A Fancy Nancy Birthday Party and Activities

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Fancy Nancy Birthday Party

Books are well-loved in my family, so it was quite natural to throw a book-themed birthday party. Having a Fancy Nancy themed birthday party made it so my daughter could have all the fancy, pink things she wanted. For activities we did everything from Fancy Nancy crafts to a Fancy Show and Tell.

You could easily throw a Fancy Nancy birthday party for children from ages 3 to 8 (and there are books targeted to both slightly younger and slightly older children). In this blog post I’ve included alternate activity ideas in addition to the ones I used. I’ve also included my approximate prices.

Fancy Apparel

What’s a Fancy Nancy party without fancy apparel? On the invitation we invited everyone to wear fancy clothes to the party. My husband even wore his tuxedo.

Fancy for the Fancy Nancy Party

My daughters in their fancy clothes, waiting for the guests to arrive.

Opening Activity: Pin the Accessories on Fancy Nancy

Pin the Accessories on Fancy Nancy (Fancy Nancy Birthday Party)I made a large Fancy Nancy poster and printed and cut out lots of jewelry, bows, ribbons, butterflies, and other decorations.

When the kids arrived, they were able to color in the accessories and then tape then on to Fancy Nancy. Because my daughter and her friends are rather young, they pinned the accessories on with their eyes open. Slightly older children could do it blindfolded.

Pin the Accessories on Fancy Nancy (Fancy Nancy Birthday Party)Planning your own party:

If you want to print a poster at Office Max or another copy place, download a high quality file from Google. (On Google Images search Fancy Nancy. Click on Search Tools, Choose Size, and then select Large so you have a high quality image.)

I actually created my own poster by using a high quality black and white image, expanding it in Microsoft Excel, and then printing, assembling, and coloring it myself.

Fancy Nancy Crafts

Fancy Crowns (Fancy Nancy Birthday Party)I found a ridiculous number of paper crowns at Hobby Lobby for $2, bought sequins, and provided fun markers and glue. And then the kids decorated fancy crowns.

For those who finished their crowns more quickly, I also printed out Fancy Nancy coloring pages from Fancy Nancy World, an awesome website made by the publishers of the Fancy Nancy books.

 

Fancy Show and Tell

This was one of the highlights of our Fancy Nancy birthday party. On the invitation, we asked each of the kids to bring a fancy item for show and tell. The kids had an awesome time talking about their fancy items, and it was a great way to introduce kids who didn’t know each other.

Fancy Nancy Story Time and Dancing

What is a Fancy Nancy party without story time?

Fancy Nancy Birthday Story Time

I read the kids the book Fancy Nancy: Budding Ballerina (which you can buy on Amazon for a few dollars).

Fancy Nancy Budding BallerinaIn this book, Fancy Nancy decides to teach ballet lessons to her family. It’s a delightful little story.

After reading the book, all the kids got to dance, which was one of the highlights of the party. My daughters loved spinning and twirling with their friends. For music they chose “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” There are also lots of great CD collections like The Little Ballerina! The Greatest Classical Ballet Music for Kids.

They also danced to the song “Anyone Can Be Fancy” from Fancy Nancy: The Musical. Yes, there’s a Fancy Nancy musical. It’s very existence makes me happy.

 

Fancy Nancy Birthday Treats and Party Favors

Fancy Nancy Birthday Treats

My daughter insisted on a Funfetti cupcake mix and pink frosting (she actually planned this part over six months in advance of the party). I bought several cans of Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing at the store, which made decorating the cupcakes really easy, as they already comes with four tips. (I just used the basic flower one, and went in circles from the outside of the cupcake in.) My daughters added sprinkles and umbrella toothpicks (Walmart–$4). The results are very similar to the cupcakes Fancy Nancy makes in the books.

Fancy Nancy Cupcakes (Fancy Nancy Birthday Party)

Fancy Nancy Party FavorsFor favors I bought a couple packs of girly party favors (which you can buy from a party store, Walmart, Target, etc.). I also purchased candy bracelets, extra rings and butterfly hair clips to add to the mix. And the favorite party favor of all: ring pops (from the dollar store).

If you want to go to the next level, you could give each kid a Fancy Nancy book. There are a number of paperbacks available for just a few dollars a copy. (For example, Tea for Two, Puppy Party, The Delectable Cupcakes, Super Secret Surprise Party, or, if you have slightly older kids and want an early chapter book, Secret of the Silver Key.)

Fancy Nancy Birthday Party: Additional Activity Ideas

  • Fancy smells (perfume testing) or for older children, fancy nails
  • A Fancy Nancy rhyming or fancy words activity
  • Making fancy name tags or hair clips
  • Turn the birthday party into a tea party, and read Tea for Two
  • Fancy Nancy Hide ‘n Peek House Game (this is an awesome game, targeted for ages 6 and up, though you can simplify it for younger kids). This would work well for a more intimate party, with 5 or 6 guests.
  • Fancy Nancy World has a number of printable games and crafts that could be used or adapted for a party.

Fancy Nancy Birthday Party - Dressing Up

My daughters were pretty worn out by the end of the party (when we had this picture taken) but they loved the party and so did the guests!

Flashback Friday: Jane Austen and the Art of Argument (Ignite Phoenix)

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Talk Like Jane Austen Day FreebieTwo years ago I gave a presentation to 800 people at Ignite Phoenix titled “Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen and the Art of Argument.” I argue that if they had lived at the same time, Jane Austen and Aristotle probably would’ve fallen in love, because Jane Austen’s novels are really rhetoric textbooks that teach the art of argument.

In honor of one of my favorite holidays coming up, Talk Like Jane Austen Day, I’ve decided to repost the video of my Ignite Phoenix presentation:

More details on some of the rhetoricians and how Jane Austen uses their techniques can be found on my page, The Art of Argument in Pride and Prejudice.

In case you can’t tell, I heart Jane Austen.

 

I Read 107 Books When I Was 10, And Some Of Them Surprise Me

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katherinecowley.com: The first page from the reading log I kept when I was 10. I'm not sure who scribbled on it, but I do have younger siblings.When I was ten years old I decided to keep a reading log. I wish I had kept one all growing up, but at least I have a little window into the past. I rediscovered the notebook the other day while unpacking after moving.

Highlights

When I was 10, I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I actually read it twice: in the Spring/Summer, and also later that Fall.

Never one to let labels of age-appropriate reading deter me, I read not only The Hobbit but the entire Lord of the Rings series, and a few other J. R. R. Tolkien novels. Lest you think I only read novels generally considered “great works,” I also read books such as There’s a Snake at Girl’s Camp. I don’t remember it, but surely it was pivotal in my personal literary formation.

The View from Saturday may have been my favorite book–it is the only book on the list that has a star and a “very good” next to it, and I also read it a second time.

I read 5 novels from the Wizard of Oz series, Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series, and all eight novels from the Anne of Green Gables series. Even then, I liked to binge on my favorite authors. And like now, I read all genres, though I had a soft spot for fantasy. Unfortunately, it’s been a while since I had time to read 107 novels in a year, though I still tend to read at least 60.

Perhaps someone’s reading habits at the age of ten can tell you everything you need to know about her. If so, feel free to browse through the entire list.

The Reading Log

Katherine Cowley Reading Log 2Katherine Cowley Reading Log 3Katherine Cowley Reading Log 4Katherine Cowley Reading Log 5Katherine Cowley Reading Log 6Katherine Cowley Reading Log 11Katherine Cowley Reading Log 12Katherine Cowley Reading Log 13Katherine Cowley Reading Log 14Katherine Cowley Reading Log 15

Other Reading Log Glimpses

When I was ten, I also wrote a list called “Books read in Past.” I suspect these were books I read at the age of 8 or 9, which I wanted to remember having read. I also attempted to keep a reading log at the age of 11, but suffered from inconsistency, and only wrote down 10 books that year (though I likely read around the same number as at age 10).

Katherine Cowley Reading Log 7Katherine Cowley Reading Log 8Katherine Cowley Reading Log 9Katherine Cowley Reading Log 10Katherine Cowley Reading Log 16Katherine Cowley Reading Log 17

 

 

 

 

 

Cover Reveal: Steel and Bone Anthology

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Sometimes there are events that make something feel real. Like having the cover of the book I’m going to be published in! Presenting… the cover of Steel and Bone. It’s a steampunk anthology featuring 9 stories. Coming in at 375 pages, there is everything from clairvoyance to floating islands to dinosaurs.

Here’s the cover of Steel and Bone:

Steel and Bone Cover

As you’ll notice, my name is listed first, and my story, “The Clockwork Seer,” is the first in the collection. The official description of my story, per the back cover and the Goodreads page:

On an island of oddities, a young clairvoyant struggles for normalcy, but deadly automatons have other plans.

I am sort of in love with my story. It’s features a woman named Medina who has a typewriter in her hip. The typewriter, and her other clockwork parts, make it possible for her to survive her visions, which are so violent that otherwise they would be debilitating. Enter a musician from the mainland, mechanical monsters, and an adventure ensues.

I hope that, come June 27th, 2015, you’ll get to know Medina, the clockwork seer. Steel and Bone will be available as both a print book and an ebook. So go add it to Goodreads!

Edited to Add: you can now buy the book on Amazon or learn more about it on the book’s page on my website.

Two Years of Book Group

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Two Years of Book Group

Two years ago I started a book group, with the help and encouragement of some friends. The advantage of starting a book group is that it runs the way I like book groups to run. Not to say that my book group is perfect, but I like it and attend every month.

We have read a fun variety of books, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young adult, classics, and recently released. And two years later, to my surprise, people are still coming.

List of books we have read and discussed so far:

How the book group runs

Someone volunteers to host (or if no one volunteers, I recruit). That person chooses the book, either one with a book group copy at the library or one with at least a few library copies available. Everyone who wants to reads the book does so. (It’s an open invitation book group, so anyone can attend, and you’re not required to read–we’ve had been 3 and 15 people at every book group.) The hostess holds book group at her home (or at mine, if her own is not an option), leads the discussion, and normally provides some sort of treat. There’s also some socializing at the beginning and the end, but we always spend a decent chunk of time on the book.

 

Image Credit: Evan Bench via flickr, Creative Commons license