Spider Webs and Woven Dreams

Don't forget to mark your calendar for the Love My Library linkup next Wednesday May 12!

Dream Weaver by Jonathon London

I hate spiders. I know you're supposed to hide these types of irrational fears from your children, but I still squeal like a schoolgirl whenever I see one scurry across my path. E has naturally picked up on this phobia and decided to share it. So when I saw this beautiful book in the library, I thought it might be good therapy for the both of us.

Written in present tense and second person, the book makes wonderful use of "you" to draw you into the world it creates. You see a little yellow spider and as you observe her you are pulled into her world: a creeping ant, an oozing snail, and a careless hiker that tears down your tiny spider's web. As the sky grows dark you have to leave the little spider to reweave her web as you fall asleep and weave dreams of your own.

The language in this book is poetry and a joy to read aloud: "Yellow Spider glows like the evening star, gleaming over the sea besides the crescent moon." The illustrations are just as gentle and quiet with soft muted colors and dreamy micro landscapes. It's almost pretty enough to make me change my mind about spiders... almost.

After reading the story we decided to try our hand at this beautiful Beaded Spiderweb I found on Family Fun.

The Family Fun website has detailed instructions on how to create this spiderweb, so I won't go into all the steps here. It basically involves wrapping jewelry wire around 3 bamboo skewers and threading with beads. It's not a difficult craft, but it is time consuming. I was afraid E might get bored, but she was a trooper threading all those beads (I handled wrapping the wire).

The finished project turned out just as good as I had hoped. I think the spider is particularly cute... if one could ever call a spider cute!

Shoo fly! Blow paint.

Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth

That old black fly's been buzzing around! I ran across this book at the library and am in love. Old black fly buzzes around the house, causing chaos from A to Z. He "ate on the crust of the Apple pie. He bothered the Baby and made her cry." Through every letter in the alphabet, this pesky fly leaves calamity in it's wake... until it gets a much deserved SWAT!

The story is fun, the rhymes are infectious, but the illustrations are incredible. With splashes and spackles of paint, illustrator Stephen Gammell captures the constant movement of the fly on each page. Look at these gorgeous pages... and just pretend those ugly toes are not in the picture. Wow, I need a pedicure.

I love this page - just look what that nasty fly did with the eggs and frosting. Almost as gross as my toes. Really, I'm so sorry. I promise I'll find a new way to prop books open.

The style of the paintings reminded me of blow painting, so I thought we would try it. I mixed a small amount of paint with water right in the cap. Doing one color at a time, I let some paint drip on the paper and E spread it onto the page by blowing through a straw.

Once we'd filled up most of the page, E added a black fingerprint fly. This is one fly that won't go splat!

If you try blow painting with your kids, make sure the paint is really watery. (Family Fun recommended using colorful india inks, but we haven't yet graduated to that level of craft supplies.) You'll also want to use a large/wide straw for greater spread. Happy painting!

I'm linking up with:
- ABC and 124's Show and Tell

Only the best for our bugs!

It's turning out to be a gorgeous spring here in Virginia! The weekend was perfect for outdoor play, so while A napped, E and I went into the back yard to make garden homes for her rubber bugs. (I'm afraid all real bugs were quickly evicted.) Yes, Tinkerbell somehow got wind of the new condos and - Tink being Tink - made herself right at home.

Making the bug/fairy houses was easy and fun. While I gathered paper lunch bags, scissors, and glue, E walked around the yard and collected flowers, leaves, and berries to decorate the houses.

I rolled back the openings of the bags, tearing and shaping until I was happy with the look. Then E and I glued on the natural materials to finish our houses. When they were dry, we asked the new tenants to move in!

The bugs seemed rather pleased with their new digs.

Tink said the neighbors left much to be desired, but she guessed she'd stay.

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! by Bob Barner


The inspiration behind buying the rubber bugs for the girls (a Target dollar spot find, btw) was this darling book. I'm not entirely sure why I am so taken with this book. Perhaps because it is simple and yet infectiously enthusiastic. Every page celebrates bugs with short descriptions very young children will be able to sit through and enjoy. The illustrations are gorgeous mixed media artwork, creating humorous goofy buggy creatures on every page. By the end of the book you, too, want to run outside to see these wacky, wonderful bugs! The back of the book includes life-sized illustrations of the eight featured insects as well as a "bug-o-meter" chart that contrasts and compares their basic features.

Yes, I know a fairy book would probably have gone better with the craft (hey, how was I to know Tink was going to weasel her way in?), but I love this book and honestly don't  know of any non-commercial (aka non-Disney/Barbie) fairy books worth reading. I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Why Mosquitoes Buzz

I mentioned yesterday that the bugs are out early and that includes mosquitoes. We hatched prehistoric mosquitoes this year. I swear I have never seen them so big. In the evenings I grab the kids and we make a mad dash to the car, praying we can get in and buckled before the mosquitoes swarm us. The experience reminded me that we have just the right book for the season:


Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema


In this classic "why" fable, a mosquito tells a lie, setting off a chain of events that eventually leads to the sun failing to rise. When the animals get together to figure out what caused this calamity, they realize the mosquito is to blame. Although they call for her to be punished, sneaky mosquito escapes. To this day she still goes about "whining in people's ears: 'Zeee! Is everyone still angry at me?" The answer? "KPAO!"

What I love about this book are its incredible illustrations. I'm not surprised it was a Caldecott winner, just look at these scenes:

The white outlines and gradient colors are so unique, I wanted to try something similar with my girls. For A I took the wax crayon that came with our egg dying set and traced a coloring book owl. Then I let her sit at the table and paint. Yes, I'm insane. Who in their right mind gives a 21 month old a paint brush and paint?!? We did really well for about 5 minutes and then she decided it was much more fun to splash in the water cup, fling the wet paintbrush around the room, and paint her sister's arm. Eventually it turned into a full blown tantrum and craft time was over.

I filled in some of the white space, but overall I think the picture turned out pretty good. We might try it again when she's a little older.

For E, I wanted to do one of those coat-a-painting-in-crayon-and-scrape-away-to-draw. I remember doing those as a child, but this one failed miserably. The crayon did not scrape away. Do you need a special kind of paper? We tried to salvage the art by creating a mixed media collage.

Honestly, it's a good metaphor for the kind of day we are having.... I keep trying to salvage the day, but I think I just need a small vacation from the kids! Anyone want to come over and babysit?

I'm linking up to:
- stART at A Mommy's Adventure

Edible Insects

We're experiencing a freak warm front this week, which has caused every type of insect and arachnid to burst forth from the ground, sky, and water. To "celebrate" the multitude of bugs, I bought some potent bug spray, picked up a bunch of bug-themed books from the library, and made this special lunch for the girls.

E's plate contained a PB & honey spider sandwich, a banana caterpillar, and a blackberry beetle pot of dirt. E was excited about all of them until she saw a real insect (some sort of nearly-microscopic larvae) on the blackberry and decided to pass on dessert. Isn't the caterpillar cute? I got the idea via Teach Preschool from Family Corner.

A received a PB & honey ladybug, ants on a log, and a caterpillar on a graham cracker leaf. I think the ladybug is my favorite.

After the real insects were removed, the girls were happy to dig into the pretend ones. E announced with surprise: "Pretzels in peanut butter taste gooder than apples in peanut butter!"

A doesn't speak much yet, but this smile said it all! In fact, she was so delighted with her lunch she felt compelled to share half of it with the dog.

Beetle McGrady Eats Bugs! by Megan Mcdonald

I love books with strong female characters, and Beetle McGrady is one such protagonist. She longs to be a courageous explorer and brags that she'd even eat an ant. Her friends jump on that boast and dare her to do so in the playground. When Beetle chickens out she feels like a failure. A chance for redemption arrives when a chef brings into their classroom meals containing real insects as part of a unit on different cuisines.

E's favorite part was "when she had an ant on her tongue! That's the silliest part." The illustrations are fun and colorful watercolors, and the story is sure to please your preschooler or kindergartener. The back of the book contains Beetle's tips for eating bugs: "#5 Feeling tired? Forget to take your vitamins? Termites are full of iron." I'm not sure about termites, but I did once eat a fried grasshopper. E doesn't believe me.

I'm linking up with:
- Just a Girl's Show & Share Day
- Fireflies & Jellybean's SOYS