Books for Valentine's Day

 

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

The end of January is coming near. Lunar new year and the Read Your World Celebration are getting closer but so is Valentine's Day. Today we are going to focus on Valentine's Day and love. I am sharing two books for younger children that are perfect to get ready for Valentine's Day or in a loving mood and at the end of the post is a roundup of ideas for kids to make valentines and children's love songs to sing. One is a musical board book. It has buttons to push to hear the songs. It is Little Love Songs by Sandra Boynton. It is recommended for babies through age 5.

Sharing Is Caring, Dragon! -- Picture Book Review & Giveaway

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review to bring you this post and giveaway. 

This week seems to be dragon week with the young adult book I shared yesterday and today's picture book. Plus, lunar new year begins next week. It will be the year of the snake, but let's face it dragons are always part of the lunar new year. Today I get to share with you a wonderful book with so many great themes for young kids to learn, and there is a giveaway at the end of the post! The book is Sharing Is Caring, Dragon! by Bianca Schulze and illustrated by Samara Hardy. I have had the pleasure of sharing another of the dragon series books previously.

The Tales of Charlie Wags: New York City -- Book Review & Giveaway with a NYC Craft Round-Up

 

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, Sofie Wells and Ali Barclay to bring you this post and giveaway.

Are you ready for a sweet, magical book? I get to share one with you today and guess what? There is a giveaway at the end of this post! In this magical book a sweet dog visits New York City, so I am also sharing a small New York City craft round-up. Let's get into the book--it is The Tales of Charlie Wags: New York City by Sofie Wells and Ali Barclay with pictures by Sanna Sjöström.

Craft Books for Kids & Adults

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

I am still working on clearing my review shelf, so the roundups continue this week! Today we are looking at some great craft books for kids (and adults). These books range in abilities and topics. If you have a creative child in your life these books will make great gifts. We will start with the book for the youngest age 5 to 9. It is The Kids' Book of Craft Love by Irene Smit and Astrid van der Hulst. 

What Makes Hands Beautiful? -- Book Review, Giveaway & Handprint Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and J.F. Bierlein to bring you this post.

Do you ever think about hands? We use them all the time, and life would be so hard without them. As I thought about hands and looked at my own handprint crafts, I thought about how we use them for sensory and let's face it there are so many great handprint crafts! I am sharing a large round-up of handprint crafts and hand sensations. Think about kids playing with play dough, slime and finger painting. Or the fact that we hold their hands all the time. Our hands are truly our sense of touch and something special to us. Today I get to share a beautiful book about hands. It is What Makes Hands Beautiful? by J.F. Bierlein and illustrated by Houda Zahid. There is a giveaway and the craft round-up at the end of the post.

Halloween Children's Book Round-Up For the Easily Frightened Child with Crafts & More

 

October always has me thinking. When Hazel was young, we would avoid Halloween displays in stores. They scared her too much. It was hard to go anywhere, and the displays got put up earlier and earlier every year. She was easily frightened, and I had to be careful what I exposed her to. However, she loved dressing up for Halloween. (Perhaps this is why she wants to go into theater.) I have been thinking back to some of our favorite Halloween books and I thought I would share some of them and more with you! This round-up includes our favorite books and books we enjoyed when she was young and more recent ones as well as DVDs, costumes and some crafts and activities to go with the books. 

A New Friend for Dragon -- Review & Giveaway Plus Dragon and Knight Craft Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review to bring you this post.

With back to school there have been some great books coming out about differences. Let's face it when kids go back to school, they see people who are different from them in some way. It is important for kids to realizes that differences can be a good thing and that it is ok to be friends with people who are different. The book I'm sharing today is about just this. It is A New Friend for Dragon by Bianca Schulze and illustrated by Samara Hardy. 

Resources to Teach Kids Personal Finance

 

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

Did you know that on June 29, 2024, California became the 26th state to require a personal finance class for all high school students? Half of our states now require personal finance to be taught in public schools. There are advocacy groups working on the other 26 states. Now as a child I remember my father teaching me about things like checking accounts, credit cards, and investments. Courses really were not offered in schools. In my first teaching job back in the 1990s I did however teach a consumer math class. I was teaching a vocational school and both consumer math and business math were offered. It taught things like banking, taking out loans, purchasing a car, taxes, etc. I remember one of the math teachers giving spelling tests for writing out checks. She made sure the kids knew how to spell the numbers out when they wrote them on checks. I didn't think much about consumer math after I left that school in 1997 until last year. My current job has me teaching consumer math again. I was given an old book back from the late 90's or early 2000's. The numbers are so outdated and really the content is rather boring. I got to come up with my own curriculum or find it. This summer I am taking several of Next Gen Personal Finance's (NGPF) teacher certification courses to help me get better at it. I have used their free curriculum for about a year and a half so far. Next year I plan to mix it in with other curriculum I have found and/or written. Today however I get to share a new book with you for younger kids, though I will be adding it to my classroom library, about financial terms. It is Financial Fun from A-Z by Brooke Lapides. It is recommended for baby through 9 but I see it as a great reference book for older students as well.

Even Better Than Sprinkles: A Story About Best Friends

 

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

What is better than sprinkles and unicorns? A good friend of course!! Today I get to share a new picture book (released today) about best friends. It takes us through the good times and a bad time in a friendship. The book is Even Better Than Sprinkles: A Story About Best Friends by Linda Skeers and illustrated by Heather Fox. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

A Beginner's Guide to Modern Calligraphy and Brush Pen Lettering -- a Crafty Sundays Review

 

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

Happy First Sunday of Summer!! As a teacher and a mom, I love summer!! It means more time doing things I love and more time with family!! With my teaching schedule this past year I feel like I really earned my summer vacation. I need time to recharge and get ready for next year. One thing I always try to do when I'm stressed out is craft. My mind needs it!! I am always amazed by the people who have beautiful penmanship. You know the ones that make beautiful words with what looks like little effort. When I was young, I took classes on calligraphy and discovered if I take my time and put effort in and I can write in calligraphy pretty well. But it always takes time. These days there are more modern writing and fonts and I always love trying them but usually without much success. Today I am going to share a book with you that helps train you to write in those modern fonts and use a brush pen. The book is A Beginner's Guide to Modern Calligraphy and Brush Pen Lettering by Maki Shimano. 

How to Make a Sandwich -- Book Review & 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 Lorena M. Proia to bring you this review and giveaway.

There are times when I read a picture book and just think "Ahhhh." Today's book is one of those. I absolutely love this book and hope you will check it out. The book is How to Make a Sandwich by Lorena M. Proia. 

Look -- Book Review & Finding Patterns Activity Round-Up

 

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

As a math teacher I know that being able to see and recognize patterns is important. When kids are young, we teach them simple pattern finding. When they are older, we teach harder pattern finding that goes into things like equations of lines and other graphs. I know because I just taught patterns to my algebra class. I also teach patterns in geometry. Patterns are important in life and in developing our brains! Patterns are also a huge part of our lives. We see them all around us. We create them in our daily lives. Patterns can be dances, songs, daily routines, fabric prints, bead colors or shapes, spirals, branches, etc. Even our bodies are made with some patterns. They are truly everywhere. Today I get to share a new book about looking for patterns both to learn patterns and to help give you a break when needed. The book is Look by Gabi Snyder and illustrated by Samantha Cotterill. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

Cattitude -- Book Review & Giveaway with Cat Craft Round-Up

 

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 to bring you this post and giveaway. All opinions are my own. 

Just like people animals have their own personalities. People often say cats are aloof and want to be the boss of the house. As the owner of three cats currently, I can honestly say every cat has a different personality. I have and have had cats that love to be with people and others that are shy when we have "strangers" in the house. Today we are sharing a book about a cat and her attitude. The book is Cattitude written by Bianca Schulze and illustrated by Samara Hard. Besides my review I am sharing a round-up of cat crafts and there is a giveaway as well!

Guess How Marion Feels -- Book Review & Giveaway with Emotion Activity Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Maya Nurtures to bring you this post and giveaway.

Today I get to share with you a picture book that explores feelings. It is perfect for the younger child. At the end of the post is a giveaway and there is also a round-up of emotion activities to go with the book. The book is Guess How Marion Feels by Miss Kaye and illustrated by Miss Waitthk. 

Hide and Shh! -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

 

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

I am so excited to be a Multicultural Children's Book Day reviewer this year!! I somehow missed signing up last year and it made me really sad. It was the only year I didn't participate in this amazing event. I am blaming going back to work full time. However this year I made sure to sign up as a reviewer!! Today I am going to share the first of the books I am reviewing and it is such a sweet book about inclusion. It is called Hide and Shh! A Not-So-Sneaky Sister Story about Inclusion by Christine Dendy and illustrated by Nathalia Takeyama. It is recommended for ages 5 to 7.

The Big Fat High School Algebra 1 Workbook -- Product Review

 

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

As a teacher and a mother, I fell in love with the Big Fat Notebook Series. We have shared many of them here and I have the math ones in my classroom. My small Algebra 1 class is a mix of different learners. Most have some sort of special need and work on the slower side. I am always looking for ideas for them and have pulled out Everything You Need to Know About Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1 in One Big Fat Notebook for inspiration. Today I get to share with you a companion to this book. It is The Big Fat High School Algebra 1 Workbook by Workman Publishing. 

Algebra 1 Equation BINGO with Leftover Halloween Candy & More Resources from My Classroom

 

Although I have an amazing math book to share with you, I decided to put it off for a week to share a fun Algebra 1 activity as well as more resources that is perfect with leftover Halloween candy!! In my Algebra 1 class we are solving equations. My students have a mixed background as to what they have seen, so for some solving equations is a struggle. Last week I made them a doodle note with steps to solve equations. 

Home Is Calling: The Journey of the Monarch Butterfly -- Book Review with Craft Round-Up

 

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

Over the years we have loved learning about butterflies and especially monarchs. We grow milkweed to help keep monarchs around. Today I get to share with you a wonderful new picture book about the long journey they take every autumn. The book is Home Is Calling: The Journey of the Monarch Butterfly by Katherine Pryor and illustrated by Ellie Peterson. It is recommended for ages 4 to 7. At the end of my post is a round-up of butterfly crafts and activities including a section on monarchs! It shares more than 50 ideas!

Fun Facts About Spiders with Craft Round-Up

 

Last week I shared a fun book for the summer about riding a dragonfly and included fun facts about dragonflies as well as a craft round-up. I have two books to share soon about spiders and thought I would do the fun facts and craft round-up first and then share the books over the next week or so. With one book the dragonfly post got rather long, so I wanted to do this as three posts. The first book is shared!! The second book is shared!

Lovepop's Mother's Day Giveaway -- Make sure you enter!!

 

Disclosure: I will receive a small stipend for sharing this giveaway with you. All pictures of cards are from the Lovepop website.

Spring holidays are upon us. That means it is time to think about gifts and cards!! Do you look for the right card for each person? Are you looking for that special one that they will keep forever? Lovepop can help!! You may have heard of Lovepop on Shark Tank in 2015!