try Snow White or Aladdin. I remember seeing Snow White when I was five and I had nightmares for weeks afterward. My mother was not happy with my father for taking me. For Hazel the princesses are about beautiful dresses. She is at the age of loving dresses and the fancier the better. I remember being like that too, so I do not worry about how this will influence her since I know I grew up the same way.

Our Virtual Flat Stanley is in Kenya!

Have you entered my current giveaway yet?

This month we are "traveling" with Around the World in 12 Dishes to Kenya and it seems only appropriate that is where our Flat Stanley is as well this month! This month's Flat Stanley comes from the children of Andrea at Ziezo - Crafting and Living in Kenya. Now in the past we have posted about Kenya. Our first was when Hazel did a post card exchange with Andrea's children. We also posted about Christmas in Kenya for the Christmas Around the World Blog Hop. Then we posted about a wonderful book, A Kenyan Christmas by Aunty Kiko which Andrea was kind enough to send me for my research on Christmas in Kenya. Since we have done a bit about Kenya itself and will do more next Tuesday for our Around the World in 12 Dishes post, I thought we would focus on the Maasai people there.

The Maasai (sometimes spelled Masai or Masaai) are an ethnic group of people in Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are a well known group due to their location near many game parks in Eastern Africa and for their distinctive customs and dress. They are well known for their jewelry.

Source

Although the governments of Kenya and Tanzania have programs to encourage the Maasai to give up their semi-nomadic way of life, they continue their old customs. The speak Maa, but are also educated in English and Swahili (the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania). 

Source

The Maasai are a patriarchal group with the elder males sometimes making decisions for the entire Maasai group. They have a full body of oral law and most disputes are settled with a payment of cattle.  Many Maasai have become Christian and a lesser number Muslim. Their wealth is seen as the number of cattle and children. Their lives center around cattle since it is their main food source. Due to high infant death rates, children are not truly recognized until they are three moons. End of life is non-ceremonial with the Maasai. Bodies are left out for the scavengers. (Source)

Bridal Set of Necklaces (Source)

The Maasai live in a Kraal, which is a hut village or typically a group of huts surrounded by a stockade. (Source) The Maasai's is arranged in a circular fashion and the fence is made out of acacia thorns which keep the lions from attacking the cattle. It is the men's responsibility to build the fence and the women's to build the hut. Traditionally extended family share a Kraal, but with new land management system it is unusual to see a single family in a Kraal. The Inkajijik is the Maasai word for house. They are loaf shaped and made out of mud, sticks, cow dung, cow urine and grass. Women build the house as well as supply the water, collect firewood, milk the cattle, and cook for the family. Warriors are in charge of security while boys are in charge of the livestock care. With the arrival of formal schooling, the livestock care has become a parental responsibility while the boys are in school. 

Livestock is important to the economy of the Maasai. It is their primary source of income. The livestock they have are cattle, sheep and goats. A Maasai prayer is "May Creator give us cattle and children," or "Meishoo iyiook enkai inkishu o-nkera". 

The Maasai diet traditionally consists of meat, milk, and blood from the cattle. People drink blood on special occasions such as a circumcised person, a woman who gave birth or the sick and it is also used for intoxicated or hungover people. More recently the Maasai have become dependent on food produced other places like maize, rice, potatoes and cabbage. Some Maasai who live near crop farmers are forced to farm and use their own products as their main source of food. This is traditionally frowned upon by the Maasai since it is believed that tiling the ground is a crime against nature. (Source)

Source

The Maasai hunt lions. It is a sign of bravery to hunt a lion in the Maasai culture. Due to a decrease in the number of lions though, they now have group lion hunts instead of solo ones. They are hoping to give the lions a chance to increase their numbers again. Since the Maasai believe females are the giver of life in any species they do not hunt the female lions. They also have laws against hunting lions hurt by drought, snared or poisoned.  From the lion they take the mane, tail and claws. The women take the mane and beautifully bead it and give it back to the warrior. When the warrior becomes a junior elder he must through away the lion mane, however first he treat it with respect by sacrificing a sheep and rubbing the mane with a mixture of sheep oil and ochre. (Source)

Warrior Shield for Lion Hunting (Source)

With that we will stop looking at the Maasai. Now you will have to wait until next month to see where Flat Stanley shows up. And if you are interested in hosting Flat Stanley where you live, please check out the information here.

Flat Stanley/Sophia So Far (top 3 are Hazel's)