In Real Life -- Young Adult Book Review -- Multicultural Monday & Math
Today I am sharing a young adult book. It is about a high school boy, Seth, who is very good at math as well as video games. He wants to compete against the top Starfare players in the world and those are the professionals in Korea. What interested me was the idea of a multicultural math story. The book is In Real Life by Lawrence Tabak.
Our New Morning Routine: Imaginations 2 Book Review
So for the last couple of weeks Hazel and I have a new morning routine thanks to Bambino Yoga. Carolyn Clarke sent us a copy of her newest book, Imaginations 2: Relaxation Stories & Guided Imagery for Kids.
Meet Rachel Sage Carapella of Native Sage Nutrition -- Native American Heritage Month
How is the weather where you are? We have been having a warm stretch and I have been enjoying it and not on here writing the posts I had planned. Sorry! However November is Native American Heritage Month and I love Native American culture and what to share it with you!! This year instead of doing research on Native American history and finding books, etc. I have changed it up by sharing Native American business owners and their businesses with you. This year has been tough on so many of us and especially on our small businesses. I am hoping by sharing these businesses with you, you will help support them! Last week we learned about Diane Tells His Name and her dolls and for Indigenous Peoples' Day I shared some of Aaron Carapella's posters from Tribal Nations Maps. Today I want you to meet Rachel Sage Carapella. She owns Native Sage Nutrition. In this post you will learn a bit about Rachel and her business and she provides some tips for us to stay healthy as flu season starts up among the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Unofficial Start of Summer -- Let's Look at the Ocean
Virtual Book Club for Kids: Hopper Hunts for Spring
We have been having so much fun with Marcus Pfister books this month, we decided to share a second one. If you missed our first post for Virtual Book Club for Kids this month, we shared Ava's Poppy. Today we are going to share Hopper Hunts for Spring.
Virtual Book Club for Kids: Mortimer's Christmas Manger
Yes, I still have Christmas on my brain--way too early! This month's author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids is Karma Wilson. Now Karma Wilson has some amazing books. I think the most famous ones are the Bear series. Lately Hazel has been scared of books with bears, so I stayed away from them. We however fell in love with Mortimer. We read the two Mortimer books and since Christmas is coming sooner than when I'll plant a garden again, we went with Mortimer's Christmas Manger. We however also loved the Little Pip series too!
My Old Friend, Then -- Book Review, Mindfulness for Kids Round-Up, & Giveaway
Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Riverlet Press and will receive a small stipend for this post. All opinions are my own.
Mindfulness has been the rage lately. Have you tried to teach your kids to be mindful? Today I am sharing a book that teaches kids a bit about mindfulness in a manner that is similar to the approach of a child. The book is My Old Friend, Then by Katherine Davis-Gibbon and illustrated by Allie Daigle.
The Details for the Multicultural Kid blogs Pinterest Scavenger Hunt!!
Are you up for the adventure?
Here's how it works:
Create a Pinterest board specifically for the contest and name the board "Multicultural Kid Blogs Pinterest Scavenger Hunt." Each day a new clue (or two!) will be revealed. Follow the clue to the blog of the day and pin the post described in the clue. (Any image from the post is fine). In the Rafflecopter below, enter the link to the Pinterest board you created for this contest. The Rafflecopter will also have lots of other ways to earn extra entries. The only required entry is the link to your Pinterest board. Please note: You can enter the Rafflecopter at any point during the contest. Obviously your board won't be complete until the end of the contest, but you can enter the link in the Rafflecopter before then. If your name is drawn at the end of the contest, we will check your board at that time. The final clue will be given July 28. Participants will have until midnight Pacific time on July 31 to finalize their boards. The drawing will take place on August 1. Winners must have pinned all of the correct posts to their board. Winners will be notified via email and must respond within 48 hours or another name will be drawn. Good luck, explorers!Scavenger Hunt Schedule
Mother's Day: Taking Time to Reflect on Being a Mother
The Moon and the Sun -- Fun Facts, Books and Craft & Activity Round-Up
Odette's Alphabet -- Review & Giveaway
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Sandrine Marlier to bring you this post and giveaway and I will receive a small stipend for writing the review. All opinions are my own.
When you are feeling stressed out, what do you do? Do you meditate? Take a deep breath? What do you teach your child(ren) to do? According to the CDC, approximately 5.8 million children between the ages of 3 and 17 were diagnosed with anxiety between 2016 and 2019 and the numbers are going up. (Source) Our world and society is changing so quickly that we are not keeping up with helping our kids deal with it. We need to teach them methods to deal with their stress. Today's book is a perfect start for younger kids. It is Odette's Alphabet by Sandrine Marlier and illustrated by Leonardo Schiavina.
Chapter Book Extravaganza! Beginning Reader Through Young Adult Part 2
Yesterday we started our chapter book extravaganza. We shared the first group of books for ages 5 to 12. Today we are going to get through the rest of them. As I mentioned yesterday, most of these books I have not finished (some Hazel did) so we will be providing limited reviews. Hope you enjoy them and find some new books to read!!
Virtual Book Club for Kids: Sherman Crunchley
Virtual Book Club for Kids: In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming
Today we are going to share our April book for Virtual Book Club for Kids. This month's author is Denise Fleming. We had not read many Denise Fleming books previously, but found them to be fun. Her books have few words but beautiful pictures. She has a wonderful website full of activities to go with her books.
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.
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.
Sharing Saturday 14-34
Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week and a special thank you to everyone who took the time to visit what others shared! We did not have a most clicked, so I picked three categories of features. With schools starting up across the country, Back to School seemed appropriate (though I'm still in denial and can stay this way for another week and a half even if her new school uniforms arrived today), Lessons, and finally Pumpkin Bread (I guess fall is really coming soon with several pumpkin bread recipes shared).
1) From Juggling Act Mama: Back To School Teacher Gift
2) From Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes: Back To School Book and Poem
3) From Krafts and Kiddos: First Day of School Printables
4) From There's Just One Mommy: Back To School "I Spy" Craft
5) From Stella123: Kid Activity: DIY Back To School Pencil Sharpeners
6) From Sunshine and Hurricanes: Why I'm Not Excited School Is Starting
1) From Munchkin and Bean: Colonial Small World {Safari Ltd. Review}
2) From Wugs and Dooey: Exploring Patterns, Colour and Symmetry with Tiles
3) From Five Painted Lane: Make a Treasure Map
4) From My Catch A Star Classroom: Introducing Children to Herbs
1) From Yesterfood: Pumpkin Bread (with nuts)
2) From Life with Garnish: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1) Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).
2) Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc. Remember to link to your actual post.
3) Post the Sharing Saturday button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.
5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).
Books for Tween and Teen Girls -- Mindfulness and Puberty
As the start of school is approaching I am seeing Hazel's anxiety level rising. Socializing with other kids can be tough on her and school is probably the toughest place for her since she is with kids all day long. Add on top of it that she is hitting puberty a bit earlier than most of her classmates and she is a bit of a pile of nerves and moods. I have been trying to add relaxing and calming things to our routine although this summer routine has kind of gone out the window. Today I am going to share two amazing resources for kids like Hazel and in particular girls. The first is a book that is really for any child -- girl or boy. It is Just Breathe: Meditation, Mindfulness, Movement and More by Mallika Chopra and illustrated by Breanna Vaughan.
Saving the Sun -- Book Review with Craft Round-Up and Giveaway
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
As fall is upon us, the days are getting shorter which means that the sun is shining for less each day. Today we are sharing a sweet book about the sun deciding to take a dip in the ocean, and it needing saving to light the world again. The book is Saving the Sun by Emma Pearl and illustrated by Sara Ugolotti. Along with my review there is a craft round-up to go with the book and a giveaway!