The Golden Quest -- Review & Giveaway and Compound Interest Activity Ideas

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book to write this review. I am working with The Children's Book Review and David Delisle and will receive a small stipend for this review. All opinions are my own.

What have you taught your child(ren) about money? It can be a hard topic for some. The other day I was having a conversation about how it is so different for this generation. When we were young, we used money. We got money. We earned money. We saved money. We spent money. These days almost everything is purchased with plastic. We order online and use a credit card. Most people pay with credit card just about everywhere. I know I often don't have that much cash on me. Our credit world is teaching kids a different lesson than we learned, and they may not truly understand that we have to pay for the purchases when the credit card bill comes. Today I am going to share a fun graphic novel style book for kids that helps teach about money. It is The Golden Quest by David Delisle and illustrated by Travis Hanson. 

Origami for Geometry Class with Marbled Patterns Origami Paper

  

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

As I mentioned I am returning to the high school math classroom in the fall! One of my goals is to bring more hands-on activities as well as projects to the class. One of the classes I am pretty sure I will be teaching is geometry. I am so excited to be back in the geometry classroom. I am hoping to use origami in the classroom and definitely want to have an origami project in the geometry class. This year's teacher did this, so I am working off her idea and adding my own spin. Today I am going to share two origami tutorials all using a beautiful pack of Origami Paper 500 Sheets Marbled Patterns 6-inch paper. This particular pack of paper is being released in July 2022, but there is a similar pack of 200 sheets already available. 

Fun Facts about Crayons and Our Exploration of Crayon Racing

 

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

If you have kids, you have crayons. Most restaurants give kids some crayons to keep them busy while their food is being prepared. I know we have quite a supply from over the years. But have you ever really thought about crayons? What are they? I decided to gather some fun facts for you about the childhood staple and then I have a fun book to share with you to give you a use for the crayons sitting around your house.

Sumi-e -- Japanese Ink Painting

 

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

Before Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month ends, I wanted to explore sumi-e, Japanese ink painting. I was sent three books that share the about this beautiful art and provides tutorials to create your own. Now a while ago I shared my adventure with Chinese brush painting. The idea I had when I bought the supplies was for Hazel and I to do it together. Since sumi-e is similar I thought she would enjoy expanding her skills. She did some Chinese brush painting in art class last year. However in reality she never had time or desire to do it with me, so after waiting quite awhile for her to join me, I did it on my own. When researching books to learn Chinese brush painting I discovered sumi-e. This is the Japanese form of brush painting. I am going to share three books that teach sumi-e from three different masters. Each is a bit different. I have not tried any of the techniques as my life has gotten busy. (If you didn't read about my big news, you can here.) Let's begin with the newest book, A Beginner's Guide to Sumi-e: Learn Japanese Ink Painting from a Modern Master by Shozo Koike. This book was released in October 2021!

Mathematical Art: DIY Fibonacci Spiral and My Big News

 

I have BIG NEWS!! My life is changing. After leaving teaching high school math sixteen years ago to get married and focus on family, I am going back to the classroom full time in the fall. Then on top of that news I have been helping out four days a week in the school's directed learning center since someone left at the end of April. My life has been a bit different, and you can tell by the number of posts I have been doing. This will mean some changes to Crafty Moms Share, but I am not sure the extent yet. I will change my focus to more math-based posts but am hoping to still review some books, especially math focused ones and young adult ones so I can connect with my students. I will also be doing more origami, so be ready for review of origami products.