Nate the Great and the Star-Spangled Parrot -- Book Review

 

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 easy reader chapter book, and it has an Independence Day theme. It is part of the Nate the Great series. It is Nate the Great and the Star-Spangled Parrot by Andrew Sharmat and illustrated by Olga and Aleksey Ivanov. It is recommended for ages 6 to 9.

United We Stand Strong -- Remembering 9/11

 

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

Can you believe next month it will be 20 years since 9/11? It was a time when we were all so scared. And it wasn't just the United States but this act of terrorism affected most of the world. The planes destroyed a building that had in it people from all over the world working. People of different races, religions, and ages. Airplanes were not flying after that for quite awhile. And just about everyone who was alive then knows where they were when they heard. Yet something else happened after the attack. We as a country and society came together. We united and supported one another. We showed how strong we are together. Today I'm going to share a book for young kids sharing one of the ways we came together. It shares a story I personally did not know but am glad to have learned about it. The book is 30,000 Stitches: The Inspiring Story of the National 9/11 Flag by Amanda Davis and illustrated by Sally Wern Comport. It is recommended for ages 5-8.

Thank You America Quilt Jigsaw Puzzle -- Mommy Time Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent this puzzle in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own. The links shared here are also affiliate links where I will receive a small portion of any purchases made through the links at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share. 

This has been a crazy week. It is hard to believe what is going on in our country. I know I have not been myself since Wednesday. Watching the people storm the capitol was just awful. I felt like our country was truly divided and falling apart. I took a few days off from blogging because I just needed to care for me and my family and come back from all the emotions from the day. I have spent a lot of time praying and reflecting on my own life and what I want for our country as well as some crafts and puzzles. How are you doing?

Weird But True! USA -- Fun trivia to awe your friends and family on the 4th of July

Disclosure: We were sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own. 

Which had more viewers the walk on the moon in 1969 or the 2018 Super Bowl?  What state has the most people who walk or bike to work? What state's trees helped the colonists during the Revolutionary War? What is the only state name that is one syllable? What building (in the USA) contains rocks from the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Giza, Abraham Lincoln's tomb, the Alamo, and the Colosseum in Rome? Which state produces the majority of the toothpicks used in the USA? Can you answer these questions? You can if you read the book we are sharing tonight. It is National Geographic Kids Weird but True! USA. 

10 Interesting Facts about Fireworks & Independence Day & Craft Round-Up

1. It is believed the first fireworks were created in China as early as 200 BC. The first was a natural one where they would roast bamboo which would explode with a bang. It was believed to scare off evil spirits.

Patriotic Crafty Weekends Link Party & Features

We are going to watch the fireworks tonight, so we are going to share some patriotic crafts of the past. We did this round-up last year. 

Fourth of July Crafty Weekends Link Party

We are getting ready to watch the fireworks for Independence Day at my parents tonight. I spent the day playing mini golf with Hazel and my nephew and then the three of us headed to the John F. Kennedy Museum in Hyannis to check it out (it is the centennial celebration there). I am in full vacation mode and did not do crafts this week, so I thought I would share a few of my favorite patriotic crafts from the past.

Summertime Family Fun

Disclosure: I was sent these items to review free of charge from Oriental Trading. 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.

Can you believe summer began yesterday? We are getting ready for some fun family gatherings this summer. Hazel and I head to my parents for the Fourth of July since the fireworks are visible from my parents' deck and there is a fun parade in their town. My parents have the best view of the fireworks on their street so they invite their neighbors to come watch from their deck. There is always a group of adults and kids showing up to watch, so this year I thought it would be fun to have some activities for the kids while we are waiting for the fireworks to begin. My mother also hosts a family reunion for her siblings (she is one of five), their children and grandchildren. I always am her event planner/assistant hostess. Since I am one of thirteen in cousins and most of them have at least one child now, I figured it would be good to have some games and activities to entertain the kids and families at the beach and the dinner she hosts. So for these two big family activities we turned to Oriental Trading for some great summer and patriotic things to entertain the guests. After all they are a great place to turn for all summer and party needs.

Patriotic Necklaces for the 4th of July

We are expecting to deal with Hurricane Arthur this year on the 4th of July. Our original plans were to go to my parents on Thursday and go to their town's parade on Friday and fireworks on Saturday. Between the weather reports and Hazel and I both feeling a little under the weather, we changed our plans. So Hazel asked if we could have a cook-out for the 4th. I told her we were expecting lots of rain, so a cook-out was not going to happen. Next she asked if we could have an indoor picnic. This I agreed to as long as she picks up her toys so Daddy can vacuum and we have room in the family room to actually have our picnic. Next she asked if we could pull out all the patriotic decorations we have made for past 4th of July parties. This I agreed to as well with the same condition.

We did make a craft for this year as well. I was inspired by Buggy and Buddy: 4th of July Craft for Kids: Patriotic Necklaces. I cut up some red striped straws and some blue ones since we had them. We also bought a package of red, white and blue star buttons. Then we used whatever red, white and blue beads we could find. Our original idea was we would wear these to the parade, however since we are not going, we will just wear them for the day. We made three of them thinking we would be with my nephew for the parade.

I made this one using both holes of the buttons to pass the string and using three large buttons as the pendant.

Hazel made this one trying some sort of pattern of stars and straws. She asked me to put one of the stars on with both holes used after seeing mine.

This was my first one. I was trying to use what we had to make it similar to the one on Buggy and Buddy. Then I added my own twist to it.

For Memorial Day we did a patriotic round-up of our past decorations and things. Click on the picture to see the round-up. 

We also shared some books and crafts for Flag Day. Again click on picture above to see this post. 

For all of our American readers, we wish you a very Happy Independence Day!!

Sharing Saturday 14-26

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week!! There were so many amazing ideas. For features this week I chose two themes: 4th of July/Independence Day and Summer. Since my mind seems to be with both it only seemed right. I picked a few of each, but there are many more from last week! I hope you will go check them and all that was shared out!

Fourth of July Features

1) From Happy Deal- Happy Day: Frugal Craft: 4th of July Centerpiece

2) From  Rock-a-Bye Parents: American Flag Bead Pin

3) From Gift of Curiosity: 4th of July Montessori Activities 

4) From Stella 123: 4th of July Marshmallow Decorating 

5) From ArtClubBlog: Flag Stones 

6) From A Little Pinch of Perfect: Patriotic Windsock Kid Craft 

Summer Features

1) From Living Montessori Now: Top 10 Summer Themes for Preschoolers

2) From Our Adventure Story: The Ultimate 2014 Summer Adventure List 

3) From  Play Dr. Mom: ABC's of Summer

4) From Felt with Love Designs: Links with Love: The Ultimate Round-Up of Summer Sewing Projects 

5) From The Jenny Evolution: Beach Books for the Summer 

6) From Krafts and Kiddos: Handprint Mermaid Painting 

7) There's Just One Mommy: 20 Sea Animal Crafts

 

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. 

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From Your Hostess: This week we explored lemons, shared The Persian Cinderella for our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures, a simple craft to help teach prayer, a starfish and sand dollar wreath, a review of math picture books and a math lesson on fractal (frozen fractals from Disney's Frozen).

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Flag Day Books, Activities and Crafts

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In the United States, June 14th is Flag Day. To many this is just a holiday that is written on the calendar. I really do not ever remember a celebration for it in my life, but I do remember learning a bit about it in school. Of course being mid-June when school is out or almost out makes it hard for even that to happen. It is the perfect time to start thinking about patriotic crafts with Independence Day coming up and focusing on the flag and its meaning as well as the Pledge of Allegiance. To do these things, I found some books at our local library. But before I share the books and activities with you, I want to share a bit of history. The date June 14th was picked because it is the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the flag. It is unknown who made the first flag and therefore who designed it. There are many legends and rumors about it. It is known that Betsy Ross made one of the earliest flags. (Source)

I Pledge Allegiance by Pat Mora and Libby Martinez is a story told in a girl's perspective. She and her family are excited because her great aunt is about to become a citizen of the United States. She helps her great aunt practice the Pledge of Allegiance and the girl's teacher has her lead the class in the Pledge of Allegiance the day before her aunt becomes a citizen to help celebrate. It is a wonderful book that explains why some people want to become citizens and a great book to start conversations about citizenship and what it means.

F Is for Flag by Wendy Cheyette Lewison is a book that talks about the flag and its meaning as well as a small amount about flag day. The history of the flag is also touched upon in this book.

The Flag We Love by Pam Munoz Ryan is another book about the flag. It goes into a bit of history of the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance as well as the national anthem.

An easy activity/craft for children is to make a flag from paper or felt. Or to have it as a felt "puzzle". It is also a great way to demonstrate how the flag has changed over the years with the number of stars. I cut the pieces out of felt (well the stars are paper and I got bored of cutting them). To get the dimensions somewhat correct I looked them up and used the ones at USFlag. I started with a white rectangle 9 inches by 17 inches. I made a pattern for the various pieces so you will not have to do the math.

We also did some activities on the Pledge of Allegiance and flag last September to go along with the book I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin, Jr. This was a wonderful book to teach children the meaning of the words in the Pledge of Allegiance.

We also made flag placemats and windsocks for a Fourth of July party a few years ago.

And a fun states craft with a flag frame.

For more ideas we are going to try some of the crafts and activities (educational) in Little Hands Celebrate America! by Jill Frankel Hauser.

For more patriotic ideas check out my Patriotic Round-Up and my Patriotic Pinterest Board.

Happy Memorial Day--Patriotic Craft and Food Round-Up

As the United States pauses in its daily life to remember the brave who gave their lives for our country and those who are still fighting, I would like to take time to first thank all of our soldiers and their families who sacrifice so much for our freedom. I will also pause today to say a prayer for all of them and I hope you will join me.

As we are pausing in our daily life, I thought I would give you a round-up of our patriotic crafts and food.

1) Understanding the Pledge of Allegiance
2 & 3) Patriotic Wreaths
4) Changeable Felt Patriotic Wreath
5) Utensil Holders
6) Red, White and Blue Sugar Cookies shaped as Flags, Stars and the USA
7) Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad
8) Red, White and Blue Pancakes
9) Toddler Made Easy Patriotic Placemat
10) Flag Placemat
11) Wind Socks
12) Patriotic Candle Holders
13) Fireworks Crown
14) Rockets
15) States Frame
16) Shell Sailboats

For more ideas check out:

• Sharing Saturday Features
• Fourth of July Round-Up from Sharing Saturdays
• My Patriotic Pinterest Board

I hope you have a safe and happy Memorial Day!! And please remember what the day is for and that it is not just about the barbeques!!

Virtual Book Club for Kids--I Pledge Allegiance

Today I am going to share a second Bill Martin, Jr. book for the Virtual Book Club for Kids. If you missed our post last week, we shared The Little Squeegy Bug. Today's book is I Pledge Allegiance and it is co-authored with Michael Sampson. Now the main words to this book are the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Remembering and Praying

Note: All images today came from Patriot Icon.

So last night I was tired and did not feel like sitting at the computer, so I did not get my post ready. This morning I was trying to get Hazel to school with a bit of crying, but not too much. Then I ran to the gym to get my work-out in. While at the gym, I was watching the television (from the treadmill) and realized the date. Good Morning America was on and they were doing a moment of silence in remembrance. My mind went to twelve years ago as tears began to form in my eyes. It is a day I will never forget. I think it was the saddest and scariest day of my life. I then realized that the reason I did not want to post last night was because I needed to post my memories and a prayer today.

Twelve years ago my life was very different. I was teaching at Wellesley High School. Wellesley is a couple of towns away from Boston--literally there is one town between it and the start of the city. I had a prep period when the planes hit. I went to make copies for a class and one of the teachers I didn't really know mentioned something about it to me and it didn't sink in. I thought he was telling me a joke. Then the kids came to my room and they had been watching it on television in history class so I got the whole story. It was a sad and somber day. Then when no planes were suppose to be in the air over the United States, we hear planes flying overhead. Wellesley is in the airpath for the air force to get to Boston for the investigation. Hearing them sent chills and fears through us all. Then the stories came out of people who didn't go to their office in New York that day. (Yes, there are people who commute from Boston to New York often.) And the saddest one of the brothers who knew their father was on a flight to LA but not sure which one. Their mother called after the first plane to say he was not on that one. Then the flight he was on was lost, she came to school to get the boys so they could be together and when she walked into the office they announced the flight number of the second plane--his flight. Being so close to people involved really makes it even more sad and real for me. Although I was not personally involved and did not lose a loved one, I felt and still feel the pain and sadness. I knew the world for me changed that day.

In memory of that day, I would like to offer a prayer. I hope you will pray with me.

Dear God, please watch over the survivors of the tragedy that occurred twelve years ago as well as the loved ones of those we lost. May we always remember those we lost and how we worked together to help others survive and get through this horrible time. Please help us find a way to live in peace with one another and to end this violence that is still happening throughout the world. Please help us to learn to be compassionate and understanding to those who are different and let us find a way for us all to feel your love and peace. Amen.

Happy Independence Day!!

Today we are celebrating our country's Independence Day! Before I go into my post, I would like to send a huge thank you to all the soldiers (past and present) who have fought to protect our country and their families. We send our thanks and prayers to you!

For the Fourth of July, we have not done much this year. Hazel and I looked at the wonderful packet about fireworks from My Shae Noel. We decided to make some firework paintings, which I saw over at Tippytoe Crafts the other day. Hazel loved making these and continued to paint with the Q-tips some more. Instead of adding glitter we used some glitter paint.

We also made some pipe cleaner fireworks/sparklers that I have been seeing all over the web lately. Hazel also wanted some pancakes so we made red, white and blue pancakes (strawberry, blueberry, almond pancakes). I cut the recipe in half since I couldn't eat any and when we made them Steve wasn't home, so this recipe made five pancakes.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground flax seed meal
1 egg
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (could use regular milk)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup blueberries (we used fresh because we had them, but usually I use frozen)
1/4 cup strawberries (fresh from the farmer's market, but could be sliced frozen)
1-2 tablespoons almonds

Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Beat the egg in a medium bowl and then add the liquid ingredients. Mix dry ingredients into liquid ones and add berries and nuts. Cook.

Hazel said she loved them! 

In the past we have done much more and usually host a barbeque for some friends, but decided to have a quiet one this year. Here are some of our crafts and food from the past.

Flower Wreath; Patriotic Candles; Rockets

Patriotic Wreath; Flower Arrangement; Red, White and Blue Sugar Cookies, Shell Sailboats

Salad Spinner Spin Art Banner; Red, White and Blue Fruit Salad (banana, blueberry, watermelon, strawberries), Duct tape Firework Crown (with other Fourth of July Crafts for Toddler/Preschooler)

Handprint Fireworks; Marble Painting; Utensil Holders; State Frame

Finally some of the great patriotic crafts and activities from the last few Sharing Saturdays!

1) From We Made That: Fourth of July Layered Drink
2) From Making Memories with Your Kids: Layered Drink
3) From School Time Snippets: 4th of July Noise Maker
4) From Montessori Now: Patriotic Practical Life and Math Activity
5) From Gift of Curiosity: Fireworks in a Jar
6) From Buggy and Buddy: Statue of Liberty Crown and Torch
7) From Little Bins for Little Hands: 4th of July Sensory Bin
8) From Gift of Curiosity: 4th of July Montessori Activities
9) From Buggy and Buddy: Patriotic Spirit Wands
10) From Gift of Curiosity: Sticky Paper American Flag
11) From Boy Mama Teacher Mama: Homemade Flags
12) From There's Just One Mommy: American Flag Craft
13) From Toddlers Through Preschoolers: Fourth of July Tray
14) From Little Bins for Little Hands: 4th of July Baking Soda Science Sensory Play
15) From Learning and Growing the Piwi Way: Fourth of July Pack
16) From Mums Make Lists: 4th of July Fun Round Up

I wish you and your family a happy, fun-filled and safe Fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day!!

For the Fourth of July we often just have a few friends over for a small barbeque. We find many people have plans with family, etc., but with Hazel's age we find most of the local events are just too late for her schedule. This way we plan our barbeque around our schedule and invite our friends with young kids. I always have Hazel help me make decorations and then we have crafts and activities for the kids. I will share pictures of how everything came out later this week, but for now I thought I would share a round up of Patriotic Crafts, Foods, Activities that have been shared on Sharing Saturday the past few weeks.

1) Dramatic Fireworks Display from Mama's Little Muse

2) Patriotic Books and Bento Lunch by Keitha's Chaos

3) Red, White and Blue Snacks from Mama of Many Blessings

4) Fourth of July Tie Dye T-Shirt from School Time Snippets

5) Patriotic Candy Bark from The Iowa Farmer's Wife

6) Stars, Stripes, and Coffee Filters from Art Mama Says

7) Fourth of July Pudding Pops from We Made That

8) Fourth of July Shaker from We Made That

9) Independence Day Flag Manicure from Tessacotton

10) Patriotic Ice Cube Painting from Mama's Little Muse

11) Roarin' Rockets by Tippytoe Crafts

12) Patriotic Dresses and More on Frontier Dreams

13) Firecracker Pops from Pam's Party Planning and Practical Tips

14) Interchangeable Wreath from The Crafty Scientist

15) Patriotic Mason Jar from The NY Melrose Family

16) Patriotic Wreath made by me

Center) Our centerpiece complete with toilet paper roll rockets Hazel and I made.

We made many toilet paper roll and paper towel roll rockets to decorate for the party including ones with all the kids names on it. We discovered that the sparkly scrapbook paper does not glue or tape well!

We also made some shell sailboats. I got this idea from Family Fun. I used sticky foam and put scrapbook paper onto it for the sails and used toothpicks for the sticks and included a flag on each one since I had a bunch of flag toothpicks. Hazel loved doing this. She wanted to make ten boats but I had cut out enough for twelve so we went for it. She wants to play with them now.

In honor of our holiday, I pause from my celebration to say a prayer for all those who have fought for our freedom and all those still fighting and their wonderful families that sacrifice so much. I hope you will join me in the prayer!

Dear God, thank you for being with our brave men and women who have fought for our country and have provided us our freedom. And please be with all the men and women still fighting and protecting us. Also please be with their families as they sacrifice their time with their loved ones and protect them all. Thank you for letting me be a part of an amazing country and please help me to make it even better by following your ways. Amen.