Potato Blueberry Stamps

I know, I should be starting on apple and pumpkin crafts, but I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to summer. Between random earthquakes and impending hurricanes, we're managing to enjoy our last few days of summer break. Last week my husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary by taking a road trip up to Acadia National Park in Maine.

 On the way up, it seemed there were "Wild Maine Blueberry" signs and stands at every corner. We didn't buy any blueberries, but I did pick up One Morning in Maine for my girls and was inspired to do this little craft when I got home.

You're supposed to use a cork for this project, but I didn't have any on hand, so I grabbed a fingerling potato instead. I simply trimmed each end and notched an X into the potato flesh. The girls then dipped either end of their potato stamp into some blue paint to create their blueberries.

When it had dried,  they glued on popsicle sticks to create a simple basket shape. Such a fun and simple end of summer artwork!

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey

Written by the author of Blueberries for Sal, this sequel follows an older Sal through an average Maine morning. Blueberries do not feature in this book, but it does chronicle the loss of Sal's first tooth and her trip into town with her father and little sister. This time the plot takes a back seat to the beautiful monochromatic illustrations of little Sal and the Maine coast. Having just returned from there, I could fully appreciate the accuracy of the beautiful depiction of the New England coastline. Although it's a little long for early preschoolers, older children will enjoy the quiet chronicle of a child's morning, and kids of all ages are bound to love the artwork.

One Little Blueberry by Tammi Salzano

If you're looking for a blueberry-themed book for younger children, check out this cute little story from Tiger Tales. A simple counting book, the story follows the journey of one runaway blueberry while two ants, three ladybugs, four caterpillars, etc. all try to catch the blueberry for their own. Sweet illustrations and rhyming text make this a great read-aloud for classrooms or at home.


Disclaimer: One Little Blueberry was provided to me courtesy of Tiger Tales Books free of charge in exchange for a review. This does not in any way influence my review.

Cute Garden Stakes

Our vegetable garden is finished, and while some of the plants are looking alarmingly limp and yellow, others seem to be thriving. Regardless, the girls and I are finding gardening to be great fun, and we decorated our garden yesterday with these adorable garden stakes.

We found the blank plastic stakes for cheap at our local hardware store. I drew simple vegetable shapes on construction paper which E helped to cut out and A helped to glue on with mod podge. When the glue dried, I gave the labels a good coating of clear gloss spray paint.

I love how colorful and hopeful they look out there: the promise of a bountiful harvest... so long as I can keep the plants alive!


The Surprise Gardenby Zoe Hall

I've come to love Zoe Hall and Shari Halpern (illustrator) for preschoolers. Their books are simple, fun, and so engaging for little ones. Together they have written several books, all of which explain something about nature to small children.

In The Surprise Garden three children plant different "mystery" seeds in their garden and wait to see what grows. They sort and plant their seeds and mark each type with a different colored stake. Then they carefully water and tend their garden, watching the various plants sprout and grow. In the end they have an amazing harvest of fruits and vegetables: all gorgeously illustrated in Halpern's cut-paper collages. 

Watermelon Cookies

They may not be as nutritious as the real thing, but these watermelon cookies are awfully cute! I originally found the recipe on Taste of Home, but tried my hand as simplifying things a bit. In the end, they were surprisingly easy to make.

What you'll need:
- sugar cookie dough (I used store bought)
- red and green food coloring
- chocolate chips or currents (is there really a choice?)

1. Divide your dough in half. Mix red food coloring in one half.

2. Divide the remaining dough in half. Reserve one portion to stay white. Mix green food coloring in the remainder.

3. Form the red dough into a fat sausage about 4 inches long. Chill all of the dough in the fridge for an hour or two.

4. Roll out the white dough into a rectangle the same approximate width of your red dough "sausage". Wrap this dough around the red dough, encasing it. Repeat with the green dough.

5. Allow the dough to chill for several hours until firm.

6. Slice evenly and place on a cookie sheet.

7. Press mini chocolate chips or currents into the red centers of the cookies.

8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

9. Bake your cookies and slice into fourths while still warm. Enjoy!

Watermelon Day by Kathi Appelt

I'll admit it. I'm reviewing this book because it's about a watermelon, and honestly, there aren't many watermelon books out there. I can honestly say, however, that Appelt won me over.... not with the illustrations (which are okay) or the story (about a girl waiting for her watermelon to ripen), but with the rich language sprinkled throughout. On nearly every page is a nugget of beautiful imagery to savor and enjoy:

"It made a thick, dull sound, like Pappy's boots when he dropped them on the front porch." "She patted her watermelon. It was full of the cool summer rains. Full of the warmth from its sandy nest. Full of the deep hot sun."  "So hot that the air wrinkled up like an unironed shirt." "Willow branches dipped up and down, testing the icy water."

These poetic phrases rescue the book from being just a simple summer story and make it worth your time to seek out and enjoy with your child... maybe with a slice of fresh watermelon!

I'm linking up to:
- stART @ A Mommy's Adventures

Watermelon Math

How many seeds does each watermelon have? How many when you add the sets together? Cutting out the watermelons proved to be a great exercise in fine motor skills; adding up the watermelon seeds helped practice math and penmanship.

For a second activity, I cut the circles and glued them to the page to demonstrate fractions. While E dotted the seeds I explained simple fractions and how to write them.

Not to leave the baby out of the fun, I helped her create a W is for Watermelon page. She did a great job gluing the triangles and adding the seeds. Then she had a wonderful time scribbling over the entire sheet and eventually pulling the watermelon off and tearing them into little pieces all over my floor.

But how can you deny that joy to such a free spirit?

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert

This is one of those books you should have on your shelf. It combines the colorful collage art of Lois Ehlert, the alphabet, and a wide variety of fruits and veggies... what more could you want? Not only will your child have her ABC's reinforced, but she'll be introduced to exotic and interesting produce on every page. It's a favorite of our family.


 
I'm linking up to:
- ABC & 123's Show & Tell

A Little Slice of Watermelon

In my search for the best watermelon crafts and activities that the web has to offer, I stumbled upon these adorable jello watermelon treats from Chocolate on my Cranium. Red jello in a lime shell? What a brilliant idea! Let's get started.

You'll need:
- 2 limes
- one small package of red-colored jello (we used strawberry)
- mini chocolate chips

1. Cut the limes in half lengthwise.

2. Remove the pulp. It sounds easy... it's not. After three lime halves, I managed to get the hang of it. With a sharp knife, cut under the pulp one layer into the rind. Using your finger nails, peel out the pulp carefully, so as not to break through the rind. If you're one of those people who try to pick off your kids scabs when they're not looking, or used to let glue dry on your fingers so you could peel it off, you'll have no problem.

3. Mix jello according to jiggler recipe. The jiggler recipe calls for 4 boxes of jello, so if my math is correct, you'll add .6 cups of boiling water.

4. Rinse the rinds well.

5. Place the lime halves in a muffin tin and fill with jello. Put in the fridge to set.

6. After about a half hour, plop mini chocolate chips (for the seeds) into the lime shells.

7. Remove from fridge when fully set, around 3-4 hours. Cut into slices with a sharp knife. The jello is forgiving and bounces back nicely, so you don't have to worry too much while slicing.

8. Enjoy! The kids loved them, and even I was surprised how good chocolate chips taste inside strawberry jello.

Even my hubby said it was yummy - and he hates jello!

Down by the Bay by Raffi

Do you remember Raffi? I admit, I only vaguely do. He has a set of books based on silly songs, and one of those is Down by the Bay. "Down by the Bay where the watermelons grow,/ back to my home I dare not go./ For if I do my mother will say,/"Did you ever see a goose kissing a moose, Down by the bay?"

The song is a silly one you may or may not remember from your own childhood. Each line contains a new nonsense rhyme until the final, "did you ever have a time when you couldn't make a rhyme, down by the bay?" The illustrations playfully demonstrate each ridiculous scenario, my favorite being the llamas eating their pajamas. This book isn't going to win any awards, but I bet your kids will love it and love singing it with you! There's simple sheet music in the back if you don't know the tune.

I'm linking up to:
- Show & Tell @ ABC & 123
- Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog

Watermelon!

Did you know....

- the watermelon is 92 percent water

- August 3rd is National Watermelon Day

- the Japanese have grown a square watermelon

- watermelon is technically a vegetable

- watermelons are a good source of vitamins A, B6 and C, potassium and fiber

- it's watermelon week on Little Page Turners!


One Watermelon Seed by Celia Barker Lottridge

With the brilliant colors of a summer garden, this gorgeously illustrated book tells the story of Max and Josephine and the garden they plant. They start with one watermelon seed, then plant two pumpkin seeds, and so on until 10. Eventually their hard work and labor produces a rich harvest.

More than a simple counting book, it teaches the concept of counting by tens as well as introducing multiplication. I love the abundance of food that results from simple seeds and the childrens' obvious joy at reaping such a harvest. The text is sparse, but the vibrant illustrations more than make up for any lack in the story.


Watermelon Craft

You can't get much simpler. Draw three half circles of slightly less diameter on green, white, and red paper. (I really need to invest in a compass.) Let your child cut out the semi-circles and glue together, lining up the straight edges. Glue to a sheet of paper and add seeds, either with a marker or by gluing teardrop cutouts from black paper.

Now let them practice writing "watermelon". Didn't E do a fantastic job? This was her second try. She did much better once I gave her some lined paper to write on.

I'm linking up to:
- Silly Eagle Books