10Dec 2024 by catbird No Comments
“Greenglass House”

“Greenglass House”

Craft Project, Learning, Middle Grade Book Buds, Recipes, Winter
Next up in middle grade book buds, is Greenglass House. I have been reading a ton of middle grade books lately, but would love to hear your suggestions for more book buds! Middle grade books are substantially longer, so I have broken the middle grade book buds into a lesson, a craft or two, and a snack. All are driven by the themes and ideas in the respective book. These could be the jumping off point for a more in depth academic book study, or just a fun project to further immerse yourself in the worlds of your favorite books! Greenglass House Written by: Kate Milford Greenglass House is sort of an unusual choice for me, it's not particularly nature focused and it falls pretty solidly into the mystery genre, but there…
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21Mar 2024 by catbird No Comments
“Fungi Grow”

“Fungi Grow”

Autumn, Craft Project, Hike Ideas, Learning, Picture Book Hikes, Play, Recipes, STEAM
Picture Book Hikes are a fun and easy way to bring learning outside. Read a book (you can even read it outside!) and then enjoy the related hike, activity and snack suggestions! Fungi Grow Written by: Maria Gianferrari & Illustrated by: Diana Sudyka Maria Gianferrari is one of my favorite nonfiction authors and Diana Sudyka is one of my favorite illustrators so I I had high hopes for this book. It didn't disappoint-- it has simple kind friendly explanations of how mushrooms and mycelium grow and live. It is of course a perfect excuse to take a mushroom hike! I usually think of this as a fall activity because so many edible mushrooms fruit in late summer/ early fall, but there are mushrooms fruiting nearly year round. I love crafting and cooking…
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09Mar 2024 by catbird No Comments
“When the World is Dreaming”

“When the World is Dreaming”

Craft Project, Free Printable, Learning, Picture Book Buds, Recipes
I love picture books. Like crazy, unofficial librarian in my own mind, love picture books. You may have noticed I often recommend books to go with various projects and recipes, I have a whole section devoted to books I love by topic, and include extensive reading lists in all of my books. I also love writing lessons and curriculum and am constantly have discussions with other authors about how I'd love to write a lesson for their book. So I decided to stop talking about it and start doing it! Introducing Picture Book Buds, where I will share some of my favorite picture books and pair them with a craft or lesson and an easy snack. (Check out Picture Book Hikes too which was a an offshoot of Picture Books…
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