An Octopus Named Mom by Kathleen Flaherty

A Octopus Named Mom is one fun read for children ages 3 to 8 years old.

Written by Kathleen Flaherty and Illustrated by Jennifer Caulfield Donehey this book is written from a child’s perspective on how great his life would be if all his needs were met without him having to wait.

Kathleen brings the reader through a little boys fantasy of how great it would be if his mother turns into an octopus. She would be able to keep up with her daily task and keep her children happy all at once. She would be a great multi-tasker as she would have “enough hands” to do all the tasks that she needs to do within the day.

The little boy wouldn’t need to wait for his mom to be free to attend to him and get what he needs instantly. He felt that it was great at first however after thinking through about his wish found that it would be less then ideal.

He would not have the mother which he has now. She would look totally different and he would not receive the hugs and kisses which he has been getting. The little boy realized that if he could help out his mom more at home she would have more time for him.

My thoughts

I like the message of being patient which is emphasized to the reader. The book is easy to read and entertaining to listen to with beautiful graphic illustrations. I certainly recommend this book if you have young readers at home.

You can purchase a copy from Amazon A portion of proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards benefiting Ovations for the Cure of Ovarian Cancer

Disclaimer: I received a copy of A Octopus Named Mom for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.
This post has a Compensation Level of 3. Please visit Dominique’s Disclosure page for more information.

July 17, 2012

Rock Climbing with Beyond Academics

Dominique Parenting and Kids, Reviews, Thoughts rock climbing, wordless/wordful wedesday

Doggie boy and me

Over the weekend we we invited to try out the rock climbing with Beyond Academics. It was the 2nd time that the boys are doing rock climbing and the first time for R and me.

Monkey boy climbing

Monkey boy was the first one up the wall. He gleefully tackled the wall and made it all the way up under the supervision of the instructor.

Doggie boy climbing

Next up was Monkey boy. He was not as confident as his brother and decided to stop the climb halfway up the wall. Maybe when he is older he will try doing the whole height of the wall.

climbing the wall

I went third and tried cheering Doggie boy on by going up the wall next to him. It started to get difficult to scale up the wall as I approached the overhung. I decided to call it a day and not proceed all the way to the top as my energy level was nearly depleted from hanging on the wall using my hands to support my body weight. My arms ached slightly the next day due to the exertion but it was worth trying out rock climbing.

R climbing the wall

R was the last one to scale the wall. The too attempted to go all the way to the top and failed tackling the overhung. I guess we need to build up more stamina before trying rock climbing again.

The instructor Chee Beng gave us many tips on how to properly scale the wall. He also told me how Monkey boy could properly position his leg so that he could get the maximum lift when he exerted pressure on his leg. He had stepped on the rock in the center in some places and he should be using the front of his foot instead as it will help him better to push off and move up the wall when he moves his feet.

To learn more about Beyond Academics and rock climbing do check out their website.

Disclaimer: We were invited by Beyond Academics for a fun weekend afternoon to try out their rock climbing facilities. All opinions are 100% my own.