Lynn Brunelle - Mamas Little Book of Tricks: Keep the Kids Entertained!

DEDICATION

For Keith, Kai, and Leo, who put me on the mama map.

And for my own sweet mama, Ellen, who still has
a trick or two up her sleeve.

Text copyright 2007 by Lynn Brunelle.
Illustrations copyright 2007 by Jessie Eckel. Licensed by MGL Ltd.
Technical illustrations copyright 2007 by Arthur Mount.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4521-3165-8
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition under ISBN 978-0-8118-5571-6

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Special thanks to all the mamas who inspire and awe me:
Maura, Debbie, Mia, Cindy, Leslie, Shana, Maryjane,
Ilana, Tracy, Karin, Linda, Lisa, Jay, Jobie, Sylvia, Anne, Val, Laura,
Christine, Carlin, Jennifer, Kris, Annie, Dinah, Rosie, Robin, Erren,
Peggy, Vanessa, Allison, Buffy, Liz, Aunt Jo, Ann-Meg,
Kathryn, Kelly, Cheryl, Sarah, Julie, Sherri, Helen, Deepali,
Jan, Pauline, Susan, Colleen, and Toshi.

And thanks, too, to Kate Rene, Jenna, Bizzy, Alisa,
Pepper, Jodene, Alex, and Amandawithout whose help
I would never have been able to put this together.

INTRODUCTION

It happens when you least expect it. Without warning. It happens to us all. Were driving along; waiting in line (at a restaurant, in a movie theater, at a doctors office, in a supermarket, at a caf); on the phone; at home; or just out and about. And WHAMMO! The kids are bored! Theyre fidgeting, whining, winding up, and (uh-oh) starting to melt out of control!

Not to worry! Help is at hand. Just take a deep breath. Slow down. Have fun. And reach for Mamas Little Book of Tricks. Relive the simple pleasures of life and share them with your kids. Hang a spoon from your nose, skip a stone, balance the salt shaker on the table, blow great bubbles, make a whistle out of a raisin box, and astonish your offspring with stunning facts about everything from bugs to dinosaurs to body parts.

Page through the following tricks and discover a treasure trove of stunning gems to entertain the masses. Jam-packed with tried-and-true secrets, skills, and wow-inducing tricks, Mamas Little Book of Tricks will help you keep your kids amazed, amused, and entertainedand elevate you to the high position of coolest mama on the block.

Discover your inner tricky mama. Banish boredom! Delight in your ability to fascinate, enthrall, and inspire!

Youve heard it before, but its never been more true MAMA KNOWS BEST.

Whether youre behind the wheel of a car,
the wheels of a shopping cart, or up in the air,
here are some of my favorite go-to tricks
for all you go-go mamas.

cars

ARE WE THERE YET? Youve heard it before.
Weve all heard it ten minutes into a five-hour trip,
the haunting refrain we tormented our own
parents with, coming back to bite us.

This ones fun for young kids.

1. Everyone agrees on a silly phrase. It can make no sense, like neener-neener-wah-wah-wah! or it could be something like Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
2. One player asks any question, such as Whats your favorite color? or What did you do this weekend?
3. The other player has to answer every question with the silly phrase.
4. The trick is not to laugh. Fat chance.
5. Players take turns.

Try taking turns saying anything to make the other person smile.

Everyone smiles and waves to the folks in passing cars and counts how many people smile and wave back. A smile is one point and a wave is two. See who can get the most points.

1. Pick something to count but keep what it is to yourself. (It could be cows, green cars, coffee shopswhatever.)
2. Tell the kids youre going to count something that you see outside the window, but youre not saying what.
3. As you see the item, count the number out loud.
4. The first one to figure out exactly what you are counting gets to be the next secret counter.

Reinvent a few favorite songs. Use the lyrics here or create your own. Its sure to get the kids laughing and dreaming up their own versions.

SUNG TO

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Were all packed in our big car

With snacks and drinks were going far

Zipping down the twisty road

Mamas got a happy load

Miles and miles in our big car

We have no idea where we are.

SUNG TO

Jingle Bells

Jingle bells, the backseat smells

Someone spilled their lunch

With cracker crumbs

And chewing gum

So many things to munch!

SUNG TO

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Drive, drive, drive the car

Quickly down the street

Wearing a cheeseburger as a beret

And french fries on your feet.

CLEVER MAMA

ELEVEN COOL FACTS ABOUT DINOSAURS

1. Fred Flintstone would never have had a dinosaur pet, because people had never existed when dinosaurs lived. People came along about 65 million years after the dinosaurs died off.
2. Most dinosaurs were big, but some were as small as chickens.
3. A velociraptors claw was about fifteen inches longas long as a toddlers arm!
4. Brachiosaurus was probably the largest dinosaurabout eighty tons and forty to fifty feet tall.
5. T. rex was more of a scavenger than a hunter.
6. Most scientists believe birds are descended from dinosaurs. Archaeopteryx was the first feathered dinosaur and bird.
7. Alberta, Canada, has a rich dinosaur history. More than thirty-five species of dinosaur fossils have been found there.
8. Dinosaurs flourished for 140 million years, and are the most successful land creatures ever to have lived.
9. If the history of the Earth were compressed into a single year, dinosaurs would appear in August and die out in November. Humans, who have been around for 2 million years, would appear on the last day of December, late in the evening.