Bird and Little Bird

Hey there, Friday!

People! Friday is here, and that means one very imporant thing: this week has been nearly survived. Insert loud exhaling noise here.

Between the stuffy noses and the crying because teething is miserable and the househunting from afar and the tax refund check that is maybe lost in the mail? Well. What is that saying about just keeping your thoughts to your very own self unless they are nice ones? Right. But I did feel that I should explain myself if I was going to post a picture of my kid digging wax out of a candle holder with a coffee spoon. Which I found that I had to do because, basically, it was the only photo I took all week long. And really, it is kind of his favorite thing to do. If we are being honest.

But there are other bits of news worth sharing, too. I've been working behind the scenes on a handful of little projects and posts for other people's internet homes, and coincidentally, they all seemed to appear in their finished form around the same time this week. Here they are, in the event that you want to take a peek.

 

- I am pleased to announce that the first Sparkle Stories ebook has made its way into the world, and that I have teamed up with the ever wonderful David and Lisabeth to provide easy, practical (and yes, fun!) games and crafts to include in their books as they release them. This first book is full of some of our family's favorite Sparkle: a collection of stories from the Junkyard Tales series. You can find the book on Amazon here.

 

- There is a new post up at Playful Learning today. I think that it will be of particular interest to any of you fellow bird nerds out there because I made you some printable birder's notecards. So go print them already!

- There is an Alphabet Glue giveaway going on over at The Crafty Crow through Saturday evening. You can enter to win copies of the two newest issues of Glue, and there is a 20% discount code there, too- enter "crafty" at checkout through Sunday evening.

- I know that I mentiond it earlier in the week, but the red paper canoes tutorial on The Crafty Crow can be found here.

 

- And lastly, there are just a couple of days left to purchase the Learning Through Play ebook bundle. The kids' gardening resources that are included are fantastic, and are worth the price of the bundle just on their own. Also, it is about 28 degrees here today, so reading through those ideas on gardening with the small people is basically like getting a really cheap therapy session. Totally recommend it.

Free Printable Valentines for You and Yours.

I had ambitions early on last week to create a set of printable valentines to share with you all. Of course, it turned out to be a busier than normal week around here, and then someone (whose name begins with Z and who doesn't believe in wearing socks unless absolutely necessary) was mostly disinclined to let me settle down to work on said cards anyway.

But then Annie 2.0 found herself stuck in a snowy grocery store parking lot with a dead car starter and a bag of tortilla chips on Friday morning, and after the small folk and I appeared on the scene for purposes of rescue, I found myself with an extra pair of adult hands around the house for the afternoon. And so: valentines for you.

There are four different card options, as well as matching printable envelopes for each design. You can download the valentines and envelopes (in a five page PDF file) by clicking on the link below.

Go ahead and spread the love.

download printable valentines

That Time of Year.

Now that Alphabet Glue lives in its own house and isn't just operating out of a back room of this blog, I often forget to look at my blog stats for long periods of time.  And then something will remind me to check them out, so I'll take a peek and notice that folks have been digging through the archives looking for something in particular.  Often, it is something seasonal.  This week, it would appear that everyone is on the hunt for printable thank you notes for post-holiday acknowledgements. 

So with that in mind, I thought that I would take a quick moment to relink to the printable thank you notes that I made for you all last year around this time.  You can find them here. 

And, might I also shamelessly plug the latest issue of The Glue just a little bit and remind you that there is also a nice set of printable thank you notes included there?  Yes, I believe I might.  They are Canada Geese-themed and come with fold-your-own envelopes too.  And now there is officially no good excuse: your mother is checking her mailbox.

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In the Glue Department: A Sneak Peek at Volume Ten.

Alphabet Glue Vol. 10 Now Available!

Small Business Saturday (an Alphabet Glue Sale!).

Thoughts About Very Little (and Giveaway Winners, too).

Printable Bunny Bookmarks for You.

 

Today was one of those days when I could tell from the outset that the small fry was going to be a restless napper and therefore, if I was smart, I would be very, very quiet while he was sleeping.  And, since today is most officially dedicated to all things rabbit on the Picture Book Month calendar, the obvious nap time activity choice was making you all a set of free bunny-themed bookmarks.  Okay, well maybe not obvious, but that is what I did nonetheless.  You can download the bookmarks by clicking below.  Enjoy tucking them into a book near you!

Download Rabbit Bookmarks

Picture Book Month has Arrived!

As some of you dedicated bibliophiles out there are likely already aware, November is also marked on many calendars as Picture Book Month.  Yes indeed, an entire month-long celebration of my undoubtable favorite among genres.  Between preparing for big storms and sorting out Halloween costumes, this particular November snuck up on me just a bit, but I am still hoping to have fun picture book related suprises popping up here throughout the month, and will be running lots of specials on Alphabet Glue as well.  Because what better way is there to celebrate the wonder of picture books than by diving into pages upon pages of booklists and related crafts and activities?

 

For today, I am going to share one of the wrap-up activities that I created for the Read Aloud Book Along this past summer.  The activity goes along with the title Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe by Vera B. Williams.  Here is an excerpt from my review of this book, many years ago:

"...many books contained in one.  Part journal, part field guide, part cookbook and part narrative, Three Days is the story of a pair of cousins on a first canoe trip with their mothers.  The story begins with the finding of a red canoe for sale in a neighbor's yard and follows the family as they set out to recreate a canoe trip taken by the kids' mothers when they themselves were young. The reader is introduced to tent-pitching, knot-tying, and the importance of life jackets, all while enjoying the feeling of being a part of this little family on their big adventure.

I love this book for many reasons, not least of these being the idea of the clever, skilled and adventure-ready moms who know how to show their kids a seriously good time- despite rain, wind, waterfalls and unexpected canoe tipping.   Don't we all like to think that we've got a bit of that spirit in us as we try to raise our small people to see the natural world with appreciative eyes?"

This book is one of my favorite picture books of all time, and despite the fact that the waning days of autumn aren't particularly ripe for family canoe trips, I would suggest that you run to your local library and find a copy of this one right away (if you haven't read it already).  Then, you can make the super easy and very fun paper boats described in the downloadable PDF file below.

Download the Red Paper Canoes tutorial

In the likely event of inclement weather, you could totally sail these in your bathtub or a mud puddle. 

As for celebrating Picture Book Month over in Glueland, between now and Monday November 5th, all issues of Alphabet Glue are 20% off when you enter the code "picturebook" at checkout.  I'll try to have some kind of special all month long, because if there is one thing that I can honestly tell you that I believe in, it is the importance of picture books in our libraries, on our bookshelves and in our laps. And, if I'm doing my job at all right, Alphabet Glue really is a great resource for helping to make the love of books a part of daily life.

Library Monday: Bridges Are to Cross.

I've been spending just a bit of time thinking about bridges this week.  Well, to be more accurate, bridges and tunnels.  Because here in the San Francisco area, that is how one gets around.  You cross bridges and go through tunnels.  Generally, you do these things at the exact same time as many, many other people and therefore, you do them slowly.  Which lends itself to a bit of thinking about how the bridges are built, how the tunnels are tunneled.  This is especially true at the moment, because the new Bay Bridge is actively under construction and you can't help but notice the skeleton of this new bridge as you drive across the old one. 

 

Mariam seems to have noticed the built environment here in California a bit more on this trip than on previous ones, and the resulting car conversations reminded me of one of our favorite reads on the topic of bridges and the reasons that people build, cross and admire them.  Bridges are to Cross by Philemon Sturges (illustrated by Giles Laroche) is a truly enjoyable read, with plenty of detail for mini-engineers who are curious about bridges and the way that they are constructed.  As an added bonus, the text is accompanied by brightly colored cut paper illustrations that are themselves enough of a reason to pick this one up. 

 

Bridges Are to Cross got the Inspired by Literature treatment in Volume Three of Alphabet Glue, so many of you may have had a chance to give this one a well-deserved read.  If not, click the link below for a PDF file containing the last couple of pages of Volume Three.  You'll find a bit more information about the book, as well as a fun kitchen-table engineering project to go along with it. 

Making Toothpick Bridges

Library Monday: Miss Rumphius.

This morning, when I saw that Kara, from Simple Kids, had written a post wondering if anyone had a good "guerilla style" gardening activity to accompany Miss Rumphius, the lovely storybook by Barbara Cooney, my first thought was something like "Oh! I love that book!"  And then, shortly after that, "Wait! I totally have a fun guerilla style garden activity to go with Miss Rumphius."  Those of you who have a copy of Volume One of Alphabet Glue floating around your hard drive may remember the wildflower seed pods from that first issue .  You see, Miss Rumphius was the first book to be featured in the Inspired by Literature section of Alphabet Glue, and for good reason.  It a heartwarming and gently inspiring tale that reminds each of us that we are not only able, but in many ways responsible, for leaving the world a better place than we found it.  It is one of those rare picture books that has something to offer readers of any and every age, and it is a permanent favorite of many families that I know, including our own. 

So, I thought that I would share the Inspired by Literature feature from Volume One of Alphabet Glue with you here today.  Click on the link below to download a PDF copy of that section of the magazine; it includes a short review of Miss Rumphius, as well a tutorial for making wildflower seed pods to get your spring season started off in the spirit of making the world around you a little more colorful and bright.

download seed pod tutorial

'Tis the Season (Printable Thank You Notes for Kids).

Between holiday festivities of various sorts and the much appreciated "big sister" presents that have come her way, my girl has some serious thank you note writing to do.  I would love to tell you that she relishes this task and dives in without prompting, cajoling or the need for numerous reminders.  However, this would be a bit untrue.  Not that Mariam isn't grateful for the wonderful gifts that have come her way over the last few weeks, she certainly is, but she would probably rather build with her awesome new blocks than sit at the dining room table writing notes about how awesome they are.  You see?

So, in the spirit of making it easy to say thank you to those that certainly deserve the courtesy, I made up some simple printable thank you notes.  Just download, print, cut out and fill in the blanks. 

You can download the notes by clicking the link below:

 printable thank you notes

 

Alphabet Glue: Volume Three!

I am quite pleased to report that Volume Three of Alphabet Glue has arrived, just in time for fall.  This newest issue boasts all sorts of bookish fun, from sticker books and story buntings to non-fiction reading inspiration and printable story maps to suit all ages.  Pop on over to the Alphabet Glue page to read up on all the important details and even better, to download your very own copy post haste.  I think you'll be oh-so-glad that you did!

Behind the Scenes of Alphabet Glue (and Printable Bookmarks for You).

Summer is winding down, vacation is coming to a close (only days left!) and I am officially working on Volume Three of Alphabet Glue.  I've been making lists, rewriting lists, sketching and planning in a somewhat lazy way for weeks, but the computer phase of the work has really just begun.  I got a good bit done yesterday morning while sneaky Mariam used the quiet time to get an entire chapter ahead of me in our read-aloud book. 

Volume Three will contain all the usual fun stuff; book lists, bookmaking tutorials, printables and the like, plus there will be an activity focused on non-fiction writing and research prompts as well as a special section on the "geography of the fictional world."  What exactly does that last bit mean, you wonder?  Soon enough, dear friends, soon enough. 

In the meantime, I do have a little present for you.  The other evening when I was doing some illustration work for the upcoming issue, I somehow found myself drawing rows and rows of little mushrooms.  I'm not sure exactly how I arrived there, considering that it wasn't at all what I started out to do, but I had a really good time mushroom-making just the same.  And honestly, I had a good enough time that I made an extra set of printable bookmarks decorated with my mushrooms.  The bookmarks can be printed with or without text, but I would recommend putting them on cardstock to make them sturdy enough for daily use.

 

You can print them out here: Printable Bookmarks for Fall