On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!!
Sharing Saturday 17-51
On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!!
New Year Traditions from Around the World
How do you celebrate New Year's? Most of the people I know go to a party or celebrate with their family at home, but have you ever looked at what some of the traditions are from around the world? There are some interesting ones.
Fun Facts about Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Drop
How was your Christmas? Ours was good, but it included 12 hours without power besides a generator. Thank God for the generator which gave us heat and a microwave. Our Christmas dinner which really wasn't included microwaved lasagna with my father's birthday cake for dessert that had hand whipped frosting. Luckily Hazel thought it was fun to hand whip the frosting. But as always it is so great to be with family.
Sharing Saturday 17-50
On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!!
Books for Harry Potter Lovers!
Recently Hazel and I began reading Harry Potter. We are about three quarters of the way through the second book and Hazel loves them!! We have not watched the movies yet and I will not let her read the entire series yet. I actually have insisted on reading them with her to be sure she doesn't get too frightened by them since she is so sensitive and easily scared. But for now they are her new love. She was very excited when I pulled out these two books from Candlewick. Their Harry Potter books seem to be in two collections. The Harry Potter collection includes our first book, Harry Potter: Magical Film Projections: Patronus Charm by Insight Editions.
New Year's Eve Birthday Bash Ideas
Hazel and I are always talking about ideas for birthday parties. Our big plans for this year's party was to do an American Girl Beforever Party. However with her new school she wants to invite the boys so we needed to change the theme. We came up with a New Year's Eve Birthday Bash. All of our planning was basically thrown away and we started fresh. We went to check things out over at Oriental Trading in their birthday section. We had fallen in love with these Pink and Gold Birthday Party Dinner Plates and planned the party around them. (We had chosen them for the American Girl party as well.)
New Colorful Origami Papers -- a Crafty Weekends Review and Link Party
When I shared our Advent table a couple of weeks ago, I got the origami bug. I pulled out the two colorful (and a bit wild) packets of origami paper I had sitting on my review shelf. The first is Kaleidoscope Colors Origami Paper.
Animal Books -- Stories, Activities & More!
Hazel has always loved animal books and stories. I know a friend who says her five-year-old boy could care less about truck books, but a book with animals he loves. Do you have an animal lover in your life? Today we are sharing some fun books that include stories, activities and more. Several even take you on a trip around the world. Ready to join us?
Sharing Saturday 17-49
On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!!
Orthodox Christian Holidays -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review
Do you know anyone who is Orthodox Christian? I have good friends who are Greek Orthodox so I have some idea of the Orthodox traditions, but of course they are also different for different cultures and areas. However today I am sharing some amazing books to share some Orthodox traditions around two holidays--St. Nicholas Day and Easter. These books are by Charlotte Riggle and illustrated by R.J. Hughes. Both books have the same characters in it: Catherine and her best friend Elizabeth and Catherine's family. Since St. Nicholas Day was last week (Wednesday), I will start with Saint Nicholas Day Snow. (By the way today is St. Lucia Day, but as I am running late on my December holiday posts that one will be late as well.)
Christmas Fun -- a Merry Monday Review
Well today I am going to share our final Merry Monday review. I have saved some great ones for the end. Is your child counting the days until Christmas? I know Hazel is. She is so excited and anxious for the holidays. Today's products and free printable games will be perfect to help calm her a bit or at least distract her. Our first book is Christmas Paper Play by Lydia Crook.
Christmas in Bangladesh -- Christmas in Different Lands
Today we are participating in the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Christmas in Different Lands and I decided to stretch our regions and check out what Christmas is like in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is the third largest Muslim-majority country in the world which is why I was fascinated to see how they celebrate Christmas.
A Merry Christmas with Kim Schaefer -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party
Last week I had the pleasure of sharing Sew Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and this week we are looking at another sewing and quilting Christmas book. This week it is A Merry Christmas with Kim Schaefer. I had big plans this week to make one or two of the projects in it, but Hazel's cold got passed to me, so I struggled to stay awake and do anything extra than what was needed. Sorry!! However I will be able to share some of the amazing projects and give you my planning of projects and reading instructions review.
Sharing Saturday 17-48
On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!!
An Advent Table to Help Focus Us on Christ This Season
Every Christmas I see all the commercialism around. I mean Hallmark begins putting out ornaments in July. It is a bit crazy. I always like to create ways to keep our focus on the religious side of the holiday. After all we are celebrating the coming of Jesus, our Savior. Over the years we have gathered some great resources. One of our favorites are the four family storybooks for Advent we have reviewed (Jotham, Tabitha, Bartholomew and Ishtar). Each of these stories tell the nativity story from kids point of view. One is a shepherd and another is the son of one of the magi and so forth. The stories intertwine with each other and make the Advent stories quite an adventure. Hazel loves to reread them each year.
Books Can Change Lives
Have you ever read a book and have it change your life? Do you have a childhood favorite book that just got your thinking? I know I have read a few in my life. Today I am going to share books that celebrate books and authors as well as one of my childhood favorites. The first book is Journeys: Young Readers' Letters to Authors Who Changed Their Lives edited by Catherine Gourley and Library of Congress Center for the Book.
Holiday Fun -- a Merry Monday Review
Can you believe it is December? Now the winter holidays are fast approaching!! Today I am going to share four fun holiday books for recommended ages of 3 to 7. The first is a sweet book about getting a Christmas tree. It is Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht and illustrated by Jarvis.
Sew Yourself a Merry Little Christmas -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party
As we are getting ready for the holidays, I wanted to do a bit of holiday sewing. Tonight I am reviewing a great quilt book. It is Sew Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Mary Hertel.
Chapter Books for Grades Middle Grades
Yesterday I did a mega review of books for gift ideas for all ages. They included crafts and non-fiction books. Today I thought I would share some books and a CD for the middle grades. Next week we will be sharing chapter books for older kids as well.
Fun Facts about Advent Wreaths
It is hard to believe it is time to pull out the Advent wreath. I thought I would continue our Fun Facts Series and share some fun facts about Advent wreaths today. Be sure to check out our Fun Facts about Advent.
Sharing Saturday 17-47
On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.
Fun Facts about Advent Calendars
It is hard to believe it is time to pull out the Advent calendar. I thought I would continue our Fun Facts Series and share some fun facts about Advent calendars today since it is the first day to open a door on yours. Be sure to check out our Fun Facts about Advent.