Origami for Geometry Class with Marbled Patterns Origami Paper

  

Disclosure: I was sent a pack of this origami paper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As I mentioned I am returning to the high school math classroom in the fall! One of my goals is to bring more hands-on activities as well as projects to the class. One of the classes I am pretty sure I will be teaching is geometry. I am so excited to be back in the geometry classroom. I am hoping to use origami in the classroom and definitely want to have an origami project in the geometry class. This year's teacher did this, so I am working off her idea and adding my own spin. Today I am going to share two origami tutorials all using a beautiful pack of Origami Paper 500 Sheets Marbled Patterns 6-inch paper. This particular pack of paper is being released in July 2022, but there is a similar pack of 200 sheets already available. 

Sumi-e -- Japanese Ink Painting

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Before Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month ends, I wanted to explore sumi-e, Japanese ink painting. I was sent three books that share the about this beautiful art and provides tutorials to create your own. Now a while ago I shared my adventure with Chinese brush painting. The idea I had when I bought the supplies was for Hazel and I to do it together. Since sumi-e is similar I thought she would enjoy expanding her skills. She did some Chinese brush painting in art class last year. However in reality she never had time or desire to do it with me, so after waiting quite awhile for her to join me, I did it on my own. When researching books to learn Chinese brush painting I discovered sumi-e. This is the Japanese form of brush painting. I am going to share three books that teach sumi-e from three different masters. Each is a bit different. I have not tried any of the techniques as my life has gotten busy. (If you didn't read about my big news, you can here.) Let's begin with the newest book, A Beginner's Guide to Sumi-e: Learn Japanese Ink Painting from a Modern Master by Shozo Koike. This book was released in October 2021!

Mathematical Art: DIY Fibonacci Spiral and My Big News

 

I have BIG NEWS!! My life is changing. After leaving teaching high school math sixteen years ago to get married and focus on family, I am going back to the classroom full time in the fall. Then on top of that news I have been helping out four days a week in the school's directed learning center since someone left at the end of April. My life has been a bit different, and you can tell by the number of posts I have been doing. This will mean some changes to Crafty Moms Share, but I am not sure the extent yet. I will change my focus to more math-based posts but am hoping to still review some books, especially math focused ones and young adult ones so I can connect with my students. I will also be doing more origami, so be ready for review of origami products. 

Alycat and the Cattywampus Wednesday -- Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book for this review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Alysson Foti Bourque and will receive a small stipend for this review. All opinions are my own.

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to be all mixed up? Today I am sharing a new picture book with a young cat that experiences one of those days and bonus the book has cattywampus in the title! Great vocabulary word for you and for kids! The book is Alycat and the Cattywampus Wednesday by Alysson Foti Bourque and illustrated by Chiara Civati. There is also a giveaway and cat craft round-up to go with the book!

Dash & Zoom: Little Miss Sneakypants --Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for this review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Susan R. Stoltz and will receive a small stipend for this review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am participating in The Children's Book Review's Virtual Book Tour of a sweet new picture book perfect for young children. The book is Dash and Zoom: Little Miss Sneakypants by Susan R. Stoltz and illustrated by Melssia Bailey. I am also sharing a round-up of dog crafts for younger children at the end. Plus there is a giveaway!

All About Vietnam -- Book Review & More!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

May is Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month. All month long I will try to share books, crafts, and activities to help celebrate this fun heritage. Today I get to share the newest book from one of my favorite series about Asian countries. It is All About Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids: Learn About Vietnamese Culture with Stories, Songs, Crafts & Games by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong. It is a middle grades reading level but can be shared with younger kids if you do the reading!

Meow Is Not a Cat -- Book Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book for this review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Kelly Tills and will receive a small stipend for this honest review. All opinions are my own.

As a former teacher and someone who has volunteered and worked at my daughter's school, I know there is always that child that thinks outside the box and sees the world in a different way. The child does not want to do anything wrong and probably does not even think he or she is doing something wrong but drives the teacher crazy. Today's book is for all those kids out there and for the adults in their lives! The book is Meow Is Not a Cat by Kelly Tills and illustrated by Max Saladrigas. It is recommended for ages 4+. 

Animal Books & Crafts for Earth Day

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books (digital for stories and physical for crafts) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Happy Earth Day! I am one who believes every day is Earth Day but today is the day the world celebrates this amazing planet and the nature that fills it. To celebrate today I am sharing three new children's books about animals with perfect messages for Earth Day and craft round-ups to go with them as well as two craft books with animal themes. We will start with the first two books. They are from the Surviving Wild series by Remy Lai. The series are graphic novels for ages 6 to 9. The first is Surviving the Wild: Rainbow the Koala. 

The Wild Garden -- New Picture Book Perfect for Earth Day Everyday!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Earth Day is this week! I wanted to share a book with you that screams Earth Day to me. Sadly, the book is not being released until May in the US, but it is the perfect book to talk about some of the Earth Day issues. The book is The Wild Garden by Cynthia Cliff. It is recommended for ages 5 to 9. I am also sharing a round-up of gardening crafts, activities, and recipes for kids.

Unicorns & Other Mythical Creatures

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Unicorns, dragons, and other mythical beasts have been the center of attention for many people. I know most girls go through some unicorn phase and some never grow out of it. Today I am going to share with you a picture book based on the unicorn tapestries and a fun fact book about mythical beasts. I am also sharing a unicorn craft round-up to go with these fun books! We will start with The Lady and the Unicorn by Béatrice Fontanel and Vanessa Hié. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.

The Littlest Airplane -- Review, Giveaway and Airplane Craft & Activity Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I am working with The Children's Book Review, Brooke Hartman and a grant from the Alaska Writer's Guild to review this book. A digital copy was sent to me in exchange for an honest review. I will receive a small stipend. All opinions are my own.

When my nephew was young, he was really into airplanes. He loved Jay Jay the Jet Plane. Perhaps it was because my sister's family moved from New England to North Carolina, so we had to get on an airplane to visit him. I remember we would put our arms around and pretend to be Jay Jay. Needless to say, today's book would have been perfect for him over a decade ago, but it wasn't written. The book is The Littlest Airplane by Brooke Hartman and illustrated by John Joseph.

Oi Gets Lost -- Book Review, Cat Craft Round-Up & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Bright Light Books and will receive a small stipend for this post. All opinions are my own.

Do you have a cat lover in your house? We are all cat lovers here and have two cats in our household including a kitten (at least for a few more weeks). Most kids love animals including kittens. If you have an emerging reader you will want to check out today's book. It is Oi Gets Lost by Lorna Likiza and illustrated by Yeveheniia Melnyk. 

A Beginner's Guide to Chinese Brush Painting -- a Crafty Sundays Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.

March is National Craft Month and I have been lacking on sharing my crafts. Last year Hazel's art teacher had her class experiment with Chinese brush painting. She brought home a beautiful scroll of painted bamboo. We have it hanging in our living room. Then when we went get her art supplies this year the art store had Chinese brushes and ink. We decided to try our own at home. I asked Tuttle Publishing to send me this book so I would have some guidance. Hazel decided not to join me. The book is A Beginner's Guide to Chinese Brush Painting by Caroline Self and Susan Self. 

Origami Art with Origami Paper 1000 Sheets Color Bursts with Origami Butterfly Tutorial

 

Disclosure: I was sent a box of this origami paper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I have shared I have been on an origami kick since I subbed at Hazel's school for the geometry teacher. I have had a piece of origami artwork I have been waiting to share. For some reason I thought the paper I used wasn't released yet, but it was, so I am finally getting to share it with you. I will also share the tutorial to make the butterflies on it. 

We Can Talk About Encanto--Encanto-Inspired Craft & Fun Movie Facts

 

It seems like everyone is talking about Encanto and of course the hit song, "We Don't Talk About Bruno." Have you seen the movie yet? How many times? We have watched it a couple of times and love it. I thought it would be fun to make an Encanto-inspired candle since the candle plays such an important part of the movie. I also thought it would be fun to share some fun facts about the movie. So we will start with the fun facts.

Origami Spectacular! -- Fun origami kit review

 

Disclosure: I was sent this kit in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Friday and Monday I was substituting at Hazel's school in one of the high school math and science rooms. The geometry class has an origami project due this week, so we were having some fun with origami. I came home ready to play with origami at home so I pulled out Origami Spectacular! Kit: Our Biggest and Best Origami Collection Ever! by Michael G. LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander. 

The Leaf and The Tree -- We Are All Connected

 

Disclosure: I am working with The Children's Book Review and Bruce Nemovitz and will receive a small stipend for this post. I was sent a digital copy of the book in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

We are in the middle of winter here in Massachusetts. The trees are bare, but I am dreaming of spring and warmer weather. Today's book is perfect for this dream. It is The Leaf and the Tree by Bruce Nemovitz and illustrated by Ani Ghosh. 

Learning about Climate Change on Groundhog Day with Fun Facts about Groundhogs & Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you see the Groundhog Day video I shared on Facebook? It is the annual Groundhog Day video of Ms. G, the official groundhog of Massachusetts. I like watching this video more than Punxsutawney Phil. One Ms. G is closer to me and has weather more like mine. Two, she isn't surrounded by all the news cameras with the extra lights to make shadows. Plus I love how they share a bit about groundhogs, animals and more. She lives at Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary. We loved visiting Drumlin Farm when Hazel was young. In the video they say Groundhog Day is also Climate Action Day. So today I'm going to share some fun facts about groundhogs with a small craft round-up and share with you a new book about climate change. We all need to be aware of climate change and take action to help stop/slow it. 

Board Books for Presidents' Day with Craft & More Book Round-Ups

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Happy February!! With February comes so many different things from Valentine's Day to Presidents' Day and more! I thought we would kick February off by sharing two new board books that are perfect for Presidents' Day. When I was young, I remember getting both Abraham Lincoln's and George Washington's birthdays off. At some point they merged into Presidents' Day. Of course, if you look at the history of Presidents' Day it was begun to celebrate George Washington's birthday. Hmmm, somehow Abraham got forgotten there. Anyway, with both of their birthdays this month, I am going to share books about both of them. Both books are written by Patricia A. Pingry, and both are board books, so they are perfect for your youngest book lovers! Let's start with The Story of George Washington. These books are recommended for ages 2 to 5.

2022 is the Year of the Tiger--Tiger Fun Facts & Craft Round-Up

 

The lunar new year begins on February 1, 2022. Many countries celebrate the lunar new year and see it as one of the most important holidays of the year. I have shared about different countries and different celebrations over the years. I always enjoy checking out the Chinese horoscope that goes with it. The legend says that the Jade Emperor wanted twelve animals to be his guard. He sent an immortal to tell the animals and they raced to the Jade Emperor. The first twelve animals became his guard and are the animals of the Chinese Horoscope. This year we are on the third animal of the horoscope, the tiger.