Children's Book

I have a love for Children's books. I have some that were read to me as a child and others that I have grown to love since I have had my son. We had an enrichment night once where we had a teacher do a class on children's books and what her favorites were. I thought this was such a great lesson because it opened up my world of books to a whole new group of books and it also taught me to broaden my horizons. She talked about books of different cultures and different kinds of stories and themes, different lands, and holidays I had not celebrated. It was really wonderful!

I would also suggest that if you do this kind of activity, that you have people write down their favorite Children's books and pass out the list to everyone so that they can go to their nearest library or book store and start broadening their reading horizons as well!

Here are a few of my faves....

The Story of Ferdinand (I think its also called Ferdinand the Bull) by Munro Leaf
Bertram the Bad
Where the Wild Things Are
Whose Mouse are You?
The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
Santa Mouse
The Velveteen Rabbit
Click Clack Moo. Cows that Type
The Lady with the Alligator Purse (not sure if that is the correct name)

So, tell me what your favorite children's books are....I will try to look up the authors of these books or scour through my bookshelves to find them.

You could even do a book club with a group of children's books just to mix it up a little!

Have fun and read! It does a mind good!

Ideas for Ladies Groups

Here are some ideas for groups that you could create. You don't have to think along the same old lines that have always been done, think outside the box and be creative, you may spark some interest and get a really active group where the sisters can bond and create lasting friendships.

Here are some suggestions--

#1-Adoption & Infertility Support Group-
We had a group like this in our ward because we had some sisters who were dealing with these issues, and generally these issues go hand in hand and many of the sisters involved in the infertility side may be looking into adoption. We had 2 "specialists" in our ward that ran this group, one was knowledgeable on infertility because she had battles with infertility for 6 long years and tried all sorts of medical intervention...3 failed rounds of clomid, 4 failed rounds of mini-injectibles, 5 failed artificial inseminations, and finally were successful with in vitro fertilization. After many years and many dollars...and many many prayers...they were successful! This sister is me. I felt like I have been on a long journey and wanted to share what I had learned because I felt like I had a PhD in infertility. And, to be honest, being LDS means you live among the land of the fertile and home of the preggos! We had another sister in our ward who has infertility issues as well but they went the adoption direction after trying a few infertility rounds. They were successful in their endeavor as well! So, since we were 2 sisters with similar issues and different paths, we offered up our world of knowledge on the subject and created this group. We only met every other month or every quarter, depending on the needs of those in the group, but I think it was a good way for people to share information in what can seem a daunting journey full of many little decisions that always are predecessors of the really BIG decisions.

#2-Healthy Living Group-
This group would get together on Saturday mornings (or whenever their schedules allowed) and they would do meal prep for the week. They would bring the veggies or fruits or whatever and cut it up and get it ready so that their meal time preparation during the week was much quicker and healthy easy meals would get to the table faster. They would also share healthy meal recipes and a fun sisterhood of chopping vegetables and eating healthy.

#3-Gardening-
A gardening group could be a shared or community garden. If you have someone in your area who has a patch of land that they would not mind you digging up, then you could start a group or community garden, where those who help with the upkeep, reap the reward of the shared crop. You can have a rotating schedule for watering and weeding with assigned days and share in the responsibilities and costs of the garden. What a fun way to learn how to garden for the beginning gardener and a great way for an expert to pass down their wealth of knowledge. Plus, the community spirit of helping each other grow your food can change lives and make lasting friendships.

#4-Recipe Exchange-
A recipe exchange group could meet once a month and exchange recipes, and at the exchange, bring a sample of what your recipe is that you are providing. The months would have different themes, like cookies, potatoes, Asian, casserole, cobbler or crumble, jello, chicken, green veggies, desserts made from veggies, appetizers, holiday fare, etc. Whatever the theme is, everyone brings a sample of their dish and copies of their recipe to share. It could just be an hour every month but a fun chance to share recipes and chat with friends over a yummy family favorite.

#5-Book Exchange-
Instead of a book Club, do a book exchange. This could be once a quarter or however often you like, but have people bring one of their favorite books as a gift for someone to leave the party with. This does not have to be expensive, you can always purchase books at half price books, but I think it would be a fun way to see what other people are reading and share the stories that you love with your friends. You could also have a blog for the book exchange members where they could post reviews and discuss the books.

Did I get your creative juices flowing?

Books -The Secret Life of Bees

There is nothing more beautiful than a good book...and this is a GREAT one! Its one of my all time favs. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to! We did this for a book club with my church ladies and it was the largest attended book club we had. It is by Sue Monk Kidd and the title is "The Secret Life of Bees". A little warning for you....there are a few curse words...but not many and it builds the character of one of the people in the book...and you really start to loathe him for it. You will learn a lot about bees and a lot about life. And you will grown to love so many of these characters like they are your oldest friends.