Search Results for: children's books

3 Max Lucado Children’s Books Giveaway

Max-Lucado-Children's-Books

I have a fun giveaway for you today. One winner will have an opportunity to win these three great classic must-have children’s books from the Max Lucado collection. They are brand new, hardcover and never been opened.

I have linked these books to amazon.com for those who wish to read reviews or purchase them: You Are Special, You Are Mine, Hermie a Common Caterpiller. Please keep in mind that these three giveaway books might be a different edition or have different cover pictures from the current Amazon.com listings.

One winner will receive these three books. To win, simply fill in the rafflecopter below for your chance to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 Fall Books For Children

Fall is upon us! The air is cooler. The days are shorter. And what a better way to usher in the season than to curl up and enjoy some great fall books. Here’s a list of ten childrens’ books that I have found that help us appreciate this time of year. Hopefully these books will spark you and your family excitement about this season of harvest. I was able to find most of these books in our local library. I’ve also linked them to amazon.com for those of you who prefer to purchase them.

 

Pumpkin Circle by George Levenson

I love the layout of the photographs in this book. They are bright and just beautiful. In addition to the great descriptions, this book is excellent on learning the life cycle of pumpkins. I highly recommend it.

 

How Many Seeds in a pumpkin? By Margaret McNamara

A great book not only on pumpkins, but for introducing different ways of counting. This book is about a little boy who really disliked being the last one in line because his teacher, Mr. Tiffin, always makes his students line up by size. One day, Mr. Tiffin brought in three pumpkins and asked his students to estimate the number of seeds in each pumpkin. Everyone thought Charlie’s smallest pumpkin would have the least number of seeds.  But to everyone’s surprise, the smallest pumpkin had more seeds than its bigger counterparts. As a result, Charlie learned that it’s okay to be small. I love the diversity of the students presented in this book. Among them, six were girls and four were boys. They seemed to be ethnically balanced. Very fun illustrations as well.

The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs

This book is great for Christian families that wish to bring the Christian perspective to Halloween.  While it’s written for children with pictures, this book creatively presents a Christian message. For this reason, it’s a story for any age. The book tells of a farmer who turns a pumpkin into a glorious sight. In the same way, God can turn us into a new creature, full of light, shining for Him.

The seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

A great book to illustrate the changes in an apple tree during the four seasons. Arnold takes the readers through the seasons and shows the types of activities he does with his tree. An excellent book for your apple or season unit.

The very best pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton

This story is about a boy, Peter who lived with his grandparents, Mimi and Papa on a farm. One day, Peter discovered one little pumpkin that was all alone among the weeds. Every day, Peter took great care of this puny little pumpkin. Then there was Meg, a new neighbor who had been watching Peter tending to his lonely pumpkin. This is a sweet story of patience, friendship and sharing. Pictures in this book are brightly colored and fun to look at. We also love the to-grow-your-own-very-best-pumpkin guide at the end of the book. My kids wanted to grow their own pumpkins next year so guess we’ll be revisiting this book again next spring.

Leaf jumpers by Carole Gerber

Wonderful book to teach children about fall leaves. The illustrations are outstanding with great descriptions of different types of leaves. My kids smiled when they heard what the children did with the leaves in the book. It reminded them of some of the things they did with the leaves too. It also inspired my kids to learn the different trees: birch, willow, basswood, etc. In the back of the book, the author provided some facts for further learning of leaves. Overall, this is a great book for your fall book basket!

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

This book has lots of beautiful pictures of fall leaves. It portrays leaves as a man, traveling where the wind takes him. Throughout the story, as a result of the wind, different leaves come together creating different animals. My big boy who loves making things took to this book. He’s really looking forward to collecting various leaves and making his rendition of leaf animals. Great companion for leaf art projects.

Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano

A friend gave us this book as a gift and it’s one of my kids’ favorites. The excellent wording and silly pictures will make your kids and adults giggle and laugh. Turkey doesn’t want to be the Thanksgiving meal, so he tries to disguise himself. Turkey is happy in the end as the family enjoys an unusual Thanksgiving dinner. A fun book!

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington

Apple Farmer Annie has an orchard full of apples. From applesauce, to apple muffins, to selling her harvest at the farmers’ market, Farmer Annie shows us what she did with her apples. A simple and straight forward book with colorful pictures.

Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson

The family celebrates this season by working together to make the first batch of applesauce. Excellent, detailed descriptions of how the applesauce was made and the team work of the entire family help us visualize this delightful story. A great story for apple season.

 

What are some of your favorite children’s fall books? I’d love to hear what you and your kids are reading. Please share in the comments.

 

Chenille Stem Candy Cane

 

As I was looking through my Christmas stuff, I found some more read and white pipe cleaners and my kids wanted to make some chenille stem candy canes as they brought back memories of Christmas past. This is one memorable craft that your kids can do and be reminded of the reality of God’s love as He came to live as one of us.

 Supplies:

1/2 Red Chenille Stem (or Pipe Cleaner)
½ White Chenille Stem (or Pipe Cleaner)
Scissors
1 Green Chenille Stem (or Pipe Cleaner) (Optional)
Bell (Optional)

Directions:

1. Twist the red and white chenille stems together.
2. Form into a candy cane, and trim the ends if needed.
3. To make a bow with green chenille stem, first make a loop on one end, then string the bell through. Make another loop. Adjust the bell so that it sits in the middle of the two loops. Using the remaining of the green chenille stem wrap the bow around the candy cane.
4. Candy canes could be used as  a Christmas ornament.

To view the Candy Cane Poem  and related children’s books see the post on Christmas Craft for Kids: Beaded Candy Cane.

Enjoy!

 

Christmas Craft for Kids: Beaded Candy Cane

One Christmas ornament that we enjoy making is candy canes. I first learned of this simple beaded candy cane from my friend Margaret when we were doing a winter Vacation Bible School (VBS) together. And since then, I’ve adapted this activity with my kids. Here is the story of the candy cane with its rich symbolisms to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.

 

Look at the Candy Cane

What do you see?

Stripes that are red

Like the blood shed for me

White is for my Savior

Who’s sinless and pure!

“J” is for Jesus, My Lord, that’s for sure!

Turn it around

And a staff you will see

Jesus my shepherd

Was born for Me!

Materials:

Red Chenille Stem (or pipe cleaners)
Beads (Red and white)
Strings for hanging

Instructions:

1. Cut pipe cleaner into half.
2. String alternating red and white beads onto pipe cleaner or use RRW (red red white) pattern
3. Bend beaded pipe cleaner into candy cane.
4. Tie string onto candy cane for hanging.

As an extension, your kids might like these children’s books:

J is for Jesus, The Sweetest Story Ever Told by Crystal Bowman

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
(We’ve read the older edition)

I got the candy cane poem from Ministry to Children.

Fall Leaf Rubbings

If you have not done leaf rubbings before, it’s a fun and easy activity for you and  the kiddos. For you, it’s not messy making cleanup a breeze. Also, you can transform the product into notecards or thank you cards.  For the kids, it’s an art project that is easy to learn and fun for all ages! Here’s the process and how I made the thank you cards.

Materials:

fall leaves (preferably flat ones)
tape (any kind)
scissors or sliding paper cutter
crayons (without paper wrapper)
thin white paper
colored construction paper (or other colored card stocks for notecards): Optional

Put a leaf or leaves facing down so veins are facing up. Put white paper on top of the leaves. Tape down the paper corners to hold it in place.
Rub the side of crayon where the leaves are.

Beautiful leaf rubbings framed or simply tacked onto your bulletin board for a touch of fall.

I trimmed some leaf pictures and pasted them onto precut construction-paper notecards.

For further study of leaves, being the homeschool mom, I printed out this leaf-part diagram and used it as a study tool. I went over it with my kids before starting this craft project. They decided to color this page after their leaf rubbings.

Click Leaf Part Names for a copy of this leaf coloring page.

For beautiful pictures of fall leaves, check out children’s books Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber. For a list of fall books for children, read 10 Fall Books for Children.

What fall activities does your family enjoy? I’d love to hear from you. Please share in the comments.