Taking A Walk Through Beverly Cleary's Neighborhood

If there was one character I could relate to as a child--it was Ramona Quimby. Oh, I liked Nancy Drew well enough--but she was too smart. And those Ingalls girls? They were a little too well-behaved if you ask me. But Ramona? She was a disaster. A hilarious mess on two feet. Just the kind of girl I would have loved to stand next to in the lunch line.

Little did I know that when I moved to Portland, I'd be living in "Ramona's" hometown. Beverly Cleary, creator of Ramona, was raised in Oregon and set her fictional stories in the real-life town of Portland.

Huh! Awesomesauce.

I've been reliving my childhood by reading a handful of the books to my kids, so "Ramona," "Henry," and "Ribsy" are familiar names to us all. Recently, our local library has been hosting a walking tour of the neighborhood--which is designed to connect the stories from Beverly Cleary's books to the sites around town.

I naturally assumed that you'd want to go on the happy little tour with me--or at least vicariously through the pictures I post on this blog. So let's get walking.

1. The Library. Though it is no longer a library, this retro-looking building is still being used as a bakery. But back in the day, it was the place where Beverly Cleary would walk to pick up some books.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Beverly Cleary's childhood home. The structure of this house is quintessential Portland, which makes it all the more delightful. It's roughly a five-minute walk down the street from the old library.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   "Hancock" is the name of the street, but Cleary chose "Klickitat" (which is nearby) as a more kid-friendly name of a street for Ramona to live on.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Our guide was Laura Foster, who has written a few books that describe walking tours in and around the Portland area. Laura was just what you'd want from a tour guide--informative, well-spoken, and passionate about the topic at hand.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   (Do you see me there in the top-right corner of that photo? Hey everybody!)
   
   
   
   
   
3. Neighborhood schools. Both of the following two schools were ones that Beverly Cleary attended, and therefore are weaved into the stories of Ramona and her friends.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   (Obviously, the schools weren't named "Beverly Cleary" until much later.)
   
   
   
   
4. Grant Park. One of my favorite stories of Beverly Cleary's is when Henry Huggins has to work to dig up a thousand or so night crawlers to be able to buy his friend a new football. Grant Park was the setting for that story.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Inside the park, statues of Henry, Ribsy, and Ramona have been erected to honor the writings of Beverly Cleary:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Come to find out, the "football thrown through an open window in a passing car" is based on a true story--something that happened right outside Beverly Cleary's other childhood home. Speaking of, we did see that second house--but by that time in the tour my photographer was walking on fumes.
   
   
   

Hope y'all enjoyed the walking tour around the Beverly Cleary neighborhood. Make sure to give out a shout if you are a Ramona fan too! Or you can simply tell me I'm a Mary Ingalls Hater and leave it at that.

 Subscribe to this blog's feed and follow me on twitter!

6 Ways To Study Greece And The Olympics Without Nodding Off

You know how some people are history buffs? Well, I am a history bluff. I totally faked my way through every single history class--memorizing answers just for the tests.

Graduated with honors, people!

And then it came time to teach history to my kids.

UGH.

I'm not sure who called my bluff first--me or the kids. But it hasn't been pretty. For three years we've plodded through books reading about every god and sod and bod that there is. And that made me only 0.0024% smarter. Fabulous.

So this year we're not gonna just read about history, we're gonna LIVE SOME OF IT OUT!

Fortunately, we can skip past the Civil War Era seeing as we already reenact that EVERY. DAY. OF. THE. WEEK.

But the Olympics--they're fun. And so is Ancient Greece. Mm-hmm.

What follows is a rather lengthy description of the history party that we put on. Maybe there's something in here that will help you learn a bit of history too.

6 Ways to Study Greece and the Olympics Without Nodding Off

1. Play the games of the pentathlon

(vocabulary--penta "five" athlon "contest")  (physical education)

• Hurling the discus :: Spin around and throw a frisbee
• Throwing the javelin :: Throw chopsticks or sticks
• Jumping :: Run and jump a long distance
• Racing :: Run as individuals
• Wrestling :: Wrestle with the arms
  
  

2. Make victory wreaths to wear

(arts and crafts)  (history)

• Supplies needed
• Fake (or real!) greenery that looks vaguely like olive leaves, roughly two feet per child
• Wire cutters (or garden scissors, if using real greens)
• Masking tape

• Instructions
• Measure the greenery around each child's head, making sure to leave about five inches of overlap
• Cut the strand of greenery with wire cutters, or bend the strand back and forth several times to break it
• Use masking tape to secure the two ends together

•  Notes
• The only place I could find strands of greenery was at the Wal Marts. And what they had made my kids look more like living room decor than Olympic champions. Nevertheless. It was memorable. And that's the point, right?
• To add depth, talk about why the wreaths were significant. 

3. Make medals to wear

(arts and crafts)  (history)  (language arts)

• Supplies needed
• Cardboard circles
• Aluminum foil
• Colored paper, cut in circles to match the cardboard (one per person, plus extra)
• Yarn
• Scissors, hole punch, glue stick, pencils

• Instructions
• Wrap aluminum foil around each cardboard circle
• Have the kids write their names on the colored paper
• Then have the kids write their names using the Greek alphabet, giving them a template to work from
• Once the kids are happy with the way their names look, have them glue the circle of paper to the foil-covered cardboard
• Punch a hole in the top of the medal and string some yarn through so the child can wear it around her neck

• Notes
• Have a short lesson on the Greek alphabet, tying it into other things the kids already know
• A shortcut to this craft would be to leave out the cardboard and foil. But I liked that these two things made the craft look more like a medal.

4. Study Ancient Greece and the history of the Olympics

(history)  (reading skills)  (handwriting)  (math)

• Read segments of any of the following books:
• Story of the Olympics
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Greece!: 40 Hands-On Activities to Experience This Wondrous Age
• Adventures in Ancient Greece
• If I Were a Kid in Ancient Greece: Children of the Ancient World

• Look online at the following sites:
• Enchanted Learning
• Library Point
• History for Kids
• Olympic Games Homepage

• Have the kids (neatly!) write the following sentence: "The very first Olympics were held in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece."
  
  
• Using an Olympic timeline, have the kids estimate how many years the ancient and modern Olympic events have been taking place. Also discuss the meaning of "Olympiad" and figure out the dates for the next Olympics to come.

5. Learn about modern Greece
(geography)  (world cultures) 

• Find and color Greece on a map
  
  
• Color the flag of Greece
  
  
• Sample Greek foods: grapes, olives, figs, pita bread and hummus
  
  

6. Experience the modern Olympics
(geography)  (world cultures)  (history)  (critical thinking)  (music)

• Color a picture of the Olympic flag
• Discuss the meaning behind the rings
• Decorate cupcakes with M&Ms in the style of the rings (blue, yellow, black, green, red)

• Watch recent Olympic events, comparing and contrasting the ancient and modern games
• Discus: Mens finals, 2008, Beijing 
• Javelin: Mens, 2004, Athens 
• Jumping: Carl Lewis, long jump, 1984, Los Angeles 
• Running: Michael Johnson, 400m, 2006 Atlanta 
• Wrestling: US Wrestling team, 1992, Barcelona

• Listen to the Olympic theme music

I did that whole list of things, with six kids (age seven and under, five of them boys) in approximately three hours. And I lived to tell the tale.

Feel free to add your own ideas--or to link up to any other Greek or Olympic-themed sites you are aware of.

Subscribe to this blog's feed and follow me on twitter!

Books I'm Hogging From The Library: The September 12, 2009 Edition

We've reached the time of year where it's perfect to sit outside for a bit with a book. Here is what I've been reading.

Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir :: Kudos to Susan Isaacs for writing a "God book" that didn't gag me with a Precious Moments figurine. Instead, it had God speaking in the voice of "snark," which was refreshing, entertaining, and a treat for my sarcastic side. But beyond the laughs it was thought-provoking and encouraging too. All that from some snark! Imagine!

Out and About with Kids: Portland: The Ultimate Family Guide for Fun and Learning :: This is the mother of all guidebooks for planning fun and educational trips for kids in the Portland area. I've been using it to search for field trips for our upcoming school year.

Ants in Their Pants: Teaching Children Who Must Move to Learn :: Lately, my seven-year-old will sit on the office chair and spin in circles the whole time he's spelling his words for me. I've tried, oh I've tried, getting him to "sit down and be still." I eventually gave up, especially since he spells the words correctly while he spins, paces or rolls around.

The Daddy Shift: How Stay-at-Home Dads, Breadwinning Moms, and Shared Parenting Are Transforming the American Family :: In my ideal world and long-term plan, I'd have a weekday to LEAVE THE HOUSE "work," while Hubs stayed home to teach the kids. I don't know how to make that happen but I'm hoping this book has all the answers. And an envelope loaded with money.

Reading anything worthwhile these days?

Slow Cooked Cube Steaks With Gravy

Cube steak makes for a cheap meal, and when cooked in a crock pot, makes for a cheap meal you'd actually eat. I categorize this recipe as "slop in a pot," because it really is as easy as dumping a few things in the pot and setting the cooker to "on."

To make the meal even easier, I also wash and dice some potatoes (leaving the peel on--lazy! plus more vitamins! and dirt!), throw them in a separate crock pot, cover with water, and cook for the same time and temp as the steak. Then when supper rolls around, I simply mash the cooked potatoes and top with the meat and gravy.

Slow Cooked Cube Steaks With Gravy

6 whole cube steaks, frozen
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 large onion, sliced and separated into rings
3 cups water, divided
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1 envelope mushroom gravy mix (or another packet of brown gravy mix)
1 envelope onion gravy mix (or another packet of brown gravy mix)
Mashed potatoes, cooked noodles or rice

Place all six steaks in a slow cooker and sprinkle with a little flour. Top with the onion slices and 2 cups water. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, HIGH for 4 hours, or until meat is tender. In a bowl, whisk together gravy mixes with remaining 1 cup of water. Add to slow cooker; cook 30 minutes longer. Serve over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice. 6 servings.

More food talk and recipes over at Ann's Food on Fridays and The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Subscribe to this blog's feed and follow me on twitter!

Hopscotch. With A Side Of Scotch.

In a moment of reckless abandon, I decided to play a game with my kids.

The thought! The scandal of it all!

I decided to teach them a new one--called "hopscotch."

What?

You've heard of it?

Why...of all the strange co-ink-ee-dinks!

Well. I'd never played it. Yes, yes. I know. I live under a rock.

Speaking of rocks, I let my boys toss bean-filled socks versus flinging boulders at the house. Oh, they wouldn't do that intentionally, of course. (*cough*) That's simply how well they aim.

Just ask my toilets.

So.

Hopscotch.

Thanks to the existence of the double-you-double-you-double-you-dot, I could watch some videos that explained the whole game. Oral tradition, rock on!

Most of the fun for my boys (ages 7 and 5) involved using the sidewalk chalk and tossing the bean bag ball. Not at the hopscotch board, of course. That would make sense. I'm guessing this game is best suited for kids a little bit older, but as you can see from the picture, my five-year-old still had fun hopping around.

In addition, I got to check another thing off my Fun List, which is what summer is all about.

Now. Tell me a hopscotch story. Make up for the holes in my childhood.