Hi All,

What a wonderful start to Daylight Savings Time. In our last post, we mentioned how we love to use the extra hours of light in the day to take a hike on the Appalachian Trail. We are lucky enough to live close by to some of the entry points to the AT. This weekend we chose to go to "Keys Gap" which is on the border of Virginia and West Virgina. We wanted to share some of the photos we took from the hike. We would love to hear about your Daylight Savings Time! Leave us a post about what you did with your extra hours of light!

Check out how bare the trees still are.

Buds should be coming in the next few weeks!

Do you see the white rectangle on the tree?
They are "markers" to help guide the hikers along the AT.

Look at this old cocoon that we found protected by this leaf.

I was wondering how long it had been there and what had emerged from it.

Episode 6: Daylight Savings Time

Click here to listen to Daylight Savings Time

Hello All,

Happy Daylight Savings Time! I know we are thrilled to move an hour ahead in this household. We love that our two young children, who really like to wake up at 6 AM, will now wake up at 7AM. Well, OK, maybe just for Sunday, but at least we get one day of feeling that we are waking up at a normal hour! Also, we are so excited that longer, lighter, warmer days are on their way. The Appalachian Trail is one of our favorite spots to spend our weekends and nights. It is such an awesome hike with a lot of different entry points close to us and alternate terrains to choose from.

What did you say? A word of the day!
That is right! In our story there are many juicy words that
are fun to learn and say!

Pressure: a force or influence

Dismay: a breakdown of courage

Discussion: an exchange of views about a topic

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing after hearing the story.

1. Rhyming words such as DATE and LATE have the same vowel sound and consonant vowel sound(s). Can you think of words of words that rhyme with GROW and TALL?

2. We change the clocks in the Fall and the Spring. Learn this saying to help you remember if you turn the clock forward or backward. "Fall back and Spring forward"

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the details to answer these questions?

1. The clocks were turned back an hour in November and went forward one hour in March. How many months are between November and March ?

2. Why was the boy worried about what he learned in school?

3. Who was the boy going to talk to when he arrived home from school?

Episode 5: A Tooth's Story

Click here to listen to A TOOTH'S STORY

Hello All,

The month of February flew by and the Night Light Stories' household has successfully healed from surgery, edited a book, and completed a fun story for your listening pleasure. Since February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, we though our story fit this month perfectly. A Tooth's Story was written by Chris and Melissa Bugaj. Enjoy!

What did you say? A word of the day!

That is right! In our story there are many juicy words that

are fun to learn and say! I am going to post a word

or two or three or more from the story that

would be fun to try to use in your

conversations throughout the week.

Coax: To persuade or try to persuade by pleading or flattery

Grumble: to express or utter with murmuring or complaining

Muffled: being or made softer or less loud or clear

Perspective: the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer

JUST ADD IMAGINATION!

Try these activities to keep your imagination glowing after hearing the story.

1. As children we have 20 primary teeth. As adults you will have 32 adult teeth . Write a number story (word problem) to find out how many more adult teeth there are than primary teeth.

2. Brushing your teeth is important to keeping them healthy. Try singing the ABC song in your head while you brush your teeth. Keep brushing your top row of teeth and bottom row of teeth until you are finished with the song.

COMPREHENSION CHALLENGE

After listening to the story, can you recall the details to answer these questions?

1. Can you remember some of the names for the mouth that Talula and Toby were discussing?

2. What was the voice that Toby was hearing?

3. Who do you think the "boss" is that is coming to pick up Toby?

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Congratulations to our entry from EMMA!
What a creative and fun work of art.

Enjoy your books!

Follow Me February!

Hello All!

Thank you for visiting! We have been so excited by all of the downloads and visits to our website. We love hearing from you and receiving your works of art! We wanted to update you on a few things.

CONTEST CORNER
Don't forget that we still have a contest going on to win FIVE imaginative and original books from Barefoot Books. Contest details can be found in the Squircles blog. We have received some wonderful entries so far, so keep them coming! The contest ends February 14, 2009.

OUR NEXT STORY

February is turning out to be a very busy and surprising month for the Night Light Stories household. I recently had to have surgery on short notice, but am recovering well. My husband is writing a book with a co-author about Assistive Technology. He and his co-author just heard back from the publisher in the past week and are diligently working to put the final touches on the book. So, we are looking forward to getting our next story to you by the end of February.

In the meantime, here are some ways you can make it easier to receive updates when there is a new episode or blog entry:

* Sign up as a follower on this blog

* Subscribe FREE at iTunes

* Sign up at the Night Light Stories group on Facebook

* Follow me on Twitter @nightlight08

WORTHY WEBSITES
One more thing! February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Click on the mouth below to find some great information, coloring sheets, free posters and games for the kids. Happy Brushing!