Get out the Craft Kit it’s Make a Gift Day

Are you buzzing around trying to find the perfect gifts for family and friends? Well, today we are getting crafty with some things collected from the backyard, and even learning a bit about plants too! Surely friends of Arbordale will love leafy bookmarks and floral candle holders. These crafts are simple to do as a family or for a classroom pair the craft with a lesson on soil (world soil day in on December 5^th), trees, or flowers.

Here’s how we made our gifts today:

What we collected!

Outside we found some red and yellow leaves, pine needles, holly, and some palm fronds.

From the craft store we bought some ribbon, a glass candle holder, glue, laminating sheets, and also Mod Podge.

Making the bookmark is a very simple project for younger kids. We placed one laminating sheet sticky side up on the table, then placed leaves randomly. Then we placed the other laminating sheet on top securing the leaves in the middle and pressing them flat. Finally, we used a hole punch to put a small hole in the top and tied two strands of ribbon through the hole to complete the bookmark.

Next, we made a small candle holder with the holly and pine needles. We tied together the holly and the pine with a small bow and glued that on the front of the glass. You can also glue the leaves individually and use the Mod Podge to seal the leaves on the glass and match your bookmark.

Have fun crafting today and if you tried either of these crafts, show us by tagging us on social media!

Here are some books that pair well with these crafts:

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After collecting leaves and flowers, talk about the different parts of the plant and what they need to survive. Each “For Creative Minds”section has wonderful lessons on plant needs. Daisylocks is a fun read to learn why some climates and soils are not just right for a flower. And, learn more about the many different varieties of trees, why some lose their leaves, and why others keep theirs all year long.

Check these titles out on arbordalepublishing.com!

Celebrate Summer Reading in the Great Outdoors

It’s that time of year, kids are feeling antsy. Summer vacation is just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean reading isn’t just a good book away. Once again, we have a great summer reading program with ten free ebooks not only to encourage reading, but also get kids outside playing! Check out the buggy science journal, bird nest build, and habitat scavenger hunt for outdoor adventures.

No matter where you live, through books kids can visit the forests, beaches or the zoo. Read our dual-language, interactive ebooks and tell us your favorite book below to enter to win a paperback copy of our summer reading library.

Turtle Summer

Follow #ArbordaleLovesSummer for book giveaways and other summer reading features  on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Happy Reading

Spring is in the Air

Do you have itchy eyes and a stuffy nose? With blooming flowers and trees, pollen is flying and bothering our allergies. Some people may have miserable runny noses while others may not be bothered at all.

This is a problem that Baby Bear encountered as he leaves his den after hibernation in Shennen Bersani’s Achoo! Pollen Counts. And, although Baby Bear is a little unhappy with all his sneezing, he learns that there are many forest friends that use pollen. Especially the bees that make honey.

To celebrate spring, author and illustrator Shennen Bersani has created a fun pollen globe using the printable coloring sheet below check it out on her blog http://www.achoowhypollencounts.com/achoos-blog/achoo-pollen-snow-globe-craft.

And…check out this great video review of Achoo! 

Achoo! Why Pollen Counts is available in hardcover, paperback, and dual-language, interactive ebook learn more about the book on arbordalepublishing.com!

 

 

Fall is Here: Have fun with nature

Today is the autumnal equinox and it is officially fall. Soon enough we will be putting away the shorts and bringing out the sweaters and coats. While we are not at the peak of the fall foliage season here are a few crafts and activities to gear up for the season.

Finger print tree

What you need:
A canvas, or heavy piece of paper
Glue
small stick or branch from a tree
finger paints, or stamp pad in brown, red, green, yellow

Glue the branch to the canvas or paper then have a child put their fingers in the paint and randomly place fingerprints along the branch to create leaves.

Leaf Imprint

What you need:
A piece of copy paper
Leaves of different sizes
Crayons

Make a collage of leaves place the copy paper over the leaf and take a crayon color back a forth to reveal the veins and shape of the leaf. Color one per page or multiple leaves for a collage of fall foliage.

Acorn painting

What you need:
Acorns
craft paints and glitter
paint brush
glass container

Gather acorns from your yard or on the ground choose fun colors and paint the round part of the acorn or use glue and cover the acorn with glitter. After you have painted your acorns let them dry and then display them in a clear glass container for a fall centerpiece.

And then after these fun crafts learn more about fall leaves in Fran Hawk’s book Count Down to Fall. Find the for creative minds activities here!