Welcome to The Magnifying Glass!
Stefani and I have been dying to tell you all about our little space here for quite some time. We have both hinted about it. I've had it linked in my sidebar for months, but just like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, like a bird's return from the winter, the timing must be right.
"The Glass" is still a work in progress. More resources should be available in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. We're just getting started in this place.
And to celebrate our new endeavor, we've teamed up with Boomerang! who happens to be doing a bit of celebrating of their own. The folks over at Boomerang! are celebrating a newly designed website and blog. (which I absolutely love!)
I first became acquainted with this pint sized audio show through Blair who is a contributor to the Boomerang! blog. And from the beginning, our boys were instant fans. We love Widget & Whack and Natalie's Natural Wonders segments...of course!
I have been thinking a lot about the idea that kids are interested in hearing about the very same topics that adults are, if packaged in a way that is fun and new. Here is an example...my boys want nothing to do with the Biscuit books their teachers want them to read to move up the ladder on their Accelerated Reader bulletinboard in their classrooms. No sir! I have been watching them consistently choose much more advanced books and struggle through them...even getting frustrated at times. I finally asked one of them why he didn't just read the Biscuit books the teacher gave him. And he simply responded, "Because Mom, I want to read something interesting! Biscuit is boring." (no offense to Biscuit readers, my 4 year old loves Biscuit)
I hear you little dude!
And that is the driving force behind Boomerang!
"Children don't read to improve their skills - children read because they are curious. Boomerang! feeds and cultivates that curiosity by introducing them to a vast world of ideas."
"Children will become readers only if their emotions are engaged, their imaginations stretched and stirred."
Join us in celebrating, new blogs, nature, curiosity, big ideas and all that is good and right in the world as we give away your choice of Boomerang! episode downloads. And just because Blair says she always feels bad at giving a prize to just one person in these kinds of giveaways, she has arranged for not one, but three lucky people to win.
To enter the giveaway, simply check out the Boomerang! available episodes page, then come back here to comment under this post telling us which episode you would download if you were one of the the winners. Easy peasy!
Please feel free to share the news of this giveaway with your friends! The little "share this" button at the bottom makes it easy to do that. And I will leave the comments open until Wednesday night at 10 p.m. to give everyone ample time to get the word out and to enter.
Good luck to everyone and welcome to Boomerang! and The Magnifying Glass!
- Eren
P.S. The photo at the start of this post is of a yellow bellied slider that we came across during our nature walk this past week.
