365 Days of Play -- Review of a Book Full of Screen Free Activities for 6-12 Year-Olds

 

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

It has been a long couple of weeks. Our school stops regular classes for two weeks starting with Presidents Day and the high school holds mini courses. Some of my colleagues and I are teaching a science of cooking and baking class. I have to say as fun as it is, it is tiring to teach cooking to fourteen high school students. I have come home most nights and falling asleep between 8:30 and 9:00. It has been crazy and I'm preparing for this coming week. Before I get to sleep early tonight, I want to share a fun new book with you that is perfect for every family of 6 to 12-year-olds. It is 365 Days of Play by Megan Hewes Butler and illustrated by Emily Balsley. 

Halloween, Dressing Up, Pretend Play, & Friend Picture Books

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

It is hard to believe it is already October. That means we need to think about Halloween. Now I have posted in the past how Halloween is not our favorite holiday and how Hazel hates October because of the gory and scary decorations in yards and stores. When Hazel was young we found some Halloween books she loved, but not too many. Today we are going to share two more Halloween books that are fun and two books that involve dressing up, being yourself and being kind and making friends. All of these books are for kids in the age range of 3 to 8. We will start with Skelly's Halloween by David Martin and illustrated by Lori Richmond. 

Kids' Felt Cuties -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Leisure Arts sent me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

We enjoyed a few days visiting the very western part of our state. We finally took Hazel to the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum. We promised her a couple of years ago we would take her. Then we saw a few natural wonders and relaxed at the pool. I didn't have a lot of time for crafting, but want to share with you a fun book to make kids' felt toys. It is Kids' Felt Cuties by Kim Layton. 

Create and Play Christmas Products for Kids -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

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

Thanksgiving is over and now it is time to focus on our next holidays. For us that is Christmas. Today I am going to share three fun craft "books" for kids. Hazel has been having so much fun with all of these!! The first one is Press Out and Color: Christmas Ornaments by Kate McLelland. (Be sure to check out our reviews of other Press Out and Color books.)

Where to Shop This Holiday Season

Disclosure: Some of these links will pay me a small percentage of any purchase made when clicking them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Can you believe it is already Black Friday? Do you know why today is called Black Friday? Traditionally this is the day stores would finally show a profit for the year or they would be in the black instead of the red (loss). Can you imaging running a store for almost the entire year in a loss? In honor of Black Friday I thought I would give you some suggestions as places to shop or at least some of our favorite places to shop. A few of these are affiliate links and will provide me with a small payment if you shop there, but most are just places I find amazing and want to let you know about them. Next week I will do a post on our favorite things from our reviews this year with gift suggestions for people of all ages!!

Picture Books that Make You Feel Good

Have you entered my giveaway for a 16 x 20 canvas print?

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

Today I am going to share with you five new picture books that make you feel good when you read them or have the overall theme of making the world better. Don't we all need that in our world. We will start with How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

Snoopy Play Date

Disclosure: Oriental Trading sent me these products in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hazel LOVES Peanuts®!! She cannot get enough books out of the library to read the old comic strips and we take out all the DVDs as well. She also watches whatever she can On Demand. Therefore it is no surprise she wanted to have a Peanuts® or Snoopy Play Date. (She wanted a Snoopy birthday party, but didn't want to wait that long!) I showed her the many Peanut products at Oriental Trading and she got so excited!! Her absolute favorite thing is the Color Your Own Peanuts® Snoopy Playhouse.

Christmas Coloring & Crafting & Creative Play -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

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.

I have not been posting as much the past week or so between the holiday, spending time with family and fighting the horrible cold. As a result I am going to share two books with you today. One is for adults and the other is for kids (and is definitely going to be on my great gifts of the year list!!). We will start with the first book which I was planning on reviewing for Relaxing Friday, however it didn't happen. The book is Johanna's Christmas by Johanna Basford. Her coloring books are among the top ones. Over the summer I had the pleasure of sharing her Magical Jungle with you. 

Get Mapmaking -- Map Fun for Summertime Fun!

Disclosure: I was sent this book 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.

Do your kids know how to read a map? Perhaps you have gone on a treasure hunt with a map? A great way to inspire creativity and to learn about maps is to create their own and today's book let's them do just that. The book is Get Mapmaking: How to Get Creative with Maps by Rian Hughes.

Jingle Bells, Christmas Miracles & More! -- Book Reviews

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.

Christmas is fast approaching us. Are you ready this year? If you are looking for some last minute holiday spirit gifts check out these books. There is something for everyone!! Did you know in Iceland books are exchanged on Christmas Eve and they spend the rest of the evening reading? I saw it on Facebook and the picture is credited to Arizona Penny Dreadfuls. The books I share today with you would be perfect for children's gifts as well as some adult gifts. The first book is Jingle Bells: A Magical Cut-Paper Edition by James Lord Pierpont and illustrated by Niroot Puttapipat. 

Holiday Gift Suggestions--Books for Kids to Create Their Own Play

Disclosure: I was sent these books 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.

In honor of Black Friday I thought I would share some fun books for kids of different ages to create their own fun and play. The first is Teddy Bear Doctor  by Deanna F. Cook, and we have already reviewed this amazing book. This is our go to gift for Hazel's friends. We buy a copy of the book with a small stuffed animal and it is perfect! The age recommendation is ages 3-8. Some of the crafts in the book would be difficult for a 3-year-old, but it is perfect for the 5-8 range.

Teddy Bear Doctor -- Book Review

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.

Does your child watch Doc McStuffins? Or just like to play doctor with his or her stuffed animals? This book is perfect for him or her!! Hazel has two or three doctors kits (I think one is a veterinarian kit). She has always liked to play doctor and often dreams of being a toy doctor like Doc McStuffins. She really wanted the Doc McStuffins kit because she hoped when she pushed the stethoscope button Ducky would come alive. When we take our cats to the veterinarian, Hazel gets to listen to the cats and her own, and the veterinarian's and my and whomever will let her heart beat with our veterinarian's stethoscope. She loves going!! Needless to say when I saw Teddy Bear Doctor: A Let's Make and Play Book by Deanna F. Cook I knew Hazel would love it.

Hazel's Science Center

Last week I chaperoned Hazel's class field trip to Seacoast Science Center in New Hampshire. It was a fun place for the kids to learn even more about the ocean and really end their ocean unit. They ended it the next day with watching Finding Nemo. Hazel liked the science center better. The time at the science center began with a demonstration/class for the kids. First an employee presented about tide pools and the animals found at different levels of the tide pool and then they divided the kids into two groups to have some hands-on experience with the animals.

Sharing Saturday 15-8

Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas with us last week. There were so many great ideas!! Please make sure you check them out. I am only featuring a few of the amazing ones. This week we have been dealing with the incredible amount of snow and have had my 12-year-old nephew visiting. Part of the week was spent at my parents so they could see both of their grandchildren. Since they live on Cape Cod, they have about half the snow we do. Here are some pictures for you to get the idea of what they have. These pictures are of the same beach. The Cape Cod Bay has snow on it!

Ok, back to Sharing Saturday. This week I chose Creative/Engineering Play, Books with Activities and some Favorites. I will admit that some of the favorites are because of my strong desire for winter to end!!

American Girl or 18-inch Doll Accessories from a Party Store Product Review

 Disclosure: I was sent these products to review free of charge from Shindigz Party Supplies. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I added links to the particular products for your convenience, but not for any compensation. 

Yesterday I received an email from Shindigz informing me that my DIY American Girl Themed Party had won an award (you can see the award badge on the post). I responded what a coincidence since I was about to write a review of Shindigz products to use with an 18-inch doll. So yes, here are some ideas of party supplies that work with 18-inch dolls like American Girl dolls. We are getting ready for a Valentine themed Doll Play Date later this week. Hazel invited a few of her friends and their dolls over. We are planning on having a tea party with the dolls. First of course all the dolls need tiaras. These mini tiara combs are the perfect size for the dolls.

Groundhog Masks inspired by the Wild Kratts with free pattern

Hazel's favorite television show is The Wild Kratts. It is on PBS and features Chris and Martin Kratt in real life who go into cartoon to explore different animals lives. In cartoons they have all sorts of great technology including creature power suits that allow them to change into the animals. Of course it is not on enough for Hazel so we watch it On Demand often. Since she was home all last week we have been watching the four or so shows that are On Demand over and over. One of the episodes is an Episode from Season 2 called Groundhog Wake Up. (You can see the full episode here for $1.99.) I am sure it is On Demand since Groundhog Day is fast approaching. On the show they make a map on their Creature Pods (I think that is what they are called) after scanning a real groundhog's burrow. Hazel decided to use her play tent as her burrow with the tunnel as one of the entrance tunnels. Watching her play groundhog gave me an idea.

"Groundhog, eating" by D. Gordon E. Robertson - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Doll Sized Starbucks!

The other day Hazel and I were at Starbucks (a favorite place to go of ours) and we noticed the adorable cup ornaments they have for sale. We realized they were the perfect size for the 18-inch dolls. Hazel of course had to have one, so we bought one. My plan had been to wait until after Christmas and buy her some more on clearance, however when we were at our normal store one of the managers informed me the tend to sell out quickly, so I should buy them now. We did. Hazel was so excited to play Starbucks with her dolls. 

Clay Nativity Ornaments

Today we are sharing our fun and simple Christmas ornaments. Hazel is making these for all of her teachers and family members as their Christmas gift. The idea came from making a nativity set using clay and nativity cookie cutters. This was one of our crafts at our Night in Bethlehem last year, but Hazel did not try it since I was busy and Steve is not that into doing crafts. I made a sample one up for the church event this year.

Shed to Clubhouse Transformation

For as long as I can remember Hazel has loved little playhouses. She has really wanted one, but we never got around to getting one. We kept wanting to get her a special one that she would want to use for many years, but we never found the money since those tend to be so expensive. Since we added a garage to our house, Steve has not been storing as much in his shed and decided to give Hazel the shed as her clubhouse/playhouse. She was excited for this and we talked about decorating it with curtains and a rug. While out shopping Hazel chose the pink shag rug for the clubhouse. I pulled out pink sparkly curtains I had bought on clearance and planned to use for a birthday party, but never did. We hung them with a thin branch from a tree that had fallen in the yard and used nails to keep them up. 

Letter Fun Brainteasters

Hazel: "Mom, I have a brownie for you." 

Me: "You do, oh, good."

Hazel: "Here it is."

So our children's librarian did this joke to Hazel and me. Since Hazel was the one interested in the brownie, she went over to get it and she got a construction paper letter E. Of course then there was no stopping her. She wanted to do the joke to everyone (and to me about 100 times). She brought the brown E with her to school and did it to everyone she saw. She took it to church...well you get the picture. Luckily she thought the joke was really funny and was not upset about not getting an actual brownie.

Hazel's Sparkly H

We were at the library for the Thursday craft. The craft that week was to make the first letter of your name with some meaning. The example they gave was a C out of clouds or an H out of hearts (which one of the librarians made). Hazel wanted to make a sparkly H, so she did. Then she decorated the sheet and added her name. Next she wanted to make an A out of hearts.

Hazel's Heart A

Since I was just sitting there, I decided to make one. I made a colorful C first.

Then the children's librarians and I were talking about all the different things you could do, and I came up with this one. Can you figure it out?

We kept joking and talking and next I came up with:

Then I drilled the librarians. One was very good at getting them all.

One librarian is named Paige and we talked about making her a P made out of book pages or at least paper cut to look like pages. I don't know if they ever did though. This was all part of their Brain Building Week. They had some math activities and engineering activities on other days. Plus they gave the kids stickers and/or hats.

For some more letter fun we found Kathy Ross Crafts: Letter Shapes book. I haven't shown it to Hazel yet, but am guessing we may be trying to make some.

You can also check out some of the puzzles over at Math Is Fun like The Letter H Puzzle.

Now for our answers: I see and the letter L. Do you have any good letter puzzles or ideas to make these letters?