Fun Facts About Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds -- Who's In the Backyard? Series

 

I may be on a staycation, but the birds in my yard are not! Today we will still have our Who's In the Backyard? Post. This week we are featuring the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. We are lucky to have a couple of bushes that hummingbirds like to feed off so we have some in our yard. Since the only type of hummingbird that breeds on the Eastern coast is the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, we know that is what we have. Plus I will be sharing some photos from my uncle's feeder that he was kind enough to share with me. Here is a fun one he shared. (All of our photos seem to be of females or juvenile males, so I found one on-line of a male for the photo above.)

Hispanic Hertiage Month--Some Legends of Puerto Rico

Hispanic Heritage Month is every September 15th to October 15th. Last year we really focused on Mexico for Hispanic Heritage Month. We also have done two Mexican Cinderella tales in our Fairy Tales in Different Culture series (as well as a Hispanic American version). This year we are going to expand out a bit. You will be seeing some Hispanic Heritage posts in our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures series (including this week) as well as our Flamingo Friday posts. Today I am going to share with you two wonderful picture books that tell two legends from Puerto Rico. Before I begin with the books, I need to send out a huge thank you to Daria over at Daria Music for sending these great books to me. If you have not checked out Daria's site, you should. She has amazing CD's as well as a great monthly page with several giveaways each month. This month she is giving away a basket full of castanets and a set of fair trade zamponas.

Animal Books & Activity Round-Up

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

We are a family of animal lovers. Hazel from a young age was interested in animals and learning about them. She has always seemed to love books about them and today I'm sharing some fun books and an origami kit all themed about animals. These books range for kindergarten and up. Starting with books for the youngest we will start with Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Jane Ray. It is recommended for kindergarten through third grade.

Easter Paper Quilling Crafts -- Crafty Sundays

 

Easter is early this year. I have started pulling out the Easter decorations as well as some spring. Spring is my favorite season. I love watching the world come back alive. Lately I have been trying paper quilling again. I bought myself a quilling comb kit. The book that comes with the kit explains some different techniques and has some projects. One I tried was a cross. I used a old frame I got at a discount store off season. It was a St. Patrick's Day decoration. I covered the print with cardstock and nicer paper. 

Until Someone Listens -- New Picture Book Review

 

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

It is hard to believe that Hispanic Heritage Month ends this week. I am so behind the ball these days. Getting used to working full time, having older parents and getting sick, are not giving me the time to write as much as I would like. I have two books I want to share for Hispanic Heritage Month and today I will share the picture book. It is Until Someone Listens by Estela Juarez with Lissette Norman and illustrated by Teresa Martinez. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8 and is also available in Spanish. 

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.

Spring Fever: Planting Hazel's Meadow/Garden

Spring has finally hit our area. It is hard to believe it is already May and the temperatures are just getting to be springlike. After school and gymnastics class, Hazel wanted to come home and get outside. I didn't blame her. She asked if she could plant some flowers in her garden. A few weeks ago we read Henry Cole's On Meadowview Street and Hazel wanted to do what Caroline did in the book.

In this book, a young girl named Caroline moves into a new house on Meadowview Street. While her family is settling in she decides to see if there is a meadow on Meadowview Street. On her way to see, she sees one lone flower growing in the middle of the lawn. She wants to save the flower and finds some sticks and string to rope it off. As the flower grows more flowers come up and she expands her meadow. Birds and bugs come to visit and soon she wants a tree. Eventually her whole yard is a meadow and some of the neighbors follow suit. 

Since we don't have a random flower in the middle of our yard, Hazel decided she would do it in her garden. Last year Steve dug me a new garden with better sunlight, so my old garden became Hazel's. It has my oregano and our raspberry bushes in it, but otherwise is hers to play and/or plant. Since she wanted a meadow, I bought her some butterfly and hummingbird flower seeds. We also found all the flower seeds from the past couple years that hadn't been finished. We figured we can see what will grow. The first thing we had to do was get rid of the weeds. Hazel took out her hoe, but I didn't get any pictures of it. Steve dug up some of the oregano (which has taken over this garden the past few years) and then our landscaper came and he wanted some to take home so he dug up the rest of what I didn't want. Once the weeds were up, Hazel began planting the seeds. I planted some of the milkweed seeds we found in the beginning of April. Then I explained to Steve that she wanted to rope it off like the girl in the book. He pulled out some of my stakes and I gave them some string. 

We also released her ladybugs today. They did not seem to want to leave their plastic home, so we put it in the garden.

Hazel had so much fun, digging, planning and planting. I hope some of it grows for her, but I figured we can always buy some annuals if they don't. For now the fun is just the hope and getting out there. Plus we let her do what she wanted with all the seeds. She asked for help with pouring them into her cup.

She and I discussed where to plant the sunflowers. This year I bought her pink sunflowers (Ms. Mars from Burpee). I hope they grow since she is so excited for them. I also found an old pack of yellow sunflowers and we mixed them up for her. 

Steve asked if she wanted a scarecrow for her garden and put it in for her. Then he helped her rope it off (while I took a nap). 

When Hazel came in, I ran out to get a picture of the final product. They added some more things like a "Welcome to my garden" sign and fences. Hazel also wants to put her wooden bird feeder and bird bath that she and Steve put together. That may be tomorrow's adventure.

Hopefully later in the year, we will have a butterfly and hummingbird paradise. I'll let you know!

For more of our gardening posts check out:

• Gardening Blog Hop
• The Garden Classroom Book Review
• Spring Flowers and Wildlife
• Fairy Garden 2012 
• Starting Seeds and Other Gardening Projects
• Earth Day 2014
• My Gardening Pinterest Board

Beach Art -- Crafty Sundays

 

Every summer we spend at least one week at Cape Cod. My parents live there and my family has a house that we rent out but we get a week at the house every year. We always try to have at least one beach day and sometimes walk on the beach in the evening. My favorite thing about walking the beach is picking up shells and rocks. I love finding the pieces of quahog shells which is what wampum is made from. We have a rock and shell collection. Some are found, some gifts and some bought. I took a combination of our collection from this year and past years and made some crafts. I started with one I was inspired by the Coastal Seashell Wreath over at Amy Latta Creations. I saw her creation last week on Facebook and fell in love with it. I headed over to Michaels and found the grapevine wreath and a wooden plaque for about $6 total. I also picked up some wooden framed shapes for my other project. They were 99 cents each. So I took our collection and created these fun pieces of beach art.

Readathon Week 3 at MeMeTales

I'm guest posting over at Happy Whimsical Hearts!! It is the day of her Happy Lil Hearts are Baking Link Party. Won't you come over and share with us?

As you know, we are participating in MeMeTales Readathon 2012. This is week 3 and in the first two weeks they have had 3,000 kids join in. For each child that joins they are donating a meal to FoodforEducation.org, so this is huge!! Plus the kids read 14,688 books this week. Their goal is to have 100,000 books read and donate 10,000 meals. If you haven't joined yet, please do. It is free and you get free books each week to go along with the theme that you can read on your computer or electronic book device.

Crafty Weekends: Paper Pom-Poms & Other Party Decorations Book Review & Link Party

I am hosting a giveaway to win ABC Monsters & Houdini DVDs ! Have you entered yet?

Disclosure:  Ryland Peters & Small sent 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.

Today I am sharing the perfect book for the DIY party decoration maker. This book has amazing ideas and instructions for making some common party decorations as well as creative new ones. I brought it into work (at the Paper Source) and my manager loved the book and wanted a copy for herself. The book is Paper Pom-Poms ad Other Party Decorations by Juliet Carr.

 I started with some basic party decorations. The rosette and the paper pom-pom. For the rosette I used a hummingbird paper from the Paper Source. I am planning on making some more for Hazel's Wild Kratts themed birthday party this year. I got a small rip in it unfortunately.

National Children's Craft Day--Crafty Sundays Review

 

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

Did you know March is National Craft Month and March 14th is National Children's Craft Day? So today I am sharing some craft kits and a book for kids. I have found most kids love doing origami, so two of them are origami products. The first is My First Animal Origami Kit by Joel Stern. 

Colored Pencil Pocket Palette & Pop of Color Colored Pencils -- A Relaxing Friday Review

Disclosure: I was sent these products to review free of charge from Quarto Books USA. 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.

I have been so busy with back to school that I haven't done a Relaxing Friday review in quite awhile!! And I have quite the collection of coloring books and supplies to review with you! Today we are focusing on colored pencils. Now I will admit these are not my favorite tool to use when coloring, but they have many benefits that markers and gel pens do not have. I was interested in seeing what Colored Pencil Pocket Palette by Jane Strother explained with using colored pencils. 

Welcome to the Neighborwood and River Story Book Reviews

Make sure you enter the Earth Day Giveaway we are co-hosting!!

 Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copies of these 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.

With the Earth Day Giveaway going on, I thought we would stick to some Earth Day themed books. Today we are going to share two books that are perfect for learning about the environment. 

The first book is River Story by Meredith Hooper and illustrated by Bee Willey. This beautiful book takes the reader to the start of a river. "All rivers have a beginning..." the book begins. The book takes the reader through the different aspects of a river. It shares where the river slows down, what the river is like in a city and where a river ends. 

Holiday Shopping -- Products Review -- Uncommon Goods

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Uncommon Goods. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Before I start this post, I will warn my family that they should not read this one until after Christmas since it contains gifts I am giving them!!

Have you started your holiday shopping yet? I try to have mine done before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the holiday season and not have to deal with the crowds at the mall. Now I do all the Christmas shopping for our family including my own gifts. After the first few Christmases I realized I needed to because even with a list, I was not getting what I wanted. When Uncommon Goods asked if I would review some products I jumped at the chance since they offer unique and unusual gifts.  They offer handcrafted gifts and more that are in harmony with the environment and there is no harm to animals or people with their products. Not only that, they stand behind their products and there is no date that things must be returned by. Plus with every purchase they donate $1 to a non-profit of the buyer's choice (from their list of non-profits to which they donate). This is not an ordinary company. 

Summer Animal Fun -- Summertime Fun Reviews

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.

 Summertime brings thoughts of many things--beach, heat, sunshine and animals. For me there are always new and fun things to see in nature and I like to share that with Hazel. What animals do you think about in the summer? We have so many different birds, bugs and frogs that come into our lives, so today's products are going to share those things with you. This year the town cleaned out some of the creek in our back yard and we discovered frogs around. So we will begin with Fabulous Frogs by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Tim Hopgood. 

Fun Animal Facts --Back to School with National Geographic Kids

 

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

School starts tomorrow for Hazel and me. It is hard to believe I'm going back after being home for sixteen years! My classroom is ready for the kids though, and I'm looking forward to it. It seems fitting to begin the school year with some books from National Geographic Kids. Today we are sharing 5,000 Awesome Facts (About Animals!) by National Geographic Kids. It is being released today and is recommended for ages 8 to 12.

Bee Aware -- 100 Plants to Feed the Bees and more -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Storey Publishing. 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.

Spring has sprung even though it doesn't really feel like it here in Massachusetts. We still have snow on the ground. I have begun to think about my garden. Now I am aware of the issues with bees. Are you? I don't mean the fact that they sting or that Hazel is afraid of them because they sting. I mean that there is a drop in bee population. Why should we care about the bees after all they sting? Well if we don't start caring we will not have fresh fruits and vegetables or flowers for that matter. Bees are pollinators and they are necessary for growth of plants. What can a gardener do to help the bees? Well there are a few things. One is to avoid using pesticides. Many towns now spray for mosquitoes, but the pesticides they spray do not only kill mosquitoes but also the other insects including bees and butterflies, our main pollinators. The pesticides you may use in your own yard will do the same thing. Another thing to do is plant the flowers that attract bees and other pollinators. Tonight's book is too help know which flowers these are. The book is 100 Plants to Feed the Bees by the Xerces Society. 

Let's Make Letters!

 

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

I am always fascinated by people who can create beautiful handwriting. I have learned calligraphy and can write neatly but it takes so long!! Today I am sharing a book that helps learn how to do creative lettering. It is Let's Make Letters! by Kelcey Gray. 

Diamond Painting -- Crafty Sundays

 

Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links. I will receive a small percentage at no extra cost to you from purchases made through them.

Have you discovered diamond painting? I have fallen in love with it. It started with making a hummingbird picture for my father for his birthday. He loves hummingbirds and doesn't need anything. He loves it. I also started making a Diamond Dotz llama picture.

Press Out + Color Birds & Butterflies -- a Relaxing Friday Review

Disclosure: Candlewick Press sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I am going to share with you two really fun coloring "books". They are both part of the same series by Zoe Ingram. It is the Press Out + Color Series. What is really neat about this series is the pictures you color press out to make into 3-D objects or decorations. Today I am sharing Press Out and Color Birds and Press Out and Color Butterflies.