Don’t throw it away—use it for play! Turn items headed for the trash into fun, educational, and safe toys and activities for young children. Find one hundred creative and clever ideas repurposing common household objects—including shoeboxes, fabric scraps, plastic lids, and buttons—into entertaining playthings. The toys benefit children’s early learning by promoting sensory perception and development in physical; social and emotional; cognitive; and language and communication areas. Organized by age group, Learn and Play the Green Way has sections for working with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and schoolagers. Each activity includes: A description of the ways children might use the toy Suggestions for extending the learning A list of materials needed and step-by-step instructions A green idea for additional ways to be eco-friendly Learn and Play the Green Way: Fun Activities with Reusable Materials is a revision of the bestselling, award-winning Learn and Play the Recycle Way: Homemade Toys that Teach.

A dramatic and nostalgic saga of two sisters coming of age in 1960s Essex. Angie Smith lives in Greenway, Chelmsford, with her elder sister Doreen, their struggling mother and their drunk, violent father. Bored of her job, and of her dull, ordinary boyfriend, Angie dreams of bigger and better things. But then she meets boutique owner Gene Battini. He is older, handsome, charming - and married. She is completely swept off her feet. But little does she know that Doreen is falling for Gene, too, and that their affair will have disastrous consequences. As things at home go from bad to worse, Angie and Doreen must struggle to fight for what they want. Can the girls from Greenway ever achieve their dreams? '[A] beautifully written saga which brims with the spirit of youth and is rich in period detail.' Lancashire Evening Post Praise for Elizabeth Woodcraft 'A book to read in great gulps' Sheila Newberry 'Beautifully written . . . she has a real talent' Mary Gibson

A little girl fills the pocketbook she carries with mementos of the places she and her mother visit when they go to town.

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

"Text first published in 1990 by Children's Press, Inc."

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: "Monsters! Meet here for final test." Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying under the covers, until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from beneath the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there so he falls asleep—which as everyone knows, is the real reason for monsters under beds. With its perfect balance of giggles and shivers, this silly-spooky prequel to the award-winning I Need My Monster and Hey, That's MY Monster! will keep young readers entertained.

"Fairfax Or The Master Of Greenway Court: A Chronicle Of The Valley Of The Shenandoah is a historical novel by American author John Esten Cooke. Set in the late 18th century, the book tells the story of Thomas Fairfax, the sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who inherits a vast estate in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The novel follows Fairfax's struggles to maintain his land and his way of life in the face of encroaching settlers and the looming threat of the American Revolution. Along the way, Fairfax encounters a cast of colorful characters, including Native Americans, frontiersmen, and British soldiers. The book is notable for its vivid descriptions of life in colonial Virginia and its portrayal of the conflicts between different cultures and classes in the region. Written in a style that blends historical accuracy with fictional storytelling, Fairfax Or The Master Of Greenway Court is a compelling and insightful look at a pivotal moment in American history."--Amazon.com.