Ann Cole Lowe and Ada Lovelace -- Learning about Women in History

For our final post this year for Women's History Month I am sharing two books I found at the library. The first book is Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe by Deborah Blumenthal and illustrated by Laura Freeman.

Bee Aware -- 100 Plants to Feed the Bees and more -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

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.

Spring has sprung even though it doesn't really feel like it here in Massachusetts. We still have snow on the ground. I have begun to think about my garden. Now I am aware of the issues with bees. Are you? I don't mean the fact that they sting or that Hazel is afraid of them because they sting. I mean that there is a drop in bee population. Why should we care about the bees after all they sting? Well if we don't start caring we will not have fresh fruits and vegetables or flowers for that matter. Bees are pollinators and they are necessary for growth of plants. What can a gardener do to help the bees? Well there are a few things. One is to avoid using pesticides. Many towns now spray for mosquitoes, but the pesticides they spray do not only kill mosquitoes but also the other insects including bees and butterflies, our main pollinators. The pesticides you may use in your own yard will do the same thing. Another thing to do is plant the flowers that attract bees and other pollinators. Tonight's book is too help know which flowers these are. The book is 100 Plants to Feed the Bees by the Xerces Society. 

Sharing Saturday 17-12

It is time for Sharing Saturday!! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts.

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.

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! It was another great party with many different ideas!!  Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have three groups of features: Books, Lessons & More, and  Other Great Features.

Colouring in Peace -- a Relaxing Friday Review

 Disclosure: Kregel Publications sent me a copy of this book free of charge for this 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.

I have been planning on writing this Relaxing Friday review for a very long time and somehow my Fridays have not been very relaxing. I have to say that all of March thus far has been far from relaxing. So today I am taking the time to get this review done and share this wonderful coloring book with you.  The book is Colour in Peace: A Reflective Journey illustrated by James Newman Gray. 

Poetry Books for Kids -- Book Reviews

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

 Next month (April) is National Poetry Month. Do you ever try to share poetry with your kids? Some poetry is great for kids and others are harder to get them interested in. Today I am going to share two books to share a bit of poetry and hopefully help develop a love of poetry with your kids. The first is from a Poetry for Kids series and the bonus for us is it is about a Massachusetts poet. Hazel's class is looking at the history of Massachusetts currently and has a project to study someone or something from the history. Hazel however did not choose Emily Dickinson liked I hoped. She chose Susan B. Anthony, so we are learning a lot about women's suffrage right now. However we did take time out to read Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson edited by Susan Snively, PhD and illustrated by Christine Davenier.