Chocolate cake

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil 
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

• How many sugar spoons do we have to add to the recipe?
• In which temperature do we have to preheat the oven? (C) 

• beach ball
• permanent marker
• first grade level book (or a story from your child's reading textbook)
• pencil
• lined paper
  
  

1. Using the marker, grab the beach ball and ask your child to write one of the following questions in each of the colored sections of the ball: "Where?" "Who?" "Beginning?" "Middle?" "End?" and “Favorite part?"
2. Once the ball is marked up, take it outside for a game of catch. In the game of Story Ball, each time you toss your child the ball, he must answer the question written on the color which lands under his right hand. Where did the story take place? Who were the main characters? What happened in the beginning, in the middle, in the end? What was his favorite part? Toss the ball back and forth—the quicker, the better, since that makes answering in time more fun and silly. If your child can’t recall an event from the story give him some clues.
3. Play continues until all the questions have been answered. If you’d like to extend the activity, ask your child to write down what he’s said aloud on paper, then illustrate it. This is another great way to help him recall the events of a story and understand what he’s read
   
   

1. Pick several newspaper or magazine articles and cut them so that the headline is separate from the article.
2. Children have to keep on fishing until they match up all the headlines to their respective articles! This game can be played individually or in groups as if it was a competition.
   
   

• White paper
• Pencil or pen
• String
• Scissors
• Glue or tape
• Hole punch
• Cups, plates, and treats for the tea party (optional)
  
  

1. On a blank piece of paper, write out a sentence that fits the reading level of your child. You may want to write something positive about your child, or an example of good manners at a tea party.
2. Cut out each of the words in the sentence so that each word is separate from one another. Make sure that the words are big enough for your child to pick up and read easily, but no wider or longer than 2 inches so that they fit comfortably into the tea bag.
3. Now, prepare the bags of tea. Take your sheet of white paper and measure out a 6” x 3” rectangle. Cut it out and fold it in half so that your fold creates 2 3” x 3” squares. Unfold the rectangle.
4. Place the pieces of your sentence in a stack inside the folded rectangle at the fold.
5. Refold the rectangle and glue the open edges together. You should now have a pouch with the words of the sentence held inside. Set the "word pouch" aside for the glue to dry.
6. Once the glue is dry, punch a hole into the top of the pouch and tie a string to the hole to finish the tea bag. The string should be about as long as your hand from the tip of your middle finger to your wrist.
7. Now you and your child are ready for your tea party! Prepare your child's desired accompaniments, such as tea and cookies, then give your child her bag of "word tea."
8. While she's sipping her real tea, help her open the word pouch up, and watch her put together the pieces of her sentence. When she’s finished, she can read the sentence to you!