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Showing posts with label plants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plants. Show all posts

Incredible Stars of the Plant World -- Book Review

 

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

We have been experiencing a warm streak in New England and I am thinking spring! When I think of spring, I love to think of the world turning green again which of course means the plants coming back to life. Today I am sharing a book about some of the amazing plants in our world. The book is Incredible Stars of the Plant World by Benjamin Flouw. It is recommended for ages 5 and up.

The Atlas of Migrating Plants and Animals --#STEM Review

 

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

Do you know an animal and/or plant lover? Are you a teacher? Today I get to share with you a new book that is absolutely beautiful!! This is a must have when teaching about animals and plants and especially ones that migrate or perhaps just teaching about migrating. It is The Atlas of Migrating Plants and Animals by Megan Lee and illustrated by Matt Sewell. It is recommended for ages 5 to 10. 

Outdoor School Series Review

 

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

I am going to continue sharing books to get your kids learning while having fun this summer. Today we are going to look at a series of books that no only is fun and educational but also gets your kids outside and enjoying nature! The Outdoor School series features three interactive nature guides as well as three sticker books, and two essentials guides. Whether your family is interested in animals, hiking, camping, rock collecting and more there is something for everyone and these books all start by saying step outside no matter where you live there is nature out there. 

Interesting Facts & Benefits of Clover with Craft & Recipe Round-Up

 

Last week we had so much fun learning about dandelions. It is amazing that what many consider a weed can do for your yard as well as food! This week I thought I would look at another wildflower or weed. We will look at clovers! I found many interesting things about clovers. Now many people associate clover with St. Patrick's Day. However for me it is a spring/summer thing because we have so much in our yard and the rabbits come out to eat it.

Dare to Dream Puzzle

 

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

Yesterday I felt like I wanted to work on a puzzle. I went to my puzzle pile and decided to put together Dare to Dream 1,000-Piece Puzzle by Astrid van der Hulst, Irene Schmidt, and Editors of Flow Magazine. I chose this puzzle because I thought I could put it together pretty quickly and wanted to review it today. 

Garden Crafts & More -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

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

I can't believe it is already midJuly. Where is this summer going? I know my gardens are started though they need some work and I need to replant some of the vegetables that the rabbits didn't let grow past a few leaves before the devoured them. I also have to figure out how they are getting through the fences. Today I am going to share some books to help you bring plants to your life--indoors or out as well as a wonderful way to dispose of your food waste that will help your plants. We will start with indoor garden ideas. These are for people like my parents who love plants, but no longer have a yard or much space. The first book is Miniature Terrariums by Fourwords. 

Mega Science Book Review #STEM Part 2

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

Last week I shared the first half of my mega science book reviews. I promised the second half of the mega review this week and today is the day!! Last week we focused on general science, transportation and space. This week it is plants and animals. We will start with How Plants and Trees Work by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Beverley Young. 

Origami Bonsai -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me 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.

Tomorrow we are sharing our exploration of Japan and our Japanese tea party as our post for the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Asian Pacific Island Heritage Month Series & Giveaway. To kick off our exploration of Japan I thought it would be great to share two Japanese arts in one book -- origami and bonsai. The book is Origami Bonsai by Benjamin John Coleman. 

Books for Earth Day

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.

Saturday is Earth Day and to get ready for it, we have been having fun with many different books that go along with the Earth Day theme. I started sharing some on butterflies with you last night. Today we have many more on different themes. We will start with 23 Ways to be an Eco Hero by Isabel Thomas. 

Nature Anatomy Book Review to Celebrate the Earth

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.

Here is a perfect book for Earth Day although I'm a little late. This amazing book was one of the prizes in our Earth Day Giveaway. When I saw it I thought it looked like a book Hazel would love. I was right. Not only does Hazel love it, Steve and I love it and my father was looking very interested in it (and he really doesn't do books). The book is Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman with help from John Niekrasz.
http://storey.com/book_detail.php?isbn=9781612122311&cat=Nature


Air Plants Product Review and Giveaway

Disclosure: I was sent these products to review free of charge from The Air Plant Shop. 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. They are also providing a gift certificate for the giveaway.

Have you noticed that terrariums are in again? My mother's craft group has been making a few different types. She recently made an air plant one or is at least working on it. I was visiting her this past weekend and saw it and told her about how I was just asked to review products from The Air Plant Shop. When I was asked I thought it would be a fun and easy craft to do with Hazel and it would be interesting to see how to take care of air plants. I showed Hazel the pictures on The Air Plant Shop Air Plant Gifts page. I figured it would be easier to see them put together and choose. She chose the Beautiful Sky Blue Terrarium with Pink Sea Urchin, Seashell and Air Plant. They were quick to send us the products. Unfortunately for Steve, they came while I was away, so he got to do the initial soaking.



When we got home from our weekend away, Hazel and I were excited to put together our terrarium. I poured the sand into the glass and then started arranging the items, but Hazel immediately told me she wanted to put some in, so I let her.



Once we had it all arranged, we decided to put it in Hazel's room. You need a bright, indirect sunlit spot.


They are easy to care for too! You soak the plant once a week for thirty minutes and then let it dry and return it to the display. Air plants get their nutrients from air and water. They have great care instructions on their website as well. The instruction card they sent with the plant also mentioned that the plant will most likely have babies!! That means we will get even more terrariums!


I am very happy with our terrarium and its ease. I am also very happy with the service I received from The Air Plant Shop. I highly recommend them! They also were kind enough to donate a $30 gift certificate to their store for one of my lucky readers!! So head over and check out all the great products and ideas on their website and enter to win the $30 gift certificate below! The giveaway ends June 17 at 12 a.m. EDT. My giveaway rules in are effect.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gardening Blog Hop


Patio garden with vegetable garden in background
We spent a good part of last weekend outside in our gardens. One of the major issues we have in our yard is that we do not have great sun in the back yard. My vegetable garden was slowly being shaded by the trees, so Steve dug me some more space in the other direction so we could plant all of our seedlings and seeds (which Hazel chose). This garden has been taken over by raspberries and oregano. I pulled most of the raspberries out because they need too much space for the room we have and I always am pulling out the oregano, but it keeps coming back. In fact it even managed to spread over to the patio garden! Not sure how that happened.
Steve extending my vegetable garden
While Steve dug my extension, Hazel and I tackled the weeds in the patio garden. We had really let them go and since they had flowers we left them there, but they were taking over so it was time. Hazel was a great helper. She brought over her little wagon and helped pull a few, but since I kept filling the wagon she kept taking it to empty it for me.

After having lunch outside, Steve went on to dig Hazel's sunflower garden. This garden will hopefully be a sunflower house this year for Hazel. Next year we may pick a different theme like a pizza garden. These ideas came from Sharon Lovejoy's Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots: Activities To Do in the Garden. For some of the other books we have been using as a reference check out this post.
Sunflower Garden

For now we left the center of our sunflower garden grass so it will be more comfortable as a sunflower house.







While Steve started on the sunflower garden, Hazel and I started planting our seedlings. (See Post 1, Post 2, and Post 3 for previous mention of these seedlings.) Hazel wanted to start with the patio garden, but grew bored and went off to play while I planted some of our marigold seedlings and seeds.
Patio Garden
Fairy in Our Patio Garden

Simba's Memorial












She got interested in our garden again when it was time to plant the pumpkins, watermelon and zucchini in our vegetable patch. We also planted some marigolds around the edge to keep the pests out. We are trying one of those Topsy Turvy things for a tomato plant since our tomatos have not done well in our garden. We put it over near the sunflower garden since it gets the most sun in our back yard.

Then we ended our day planting the sunflower seedlings and seeds around the giant circle that Daddy dug. You can see the picture above. What are you growing this year?

Now it is your turn to share with us! 
I have been invited to co-host a blog hop on gardening with
Please visit my co-hosts and check out their wonderful garden posts as well!!
This is a blog hop. Please join us as we know Crafty Moms Always Share!!

Sunflowers, Seeds, and More

Sunflowers
Sharing Saturday is still open!! Please come visit and share your wonderful child-oriented crafts and activities with us and check out all the great ideas already shared. Tonight Happy Family Times will be open. You will be able to share your wonderful family time stories to help inspire all of us to have more of them.
Watermelons
After our mini-vacation we came home to see how much our plants have grown. We need to begin repotting some of them and planting some new seeds.
Pumpkins
We also got to finally see some growth in our fourth seed container (half milk container) of celery plants!
Celery
We also were able to finish, well almost finish some of our sunflower crafts. Hazel also posed with her flower mask.

Then we got working on our Mother's Day gifts and added some pictures and I printed out the You Are My Sunshine with the specific names. Now I need to buy some magnetic strip for the back and attach the songs to the flowers. I got these ideas from DLTK.
For Me
For Hazel's Godmother
For Daddy
Hazel wanted to make one for Daddy and Pop as well, so I guess they will also be Father's Day gifts. I am thinking of covering them in clear contact paper just to give them more strength before I put the magnetic strips on and attach the songs. Aren't they cute? Here is how I finished them:
Covered in clear contact paper and added two adhesive magnets
A finished product
We are all set for Mother's Day and Father's Day now!
We also had a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Mallard. While at the Cape I visited the Birdwatcher's General Store and asked for advice on what to feed the ducks. We bought some cracked corn and they seem to love it!
Hazel and I also played outside and she decided we were taking the train to the zoo. On the train she gave out diamonds. These are my two--a white one and a blue one. Love her imagination!!

This is where I link up...

Seeds, Sprouts, Plants, Flowers, Fruit & Vegetables

So back in March, one of my Sharing Saturday features was from The Artful Child on investigating peas growing in your window with contact paper and a water paper towel. We tried this in Hazel's bedroom window. She now calls our pea plants elephant trunks. However it is neat to see the roots.

A great book to help see the plants and roots is How Does a Seed Grow by Sue Kim. It has fold out pages and shows both the underground and above ground parts of the plant to grow different fruits--tomato, pepper, peas, oranges, blueberries, etc. Hazel of course loves it because of the fold out pages.

On the Monday after Easter we planted some seeds with my father. My parents are avid gardeners and grow amazing flowers and vegetables. We are going to bring some of our seeds to my parents to grow in their garden since they have better space and sun for gardening. However I promised Hazel we would try some gardening. The one thing I want to do is grow a sunflower garden for her to hide in. So sunflowers are on our list as well as watermelons, pumpkins, celery, carrots, zucchini and green beans oh and snap peas, of course.
By Friday we had some sunflowers already popping out. It was so exciting for Hazel to see. My father had cut two milk cartons in half for us and we used them to plant some of the seeds that would take the longest to harvest. Here are the seeds we planted.
We just filled the carton halves with soil and planted the seeds as deep as the package said. Then stuck them in nice sunny windows and watered them often.

We labeled the carton on the top part with what type of seeds we planted. We have one sunflower container, one pumpkin, one watermelon and one celery. Once they start growing we will replant them into cups and then eventually outside in our garden. We will also grow some carrots, marigolds, basil, zucchinis and tomatoes. Do you have a garden? What do you grow?
Sunflowers Day 9
Pumpkins Day 9
Watermelon Day 9



Since our sunflowers popped up first, we have started doing some sunflower crafts.I went to DLTK's Crafts for Kids and found many sunflower crafts. All of these came from there.
Sunflower Mask
Tissue Paper and Sunflower Seed Craft
We also started the You Are My Sunshine Frames for Mother's Day gifts. Now I just need to get a good picture of my little sunshine. She is in her I hate pictures stage. She colored these with her dot markers and they remind me of the flowers in one of her favorite books (see below). We will share them when they are completely done as well.

We also read How a Seed Grows Into a Sunflower by David Stewart, and one of our favorites is My Garden by Kevin Henkes.










This is where I link up...