Much to my husband’s dismay, my daughter loves ballet! At 5 years old she attended both Giselle and The Nutcracker and loved them. I was thrilled to discover Ballet Under the Stars, a free outdoor performace. I know she will be very excited about attending this performance!

The perfect book to pair with this beautiful event would have to be Lili at Ballet.  This book introduces ballet vocabulary as Lili learns to be a ballerina. It is a very pretty book and will have your little girl up and dancing (if you can get her to stop long enough to read the book . . .  sometimes we have trouble with that).

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My husband recently brought The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School home from a business trip in preparation for school starting. It was an instant hit. Zoe starts the first grade and the rules just aren’t the same. She learns, just as all kids do, how to find her place in her new grade, new class, and new school year.

The first days of school can be very exciting or very tough (or a little of both) depending on the personality of each child. Extra anxiety has made our first days of school tough, but still exciting. Our daughter has enjoyed reading this book and others to help her know that everyone is nervous and a little anxious at the beginning of the year. Hooray for awesome teachers and fantastic kids! It’s going to be another great school year!

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This is one of my favorite times of year. We’ve purchased the perfect backpacks and new shoes, and I love all of the organizational boxes and notebooks! Like you, we are looking for ways to get the gears turning in the brain after a summer of pools, fun, and sun. Phantom Tollbooth is a crazy book all about Math, but it is so much fun! Another great way to brush up on their math skills is with all of the clearance sales. Let your kids calculate the new price of the items you buy. It might be crazy and a tad stressful, but have fun getting ready for school anyway. P.S. The Phantom Tollbooth might be a great book for you to read too, it will bring back a flood of memories of math and English you have blocked out for years.

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Summer is in full swing, and it’s hot! What do you do? Hit the pool of course. Kids love to swim and there are so many great benefits for them. It’s fun, it cools them down, and it’s a great form of exercise and outdoor activity. But deep water has inherent dangers, and with an abundance of pools in AZ, all children should be taught to swim. This can be daunting and scary for some kids. Swimming Lessons is about those nerves children get when first learning to swim. It’s a fun story that will set your child at ease if they are nervous about being so wet.

Aqua Tots is a great pair with this book. They have a year-round indoor swimming facility, with locations all around the valley. You get to stay indoors with air conditioning during lessons, you don’t have to worry about lathering your kids with sunscreen, and your kids have a great time, all while being taught by professional instructors. What a win-win opportunity! So, grab this book, sign up for lessons, and swim away your summer.

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