You Were Smaller Than a Speck

     Lately I have been thinking a lot about books, and specifically children’s books. Where is the best place to buy them? What is the best way to find out about unique, cool, inspiring books? How do you create an inspiring library without breaking the bank? I am on the lookout for the greatest and best resources to share with you lovely readers. But until then, I wanted to share an amazing new book with you all called, You Were Smaller Than A Speck.

     You Were Smaller Than A Speck, was written by my darling, talented friend Tessa Marie Aranda. It is her fist book- and it is so beautiful -the illustrations are all hand painted by Tessa herself. The book sheds light on the questions all preschoolers inevitably ask, “Moma, where do baby’s come from?” It is a simple, and truthful explanation that gets right to the point. The illustrations are charming; the book is a perfect blend of serious facts with whimsical imagery. It is appropriate for all ages, and is perfect for growing families. I cannot wait to read through it with Hazel. 

     Tessa is taking pre-orders now for the book HERE. The book is $12 for an 8 by 8 inch soft cover book. 

Last Minute Halloween Crafts

Happy (almost) Halloween!  What are you all doing to celebrate?  We carved pumpkins and ate delicious donuts this weekend.  Please excuse little A's silly face.  He is telling me all about how gross his pumpkin "brains" are. 

Here are a few last minute craft ideas to get you in the Halloween mood:

I want to make one of these stuffed fabric pumpkins (tutorial by the amazing Alison).
This awesome spider cake would put any Halloween party over the top!
Meta has some adorable ideas for last minute costumes.
It would be so fun to write all over this chalkboard haunted house!

Roundup

Halloween Skull Garland and Skeleton Costume

I made this crocheted skull garland to decorate for the skeleton-themed birthday party we had at our house last week.  Lucky for us, it also does triple duty as a Day of the Dead and Halloween garland.  Isn't it fun?  It wasn't too difficult, and only took a few evenings to complete - you still have some time to finish yours before Halloween!!  I found the pattern here and attached them together using these basic guidelines.

Here's a quick peek at one of the freezer paper skeleton costumes I made for the boys.  They wore them for their birthday party last week and loved being spooky.  Only A felt like getting his picture taken, but I promise there's another skeleton lurking just outside the frame.  


p.s.  Our fall challenge went oooookaaaaay.  Was that convincing?  It turns out that TV watching is a hard habit to break.  We did decrease our viewing time, but couldn't quite quit.  We're human.  Did anyone else try?  Tell us all about it!

Great Gift Guide For 3-5 year old

a) wooden bead kit {$24.95)/ b) pattern blocks and boards {$19.99}/ c) camera {$44.95}/ d) hand bells {$34.99}/ e) feel and find kit {$29.95}/ f) sneaky, snacky squirrel game {$16.00}/ g) cash register {$26.41}

     I had a little panic attack this weekend when I realized how close we are getting to the holidays! Yikes, I have not been prepping like I usually do.. I threw this little gift guide together for the rough age group of 3-5 years old. I am trying to think outside the box this year for hazels gifts, and here are some of our top favorites.

Roundup

KCWC Simple Dress Free Pattern

    Thank you for such amazing response to the simple dress that I made for the Kid Clothes Week Challenge last week. I have drafted my first pattern! I hope that it makes sense. Please feel free to leave comments with questions/ suggestions on any issues!

It is about the size {18 mo. - 2 yr}

Download the pattern here!

Montessori Birthday Celebration and Fall Challenge

O and A celebrated their third birthdays this week.  In their Montessori classroom they celebrated by holding an earth marble and walking around a candle representing the sun.  The parent or teacher talks about the first year of life, and then the child walks around the sun.  This is repeated for each year that the child has lived.  It is a cosmic and magical representation of the time that the child has spent on the earth.  As they walk, the class sings this song:

The earth goes around the sun, the sun
The earth goes around the sun
It takes 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days

As a teacher, I have led many of these walks around the sun, but none was as emotional for me as O's and A's.  I am so lucky to have two happy, healthy, handsome boys!


p.s.  I am going to take part in Joanna's Fall Challenge this week:  To not watch TV for a week, or at least, cut way back.  Wish us luck, and feel free to join in!

Kid Clothes Week Challenge DAY SEVEN!

 We have come to the end of the first Kid Clothes Week Challenge for Wandering Little Braves. Next time around I will be doing a mix of boy and girl Items. I will also Include pattern downloads with each project. I wasn't sure how things would go, and I am so happy that we had so much support from all of you! Thank you for all your comments! Keep them coming. 

This pinafore is another of my own designs, I love the open back! I want to try one in an adult size next.

Kid Clothes Week Challenge DAY SIX!

This little fox scalloped skirt was pretty simple to sew, Just three panels, and a chunky elastic waste-band. The fabric is MODA, from Aneela Hoey's walk in the woods line {more specifically- Foxlets, and the Mushrooms on Cloud.}

Kid Clothes Week Challenge DAY THREE and FOUR and FIVE!

This shirt was a doozy. The pattern was simple enough to sew, however the crochet edging took longer than expected. Anyhow- it turned out to be delightful, and so worth all the work.

Kid Clothes Week Challenge DAY TWO!

I will be the first to admit, this is one of those "Don't look too closely" projects. I refashioned this Shirt out of an old, stained t-shirt. I loved the stripes, but wanted to add little somethin'-somethin' I pulled out the old fabric paints, and Voila! Here you have it, Hazel's Fancy Cat Shirt.

Kid Clothes Week Challenge DAY ONE!

 

This week I am joining the Kids Clothing Week Challenge! Today I am kicking it off with this little dress I made out of an old set of sheets. This week I am going to be trying to use recycled fabric as much as I can. {I did splurge of a few new fabrics as well!} Anyway this dress was seriously easy to make, get the pattern here!

 

  

Roundup

Montessori Reading List

My love for the Montessori method began before I could even read.  Some of my earliest memories are of a large classroom with all of my favorite works (activities).  As I grew older and more aware, I remember the satisfying sound of the rice as I would pour it from one glass pitcher into another.  The painted cubes of the pink tower felt substantial and important as I placed them one on top of another as carefully as my 4 year old hands could manage.  Perhaps the most important memory I have from my six years as a Montessori student was the respect and love which I was given by my teachers.  As a result of these heart-achingly beautiful memories and foundations of self-worth, I was drawn back to the Montessori method as an adult.  

I now strive to create these same sort of memories for my own children, both in my home and in the classroom.  Some days are easier than others, and I am pretty sure I will never live up to the idealized memories of my childhood.  I have to try though.

The following is a list of a few books that have been great resources as a Montessori parent:

Montessori From the Start: The Child at Home, From Birth to Age Three by Paula Polk Lillard

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin

Unconditional Parenting: Moving From Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn

Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook by Maria Montessori

Happy reading, and Namaste!