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Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts

Oh Susannah It's in the Bag

Disclosure: I was sent this book free of charge for this review in return for an honest review by The Children's Book Review & Carole P. Roman. All opinions in my review are my own and I will receive a small compensation for writing it.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation for your purchase.



Today we get to share a fun new book by Carole P. Roman and be part of the blog tour that includes a giveaway. Now I will admit we fell in love Carole's books back with the Captain No Beard series. Those books are wonderful picture books with imagination and lessons! Today's book is an early reader chapter book and it is her first! The book is Oh Susannah: It's in the Bag and it is illustrated by Mateya Arkova. The suggested age range for this book is 7 - 10 years old.

Well, That Was Awkward -- Book Review

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Do you remember your awkward middle school years? You know perhaps you all of a sudden liked someone you had known since kindergarten or perhaps it was your first date and everyone was involved in planning it. Or maybe you had an encounter with that popular kid that puts everyone down or just said something stupid. I can only imagine how much worse it is now with social media and texting. Rachel Vail's Well That Was Awkward has all of those moments and more. It really hit a chord with me and brought me back to eighth grade with the characters. I wish I had read this book back then.

Reflections on the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther KIng, Jr. and a simple craft



As I thought about what I wanted to do this year for Martin Luther King Day for Kids I reflected on what we have done in the past. We have shared numerous books on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as other Civil Rights Activists. We have done various crafts about unity and diversity and peace. I'll be honest I wasn't sure what to do. Hazel understands the teachings of Dr. King and we have focused quite a bit on the Civil Rights Movement in the past. I want to first reflect on a few things.

New Year's Ideas -- Book Reviews & More

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.  Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!


New Year's always gets me thinking. I have found memories of sleepovers with a friend and each of my sisters' had a friend. I think this was the only time I had a friend sleepover when my sisters did, so there were some fun games we all played together as well as a ginger ale toasts at midnight.  I think about my "resolutions" from the past year and what I want to do for the next year. So today I am sharing with you four books that are bring these thoughts to my mind. Let's start with Girls' Night In by Gemma Barder and illustrated by Katy Jackson.

Ultimate Friendship Bracelets -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Reminder this link party is for all types of crafts, craft tutorials and craft product reviews!
 Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. 

Today we are sharing another friendship bracelet kit. The Ultimate Friendship Bracelets by Patrizia Valsecchi comes with different color skeins of craft floss and beads as well as a book and a DVD. 
http://www.tuttlepublishing.com/origami-crafts/ultimate-friendship-bracelets-kit-book-and-kit-with-dvd

Summerlost -- Middle Grades Book Review

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

How does a twelve year old deal with the grief of losing her father and younger brother? How does anyone? How does the remaining family move on in life? What does it take? This is the basis of Summerlost by Ally Condie.

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534589/summerlost-by-ally-condie/


The Fairiest Fairy -- Book Review

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

This week I have been on a fairy and fairy tale train. So I figured I would continue it with one of the sweetest fairy books around or almost around (it is being released on April 26th). We love this one!! It is The Fairiest Fairy by Anne Booth and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw. 
Betty is a fairy that just never gets things quite right. She was always messing up all of her fairy spells and behaviors, however she would always stop what she was suppose to do for fairy school and help an animal in need. Every year the fairy king and queen had a fairy ball and selected the fairiest fairy of all. Of course to be picked the fairy had to perform all the fairy tricks that Betty could not do quite right. However all the animals she stopped to help come to help her and she is chosen because Betty demonstrates how to be a friend and that helping others is what matters. 

This adorable book is written in rhyme. The story is quite lovely and fun and the pictures are just adorable. They are colorful and yet simple. The book is a feel good book and really demonstrates the importance of helping others and being a good friend which is always a lesson a young child needs to be reminded of a few times. Hazel of course loves it. First it is about fairies and second it has a message that is very true to her. She is in many ways like Betty and for that I am proud. I hope you will check out this wonderful book!!

Feathers for Peacock -- Book Review & Craft

Disclosure: Wisdom Tales Press gave me a copy of this product free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today we get to share a beautiful book that is being released in April. Feathers for Peacock by Jacqueline Jules and illustrated by Helen Cann is a beautiful story about friendship and the book itself is gorgeous!! If you hurry you can enter to win a free copy of this book over at Goodreads (the giveaway ends today)!!
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/feathers-for-peacock-jacqueline-jules/1122639233?ean=9781937786533


Punk Skunks -- Book Review

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Trisha Speed Shaskan. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Do you remember ever feeling like your world was ending because you and your best friend did not agree on something? Perhaps the best friend wants to play something other than what you want and neither of you are able to budge. Often some mean things are said in anger and sometimes friendships end. Here is a book about that childhood (and perhaps adulthood) problem. Trisha Speed Shaskan shares this problem perfectly in Punk Skunks. It is illustrated by Stephen Shaskan.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/punk-skunks-trisha-speed-shaskan/1121958271


Two Great Chapter Book Series for Younger Kids

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

 We all want to do what is best for our children and want to bring them up to love learning and reading. It is hard to know what is best to do. I have seen articles about reading chapter books to preschoolers both pros and cons. I feel it is important to do a variety of reading. Chapter books can help kids begin to picture the stories in their own heads, but you need to be careful the story is appropriate for your child. We started reading chapter books by reading Charlotte's Web. I chose to read it to Hazel because we were going to a live production of it and I wanted Hazel to know the story ahead of time so we could discuss the sad part of Charlotte dying before seeing it. Reading this book opened the door to chapter books for Hazel. She loves them!! She also loves picture books and really loves any book. Then we discovered The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale. Hazel LOVES the Princess in Black and even dressed as her for Halloween. She was so excited when Candlewick sent us second book in the series: The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party. And now the third book is being released on Tuesday, February 9th and we get to review it early!! Yes, Hazel was ecstatic about getting The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde.  

Dewey Bob -- 12 Days of Picture Books

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

I am so excited to share this with you today. Penguin Random House is celebrating the season with a 12 Days of Picture Books Gvieaway!!And I get to be part of it. The sent me some of the amazing books they are giving away to review. Today's book is Dewey Bob by Judy Schachner. 
http://www.penguin.com/book/dewey-bob-by-judy-schachner/9780803741201


Captain No Beard Series Review & Treasure Pouch Craft

Disclosure: I was sent the set of books with some hats, crafts and play doubloons and will receive a small compensation for writing this honest review. All opinions are my own. As always I am providing links for your convenience. I do not receive compensation if you purchase through them.

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a series of books with you. I will admit when I first was approached about these books, I was not completely sure they were our cup of tea, but I decided to try them anyway because I figured they might be one your child's things. After all Hazel is really not into pirates except Jake and the Neverland Pirates. However I was very pleasantly surprised by these books. Hazel and I LOVE them!! We were sent all nine Captain No Beard books by Carole P. Roman.

Cody and the Fountain of Happiness Book Review

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Do you have a young reader who is ready to read or listen to a chapter book, but need to find one that does not have content that is too above their age level? I know I love reading chapter books to Hazel but since she is sensitive it is very hard to find good books to read and there are only so many Rainbow Magic Fairy books I can read in a row. Candlewick Press provides a wonderful alternative (well actually a few but I will post about more another time). Today we are sharing Cody and the Fountain of Happiness by Tricia Springstubb and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. 

Doozers Pod Squad DVDs Review and Giveaway!

Disclosure: NCircle Entertainment gave me a copy of the DVDs free of charge and is supplying the ones for the giveaway free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the DVD on NCircle Entertainment's site for your convenience. You can also find their DVDs at local retailers!

Have you met the Doozers? They are created by the Jim Hensen Company for preschoolers. The Pod Squad are a group of friends who live in Doozer Creek. They work together to solve problems and to learn. The show focuses on teaching preschoolers about teamwork, eco-friendly behavior, STEM-based adventures and more! We got the opportunity to review the first two DVDs which are on sale now at Target and will be available everywhere in September.

Parenting Resource Book to Help Discuss Sexual Abuse and Have a Plan


Today I am going to share a book I found recently. Now I do not remember where I saw it and cannot find the original place I saw it in the last month, but this is a must read to your young children. The book is I Said No!: A Kid-to-Kid Guide to Keeping Private Parts Private by Zack and Kimberly King. This book came about after Zack and his sister slept over their best friends' house while their mother dealt with an emergency with the baby. The house was right next door and they had known the neighbors for years. Zack was in kindergarten. Yes, in kindergarten like Hazel. Zack's best friend tried to get Zack to show him his private parts and also tried to get Zack to touch the friend's privates. He used bribery, peer pressure, and threatened to not be his friend anymore to get what he wanted. Zack told the mother and she told them to go to bed. He told his sister and she talked to the mother and again he was sent into the room with the boy. He eventually came up with the solution of staying in the bathroom and telling them he was sick to his stomach. Kimberly is a kindergarten teacher and thought she had prepared her children for any situation they might find themselves in, but she had not expected a kindergartener to use bribery, threats and such. Writing this book together helped the family heal and be able to move past this horrible experience. It is also written as five-year-old Zack is talking to the child reading it. It is very powerful.

School Vacation Week--Welcome Spring!

So on top of Monday's horrible tragedy, it is school vacation week here and spring has definitely sprung. We have not had many crafts to post since our focus has been on getting outside and at night I have been processing all that has happened (and working on her knitted farm playmat which is almost finished!!). I thought I would share a few pictures from our activities this week. (I know I still haven't done my Cinderella post this week, but am working on it!)

On Monday our day was spent going to the doctor's office--yes Hazel still has a cold and getting Hazel's dance class photo taken. A busy tiring day, but not much to show for it.

On Tuesday Hazel took a class at Drumlin Farm with her best friend from school. Now her friend's mom and I started with them, but parents were not suppose to be there. I didn't get many pictures since I explained to Hazel that moms were not allowed and she was all right with it, her friend however did not feel the same so his mom got a few pictures for me. I went off to the gift shop and then checked out the animals so I would know if we wanted to see them all later and then found a quiet place to sit and knit. The class was on cold-blooded animals so they were ponding a bit.
After their class ended we had a picnic lunch and then went to check out all the animals including the 12-day-old piglets. Hazel and her friend found a door open to an empty chicken coop, so they hopped in and his mom took a picture of them caged.
Then we did Hazel's favorite thing--the hay ride.
Then we bought farm fresh eggs and went to the gift shop. I promised Hazel she could get two gifts since she had been so good at the class without me. This class was meant to be a test run for both of them to see how they would do with each other and not us. Hazel passed and her friend did not (but he did not have a good night the night before so that might be why). While in the gift shop I bought more bird seed as well so his mom went to get the car instead of us carrying the huge bags the distance to the parking lot. (Drumlin Farm is a Mass Audubon location.)
Near the gift shop was one of the few places you can eat due to the working farm and health violations, so the kids enjoyed their M&M's from lunch while we waited.

Today was one of those wonderful spring days that got close to 70 without quite reaching it. We had to take the cats to the groomers and run a few errands, but we spent the afternoon outside. First we went to check on the flowers (see collage near top) and vegetables we planted. We watered some and noticed the English daisy looked dug up so we replanted it and gave it lots of water. Then Hazel watered her pansies. Then we headed to her garden to check on the lettuce--looks like the rabbit found it and snap peas and pansies. The basil was planted a bit too early, so we will have to get more. Oh, and Hazel watered the tomato plants that are in the garage still since it is over a month too early to plant them outside here. Then it was time to play!
Hazel took a little rest on her bench at the swingset and then went on the swings. A neighbor across the street brought her three-year-old granddaughter over since her granddaughter wanted to meet Hazel and they played for a bit. Overall it was a fun day!

For those looking to help with the horrific tragedy in Boston, CNN has a good list of ways anyone can help.




Friendship with Charlotte's Web



Some Pig!This weekend Hazel and I went to the local music theater to see a production of Charlotte's Web. Now I have fond memories of the book and story from growing up, but I haven't read it (or seen the movie) since I was a child. In preparation of the show, I took the book out of the library. I also found the picture book, Some Pig by E.B. White at the library.

We started with the picture book, but I was disappointed that it really only told the story of the first chapter. Charlotte was not introduced in it at all. So then we started reading the original Charlotte's Web. We would read a chapter or two a night. Hazel really enjoyed this. I also wanted to prepare her for the ending with Charlotte dying. I must admit at first Hazel had trouble keeping the characters straight, especially only reading a chapter a night. But at the end she knew who was who by name. We finished reading the book last Monday night. We went to the show on Saturday.
Coloring Page Source
Now we have gone to this theater to see Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs and Rapunzel. (We have tickets to see Cinderella's Wedding, Snow White and Beauty and the Beast this summer there.) At the end of Charlotte's Web, Hazel cried. She cried because it was over and she did not want to leave the theater. She wanted to see the show again. I convinced her to stop crying by telling her we would break our no television rule and let her watch the movie, so we had to make a trip to the library before they closed Saturday to get the movie. She also announced that Charlotte's Web was her favorite show of them all. I was a little surprised since we had already seen Rapunzel, but she liked Charlotte's Web more. 



Now my favorite part of this story is the friendship. There are so many wonderful messages throughout this story. First there is the message when Fern asks her father how it is fair to kill the pig just because it was born small. 
"'But it's unfair,' cried Fern. 'The pig couldn't help being born small, could it? If I had been very small at birth would you have killed me?'"
Such a wonderful message about nature and God's creatures without the religious part even being mentioned. For those that do not know the story, her father let's her keep the runt of the litter and she names him Wilbur. Well, Wilbur grows quickly under Fern's care and eventually her father says it is time to sell him. He decides she can offer him to her uncle who lives down the street for $6 and that way she can visit Wilbur any time she wants. So Wilbur moves to the Zuckerman's farm and lives in the barn cellar. 

Around the barn cellar are the sheep who do not want much to do with a pig, a rat named Templeton and a goose who is sitting on her eggs waiting for them to hatch. Wilbur is looking for someone to play with him like Fern always did. Then he hears a voice saying she will be his friend. Wilbur does not see who is talking since it is night time, but is happy to have a friend. The next morning he discovers his new friend is a spider who eats flies or rather drinks their blood and is named Charlotte. This disgusts him a bit, but a friend is a friend and he was desperate. 

The sheep and rat tell Wilbur that the people are fattening him up so they can kill him for meat. He becomes distressed. Charlotte promises him that she will find a way for him not to be killed. She finally thinks of one and begins writing messages in her web. The messages are "Some Pig", "Terrific", "Radiant" and "Humble." The Zuckermans become famous for having a pig so special that there are words in a spider web. They enter him in the county fair and decide if he wins he will not be killed. At this point Charlotte is becoming very weary and needs to lay her eggs before she dies, but she goes with him to the fair and writes "Humble" in her web there. He does not win the first prize but gets a special ribbon that is even better. Therefore, he is saved. This is when he discovers Charlotte will not be returning to the farm with him since she will die in a matter of days. He takes her egg sac home with him with the help of Templeton. 

Now my favorite quote of the story is Charlotte's response to Wilbur's question of why she wrote the messages in his web. 

"'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you.'"

 With this story being about friendship, it seemed only fitting that we saw Hazel's best friend at the theater after the show. They played for a bit outside on the big rock by the entrance. Hazel posed by the crocuses while he was on the rock (sorry I won't show you his face). I actually got some really cute ones of them both on the rock.
Coloring Page Source

As you can imagine we are thinking a lot about spiders and pigs now. I would expect you may see some crafts along those lines soon. We have already taken some books out on spiders so we can learn more about them and why Charlotte had to die. I also started a Charlotte's Web Pinterest Board if you want to see some ideas. Our favorite character in the show was Charlotte. I may have convinced Hazel to be Charlotte for Halloween. We will see if she wants to closer to the time. 

I also made her a Match Game to go with the book. Here is a copy of it if you want it.





Children's Museum, Friends & Zoo

We had a very busy week last week. On Monday we met my friend in the town we grew up in for lunch and then the three of us went to the Children's Museum there. Now the friend we met and I have known each other since we were around six months old. Yes, we are lifetime friends. We both now live in different states and our hometown is about halfway between us. Her youngest is my goddaughter who is looking at colleges for next year. Well, we took Hazel by the houses we grew up in and went to the New Children's Museum. Of course anyone from around the area of West Hartford, knows the museum by the giant whale in front of it. See above. After we went through the museum we went into the whale. Remember the picture I asked where Hazel was? She was inside the whale.

Multicultural Monday--The Land Down Under



G'Day, Mate! My dear friend, Kelly, over at Happy Whimsical Hearts sent Hazel an Australian package. Well actually it was technically Kelly's son and Hazel's pen pal, but when you are talking 3 and 4-year-olds let's face it, it is the mother. We received this package awhile ago. I found most of the parts to it again, but Hazel has really been enjoying it. Today we explored the land down under or Australia. (Yes, The Men at Work song, Down Under, keeps playing through my head.--I'm a child of the 80's--what can I say.)


The package included a post card of the Australian flag, a travel brochure, some vegemite packages, some play money, a little koala toy and a platypus finger puppet. When we got this package, Hazel loved the platypus. I keep finding it everywhere, but of course, today I couldn't find it. When we got the package, we took some books out on platypuses, but of course, I didn't take any pictures of them. Hazel keeps telling me she wants to see a real platypus, so I guess we will have to take a trip to Australia!!

Thanks, Kelly & Dino Boy!!
This morning we made some toast and tried the vegemite. I have to say that none of us really liked it. We were glad we had also made a piece of toast with some of our peach jam on it to get rid of the taste. But now we know what vegemite tastes like. I know I have always wondered ever since The Men at Work song.


Next we took out the books we had from the library and read them. One of them suggested making boomerangs from cardboard, so we did. Hazel decorated them. She and Daddy are going to try them out later after they dry. I also pulled out the travel book I picked up the last time I was at the AAA office. Nothing like dreaming of a great vacation.


The other day Hazel and I went with some friends to the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. I will share more about this trip on Wednesday, but they have an Outback Trail. We saw emus (sorry the picture is not so great of them, but you can see it above the u), kangaroos, sleeping tree kangaroos, cockatoos and black swans. We also saw a kookaburra, but the picture was really horrible. Then I also included some sharks and the turtle from our aquarium trip last month.


For some more Australian crafts and activities check out:
Daria Music
Making Multicultural Music
Irresistible Ideas 
Red Ted Art 
and another one here..
Glittering Muffins has several if you scroll down you will see the Australian ones

Some Simple Crafts


Well Monday, Hazel and I had an adventure. The picture above is from part of our location. Feel free to comment with your guess. I will share its whereabouts in another post. We went to the town I grew up in and visited some friends of mine. One of my friends I have known since we were six months old. She traveled about two hours to meet us for the day. I will share the details of our adventure another time. We ended our day by traveling to my sister's for a sleepover. Again, I will share the details for another time--probably next Happy Family Times. Well last Sharing Saturday We Made That shared a Wave Sensory Bottle. I loved the idea and had all the supplies so I made one to keep Hazel busy for our over two hour car ride.

My sister left a pink plastic lei for Hazel on her bed when we got to her apartment. Hazel loves it and wanted to decorate it today. So we made some tissue paper flowers for it. I cut with my scrapbook scissors some tissue paper circles. Then we stuck half a pipe cleaner through the center of several of them (2 or 3) and curled the top so it would stay. Then we used the stem to wind it around the lei. What do you think?
Ok, that is what we have been up to. We are having a relaxing catch up day today. Hope you are enjoying your day! Don't forget to guess where Hazel is in the top picture!!