Sticker Fun! -- Review of Sticker Activity Books

Disclosure: I was sent these products 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 book for your convenience.

One of the things that keeps Hazel busy are sticker activity books. She gets so excited for them. Today I am going to share with you four new sticker activity books for different ages!! I am going to start with the older kids. The first is Sticker Shape Create by Thereza Rowe. 

Do You Know? Farm: Animals, Work, and Life -- Nonfiction Children's Book Review

 

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

As spring approaches, I begin to think about my garden. I also am noticing some life at the farm stores and nurseries. I am lucky to have a local farm that grows all year long in greenhouses that I frequent. (It helps that I'm friends with the owners so sometimes I'm there to visit.) Today I am sharing a book recommended for ages 5 and up about farms. It is Do You Know? Farm: Animals, Work, and Life by Camille Babeau and illustrated by Charlotte Ameling, Helene Convert, Ilaria Falorsi, and Camille Roy. It is being released tomorrow.

Newly Released Children's Books Featuring Animals

 

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

August seems to be the month of children's books with animal themes. We have been sharing books about all sorts of animals: zebras, coyotes, hippopotamus, snails, dogs, and more! Today we are sharing two new books about various animals that were released this week. One is a board book and one is a lift, look and find picture book. We will start with the board book which is Hoot Hoot by Georgette. It is recommended for ages 0 to 3.

New Books Featuring Animals

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

I have so many fun books to review this week that I am starting to share them on Sunday!! Today we are sharing three books all featuring animals in different ways. Each book is done very differently and there is a huge variety on the focus. We will start with a unique type of book called Babies: A Phototicular Book created by Dan Kainen and written by Mara Grunbaum. This book will be enjoyed by all ages!

Adorable Pom Pom Animals -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

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

Can you believe today is the last day of March? That means it is the last day of National Craft Month. In honor of the month, I wanted to share with you a fun book by Kazuko Ito. It is Adorable Pom Pom Animals: Dogs, Cats, and Other Wooly Friends. 

A Morning at Drumlin Farm

Today Hazel and I started a class at Drumlin Farm. Drumlin Farm is a full operating farm run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Our class is called Spring Sense-Sations. It is about using your senses around the farm and seeing what senses the animals use. Last year Hazel and I took a course that was for two-year-olds to introduce them to spring at the farm. Hazel was completely afraid of the animals if we got too close. We will see what happens this year.

He greeted us all when we came to the Turkey House

Our class started in the Turkey House. I don't know why it is called the Turkey House, but it is a building with a classroom. And we did see turkeys right outside. Our first adventure was finding the Turkey House since we had not been there before. When we arrived there was a table set up with all sorts of natural things--pine needles, leaves, coyote teeth, nettles, apple slices, etc. for the kids to use their senses with. Then the instructor talked about what our five senses are and then she introduced us to our guests for the day--three mice. We observed them in a somewhat naturally set-up habitat. She pointed out the size of their feet to their ears versus ours. At this point we had to make a bathroom run where we saw all the turkeys since we didn't notice them coming in since our main concern was finding the Turkey House.

The females turkeys the male was trying to impress

While on the bathroom run we saw our teachers from last year so Hazel was excited about that. She had been asking if we would see them. She did not want to stay inside too much and wanted to get out to see the animals. Next our teacher showed the kids how to make newspaper explorer hats--well ok, all the moms made the hats for the kids. Hazel didn't want one, but I made one anyway. Then we headed out to see the animals.

We saw the goats and the kids. Then we saw some chickens. Hazel was terrified of the chickens last year but couldn't wait to see them this year.

Then we looked at the lambs and sheep and headed to the pig barn. (Sorry I didn't get a picture of Hattie, the pig.)

Then we headed to the red barn to see Midnight, the pony, but he wasn't there. We saw the cows instead.

Then we walked on the Discovery Trail and saw the cows up close. On the Discovery Field they also had cement type makers with labeled foot prints--rabbit, fox, raccoon, etc. Then we headed over to see if we could spy the rabbit. We did! At least if we picked the kids up we all did. She is a good hider.

At this point the class was over. So Hazel and I went to check out the fox and then back to see all the animals and take pictures for you.

The fox was rather quick and I didn't get a great picture of him. Then we went back to the goats. There are kids laying where their food is suppose to go.

We went into the goat/sheep shed.

On the sheep side there was a ram and we saw a sheep eating.

Outside we found more sheep and lambs.

Then we headed to the chicken house. It took Hazel the entire class (7 weeks or so) last year to be willing to enter the chicken house. This year she couldn't wait to get in there.

Then we said hi to the pig, but I didn't get a great picture since she moved outside and there wasn't a good angle of her. And we headed back to the red barn and this time Midnight was there as well as another sheep that apparently did not get shaven over the weekend during their big wool shearing festival.

They also have a room set up to explore about horses. We discovered based on Hazel's height she is a pony---10 hands tall.

And she tried to ride a horse as well as groom one.

They also had a table of the sheared sheep's wool out for the kids to feel. It had not been treated or anything.

Then we headed up to bird hill to check out the birds--mostly the owls and hawks. They keep some of the "wild" animals--birds, rabbits, foxes, etc. that were injured or born into captivity and got too use to being cared for to be released safely.

Great Horned Owl

Sorry the hawks came out way too blurry to post and by this time Hazel was tired and getting cranky so we headed home, but not without stopping to buy the last dozen eggs from the farm.

Talk about colored eggs. Check out all the different ones in here.

Of course the view I got most while walking through the farm with Hazel was this:

her back! She was so excited to be back there!

This is where I link up...

Fun & Educational Board Books

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Do you have a little one who loves board books and interactive books? Today we are sharing four new ones! Three of which are being released today!! One of them is about a Netflix movie that came out this summer, Swapped. We will start with that one. It is Ollie's Big Adventure by Maggie Testa. It is recommended for ages 2 to 5.

Book Review: Super-Cute Felt Animals

Today is the last day to enter my current giveaway. Have you entered yet?

Today I get the pleasure of reviewing a wonderful book to make felt animals. I am truly honored to get to review this book. The book, Super-Cute Felt Animals by Laura Howard is her latest book. However I fell in love with her designs from her first book, Super-Cute Felt. I was really excited when I stumbled upon Laura Howard's blog, Bugs and Fishes by Lupin, and it was announcing the newest book. I couldn't wait to see it. Laura has also been posting complementary felt projects to go with her newest book on her blog. 

Super-Cute Felt Animals features 35 projects and are divided into six chapters: In the Woods, On Safari, Under the Sea, On the Farm, In the Garden and At Home. The animals are three-dimensional, but a flat three-dimensional. They are perfect for making into ornaments, jewelry or to add dimension to a felt board. Laura also jazzes up the animals with sequins and beads as well as some stitches. 

I got into making felt things, especially animals, when Hazel was going to the Waldorf School. Now that she is not going there, I confess to switching to the cheaper felt, but I am still enjoying having small hand sewing projects to do. I have completed two of the animals in this book and am working on my third. Here are my projects.

From the In the Woods Chapter, I made this adorable deer. The deer has white seed beads for its spots and black seed beads for its eyes. I think I will sew a ribbon on it so it can be a Christmas ornament. Her book provides full patterns in the back to trace or photocopy (if you are lazy like me) as well as very clear directions on how to make each animal. She also provides help with cutting small pieces of felt and for each type of stitch.

From the Under the Sea Chapter, I made this flashy jellyfish. Hazel could not wait for it to be done. As soon as she saw it, she added it to her felt beach playmat. Again, the pattern and instructions were easy to use and follow. 

From the On the Farm Chapter, I am making this sheep. It is not quite done, but it is coming together very easily. I am making this one in secret since I plan to use it for one of Hazel's Advent calendar gifts. I also plan to make some pigeons, robins and parakeets from the book for her Advent calendar gifts. I'm hoping to make the birds from Tomie dePaola's The Birds of Bethlehem. I bought her a copy of the book as the first gift. Plus I want to make some felt nativity ornaments for our tree or hers and I figured the sheep would be perfect for this. 

So if you are looking for some easy but fun animals to make in felt, check out Laura Howard's Super-Cute Felt Animals. The book is perfect for homemade holiday gifts as well as for the beginning little sewers. The title describes her animals perfectly. You will also find wonderful tutorials at her blog!

Farms and Zoos

Broad Tailed Hawk at Drumlin Farm

We are trying, but struggling to get back into our weekly rhythm. With my parents here Monday morning still it seems to have thrown us off a bit. Plus Hazel was up quite a bit Sunday night--I think the excitement of the weekend got to her and now I'm sick as a result. Oh, well.

Knitted Farm Swap Update

Sharing Saturday is still open!! Please come share your child-oriented crafts and activities with us! 

My current GIVEAWAY is still open!!

Do you remember the Knitted Farm Swap for which I was looking for participants back in March? Well yesterday, I finally received the last of the squares and organized them all and sent them out. (This is what I was doing instead of getting Sharing Saturday up and running on time.) Today, I'm going to share with you the squares.

Fun & Facts Coloring Books Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent digital copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Daniel Gershkovitz and am receiving a small stipend for this review. All opinions are my own.

Today we get to share eleven fun coloring books that aren't just for coloring. They have fun facts about each of the pictures featured in the coloring page. The topics of these books range from animals to vehicles and space. There is literally something for every interest!! The books are We Can Color! Fun & Facts Coloring Books created by Daniel Gershkovitz. They each have 70 pages and are for all ages! Plus there is a giveaway at the end!

Picture Books with Lessons & Fun

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.

I have to make a confession. I have an awful problem. I am a book hoarder and I'm teaching Hazel to be one as well. And the worse thing is I haven't been sharing them with you. My review shelves are overflowing so I am going to be sharing several groupings of books the next few days. For now I am going some picture books which have interesting lessons and one is just fun. The first is the second book in the Growing With God Series by Janis Cox, Kingdom of Thrim. 

Christmas Books Roundup 3 -- Some Classics & More

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide honest reviews. All opinions are my own. 

Last week we shared some fun Christmas books. Today we are adding to our collection of new holiday picture books with our third roundup. Some of these books will be familiar and others are new! We will start with one of the ones that will sound familiar. It is The War Is Over! by Brad Booker, Dave Mullins and Sean Ono Lennon and illustrated by Max Narciso. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Virtual Book Club for Kids--Duck on a Bike

This month's author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids is David Shannon. Now I must admit, I was not too thrilled by this since we did not find too many of his books we liked, but we have found a few. His writing does not match our favorite type of stories and I personally see it more geared toward young boys. That being said we did find a favorite, Duck on a Bike. It has a duck in it, so Hazel loved it. She also loved that the duck rides a bike. I may have to get her a basket for her bike so Ducky can go for a ride as well.

For those who are not familiar with the Virtual Book Club for Kids, I have joined a wonderful group of bloggers to present books by a picked author for the month. We present a book (or books) by this author with an activity, craft, etc. to go along with it. Then we have a blog hop so others can join us. I have to admit I have discovered some amazing children's authors from doing this.  Here are the amazing bloggers who host this great book club.

Toddler Approved - Rainy Day Mum - Adventures in Reading with Kids - 3 Dinosaurs - Royal Baloo - The Educators' Spin On It - Inspiration Laboratories - Pleasantest Thing - Edventures with Kids - Two Big Two Little - Playing With Words 365 - Kitchen Counter Chronicles - Outlaw Mom - Mommy and Me Book Club - Crafty Moms Share - No Twiddle Twaddle - The Good Long Road - Ready. Set. Read 2 Me - Reading Confetti - Mama Smiles - Juggling with Kids- Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas - Creekside Learning - Creative Family Fun - The Usual Mayhem - Teach Preschool - PlayDrMom - CraftoArt - Here Come the Girls - Being a Conscious Parent - Smiling like Sunshine - Crayon Freckles - Train Up a Child - Smile Play Learn - Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - Coffee Cups and Crayons - Having Fun at Chelle's House- Love, Play, Learn - Juggling With Kids - Motherhood on a Dime - Growing Book By Book
- This Reading Mama - Fantastic Fun and Learning

  Now onto our book. This book is about a farm where a little boy leaves his bicycle out and the duck decides to go for a ride on it. The duck rides past all the other animals and says hi. All the other animals have different thoughts about seeing the duck on the bike--from he's crazy to I wish I could go on a bike. Then a large group of children come to the farm and leave their bikes outside and head inside. All the animals then give bike riding a try.

Now I must admit, Hazel and I have a cold and I was in hurry when we did this craft, but we were inspired by a craft Hazel made at our public library which was a plate with a slit and a duck on a popsicle stick that swam around the duck pond (the plate) by moving the popsicle stick in the slit. We cut a curve and put the duck on a bike and used stickers for the animals though we couldn't find any cat, dog and mouse stickers quickly so we drew them. Then after making one together, Hazel wanted to make her own. I had to run to church for work, so I cut the slit and helped draw the bike, and then she was on her own. We found one dog sticker after she drew one, so hers has two dogs. Not that you can tell the drawings are cat and dog.

Overall it was an easy fun craft to go with this fun book. She loved moving the duck around the "farm". We put the animals in the order that the duck passed them in the book.

In the next couple weeks we will share two more books by David Shannon. Now it is your turn. Have you done an activity with a David Shannon book? It is your turn to share here.

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.