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!

Let’s Compare and Contrast!

Compare and contrast the characteristics of different types of clouds through vibrant photographs.

Compare and contrast the different characteristics of trees through vibrant photographs.

In 2014 Polar Bears and Penguins debuted; this first book in the Compare and Contrast Book series has been named to the NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books of 2015. This year we release three new books in this series and two have just hit bookshelves, Clouds and Trees take a look at often overlooked topics in nature.

Each book in this series uses simple text to lure the youngest readers into loving all that they can learn from non-fiction. Paired with the facts and activities in the back of the book kids will learn about the impacts that clouds have on the water cycle and how roots are important to make trees stand tall.

If you have had fun comparing through these books, now you are ready to compare and contrast anything! Let’s start by using what you have learned about clouds and trees with the activity sheet below. Fill out traits of each that are the same and ones that make these objects different.

Click here for the full size Compare&Contrast worksheet.

Watch for the next Compare and Contrast Book available this fall Amphibians & Reptiles!

What makes a frog an amphibian but a snake a reptile? Both classes may lay eggs, but they have different skin coverings and breathe in different ways. Pages of fun facts will help kids identify each animal in the class like a pro after reading the fourth book in Arbordale’s Compare and Contrast series. Similar to Polar Bears and Penguins, Clouds and Trees; Amphibians and Reptiles uses stunning photographs and simple non-fiction text to get kids thinking about the similarities and differences between these two animal classes.