Dd is for Doodle Days

The doodle days of summer are here!

It's time to open up your notebook,

get out your pencils and art supplies

and turn on your imagination to

draw a picture . . . make a collage . . .

write a list . . . copy a poem . . .

do some doodling . . . write a story . . .

practice your handwriting . . . color . . .

scribble . . . paint . . . glue . . . and

create anything you want every day of summer!

And don't worry . . .
I doubt your doodles will come alive like
they did in this picture book by Ross Collins.

Happy Doodling!

Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Dd

Cats singing "Jingle Bells" . . . angels flying

in circles . . . mice making Christmas pies . . .

and dancing snowmen "people" were all part of

Emily's _ _ _ _ _ in Nash's Christmas book!

Seasons Readings!

Love, Grandma

Reading D's

Dozens of books are written about dogs, ducks and dinosaurs.

But there are also lots of books about dragons such as:
"How to Train Your Dragon" books by Cressida Cowell
"Dragonbreath" series by Ursula Verson
"There's No Such Thing as a Dragon" by Jack Kent
and two books about the "Library Dragon" 
by Carmen Agra Deedy

 

There are books about dots  . . .  lots of drawing books
by Ed Emberley. . . and books called dictionaries
where you can discover all kinds of new words!

Don't forget "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books by Jeff Kinney
and books about "Dodsworth" and his friend, Duck, who
travel around the world. Also popular are books about
detective characters like Encyclopedia Brown, the Hardy
Boys, Nancy Drew, Nate the Great and Judy Moody.


My favorite "D" authors are Roald Dahl and Tomie de Paola,
but how could I resist reading a book with a title like this:

"The Dancing Pancake" by Eileen Spinelli.

I dare you to read it
(or any other "D" book on this delightful list).
Love, Grandma

Halloween Dd

Dd is for a devil duo . . .

Dd is for dinosaur Coltin . . .

Dd is for dinosaur Luke . . .

and Dd is for duckie Lindsay!

How delightful!

Love, Grandma

Dd Treat-of-the-Day

Don't  eat dirt!

But do eat delicious dirt cups you can make yourself . . .

You will need:

1 small package (3.9 oz.) Jell-O chocolate instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 tub (8 oz.) whipped topping, thawed

15 Oreo cookies, finely crushed (about 1 1/4 cup)

10 gummy worms

Beat the pudding mix and milk in a large bowl with a whisk.

Let stand about five minutes, then stir in whipped topping

and half of the crushed cookie crumbs. Spoon into ten paper

 or plastic cups; top with remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate one hour. Top with gummy worms

just before diving into these delectable dirt cups!

Happy yummy summer!

Love, Grandma

Disneyland Dd

Huey, Dewey, and Louie are the nephews of the most famous
Disney duck named D_ _ _ _ _ .

But don't forget that there are lots of Disney d_ _ _, too
like Pluto, Goofy, Lady and the Tramp, Oliver and
Company, and 101 Dalmations!

Dd is for . . . ?

Big D . . . little d

What begins with Dd?

The happiest place on earth!

Do you know where that might be?

D _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hint: Check back daily for posts

from A to Z about this magical place

24 days before Christmas

I spy with my little eye
an itty bitty bit of Christmas
that starts with the letter D!


D _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hint:  Look on the calendar . . . or the top of this blog . . .

it's the month Christmas comes!

25. Question of the day

Dd is for Denmark

Denmark was the last country Grandpa and I visited

on our European cruise. What did we do in Denmark?

A. Visit the famous "Little Mermaid" statue

in honor of Hans Christian Anderson

B. Eat a Danish (pastry, not person)

C. Go to the original Legoland

D. Drive through the beautiful city of Copenhagen (which we did on our way to the airport--
we really didn't get to do anything else in Denmark)
Bonus Question: Which flag is Denmark's in the flag collage of June 12?
(#9)

Dd is for Dr. Seuss

March 2 is Dr. Seuss' birthday

Happy Birthday to the man who wrote about a cat in a hat
and Thing One and Thing Two . . .
about a Grinch who stole Christmas and Cindy Lou Who.

Happy Birthday to the man who created green eggs and ham
. . . Horton the elephant . . . and Yertle the Turtle.

Happy Birthday to the man who invented words like
zizzer-zazzer-zuzz and dibble dibble dopp dopp.

And a happy birthday Dr. Seuss present is all yours
if you happen to read a Dr. Seuss book today or tomorrow
or for sure if you read something every day this month!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss readers!
Love, Grandma

Dd is for Decorations

D is for decorations on homes and the street

Be a Christmas tree detective and look on your Christmas tree (or around the house) for an angel . . . a bear . . . a candy cane . . . something green . . . something red . . . a star . . . a stocking . . . twinkly lights . . . and a snowflake. Or take a winter walk through your neighborhood and count how many doors are decorated for the holidays.

Merry Christmas detecting.

Love, Grandma

Dd is for Dolls

Is this what you are thinking right now?

"Dd is for dolls . . . that's dumb.

Doesn't Grandma know

mostly boys who love balls, cars, legoes and super heroes read this blog?"

I will have you know that dolls are delightful. Not only that, but one of the most popular toys at my house, that you have all been known to play with, is the dollhouse . . . the place where a doll family lives. Some of you are or have been fans of Woody and Buzz which are kind of like boy dolls! And last, but not least playing with dolls is both fun and good practice. Once upon a time there were four little girls who played with dolls and now have become:

the mother of Zach, Brody and Luke

the mother of Eddy and Lindsay Lu

the mother of Wade and Owen

and the mother of Jack, Ryan and . . .
Can you guess who is the new darling baby DeWitt?
I dare you to play with a doll today!
Love, Grandma

Darling Dotted "D"

Are you ready to do the letter D for your Alpha-Bug? Then pull out the paper plate with an upper-case D on the front of it and find the baggie with a lower-case d inside. You may be wondering why there is nothing but a pencil (which does not start with the letter D) in that baggie. That pencil is actually a dot-maker and this is how it works:

Ask your Mom to pour a thin layer of craft paint onto another paper plate. Dip the eraser end of the pencil into the paint, then press onto the letter D plate. Do this over and over to create polka dots! You can use any color or as many colors of paint as you want.

Isn't that darling?

Go hang it up with the rest of your Alpha-bug and then you might look at the library for a book called "Lots of Dots" by Craig Frazier. If you look closely, you might discover that buttons are dots . . . that wheels are dots . . . that ladybugs have dots . . . and that there are dots all around you!

Look at the grocery store for Dippin' Dots ice cream or make a polka-dot pizza for lunch. Take one small bagel half or one-half English muffin and spread it with tomato or pizza sauce. Slice a hot dog and string cheese into "dots" and top the pizza. Bake or broil in the oven until the cheese melts.

Have a delightful dotty day!

Love, Grandma

Dd is for David

"It's Christmas, David" is a brand new book your Grandpa (who happens to be a David) talked me into buying this year. Some of you have "No, David!" and other "David" books so you know that David is a slightly naughty boy. Well, as hard as he tries, he gets into a bit of trouble before Christmas, too and wonders if Santa will come. You'll find out when you read the book, but you better try harder than David (the book character) to be good. Of course, David (your Grandpa) was generally good when he was a little boy . . . just look how angelic he looks in the train his Dad built him and his brothers for Christmas one year. (He is the blond boy in the orange car).

Merry December Day #2

Love, Grandma

Dd is for Daddy

Sing this song (to the tune of "B-I-N-G-O")

to your Daddy this Sunday:

There was a man who had a child

And Daddy was his name-o

D-A-D-D-Y

D-A-D-D-Y

D-A-D-D-Y

And Daddy was his name-o

Then ask him to read you this gift from me:

Perhaps you could wrap a gift for your Dad, too . . .

maybe some Pop-tarts or popsicles or popcorn.

Or maybe you could make him a card or coupon

and of course, give him a big hug and kiss, too.

Have a Dddddelightful Daddy's Day!

Love, Grandma

Dd is for Dog

Jack has a dog named Lola
Eddy has a dog named Sadie
Wade (who is not in this picture) has a dog named Trigger. To see Wade and his dog look here.
Brody wishes he had a dog!
Believe it or not, Grandma once upon a time had a dog named Tinker.

She even let him touch her once.

Draw a picture of your dog (real or dream) in Chapter Dd of your alpha-book. Some other fun things to do today: watch a dog DVD like 101 Dalmations or Lady and the Tramp . . . read a dog book like Clifford the Big Red Dog or Blue's Clues or my favorite: Skippyjon Jones books which are really about a cat who imagines he is a dog! Then you can be a "D"etective and look for Dd letters and pictures to glue in your alpha-book. One more fun game to play involves parents and post-it notes. Have your Mom or Dad write different letters of the alphabet (especially lots of Dd's) on post-it notes and put them all over the house. If you have a magnifying glass, use it to be the "D"etective and find all the Dd's.
Have a doggone happy day. Love, Grandma