Virtual Book Club for Kids & Giveaway--Room on the Broom

As I mentioned in my introduction post, the March Author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids is Julia Donaldson. Now before she was picked, I had not heard of Julia Donaldson. Now I am so glad I have. We love so many of her books. I will be posting multiple books throughout the three weeks. This week I am sharing one of Hazel's favorites, Room on the Broom.

For those that do not know what the Virtual Book Club for Kids is, I have joined a group of amazing bloggers who pick an author each month and each blog picks a book (or more) by this author and posts a craft or activity to go with the book. Then we all host a blog hop so you can share a craft or activity to go with a book by this author. The wonderful bloggers are:

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

This month is extra special because The Gruffalo Brand has offered two of her most loved books,  The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child. Both of these books have been adapted into two award winning animated films. You can purchase the films at this link. And you can see the trailers for both here. To enter the giveaway for the books, you must be a resident of the United States and over 18. Then you can simply enter by following the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more Gruffalo Giveaways make sure you visit the following blogs:

• Royal Baloo is giving away a copy of The Gruffalo Book and Movie! 
• Toddler Approved! is giving away 2 Gruffalo Prize packs! 
• Playing with Words 365 is giving away a copy of The Gruffalo Book and Movie!

Now onto our book. First I will say Hazel often goes around with her little broom between her legs telling me she is flying. Needless to say why we love this book! This story is about a witch and her cat going out for a ride on the witch's broom. However she keeps losing things in the wind: her hat, her hair bow, her wand. Each time she loses something, they land and look for it and each time a new animal comes out with it and asks if there is room on the broom for them. Then she ends up with herself, her cat, a dog, a green bird and a frog.

Our first broom is a piece of pine tree branch we found in our yard. It got rather full with just the witch and cat but you can only imagine with all four animals.

Well the weight of all the creatures on the broom split the broom in half and the witch's half flies off into the clouds while the other half falls. The witch ends up meeting a dragon who loves to eat witches with fries.

I borrowed our dragon from our Irish Cinderella we posted the other day.

The dragon says this once he will have witch with no fries and is about to eat her when out of the lagoon comes a black covered creature with four heads. The dragon has never seen such a scary creature before and the creature claims the witch as its. The dragon apologizes and leaves as fast as he can. Then the bird flies off the creature and the frog jumps down and the cat finally gets off the dog. The witch is so happy to have been saved by her friends. She needs to make a new broom and tells them all to find something to add to the brew. They end up with a designer broom with a proper space for each of them.

We did not make the designer broom, but we did make a sample broom with a stick and some yarn. I made her some peg dolls for the animals and the witch.

Now the exciting news is there is a film coming out soon for Room on the Broom. You can check out the Facebook page for this film and the Pinterest Board. Plus The Gruffalo Brand has a Room on the Broom page with a trailer to the film, all the different versions of the book, and an activities section including finger puppets to make out of paper and word activities!

Now it is your turn to share a Julia Donaldson book or if you do not know her books, check out some of these other posts so you can decide which one to read first!

Building a Bird Nest

Sparrow Nest on Our House

Ever have a bunch of ideas in your head, but not enough time to get everything done. That is how I have been feeling. So today I will post about one of my ideas. With the start of spring we have been noticing birds and nests around, so I wanted to focus a bit on birds and nests.I have been pinning many bird nest and bird ideas.  Awhile ago, I posted this picture of a quick bird nest that I got the idea from Kara at Pam's Party Planning and Practical Tips (shared at a Sharing Saturday).

Hazel loved making it and asked to make another, so we bought some supplies. While at Michaels and looking at birds we found this little pre-made nest. We bought the birds in it at The Dollar Tree and put in some faux eggs to make it realistic.

Then we bought a bigger grapevine wreath and a basket at the Dollar Tree to make another one to go with our bigger birds. I used the wool felted eggs I won around Easter. I figured Hazel could play with this one a bit more.

Oh and we changed the birds to the original to a cardinal and other bird Hazel picked out.

The mixture

Next we made some bird nest cookies. I googled for a recipe and found an easy one on Six Sisters' Stuff. It is very easy. You melt a bag of chocolate chips and a bag of some other flavor of chips (I used mixed chocolate and peanut butter) in the microwave by setting it for a minute at 50% power level then stir and repeat until melted. Then stir in a bag chow mein noodles. Drop by the tablespoon on to pieces of waxed paper and shape how you want (we didn't really worry about shaping) and add three or so jelly beans or candy eggs of some sort (we used M&M's). The best part of making them now is all the Easter candy is on sale.

Then you let the cookies harden.

Hazel has already asked to make more of them though I don't think she tasted any of them. I have a different type of recipe to try so we might try them next week.

We also looked at some books on birds and nests. Here are a few of our favorites.

In the Nest by Anna Milbourne is a great book that simplifies the making of the nest and the life cycle of the eggs to baby birds to their first flight and leaving the nest.

Baby Bird's First Nest by Frank Asch is one of Hazel's favorites. It is a story about a baby bird who rolls over and tumbles out of his nest. His sleeping mother does not wake up to his cry for help, but a little frog who lives in the pond next to the tree comes to his rescue. Together they build their first nest and then a raccoon comes so they hide and then the frog helps the baby bird get back to its nest by hopping from branch to branch. It is a great story about helping another and making friends.




Bird Nests by Theresa Hopkins has pictures instead of some words so it is fun for the kids to read. It explains the use of the nest, etc.




Then we started some starched yarn nests. You will have to wait for the glue to dry to see the final product, but I also added raffia. I got the idea from La-La's Home Daycare. She has been doing a lot with birds and bird nests as well.

I also cut the supplies for Hazel to do two paper plate crafts mostly on her own. I painted one of the plates brown for her (more because she was doing something else). Then cut the strips of paper and the beak and wings and gave them to her with a plastic egg (well two tops of blue plastic eggs) and explained it to her. This idea came from Busy Bee Kids Crafts. Hers came out a lot messier,but isn't that how the art of a 3-year-old should be?

The even easier paper plate craft idea came from Arts and Crafts for Tots. I changed it a bit and started with a blue plate and cut the bird, beak and tree for her as well as gave her the yarn and raffia cut up. She did all the gluing herself though. We are happy with it.

So today, I had a bit of an epiphany. Hazel brought her brown paper plate craft to show me and the beaks and wings were glued to the plate and not the eggs. I went to fix them and Hazel apologized to me for doing it wrong. I tried to explain that she didn't do it wrong and realized that I really need to watch what I change and what my expectations are. I know I try not to change much on her things and do not look for perfection in either of our crafts, but I need to remember just how sensitive she is and that she is still trying to figure things out. Anyway, just thought I would share it with you.

The other bird nest in our tree--this one looks huge!

Keep an eye out for more bird crafts as well as gardening, senses, zoos, and multicultural/diversity. Those are all in my head. Now to get them done to share with you.

This is where I link up....

Happy Family Times #21--A Trip to Boston

Have you done something fun with your family this week? Kelly at Happy Whimsical Hearts and I are collecting everyone's activities to inspire all of us to spend more time with our families! Please share your story below.

This past week we spent lots of time together as a family. Steve had the week off and we planned several day trips and things to do locally. The one we all looked forward to, especially Hazel, was going into Boston. We took the subway in (Boston has America's oldest subway but parts of it are above ground--you can read more about the history here). It was Hazel's first time on the subway or a real train (besides the small ones at the zoo and malls). She was so excited. The picture above is on the first train. The picture below is waiting for Daddy to purchase the Charlie Tickets so we can get on the train.

We took the train to The Public Garden. Hazel could not wait to get there. I had promised her a ride on the Swan Boats and to see the Make Way for Duckling statues. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey is one of our favorite books and we feel so lucky to live near where the story takes place!

Pond in The Public Garden

We walked around the pond to the Swan Boats and got in line. We stopped on top of the bridge to check out the island and we stopped to check out all the mallards (including ducklings) all around the pond! After waiting a short bit in line, we got on the swan boat. One of the other passengers had brought bread and fed some of the ducks who followed us for a bit, but the passenger was informed by the driver that you are not suppose to feed the birds, so she stopped. A pair of swans live in the pond each summer. They are named Romeo and Juliette. I couldn't tell you which was which, but we saw both.

After the ride we walked over to the Make Way for Duckling statutes. Hazel could not see them at first, but then she saw them and asked to run to them. She had to first touch each one. Then she asked for a picture by each one. I think she got bored part way through of the pictures though.

Then we walked out of The Public Garden and went across the street to Boston Common (known around here as The Common). We were more walking through, but I wanted to show her the Frog Pond which had many kids playing in the water and sprinklers. Next to the Frog Pond there was a carousel set up, so Hazel and I went on it. It was the first time she wanted to go on one of the horses that went up and down so I held her. We also ran into a friend from our parent/child class this past year who also rode on the carousel.

Then we went to find a restaurant to have lunch. We had two requirements: a bathroom and some place to sit down inside. We found a burger place (after saying no to two places due to our requirements). It was good. We had mentioned possibly going to the aquarium. Hazel really wanted to go, so we did, even though we were all a bit tired. Our thoughts had been that the aquarium would be a good choice, since it is mostly indoors and air conditioned and it was hot. Also Hazel loves looking at the fish at the pet store, so I thought she would really enjoy it. Now, I should add that I have never been impressed with the New England Aquarium. I have always thought it was overpriced for what they offer, so if you are visiting Boston, it does not need to be on your must-see list.

Well once again I was disappointed. I was a bit shocked at how much it cost for the three of us to get in. The lines were very long to get in and then it was so overcrowded that it was hotter inside than outside and you really couldn't get close enough to see much. Plus the one spot we got close to the big round tank Hazel got scared of the sharks. Hazel enjoyed the jelly fish and the penguins, but by this point the crowd and heat were getting to us all and we were all very exhausted. We headed home. Oh, and if you are going to the aquarium in Boston, don't go in the summer. The clerk at the gift shop told me the prices are raised and it is always that crowded in the summer. She said it was much better in the fall once people are back at school. I was a bit surprised by this since I remember coming from Connecticut to go as a kid with school, but I don't remember it being so crowded then either.

We hopped back on the T (the subway) and went back home. Well we stopped for ice cream and then went home.

Now it is your turn to share how your family has spent some quality time lately.

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Ok, now for our PARTY!! Please share your FUN Family Times!!

Books to Celebrate World Animal Day!

 

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

Did you know today (October 4th) is World Animal Day? It is celebrate annually on October 4th which is also the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. I know our church always has a blessing of the pets day around October 4th to honor St. Francis. The idea behind World Animal Day is to work for increasing the status of animals and helping keep them from becoming endangered and/or extinct. (Source and more information on World Animal Day.) Hazel is a big animal lover and especially loved learning about animals when she was younger. She was a huge Wild Kratts fan. Over the years we have shared many animal themed crafts, books and activities. Today we are going to share two more animal-themed books in celebration of World Animal Day. The first is a book I wish was around when Hazel was younger. It is Howl Like a Wolf! by Kathleen Yale and illustrated by Kaley McKean. 

Chapter Books for Middle Grades (3-7)

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

Today I am going to share with you a bunch of relatively new chapter books for the middle grades. There is something for everyone in this bunch!! We will start with Brave Red, Smart Frog: A New Book of Old Tales by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Rohan Daniel Eason. 

All About Japan By Willamarie Moore -- Book Review

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of these products 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 I am going to review for you the wonderful book, All About Japan by Willamarie Moore. I absolutely love this series of books from Tuttle Publishing. They are packed full with so much information and they teach so much about the culture and life in the country. (I reviewed All About Indonesia by Linda Hibbs in July.) This book helps us center our exploration of Japan. It shares traditional stories, holidays, life in the city as well as the country (told by children who live there), recipes, crafts, dance, music, poetry, and so much more. 

With any book that has a recipe or craft in it, Hazel wants to try it, so we did. The book has three recipes in it and we tried two. I did not try to make Onigiri since I couldn't find the ingredients and I didn't really think Hazel would like them. We did try Okonomiyaki. It is described like a pancake with fillings but reminded me more of an omelet. I do not think I cut our fillings up enough and they fell apart on us when we flipped and removed them. Steve and I both thought they were all right and Hazel liked to eat the chicken filling instead. The pancake batter had cabbage in it which is why they are green.

Oknomiyaki

The other recipe we tried was mochi cakes. We made them the day after we read "The Grateful Statues" in Japanese Children's Favorite Stories by Florence Sakade. The story is about a kind, poor couple. The old man does something kind for some statues and his kindness is rewarded with a large mochi cake. Therefore making mochi cake right afterward was perfect. Now are mochi cakes did not turn out pretty. We should have looked at pictures of them first, but Hazel was having fun making shapes out of them. We also could not find sweet rice flour or mochiko and used regular rice flour. They were not as sweet as they probably should have been. I like them though.

Mochi is often a treat for O-Shogatsu (New Year), so it seems appropriate to also show you our Nenga-jo Greeting card. Since 2015 is the year of the sheep, we used a sheep rubber stamp and Hazel wrote on the numbers. Nenga-jo are usually postcards that are sent the first three days of January.

Nenga-jo

 This book also discusses some history of Japan including the samurai warriors. They have instructions to make a samurai helmet out of newspaper. Hazel of course wanted one and then modeled it with a sword.

And what exploration of Japan would be complete without some origami? The book shares a wonderful song about frogs and gives the instructions to make an origami hopping frog.

Hazel loves making origami and wanted to make lots of frogs. You can find similar frog's instructions here.

She also loved that they could hop.

She made one of every color and then pulled out her zoo mat to put them in water. She then gathered more zoo animals to go with her frogs. I love crafts that lead to her creative play!

All About Japan is the perfect book for anyone who wants to learn more about Japan, its history, culture, etc. There are so many activities throughout it from learning about haikus to writing Kanji. We would have done more of the Kanji if we hadn't had the other books.  The other activity we did do was trying the Bon Dance. I however did not get any pictures since I was doing it with Hazel. I am also almost done with a kimono for her doll. She picked a fabric that reminds me of sakura (cherry blossoms), so I'll wait until it is finished and share it with our cherry exploration! Stay tuned!!

For more books and activities to learn about Japan check out:

• Learning Japanese with books and flashcards
• Exploring Japan with books and more
• Sora and the Cloud
• Origami Butterflies
• Asian Kites
• Asian Pacific Island Heritage Month Blog Hop
• Asian-Pacific Island Book Round-Up
• Multicultural Christmas Books
• Play! Book Review
• Happy New Year Around the World
• My Multicultural Pinterest Board

Also check out some of our other reviews of Tuttle Publishing Books:

• All About Indonesia 
• Asian Kites 
• Mei-Mei's Lucky Birthday Noodles 
• Mulan and My First Book of Chinese Words