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. 

Crafting Calm: Art and Activities for Mindful Kids

 

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

Do you have or know an anxious kid? Or perhaps you are a bit stressed out right now? Let's face it with Covid and all the political happenings life is definitely full of anxiety for us and our kids. Today I am going to share a book written for ages 8 to 12 full of crafts and activities to help kids find ways to calm themselves as well as understand and properly express their emotions. The book is Crafting calm: Art and Activities for Mindful Kids by Megan Borgert-Spaniol and Lauren Kukla and illustrated by Aruna Rangarajan.

Craft Books Galore! Review and Round-Up of Craft Books--Quilting, Embroidery, Paper Quilling, Origami, Knitting and more!

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books and kits in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of products that you purchase through them. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

As I have been doing the last few weeks I am trying to share all my books with you before Christmas. Although it is getting late now to order you can still get some by Christmas. So today I am sharing three craft books with you and then a round-up of the craft books I have to review still. We are going to start with our craft space and organizing it! 

Holiday Shopping Recommendations!

 

Have you started your holiday shopping? This year is going to be different than others and that makes it the perfect year to think about what and where you are purchasing your gifts. So many of us support the big names that make ordering easy and somewhat quick. Although there are many shipping delays since so many of the products come from overseas. This pandemic has really affected everything. I wanted to gather a list of products and stores to shop that will appreciate the business and will put smiles on all the gift receivers! Also please remember many people out of work from their full time jobs so they are depending on their side gigs, so please consider ordering from one of the direct sales vendors you know. 

Beautiful Origami Paper Wreaths -- Crafty Sunday Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book (and the origami papers) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did you know that yesterday started World Origami Days? World Origami Days run from October 24 through November 11 each year. October 24 was picked because it was the birthday of Lillian Oppenheimer. She started the first origami group in the United States as well as being one of the founders of British Origami Society and OrigamiUSA. November 11 is Origami Day in Japan and thus why it was picked to end the celebration. (Source) In celebration of World Origami Days it seems we should create some origami, so today I am reviewing an origami book. All of the papers I am using I have shared previously but they all come from Tuttle Publishing. 

Cottontail Rabbits -- Who's In the Backyard? Series

I haven't done a Who's In The Backyard? Post in awhile. I had planned on doing my rabbits weeks ago but was having internet issues as well as a busy life. So here it finally is!! In our backyard we have cottontails. They are probably Eastern Cottontails, but there is a slight chance they could be New England Cottontails. So my focus is going to be on both species and the differences. 

The Moon and the Sun -- Fun Facts, Books and Craft & Activity Round-Up

 

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

I have some fun books sitting on my review shelf. One is about the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year (2020) Mid-Autumn Festival is October 1st. Then I received a cute book about the sun and moon for younger kids. And finally I am sharing the new National Geographic Kids Almanac 2021 because of course it has something about the sun and moon. It has something about everything! As I was thinking about these books I thought it would be fun to share a bit about the moon and sun as well as some crafts and activities to go with them. 

Who's In the Backyard? -- Squirrels -- American Red Squirrels and Eastern Gray Squirrels

 

This week I promised to talk about some of the other critters in our yard besides our birds. Although I love watching the birds. In our backyard we have squirrels and this summer we not only had our usually gray squirrels but we had some red squirrels--lots of them. Most of the red squirrels have moved on now but we had so many of them. I named them all Squeakers because of the noise they made at me and at each other. We do not have black squirrels but I have seen them in my friend's backyard in New York State. Now both types of squirrels in our yard chased their own kind all around and stared at me when I was in my hammock. The red squirrel even squeaked at me when I was reading and not watching him in the tree. 

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.)

Review of The Elephant's Girl

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

 

Today I am sharing a new novel that is the perfect summer read for intermediate readers (ages 8-12). Imagine surviving a tornado and ending up in the elephant enclosure of a zoo. You have no memory of who you are or who your parents are or even your age, but you are a young child. That describes the life of the main character, Lexington, in today's book, The Elephant’s Girl by Celesta Rimington.

Fun Facts About Northern Cardinals with Craft Round-Up and DIY Birdfeeders, Bee Baths & More!

During this pandemic we have been finding ways to enjoy our home. One of my favorite things about our home is our backyard and we do not spend enough time in it. Last year we bought some gliding chairs for the small patio off of Hazel's clubhouse. It is one of my favorite places to sit outside. It is almost always in the shade and just comfortable. This year we also added a hammock for me to lay in and read (if Hazel doesn't beat me to it). I also took back some space in our family room so I can sit in the corner and look out the window at my birdfeeders. I found most of the time outside I sat and watched the birds rather than read the book I brought out. Have you made adjustments in your house now that you are spending more time there? Are you spending more time there?

Middle Grades Summer Reading with Environmental Themes

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

Is school out where you live? Hazel finished last week. Of course it wasn't a big celebration with the state just starting to re-open. But we have started to think about summer. Although I don't see too many trips to the beach this year even when we are at Cape Cod. But reading about them is always fun. Today I am sharing two books about life near water--a lake and the ocean. Do you go to any body of water every summer? Are you going this year?

Let's Read About Black Characters & People -- Round-Up of Children's Books

The other day as I talked to Hazel about current events on our walk and was telling her my plans for Crafty Moms Share, she said, "Did you ever notice that when there is a black person in a book there is just one in a group of white friends?" Oh, yes, we still have the token black person in our society of books and television shows. She even commented how sometimes the group is made up of one person of different races like in The Start-Up Squad Series. I recently read an article about how white people need to do more than talk to our kids about racism. Where we live, who our neighbors are, books we read/provide our kids, who our friends are, the diversity of the school we send our kids to all play a part in how our kids grow up and understand race relations. Now I cannot change your neighborhood or their school but I hope I can change the books in your house and your library. I asked some fellow bloggers as well as authors that are part of the Multicultural Children's Book Day group for any books, activities, and reviews they had with black people as the main characters. Today I am going to share a round-up of books shared and some others I found (on Amazon). I will link reviews and activities whenever possible. It is important that all of our kids read books that have people like them but it is also important that our kids read books with people who do not look like them. This will build their understanding and help them to grow and learn about race and culture and hopefully not be racist when they grow up. I have the books separated into picture books, fairy tales, chapter books/novels, and non-fiction/biographies. There are some separation within some of these genres as well. 

Exploring Japan Part 4 -- Fun Facts & Resource Round-Up

For the last three Mondays we have been exploring Japan. We started with some picture books, then looked at crafts and artists and then origami. Today we are looking at fun facts about Japan and doing a resource and activity round-up. But first some facts about Japan itself. Japan is called Nihon or Nippon in Japanese. It means "land of the rising sun". It was once believed that Japan was the first country to see the sun each morning. The country is made up of 6,582 islands, but has four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Three tectonic plates meet near Japan and cause many earthquakes. Japan experiences 1,000 earthquakes in a year. Some of these cause tsunamis. There are also 200 volcanoes in Japan. Sixty of them are still active. Almost three quarters of the land is covered by mountains and forest which make the land hard to farm or use for industry or residential. The Japanese Alps run down the center of the island of Honshu. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain/volcano in Japan and is considered sacred by many Japanese people. 

The Unofficial Start of Summer -- Let's Look at the Ocean

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

Can you believe it is already Memorial Day Weekend? This year is going to be very different for many of us. Are you heading to the beach? I know here in Massachusetts the beaches are opening however there are very strict rules when there. Many are also only for residents. Masks are required at some and no groups over 10. Social distancing is a must. I took a walk with my father this week on the beach. I was at Cape Cod helping my parents out for a few days. It wasn't really beach weather so it wasn't very crowded. I'm glad not to be there this weekend. Instead I am going to share a book about the ocean! It is Ocean! Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by David Litchfield. 

Origami: Fun Facts, Product Reviews & Craft Round-Up

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

We are on our third week of exploring Japan for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. If you missed our first two weeks we did new picture books to learn about Japan and crafts from Japan. Today we are taking a look at the ancient art of Japanese origami. I thought I would start with some fun facts since I shared a bit about the history of origami a few years ago. 

Japanese Arts, Crafts and their Makers

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

This month is Asian Pacific Heritage Month and to celebrate it we are looking at Japan all month long for Multicultural Mondays. Last week we started with two picture books including one on the creation myth in Japan. Today we are going to look at the crafts and craftsmen/women of Japan as well as a round-up of Japanese-inspired crafts and artists. To begin this post I am sharing a new book that is being released tomorrow (May 12, 2020). It is Craftland Japan by Uwe Röttgen and Katharina Zetti.

Kid Made Mother's Day Card Ideas with Round-Up

Can you believe Mother's Day is only a week away? This year with remote learning going on the kids are not getting help from their teachers to make cards and gifts. That means it falls on the kids and the dads. Steve brought up the idea of shopping for Mother's Day cards with Hazel and whether it was safe. I reminded him that most of our stores here are closed and will be until after Mother's Day. I suggested they go to our local Walgreen's but when push came to shove Hazel did not want to go out. She has been home since this has started except for our walks when it is nice out, a trip to her school for her yearbook picture, a trip to a good friend's house who is also social distancing but we needed to exchange things with one another and trips to her grandmother's house with Steve. I went to Walgreen's and picked up a couple of cards for her grandmothers. She was afraid one of them would not like getting a homemade card. I found it hard to believe but figured it was worth getting cards for her to give them. She can make one for me. Then I got to thinking of the dads out there who haven't had to deal with this before. I got the idea of sharing some when I got an email from Crayola featuring a flamingo card. I figured we had to try it since Hazel LOVES flamingos. 

The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki and the Thousand Paper Cranes -- A Look at the Other Side of WWII and the Atomic Bomb

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book and the various packs of origami paper in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Yesterday I shared various chapter books for different ages (7-young adult). I saved this book to be in its own post for several reasons. First it is a true story. Second part of the story reminds me of what we are facing today. I felt I wanted to do more with this book than just review it. It has paper cranes in the title and provides a tutorial at the end of the book to make your own paper cranes. I figured I had to pull out the piles of origami paper I have and start making some cranes. While I sat there making the cranes I realized this was something families could do together. I'll explain more at the end of the post. The book is The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Sue DiCicco and Mashairo Sasaki (Sadako's brother). It is recommended for ages 7 to 12.

Valentine's Day Crafts--Decorating with Love

Disclosure: I was sent these papers in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

This year after taking down Christmas I really had a strong desire to decorate for Valentine's Day. I didn't want to use our regular decorations that we have from years past. I wanted to come up with my own new ones. I helped at Christmas time at Hazel's school with a Christmas station where the kids colored and made 3-D ornaments. I decided to make my own for Valentine's Day. I came up with six different hearts to color using My Memories.