Spring Spotlight: Picture Books
Where I Grew by Jashar Awan
I came across this new release at our local library, and I am so grateful to our local librarians for setting it out to catch my eye. Through short, lyrical text the author presents the simultaneous story of a tree and people who came from all over and who took different paths to get here, but who found a home to grow in nonetheless. It is a beautiful story that reflects on immigration, home, and community. It led to great discussions with my girls about how people and plants can come from all over and “put down roots.” I highly recommend this one for your book shelves.
Grab your copy here.
One Little Seed: Exploring Nature for Curious Kids by Becky Davies
This book was gifted to us last year by a dear friend and fellow book store fanatic. It has become a beloved book in our house, and it has taught my girls a lot about how plants grow. It is a nonfiction, lift-the-flap book with clear, beautiful illustrations that help to make the science accessible for little ones. I recommend this one for anyone looking to take their kids out to any local gardens or who is ready to take on a true gardening challenge at home. The book even includes some tips for gardeners.
Grab your copy of this one here.
Reading Comprehension and Writing Activities
I created an emergent reader and a writing prompt for this one using the words “I need…” Grab your free copy here.
Craft Connection
We are always looking for ways to reuse our old toilet paper rolls, so we found a fun way to do that for this flower craft. You can watch the video above to see the progression of our craft, but here are the steps broken down for you:
Make small cuts into one edge of the toilet paper roll.
Use your fingers to fold back the pieces so they flare out, making a flower shape.
Dip the flower-shaped end of the toilet paper roll into a glob of paint. (We used Crayola Glitter Paint to make ours extra sparkly.) Dab the painted ends onto your paper a few times, spinning slightly in between to make a full circle of petals.
Grab a paintbrush and some green paint to paint on the stems and leaves.
We filled the center of our flowers with dots of colored paint, as well, but you could certainly leave them white. Next time I might even color the center with crayon once they’ve dried to make them more multimedia.
HAVE FUN! As you can see at the end of the video, my youngest daughter went a bit wild with her paint, but I loved her finished product just as much as mine because the whole point of these crafts is to have fun and to connect story time with fun.
Field Trip Connection
This would be a great time to head out to the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. The conservatory is open from 10-5 daily, and the gated outdoor gardens are open from 7:30am-7:00pm.
The children’s garden is open for the season, and families are invited to “dig, plant, water, and engage with the Garden in this special space” (per their website). We are very excited to go check it out soon!
Another local gardening favorite field trip for us is River Farm in Alexandria. It is a very short drive from our house, and it is filled with beautiful plants year-round. They have little play areas for kids throughout the gardens, as well. It’s the perfect spot to bring a picnic snack and enjoy some outdoor story time together.
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