Exploring Easter in Australia

While trying to figure out where I wanted to focus this year's Easter Around the World post I discovered there is a movement to change the Easter Bunny to the Easter Bilby in Australia and this sealed my choice! However I did not find much at the library to help in my research, so I texted my friend, Kelly from Happy Whimsical Hearts since she lives in Australia! She told me most families give chocolate eggs and have Easter egg hunts and eat hot cross buns. In Australia Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays (as well as Easter Sunday) and Holy Saturday is a state holiday in most Australian states. (Source) During national holidays schools, businesses and other organizations are closed. Most large shopping centers and stores are closed as well. Some small stores will be open for shorter hours and some public transportation is limited. (Source)

Exploring Australian Animals with Books

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books 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.

We have been exploring the Australian Outback with two great books from Candlewick Press. The first book is Bilby: Secrets of an Australian Marsupial by Edel Wignell and illustrated by Mark Jackson. 

Mystery of the Min Min Lights - a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Janelle Diller of Pack-n-Go Girls sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

It is hard to believe the Multicultural Children's Book Day is coming quickly. It is on January 27th and I am a co-host so be sure to come back and check out all the reviews at the link up!! 

If You Were Me and Lived In.... a Look at Cultures Around the World

Disclosure: Carole P. Roman sent me these books for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Do you like to read books about different cultures? Since we don't travel very often, I love to teach Hazel about different cultures and I have found books to be a wonderful way to do this. Today I get to share three books from a wonderful series by Carole P. Roman. The series is If You Were Me and Lived In...A Child's Introduction to Cultures Around the World. Unlike the books in the Ancient Culture series I shared last week, these books focus on current cultures in the countries. The series of books that include a map of the country as well as a picture of a globe showing where the country is and a pronunciation guide with meanings as well. We will go in alphabetical order with our three countries and start with If You Were Me and Lived in...Australia. 

The Pop-Up Guide Cities Around the World -- Book Review with Crafts, Recipes and More!

 

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

Looking to teach little ones about the world? Today we are sharing a fun pop-up book that takes us around the world. I am also sharing links to crafts, activities, and recipes to go with each city and/or its country. The book is The Pop-Up Guide: Cities Around the World by Maud Poulain and illustrated by Sandra de la Prada. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5. 

Emus and Hippos!! Book Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of these books 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.

Today we are sharing two fun and educational animal books from Candlewick Press. They are written in the same style as Grandma Elephant's In Charge and Big Red Kangaroo which Candlewick Press sent previously to me to review (and we bought one as a birthday gift for one of Hazel's friends because we love them so much!). These books tell a story about a particular animal and/or group of animals as well as have aside facts about the animal.

The first we travel to Australia to learn about emus, with Emu written by Claire Saxby and illustrated by Graham Byrne.

Travel with Books at Home Product Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of this 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.

Do you love to travel? Or do you dream of traveling without hassles? We love to explore the world from home with dreams of someday getting to see more of it. For now we like to explore with books and posters and such to see and learn about the world without leaving home. Candlewick Press has some products that makes this really fun and easy. The first three books are from a series called Panorama Pops. We got to explore The Louvre, Australia and Venice in this form. It was so much fun. These books are like pocket guides with pop-up pictures. The book is double sided since it folds out and has the pop-ups on both sides.

Multicultural Books for Different Ages

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

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday. I have been sharing many of my past posts about Dr. King on my Facebook page this weekend. Be sure to check them all out plus the review I wrote over at Multicultural Kid Blogs this month. 

Luke's Beach Day--Book Review

 

 Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to a wonderful book that will be available to purchase on June 1st. Luke's Beach Day by Giselle Shardlow is a wonderful story about a class visiting the ocean in Australia. You can check out Giselle's blog at http://www.kidsyogastories.com/. The story follows a group of three students as they explore the sea and with each thing they see and do there is a yoga stretch to try. This was Hazel's first exposure to yoga. She has done stretches in both dance and gymnastic classes, but never had to hold the poses or even get in some of the positions. 

Since we have an advanced copy, we have it on the computer. Hazel was so excited to read a book on the computer again. Then we would try all the positions. I pulled my camera out for the first few, but realized Hazel would need more help than I expected to get her body to hold the positions. Here she is doing the sun salute.

There are several different levels to this book. It is a wonderful introduction to yoga. There are also issues of litter on the beach, teasing friends, treating animals, ocean safety, and of course since it takes place in Australia, the differences between an Australian beach to one in your own country (assuming you do not live in Australia). One of the yoga moves was the kangaroo hop. Hazel enjoyed this one, but the only picture I got is horrible of her. (I know some day she will be angry with me for posting it, but here it is.)

So on June 1st, look for this wonderful book. It will be available in both English and Spanish. Also stay tuned for possible giveaways.

Thank you, Giselle, for letting us preview this amazing book.

Yoshi Sea Turtle Genius -- Book Review & Craft Round-Up

 

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

Do you have an animal lover in your house? Or perhaps you are doing a unit on sea turtles? I have a book for you. The book is Yoshi Sea Turtle Genius by Lynne Cox and illustrated by Richard Jones. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8. At the end of my post there is also a turtle craft round-up to go with this book!

3 Fun Animal Books from Candlewick Press

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.

Now I will admit we LOVE animal books and especially ones that are non fiction. Candlewick Press sent us three of these type of books to add to our collection. All three are in the style of some of the other amazing animal books we have reviewed from them (Bees, Emus, Hippos, Elephants, Big Red Kangaroo). This is a style we really love. It tells the story of an animal and then has side notes with facts about the animal. The first book we are sharing is Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London and illustrated by Meilo So.

Big Red Kangaroo Book Review

Have you entered my current giveaway for a wooden watch?

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of this 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.

 We are so excited to share this fun book with you today. Big Red Kangaroo by Claire Saxby is a wonderful book about red kangaroos. It was released last week. In similar fashion to Grandma Elephant's In Charge (which I reviewed last month), Big Red Kangaroo follows a dominant male red kangaroo with his mob but also gives facts about red kangaroos in side notes. The dominant male kangaroo is responsible for the safety and livelihood of its mob which is made up of females and joeys (baby kangaroos). Young male adult kangaroos will challenge the dominant male for the mob. The dominant male will have to fight off or scare off the challengers. He also has to help find the safe places for the mob to eat and rest during the hot sunny days. It is so interesting to learn about the harsh climates these animals live in. 

New Year Traditions from Around the World

How do you celebrate New Year's? Most of the people I know go to a party or celebrate with their family at home, but have you ever looked at what some of the traditions are from around the world? There are some interesting ones.

Kids Valentine Swap

You may remember I put together a Valentine Swap for kids back around Valentine's Day. I was waiting for all the Valentines to arrive, but if they haven't arrived by now, they are not going to.

We had seven children participate in the Kids' Valentine Swap. One from England, one from Australia, and the other 5 from the United States: Massachusetts, Nevada (2 here), California, and Texas. There ages ranged from two to ten.

Here is a map to show you where they all came from.



To participate you needed to send a homemade Valentine to each of the other six children and a postcard of something from the area where you live.

From Massachusetts

From England

Two from Nevada

From Australia

From California

I know Hazel loved getting the mail and it was a lot of fun to see different crafts and different parts of the world through post cards.

Happy Palm Sunday, Everyone!!

Multicultural Monday--The Land Down Under

G'Day, Mate! My dear friend, Kelly, over at Happy Whimsical Hearts sent Hazel an Australian package. Well actually it was technically Kelly's son and Hazel's pen pal, but when you are talking 3 and 4-year-olds let's face it, it is the mother. We received this package awhile ago. I found most of the parts to it again, but Hazel has really been enjoying it. Today we explored the land down under or Australia. (Yes, The Men at Work song, Down Under, keeps playing through my head.--I'm a child of the 80's--what can I say.)

The package included a post card of the Australian flag, a travel brochure, some vegemite packages, some play money, a little koala toy and a platypus finger puppet. When we got this package, Hazel loved the platypus. I keep finding it everywhere, but of course, today I couldn't find it. When we got the package, we took some books out on platypuses, but of course, I didn't take any pictures of them. Hazel keeps telling me she wants to see a real platypus, so I guess we will have to take a trip to Australia!!

Thanks, Kelly & Dino Boy!!

This morning we made some toast and tried the vegemite. I have to say that none of us really liked it. We were glad we had also made a piece of toast with some of our peach jam on it to get rid of the taste. But now we know what vegemite tastes like. I know I have always wondered ever since The Men at Work song.

Next we took out the books we had from the library and read them. One of them suggested making boomerangs from cardboard, so we did. Hazel decorated them. She and Daddy are going to try them out later after they dry. I also pulled out the travel book I picked up the last time I was at the AAA office. Nothing like dreaming of a great vacation.

The other day Hazel and I went with some friends to the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. I will share more about this trip on Wednesday, but they have an Outback Trail. We saw emus (sorry the picture is not so great of them, but you can see it above the u), kangaroos, sleeping tree kangaroos, cockatoos and black swans. We also saw a kookaburra, but the picture was really horrible. Then I also included some sharks and the turtle from our aquarium trip last month.

For some more Australian crafts and activities check out:

Happy Whimsical Hearts

Daria Music
Making Multicultural Music
Irresistible Ideas 
Red Ted Art 
and another one here..
Glittering Muffins has several if you scroll down you will see the Australian ones

DLTK Kids

Easter in Nigeria

As part of the Easter Around the World series, I decided to take a look at Easter in Nigeria. Unfortunately I had no luck finding books that included Easter celebrations in Nigeria. We did find several books about Nigeria and stories from Nigeria however. Hazel was very excited to read books about Nigeria since one of her good friends is from Nigeria. I also happen to be good friends with her mother so I asked her for help. 

Who's in the Backyard? -- Sparrows! Fun facts, crafts and book round-up

 

The weather has been so beautiful especially today. I have been enjoying my backyard and my bird watching. Today we are going to take a look at a bird whose name has become synonymous with common because they have been introduced to most places in the world (see fun fact #5). We are talking about sparrows, in particular house sparrows since that is what is common in my area. Check out these fun facts about sparrows. My favorite is #2.

The abc's of Australian Animals: An Interactive Kids Yoga Book Review & Giveaway

Have you ever done yoga? I find it so relaxing. Plus there are so many benefits to it. According to Mayo Clinic, "Yoga is considered a mind-body type of complementary and alternative medicine." (Source) One of the biggest benefits is that yoga can reduce stress and anxiety and enhance moods. (Source) For more benefits, Yoga Journal has a great list of 38 ways yoga improves health. I want to pass this wonderful practice on to Hazel. I remember my mother taking yoga classes when I was young and she had a record from the class. My sisters and I would try to do the record by looking at the cover (each pose was pictured on the cover) and listening to the record. This instilled a wonderful practice in my life. When my life gets stressful, I tend to look for a yoga class to take or put a yoga dvd in to relax. Now I have a wonderful way to introduce Hazel to yoga in a fun and meaningful way. You may remember the wonderful book I reviewed in May, Luke's Beach Day by Giselle Shardlow. Well, Giselle has been at it again and has published The abc's of Australian Animals: An Interactive Kids Yoga Book and has been kind enough to send me a copy to review and offer me a copy to giveaway. Disclosure: I received the book free to review, but all opinions are my own.

First I should say this book is available in English as well as Spanish. The book goes through each letter describing an action of an animal found in Australia or Australian waters and gives a picture of a yoga pose. Hazel and I read the sentence on the animal and looked at the picture of the animal. Then we looked at the yoga pose and tried it. We still need to work on some things, but flexibility will come the more we practice.

Hazel's favorite was of course the letter h. She knows that it is the first letter in her name. She also thought the pose was pretty easy.

We really enjoyed doing the yoga together. 

She also wanted Ducky to try it with us,  so you will see him in a few of the pictures. Overall the book is very well written and illustrated. It is a wonderful way to bring a relaxing exercise into a child's life. I know we will be trying it some more.

Giselle Shardlow writes at Kid Yoga Stories.  She is a teacher, traveler and yogi as well as a mom and draws from these experiences to write her books.

I hope reading these yoga books and practicing the poses will help Hazel learn a bit about yoga and develop a love for it like I have. That way she will always have a healthy lifestyle or at least something to fall back to when life gets stressful.








Now it is your turn to try to win a copy of this book. Giselle is willing to ship worldwide!! All you have to do to enter is follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter and follow my giveaway rules except this one is open worldwide!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Black Musicians and Entertainers #blacklivesmatter Series

 

How has the world changed in the last six months? The fight is still going on for Black rights. There is so much hate and violence as well as peaceful protests. We are in a Movement and we can decide how we are going to respond. We can sit back quietly and watch or we can take part. There are two sides and depending one where you fall you can take action. Know that sitting back quietly and watching is an action. It is accepting what you are seeing. I know at times this summer I have wondered if my actions, my posts, my discussions are making any difference. I even considered giving them up. But I knew in my heart I had to try to make a difference and help there be change. Today we have come to the end of my list. My short list. A list of names to research and share with you because Black lives are part of everyone's history. Black people matter! Although this will be my last post in this series for now, I know I will continue it again. I know there will be future books that share about Black lives, as well as more people to feature. If you have Black people I should feature please leave their names in the comments or contact me.  But I also know I want to focus on Native Americans for Native American History Month. I know we need to also focus on them as they are suffering with Covid and not making it much into the news. 

Sharing Saturday 16-11

Reminder: This link party is for child-oriented crafts and activities and parenting/teaching posts!! 

It is time for Sharing Saturday!! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, 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 the Creative Kids Cultural Blog Hop lasts all month for anything cultural or diversity posts!! Be sure to join us at it!!

 Thank you to everyone who shared at last week's party!!  I always love seeing what everyone has been up to and your creative ideas!! Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! The features this week are March & Spring Features, Easter Features and Educational Features.