A book from my childhood

The second book in my 2017 reading list is one from my childhood, and one that I think a lot of you will be familiar with.



Enid Blyton books were a huge part of my childhood, and I would spend many hours poring over the short stories, Faraway Tree series and The Famous Five. Since I wasn't an active kid due to health problems, these books were my chance to take part in something magical, and I especially loved Joe, Beth and Fanny in the Faraway Tree books.

The one thing I will say straight away is that I am disappointed in the censorship of the new Enid Blyton publications. Fanny has been changed to Frannie, their cousin Dick is now Rick, and even Dame Slap was changed to Dame Snap, who snaps at the children instead of hitting them. One paragraph I found particularly humorous was this one- check out the warnings for waving the hot kettle around!



Other than the changes due to the PC brigade, I still absolutely love this story and my boys have been enjoying reading a few chapters each day during the school holidays.

Do you have a favourite Enid Blyton book? I would love suggestions on which ones to read to my boys next!

Robot Family Fun Night

This week's family fun night had a Robot theme!

We started off by making gear cookies. I used a Chocolate Shortbread recipe, and cut it into flower shapes. I then used a circle cutter to blunt the ends of the petals, like so:



Then we used a small circle cutter in the middle to create gear cookies!



We served these on top of chocolate cookie icecream after we had had Macaroni and Cheese for dinner and we watched Robots.

We also decided to make our own robots. I cut the pieces we needed on my Cricut machine.



The boys had a lot of fun assembling their own robot heads.



We also read a funny bedtime story about a couple of rude robots.

Family fun nights are such a great way for us to connect, and the boys always look forward to Friday nights and talk about them throughout the day- the anticipation is very exciting for them.

Linking up with Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons!

Poppins Book Nook- Forests/Woods

Welcome to the June edition of Poppins Book Nook!

This month's theme is Forests and Woods.

The book we read this month is a New Zealand book called Kahu the Kiwi, about a Kiwi who loses his way in the forest and then makes friends with a boy, leading to many adventures.

For some of my readers, a kiwi to you is a fruit. However, the Kiwi is a national icon of New Zealand and lives in the forest. It is a nocturnal, flightless bird and we learnt lots of fun facts about kiwis after watching this video, as well as some ways on how we can help save this wonderful namesake, as New Zealanders are also known as Kiwis!

Aren't they cute!

We decided to make our own Kiwis using egg cartons, colouring pens and cardstock. Our class mascot, Moose, was visiting our house today and so we made one for him too.

First, we coloured our egg carton pieces brown and drew feathers. Then we slotted the two pieces together and added cardstock wings and a beak. We then added some eyes and we were done!



The boys (and Moose) were very proud of their Kiwi creations.



We also made some gingerbread trees. Using standard gingerbread dough, we cut out our trees sing a cookie cutter and baked them in the oven for 12 minutes until golden brown.



As it is winter here currently we dipped them in melted white chocolate to make them snow topped trees, and then we taste tested them!



We had a great time learning about classical music and painting our own masterpieces, Click below to see how other members of Poppins Book Nook were inspired!

 Clip art by MelonHeadz.

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - 3 Dinosaurs - ABC Creative Learning - As We Walk Along the Road - Brain Power Boy - Chestnut Grove Academy - Embracing Destiny - Every Bed of Roses - Farm Fresh Adventures - Growing in God's Grace - Kathys Cluttered Mind - My Bright Firefly - Peakle Pie - Preschool Powol Packets - Pray Species - SAHM I am - Stir The Wonder - Sunny Day Family - Sweet Silly Sara - Teach Beside Me - To the Moon and Back - Tots and Me - Tree Valley Academy - Witty Hoots

An InLinkz Link-up

Virtual Book Club For Kids (Margaret Wise Brown)

This month we are featuring Margaret Wise Brown for the Virtual Book Club!

Lucas has really been enjoying the story of The Runaway Bunny, and with Easter coming up I decided this would be the perfect time to do a bunny themed activity.



We made our own rabbit masks out of a few household items.



You will need:
Rabbit face template (we used a template from Usborne Activities: Easter Things to Make and Do)
Brown, white and pink cardstock
Pipe cleaner cut into four equal lengths
Elastic
Glue
Small hole punch


We started by gluing the ears onto the template.


Next up was placing the nose and whiskers.


Cut a slit in the middle of the template up to the nose. This will allow the mask to stretch and fit over your child's face a lot easier.


Place two small holes on either side of the mask, and thread some elastic through.


My boys were thrilled with their bunny masks!



They had to test out how well they could hop as bunnies, and so a lot of jumping around the dining room was in order- the masks brought out their inner rabbit! They both looked adorable and loved having their very own masks.

Join the Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook Page to see more inspiration from Margaret Wise Brown and other book related activities!

Book Nook Roundup- our Favourites!

This month marks the end of my first year with Poppins Book Nook, a virtual book club for children of all age ranges. This experience has been amazing as it is not just about reading some fun books, but having experiences as a family.

Here is a roundup of each theme we have done throughout the year, as well as links to each individual post for further instructions.

Our first month was exploring the world around us, where we made a kiwi snack, a chicken craft and a tuatara!



Next up was Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which saw us take a trip on a steam train as a family.



Folktales was a very fun theme, and we learnt about the real reason the tide goes in and out after reading about taniwhas and the tide.



Winter was well and truly on out doorstep when we had The Great Outdoors theme, so we had a fun week of snow related activities. Our PVA glue snowmen were a huge hit!



The boys made their own parrots when we read about pirates, and we also had a pirate themed dinner.



Things got a bit more serious when I asked Lucas what he would like to be when he grew up. He thought for a while and decided either a policeman or a clown! We ended up looking into what policemen do and had fun creating our own police badge.



By far, the most popular theme for the boys during this round of The Poppins Book Nook was The Wild West. We don't have a desert in the south island of New Zealand, but the boys were fascinated by some photos I showed them of me in the Atacama desert. We also watched some movies about cowboys, made our own Wanted posters, practiced pasta threading and also made some puffy paint.



Beyond Our Planet got the boys thinking about the moon, planet and stars. We invented a new outdoors game, made swirling planets from milk, and explored the phases of the moon with Oreos, as well as making our own starry sky painting using a cheese grater!



The kitchen is a great place for cooking, but we also used this theme to explore science recipes using common kitchen items such as baking soda and vinegar. This was a messy theme but made both boys extremely excited as they love to bake and make things blow up.



The boys also got to do some science experiments involving movement and force for the Poppins Book Nook, which was right up their alley.



Our last theme for this round of the Poppins Book Nook was reading some poetry, and one of our books was all about different types of dogs. Noodle the Poodle was our favourite dog, and so we made our own poodles out of noodles!



I have loved being a part of this round of the Poppins Book Nook, and can't wait to be involved for the next installment!

The themes have just been released, so if this sounds like something you would be interested in participating in, simply come back on the last Monday of each month where there will be a linky provided for you to share your reading creations with the other co-hosts and bloggers.

Poodle Poetry

Welcome back to another installment of the Poppins Book Nook!

This month's theme is Poetry!

We had fun looking at a few types of poetry, from prose to nursery rhymes.

One of the books that the boys really liked was Name That Dog.

Lucas thought that Noodle the Poodle was hilarious, and that was one of our favourite poems in the book. Other favourites were Rex, Snickers and Puddles.



We set about creating our own Poodles with fur like noodles. I created cloloured spaghetti by boiling spaghetti as normal then leaving in the water with a splash of white vinegar and food colouring for an hour. I asked the boys what colour they wanted their poodles to be; Lucas choose red and Adam chose green. You can see how we have used coloured spaghetti in the past here.



I printed out two copies of this Printable Poodle Template for the boys to create a paper and spaghetti Noodle the Poodle.



The boys used both their hands and tongs to place some noodles onto the poodle outline after I had covered it in glue. Mini tongs are great for developing the muscles needed for correct pencil grip.



The boys were happy with their finished Poodles and decided to call them Fire and Cucumber- great names for these colourful noodle poodles. 

Click below to see how other members of Poppins Book Nook were inspired!

 Clip art by MelonHeadz.

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ 3 Dinosaurs ~ To the Moon and Back ~ Planet Smarty Pants ~ Farm Fresh Adventures ~ Growing in God's Grace ~ Chestnut Grove Academy ~ Learning and Growing the Piwi Way ~ The Usual Mayhem~ Preschool Powol Packets ~ Monsters Ed Homeschool Academy ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ Teach Beside Me ~ Life with Moore Babies ~ Kathy's Cluttered Mind ~ Are We There Yet? ~ Our Crafts N Things ~ Hopkins Homeschool ~ ABC Creative Learning ~ Joy Focused Learning ~ P is for Preschooler ~ Laugh and Learn ~ A Mommy's Adventures ~ Inspiring 2 New Hampshire Children ~ World for Learning ~ Ever After in the Woods ~ Golden Grasses ~ A glimpse of our life ~ Journey to Excellence ~ Happy Little Homemaker ~ Little Homeschool Blessings ~ Raventhreads ~ Tots and Me ~ As We Walk Along The Road ~ Stir the Wonder ~ For This Season ~ Where Imagination Grows ~ Lextin Academy ~ The Canadian Homeschooler ~ School Time Snippets ~ Peakle Pie ~ A Moment in our World ~ Every Bed of Roses ~ Finchnwren ~ At Home Where Life Happens ~ The Library Adventure ~ Embracing Destiny ~ Day by Day in our World ~ Our Homeschool Studio ~ A "Peace" of Mind ~ Thou Shall Not Whine ~ SAHM I am ~ eLeMeNo-P Kids ~ Simple Living Mama

An InLinkz Link-up

Virtual Book Club For Kids (Dr Seuss)

Today's blog post is all about my favourite Dr Seuss book in conjunction with The Virtual Kids Book Club!

My boys love reading One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish and all of the animals mentioned within the different pages.

Of course, one of the main characters is a fish, and so my 5 year old crated some handprint fish art. We painted some cardstock with blue paint, then put our hands into red paint and stamped them down to create two fish. Lucas thought it would be a good idea to add some seaweed and bubbles too!



We also had a yummy fish inspired lunch! I cut a circle and a shape out of bread, then layered with ham and cheese. I used a mini marshmallow and a raisin for the eye, and grapes for the mouth. Some cheese tubes became bubbles.



Be sure to visit the Virtual Kids Book Club Facebook page to see how others have been inspired by Dr Seuss.

Christmas books for Children 2014

Christmas books are always popular stocking stuffers, or a great idea to add to a Christmas Eve box. Here are a few books that my sons have enjoyed at Christmas time, as well as a few new titles that have been released this month.

Christmas Book Ideas for Children by laurenmoore-ii on Polyvore

Christmas Alphabet is a beautiful story that this year celebrates it 20th anniversary and comes complete with a gold collectible ornament. A great gift idea for those who know a child who loves Christmas.

Stick Man is a funny, whimsical story that my boys discovered this year, which happens to feature Santa! 

The Smallest Gift of Christmas is a beautifully illustrated story that will be in my son's Christmas Eve box this year. The illustrations appeal to most ages, and older children will be able to appreciate the message behind the story.

The Christmas Stick has been described as a "fun little picture book" but it also has a powerful message behind it. 

Merry Moosey Christmas is a hilarious tale of a substitute reindeer, sure to get a giggle out of anyone. This book is a new release and I have already heard some great things about it. 

The Nutcracker is a Christmas classic that has now been released in paper-over-board format. The lavish illustrations bring a new level to the story, and event the font is whimsical and appealing.

The Runaway Santa is another book that my boys will look forward to this year, as Fireman Sam is always popular in our household! 

Lego City: Save This Christmas is another book that will be immensely popular with any Lego loving children- my nearly 5 year old loves Lego books and this one looks to  be the same high quality and as well thought out as the other Lego books we own.

Another Lego book well worth getting is the Christmas Caper Activity Book, which comes complete with a minifigure. These books are amazing- we have three other versions of these activity books and they are used over and over again. Plus, the minifigure adds that extra excitement!

Lynley Dodd's book are a classic New Zealand read, and Slinky Malinki's Christmas Crackers is a book that would make a fantastic gift from grandparents or other family members to a young child. This book will be treasured for years, and I know all of my Lynley Dodd books are still going strong after 27 years!

Lastly, another New Zealand classic is We Wish You a Kiwi Christmas. This book would be lovely to send to New Zealanders living overseas, or to people who have relatives or friends living in New Zealand.

I hope these books have given you some great ideas for expanding a child's library this Christmas. Reading is such an important part of my life, and I love that now I can share my love of books with my children. 

Linking up with Motivational Monday, Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop, Wow Me Wednesday and Time For Mom.